San Diego Comic-Con certainly lived up to the “largest convention of its kind in the world” title in 2018. I mean, pick your poison, Michael Dougherty’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters, David Yates’ Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, Andy Muschietti’s IT: Chapter Two, the list goes on. Truthfully speaking, Hall H really did have something for everyone, and if comic book cinema is your preferred venom (pun intended); well then, you must be still riding the contact high.
Following a rather tumultuous start to their cinematic journey, DC has officially rebranded their shared universe, and they’ve got the footage to prove it. This afternoon, Warner Bros. had a helluva time in the spotlight of San Diego Comic-Con, unleashing the first trailer for Michael Dougherty’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters, and casting a spell over the Hall H faithful with some Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald footage, but it wasn’t until the comic book giant took to the stage that the “largest convention of its kind in the world” really earned the title.
2018 marks the fourth year that Conan O’Brien has brought his TBS late night talk show to San Diego Comic-Con. Taped at the historic Spreckels Theater, the crimson-haired host will be sitting down with the cast of Glass today and Aquaman Sunday, having already chatted with the cast of Breaking Bad on Wednesday and The Predator stars on Thursday. So make sure you’re tuning in if you haven’t been already.
Also participating in the Venom panel was Hardy’s co-star Riz Ahmed, and the film’s director Ruben Fleischer, the latter of whom provided some pretty significant minutia for us to chew on. Not only did Fleischer tease that “at some point down the road,” Spider-Man will have to be incorporated, the Zombieland helmer also revealed who, exactly, Riz Ahmed will be playing, finally.
We’ve witnessed some pretty high profile features grace San Diego Comic-Con with their presence this week, such as IT: Chapter Two, Glass and The Predator - with plenty more to come this weekend, mind you - but Friday evening saw the sinister symbiote contaminate the “largest convention of its kind in the world,” Yes, Sony Pictures brought Venom to their panel and it was awesome.
If you’re still having trouble coming to terms with the cataclysmic finale of Avengers: Infinity War - let’s face it, who isn’t? - those of you at San Diego Comic-Con are in luck. Although Marvel won’t officially be participating in the “largest convention of its kind in the world,” the studio behind the highest grossing film franchise of all-time hasn’t taken the weekend off.
In case you missed it, earlier today, the Marvel Cinematic Universe was dealt one helluva sockdolager when The Walt Disney Company fired filmmaker James Gunn, the man behind the Guardians of the Galaxy films. Now, as a result of his termination, Deadline is reporting that Gunn will not appear at San Diego Comic-Con.
Despite a report to the contrary surfacing earlier this month, Thursday, Comcast officially pulled out of the bidding war for the rights to intellectual properties owned by 21st Century Fox - which include Deadpool, the Fantastic Four, and the X-Men - leaving The Walt Disney Company as the sole competitor vying for the Rupert Murdoch-founded corporation.
Speaking strictly from a releasing perspective, yes, Marvel may be done for 2018, but the studio behind the highest grossing film franchise ever isn’t enjoying any downtime, and neither is president Kevin Feige. However, just because the producing vet of twenty years is currently absorbed in putting a bow on Phase Three - what with Captain Marvel now in post and Avengers 4 headed for “pick-ups" this fall - that doesn’t mean he isn’t allowed to reminisce. And during a recent interview with Deadline, Feige did just that.
