San Diego Comic-Con 2017 took place at the San Diego Convention Center Wednesday, July 19 through Sunday, July 23. Follow along as we recount our experience at SDCC 2017!
After Bladerunner 2049 wrapped up in Hall H on Saturday, July 22, the real fun began. There was a brief intro video shown to the audience showing off the already released DCEU films, and Wonder Woman was clearly the stand out in the montage, and rightly so, given her movie has been the most critically acclaimed DECU movie to come out by a long shot. Another interesting tidbit we saw in these montages were some title reveals, and movies: Wonder Woman II is officially announced, the Flash movie title is revealed as Flashpoint, plus Shazam, and Green Lantern Corps. Other already known tiles are shown too, such as The Batman, Suicide Squad 2, and Justice League Dark.
Aquaman
After the montage finished up, we got the first movie introduced and it certainly made a splash. Jason Momoa, who is playing Aquaman in the Aquaman film came out, running to the stage with a trident in hand, playing air guitar with it. He was really into hyping his character.
Once Jason Momoa made it to the stage, Aquaman found his trident a bit heavy, and gave it to Chris Hardwick to hold for a while. I don’t know if it was intentional, but what instantly came to my mind, was how much Chris Hardwick looked like the original Aquaman we see in most iterations of the character. Chris Hardwick exclaimed in a high pitched voice, “Hey, it’s me, Aquakid!” It was pretty funny.
Jason Momoa revealed he had hopped on a plane from Australia for Comic-Con, which was really nice of him. I am sure he wants to hype this movie, but still, that has to be a long fight.
Towards the end of the Aquaman panel, we saw a video from James Wan, the director, who is working on the film. He revealed that this movie will be an origin movie for Aquaman, and apparently it will be the first time Aquaman returns to the ocean, which will coincide with how the audience sees Atlantis — both for the first time. We also got to see some concept art, as well as a very brief, sneak peek at the movie, which shows a couple of guys fishing in a boat, who wind up getting a really big hook. After being dragged around in their boat for a bit, we see them witness a massive Techno-Aquarian army moving through the water, which seems to resemble robotic stingrays.
The big deal that came from this footage came through an audience question though — The quesioner asked whose army that was in the footage, and Momoa admitted he might get in trouble for revealing it, but it looks like it will be Ocean Master’s army. I am not a bit Aquaman buff, but I know Ocean Master as Aquaman’s brother, so it looks like we will have a little sibling rivalry in the Aquaman movie.
Aquaman will hit theaters December 21st, 2018.
Justice League
After Jason Momoa finished up his Aquaman panel, the rest of the Justice League came out, being escorted by security, from various areas of the Hall H floor, which was pretty epic. We literally saw them “Come Together” as the covered song used in their trailer, and during this panel would indicate.
After the Justice League minus Superman/Henry Cavill reached the stage, Gal Gadot complimented Jason Momoa on the Aquaman footage. Hardwick then asked the panel how it feels for the heroes to come together for the movie. Ben Affleck and the others talked about how amazing it was to see them all in costume.
Interestingly, Hardwick asked Ben Affleck about the rumors of him potentially leaving the Batman role. Affleck replied that he thinks it is amazing that he has gotten to play Batman, and said that he would play an ape for Matt Reeves (who is mostly known for the new Planet of the Apes prequels). He also thanked the DC producers and behind-the-scenes people. But the interesting thing is, he never actually said he will be playing Batman in the solo film. I have theories and ideas about this, in a future article, so watch out for that.
Gal Gadot talked about the success of Wonder Woman and the audience gave her very positive feedback. Hardwick continued talking to the cast, and they all seemed very excited to be a part of the movies. Ezra Miller, who plays The Flash, and Ray Fisher, who plays Cyborg, talked about their characters being the newest members and youngest members of the Justice League, and both seemed very excited about the film coming out.
Then Ben Affleck introduced the newest Justice League trailer, which begins with a bank-heist scene with Wonder Woman taking care of the situation. We also see some small views of Steppenwolf, the villain of the movie. Various humorous moments make their way into the trailer as well, mostly via The Flash. We also get references to the Green Lantern Corps, and we get to see the shoulder of a mysterious character talking to Alfred — either Superman or perhaps a Green Lantern…? The footage was certainly really good, and while the Batman v. Superman footage blew me away a couple Comic-Cons ago, I am hoping that this time the pay off is real. For those who haven’t seen the trailer, or want to see it again, you can view it here:
After the panel, the cast decided to go all rockstar-ish, throwing chairs around. Hardwick gave them a hard time when they had to pick up the chairs, so Jason Momoa, being the rebel, decided to sit on the floor — until a Comic-Con staff member retrieved another chair for him.
The panel then moved into audience questions, and the first question asked the cast where they were when they found out they got the part, so the cast went through their stories. They were pretty typical, meeting with Zack Snyder or getting a call from their agent, or assistant to Zack Snyder. The cast also praised Zack Snyder’s work on the film, sticking up for their director, despite the drama that has surrounded the movie. Ray Fisher also answered a question about the reshoots rumored to be happening, and described them as brief, and said that Joss Whedon is a great guy.
After a few more audience questions, the Warner Bros panel wrapped up, and the magic of the awesome DC panels had come to a close.
For those under a rock, Justice League will premiere in the US November 17, 2017.
Oddly, although the Warner Bros panel had been scheduled for 11:30am-1:30pm, it ended at 1:00pm, leaving a one hour intermission before the Women Who Kick Ass panel with Charlize Theron. Click here for our recap and photos of that panel!
You can view more photos from the Justice League panel below.
I love the cast for Justice League and can’t wait to see it!