Superhero and movie fans alike were treated to a slew of good news on Saturday as Marvel Studios and DC Comics both announced new titles at San Diego’s Comic-Con.
Everything from the long-awaited Dwayne Johnson film Black Adam to the Black Panther sequel released new trailers, sneak peaks and premiere dates at the star-studded event, while others — including Aquaman and the elephant in the room that is The Flash — were conspicuously ignored.
Johnson went a few steps beyond merely teasing Black Adam, which has been in development with DC for more than a decade. Ever the showman, Johnson brought a new trailer for the superhero film and some and lit up the biggest room at the annual fan convention — with a flashy smoke and lights display — all while in costume.
Set for an Oct. 21 theatrical release, Black Adam reunites Johnson with his Jungle Cruise director Jaume Collet-Serra. It also stars Aldis Hodge as Hawkman, Noah Centineo as Atom Smasher and Quintessa Swindell as Cyclone, all of whom joined Johnson and Collet-Serra for the panel.
New stars for Shazam!
Black Adam was just one part of DC/Warner Bros. return to Comic-Con, where audiences also got a glimpse at a new trailer for Shazam! Fury of the Gods. Stars Zachary Levi and Lucy Liu were on hand to promote the sequel, which is due in theatres on Dec. 21 and continues the story of a teenager-turned-superhero who is feeling a bit like a fraud.
The film sees the return of Asher Angel, Jack Dylan Grazer and Adam Brody and adds Helen Mirren and Rachel Zegler of West Side Story to the mix.
Zegler’s role was only confirmed through the trailer, with the actor later revealing she will play younger sister to Liu and Mirren’s characters.
WATCH | Shazam! trailer introduces Mirren, Zegler:
The first trailer for Netflix’s The Sandman also screened. The big-budget adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s Hugo and Eisner award-winning comic book series has spent decades in development, and will star David Thewlis, Tom Sturridge, Jenna Coleman, Patton Oswalt and Stephen Fry.
All ten episodes will release on Netflix on Aug. 5.
DC’s presentation stuck to its 2022 releases, forgoing sneak peeks at films due next year. One of those is The Flash, whose star Ezra Miller was arrested in Hawaii twice this year.
The Andy Muschietti-directed film has wrapped production and is supposed to open in June 2023. Miller has been credited as the first out LGBTQ+ person to play a lead role in a major superhero film.
Also missing from DC Comics’ showcase was Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, Batgirl and any updates on new instalments of Wonder Woman or The Batman. A sequel to Robert Pattinson’s The Batman was confirmed earlier this year at CinemaCon, while Rachel Zegler has previously hinted Gal Gadot will make a cameo appearance in Shazam 2 as Wonder Woman.
Meanwhile, Marvel Studios unveiled the first trailer for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever — set to a version of No Woman No Cry mixed with Kendrick Lamar’s Alright — to fans on Saturday. The sequel is currently set to release Nov. 11.
WATCH | Black Panther: Wakanda Forever trailer released:
It was just one part of the massive presentation from the studio, which — as opposed to DC — looked far beyond just this year.
The media juggernaut gave first looks at Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and new information about Phase 6 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which will conclude with two Avengers movies in 2025: Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars.
Phase 5, Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige said, will kick off in February with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and conclude with Thunderbolts in July 2024. The new Blade, starring Oscar-winner Mahershala Ali, also got a release date of Nov. 3, 2023, and Captain America and the New World Order, featuring Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson, will hit theatres on May 3, 2024.
The Guardians of the Galaxy will also come to an end in the midst of Phase 5 in May. Director James Gunn showed up in San Diego to confirm that Vol. 3 would be the last for the space rogues. Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Karen Gillian and Dave Bautista are all returning for the film. New cast members include Will Poulter, as Guardians adversary Adam Warlock, and Maria Bakalova.
Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Jonathan Majors and director Peyton Reed made the trip to San Diego to show some footage from Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
Phase 6 will launch with a new Fantastic Four movie on Nov. 8, 2024, and finish with Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, set for May 2, 2025, followed by Avengers: Secret Wars, on Nov. 7, 2025.
Marvel also showed trailers for Disney+ series such as Secret Invasion, with Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury and Cobie Smulders as Agent Maria Hill, due in the spring, and the half-hour comedy She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, starring Tatiana Maslany, debuting in August. The second season of Loki is also expected next summer.
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