This was an odd year for the San Diego Comic-Con. Before the event even began, many were wondering what to make of the annual nerd extravaganza. Would there be any effect from Marvel Studios ditching Hall H? Would WB/DC bring out the big guns to capture the spotlight? And would there be any surprise announcements or projects that weren’t leaked ahead of time?
Well, now that SDCC has come and gone, we have some answers to these questions, and a whole lot more. And unfortunately for some, the answers weren’t very satisfying. For others, however, they can go back to their studios with their heads held high.
We now present our Winners and Losers from the 2018 San Diego Comic-Con:
LOSER — DC Universe’s “Titans”
Leading up to San Diego Comic-Con, DC was hyping up their streaming service, DC Universe. From all the news we were receiving, it appeared like the comic book publisher potentially had something special on their hands. Then we saw the first trailer for their live-action series, “Titans.”
From the moment Robin utters the words “F*ck Batman,” we knew something was amiss here. And it wasn’t just us. Fans and pundits from all over were laughing (and not in a good way) at the “Titans” trailer. It was dark, even by DC standards. It was, campy, silly and cheap looking, even compared to their CW shows. And frankly, it just looks bad.
And since DC is using “Titans” as the launching series for their streaming service, the future doesn’t look very bright for DC Universe. Hopefully, the rest of the original content the studio is offering in the future will rectify this misstep, but at this moment, “Titans” is not a good first look.
WINNER — “Star Wars: The Clone Wars”
Going into SDCC, we knew that Lucasfilm had a panel planned where they would talk about their upcoming TV offerings. Everyone assumed this would be just a victory lap celebration for Lucasfilm or if we were really lucky, the first trailer for the studio’s upcoming “Star Wars: Resistance,” which even then felt like wishful thinking. Little did we know that Dave Filoni and the folks at Lucasfilm had an ace up their sleeve.
Instead of just padding their selves on their backs with the legacy of the show, fans were treated with the news that the canceled-too-soon series “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” was coming back for a final season. And not just that, but they premiered a brand-new trailer giving ‘Clone Wars’ fans from all over reason to celebrate.
And in past years, a new trailer might not have registered as highly. However, since this year’s SDCC was a bit light on the breaking news, ‘Clone Wars’ stole a lot of buzz and created much excitement.
LOSER — “Venom”
Sony has a lot on their plate with “Venom.” Not only did they have to make a decent “Spider-Man” spin-off film, which, judging by their recent superhero productions, is no easy feat. But they also have to use the film to launch a new shared universe known as the Spider-Verse. Now, that puts a lot of pressure on Tom Hardy’s R-rated superhero flick. And with only a few months until the film’s release, the “Venom” panel at SDCC lacked any real bite.
Why wasn’t there a new trailer? A sizzle reel? A big moment of any kind? Sure, they showed some footage at the convention that was for panel guests only, but at this point in the promotional campaign, only three and a half months to go, why is Sony holding back anything? This was the studios last big chance to make a splash with “Venom” and instead, Sony just delivered an “okay” performance. And in the case of this film, especially with fewer superhero movies to compete with, just “okay” might as well be a loss and a big missed opportunity. “Venom” might have satisfied some of the fans, but it simply had no heat.
WINNER — “Glass”
Speaking of films that needed to get people hyped, Universal’s upcoming “Glass” did just that. After three short teaser trailer clips building up to SDCC, the studio launched the first trailer for the film at their panel and it was well worth the wait. M. Night Shyamalan’s “Unbreakable” trilogy is coming to a close, and it looks like the director is firing on all cylinders with “Glass.”
And like “Venom,” this was the studio’s last and only shot at SDCC with “Glass,” and they definitely brought their A-game. Knowing that they needed to have fans buzzing about the film, the trailer gave just enough information as to what the plot is going to be and enough “holy shit!” moments that got social media buzzing over the film, which is released in January. Films like “Venom” and “Predator” needed to take a look at what Universal is doing with “Glass” to learn how to properly use SDCC to promote a movie.