Comic Con 2012 LIVE: Schedule, Events, Trailers Halo 4, Iron Man 3, and More
Comic-Con 2012 will draw a massive crowd of comic book fans, TV addicts, and film junkies next Thursday through Sunday.
We'll will be updating live with the hottest trailers and news from the event. Bookmark this page and click refresh to see updates (all times EDT).
Updates: Friday
7:50 a.m.
An Update from the 2012 Comic-Con event, focusing on the best of video games, TV, books and comics.
- Games
The latest game by Epic Games (Gears of War) will focus on multiplayer but bears little resemblance to the company’s most famous franchise. Ellen Page discussed her role in the hotly anticipated Beyond: Two Souls. Gearbox revealed enemy details for their upcoming Borderlands 2. Microsoft and 343 Industries are bringing a Halo web-series that they intend to make understandable for even the Halo “n00bs.” Ubisoft revealed that Assassin’s Creed III will have a multiplayer component, allowing people to work together to take out targets. Nintendo’s lesser known but insanely cute franchise, Pikmin, was showcased with actual gameplay footage from Pikmin 3. New Super Mario Bros. U, a Mario game for the Wii U system was demonstrated; it clearly does not drift too far from the established Mario formula.
- Movies
Dreamworks’ unveiled The Croods, an animated family film starring Emma Stone (The Amazing Spider-Man) and Ryan Reynolds (Waiting). The movie revolves around a family that is forced to leave their cave for the first time. It was revealed that the Fantastic Four reboot will be directed by Josh Trank (Chronicle). Lego has unveiled a toy set based on the upcoming hobbit film, entitled An Unexpected Gathering. John C. Reilly and Sarah Silverman discussed their roles in Disney’s upcoming Wreck-It-Ralph Sam Raimi, Mila Kunis and Michelle Williams discussed the upcoming Oz The Great and Powerful. The Expendables 2 was showcased, with the highlight being a gunfight featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone and Bruce Willis. Tim Burton showcased his bizarre sense of style in Frankenweenie, a movie that works as a parody of both horror and children’s “animal movies” such as Air Bud. A trailer for The Lone Ranger starring Johnny Depp was showcased, despite the fact that the movie is facing budget concerns. Stephanie Meyer, writer of the Twilight series, revealed footage from The Host, a movie based on her novel of the same name, although targeted at audiences older than the fans of the vampire novel/drivel. Arnold Schwarzenegger confirmed a sequel to his 1998 film Twins.
- Television
The World Wrestling Entertainment’s panel revealed future storylines starring popular characters such as CM Punk and Sheamus. Punk took on some difficult questions, including the subject of Chris Benoit. Capcom revealed that it is developing a live-action series based on the Street Figherfranchise. Fans were treated to the opening of Dexter’s seventh season. Power Rangers celebrated its 20th anniversary by bringing back member of the retro cast.
- Comics
A panel consisting of the creative team behind Batman discussed upcoming events in the Dark Knight’s universe; highlights include a new look for Gotham in Batman #0, a cover reveal for Batman #13, and a discussion of Talon (a story inspired by a character from the Batman universe). Other notable discussions include Nightwing, Catwoman and the Red Hood. All the fans present received a mask from the Court of Owls, a central organization in the upcoming storylines. Jeff Parker’s Hulk series will be shaking things up with Red She-Hulk gaining more importance than ever. Deadpool fans will have many changes to look forward to with Daniel Way signing off on his take of the merc-with-a-mouth. Several Walking Dead reveals were made by writer Robert Kirkman and artist Charile Adlard.
Thursday:
Here's a list of the developments so far on Thursday at this year's Comic-Con in San Diego, courtesy of PM pundit Abdul Siddiqui:
- Games
Netherrealm Studios (Mortal Kombat) revealed Nightwing and Cyborg as two playable characters in their upcoming DC Comics fighting game Injustice: Gods Among Us. Superbot Entertainment showcased the upcoming Playstation 3 exclusive Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale. The game is a crossover fighter, featuring characters from popular Sony franchises such as God of War and Twisted Metal. High Moon Studios showcased Transformers: Fall of Cybertron. The game is receiving praise for a multiplayer component that allows players to design their own Transformer. Activision, the publisher, also showcased the recently released The Amazing Spider-Man and the upcoming The Walking Dead. Capcom revealed gameplay footage from the upcoming Resident Evil 6. The footage stars Leon S. Kennedy, an old protagonist of the series, and seems to follow Resident Evil 5’s trend of allowing a computer-controlled ally to support the protagonist even though the series was originally a survival horror game focusing on the protagonist being alone against zombies. Also showcased was a Street Fighter anniversary edition, Lost Planet 3 and the rebootedDevil May Cry. Beyond: Two Souls, the psychological thriller starring Ellen Page (Juno), revealed new cast members Kadeem Hardison (A Different World) and Eric Winter (Days of our Lives). Fortnite, the sandbox game by legendary designers Epic Games, will be the first game to be designed using the Unreal 4 engine. A massively multiplayer online game based on the Game of Thrones franchise was announced for next year.
- Movies
Warner Bros. displayed the new costume worn by Superman in the upcoming Man of Steel. The design is fairly similar to the classic except for a notable omission of the legendary red underpants on the outside. Sixteen character posters for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey were revealed. However, the trailer to Peter Jackson’s movie will be shown in the regular 24-frames per second, despite the movie having been famously shot in 48. 20th Century Fox revealed that they will be rebooting their Fantastic Four franchise. The previous series, starring Ioan Gruffudd and Jessica Alba, was met with critical failures and were not the financial success that such a franchise merited. Fox also stands at the risk of losing the rights to the Daredevil franchise. As the previously attached director has left the project, if production does not start in Fall 2012, the rights to the film may revert back to Disney’s Marvel Studios. Dreamworks announced Kung Fu Panda 3 and Madagascar 4. Both are commercially successful animated franchises aimed at children. Also showcased were Rise of the Guardians and The Crood. Dredd, a reboot of the classic Judge Dredd, was screened. The movie will star Karl Urban (Star Trek) and will hit theaters on September 21. Ben Wishaw will star in the new James Bond movie, Skyfall, as a much younger version of Q, the classic character immortalized by the deceased Desmond Llewelyn. The cast of Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 was present. Nearly 6,000 fans were offered a surprise look at the first seven minutes of the film. The Man With the Iron Fists, the upcoming action movie directed, co-written and starring rapper Rza (who also starred on Californication), will be released on November 21.
- Television
Shout Factory! and Hasbro will collaborate for the DVD releases Tranforsmers: Rescue Botsand Kaijudo: Rise of the Duel Masters. The two series currently air on The Hub and will be available for purchase later this year. Several toymakers, including Lego and Hasbro, revealed numerous action figures from popular franchises. The toys included characters from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, G. I. Joe, Batman, and X-Men.
- Comics
Archie Comics, already having announced a crossover with the Fox show Glee, is also bringing their own makeup line through MAC Cosmetics IDW Publishing announced Transformers: Fall of Cybertron a digital series designed to act as a prequel to the video game of the same title. A blu-ray release of Joss Whedon’s Astonishing X-Men was announced. The three part motion-comic series covers the entire Astonishing X-Men comics storyline.
3:30 p.m. Could we see a Fifty Shades of Grey Movie? 50 Shades of Grey may be the next big Academy Award winner.
E.L. James, the author of the best-selling erotic novels, has chosen Oscar-winning The Social Networkproducers Michael De Luca and Dana Brunetti to produce the highly-anticipated movie.
De Luca, who has also produced Moneyball, and Brunetti both know how to turn novels into films --The Social Network was based on The Accidental Billionaires; Moneyball was based on the Michael Lewis book by the same name. 50 Shades of Grey, which is about a mysterious billionaire businessman who seduces a virginal college grad and introduces her to his sexual aggression, will be the next book-to-film adaptation for these producers.
While the books have been called poorly written and even sexist, the movie may actually be a top-notch production. De Luca and Brunetti are highly respected, and beat out top Hollywood producers Brian Grazer (A Beautiful Mind) and Michael Shamberg and Stacey Sher (Pulp Fiction). Golden-Globe nominee Ryan Gosling is a favorite to play Christian Grey.
The strength of the film, however, may rely on the director. The director choice will reveal the overall mood of the film - whether more rom-com, action-adventure, thriller, or drama. So who are favorites to lead the pack? See here.
12 p.m. A sad moment at Comic-Con: There was a sobering prelude to Comic-Con International, which kicks off Wednesday night with a preview evening at the San Diego Convention Center: a devotee of the “Twilight” series was killed by a car on Tuesday while lining up for a Thursday movie panel.
10 a.m. To get you pumped up, here's a special primer from PM Pundit Abdul Siddiqui:
Wednesday evening marked the preview night for Comic-Con 2012, taking place at the San Diego Convention Center. Now is the best time to catch up on what will actually be happening at this year's show.
Here is a list of notables from a variety of different fields. Be sure to tune in for PolicyMic's coverage over the course of the convention, starting Thursday and ending on Sunday.
1) Movies
Several major Hollywood studios are skipping Comic-Con this year after some of their previous films ended up flopping, despite their notable and expensive presence at the convention in the past. This comes as a disappointment to some fans. The studios which will not be making an appearance include: Paramount Pictures, 20thCentury Fox, and Universal Pictures. However, Sony Pictures, Warner Bros., Lionsgate, and Walt Disney Pictures will still be present. Personally, I’m upset that The Wolverine will not be available (20th Century Fox holds the rights to movies based on the X-Men franchise), but Marvel will still want to demonstrate that they can top The Avengers and will be sure to show off Iron Man 3. Also, Warner Bros. will be demonstrating Man of Steel, even though The Dark Knight succeeded without ever showing up at the convention. Other hotshots included The Hobbit and Pacific Rim.
2) Video games
Considering the fact that several movie studios will be absent this year, Comic-Con will be more video game-focused than ever. Other than a few mandatory tournaments, video games that will be making an appearance include the science-fiction/historical adventure game Assassin’s Creed III, the psychological thriller Beyond: Two Souls starring Ellen Paige, and Microsoft’s eight-hundred pound gorilla Halo 4. Of course, it was just recently announced that the Assassin’s Creedmovie is going to star Michael Fassbender so anyone with a low tolerance for drivel should avoid the franchise as if their life depends on it because, if you spend too much time watching Fassbender’s movies, it will seriously affect your health.
3) Television
Essentially, every major show imaginable will be present at this year’s convention. Notable panels for current shows include Glee, True Blood, Sons of Anarchy, Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, Bones, Nikita, Dexter, Big Bang Theory, Wilfred and Archer. The most interesting, however, is going to be a panel marking the tenth anniversary of the beloved and tragically short-livedFirefly, a panel that will include Nathan Fillion and other cast members. Also, considering Whedon’s recent mainstream success with The Avengers, do not be surprised if Whedon has something to say about his next superhero project, which could include a Hulk movie starring Mark Ruffalo or the lesser-known Guardians of the Galaxy, whose villain Thanos was referenced at the end of The Avengers, reportedly on Whedon’s insistence.
4) Comics
Struggling comic creators will be able to discuss career paths with notable writing personalities C. B. Cebulski, David Marquez (Ultimate Comics Spider-Man), and Sam Humphries (Ultimate Comics Ultimates). Also, toy makers Lego, Hasbro, and Diamond Select will be offering superhero collectables for purchase that are not available elsewhere. Hasbro will be announcing a newTransformers license and storyline. Other notable presences include Marjorie Liu from Joss Whedon’s truly amazing Astonishing X-Men and the David Gaider, writer for the video game Dragon Age.
The most notable thing to occur during Wednesday's preview was Warner Bros. Television's offering a sneak peak at the pilots for their upcoming shows 666 Park Avenue, Arrow, The Following, Revolution, and Cult. Also, considering his involvement in movies, comics and television, Joss Whedon might end up being the celebrity of the convention and others will finally see what his cult followers have been talking about for years.
For the complete programming, visit Comic Con International’s official website and be sure to tune in for complete coverage starting Thursday, July 12.
Schedule of Events: If you haven’t already planned out your Comic-Con weekend or are debating whether to attend, here’s a guide to the four-day event:
Summit Entertainment will present exclusive footage of the final chapter of the vampire saga. The cast and filmmaker will hold a Q&A session about the conclusive film.
Thursday, 2:05-3:05 “Walt Disney Studios: Frankenweenie, Oz The Great and Powerful, and Wreck-it Ralph” (Hall H)
Tim Burton, Sam Raimi (Spider-Man trilogy), Sarah Silverman, and more will answer questions and reveal details about these films.
Psychologists will discuss Batman’s relationships, personality, and potential psychiatric diagnoses. Executive producer of The Dark Knight Rises, and comic book writers of Batman, among others, will debate how healthy it is for an orphaned billionaire to spend his nights fighting crime while dressed like a bat.
Fans will see a 2D trailer premiere of Resident Evil: Damnation, based on the game series. The first seven minutes of the Japanese theatrical version of the film will be screened and a Q&A with Makoto Kamiya (the film’s director) and Hiroyuki Kobayashi (Japanese producer of the original franchise) will follow.
The Weinstein Company will screen a sneak peek of the film by Quentin Tarantino, who will be there to discuss the film with the cast.
Warner Brothers and Legendary Pictures will screen exclusive clips from major upcoming films. Pacific Rim is a sci-fi action adventure apocalypse film by Guillermo del Toro; Man of Steel is an origins story about Superman by Watchmen director Zach Snyder; The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey will bring Academy Award-winning Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings trilogy) to the J.R.R. Tolkien series, but this time to the prequel about Bilbo Baggins.
Producer of Iron Man 3 Kevin Feige and special guests will talk about the ever-expanding Marvel project in cinema.
Members from the series will showcase special footage and a discussion about the next season.
The cast and crew of Bones will discuss the cliffhanger ending to the seventh season and will discuss Season 8. The panel will be followed by a fan Q&A.
Missing Game of Thrones? Check out the cast and crew’s panel discussion.
The cast and crew of the award-winning drama will hold a panel discussion about what it’s like to be on the show, and what to expect from the last 16 episodes of the series. They will show an exclusive preview.
The cast and crew of this zombie TV series will hold a panel discussion, followed by a sneak preview of season 3.
The cast and crew will premiere footage from the all-new season of Futurama.
Creator Matt Groening and others will discuss the upcoming Treehouse of Horror, show a sneak (2D) peek at Simpsons theatrical short The Longest Daycare, and more.
Seth MacFarlane, Mila Kunis, and more cast members will showcase Family Guy's funniest scenes from the upcoming new season, followed by a Q&A with the audience.
Seth MacFarlane and the cast of American Dad will screen exclusive previews of next season and hold a panel discussion.
Saturday, 4:30-5:15 “True Blood Panel and Q&A session” (Ballroom 20)
Cast members of this vampire series will hold a panel discussion.
Cast members Lea Michele (Rachel Berry), Cory Monteith (Finn Hudson), Naya Rivera (Santana Lopez), two other stars and the executive producer will discuss the past season of the hit TV series Glee.
The cast and executive producer of Fringe will hold a Q&A with fans and show an exclusive video.
Halo 4 is the latest installment of the video game sci-fi saga. Major figures involved in the series will discuss the upcoming game.
Margaret Atwood and others will reflect on Bradbury and his impact on literature, comics, cinema, and beyond.
Margaret Atwood, William F. Nolan, George Clayton Johnson, and more will be attending this tribute to the late father of mainstream science fiction, Ray Bradbury.
Creator, executive producers, and cast members of the viral Bob’s Burgers series will show exclusive footage, followed by a panel discussion and Q&A.
How has Kickstarter affected comics?
Some of the greatest minds in comics, including the creators of Occupy Comics that inspired participation in the Occupy movement, will discuss activism and counterculture comics.
Larry King interviews Peter Cullen, the voice of Optimus Prime. "The King of Interviews" will take attendees through the actor's early days on the original 1984 animated TV series Transformers Generation One, the three box office smash Transformers movies, and his current work on The Hub TV network's Daytime Emmy Award-winning animated series Transformers Prime from Hasbro Studios. Audience Q&A to follow.
The comic world will celebrate LGBT sexuality in comics over the past 25 years with a documentary, live appearances by prominent gay or gay-friendly writers, a mixer, and more.
