Super events at Comic-Con
Missed it this year? You missed a lot: From a female Doctor to ‘Aquaman,’ it was all happening in San Diego.
Marketers draw fans to live “experiences.” A futuristic Taco Bell, anyone?
SAN DIEGO — They came, they saw, they con-quered.
Going into this year’s annual Comic-Con International, the big headlines were about all the TV shows and movies missing from this year’s schedule. No “Game of Thrones”! No Marvel movies! No Eleven! Oh, my!
But in the end, Comic-Con prevailed, maintaining its status as a can’t-miss pop culture event. More than 100,000 fans geeked out over superheroes and sneak peeks at some of Hollywood’s most anticipated blockbusters and TV shows at the annual event, but the most memorable moments weren’t limited to the Hall H stage.
Sure, there was splashy “Aquaman” footage and the stateside debut of the first female Doctor Who.
But there was also “Fantastic Beasts” star Ezra Miller, who continued his reign as our greatest celebrity cosplayer, and there was even a “Demolition Man” inspired Taco Bell pop-up restaurant that served heaping amounts of nacho fries and ’90s nostalgia.
Syfy’s rambling karaoke bus
Don’t tell Syfy that this year’s Comic-Con was any less vital in the absence of brands like HBO and “Star Wars” — they were all in with a scheduled 10 panels and multiple “activations” — i.e. marketing events that let consumers interact directly with the series, movie or game.
Some of these promotions were moving targets with a New Orleans-style second-line brass band led by actor Orlando Jones that swung through music from “Harry Potter” and “Star Wars” down 5th Avenue in the center of the Gaslamp Quarter. The area is hard enough to navigate during Comic-Con, but that didn’t stop another promotion a few blocks away in a slowrolling bus that functioned as a network billboard as fans belted out karaoke from the open top.
What did any these have to do with Syfy’s programming, which tilts toward the genre of the network’s name with shows by the Russo Brothers and George R.R. Martin? Only the fans know.
Two hearts, but just one ‘Doctor’
“My name is Amelia, and I’ve actually been waiting for a girl Doctor for a very long time,” a young fan said during the panel for the venerable British series “Doctor Who,” which will enter a new era this fall as its title character will be portrayed by a woman, Jodie Whittaker, for the first time.
A cheer rippled across Hall H in response to the girl’s statement. “You’ll make me cry,” Whittaker said, and the fan went on to ask whether the Doctor would include more “girl stuff ” in the new season.
Whittaker responded that her character — in accordance with some 55 years of on-screen existence — is an alien, and thus neither female or male. Or, as she explained with a grin at an earlier press conference, “I’ve got two hearts, so I can do whatever I want.”
It feels so good to be ‘Bad’ again
“Breaking Bad” brought a touch of 2008 to Comic-Con as the show celebrated its 10th anniversary with a Hall H panel on Thursday.
Although there was talk about how Walter White’s signature blue meth was the actual cause of the zombie outbreak in fellow AMC show “The Walking Dead” — “it’s canon,” according to “Walking Dead” creator Robert Kirkman — the favored topic was bringing the cast and characters back together by any means necessary.
One audience member proposed a “Malcolm in the Middle” reboot with Aaron Paul playing Bryan Cranston’s character’s son (“I would be so down,” Paul said), and another asked about the possibility of a movie. Cranston, who confirmed that Walter White is, indeed, dead, dismissed the idea. However, “Breaking Bad” creator Vince Gilligan remained less certain. “I love that question,” he said, as surely a few hopes in the hall took flight. “Anything’s possible.”
A ‘Demolition’ fans really loved
The biggest and buzziest surprise at this year’s con was born of a marriage made in the future: an immersive collaboration between Warner Bros.’ 1993 cult sci-fi film “Demolition Man” and fast food chain Taco Bell. Re-creating the “only restaurant to survive the franchise wars,” per the Sylvester Stallone-Wesley Snipes film set in 2032, the iconic restaurant scene came to vivid life for lucky fans who stood in line for hours. Inside offered lucky diners cocktails, a fourcourse meal, robot waiters and, yes, the three seashells. The result: Two great geek tastes that tasted great together and raised the bar for the experiential marketing industry that continues to explode into the streets of Comic-Con.
Family affair for ‘Walking Dead’
At “The Walking Dead” panel inside Hall H, star Andrew Lincoln confirmed to a chorus of disappointment that this would be his final run as Rick Grimes. “Now hear me out, please,” he went on. “I love this show; it means everything to me — I promise not to cry. I’ve done enough crying on the screen.”
After speaking more about how much “The Walking Dead” and its fans have meant to him, Lincoln paused and asked the crowd, “I’m talking too much, aren’t I?” The fans assured him he was not.
Lincoln wasn’t the only emotional one as costar Norman Reedus pulled the crowd to its feet for a standing ovation for Lincoln, which culminated in a cast group hug. Parting is such sweet sorrow.
Tears, no fear, for ‘victor’
Universal’s “Halloween” presentation for the upcoming sequel became unexpectedly emotional when one fan stepped up to the microphone during the panel Q&A to tell star Jamie Lee Curtis how her Laurie Strode helped him escape an attacker in real life.
“I’m here today because of the way that you portrayed Laurie Strode,” he said, breaking down in tears before Curtis ran offstage in front of thousands of applauding fans to embrace him. “I’m a victor and not a victim.”
‘Aquaman’ makes a huge splash
From “Iron Man” to “Man of Steel,” many a superhero franchise has been launched from the hallowed Hall H stage. This year it was “Aquaman’s” turn.
Warner Bros. handily dominated Hall H this year with panels for “Wonder Woman 1984,” “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald,” “Godzilla: King of the Monsters” and more at Comic-Con’s biggest arena, where the studio unspooled innovative visuals on wraparound screens and brought interactive light-up bracelets for all 6,500 fans in attendance.
Once again, he’s the cosplay king
Fans in incredible costumes abound each year at Comic-Con, where Storm Troopers, X-Men and a lot of Spideys and Deadpools were spotted strolling the convention halls and Gaslamp streets last week.
While WWE superstar John Cena scored huge nerd points for roaming the con in a bright yellow “Bumblebee” outfit, it was “Fantastic Beasts” star Ezra Miller who — once again — took home the crown as the No. 1 celeb cosplayer of Comic-Con. In 2016, he dressed as Gandalf for his first Hall H panel. Last year, he showed up in a “Fullmetal Alchemist” Edward Elric outfit. This year, Miller worked it in pink and white Toadette cosplay — and wore it all day as he did the press rounds.
Show of support for Rose Tico
“Star Wars” fans showed up for “Last Jedi” star Kelly Marie Tran, who deleted her social media posts in June after being harassed online by trolls. That meant that the Rose Tico cosplay at this year’s Comic-Con was a particularly meaningful show of support for the actress, even more so Saturday, when fans in “Rose for Hope” T-shirts and Tico cosplayers staged a Rally for Rose.
Using the hashtags #ForceOutHate and #Rally ForRose, the moment organized by the Nerds of Color blog rallied around not just Tran but also diverse representation in the “Star Wars” galaxy and beyond. Even “Star Wars” star Mark Hamill tweeted his support.
chris.barton@latimes.com jen.yamato@latimes.com