As expected, San Diego Comic-Con was the epicenter of the entertainment world last weekend. Countless announcements were made by TV shows, film studios, video game developers and more. Let’s jump into some of the most newsworthy panels we experienced at the convention.

 

Warner Bros and DC Extended Universe 

This panel was the highlight of the weekend for DC Comics fans. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson showed up to premiere a new trailer for Black Adam, and Zachary Levi was on hand to unveil the trailer for the Shazam! sequel. 

Black Adam director Jaume Collet-Serra was also on hand. He said, “I love the unusual origin story for him [Black Adam]. He was a slave given these powers, but he’s awakened 5,000 years later. He’s like a Dirty Harry character; he breaks the system down and does the unconventional thing. There’s also a sense of family, which is something DJ [Johnson] values very much. Also, these movies are very challenging. You have to outdo the last, but the technology is always getting better. And DJ pushed us to do it differently and, hopefully, blow people’s minds.”

Also, Johnson was on the receiving end of a smattering of boos after he was asked who would win in a fight: Black Adam or Superman? “That’s a great question. Don’t threaten me with a good time, cause I’m going to answer that question,” said Johnson. “Well, I will say, as you guys know, because we’re all in deep with this mythology, and it’s been an age-old question of who would win a fight between Black Adam and Superman. Pound for pound, they’re pretty close. I guess it probably all depends on who is playing Superman; I’m just going to say that. I’ll leave it at that.” He exuded a confidence that made it seem like Black Adam would win, making Superman fans pretty unhappy.

 

 

‘Star Trek’ Universe

Star Trek fans were delighted to see the cast and executive producers of Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek: Lower Decks and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds as they talked about the latest seasons of the shows and what the future holds. Sir Patrick Stewart was definitely the star of the panel. 

 

‘The Sandman’

The Sandman is widely considered one of the best (if not the best) graphic novels of all-time ever since the first issue came out back in 1989. As a result, countless adaptations to the big screen and small screen have been attempted by studios, but there hasn’t been much luck…until now. Finally, 33 years after Neil Gaiman and DC Comics first published The Sandman, a TV adaptation is being released. Fans of the graphic novel seem to be equal parts excited and nervous that the Netflix TV series maynot live up to their high expectations. However, the nervousness was completely absent at Comic Con, as the cast and crew of the show whipped the crowd into a frenzy with a trailer for the show.

 

Kirby Howell-Baptiste plays Death in The Sandman. It was really interesting to hear her talk about how she put herself into the right mindset to play Death and be able to give it a convincing human form.

Howell-Baptiste said, “I spent an incredibly long time looking at relationships with death around the world. I became very obsessed with entities that guide people from this life to the next and that there could be dignity in death. I got to take from the page what I think so many people related to. When you’re in your final moments, you want to be comforted. It was an amazing opportunity.”

 

Keanu Reeves’ ‘BRZRKR’

 

Did you know that Keanu Reeves has a comic book? He co-writes BRZRKR with Ron Garney. B,  who is e half-man and half-god, is the star of the story. B has been alive for centuries, and he’s been wandering aimlessly until the American government enlists him to fight their battles for him. He has no idea how he became this half-god, half-man, and his deal with the government is supposed to provide him with the truth about his history.

During the panel, Reeves said, “I had this idea of a character, who can punch you through the chest and rip arms off, who was cursed with violence, trying to figure out who they are and reclaim their humanity.”

Netflix is currently developing a film adaptation of BRZRKR as well as an anime series. Reeves is set to star in both the film and the anime series. This seems like a perfect career move for a man who has blown the world away as John Wick. 

———-

Here are some of the other panels that stood out to us during Comic Con:

  • Marvel Studios: Animation – If you watched the X-Men cartoon in the 90s, then this panel was for you. Marvel Studios is developing a spinoff of the series called X-Men 97. Magneto is going to be the leader of the X-Men in the spinoff!
  • The Players of Mythic Quest – This panel was hilarious. Mythic Quest is one of the funniest shows on TV, and this panel had us in stitches. The cast is hilarious in person. It was awesome hearing about what they’ve got lined up for season 3.
  • Paper Girls – The Paper Girls comic book features four 12-year-old newspaper delivery girls who are on a mission to save the world from a mysterious invasion. Amazon Prime is producing a TV adaptation of the comic, and we can’t wait to watch the premiere.

Also, don’t forget to check out our recaps of these panels: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, and House of the Dragon.