Comic-Con Roundup

Written by Jon Williams

Last week, the annual event that is Comic-Con International took place in San Diego, California. The four-day extravaganza allows fans, celebrities, and creators to come together in a celebration that generally centers on science fiction and fantasy but branches out to encompass all aspects of pop culture. As happens each year, there was plenty of news and buzz to come out of the many panels and presentations that made up this year’s convention.

Marvel is the biggest name in movies right now, and coming off the success of the blockbusters Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: Far from Home, there wasn’t much of a blueprint for where the franchise would go for “Phase Four” of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. That is no longer the case, as Marvel used Comic-Con as a platform to announce its slate for 2020 – 2021. In theaters, first up is the previously announced Black Widow, starring Scarlett Johansson along with David Harbour and Rachel Weisz. Then fans can look forward to The Eternals, a superhero ensemble that will include stars such as Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, and Richard Madden, in 2020. The following year will kick off with Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, featuring a martial arts hero that has been a part of Marvel Comics since 1973 but has not yet made it onto the screen. Then comes Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, with Benedict Cumberbatch reprising his role from the 2017 film in what is being teased as Marvel’s first horror movie. Finally, there will be Thor: Love and Thunder, directed by Ragnarok’s Taika Waititi and with Natalie Portman returning to the franchise to become the goddess of thunder. And for television, there’s even more Marvel news. Familiar Avengers characters will come to the small screen in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan), WandaVision (Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany), Loki (Tom Hiddleston), and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), while What If…? will be an animated series that featuring Jeffrey Wright and a number of familiar voices as it explores alternate realities.

Marvel wasn’t the only beloved franchise to make waves at Comic-Con. Patrick Stewart’s return as the beloved character Jean-Luc Picard from Star Trek: The Next Generation was announced last year, but a new trailer provided the first extended look at the new series (simply titled Picard). The trailer contained some surprises, such as the return of other fan-favorite characters Data (played by Brent Spiner) and Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan), while the panel revealed that Jonathan Frakes and Marina Sirtis would also be appearing in the show in their familiar roles from The Next Generation. While that was the biggest news, the panel also covered the upcoming third season of the acclaimed Star Trek: Discovery, as well as the upcoming series Lower Decks. Expected to premiere in 2020, the show will focus on lower-ranking officers on a non-vital starship, and will be the first Star Trek in animated form since The Animated Series furthered the adventures of the original crew from 1973 – 1975.

Horror had quite a presence at this year’s SDCC. The biggest release was probably the new trailer for It: Chapter 2, which comes to theaters on September 6. It’s the sequel to the 2017 blockbuster that became the highest-grossing horror movie of all time, and it picks up (more or less) 27 years after the first film left off. Both movies are based on the Stephen King novel of the same name, which is frequently cited as one of his best. Staying in the King family, it was announced that the show NOS4A2 (based on a novel by Joe Hill, King’s son) had been renewed for a second season. Hill also discussed the upcoming shows Locke & Key, adapted from a series of comics he created with artist Gabriel Rodriguez, and Creepshow, which is based on the 1982 movie written by King and directed by George Romero. That show will be produced by Greg Nicotero, who is most famous for The Walking Dead, which offered plenty of details for the original show and the spinoff Fear the Walking Dead, as well as a new show yet to come. There was also an interactive exhibit promoting the new season of American Horror Story and a trailer for Guillermo del Toro’s adaptation of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.

And still there’s more. Tom Cruise showed up to surprise the crowd with a trailer for Top Gun: Maverick, the long-awaited sequel to the high-flying 1986 hit. There was also a trailer for Cats, the upcoming movie version of the Andrew Lloyd Webster musical that will star Taylor Swift, Idris Elba, and Judi Dench, to name just a few. There was also a look at Terminator: Dark Fate, which will welcome James Cameron and Edward Furlong back to the franchise and pick up following Terminator 2, with the intervening installments being considered part of a different timeline. For TV, there was plenty of info on new shows The Dark Crystal, His Dark Materials, and Snowpiercer, as well as new seasons of Westworld, The Expanse, Rick and Morty, Preacher, and more.

Those are just the highlights of the shows, movies, and more that presented at this year’s Comic-Con International in San Diego, and you can bet your patrons will be looking for all of these titles and their related media. Let us know what you’re looking forward to, and stay tuned to Midwest Tape for news on these and other exciting releases as they approach.

Comic-Con Heavy on TV

Written by Jon Williams

Comic-Con International kicked off yesterday in San Diego. Beginning in 1970 and initially focused primarily on comic books, SDCC has evolved into a preeminent pop-culture showcase extravaganza that goes far beyond just comics (although they are still a large part of the show) and into the realms of movies and TV. Here is a quick look at some of the television titles, both beloved favorites and soon-to-be breakthroughs, that will be holding panels and releasing news as the convention progresses through Sunday.

A natural outgrowth of comics is into animation, a format that is often associated with children’s entertainment. A number of animated children’s television shows will be at Comic-Con. One of those is Adventure Time, the beloved cartoon whose tenth and final season is all set to wrap up, with just the series finale remaining. Lego’s animation has become quite a force in entertainment, and Lego Ninjago will be represented at Comic-Con as well. Fans will also be able to hear about the upcoming seventh season of Voltron: Legendary Defender, a reboot of the classic Voltron series from the ‘80s. Another reboot comes in the form of DuckTales, the new adventures of Scrooge McDuck and his nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie. And in a bit of surprise news, it was announced yesterday that Star Wars: The Clone Wars will return for one final 12-episode arc to complete the series.

Of course, cartoons aren’t just for kids anymore, and animated entertainment for grown-ups is very much on Comic-Con’s agenda. The Simpsons is the longest-running sitcom in American history, animated or otherwise, and at Comic-Con will be looking ahead to its 30^th season. In addition, creator Matt Groening (who also created Futurama) will be presenting his new series, Disenchantment. Similarly long-running Seth MacFarlane staples Family Guy (going into its 17^th season) and American Dad (13^th season) will be represented, as will Bob’s Burgers (9^th season) and Archer (10^th season).

Horror television is a genre that has seen quite a bit of growth lately, and that will be reflected in big panels for both The Walking Dead, which will undergo some big changes in its upcoming ninth season, and Fear the Walking Dead, which returns for the second half of its fourth season on August 12. Carrying on the zombie theme is Z Nation, soon to return for its fifth season. From the mind of Stephen King comes the second season of Mr. Mercedes, based on his book trilogy, as well as Castle Rock, a new series not directly from King’s writings but set in and around a town that features prominently in many of his works. Also making the leap from the page to the screen are The Passage, from Justin Cronin’s vampire trilogy, and Nightflyers, based on a novella from Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin.

Then there’s sci-fi and fantasy TV, which has perhaps the largest presence at this year’s convention. The granddaddy of them all is Doctor Who, which will have a huge panel in preparation for its eleventh season and first female Doctor, played by Jodie Whittaker. Fans can also look forward to panels on Star Trek: Discovery, the latest series in that massive universe, as well as the Trek-inspired homage from Seth MacFarlane, The Orville. Legion and The Gifted both tie into the X-Men universe, while Preacher is adapted from the Vertigo comics series. A Charmed reboot is coming this fall, and fans of witches can also look forward to A Discovery of Witches, adapted from Deborah Harkness’s novels. Finally, The Magicians, a series based on Lev Grossman’s novels, recently wrapped its third season and will return next year for a fourth.

And there are also plenty of shows that don’t easily fit into any of these categories. Riverdale makes perfect sense for Comic-Con, as it is based on classic Archie Comics characters. Breaking Bad’s panel will celebrate ten years since the show premiered, and the spinoff/prequel, Better Call Saul, will be there as well to focus on the upcoming fourth season. The surreal life-after-death comedy The Good Place will look ahead to its third season, while the historical drama Vikings prepares for its midseason premiere. And the trend of reboot continues with a new iteration of Magnum P.I. coming in September.

That’s a lot of TV—and that’s just a small portion of all the movie, comic, and other pop-culture media properties that will be exhibiting at Comic-Con International in San Diego this year. What are you and your patrons looking forward to hearing about? Let us know, and stay in touch with Midwest Tape for all the latest news as these shows and more make their way onto DVD and Blu-ray.