The 10 Most Exciting Trailers From San Diego Comic-Con 2016

The annual geek mecca that is San Diego Comic-Con took place this weekend, providing thousands of lucky people the opportunity to be in the midst of the biggest pop culture event of the year. Even if you didn’t attend the convention, it was still one hell of an exciting time for movie and TV lovers everywhere. From Suicide Squad to Sherlock and Skull Island to Wonder Woman, over two dozen trailers in total dropped online across the weekend, giving us first or further looks at some of the most highly anticipated films and TV shows around. Some even got us excited for projects we weren’t originally looking forward to. So, with commiserations to the footage from Legion, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find them which didn’t quite make the cut, here are our picks for the 10 most exciting trailers from this year’s San Diego Comic-Con. 10) Suicide Squad Release Date: August 5th, 2016 Synopsis: Starring an all-star cast (Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Jared Leto, etc.), Suicide Squad sees some of DC's most dangerous supervillains co-opted into becoming good guys by shady intelligence agent Amanda Waller when the world is under threat. Trailer: Every superhero film should take a leaf out of the publicity campaign for Suicide Squad, which has steadily grabbed more and more of our attention as the release date has drawn nearer. Now that it's only a matter of days away, this one is our last trailer for the movie – and it’s a great one to lead us into the film with. It’s still full of fresh material but crucially does not give too much away. Worst heroes ever? Best trailers ever! 9) Doctor Strange Release Date: November 4th, 2016. Synopsis: Neurosurgeon Stephen Strange’s life is ruined when he can’t perform surgery. Instead, he learns how to help people another way when he studies the ways of the mystic arts and becomes the Sorcerer Supreme. Trailer: Our first look at Doctor Strange was a suitably trippy teaser for the distinctive visual style of this unusual Marvel movie. This second trailer makes the clever move of cutting back on that and giving us a taste of the plot, as supporting actors Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Wong and Mads Mikkelsen are introduced – Mikkelsen, in particular, gets some juicy villainous lines. Once Suicide Squad is out there, this is the next superhero movie to get excited about. 8) The LEGO Batman Movie Release Date: February 10th, 2017 Synopsis: Following on from his breakout turn in The LEGO Movie, LEGO Batman is back in his own solo film. A welcome humorous take on the Batman mythology, the minifig crusader will learn to be part of a team as he joins with new sidekick Robin to save Gotham from the Joker. Trailer: The Comic-Con footage is our first full-length trailer for LEGO Batman, and it naturally gives us the best feel for the movie so far. Michael Cera’s excitable, doe-eyed Robin looks set to be a great counterpoint to Will Arnett’s arrogant, grouchy Dark Knight - as is Ralph Fiennes as an arch Alfred. Plus, a quick shot sees the LEGO Justice League assembled (including Green Lantern – Zack Snyder take note). 7) Kong: Skull Island Release Date: March 10th, 2017 Synopsis: A 1970s-set prequel to the classic King Kong story, Kong: Skull Island sees a group of explorers discover a giant (really, really giant, this time) prehistoric ape. It's set in the same universe as 2014’s Godzilla, too, and a crossover movie is on the way. Trailer: The immediate draw with Kong is its staggeringly strong cast, and this first trailer proudly shows off four of its famous faces (though it leaves half of them without any lines). The film looks stunning, as well, and it could well be a tense, thrilling ride going by what we see here. 6) Star Trek: Discovery Release Date: January 2017 Synopsis: A new Star Trek TV series is coming, courtesy of fan favourite showrunner Bryan Fuller. Not much is known about its content as yet, but it has been confirmed to take place in the Prime Universe - rather than the revised Kelvin timeline of the reboot movies. Trailer: Some are complaining about the quality of the CGI of this trailer, which is unfair as it's clearly just test footage. Where the trailer succeeds though is that it's a short and sweet look at the spaceship that the show will focus on - the U.S.S. Discovery. Fuller claims that he will innovate the franchise with this series, and this is a pleasingly back-to-basics tease that promises the classic Trek thrill of space exploration. Beam us up! 5) Marvel’s TV Shows Release Date: September 2016 – Late 2017 Synopsis: Marvel and Netflix have three highly-anticipated series coming up – Luke Cage, Iron Fist and team-up extravaganza The Defenders, which will see Cage and Mr. Fist join forces with Daredevil and Jessica Jones. Trailer: All of Marvel’s TV trailers were awesome, so we’ve lumped them together here. We are currently most looking forward to the incoming Luke Cage, though the Iron Fist tease did give us our first look at that mystically-influenced show. The Defenders trail might be low on material, but hearing Stick’s voice talking about the team coming together got us really excited to see these unlikely allies saving New York as one. Sure, that idea has been done before on the big screen, but this promises to be a grittier, street-level affair. 4) Wonder Woman Release Date: June 2nd, 2017 Synopsis: Set in WWI, Wonder Woman’s first ever solo movie sees the Amazonian princess leave her isolated island home of Themyscira and discovers Man’s World with the aid of Steve Trevor, the first man she ever met. Trailer: Gal Gadot’s Diana Prince was one of the most popular aspects of Batman V Superman, so DC fans were eagerly awaiting this first trailer for her own movie. As it is our initial look at the film, it's thin on plot but it does offer up lots of Amazonian action, war scenes and kind of romantic moments between Chris Pine and Gadot – something to entertain everyone, then. Based on this, Wonder Woman looks set to properly introduce the character to the cinema-going world in style. 3) Sherlock Season 4 Release Date: January 2017 Synopsis: As Sherlock tries to solve the mystery of Moriarty’s apparent return from the dead, the detective drama’s new season is the darkest yet, as friendships are tested, beliefs are shattered and new enemies must be faced. Trailer: Sherlockians have now been waiting for a full-length (by which we mean three episodes) season of Sherlock for two and half years and counting, so it’s a good job this trailer for the next run promises amazing stuff to come. There’s a starkly different tone here from recent - more light-hearted - episodes of the show, with less quips and a lot of ominous dialogue. The last season was quite divisive, but the show looks to be back to its best next time around. 2) The Flash Release Date: October 4th, 2016 Synopsis: After the fallout of season 2’s finale, the timeline is completely changed here and Barry has to adjust to a very different version of Central City – one where his parents are alive, Iris doesn’t know him and Cisco is the richest man in the country. Trailer: Flash fans were eager to see how The CW show would adapt the “Flashpoint” comic book arc to the screen, and this season 3 trailer lives up to the hype. Though it looks lighter than the original story, the series is still going to ring a lot of drama from the massive reboot to the continuity. Plus, we get a look at some surprise villains and a Kid Flash. 1) Justice League Release Date: November 17th, 2017 Synopsis: With Superman gone, Batman and Wonder Woman gather a team of metahumans to form an alliance in a bid to protect the planet from an oncoming threat. Zack Snyder directs the first time that the superhero group will form on the big screen (in live-action, at least). Trailer: Some people’s excitement for Justice League was dampened after BvS, so this trailer really needed to promise a completely different movie. Thankfully, it did. Out goes introspective gloom, in comes zippy pacing, real actual jokes and superheroes coming together rather than fighting. Plus, we get a good look at Ezra Miller’s more socially-awkward take on the Flash, and his fun camaraderie with Bruce. After this trailer, the future of the DCEU is suddenly looking a lot brighter.