Two of Hollywood’s biggest studios on Saturday went head-to-head at Comic-Con International: San Diego in an epic battle to demonstrate which has the best upcoming superhero movies.
Warner Brothers — still smarting from the lukewarm reception for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice — presented a star-studded lineup ahead of Marvel’s showcase later in the day.
Its first exclusive of the session was a sneak peek at Wonder Woman, which saw Gal Gadot’s Amazonian princess leaving her lush island to stop World War I.
Photo: AP
Due to hit theaters on June 2 next year, it focuses on the one character to escape criticism in Batman v Superman, which chalked record drops in box office revenue after a strong opening week in March.
“She has the heart of a human and the strength of a goddess,” a visibly trembling Gadot told the Comic-Con devotees of her character.
Margot Robbie’s comic book baddie Harley Quinn is one of the most hotly anticipated characters among all the films due to emerge from Warner’s DC Extended Universe.
Fans cheered as they were shown the final Suicide Squad trailer ahead of its release on Friday next week, which focused on the bubblegum-popping Quinn.
“Everyone was doing all this action — I was doing it wearing heels,” Robbie said of the shoot, which took place last year in Toronto and Chicago.
Zack Snyder took to the stage to treat fans to an unexpected first trailer for his latest movie Justice League, which is due for release on Nov. 17 next year.
The movie reunites all three “meta-humans” in Snyder’s Batman v Superman: Wonder Woman, played again by Gadot; Batman, played by Ben Affleck for a second time; and Henry Cavill’s Superman.
The joke-laden trailer is a marked contrast from Batman v Superman, which was heavily criticized for its dark tone and taking itself too seriously.
Marvel followed Warner in the late afternoon, giving fans a glimpse of its ever-expanding “Cinematic Universe” after sitting out last year’s convention.
Studio president and producer Kevin Feige played ringmaster, announcing: “We only want to come when we have a lot to show you. We actually have a lot today.”
And he did not let down the fans, who were treated to new footage of Scott Derrickson’s Doctor Strange, opening on Nov. 4 and starring Benedict Cumberbatch.
Mist descended from the ceiling of Comic-Con’s Hall H and the lights lifted to reveal Cumberbatch, 40, on stage in a T-shirt and jeans.
Derrickson, who joined the panel alongside Chiwetel Ejiofor and Tilda Swinton, told Comic-Con the film was a “left turn in the Marvel universe,” focusing on magic rather than technology.
Kurt Russell drove the crowd wild when he showed up to confirm he will play Chris Pratt’s father in James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2, which hits theaters on May 5 next year. A trailer also revealed that Sylvester Stallone also has a role in the Guardians sequel.
There was additionally a surprise glimpse of Spider-Man: Homecoming, with very early footage from the film due for release on July 7 next year, showing Peter Parker, played by Tom Holland.
Feige brought onstage Ryan Coogler, who helmed Rocky spin-off Creed last year and has turned his attention to the fictional world of Wakanda for Black Panther, due in 2018.
“The coolest thing about the world of Wakanda is they have a king, and we have an incredible actor playing that part,” Coogler said of Chadwick Boseman, who first took on the role in this year’s Captain America: Civil War.
“I am literally vibrating inside,” Boseman said as he took to the stage for his first Comic-Con.
Hall H was then treated to a “mockumentary” by Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi in the style of his vampire spoof, What We Do in the Shadows.
The crowd applauded as Chris Hemsworth was shown with a nerdy roommate who helps him send peacemaking e-mails to Captain America and Iron Man during their Civil War dispute.
A day earlier, Lionsgate managed to thrill film fans in San Diego with a sneak peek screening of a new horror movie, The Woods.
However, in a master stroke of stunt marketing, it turned out that The Woods was not The Woods at all, but a top-secret sequel to The Blair Witch Project.
As the movie began to play on Friday night, Lionsgate marketers switched out its fake campaign for the real one, releasing a new trailer online, changing the film’s page on the Internet Movie Database, making over its Comic-Con booth and unveiling a new Web site and Internet banner ads.
School bullies in Singapore are to face caning under new guidelines, but the education minister on Tuesday said it would be meted out only as a last resort with strict safeguards. Human rights groups regularly criticize Singapore for the use of corporal punishment, which remains part of the school and criminal justice systems, but authorities have defended it as a deterrent to crime and serious misconduct. Caning was discussed in the parliament after legislators asked how it would be used in relation to bullying in schools. The debate followed stricter guidelines on serious student misconduct, including bullying, unveiled by the Singaporean Ministry of
As evening falls in Fiji’s capital, a steady stream of people approaches a makeshift clinic that is a first line of defense against one of the world’s fastest-growing HIV epidemics. In the South Pacific nation — a popular tourist destination of just under a million people — more than 2,000 new HIV cases were recorded last year, a 26 percent increase from 2024. The government has declared an HIV outbreak and described it as a national crisis. “It’s spreading like wildfire,” said Siteri Dinawai, 46, who came to be tested. The Moonlight Clinic, a converted minibus parked in a suburban cul-de-sac in Suva, is
A MESSAGE: Japan’s participation in the Balikatan drills is a clear deterrence signal to China not to attack Taiwan while the US is busy in the Middle East, an analyst said The Japan Self-Defense Forces yesterday fired a Type 88 anti-ship missile during a joint maritime exercise with US, Australian and Philippine forces, hitting a decommissioned Philippine Navy ship in waters facing the disputed South China Sea, in drills that underscore Tokyo’s rising willingness to project military power on China’s doorstep. The drill took place as Manila and Tokyo began talks on a potential defense equipment transfer, made possible by Japan’s decision to scrap restrictions on military exports. The discussions include the possible early transfer of Abukuma-class destroyers and TC-90 aircraft to the Philippines, Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi said. Philippine Secretary of
A South Korean judge who last week more than doubled former South Korean first lady Kim Keon-hee’s prison sentence was found dead yesterday, police said. Shin Jong-o was found unconscious at about 1am at the Seoul High Court building, an investigator at the Seocho District Police Station in Seoul said. Shin was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead, he said. “There is no sign of foul play in the death,” the investigator added. Local media reported that Shin had left a suicide note, but the investigator said there was none. On Tuesday last week, Shin presided over 53-year-old Kim’s appeal trial, finding her guilty
RSS