As always, the Marvel movie panel was one of the biggest at San Diego Comic Con. With an emphasis on new franchises like Black Panther, Doctor Strange, and Spider-Man: Homecoming, it truly felt like a brand new phase for the studio.
The panel aired several trailers and sizzle reels (some of which weren’t posted online, unfortunately), along with an army of celebrity guests and lots of updates from behind the scenes. Here’s everything you can currently view online, beginning with the new Marvel Studios logo!
New Marvel Studios logo and fanfare composed by @m_giacchino premiered pic.twitter.com/VFLuzyCJV3
— /Film (@slashfilm) July 24, 2016
Thor: Ragnorok
New logo for Marvel’s “@thorofficial: Ragnarok” straight out of Hall H at #MarvelSDCC! pic.twitter.com/WHxoGsjD9K
— Marvel Entertainment (@Marvel) July 24, 2016
Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi teased the humor of this movie with a faux-documentary clip from Chris Hemsworth as Thor. He also revealed the film’s logo, which has an ’80s arcade game vibe. Ragnarok is in production right now, so they were able to share a sizzle reel of new footage including the Hulk (who will play a major role in this movie), Loki, and a new throne room in Asgard. It’s good to hear the Thor franchise is going in a more comedic direction, especially after Hemsworth’s brilliant turn in the new Ghostbusters.
Spider-Man: Homecoming
Spider-Man surprises #SDCC! Here’s the first look of the Concept Art featuring the Vulture in #SpiderManHomecoming pic.twitter.com/RDVEVsDHQa
— Spider-Man Movie (@SpiderManMovie) July 24, 2016
The presence of Spider-Man: Homecoming was a welcome surprise at the Marvel Studios panel, including a John Hughes-esque montage of high school Spider-Man scenes, plus some new casting updates.
As fans already know, Homecoming has a promisingly diverse cast with far more characters than you’d expect from a solo movie. Zendaya was revealed to be playing the classic Spider-Man character Liz Allan, Tony Revolori is Flash Thompson, and Michael Keaton is playing the villainous Vulture—a rapid turnaround from his Oscar success in Birdman, a film about a washed-up superhero actor.
Black Panther
Cast and new logo for Marvel’s “@theblackpanther” just revealed at #MarvelSDCC! https://t.co/KlRFgZiiyL pic.twitter.com/AHDTYX0uI3
— Marvel Entertainment (@Marvel) July 24, 2016
Black Panther had one of the most exciting lineups of the Marvel panel, confirming Lupita Nyong’o‘s casting, alongside the surprise introduction of Danai Gurira, The Walking Dead‘s Michonne. Gurira is playing Okoye, the leader of the Black Panther’s personal guard, Lupita Nyong’o is playing Nakia, a familiar character from the Black Panther comics, and Michael B. Jordan is the antagonist Erik Killmonger. They start filming in January.
Doctor Strange
With Doctor Strange coming out in a few months, this was obviously one of the headline acts of the Marvel panel. Benedict Cumberbatch took to the stage alongside Benedict Wong, Mads Mikkelsen and Tilda Swinton, who briefly touched on the Ancient One racism controversy by saying, “The truth is, any of us can be the Ancient One.” Then the audience got another SDCC-exclusive clip, along with the new trailer posted above.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” rocks Hall H with a brand new logo! #MarvelSDCC pic.twitter.com/220j85JgPR
— Guardians of the Galaxy (@Guardians) July 24, 2016
The Guardians of the Galaxy cast showed up in force for SDCC, sharing the news that the film is getting a Disney theme park ride. However, the most important update was the identity of Star-Lord’s father, played by Kurt Russell. He’s playing Ego, also known as “the Living Planet,” an incredibly powerful and appropriately bizarre Marvel character who gave himself human form—and ended up impregnating Star-Lord’s mom. Sylvester Stallone will also appear in the film, apparently playing a member of the spacefaring police force the Nova Corps.
.@Marvel Announces #GuardiansBREAKOUT Coming to Disney California Adventure in 2017. https://t.co/yN931AQmAU #SDCC pic.twitter.com/WM98iR3usM
— Disney (@Disney) July 24, 2016
Captain Marvel
Meet your #CaptainMarvel: @brielarson! pic.twitter.com/W5D3p5QPtr
— Captain Marvel (@captainmarvel) July 24, 2016
The final act of this action-packed panel was the introduction of Oscar-winner Brie Larson as Captain Marvel, who will hopefully make her debut in the upcoming Avengers sequels before her solo movie comes out in 2019.
With this kind of lineup, it’s safe to say the Marvel Studios panel conquered SDCC once again.
