The 2016 San Diego Comic-Con has come and gone, and like always, there was plenty of stuff to enjoy from the comfort of your own home.
While attendees got to see secret screenings and early footage that wasn’t made available online, plenty of stuff has been officially released, and we here at MEGATechNews have brought you the best of the best. And not only that, we’re telling you why it’s the best, in case you’re not sure how hyped you should be.
Spoiler alert, you should be very hyped.
Luke Cage
Marvel’s streak of stellar Netflix shows looks to continue with Luke Cage, a character who played a major part in the previous Netflix series Jessica Jones. It doesn’t look like their shows are going to dip in quality anytime soon. Luke Cage seems to offer a different vibe than its predecessor, likely thanks to Marvel really leaning into his superpower. Catch all the episodes on September 30th.
Iron Fist
Just because we’ve got a few more months until Luke Cage hits doesn’t mean we can’t get hyped for the property coming after. Iron Fist, which doesn’t have a release date just yet, marks the fourth Marvel-to-Netflix street-level hero, and as was always the plan, he joins forces with Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and Luke Cage to form…
The Defenders
This sort of built-up amalgamation of properties shouldn’t work. There are too many wrenches that could get thrown in the works. And yet Marvel has proved that it does work, time and time again, and there’s no reason to think that The Defenders will be any less successful (critically speaking) than their silver screen counterparts The Avengers. 2017!
Legion
What’s this, a Marvel superhero show that’s not on Netflix? Pass. Wait. Is that Dan Stevens from Downton Abbey and The Guest? Why yes, yes it is, and he’s playing a mutant who – in the comics, at least – is the all-too-powerful son of Professor Charles Xavier. While Legion is technically a show about a mutant, and is produced by Bryan Singer and Simon Kinberg, it’s not set in the X-Men universe in any way that matters. However, that provides a certain freedom to do as they please, and they look to be exercising it.
Doctor Strange
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has gotten pretty eclectic at this point, only it somehow hasn’t. Even with all the different heroes, the Marvel movies have all had the same flavor, which certainly isn’t a bad thing, though it hasn’t stopped many of the filmmakers from claiming that their Marvel film will be unlike any that you’ve seen. Doctor Strange looks like it might actually hold true to that promise and deliver something genuinely different.
Justice League
Wow. If you were one of the many who found Zack Snyder’s Batman v. Superman to be so dark and dreary that it became ugly and cynical, I’ve got good news for you. It looks like Snyder and company have taken that criticism to heart and are delivering something much, much lighter with Justice League, based on this Comic-Con footage. Maybe not as light as what Marvel offers, but there are a lot of comic fans who crave something darker than the Marvel films while not necessarily wanting to walk out of the theater depressed, as with Snyder’s earlier efforts.
Wonder Woman
Arguably the best part of Batman v. Superman, Gal Gadot is spearheading her own film as the lasso-wielding Amazon princess. Like Justice League, it looks to be a more colorful affair than DC’s previous cinematic outings. It’s also got a killer cast with Chris Pine, Connie Nielsen, and Robin Wright. It’s no secret that there’s a serious lack of female superheroes on the big screen, so how cool would it be if this became DC’s big property?
LEGO Batman
And now for something completely different. Remember when The LEGO Movie was announced and people could only shake their heads in fear and disappointment. We don’t really learn, because the Pirates of the Caribbean series has become a successful string of films based on an amusement park ride, so obviously anything is possible. So here’s LEGO Batman, the unlikeliest of spin-offs, and it looks seriously funny.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Plenty of us are having Harry Potter withdrawals, shaking our fists at those who get to see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child performed on stage. While Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them won’t give us the boy wizard, it will bring us back into that magical word, and this trailer actually shows a bit of the titular magical beasts!
Kong: Skull Island
That’s a hell of a cast, and I’m not even considering the ape. The King Kong prequel always felt like it could be something special and this debut trailer just confirms it. With a hearty mixture of wonder and fear, King Kong is back (for the first time, chronologically) and is literally bigger than ever. How else is he going to fight Godzilla in 2020? Yeah, that’s a plan.
Blair Witch
Talk about pulling a fast one. The Woods looked like a generic found footage horror movie, and not surprisingly, slapping the Blair Witch title on it hasn’t changed the fact. Not to mention that we already got a Blair Witch Project sequel years ago that was a crime against celluloid. Here’s the thing, though: Blair Witch was made by Simon Barrett and Adam Wingard, the duo responsible for You’re Next and The Guest, two of of the best horror/thrillers in years. Plus, Comic-Con screening buzz says that Blair Witch is scary as all get out, so yeah, maybe the magic truly is back.
American Gods
I don’t know what to be more excited for: that it’s an adaptation of one of Neil Gaiman’s most acclaimed works, that it’s being developed by Hannibal’s Bryan Fuller, or that Ian McShane has a starring role. So I’m just going to be excited for all three of things, and you probably should be too.
Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency
Max Landis, love him or hate him (most people unfortunately choose the latter), is not an untalented human being. The writer of Chronicle and American Ultra is adapting Douglas Adams’ second-most famous property to the small screen, and while lead actor Samuel Barnett might not be a household name, co-star Elijah Wood damn sure is. It looks like wacky fun, and considering the source material, it’s going to be a blast.
What was your favorite highlight from this year’s Comic-Con? What has you the most hyped?