SDCC News 2013

Well, I already talked about the news of Batman vs. Superman that was announced at Comic Con. It was pretty hard to top that news. But, there were a few surprises outside of that too. 

The funny thing about San Diego is that so many film companies try to surprise their fans that the unexpected has become the expected. While there, it doesn't matter that much because you still get caught up in the excitement. 

I've watched what I could of most of the panels online (I wish I could see the clips shown...oh well). 

I would say one of the disappointments was The Amazing Spider-man 2 panel. A couple of years ago, Andrew Garfield (a.k.a. Peter Parker, a.k.a. Spider-man) surprised the panel dressed in Spider-man cosplay. This year it was similar, but it didn't seem to go as planned. He was introduced on stage as Spider-man. Then he ran off and Andrew Garfield "showed up late." The Amazing Spider-man 2 did introduce the first images of Jamie Foxx as Electro in several of the Comic Con magazines leading up to the big event.

As we continued over to Fox, they had a quick panel with Hugh Jackman and the director of The Wolverine. We knew this wasn't going to be all they showed us. Hugh Jackman did try to surprise us with a "little indie movie" he's been making. At that point the entire cast of X-men: Days of Future Past came out. It was very cool to see all of the old cast of the first three X-men movies and the cast of X-men: First Class on one stage. 

Since Marvel had three movies yet to be named, I expected to hear Black Panther, Doctor Strange or some other movies to be announced during the panel. They didn't announce anything new except for Avengers 2 will be called Age of Ultron. That is pretty big news for comic book fans, but it means very little to those that don't follow the comics. The panel opened with Tom Hiddleston taking over the panel as Loki, Thor's mischievous brother. It was a very fun opening and they showed some footage to tease fans for the Thor movie opening in November. The Guardians of the Galaxy panel featured most of the cast, but it still didn't make me any more excited for that movie. 

That was all of the major movie news that came out of Comic Con this year. I would have loved to hear a little more about Robocop and Godzilla, but I'll have to wait for the trailers.

World's Finest

I went to the San Diego Comic Con last year, 2012.  It was my first time and it was great.  I would definitely recommend going whether you like comic books or not.  If you love movies, it is a great place to go too.  I love it all, so it was Nerd-vana for me.

Last year, I saw Zack Snyder and Henry Cavill talk about Man of Steel.  This year Zack Snyder made a return to Hall H (the place where all the majority of movie panels take place).  I think a lot of people were wondering if we would see him or any of the Man of Steel cast during the Warner Bros. panel.  There was an announcement not too long ago that we would be seeing a sequel and a team movie within the next two years.  I, along with others, questioned whether it was really possible.

While we are not seeing a Justice League movie in 2015, we are going to see both a Superman sequel and a "team" movie.  On Saturday, Zack Snyder made the biggest announcement of Comic Con 2013 weekend.  The other panels were loaded with movie stars and made some interesting announcements, but Snyder's announcement trumped them all.  In 2015, we will see a Superman/Batman movie.  My hope is that they title it World's Finest in honor of the comic book that hosted the pairing of these two characters for years.

The announcement (see it at the bottom of this article) was made by quoting a panel of Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns where Batman defeats Superman.  Harry Lennix, who played General Swanwick in Man of Steel, read this line to the crowd:

I want you to remember, Clark, in all the years to come, in your most private moments.  I want you to remember my hand at your throat.  I want you to remember the man who beat you.

The official press release announces that it will be a Batman vs. Superman movie (not sure which character is taking the top billing).  This is a very difficult proposition.  You can debate who would win a match for days on end.  Batman would carry Kryptonite.  Superman could use his heat vision.  Blah, blah, blah.  The truth is that the general movie-going audience is going to have a hard time believing that Superman couldn't take down a human being, even one of extraordinary skills, in seconds. Kryptonite hasn't even been announced to this movie world yet.  You have to create a Batman that can perform superhuman feats while still being only human.  Is this possible?  I believe so, but it's still shaky ground.

The other question that arises with a "versus" movie is what brings this two icons to be at odds.  Does the government manipulate Superman to take down a relatively unknown "menace" in Gotham City?  I doubt it.  Does Lex Luthor manipulate Batman into taking down Superman?  Again, doubtful.  However, I do believe that this is likely closer to the path they'll take.  Lex Luthor and Bruce Wayne team to rebuild Metropolis.  Bruce Wayne, having already operated quietly as Batman in Gotham for years, believes Superman to be a threat to the whole world.  While investigating ways to take Superman, the two have to face one another.

Will there be villains?  Maybe.  I think Lex Luthor is introduced in this movie; however, like I originally thought when it was just a Superman movie, he's mainly behind the scenes.  I still think there will be a Metallo or some other threat.  It is entirely likely though that Superman and Batman are their own adversaries and nobody else is there to interfere.

The biggest question is "Who will play Batman?"  As I stated before, I think Callum Blue would be a good choice.  I've only seen him in The Tudors and as Zod in Smallville; however, I think he may be a good choice.  I also like Matt Bomer.  If you've ever seen the pilot episode of Chuck, he can definitely do the physical aspect of Batman.  He still may need to add some bulk. I'm sure they'll find some relative newcomer that is perfect for the part.

No matter the choice of actors, villains or even storyline, I'm expecting this to be the biggest box office hit of 2015.  That's pretty big considering the movies coming out in 2015.  This is also the most risky movie for Warner Bros.  If they don't succeed with this movie, the success of Man of Steel doesn't matter.  They won't be continue their major comic properties for years.  High risk, high reward.