Tag Archives: SDCC

Fox teases Comic Con presence with fresh series posters

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Fox is taking a number of its most vital series to San Diego Comic Con next week and to celebrate their imminent arrival the network released key art hyping the new seasons of shows like Sleepy Hollow, The Following, and Family Guy. New series Gotham and Wayward Pines are also included in the mix. Long-running animated series The Simpsons is accounted for twice; one to celebrate the show’s 25th anniversary, and the other promotes the anticipated crossover with Family Guy. Check ’em all out in the gallery below.

[Via EW]

Comic Con 2012: ‘FRINGE’ season 5 preview (a movie in the works?!)

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“It’s only 13 episodes so I’m going to be careful with what I say because I really want you guys to experience it. I’m going to be tight lipped.” Fringe sole showrunner J.H. Wyman warned fans early on that the show’s panel would not spoil anything for fans eagerly anticipating the sci-fi drama’s fifth and final season. He did, however, shed light on when exactly he finally decided on how the show would end. Ideas were already brewing during season one, “but those change because people bring things to the pie that you don’t expect. I had two and a half versions of what I should do at the end and I decided about a month ago.” He also teased fans by saying that he’s already told the cast members how things will conclude. “We want to write the scripts early to make sure everything is absolutely perfect. If I’m doing that, I wanted to make sure the actors had enough time to bring their ideas and to know where they are going for the final season. I want to make sure they had enough advance warning.” The only thing that Wyman would spill is that the season 5 premiere will take place in the year 2036 and is “going to pick up exactly where we left off in [episode] 419, the next day.”

Other tidbits… Wyman would not confirm nor deny the return of Henry Ian Cusack’s character; and we will soon learn why we have yet to see female Observers. Interesting, yes.

Without diving deep into where season five will go, the Fringe panel mostly reminisced about the past four seasons and at one point looking back made Jasika Nicole (Astrid), Anna Torv (Olivia), and even Lance Reddick (Broyles) cry like babies.

“The characters don’t end when the show ends,” said Josh Jackson (Peter). Two items so worth mentioning spring from this statement. Wyman announced that a book will release after the show ends; it will tell a tale through the perspective of our friend September the Observer. “We are trying to give you guys back so much because without you, we would not be here,” Wyman said to the cheering fanbase.

And then there’s this bombshell. When a fan asked if the show will survive after the fifth season airs, John Noble (Walter) responded like this: “Anything is possible. If this season goes off as we think it will, I would think a film is very possible down the track.” Added Jackson, “The show will live on in some form or another.” These are actors talking here, not network execs or movie studios, and so this must be taken with a grain of salt. But still, knowing that the actors are just as passionate as the fans are that they’d even mention such an exciting idea should make you feel good inside no matter what happens.

With all those words out of the way, indulge yourself with the season 5 preview trailer that’s embedded above. Most of it contains highlights from last season, especially from pivotal episode 419. But there’s also some new stuff sprinkled in that’ll get you going. Fun fact: Wyman says that this video was used to sell a fifth season to FOX. The cult fanbase had its say, of course, and for that Wyman and the entire cast of the show forever remains grateful.

In the future Olivia will join Walter, Peter, Astrid, Henrietta, and even Belly in the fight against the Observers. “We need to keep those bald-headed basterds occupied,” says Peter. “What’d you have in mind?” Olivia asks. “I think it’s time we caused a few fringe events of our own,” Peter replies. But it is Walter’s new line that takes the licorice-lined cake: “I know what we need to do. I know how to rid our world of the Observers.” BOOM.

Fringe returns Friday, September 28 at 9PM on FOX.

Update: Major kudos awarded to Warner Bros. for posting the Fringe panel in its entirety to YouTube in glorious high definition! Watch the waterworks fly in the video link provided here. Also inside you’ll be privy to a Comic Con exclusive video made by the Fringe team for the fans; it spectacularly highlights some of the best moments of the show over the course of the past four seasons and tees things up for the final thirteen. Pick an hour out of your day and WATCH IT.

Comic Con 2012: ‘The Walking Dead’ season 3 trailer inside

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The Walking Dead returns October 14 at 9PM on AMC. And here’s your very first look at season three! While Rick and his gang attempt to penetrate the prison merely teased at the end of last season, Andrea and Michonne are captured by next season’s villain known as The Governor and are brought to a town called Woodbury. There will come a time when these storylines cross and Rick will face off with The Governor as our hero won’t easily give up their newfound home. “I’m not giving up this prison. We took it, it’s ours. We split blood. If we see you out here, anywhere near our people, I’ll kill you,” snarls a gruffy Rick Grimes. Speaking of appearances, you’ll surely notice that Rick is overdue for a haircut and shave and the former goes for his son Carl too; and old man Hershel is rocking one helleva white beard. What else? David Morrissey’s Governor comes off as an inviting fellow in this teaser; obviously everything is not as it seems here. “I don’t trust him,” Michonne whispers to Andrea in that perfect little town of his. And then, at the very end, Merle returns in the flesh this time. Dontcha like what he did with his stub?

Jump after the break to see The Walking Dead Comic Con banner. It features Rick with a hoard of zombies creeping behind him, Michonne with her zombie slaves wielding her katana sword, and The Governor offering his hand with that mysterious helicopter flying in the skies above him. “May-day, May-day!” the soldiers controlling the ‘copter scream in the clip. Is it the same one Rick saw recently? The questions pile on as anticipation ramps up like never before. Is it October yet? Continue reading Comic Con 2012: ‘The Walking Dead’ season 3 trailer inside →

Comic Con 2012: ‘Once Upon A Time’ teases new fairytale characters for season 2

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The second season of ABC’s Once Upon A Time is already proving to be more magical than the first. At the show’s Comic Con panel attendees got a glimpse into what’s in store for the citizens of Storybrooke. In a brief teaser for the upcoming season, little Henry warns that “bad things are still happening in Storybrooke” and proof follows: Captain Hook from Peter Pan fame breaks into Mr. Gold’s pawn shop to retrieve what is his. Now that the citizens of the mysterious Maine town remember their past lives in fairytale land perhaps Mr. Gold should upgrade his security. The season 2 preview is embedded above.

During the panel which consisted of executive producers Eddie Kitsis and Adam Horowitz and many of the show’s stars, it was shared that season 2 will reveal the identity of Henry’s father, Dr. Whale’s fairytale character, and the fate of Rumpelstiltskin’s son Bae. Also, “the show this year is not going to change from the one you loved last year,” Kitsis reassured fans. We will still be shifting back and forth from fairytale land and Storybrooke even though magic has been introduced into the latter locale. He also made it a point to say that even though the Storybrooke residents remember their true fairytale identities, their Storybrooke memories do not fade away.

Two more videos were screened at the panel. One is a clip that contains all of season 1’s title sequences plus a few new ones coming soon in season 2 (spoiler: Mulan, Sleeping Beauty, and Jack (from Jack and the Beanstalk) will be introduced). The third video is a parody of online dating services called Singlebrooke that features Once‘s main characters discussing what they look for in the perfect mate; funny stuff. Check these out after the break. Continue reading Comic Con 2012: ‘Once Upon A Time’ teases new fairytale characters for season 2 →

Comic Con 2012: ‘Game of Thrones’ season 3 lands a March 2013 premiere date, new cast members introduced

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Game of Thrones season two just ended last month so what better way to bide your time than by marking your calendars with the season three premiere date. Ready? Here it is: March 31, 2013.

Other than announcing this special day, the Game of Thrones panel at Comic Con moderated by author George R.R. Martin included a five-and-a-half minute recap of the epic second season and a brief introduction to (a whopping) 14 new characters we will be forced to know next season. The former video is embedded above while the latter one hangs after the break. Under that video there’s a listing of all the new characters explaining how they’re each tied to the ones we already know. Continue reading Comic Con 2012: ‘Game of Thrones’ season 3 lands a March 2013 premiere date, new cast members introduced →

Comic Con 2012: Marvel dates new ‘Thor’ and ‘Captain America’ movies, announces ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ and ‘Ant-Man’

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The Marvel panel at Comic Con made some major announcements concerning its upcoming movie projects. The next slate of movies set in the Marvel Comics universe is being referred to as “Phase Two.” Without further ado…

Iron Man 3, directed by Shane Black (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang), is out May 3, 2013.

Thor: The Dark World, directed by Alan Taylor (Game of Thrones), is out November 8, 2013.

Captain America: The Winter Solider is out April 4, 2014.

Guardians of the Galaxy is out August 1, 2014.

Ant-Man, directed by Edgar Wright (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World) does not have a release date yet.

There’s the “Phase Two” lineup. At the panel, footage from Black’s Iron Man 3 rallied fans with the introduction of Tony Stark’s new nanobot technology that allows him to remotely suit up and a first look at the movie’s villain Mandarin played by Ben Kingsley. For Guardians of the Galaxy, Marvel detailed the five superheros who make up this new (potential franchise-worthy) team and they are Drax The Destroyer, Groot, Star-Lord, Rocket Racoon, and Gamora; see them all depicted above. What will likely connect this team to the one we already know (read: The Avengers) is that it is Drax’s ultimate mission to defeat Thanos, the yellowish grinning alien seen in the post-credits scene during The Avengers. For Ant-Man, Wright showed off test footage of the superhero who can grow extremely tiny and immensely large at will. Wright exclaimed, “Ant-Man will kick you ass one inch at a time.”

Check out the logos for all of the “Phase Two” Marvel movies in the gallery below. Download hi-res versions at Marvel.

Comic Con 2012: New look at Zack Snyder’s ‘Man of Steel’

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Director Zack Snyder and star Henry Cavill took part in the Man of Steel panel at Comic Con last week. There they unveiled footage from the flick as well as the Comic Con branded poster seen above. Snyder says that fans will get a taste of the footage Con attendees were privy to when The Dark Knight Rises hits theatres this Thursday; a teaser trailer for the upcoming Super-Man reboot will play before Christopher Nolan’s anticipated conclusion to his Batman trilogy. The teaser will be uploaded here once it hits the ‘Net.

Snyder and Cavill made it a point to say that their mission with this new Superman is to make him relatable. “How would you feel if you were Superman?” Snyder posed to the excitable crowd.

Man of Steel is out next summer.

COMIC CON 2009: Wrap-Up

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Comic Con 2009 in San Diego has come and gone very quickly.  Although much went on at the show over the four day span, I will summarize the panels I saw and the time I spent on the convention show floor.

The first movie panel I saw was Disney: 3D Panel.  At the panel three upcoming Disney movies were shown off: “Disney’s A Christmas Carol,” Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland,” and “Tron: Legacy.”  In sum, each movie is being made to be seen enhanced in 3D, and this will provide for stunning visuals and a great experience at the theatre.  All three films will likely become very popular over the next few months as the hype for them beings to gain momentum post-Comic Con.  Personally, I am most looking forward to “Alice in Wonderland.”  I am a big fan on Tim Burton, and collaboration between him and Johnny Depp often leads to great filmmaking and exciting adventures.  The first official trailer (exclusive to Comic Con) looks amazing; the colors are vibrant, the soundtrack is perfect, and the acting looks to be supurb.  Disney has some great movies up their sleeves; I look forward with much anticipation to the upcoming 3D releases of these movies.

The second movie panel I attended was Sony Pictures Animation’s “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.”  Directors Chirs Miller and Phil Lord are young, hip guys who had tons of fun making this classic children’s book story come to life on the big screen.  With voices coming from the hilarious Bill Hader, Andy Samberg, and Anna Farris, “Cloudy” looks like a very fun film for young and old alike.  The animation has a cartoonish visual style to it with a mix of realism.  This imaginative tale of raining hamburgers and pancakes is something I am very much looking forward to seeing soon.

I attended one web series panel and one celebration of a past web series.  I sat on The GuildPanel which featured creator Felicia Day.  Season 3 of “The Guild” looks to be as funny, if not funnier, than the previous two seasons.  Felicia is leading the way in the evolution of how people watch original programming.  As TV shows make the move from the TV to the computer, things start to get tricky concerning money transactions and commercials.  Felicia keeps things simple by being sponsored by companies (Microsoft and Sprint), which allows her to reach different audiences on various mediums (Xbox Live, the Internet (MSN, YouTube) and share her creations for free.  “The Guild” is a very well written and hilarious web series, and I look forward to watching Season 3 and where “The Guild” will go from there in the future.

During late night at Comic Con, I sat in a room filled with tons of “Dr. Horrible Sing-Along Blog” fans and watched the entire screening of all three Acts and the DVD special, “Commentary! The Musical.”  “Dr. Horrible” is a web series created by the brilliant Joss Whedon (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Dollhouse”).  It gained much fanfare when it was originally released on its website, available free to stream online.  The talented cast includes Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillion, and “The Guild’s” Felicia Day.  It is very, very well written and laugh out loud hilarious.  Watching the three Acts with many fans joining me in singing the songs and speaking the dialogue verbatim was very special.  Joss Whedon, and other “Dr. Horrible” contributors, revealed that they hold this series very close to their hearts and that they would be remiss not to continue it with a sequel sometime soon.

Then began the numerous TV panels.  I attended two new TV show panels and and five other show panels.  First up was “FlashForward.”  I cannot reiterate this enough: FlashForward is going to be the next big network TV show.  It pulls off all the stops: a great plot-line, a talented main cast, renowned writers and producers, and a well-developed hype train with tons of followers already.  With Lost off the air (gasp!) after this season, ABC found its next “shrowded-in-mystery” show with FlashForward.  Next was the new Fox show called “Glee.”  Glee is a very special show in that it is very difficult to compare it to anything else on air.  It incorporate various methods of storytelling including music and dance, involves many genres like drama and comedy, and it moves at an unconventional pace.  If something is expected to happen plot-wise, it is going to happen much sooner rather than later; this keeps things exciting and allows for new ideas and plotlines to form on a weekly basis.  After having watched the preview and premiere (Comic Con exclusive) episodes of Glee, I can assure you that this is a show you do not want to miss.  You have your CSIs, your reality shows…and now you will have Glee–a show that may very well invent its own type of genre and change the way stories are told.

I also attended TV panels for 24, The Big Bang Theory, Dollhouse, Lost, and Fringe.  24 Season 8 looks great.  Jack Bauer is back and there is a new threat, this time sprouting from the idea of possible world peace.  The second season of The Big Bang Theory will find Leonard, Sheldon, and crew funnier than ever and placed in more awkward situations that will lead to new directions  in the overall plot and relationships between the characters.  Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse Season 2 will likely land Dollhouse much better ratings this time around as Joss has now had the time to introduce the main story arc.  Layers of the dollhouse will be revealed and images of a post-apocalyptic future will change the direction of the show (but will keep the original storyline intact).  Lost begins its final season this winter and the show’s producers and cast members are excited for the big reveals ahead.  Everything will come full circle as Season 6 will harken back to concepts originally portrayed in Season 1, and we will see old characters revisit us in some form or other.  And then there is Fringe.  Fringe Season 2 will continue where Season 1 left off.  We will learn more secrets about the world of the alternate universe, and some characters will come to learn the truths about themselves as an oncoming war starts to brew.

On the convention show floor I visited many booths.  Some of them include video game booths like Microsoft, Sony, and EA; TV networks like G4, Fox, and WB; collectibles and figurines.  What I found most interesting on the show floor was the enormous showing of all the aforementioned booths and the lack of stations for what the convention was named after: comics!  There was a section towards the front of the show floor that contained many comic book booths and stations set up.  Also, many of the booths throughout the entire floor were showing off things inspired from comic books.  When you look at the big picture, though, what you come to find is that Comic Con has been taken over by TV networks, film studios, and other things that simply are not comics.  Granted, many of the movies and TV shows on the show floor and panels relate to sci-fi and other comic book-type genres.  No matter how you look at it, Comic Con has changed greatly from its original form.  For some, this change has had a negative effect on them.  They go to Comic Con for the comics and comic book-related material from DC, Marvel, and more.  For others (like me, in particular), I am highly enjoying the growth of Comic Con from a comics-only convention to a much larger venue that brings together fans of all mediums of entertainment that go beyond the comic book that include television, movies, and video games.  Comic Con has become a celebration of art in entertainment, and I am proud to be apart of it.