All the A-list superheroes grace Comic-Con stage
WARNER Bros brought out all the stops on Saturday at Comic-Con with an army of stars, surprises and new footage from films like Aquaman, Shazam! and even Wonder Woman 1984, which is only three-and-a-half weeks into production. Jason Momoa, Gal Gadot, Chris Pratt, Johnny Depp and Nicole Kidman were just a few of the big names to grace the stage of the comic book convention’s Hall H.
Momoa, who stars as Aquaman, seemed to be as excited as those in the 6 500-seat audience, if not more so. The actor was downright giddy speaking about the film.
“My heart is big and open,” he said. “I’m really, really happy.”
“I wanted to create a superhero film that we’ve never quite seen before,” director James Wan said. “My movie plays more like a science fiction fantasy film than a traditional superhero movie.”
With 20 weeks of filming left, Wonder Woman 1984 star Gadot and director Patty Jenkins also took a break from their Washington D.C. shoot to tease a bit of footage from the highly anticipated follow-up to the groundbreaking superhero film.
The clip showed Diana Prince saving a young girl from some bad guys in their Miami Vice finest in a very ‘80s-looking mall.
Chris Pine also joined Gadot and Jenkins on stage, but all stayed mum about how and why his character Steve Trevor is back, considering his fate in the first movie.
“I am actually not really here right now,” Pine said. “I am just an aura of emotional support for my friends.”
Jenkins did say, however, that his presence is a “very important part” of the movie and that audiences will have to see it in November next year to find out.
She did explain why she set the movie in the 1980s. “It was mankind at its best and worst,” Jenkins said. “We see Wonder Woman in a period of time that is us at our most extreme...”
Another audiencepleaser was Shazam! and Zachary Levi was on hand to introduce the first trailer for the DC superhero film, or Big with superpowers. The origin story shows how a bullied 14-year-old kid becomes the superhero (and a fully-grown man) after a fateful ride on the subway. The film comes out in April.
“There are very few characters who are just stoked to have their powers,” Levi said.
“Since I am still waiting to wake up one morning and fly, to do that I just got to be me. … I love that there’s still an optimism in him. Maybe now more than ever we need heroes like that, who care about people,” Levi added.
Chris Pratt also took the stage with Phil Lord and Christopher Miller to tease The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, out in February. Pratt says his own trajectory mimicked his character Emmett’s journey in The Lego Movie.
When he was cast in the first movie, he was still best known for being Andy in Parks and Recreation, but by the time they finished voice recording, he was Star-Lord in Guardians of the Galaxy and one of Hollywood’s biggest stars.
The sequel will feature a few winks to Pratt’s real life and career, including a character named Rex Dangervest, who counts “raptor trainer” as one of his many jobs.
In addition to showing the trailer for Godzilla: King of the Monsters, many of the stars of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, like Eddie Redmayne, Jude Law, Zoe Kravitz and Ezra Miller turned out to talk about their sequel as well.
They discussed Law’s “hot Dumbledore”, and what they’d use Harry Potter magic for. Not missing a beat, Kravitz said, “Impeach Trump.”
Johnny Depp, who plays Grindelwald, also made a surprise appearance in costume and character.
As in years past, the studio brought out all the stops for the showstopper presentation, bringing in screens that stretch around 180º of the massive room, and a booming sound system to match.