Convention Comic-Con returns in full force this week to the American city of San Diego, California, with a highly anticipated superhero event from the studios Marvel, among the many attractions that will be celebrated by tens of thousands of fans dressed as their beloved heroes and villains.
One of the largest pop culture events in the world, this event began five decades ago as a simple fan gathering centered on comic books and their characters held in the basement of a hotel. Today, it attracts crowds and even movie stars who come to promote their films and television series.
Last year’s edition was marred by Hollywood employee strikes, which prevented actors from participating and thus dampened public interest. But this year, some 130,000 people are expected to visit the Southern California city to enjoy Comic-Con.
The highlight of the 2024 edition is the presentation of Marvel films on Saturday night, when the Disney Group partner is expected to present its new plans, which aim to reinvent its mega-blockbuster film franchise, after several years of setbacks.
Marvel movies dominated Hollywood and the global box office for years. For example, “Avengers: Endgame” (2019) briefly became the highest-grossing film of all time with a gross of $2.79 billion.
But recently, the film has had more flops than hits. Fans have complained about the overly complicated plots of its on-screen stories and lamented the departure of beloved characters such as “Iron Man,” played by Robert Downey Jr.
The franchise also suffered from allegations of domestic violence against actor Jonathan Majors, who was set to play the new big supervillain in several films.
Marvel then ruled out Majors, who was convicted of assaulting and harassing a couple in the past. However, his replacement remains unknown.
Saturday’s presentation, which is expected to reveal Disney’s plans to continue without him, will be held in the well-known Hall H, which seats 6,000 and in front of which many fans camp out in line for days to secure a seat.
Some experts consider it a potentially decisive moment for the group.
“If the company wants to attract people beyond its die-hard fans, it needs to answer these questions in Hall H,” wrote Susana Polo in Polygon, a media outlet specializing in the entertainment industry.
Disney’s Comic-Con menu also includes a look at “Alien: Romulus,” the latest installment in the sci-fi saga, and a “celebration” event for this weekend’s biggest superhero release in U.S. theaters: “Deadpool & Wolverine.”
Warner Bros., the rival studio behind DC’s superhero movies, is keeping a lower profile this year but will offer a glimpse of its Batman spin-off series, “The Penguin,” starring Colin Farrell.
On the other hand, the film “Those About To Die”, a bloody journey through Ancient Rome and its macabre world of gladiator fights and chariots in the Colosseum, with veteran Anthony Hopkins among the protagonists, will develop several events.
Amazon’s Prime Video will premiere the second season of its television series “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,” which hopes to win over audiences after the lukewarm reviews received by its opulent premiere season two years ago.
Also following the recent success of small-screen video game adaptations such as “Fallout” and “The Last of Us,” Amazon will take viewers into the underworld of Japanese mafia lords with “Like a Dragon: Yakuza,” based on the hit Sega games.
But for many, Comic-Con is more of a place to step into the shoes of Disney characters or fierce samurai, meet like-minded people and exchange comic books and magazines.
Comic-Con will run from Thursday through Sunday.
Source: Ambito
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
