As you can guess, the best days of most cons are Friday and Saturday, and this year’s SDCC did not disappoint when it came to the excitement levels of news. So here we go friends – let’s take a look at the most incredible, nerd screaming information that has been released to the masses from San Diego Comic Con 2016 over the past two days! Are you excited? Because Princess Diana certainly is!
That Wonder Woman Trailer Though
Hey. Hey. HEY! GUESS WHAT? THE WONDER WOMAN TRAILER IS HERE. I apologize for my unprofessional caps lock sentence, but by all the Greek Gods this is one heck of a promotional advertisement for the first “official” female-led superhero film, and it does not disappoint in the slightest. With energy, and (dare I say) fun aspects all around, this is exactly how I wanted a Wonder Woman film to feel, emotionally. Sure, Gal Gadot might not still be my favorite casting choice for the role, but with her being one of the few (and I mean very few) highlights of Batman vs Superman, I’m beyond excited to see where this goes. Incredible action, fantastic dialog (especially from Steve Trevor aka Chris Pine), and (what looks to be) excellent directing on Patty Jenkins’s part, this is a movie to watch out for in 2017. Can an invisible jet send me forward in time to see this, PLEASE?
A Justice League “Trailer” Came Out Too…
Warner Bros. also released a “trailer” for their Justice League movie. Obviously, the film is still in production and has only but a selection of footage to show, but it is clear that the team (including director Zack Snyder) took their notes about the tonal issues of BvS, and tried to go for a lighter approach. The result of such lessons is an example of almost desperation, where Snyder and co. feel they need to throw as many laughs your way so as if to put a Band-Aid over the whole situation. While that sort of style might work for the upcoming Suicide Squad movie, Justice League doesn’t need to be all those laughs and a bag of comical chips. Balance is key in all of this, and hopefully the finished product won’t feel as heavy handed as this spot does at times.
On the plus side, that shot of Aquaman (Jason Momoa) getting hit by the intense wave of water might have been one of the coolest pieces of imagery to come out of SDCC this year. Bravo to that, WB!
Skull Island Trailer Drops…as does my jaw
Though the new DC content is exciting, I can’t say that it was either of the trailers I was looking forward the most to. When it comes to Kong: Skull Island, this is where my true interest is, and I am not disappointed. Here we have another example of not only Samuel L. Jackson being Warner Bros. new favorite ingredient in all their franchise movies, but that John Goodman is destined to play creepy dudes with monster related agendas for the good chunk of the foreseeable future – both things that I am totally okay with. Interestingly, the “stars” of the movie, Tom Hiddleston and Brie Larson, get absolutely no dialog in this trailer – but maybe considering the recent controversy with the male lead and his dating life, I can see why that choice was made. As for the big ape himself, you don’t see too much of him here, but what you do see seems to reflect a design much closer to a classic Kong than possibly Peter Jackson’s 2005 design. With stunning cinematography and a great sense of danger, this new Kong looks damn good and gets my monster-loving heart racing.
King Arthur is a thing
As for productions that have had quite a bit of trouble, King Arthur proved to be a project that, even though it still has a lot of doubters, ended up coming out with solid results. Though it has a cast that isn’t exactly full of box office heavy hitters, seeing talents like (the Disney prince of my dreams) Charlie Hunnam and (the always under-appreciated) Jude Law step up to bat comes as a fun and inventive surprise. Though the scenes shown in this first trailer seem to invoke a bit of a resemblance to cult favorite Knights Tale to an almost scary degree, it is fun to see a generally “new” take on the King Arthur legend – one that allows for a bit of silliness and roughhousing. There’s even some new and – dare I say – inventive shots here, particularly one with a girl disguising herself behind a tree. Hopefully this level of creativity is a sign of a good movie-going experience headed our way.
Doctor Strange drops a whole lot of crazy
I don’t often say this about films, but there are certain ones where I can tell just by the trailer alone that I will only see them in 2D. Why? Because sometimes a cinematic experience can be just too intense, and Doctor Strange might be one of those movie-going adventures that needs to be seen in the tamest version possible. Though crazy visuals aside, the latest Marvel Studios release looks to be a unique entry into the franchise, and though Benedict Cumberbatch isn’t my favorite human-being on the planet earth, he thus far is impressing me in the new footage shown for the film. He has a regal quality to him, one that’ll be very interesting to see play out in future Marvel installments. But the spotlight seems very much to be on the villain of the film, played by Mads Mikkelsen. There’s a spooky quality to the guy that was obvious in Hannibal, but continues with many of his new roles, and this one is no different. Him, plus Tilda (casting controversy aside), are the selling points for me on this one.
Mystery Science 3000 will return – this time on Netflix
Enough of the movie trailers, let’s talk some news – the BEST news in fact. Yes, one of the greatest comedy series of all time is returning. For those of you who weren’t around for the glory days of 80’s/90’s TV, there used to be a little show called Mystery Science Theater 3000, where a guy who was stuck in outer space was forced to watch really bad movies with his robot friends as a science experiment from various bad guys. The movies were actual B-Movies from the 40’s to the 70’s from all over the world, and the commentary that would come from the characters was some of the best stuff on TV at the time. And now thanks to Netflix, and the very successful Kickstarter campaign from earlier this year, MST will be returning to your TV screens. Joining this new adventure are Community‘s Dan Harmon and Joel McHale as writers (and maybe future guest stars PLEASE), along with The Daily Show‘s Elliot Kalan as the head of the writing team. I’m prepping my nerdy, bad movie loving body for this one.
This is only a handful of the announcements and breaking news that came out of the con over the past few days. What do you all think? Do you have a favorite trailer from the group shown above? What news sparked your interest the most from the convention? Comment below and tell us all of your thoughts!
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