Crowds descend on Comic-Con
TV to make big splash at 45th pop culture event
SAN DIEGO — Like Batman responding to a beaming Bat signal in the sky, pop culture fans are streaming to San Diego for the 45th annual Comic-Con pop culture extravaganza.
The four-day festival celebrating film, TV, video games, comic books, costumes and other popular arts kicked off with a preview Wednesday night and goes full force Thursday at the San Diego Convention Center.
More than 150,000 fans are expected to attend the sold-out event, where studios will offer exclusive previews of their latest properties.
Television is making a bigger splash than in previous years.
“This is the year that we’ll see as much TV (as film), especially in Hall H,” said Matt Atchity, editor-in-chief of RottenTomatoes.com, which aggregates film and television reviews.
Here’s a peek at some of the most anticipated presentations:
Film: Marvel Studios hasn’t revealed specifics about its panel, but a look at Ant-Man and the next Avengers instalment seem likely. Paramount is bringing its live-action take on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, starring Megan Fox and Will Arnett. Warner Bros. will feature The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies and its reboot of Mad Max. Fox is introducing a spate of films, in- cluding the animated Book of Life starring Channing Tatum. A few others: Focus Features’ animated The Boxtrolls; the sequel to Frank Miller’s Sin City; Daniel Radcliffe’s first Comic-Con appearance for the upcoming Horns; and the annual appearance by festival stalwart Kevin Smith.
TV: Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead will each take over Comic-Con’s largest hall for panels. Joel McHale and other stars of Community will discuss the future of the comedy after its move to Yahoo. Guillermo del Toro plans to present his creepy new FX series, The Strain. SyFy’s Sharknado roars in with stars Ian Ziering and Tara Reid for a peek at the sequel. The creators of BBC America’s Orphan Black will be on hand with star Tatiana Maslany. Other TV panels tempting fans: Emmy favourites The Big Bang Theory and American Horror Story; FX’s Sons of Anarchy; and the CW’s Arrow and The Vampire Diaries.
Games: Ubisoft is promoting the free-running adventure Assassin’s Creed: Unity with a French Revolution-themed parkour course open to wannabe assassins. The cast and crew of the cops-and-robbers shooter Battlefield Hardline will be on hand, as will the creative forces behind the latest edition of the toys-meets-game franchise Skylanders: Trap Team. Meanwhile, Nintendo will showcase Super Smash Bros. and other titles at its gaming lounge, while Sega will hype the cartoony Sonic Boom and the sci-fi horror Alien: Isolation.