San Diego Comic-Con 2019 highlights
When the dust settled, there were quite a few major announcements made at this year’s SDCC, so here are some of the (cinematic) highlights…
Marvel announce their full Phase 4 line up, and beyond…
In the same weekend that Avengers: Endgame became the highest grossing film of all time, Marvel also announced their full slate of movies and TV shows for Phase 4, and hinted at some of what will follow in Phase 5:
Black Widow - due May 2020: This is currently shooting with Scarlett Johansson back as Natasha Romanoff, alongside Rachel Weisz, Florence Pugh, David Harbour, and O-T Fagbenle. We now know that it will see Black Widow facing off against the Taskmaster, and that it will dig into Black Widow’s past.
The Falcon & The Winter Soldier - coming autumn 2020 to the Disney+ streaming service: This series will follow straight on from Endgame, starring Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, and Daniel Brühl returning as Zemo.
Eternals - due November 2020: A brand new franchise, with an all-star cast including Angelina Jolie, Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani, Brian Tyree Henry, and Salma Hayek, dealing with a race of immortal aliens living on Earth.
Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings - due February 2021: Marvel's second new franchise of Phase 4, this stars Simu Liu as Shang-Chi, Tony Leung as the Mandarin (for real, this time), and Awkwafina.
WandaVision - coming spring 2021 to the Disney+ streaming service: We know this show stars Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda "Scarlet Witch" Maximoff and Paul Bettany as Vision, and it takes place after Endgame … but the rest is a mystery. We do know that it also features a grown-up version of Captain Marvel's Monica Rambeau (daughter of Lashana Lynch’s Maria Rambeau), now played by Teyonah Parris.
Loki - coming spring 2021 to the Disney+ streaming service: This series will star Tom Hiddleston as the younger version of Loki last seen vanishing into a portal in Endgame, but other than that, the details are still under wraps for now…
Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness - due May 2021: Directed by Scott Derrickson, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, and featuring Elizabeth Olsen as Scarlet Witch, this is being described as the MCU’s first scary, horror film (although still with a fun, PG-13 tone, no doubt).
What If...? - coming summer 2021 to the Disney+ streaming service: This animated series will featuring appearances by Jeffrey Wright (as The Watcher), and Michael B. Jordan, Sebastian Stan, Josh Brolin, Mark Ruffalo, Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, Chris Hemsworth, Hayley Atwell, Chadwick Boseman, Karen Gillan, Jeremy Renner, Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Neal McDonagh, Dominic Cooper, Sean Gunn, Natalie Portman, David Dastmalchian, Stanley Tucci, Taika Waititi, Toby Jones, Djimon Hounsou, Jeff Goldblum and Michael Rooker, all reprising their original characters!
Hawkeye - coming autumn 2021 to the Disney+ streaming service: This series sees Jeremy Renner return to introduce and train the new character, Kate Bishop.
Thor: Love & Thunder - due November 2021: Phase 4 will wrap up with a fourth Thor film, written and directed by Taika Waititi, starring Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson as Thor and Valkyrie, and seeing the return of Natalie Portman, playing Jane Foster and taking on the mantle of The Mighty Thor.
Marvel also announced some of the projects for Phase 5, including the surprise casting of Oscar-winner Mahershala Ali as the new Blade, the daywalker vampire, as well as confirming Black Panther 2, Captain Marvel 2, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3 are in development. Marvel even confirmed that the Fantastic Four and the X-Men will officially be joining the MCU ... we just don't know when yet!
Star Trek: Picard unveils first proper trailer…
The Star Trek franchise crosses over movies and TV, and although this was technically a tv-related announcement, there’s no denying the thrill of seeing Patrick Stewart return to the iconic role of Captain Picard in 2020. Plus we learned that he’s bringing a surprising number of old friends along with him, as appearances by Brent Spiner, Jonathan Frakes, Marina Sirtis and Jeri Ryan were all confirmed. You can see the trailer yourself here: https://youtu.be/YhBBXHwEsIo
First trailer for Top Gun: Maverick…
By the time this sequel comes out in 2020, it’ll have been 34 years since the original was released, so It'll be interesting to see where they go with this film, & how audiences connect with it given the huge gap. But Tom Cruise’s return to the role is certainly worth checking out, and the (real life, not CGI) fighter-plane action looks like it’ll be very spectacular. You can see the trailer for yourself here: https://youtu.be/qSqVVswa420
Jay & Silent Bob return…
This film is the very definition of niche appeal, but fans of Kevin Smith's "View Askewniverse" (myself included) will be excited about this first trailer for the cameo-packed Jay And Silent Bob Reboot. If you aren’t already a fan, this may leave you more than a little bewildered! You can seen the (red band / NSFW) trailer for yourself here: https://youtu.be/VHI_TemTawM
A new Halloween trilogy…
An unexpected announcement came directly from John Carpenter himself - Jamie Lee Curtis will be returning as Laurie Strode to complete the trilogy started in last year’s Halloween, with Halloween Kills in 2020 and Halloween Ends in 2021. I really enjoyed last year's direct sequel to the original Halloween, so this is very welcome news.
New featurette for Terminator: Dark Fate…
As well as unveiling a new featurette (which you can see here: https://youtu.be/-iTco6JgZ4o), it was confirmed that not only will this see the return of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton alongside the new cast, but Edward Furlong will also appear in some fashion. It was also confirmed that this film will be returning to the franchise’s gritty, R-rated roots.
A Walking Dead movie…
It was also announced that the previously discussed “Rick Grimes” movie, set in The Walking Dead universe and starring Andrew Lincoln, will be a cinematic release, and not (as had been assumed) a TV-movie.
