Comic-Con 2016 – everything you need to know
UPDATED: First trailers for Star Trek: Discovery, Sherlock S4, Marvel's Legion, and more!
It’s Comic-Con International time again, but the big announcements and reveals resonate far wider than the bustling San Diego convention halls.
Comic-Con has evolved from a comic book fan’s dream weekend to the place where many of the big pop culture events are revealed, including deep looks into new movies and TV shows and new trailers and announcements for games and other media.
We’re sure to see a lot of big news coming out of the event all weekend, but you don’t have to scour the internet for it: we’ll drop all of the big, need-to-know news right here, so check back regularly and we’ll have you covered.
First Justice League trailer
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was a dour mess, confirming most of the criticism about director Zack Snyder’s hand with tone and subtlety… but maybe the DC Cinematic Universe can bounce back. Maybe it can even stand toe-to-toe with Marvel and its Avengers-centric films.
That’s the impression we are so very thankfully taking away from this first look at next year’s Justice League, which will bring together Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Cyborg, and Aquaman as a superhero team for the ages. It looks fun, unlike Batman v Superman, and just three minutes of clips already erases a lot of the damage of the last film. Here’s hoping, at least. It’s due out in November 2017, though.
And Wonder Woman too
Wonder Woman was one of the rare positives about Batman v Superman, and lo and behold, her upcoming standalone film looks extremely promising based on this first official trailer. It has something of a Captain America vibe, given the setting, but is packed full of big action moments and great dialogue.
Marvel still hasn’t been bothered to give Black Widow her own film, yet DC has seemingly had no problem giving this badass heroine a proper showcase of her talents. Granted, great trailers don’t always mean great films, but we’re excited to see how Wonder Woman turns out come June 2017.
Sonic goes 16-bit again
What’s old is hot again in gaming, and the former "big two" are mining their classics for new thrills. Nintendo has its NES Classic coming this holiday season, and now Sega has unveiled Sonic Mania, a new 2D entry that looks like it could’ve run on a Mega Drive/Genesis back when.
Sonic Mania keeps the old-school approach and offers a mix of brand new zones, remixed classic areas, a new Drop Dash move, and the three classic playable heroes. For anyone who has demanded that Sega go back to basics with Sonic, here’s the ultimate realization of that. It’s due out in 2017 for Xbox One, PS4, and PC.
And 3D too
That’s not all for Sonic in 2017: at Friday night’s 25th anniversary event, Sega also unveiled a teaser for next year’s new 3D Sonic the Hedgehog entry, which apparently stars multiple versions of Sonic in a more serious, darker experience.
Sonic‘s modern adventures have been strongly hit-or-miss, so while Sonic Mania is easy to get excited about, we can’t help but be a lot more reserved about what we’re seeing here. Hopefully it’ll be the 3D reboot that Sonic needs – and this one’s coming to Nintendo’s new NX console, too, in addition to Xbox One, PS4, and PC. Expect it later next year.
Also Read › The 30 most anticipated games of 2016
Star Trek TV = Discovery
Star Trek Beyond opened in cinemas this weekend, with strong reviews and a solid box office performance so far, but CBS is turning the series’ attentions next towards TV – and the new series will be titled Star Trek Discovery, as we found out at Comic-Con this weekend.
Discovery will air on the CBS All Access subscription service in North America, but luckily for everyone else, the international episodes will arrive on Netflix. Executive Producer Bryan Fuller says to expect larger story arcs rather than primarily self-contained episodes, and the teaser above showcases the new U.S.S. Discovery ship on the show. The first episode arrives in January 2017.
First look at Kong: Skull Island
Peter Jackson’s reboot didn’t stick, apparently, because King Kong is getting a fresh start next spring with Kong: Skull Island. And as this first trailer shows, it looks pretty spectacular, setting up an intense new origin story for the gigantic gorilla.
Surprisingly, it’s set in the same universe as 2014’s Godzilla, and is the next step that will ultimately lead to a Godzilla vs Kong film in 2020 (after the Godzilla sequel). With a killer cast headlined by the likes of Samuel L. Jackson, Brie Larson, and Tom Hiddleston, Skull Island seems to be well on its way to delivering big monster thrills come March 2017.
Also Read › The 15 best sci-fi movies on Netflix
New Doctor Strange trailer
Doctor Strange is a very different kind of film for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, shifting away from the superhero slant for a bit to dive into some mystic madness. And with this new trailer, we finally get a glimpse of the kind of chaos and action we can expect from this autumn’s release.
The folding city scenes still seem too obviously inspired by Inception, but Marvel’s got a killer cast here – including Benedict Cumberbatch and Tilda Swinton – and they rarely misfire. Also, that parting joke is brilliant enough to secure our place in line come 4 November.
Marvel Studios Updates
Marvel Studios didn’t have any Justice League-like surprises for its upcoming Cinematic Universe films at Comic-Con, but we did get a lot of little details about some of them.
For example, some Spider-Man Homecoming footage was shown (but sadly not posted online), and we learned that classic comic villain The Vulture will be the main enemy in the flick. That’s concept art up above. Also, Brie Larson – who won the Academy Award last year for her role in Room – will officially play lead Carol Danvers in 2019’s Captain Marvel.
Also, the upcoming Thor: Ragnarok and Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2 both got awesome new logos that look like they were ripped off of ’80s VHS tape cases – and both showed video footage, as well, which still isn’t online. Marvel, you tease!
Marvel’s X-Men show
Marvel may not have the X-Men as part of its Cinematic Universe (it’s under Fox’s command), but they’ve worked out a deal to bring a spinoff series to U.S. network FX – and based on this first trailer, Legion looks totally crazy. In a really, really good way.
Lead David Haller has been diagnosed schizophrenic, but clearly has some incredibly mutant powers – and with Noah Hawley, creator of the amazing Fargo TV series, running the show, Legion is sure to be a wild ride. It’s coming in early 2017, and surely it’ll air in the UK in one way or another.
Luke Cage is coming
Comic hero Luke Cage ended up being one of the highlights of the excellent first season of Marvel and Netflix’s Jessica Jones, and now he’s getting his own series in just a couple months.
Mike Colter reprises his role as the ultra-strong, nearly-impenetrable New York Hero, and the Wu-Tang Clan-assisted trailer here does a nice job of setting up Cage’s own starring turn. Mark your calendars now: the full first season drops on 30 September.
Also Read › New on Netflix UK
And Iron Fist is next
Netflix and Marvel aren’t stopping there, either: sometime after Luke Cage, the dynamic media duo will debut Iron Fist, another series in the same cinematic universe.
Iron Fist is a martial arts master who can call on a mystical power, which sounds a bit less grounded than the other Netflix/Marvel series. Still, he’s shared the page with Luke Cage a lot in the comics, and the wider Marvel Cinematic Universe certainly has its larger-than-life elements. Iron Fist is set to debut in 2017.
The Defenders, too
Of course, anyone who has been following the development of these series knows that it’s all adding up to The Defenders, a crossover series that will bring together Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron First for an Avengers-esque superhero squad.
This teaser doesn’t really show anything, unfortunately, but it does set the stage for the merging of these heroes’ individual storylines, not to mention the collective threat that they face. The Defenders won’t air until next year, and if we had to guess based on all the separate series in the works, we’d guess later in the year.
Also Read › The 40 best things to watch on Netflix UK
Also, Daredevil season 3
Not enough Marvel/Netflix news for you? Here’s another exciting tidbit: Daredevil has been officially renewed for a third season of ultra-sensory beatdowns, following this spring’s explosive second season.
For now, the teaser simply says that it’s "coming soon," but next spring seems a likely target. Jessica Jones was already renewed for its second season, which could land in the same kind of timeframe, plus there’s a standalone series based on The Punisher in the works. Luckily, we’re not tired of any of this (yet).
Sherlock Series 4 trailer
What, Doctor Strange isn’t enough Cumberbatch for you? Well, then feast your eyes on the return of his most iconic role to date, with the first look at series four of Sherlock.
It promises to be the darkest season to date, according to Cumberbatch and the series co-creators at the Comic-Con panel, and it seems to tease the return of the vicious Moriarty. Naturally, the trailer manages to leave plenty of mystery for once the series actually airs, which sadly won’t be until 2017. Plenty of time to re-watch the first three series, then.
The Walking Dead S7 trailer
Last season of The Walking Dead ended with a grim cliffhanger: the infamous Negan would pick one of the group to beat to death with his barbed-wire bat, and it could well be a major character. We don’t now, which is why it’s such a nail-biter of a conclusion.
Sadly, this first season 7 trailer doesn’t spill the beans – we’ll have to wait for October to see how it all goes down. But it does show some fresh sights and characters for the series, some of which will no doubt be familiar to fans of the original comics.
Also Read › The 10 movies we’re most excited about this year
New Lego Batman trailer
The Lego Movie was pretty amazing, and Will Arnett’s Batman was one of the best parts of it. Surprise, surprise: The Lego Batman Movie is also shaping up pretty spectacularly, based on the trailers released so far, with the Comic-Con one delivering the biggest laughs yet.
Here we see the hilarious introduction of Robin, some perfect costume gags, and even a look at The Joker – all in faux-plastic, of course. Justice League had a strong showing at Comic-Con, but this could be next year’s Batman flick to beat. It releases on 10 February.
Mr. Robot goes VR
Having fun watching Mr. Robot, the twisted, Fight Club-esque hacker drama (airing via Amazon in the UK)? Given the technological bent, a VR experience seemed pretty appropriate – and sure enough, one debuted at Comic-Con this week.
In fact, it was briefly available via the Within app on the Oculus Store on Thursday, but it has since been pulled to allow Comic-Con attendees to have the semi-exclusive for the weekend. Luckily, the 12-minute narrative experience will apparently be available across VR platforms again starting next week.
Marvel Ultimate Alliance returns
Some of the best Marvel Comics games of yesteryear – the two Marvel Ultimate Alliance entries – are coming back on Tuesday, 26 July with newly remastered versions for Xbox One, PS4, and PC. The top-down beat-’em-up entries showcased huge rosters of characters and RPG-like upgrades, providing a wealth of replay value and plenty of amusing comic book action.
And Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 is based on the Civil War comic arc, which was remixed for this year’s Captain America: Civil War film. They won’t be cheap, though, for several-year-old games: they’ll sell for US$40 (about £30) apiece or US$60 (about £45) for the two-pack.
Andrew Hayward
Freelance Writer 
