This year’s San Diego Comic-Con looked quite different thanks to everything being held virtually. There was no Hall H or even Ballroom 20 this year, but Zoom panels and YouTube streams. Most movie studios decided to bow out this year, preferring, like Warner Bros., to hold their own convention later, or, like Marvel, to mostly skip this year entirely.
Still, that doesn’t mean there wasn’t some exciting news and plenty of footage and trailers, even if it wasn’t for movies as in years past. Here’s your roundup of the highlights from this year’s Comic-Con@Home.
1. The ‘New Mutants’ Panel Brought The Opening Scene
The cast of Fox’s The New Mutants and director Josh Boone did a virtual panel for the upcoming movie, which is still scheduled to hit theaters on August 28th. They acknowledged the rollercoaster history of getting their movie to theaters, occasionally poking fun of themselves just like fans. But, after thanking “the most patient fans in the world,” director Josh Boone explained they’d brought something to tide fans over until then: the opening scene of The New Mutants along with some extended footage. Check it out:
2. Phoebe Waller-Bridge Voicing Andrew Scott’s Daemon In ‘His Dark Materials’ Season 2
Fans will get a mini-reunion of sorts in His Dark Materials Season 2 when Fleabag and the Hot Priest are reunited – sorta. It was revealed during HBO’s His Dark Materials panel that Phoebe Waller-Bridge will voice Andrew Scott’s daemon in the second season of the show adapted from Phillip Pullman’s beloved novels. How perfect is that? They also brought along a trailer for the second season:
3. G4 – Yes, That G4 – Is Apparently Coming Back
For a few years, at least until the plug was pulled and it stopped broadcasting in 2014, the G4 network was a must-stop destination for gamers and anyone interested in video game culture. But IGN, who hosted portions of Comic-Con@Home, revealed a curious thing: a teaser trailer for the network that appeared shortly after on various Twitter accounts associated with the network, including the @G4TV account miraculously resurrecting from the dead.
No one actually knows what it means yet. Is it coming back as a TV network? A YouTube channel? In some other form entirely? No one knows. But one thing’s for certain: In some form, G4 is back.
4. Marvel’s ‘Helstrom’ Will Premiere October 16th On Hulu
After it seeming to be in production forever, the Helstrom panel brought news that the series will debut on Hulu on October 16th. The very last Marvel Television show to make it under the wire before the TV arm was largely disbanded and rolled into Marvel Studios under the direction of Kevin Feige, it’s likely the last Marvel TV series we’ll see outside of Disney+ for a while, if not forever. Curiosity is high, and the cast and showrunner brought along a teaser trailer for the series.
What do you think? Hopefully, the quality is more Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., less Inhumans. In any case, we’re looking forward to watching Marvel Television’s last independent project.
5. HBO Drops Final Trailer For ‘Lovecraft County’
HBO was busy at this year’s Comic-Con, with a number of its prestige shows having panels. One of those is dark fantasy/horror series, Lovecraft County, based on the 2016 novel of the same name by Matt Ruff. The book and series weave together the real-life horrors of racism in the 1950s with monstrous, Lovecraftian horrors of the supernatural sort. They revealed the final trailer during the panel and if we weren’t in before, we are now.
An HBO series with Jordan Peele and J.J. Abrams as two of the producers? Consider us hyped.
6. Keanu Reeves Had A Busy Convention
Everyone’s favorite human, Keanu Reeves, had not one, but two panels this weekend. His first was a semi-reunion for Constantine‘s 15th anniversary with him, director Francis Lawrence and producer Akiva Goldsman. But his main panel was for Bill & Ted Face the Music. Host Kevin Smith, who got the chance to see the movie beforehand, said it was surprisingly heartfelt and touching, and that Bill and Ted grow up in a perfect sort of way.
Franchise newcomers Samara Weaving, who plays Thea, Bill’s daughter, and Brigette Lundy-Paine, who plays Billie, Ted daughter, were both unfamiliar with the Bill & Ted franchise prior to auditioning. But both grew to learn what cultural touchstones the movies and characters were for an entire generation of Americans, and they’re both stoked to honor the franchise’s legacy. As for Reeves and co-star Alex Winter, they said there was a moment on set that they were riffing and suddenly looked at each other and high-fived, saying, “Bill and Ted are back!”
We’re looking forward to this one, which hits theaters and PVOD on Tuesday, September 1st.
7. ‘The Walking Dead’ Season 10 Finale Finally Drops On October 4th
Thanks to the coronavirus shutdown, multiple shows have had their seasons disrupted. Fans of AMC’s The Walking Dead have been waiting patiently since March to find out when the Season 10 finale will air, and they finally have an answer: October 4th at 9pm. What’s more, since there won’t be a Season 11 this year, thanks to the shutdown, instead, Season 10 will have six extra episodes, which will air in early 2021. And to tide fans over, the cast brought with them the opening three minutes of the finale episode.
8. ‘Fear The Walking Dead’ Season 6 Will Premiere On October 11th
A few days before The Walking Dead‘s Season 10 finale, spinoff Fear the Walking Dead will see its sixth season premiere on October 11th. Not a lot to share here, but they did bring along a teaser trailer for the upcoming season:
9. We’re Getting A Third Spinoff Series, ‘The Walking Dead: World Beyond’
In case you’re not a rabid Walking Dead fan, the news that a second spinoff is coming might be new to you. But The Walking Dead: World Beyond is on its way. Its concept, however, is different than the other two shows, with World Beyond planned as a limited series of two seasons with the series set in Nebraska and revolving around two sisters who come of age in the new, post-apocalypse era. Here’s the official synopsis:
The Walking Dead: World Beyond delves into a new mythology and story that follows the first generation raised in a surviving civilization of the post-apocalyptic world. Two sisters along with two friends leave a place of safety and comfort to brave dangers, known and unknown, living and undead on an important quest. Pursued by those who wish to protect them and those who wish to harm them, a tale of growing up and transformation unfurls across dangerous terrain, challenging everything they know about the world, themselves and each other. Some will become heroes. Some will become villains. But all of them will find the truths they seek.
The first season already wrapped, and, naturally, they brought along a trailer to tease fans:
The Walking Dead: World Beyond is set to premiere the same day as the Walking Dead Season 10 finale on October 4th.
