With audiences staying cool at home in the face of a sweltering heatwave and continued concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic, two marquee entertainment events have kept fans on the edge of their seats for announcements about the new movies, television shows and video games slated to make their debut over the following months: Microsoft's video game showcase, including titles for its upcoming console, the Xbox Series X, and Comic-Con@Home, featuring all-star online panels.
Here are all the biggest trailers, teasers and promos released in the penultimate week of July 2020, including content from Microsoft's showcase and Comic-Con@Home.
Archenemy
After his brief turn in the DC Extended Universe as Deathstroke, Joe Manganiello is taking on a postmodern superhero role in the upcoming gritty thriller Archenemy. The film stars Manganiello as Max Fist, a man claiming to be a superhero from another dimension who fell to Earth through cracks between space and time, only to arrive powerless. Blending atmospheric cinematography with no-holds barred action, the film will be Manganiello's darkest, most violent role yet.
Written and directed by Adam Egypt Mortimer, Archenemy stars Joe Manganiello, Glenn Howerton, Skylan Brooks, Zolee Griggs and Joseph D. Reitman. It will be released in 2021.
Avowed
Video-game developer Obsidian Entertainment returns to the world of dark fantasy for a new title on the Xbox Series X. Announced during Microsoft's showcase, Avowed is a first-person medieval fantasy adventure in which players fight armies of monsters rising from the deep that were borne from the sins of kings and heroes. The announcement trailer follows the trajectory of a single flaming arrow, fired from the ramparts of a castle at an attacking army before landing in an ominous cavern as a fiery behemoth awakens.
Developed by Obsidian Entertainment, Avowed will be released for Xbox Series X and PC at a currently unannounced date.
Ben 10 Versus the Universe: The Movie
As the reboot series of the popular animated show Ben 10 enters its fourth season on Cartoon Network, the show is getting a spinoff animated movie this fall called Ben 10 Versus the Universe: The Movie. With a nefarious threat from Ben's past resurfacing and targeting the whole planet, Ben and Team Tennyson will have to go interstellar to look for help, where Ben will be confused for a supervillain by different races across the cosmos.
Created by Man of Action Entertainment, Ben 10 Versus the Universe: The Movie stars the voices of Tara Strong, David Kaye, John DiMaggio, Daryl Sabara, Josh Keaton, Roger Craig Smith, Travis Willingham and more. The film is scheduled to air this fall on Cartoon Network.
Bill & Ted Face the Music
While summer movie season isn't happening due to the global health crisis, Bill & Ted Face the Music continues to stick with its planned September release date, confirmed by a new trailer with the news that it will be available on VOD services on the same date as its intended theatrical release. The trailer shows the title rocker duo facing the responsibilities of marriage, middle age and parenthood while realizing they have not yet written the prophesied song that will unite humanity. Traveling through time, space and even Hell itself, Bill and Ted face their destiny as well as alternate timeline incarnations of themselves.
Directed by Dean Parisot and written by Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon, Bill & Ted Face the Music stars Keanu Reeves, Alex Winter, Anthony Carrigan, Kid Cudi, Brigette Lundy-Paine and Samara Weaving. The film arrives in theaters and On Demand Sept. 1.
Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age - Definitive Edition
An enhanced version of the latest installment of the RPG franchise Dragon Quest is finally coming to Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC just in time for the holidays. An announcement trailer for Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age - Definitive Edition brings the heroes of Erdrea together for the ultimate adventure against an invading army of monsters. The new edition allows players to switch between high-definition visuals and the classic, isometric perspective from the original games, while adding the option for players to travel to locations from previous titles for even more quests.
Developed by Square Enix, Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age - Definitive Edition will be released for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC on Dec. 4. The Nintendo Switch version of the game is currently available.
Fable
A decade since the release of Fable III, Microsoft confirmed that development was officially underway on a new title in its fantasy video-game franchise. A cheeky announcement trailer follows a fairy exploring the magical wonders of the franchise's mythical setting of Albion, only to be unceremoniously devoured by a toad. While no further details, including gameplay footage or a release window, were unveiled, the announcement marks the first installment since the free-to-play spinoff Fable Fortune in 2017.
Developed by Playground Games, Fable will be released for the Xbox Series X and PC.
Fear the Walking Dead
AMC's successful spinoff series Fear the Walking Dead is on track for a Season 6 premiere this October, with a new teaser trailer unveiled during the cast's virtual Comic-Con@Home panel. As a gravely wounded Morgan Jones faces a horde of ravenous walkers, his friends are seen being taken into captivity by a hostile faction of survivors. With violence explosively breaking out between the living and undead alike, Morgan records a radio broadcast that implores his fellow survivors to do whatever they can to stay alive as they fight for a new future.
Premiering Sunday, October 11 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on AMC, Fear the Walking Dead Season 6 is executive produced by Scott M.Gimple and showrunners Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg, as well as Robert Kirkman, David Alpert, Gale Anne Hurd and Greg Nicotero. The series stars Lennie James, Alycia Debnam-Carey, Colman Domingo and more.
For All Mankind
Apple TV+'s alternate history series For All Mankind prepares to take the Space Race to war in its upcoming season second. A first look teaser trailer for Season 2 moves the action to the Reagan Administration as the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union begins to heat up once again. With the two nations still fiercely competing for domination in outer space and on the moon, NASA is seen arming up as Reagan's "Star Wars" policy becomes literal.
Starring Joel Kinnaman, Michael Dorman, Wrenn Schmidt, Sarah Jones, Shantel VanSanten and Jodi Balfour, the first season of For All Mankind is available to stream in its entirety on Apple TV+.
The Fugitive
The mobile streaming platform Quibi is getting an all-star remake of the popular action franchise The Fugitive next month. Released in chapters running for ten minutes or less, the series stars Boyd Holbrook as a former convict falsely accused of a subway bombing. Now the most wanted man in the country, Kiefer Sutherland leads a team of law enforcement operatives hunting him down. An explosive teaser trailer introduces the modern update to the classic story.
Developed by Nick Santora and directed by Stephen Hopkins, The Fugitive stars Kiefer Sutherland, Boyd Holbrook, Natalie Martinez, Tiya Sircar, Brian Geraghty, Genesis Rodriguez, Glenn Howerton, Daniel David Stewart and Keilani Arellanes. The movie-in-chapters premieres on Aug. 3, with new chapters released every weekday.
Grounded
While many video games go for big, epic scopes, developer Obsidian Entertainment's latest title Grounded consciously goes in the opposite direction, to immersive, fun-filled effect. The launch trailer for the upcoming Xbox One game shows players working together as tiny, ant-sized characters in a massive backyard as they build makeshift homes and battle towering spiders to survive in the enlarged environment. The game will receive an early access release through Xbox Game Pass, with a full release expected sometime in 2021.
Developed by Obsidian Entertainment, Grounded will be released for Xbox One and PC on July 28 for an early access release.
Halo Infinite
Developer 343 Industries unveiled an extended gameplay video for Halo Infinite, the latest installment in Microsoft's iconic first-person shooter franchise. Opening with Master Chief and his accompanying pilot crash landing on a mountainous, forest-filled landscape, John-117 dives back into action against the Covenant, with the presentation running off the Xbox Series X's impressive native settings. The video concludes with a montage of images beyond the demo, as Master Chief finds a holographic recording from one of The Banished while discovering a shattered Halo Ring as the fight to save humanity takes a desperate turn.
Developed by 343 Industries and SkyBox Labs, Halo Infinite will be released for the Xbox Series X during the 2020 holiday season.
Helstrom
The first teaser trailer for Marvel Television's final live-action project Helstrom was unveiled at Comic-Con@Home's virtual panel for the upcoming Hulu original series. Appropriately dark and ominous, the teaser sees siblings Daimon and Ana Helstrom visit their imprisoned mother Victoria after a powerful, bloody figure has been unleashed on the world. The children of a demonic serial killer, the two siblings hunt down the most sinister forces on Earth, with the trailer showing other characters violently drawn into their fiery mission.
Marvel's Helstrom stars Tom Austen as Daimon Helstrom, Sydney Lemmon as Ana Helstrom, Elizabeth Marvel as Victoria Helstrom, Ariana Guerra as Gabriella Rossetti, Robert Wisdom as Caretaker, June Carryl as Louise Hastings and Alain Uy as Chris Yen. The series will debut on Hulu on Friday, Oct. 16, 2020.
His Dark Materials
Season 2 of HBO's acclaimed adaptation of His Dark Materials premieres later this year on the premium cable network. As the Magisterium scours worlds for Lyra Silvertongue and her Alethiometer, a device using Dust to distinguish truth from lies, Lyra finds herself in the deserted city of Cittàgazze where she encounters Will Parry. The two quickly realize they come from different worlds as Will shows the power of Subtle Knight, which allows him to cut paths between different dimensions.
Airing on HBO this fall, His Dark Materials stars Dafne Keen as Lyra, Ruth Wilson as Marisa Coulter, James McAvoy as Lord Asriel, Lin-Manuel Miranda as Lee Scoresby and Andrew Scott as John Parry.
Invincible Dragon
After a memorable turn as the primary antagonist in Ip Man 3, Max Zhang takes center stage as disgraced police detective Kowloon in the Hong Kong action film Invincible Dragon. Coming to home video in North America this October, the martial arts movie sees Kowloon lose his fiancee and job to a genius serial killer. With his personal life in shambles, Kowloon reunites with an old rival, portrayed by MMA fighter Anderson Silva, to take on the criminal underworld and stop the killer once and for all.
Written and directed by Fruit Chan, Invincible Dragon stars Max Zhang and Anderson Silva. The film will be released on digital HD, Blu-ray and DVD on Oct. 6.
NOS4A2
AMC's acclaimed horror series NOS4A2 has officially hit the halfway point for its second season, with the villainous Charlie Manx back and targeting protagonist Vic McQueen's young son Wayne. Kidnapping the young boy as his latest victim to maintain his twisted source of immortality, a new trailer shows Manx taking Wayne to Christmasland where his numerous victims reside, having since transformed into monsters through his dark influence. Determined to rescue her son, Vic leads her friends to confront Manx right in the heart of Christmas for an epic showdown.
Airing Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on AMC and BBC America, NOS4A2 Season 2 stars Zachary Quinto, Ashleigh Cummings, Jonathan Langdon, Jason David, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, Virginia Kull, Jahkara Smith, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach.
One-Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows
A new wave of DLC is coming to the anime video-game adaptation One-Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows, adding two fan-favorite characters from Season 2 to the fight. Rounding out the fifth character expansion set for the game is Watchdog Man, while the sixth expansion set's first downloadable character is the self-proclaimed "Hero Hunter" Garou. With both characters now available to purchase, Bandai Namco released a gameplay trailer showcasing the new fighters' moves while recreating fight scenes from One-Punch Man Season 2.
Developed by Bandai Namco, One-Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows is now available on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC.
The Outer Worlds
The alternate history science-fiction video game The Outer Worlds is about to get a lot bigger with the announcement of two separate DLC expansions. Developer Obsidian Entertainment announced the first expansion, Peril on Gorgon, with a trailer unveiled during Microsoft's games showcase. Coming this September, the expansion has players visit the asteroid base of Gorgon, raises the level cap to 33 and adds new weaponry, armor and skills for players to unlock. A second expansion, Murder on Eridanos, has also been announced and will be fully unveiled at a later date.
Developed by Obsidian Entertainment, The Outer Worlds: Peril on Gorgon will be released on Sep. 9 for Xbox One and PC. A second DLC expansion, Murder on Eridanos, will be released at a later date.
Red vs. Blue: Zero
Production studio Rooster Teeth's flagship series Red vs. Blue returns for its eighteenth season later this year, bringing fans back to machinima world of Halo characters on comedic adventures between blasting away enemies. An announcement teaser was unveiled by Rooster Teeth during its Comic-Con@Home panel, providing a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the popular online series, bringing more laughs between running gunfights to the synthesis between video games and comedy.
Created by Burnie Burns, Red vs. Blue: Zero is directed by Torrian Crawford and Noël Wiggins and stars Wiggins alongside Fiona Nova, Christian Young, Jenn K. Tidwell, Hannah McCarthy, André Ouellette, Ryan Haywood and Devin Finn. The 18th season of RvB is slated to premiere this fall.
Stargirl
As Courtney Whitmore assembles a new generation of superheroes to continue the legacy of the Justice Society of America in DC Universe's Stargirl, the teenage hero has been rocked by recent developments. While still grieving the loss of her latest recruit, Courtney is confronted by Sam Kurtis, a man claiming to be her long-lost biological father. As Courtney refuses to believe the claim, a new promo from The CW shows Shining Knight and the Dragon King about to do battle.
DC Universe's Stargirl stars Brec Bassinger as Courtney Whitmore (Stargirl) and Luke Wilson as Pat Dugan (S.T.R.I.P.E.). The series airs Monday on DC Universe and Tuesdays on The CW at 8 pm ET/PT. It also stars Amy Smart, Yvette Monreal, Anjelika Washington, Cameron Gellman, Trae Romano, Jake Austin Walker, Hunter Sansone, Meg DeLacy, Neil Jackson and Christopher James Baker.
Tales of Arcadia: Wizards
The third and final series in filmmaker Guillermo del Toro's acclaimed Tales of Arcadia animated franchise, Wizards, will be released next month. The first trailer for the latest installment of the Emmy Award-winning property, which follows Trollhunters and 3Below, shows the wizard-in-training Douxie traveling to the medieval world of Camelot to join an epic battle that will determine the final fate of the worlds of monsters, aliens and magic that have converged over the course of the three shows.
Starring Colin O'Donoghue, Emile Hirsch, Lexi Medrano, Charlie Saxton, Steven Yeun, David Bradley, Lena Headey, Fred Tatasciore, Clancy Brown, Diego Luna, Mark Hamill, Alfred Molina, Stephanie Beatriz, James Faulkner, John Rhys Davies, and Kelsey Grammer, Tales of Arcadia: Wizards premieres on Aug. 7 on Netflix.
Utopia
Amazon's upcoming original series Utopia is an adaptation of the British series of the same name, which will hit the streaming service this fall. A teaser trailer for the show focuses on a group of fans of the eponymous comic book who realize it appears to predict cataclysmic events that have taken place in real life. Fearing an apocalypse predicted in the comic's pages may be coming, the group teams up with the comic's protagonist to save the world.
Produced by Gillian Flynn, Utopia stars Dan Byrd, Ashleigh LaThrop, Jessica Rothe, Desmin Borges, Javon "Wanna" Walton, Sasha Lane, Farrah Mackenzie, Christopher Denham, Cory Michael Smith, John Cusack and Rainn Wilson. The series premieres this fall on Amazon Prime Video.
The Walking Dead: World Beyond
AMC's latest spinoff in its enormously successful The Walking Dead franchise is set to premiere this October, and a new trailer for The Walking Dead: World Beyond premiered during the cast's virtual panel for Comic-Con@Home. Set a decade after the outset of the undead apocalypse, a group of children and young adults venture outside the safety of their community to face the harsh world as the mysterious faction of survivors that kidnapped Rick Grimes in the main series resurfaces in full force.
Created by Scott Gimple, Robert Kirkman and Matt Negrete, The Walking Dead: World Beyond stars Aliyah Royale, Alexa Mansour, Annet Mahendru, Nicolas Cantu, Hal Cumpston and Nico Tortorella. The series debuts Oct. 4 at 10 p.m. ET on AMC.