Geek out with these questions ahead of festival
Geek nirvana is upon us again. Nerd- friendly blockbusters tobe like Justice League and Blade Runner 2049 and hugely popular TV series The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones and Westworld will be among the many featured at Comic- Con, which runs Thursday through Sunday and will bring more than 125,000 fans to San Diego. USA TODAY’s Brian Truitt asks the five questions that fans want answered.
Q Will Deadpool crash the Kingsman panel? A Thursday’s 20th Century Fox movie panel is slated to be all about the spy sequel Kingsman: The Golden Circle, with Taron Egerton as a young James Bond type. But with a Deadpool follow- up out next June, could Ryan Reynolds and/ or his merc with a mouth show up to steal some thunder? If so, “he’ll get a Kingsman kick up the backseat,” director Matthew Vaughn says with a laugh. QIs 2017 the year Netflix takes over Comic- Con?
A The streaming service is following up a slew of Emmy nominations with a large presence. Amovie- centric Thursday panel will host Will Smith from the fantasy action thriller Bright, as well as the cast of the Japanese manga adaptation Death Note. Netflix superhero stars Charlie Cox, Krysten Ritter, Mike Colter and Finn Jones will take the stage Friday for supergroup show The Defenders. And everyone’s favorite ’ 80s kids get a showcase on Saturday for the upcoming second season of pop- culture breakout Stranger Things.
Q Will there be an official announcement of Wonder Woman 2?
A This crowd would go nuts for a release date and other details on a follow- up to the runaway superhero hit with Gal Gadot. There will be plenty of superheroes on Saturday’s multi- movie Warner Bros. panel, with Justice
League ( in theaters Nov. 17) on tap. But there’s another old team that fans would be psyched to see: Steven Spielberg, on hand for Ready
Player One ( March 30), may be crossing paths onstage with Harrison Ford, who returns to ComicCon with the new Blade Runner ( Oct. 6).
Q Will Marvel have enough room for all its talent? A Last year, the cinematic superhero factory filled the Hall Hstage with 39 filmmakers and actors. They return Saturday with potentially an even bigger crew with Thor: Ragnarok ( Nov. 3), Black Panther ( Feb. 16) and Avengers: Infinity War ( May 4) all on the horizon. They’ve brought the Avengers together before for ComicCon, but this could be the most epic year ever.
Q Will the new Doctor stop by for a chat?
A Jodie Whittaker was just announced as the new Doctor Who. Comic- Con, which will certainly be filled with Whovians, would be a fine time to introduce the 13th— and first female— Doctor to America. However, Sunday’s panel likely will be more of a goodbye than a hello, as departing actor Peter Capaldi makes one last ComicCon appearance before he exits with the upcoming Christmas special.