Comics on Film: The Superhero Movies in Hall H at Comic-Con 2016

As over 100,000 people descend once again on the San Diego area for 2016’s Comic-Con International, the entire world of fandom waits to see what kinds of new announcements will be made about virtually every genre property in existence. San Diego is the venue of choice for comic book publishers to announce a plethora of new titles, creative teams, and characters, and we’ll likely be seeing no shortage of news on that front throughout the weekend.

Of course, Comic-Con International has also become a focal point in the world of fandom for virtually everyone, as popular TV shows, web-based content, and movies have also generously given attendees no shortage of footage, news, and events to talk about. 2016 has already proven to be a very interesting year for Comics on Film, and studios are positioning 2017 to perhaps be even more eventful than this year. While Warner Bros. is preparing to imminently release their first entry in the DC Extended Universe that’s not directed by Zack Snyder early next month, 2017 will also be bringing two very high profile live-action films based on DC characters, as well as an anticipated animated outing.

And, of course, it goes without saying that Marvel Studios seeks to further cement their dominance in the genre across both film and television. So, what are the big comics-based films hitting Hall H this year? Let’s check it out.

Warner Bros. in Hall H: Doubling Down on DC

Saturday’s Warner Bros. panel should prove to be an eventful one. It goes pretty much without saying that a lot of interested eyes are on Warner Bros.’ impending release of Suicide Squad on August 5th. After the polarizing critical reaction to Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice by both critics and fans, a lot of people are looking at writer/director David Ayer’s effort within the DC Universe to successfully illustrate the possibilities and diverse characters that fans know so well from the comics.

The Comic-Con presentation is set to be a pretty star-studded affair, with Ayer arriving along with stars Will Smith (Deadshot), Jared Leto (the Joker), Margot Robbie (Harley Quinn), Joel Kinnaman (Rick Flag), Viola Davis (Amanda Waller), Jai Courtney (Boomerang), Jay Hernandez (El Diablo), Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Killer Croc), Scott Eastwood (“GQ”), Cara Delevingne (Enchantress), Adam Beach (Slipknot), and Karen Fukuhara (Katana).

WB will also be playing host to February 2017’s The LEGO Batman Movie, spinning out of 2014’s successful LEGO Movie with Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, and Will Arnett. Arnett returns to voice the blocked version of the Dark Knight once more, in a film that looks like it’ll be a celebration of every facet of Batman’s history with the full sense of humor of LEGO on full display. Director Chris McKay and the voice of Batman himself, Will Arnett, will appear for the segment of the Warner Bros. panel in Hall H that will be dedicated to The LEGO Batman Movie, which will hopefully include a look at more footage.

Also on hand will be WB’s summer 2017 release: Wonder Woman. It’s finally time for the most iconic superheroine in the world to come to the big screen, and WB will be devoting part of their massive presentation to the effort that’ll be hitting theaters next June. As polarizing as Dawn of Justice was, one consistent detail told often at the film’s first screenings is audience applause when Wonder Woman appears to fight alongside Batman and Superman. The presentation is likely to include some new footage of the just-finished principal photography, and who knows what other surprises the studio will have in store for the massive Hall H crowd.

Of course, WB is also actively shooting Justice League. Could we be seeing something from the big team-up film as well? We will find out soon.

Marvel Studios: Expanding the Cinematic Universe

Whenever Marvel Studios rolls into Hall H, the fans that pack all 6,500 seats never leave disappointed. Interestingly, though, this year Marvel’s place in the program is very “bare bones,” with no description whatsoever of which films will be on display, what kind of footage will be shown, or what guests they’ll have up on the dais along with the likes of Kevin Feige. This shouldn’t be too surprising for those who’ve observed Marvels panels over the years, since they’ve been known in the past to plan what they’re going to do up until the last minute. At the show in 2010, they announced the entire cast of The Avengers in a massive joint appearance, including newly-minted Hulk Mark Ruffalo.

Still, even though we don’t know exactly what they’ll have to say this year, we’re not completely in the dark. In the main exhibit hall, Marvel’s booth is all decked out for this November’s Doctor Strange, so it seems reasonable that the movie we’re closest to being able to see will have a notable presence on the dais this year. It also seems pretty reasonable to expect the presence of the Guardians, since Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is the film that will follow Doctor Strange when it’s released on May 5th, 2017. The sequel to the sleeper hit of 2014 just recently wrapped principal photography, so it seems likely that director James Gunn will appear, perhaps alongside a couple of his Guardians stars. Gunn has certainly been talking on social media as though he’s going to be making an appearance.

It also seems pretty likely that November 2017’s Thor: Ragnarok will have a presence, even though it’s currently shooting. Still, because it’s the next movie featuring more than one Avenger (since Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk is tagging along with the God of Thunder), which would likely be a crowd-pleaser. Maybe the Netflix and ABC shows will make some kind of an appearance as well, like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Luke Cage, and Iron Fist.

Still, though, there may be a little more mystery surrounding the film following Guardians, namely Spider-Man: Homecoming. Marvel Studios is clearly involved in actually getting the movie made, but will Sony let Spidey come to the Marvel panel? Our guess is that they probably will, and considering that this is the last Comic-Con before the release of Homecoming next July 7th, it seems pretty likely that they’ll want to give fans a tease, since Spider-Man has always been a pretty prominent part of Hall H whenever he’s had a movie coming out over the last several years.

And, hopefully, the rumors surrounding more solid casting announcements for 2019’s Captain Marvel will work their way into the program. There’s definitely a lot riding on the studio’s first fully-fledged outing led by a superheroine, and fans are definitely interested in knowing who will be the actress chosen to embody Carol Danvers.

All in all, it should prove to be an eventful Saturday in Hall H at this year’s Comic-Con International. For all of the news as it happens, be sure to keep your browser on Movies.com as we bring you the latest breaking news from throughout the weekend!

Chris Clow is a gamer, a comic book expert and former retailer, as well as a freelance contributor to The Huffington Post and Batman-On-Film.com, as well as host of the Comics on Consoles podcast. You can find his weekly piece Comics on Film right here at Movies.com. Check out his blog, and follow along on Twitter @ChrisClow.

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