For the first time in 50 years, the most anticipated San Diego Comic Convention (SDCC) was held behind digital screens. The largest and the most popular convention for pop-culture enthusiasts all across the planet, the San Diego Comic Convention is a potpourri of all genres of art ranging from horror to Japanese manga. The ongoing COVID-19 crisis forced the SDCC to be cancelled due to safety issues.
Despite the lack of a physical audience at the convention, the anticipation for the SDCC 2020 could be barely contained by fans across the globe. SDCC’s decision to go digital for the first time in five decades was enough to brighten our day during this ongoing pandemic.
Though this might seem like a bummer to cancel the mega event, there is a silver lining to it. For the first time ever, SDCC allowed anyone across the globe to attend the event and create their own personal schedule. The Comic-Con@Home event can be accessed through the Comic-Con website. Enabling the participants to create their schedules by selecting their panels of interest, the entire event is made free by making it available on YouTube. Fans all across the world can have access to the star-studded events which they usually get to read on social media.
One major absence in this year’s SDCC was Marvel Studios. The COVID-19 crisis has pushed major studios to postpone their projects indefinitely till the situation normalises. Despite the absence of mega studios, this year SDCC will still have over 350 panels to choose from.
Without wasting any more time, let’s delve into all that happened in the SDCC 2020 which blew away our mind. Interested? Let’s hop in!
1. The opening scene of Fox’s The New Mutants
First set to release back in April 2018, Fox’s The New Mutants was delayed for myriad reasons. Originally planned to be a trilogy, the repeated delaying has overthrown that plan as Disney’s Marvel Studios has full control of the characters now.
Starring Maisie Williams (Arya Stark) from Game of Thrones, Charlie Heaton (Jonathan Byers) from Stranger Things, Anya Taylor-Joy (The Witch, Split), Alice Braga (City of God), Blu Hunt (The Originals), and Henry Zaga (Teen Wolf, 13 Reasons Why), The New Mutants revolves around five young mutants who must save themselves from captivity while discovering their powers, fears, and past mistakes.
The first teaser trailer for The New Mutants was released back in October 2017. On the first impression, it seemed like a cross between X-Men and horror franchise. The new footage released in SDCC 2020 seems to reinforce that idea as we are thrown into a chaotic scene as Danielle Moonstar (Blu Hunt) is awakened by her father and dragged outside their house. What seems like to be a fire soon turns out to be an attack by the Demon Bear who destroys their house. Danielle’s father meets a grisly fate as he is mauled and thrown away. Later, Danielle wakes up a facility where she is handcuffed.
The New Mutants fresh take on the mutant storyline and incorporation of nightmarish horrors makes the movie highly anticipated. The movie will also feature a same-sex relationship between Maisie William’s Wolfsbane and Blu Hunt’s Mirage. The introduction of the ghastly Smiley Men who terrorize the young mutants is a scene straight from your wildest nightmare. The remaining mutants: Cannonball, Cecilia Reyes, Sunspot, and Magik are also shown using their powers.
The New Mutants is now set to be released on August 28, 2020.
2. A full trailer of Bill & Ted Face the Music
30 years since their last adventure, the third instalment of Bill & Ted will finally release on August 28, 2020. Since 2010, The script of Bill & Ted Face the Music has undergone intensive preparation to maintain the goofy and humorous nature of the movie instead of turning it into another cash-grab sequel.
With Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves back, now as middle-aged men with their daughters, the trailer looks promising. But sadly, fans won’t be watching this sequel on the big screen.
3. A brand new trailer for His Dark Materials Season 2
His Dark Materials has so far been a lucrative project for both BBC and HBO. The first season’s success promptly paved the way for the second season. The casting for new characters was announced before SDCC.
James McAvoy and Dafne Keen will be joining the second season, along with Terence Stamp, Jade Anouka, and Simon Kirby. The former Smallville actor will be playing the role of Giacomo Paradisi.
4. A sickening clip from The Boys Season 2
Amazon Prime’s The Boys received critical acclaim upon its release back in 2019. The second season of the show was announced even before the very first episode was aired.
Known for its gratuitous violence and gloomy tone, a sickening clip from the second season was released in SDCC. And, it did not disappoint. In a scene where The Deep is chasing the Boys, it ended in the most Garth Ennis way possible. Yes, by impaling a whale with a boat. As Billy Butcher would say, ‘F***ing diabolical!’.
The Boys has been renewed for a third season.
Also Read: Jeffery Dean Morgan to Join The Boys
5. First Look at Simon Pegg and Nick Frost’s Truth Seekers
Amazon’s aggressive expansion has now roped in both Simon Pegg and Nick Frost for a whacky and spooky conspiracy ride. The pair are well-known for their role in Shaun of the Dead.
The trailer teased at SDCC shows a bunch of misfit paranormal investigators trying to uncover a vast conspiracy. No release date has been confirmed so far.
6. First look at Amazon’s conspiracy thriller show, Utopia
Based on its UK counterpart, Utopia is a conspiracy thriller show produced by Amazon Studios. Gillian Flynn, the author of Gone Girl, has adapted the screenplay from the British show, for an eight-episode thrilling ride.
Revolving around a group of online friends who share a common love for a comic-book named Utopia, cryptic messages start unravelling themselves to the group. The messages turn out to be much more sinister, indicating apocalyptic events which the group must stop.
7. Oscar Issac’s new graphic novel Head Wounds: Sparrow
Following Keanu Reeves’ BRZRKR, Oscar Issac has also been heading a comic-book project with his childhood friends. Under the banner of Legendary Comics, Issac’s Head Wounds: Sparrow is set to be released in early 2021.
Following the story of a bad cop who loses his last ounce of empathy to a psychic head wound, Head Wounds: Sparrow promises a matured and dark story in the graphic medium. The story is being written by NY-Times best-selling author Brian Buccellato and drawn by Christian Ward.
