SDCC Superhero Trailers and News
By: RogueSymbiote
San Diego Comic Con is upon us once again and delivered some impressive announcements and trailers. Hall H this year did not disappoint. While there are plenty of trailers to talk about, I'll be focusing on just a few of the major comic book movie trailer drops. Let's get started!
Thor: Ragnarok
Ragnarok marks the 3rd Thor film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Following a less than impressive film with Thor: The Dark World, Marvel has turned to an especially unique director. Taika Waititi is clearly bringing his artistic and comedic style to the MCU. Waititi's recent work includes What We Do In the Shadows and the acclaimed Hunt for the Wilderpeople. Both of which you should watch immediately if you have not already.The trailer is absolutely jammed packed with action, humor and a visual style unlike another other film in the MCU. Hela, played by a menacing Cate Blanchett, has invaded Asgard and threatens to destroy all. Without his hammer, Thor seems to be no match for Hela and finds himself on another planet, fighting for his life in a gladiator pit. After somehow escaping the arena, Thor recruits Bruce Banner/Hulk, Loki, and Valkyrie to face off against the imposing Hela.
Now lets talk about some key moments from the trailer. Hela looks beastly. I'm very hopeful that we'll get another great villainous performance after Keaton in Spider-man: Homecoming. We already knew this, but... this film will be an amalgamation of the Thor Ragnarok and Planet Hulk comic runs. Inevitable destruction from Hela, mixed with an epic uprising of a new team. I'm hoping we'll get to see Korg and Miek in more than just a cameo. If you don't recognize those names, do yourself a favor and go read Planet Hulk immediately... you'll thank me later. Next major reveal is how epic Thor is about to become. We finally see Thor go full on Raiden from Mortal Kombat and it looks glorious. Is he just coming into his own power or does he have a little help from an infinity stone???One major plot point from Planet Hulk is Hulk's increased intelligence. We get to see the mean green machine truly speak more than two words at a time. This opens up a lot of creative direction for the film. And finally, we get the big reveal of the fire demon Surtur. Does this mean Surtur and Hela team up?... maybe, but who cares! Look how cool that shot of Hulk flying at Surtur is![arve url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ue80QwXMRHg" /]
Avengers: Infinity War (D23)
I know that this trailer was shown at D23, but I can't talk about Marvel trailers without mentioning the movie that the MCU has building up to since 2008. Marvel has yet to officially release this trailer, but there have been a few leaks the past 2 days. I was lucky enough to watch the full trailer while it was still available. The trailer begins with Thor landing on the Milano, the ship for the Guardians of the Galaxy. This might mean that things don't go very well for Thor in Ragnarok, but that just adds intrigue to the film. Thor will most likely serve as the connection for the Guardians to the other heroes on Earth.We see Dr. Strange generating stepping seals for Star-Lord during a battle. Spider-Man is dawning the Iron Spider suit that was shown during the final moments of Spider-Man: Homecoming. Peter is shown wounded and apologizes to Tony for not doing better. Thanks makes his way through a portal and wields the infinity gauntlet. He uses the gauntlet to rain down destruction on the massive line-up of heroes. Black Panther, the Hulkbuster armor, Black Widow, Vision and Winter Soldier are also shown throughout the trailer. Keep an eye out for any other leaks because this trailer is amazing. Hopefully it will get an official release soon.
Justice League
It's safe to say that the DCEU has had some ups and downs. Following the success of Wonder Woman, I am hopeful that Warner Bros has found the creative team to generate quality DC films. The newest trailer for Justice League shows there will be quite a bit more humor than Batman v Superman thanks to Jason Momoa's Aquaman and Ezra Miller's Flash. Their charisma and comedic timing are very much appreciated. We learn that Batman has been a no show since the death of Superman. Wonder Woman is taking on thugs while maintaining a job restoring art. A mother box has been activated and it appears as though Steppenwolf has descended upon Earth.The voiceover work mentions that Earth has "no lanterns" which hints that we may see Green Lantern sooner that expected, but I'll talk more about that in just a minute. We see the team join together and show fear in the face of absolute destruction. The Flash explains that he's never even fought before but rather "just pushed some people and run away." Cyborg shows off his various abilities with flight and merging with other forms of technology. It also appears that Queen Hippolyta and her Amazons will be joining the fight as well. The trailer ends with Alfred talking to someone in the Batcave about finally showing up. It most likely be Superman returning from the grave, BUT some speculate that it might be Green Lantern. Why water would shake when he walks into the room I don't know, but there is a clear bright green reflexion in Alfred's glasses as he speaks the off screen mystery man? woman? I guess we'll find out on November 17th![arve url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_6yBZKj-eo&feature=youtu.be" /]
Flash(point) Solo Film
Warner Bros dropped another big announcement that the solo Flash movie would be titled Flashpoint. Any DC comic fan immediately recognizes that title as the fantastic Flash comic run written by Geoff Johns back in 2011. This iconic story centers around Barry Allen waking up in a world where he no longer has his powers, his mother is alive, and the Justice League isn't quite what it used to be... I'm going to preface the rest of this section by saying there will be spoilers for the Flashpoint comic so if you want to be completely surprised by the film, best to stop reading right... about... now! When I saw Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Lauren Cohan has Thomas and Martha Wayne in Batman v Superman, my first thought was "wow... those are some high profile actors to just play quick one-off cameos." I had just recently read Flashpoint at the time and it clicked. In Flashpoint, Bruce dies in the alley rather than Thomas and Martha. They both break and Thomas becomes as brutalizing Batman while Martha loses her mind and becomes the Joker. It is an amazingly heartbreaking alternate reality that Barry attempts to make right. The story is full of loss, anger, fear and love. It also allows the DCEU to explore different versions of their characters which will keep things very fresh for audiences. If this film is done right, it could be an absolute masterpiece.
One last announcement... Blumhouse Productions has paired up with Todd McFarlane to bring us an R-rated Spawn film. While there are plenty of other major trailer drops from this past week to be excited about, these few stand out in a major way. Comic book movies are alive and well!
