Home
Entertainment
Entertainment Features
San Diego Comic Con 2018 Preview: Aquaman, Venom, and More

San Diego Comic-Con 2018 Preview: Aquaman, Venom, and More

By Akhil Arora | Updated: 17 July 2018 13:35 IST

(L-R): Aquaman, Venom, and Wonder Woman 1984

Highlights

San Diego Comic-Con takes place from July 19-22
Disney, HBO sitting out this year
Warner Bros., Sony in the limelight

The largest convention of its kind – San Diego Comic-Con – will take place later this week from July 19-22, giving fans a chance to interact and catch a glimpse of their favourite entertainment properties and stars. It's essentially a four-day celebration for geeks of all varieties. But this year’s Comic-Con is slightly different.

Some of the biggest names such as Disney – which owns Marvel Studios – and HBO are skipping SDCC 2018, which means there won't be any trailers for Captain Marvel or a sneak peek at Game of Thrones' highly-anticipated final season.

Fortunately, Hollywood is big enough that there are still a lot of things to look forward to at this year’s Comic-Con, from the likes of Netflix, Amazon, Warner Bros., and Sony Pictures. Here is a round-up of some of the biggest stuff at SDCC 2018.

Thursday, July 19

Twentieth Century Fox
Time: 10:30am (11pm IST)
Venue: Hall H

Just like it did last year, Fox will focus on just one upcoming film: The Predator reboot from Iron Man 3 director Shane Black. Much of the film's cast – Keegan-Michael Key, Olivia Munn, Sterling K. Brown, Thomas Jane, Alfie Allen, Trevante Rhodes, Augusto Aguilera, Jake Busey, and Yvonne Strahovski – and Black will be present.

We've already had a full-length trailer for The Predator, so it's unlikely we'll get another one. And there's no mention of other upcoming Fox films – X-Men: Dark Phoenix, Alita: Battle Angel, and The New Mutants – which is surprising, given they are out in the following months.

Doctor Who
Time: 11:45am (Friday 12:15am IST)
Venue: Hall H

The new Doctor (the thirteenth, if you're keeping count) Jodie Whittaker will be present alongside new showrunner Chris Chibnall – the two have worked previously on Broadchurch – will make an appearance, as well as executive producer Matt Strevens, and co-stars Tosin Cole and Mandip Gill. BBC released a teaser on Sunday during the World Cup final, and it's likely we'll see a longer trailer at Comic-Con.

Nightflyers
Time: 3pm (Friday 3:30am IST)
Venue: Indigo Ballroom, Hilton Bayfront

Based on the novella and short stories by George R.R. Martin (Game of Thrones), Nightflyers is currently in production. Executive producers Jeff Buhler, Gene Klein, and David Bartis will be present alongside stars Gretchen Mol, Eoin Macken, David Ajala, Jodie Turner-Smith and Angus Sampson. The show got its first trailer in June, so chances of a new one for the public aren't high.

Breaking Bad 10th Anniversary Celebration
Time: 4:30pm (Friday 5am IST)
Venue: Hall H

Cast members Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, Dean Norris, Anna Gunn, Bob Odenkirk, Giancarlo Esposito, Betsy Brandt, Jonathan Banks, RJ Mitte along with Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan return to look back at their favourite moments from the series and discuss the show's legacy.

Marvel's Iron Fist
Time: 6pm (Friday 6:30am IST)
Venue: Ballroom 20

Marvel Television hasn't announced any panellists except chief Jeph Loeb for a discussion on what's in store for Iron Fist season 2, premiering later this year. There's bound to be a teaser trailer, and hopefully even an exact release date.

Friday, July 20

Star Trek: Discovery
Time: 1:30pm (Saturday 2am IST)
Venue: Hall H

With production ongoing for season 2, cast members Sonequa Martin-Green, Doug Jones, Shazad Latif, Mary Wiseman, Anthony Rapp, Wilson Cruz, Mary Chieffo and Anson Mount alongside executive producers Alex Kurtzman and Heather Kadin will make a pitstop at SDCC 2018. The panel will be moderated by guest star Tig Notaro, who will appear as chief engineer Reno.

CBS released a first-look image on Monday, and it might follow that up with a short teaser at Comic-Con.

Photo Credit: Entertainment Weekly

Amazon Prime Video Showcase
Time: 3:30pm (Saturday 4am IST)
Venue: Ballroom 20

Amazon will bring together the creators of six different series on its platform, including Carlton Cuse, executive producer of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan; The Tick creator Ben Edlund; Sam Esmail, director of Homecoming; Neil Gaiman, creator, writer, and showrunner of Good Omens; Naren Shankar, showrunner of The Expanse; and Lore executive producer Gale Anne Hurd.

While Jack Ryan has already seen a couple of trailers, we've only gotten first-look images for Good Omens. Hopefully, a teaser is on the way.

Bumblebee
Time: 5pm (Saturday 5:30am IST)
Venue: Hall H

Slightly surprising that this will be the first time for Transformers in SDCC's famed Hall H, with the upcoming spin-off Bumblebee. Director Travis Knight will be joined by Hailee Steinfeld and the cast. A teaser was released at the start of June, and it's possible we'll get a full-length trailer.

Sony Pictures
Time: 6:15pm (Saturday 6:45am IST)
Venue: Hall H

Marvel might be sitting this year out, but two films produced in association with Sony Pictures – Venom and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse – will be present at SDCC 2018. Venom director Ruben Fleischer and cast Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams and Riz Ahmed might make an appearance for the former, while Phil Lord and Christopher Miller will be present for the latter.

We've had full-length trailers for both Spider-Man spin-off films, so any footage released will likely be exclusive for the Comic-Con audience. There's no word on Tom Holland swinging in though he did appear at Seattle Ace Comic-Con last month.

Riz Ahmed and Tom Hardy in a still from Venom
Photo Credit: Entertainment Weekly

Saturday, July 21

Warner Bros.
Time: 10:30am (11pm IST)
Venue: Hall H

With both Disney and HBO skipping San Diego Comic-Con 2018, things look great for Warner Bros. The timeslot isn't confirmed yet, but Saturday morning is the usual slot for the studio. Aquaman director James Wan has already announced a trailer will drop for his film, and the director and star of Wonder Woman 1984 – Patty Jenkins and Gal Gadot – are expected to drop by.

It's possible the Comic-Con audience might even get a first look at Shazam!. Warner Bros. has several other films that it might screen clips or trailers for, including Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, and The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part.

Disenchantment
Time: 5:30pm (Sunday 6am)
Venue: Room 6A

The cast and crew of Matt Groening's first new show since Futurama will be present at Comic-Con to take you into the crumbling medieval kingdom of Dreamland, where the misadventures of hard-drinking young princess Bean, her feisty elf companion Elfo, and her personal demon Luci take place. A teaser trailer was released towards the end of June, and a full-length trailer should debut since the series is out in August.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

Further reading: SDCC, SDCC 2018, Netflix, Amazon Studios, Warner Bros, Sony Pictures, Fox, Paramount, The Predator, Syfy, Marvel, Iron Fist, Star Trek, Star Trek Discovery, Amazon Prime Video, The Tick, Good Omens, Bumblebee, Venom, Spider Man, Spider Man Into the Spider Verse, Aquaman, Shazam, Wonder Woman, Wonder Woman 1984, Fantastic Beasts, The Lego Movie, Disenchantment, Doctor Who, Comic Con