After two years of being canceled in-person due to the pandemic, the famous San Diego Comic-Con took place this past weekend for the first time since 2019. Anticipation for the event was high, and several studios were on hand for some exciting panels.
This year had many surprise guests and announcements for an assortment of projects. Marvel Studios even held their first panel since 2019, as they tended to skip the event for their own Disney upfront, D23, for major announcements in recent years. So it is not shocking that the 2022 San Diego Comic-Con was one for the books.
9 Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves Finally Gets Its First Trailer
The first trailer for Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves was shown to attendees early in the weekend. Starring Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, and Regé Jean-Page, the reboot takes place in the Forgotten Realms campaign of D&D. The film releases on March 3rd, 2023.
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves has had a long road to release. The film has been in development as far back as 2013. Even after the film was made, it shuffled between several release dates due to the pandemic. Nevertheless, fans were glad to actually see footage of the film after following it for so long.
Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power Showed Off Its Best Look At The Series Yet
Amazon was on-hand to bring the latest trailer of Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power to attendees. The new trailer opened up on the show's story and featured tons of action, a Balrog, and even Sauron himself. The series will debut on Amazon Prime on September 2nd, not too long of a wait for fans.
The showrunners showed how the series will navigate The Second Age of Middle-Earth. They confirmed that there was no involvement from Peter Jackson (who helmed the film trilogy), and that they sought help from Tolkien scholars in creating new characters just for the show. It was even confirmed that female dwarves in the series will have beards. By the looks of the trailer, Amazon's most-expensive series to date (and most expensive television season ever) intends to deliver on its epic scope and storytelling.
8 Spider-Man: Freshman Year Gets A First Look, And Longer Than-Anticipated Release Date
Marvel announced several updates on animated projects at SDCC, but none were more anticipated than Spider-Man: Freshman Year. First announced in 2021, the series will follow the beginning of Peter Parker's journey to becoming Spider-Man in the MCU. Unfortunately, fans will have a long wait for its release, as the panel revealed the series will be released in 2024.
The panel gave away several details about what to expect from the series. Both unseen in the live-action MCU, Harry and Norman Osborn will have prominent roles in the series. In addition, Charlie Cox will return to voice Matt Murdock/Daredevil, and Doctor Strange is confirmed to play a mentor role of sorts to Peter. Several other classic Spider-Man villains confirmed to appear include: Scorpion, Doctor Octopus, Rhino, and Chameleon. The reveal ended with the announcement that a second season, Spider-Man: Sophomore Year, has been ordered and is in development.
7 Marvel Zombies Will Be Disney+'s First TV-MA Series
After the immense success of the What If...? episode "What If...Zombies?!" in 2021, Marvel announced a continuation of the world seen in the episode called Marvel Zombies. The episode ended on a cliffhanger ending, and fans will get to see that story continue featuring various MCU characters in a zombie apocalypse.
A somewhat surprising detail was that the show is expected to receive a rating of TV-MA, intended only for mature audiences. It will be the first of its kind when it hits Disney+ in 2024. New heroes confirmed for the show include: Yelena Belova, Kate Bishop, Red Guardian, Jimmy Woo, Shang-Chi, Ms. Marvel, and Ikaris. Ikaris appeared to be a half-human, half-zombie hybrid, while looks were also shown of a team of Black Widows and a biker gang of Skrulls.
6 The Rick Grimes Movies Get Reworked Into A Rick & Michonne Limited Series
During The Walking Dead panel, moderator Chris Hardwick brought out some surprise guests. Walking Dead veterans Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira came out to announce a Rick and Michonne limited series premiering in 2023 on AMC. The series will serve as a conclusion to Rick and Michonne’s story arcs from The Walking Dead.
After Lincoln left The Walking Dead mid-way through its ninth season, it was announced that Rick Grimes would get three films to explore what happened to Rick after he survived the bridge explosion. However, there has not been much development on those films since their announcement. Reworking the movies into a miniseries gives the chance to tell a longer story and provide the characters with a proper send-off.
5 Dwayne Johnson Shows Up In Costume To Promote Black Adam For The DCEU
Dwayne Johnson was on-hand to promote Black Adam, but you can’t say he did it without flair. Johnson showed up in costume as Black Adam and fired lightning bolts into the crowd, “lighting up” the attendees’ lanyards given out for the event. In addition, a new trailer was shown to fans as Black Adam will release this October.
Johnson spoke at length about how the hierarchy in the DCEU is about to change, but dodged questions about fighting Superman and Shazam in the future. Another interesting tidbit revealed was that Viola Davis will return as Amanda Waller, her fourth DCEU appearance.
4 Daredevil: Born Again Gets A Super-sized Return For The Man Without Fear
One of the biggest surprises from Marvel Studios’ presentation was Daredevil: Born Again. Starring Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio, reprising their roles from Netflix’s Daredevil, the show will premiere in Spring 2024 with an 18-episode season.
Cox has slowly been integrated back into the MCU after Daredevil was canceled by Netflix in 2018, appearing in Spider-Man: No Way Home and the upcoming Spider-Man: Freshman Year. Fans also got a glimpse of the character’s new suit in the She-Hulk trailer released during the panel. D’Onofrio made a surprise appearance in Hawkeye’s season finale, and will most likely be appearing in its spin-off series Echo next summer.
3 MCU Phases 4-6 Are Named "The Multiverse Saga"
Surprisingly, not only did Marvel Studios get into Phase 5 of the MCU, but also Phase 6. Kevin Feige announced that Phases 4-6 will be called The Multiverse Saga. Of course, given that several projects since Avengers: Endgame have dealt with the multiverse, this is of no surprise to most fans.
Feige explained how Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will close out Phase 4 this fall, and Ant-Man: Quantumania will begin Phase 5, which will close out with Thunderbolts in July 2024. Phase 6 will begin with Fantastic 4 in November 2024, and will contain two new Avengers films along with several unannounced films.
2 Two Avengers Movies Are Announced To Wrap Up Phase 6
The biggest highlight was the announcement of two new Avengers films: Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars. The titles were rumored heavily the day before the panel since Marvel had just recently copyrighted both titles.
It is clear that Kang the Conqueror will be the big bad of the Multiverse Saga. A variant of his first appeared in the first season of Loki, and he will be appearing as the main villain of Ant-Man: Quantumania. Secret Wars will most likely be adapted from the comic of the same name, following the Avengers as they battle the destruction of their universe along with some others. Veteran MCU directors Anthony and Joe Russo have expressed interest in being involved with the film; perhaps they will return to direct.
1 Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Debuts Its Teaser Trailer
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever had its first trailer premiere at SDCC as well. Following Wakanda as they deal with the loss of their King T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman passed away unexpectedly in 2020). The trailer introduces Namor and the city of Atlantis, appearing to send them to war against Wakanda. It also introduces Riri Williams/Ironheart, who will get her own Disney+ series in Fall 2023.
The final shot of the trailer shows the next Black Panther from behind. Fans were left to interpret who may take up the mantle. Director Ryan Coogler said that it was the most difficult film he’s ever had to make after the loss of Boseman, describing the entire film as a tribute to him. Fans will not have to wait too long to see the film, as it releases this November to wrap up Phase 4 of the MCU.