Albuquerque Journal

Fans to descend on San Diego for the 50th Comic-Con

Convention to feature fewer forthcomin­g movies this year

- ASSOCIATED PRESS

SAN DIEGO — Dust off your Captain Marvel cosplay — San Diego Comic-Con is here.

The four-and-a-half day convention kicks off Wednesday when the show room floor opens to thousands vying for exclusive merchandis­e, from art to toys. Later, Warner Bros. will get things going with a Scare Diego event promising some hairraisin­g new footage from “It: Chapter Two.”

“We have some exciting footage but I can’t go into details,” said “It” director Andy Muschietti. “But I think it’s going to be worth it for the fans to go and watch.”

Movie fans will also get a look at Paramount’s “Terminator: Dark Fate” at a Hall H presentati­on Thursday, and on Saturday be treated to a Marvel Studios presentati­on with its president, Kevin Feige. Details for the Marvel show are being kept under wraps, but many expect Feige and his “special guests” will outline the plans for Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which could include announceme­nts about “Black Widow,” ”Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” ”Shang-Chi” and “The Eternals.”

The movie fare is lighter than usual, however. A few of the studios have chosen to sit this year out, like Sony, which is already cleaning up at the box office with “Spider-Man: Far From Home,” and Universal Pictures, which doesn’t have any superheroe­s on its slate at all. Although Warner Bros. is coming with “It: Chapter Two,” it does not have a big Hall H presentati­on planned for any of its DC properties like “Joker” and the Harley Quinn spinoff “Birds of Prey.” And there will be no “Star Wars” news either.

“If anything, the exiting of some movie studios has made more room for TV and TV is just the best of the best right now,” said Perri Nemiroff, a senior producer for Collider.com and host of the YouTube series Movie Talk.

Television enthusiast­s will have their pick, whether they want one last go-around with the cast of a show that’s ended (like “Game of Thrones” and “Supernatur­al”), to check in with some old favorites (“The Walking Dead,” ”The Good Place,” ”Westworld,” ”Arrow,” ”Rick and Morty” and “Riverdale”), or get first look at a new property (such as “Snowpierce­r,” ”Star Trek: Picard” and “The Witcher”).

Occasional­ly this means throwing a Comic-Con newbie into the mix. HBO is bringing Lin-Manuel Miranda out for his first convention to promote the new show, “His Dark Materials.”

Last month, Miranda tweeted a modest request for fans: “Be gentle, it’s my first Comic-Con.”

 ?? CHRIS PIZZELLO/INVISION ?? Luis Ramos of San Diego takes a picture of family members and their friends at Comic-Con last year at the San Diego Convention Center.
CHRIS PIZZELLO/INVISION Luis Ramos of San Diego takes a picture of family members and their friends at Comic-Con last year at the San Diego Convention Center.

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