San Diego Comic-Con Highlights

The recently concluded San Diego Comic-Con that ran from July 19 to 21 proves that all forms of geekery and fandom are here to stay—if anything, the event just keeps getting bigger and better every year.

One of the staples of the Comic-Con events is the panels and screenings held for upcoming comics, graphic novels, TV shows, and even video games; this year is no different, but with bigger intellectual properties and new franchises on the horizon, like the upcoming Batwoman, Terminator: Dark Fate, The Witcher TV series on Netflix, and the Snowpiercer TV series (just to name a few), SDCC was filled to the brim with exciting content.

What are the Best Tv Shows Announced During SDCC?

While most of us never picked up any of Andrzej Sapkowski’s short stories on The Witcher, we are huge fans of CD Projekt Red’s phenomenally sublime The Witcher video games. It was during this year’s SDCC event, however, that we finally got confirmation that the TV series is going to be based on the books—not the video games. This is huge because as geeks who have experienced the video game medium, we are now going to be treated to what the Witcher is actually about as originally intended in the novels.

Marvel also had a panel for The Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and it was revealed that season 7 is going to be the finale for this amazing series. Two very interesting tidbits during the panel were when it was teased that actor Gabriel Luna could have a last-minute cameo as Ghost Rider—and come on, we all know what this COULD mean: a new Ghost Rider TV series, perhaps? (We called it first!) Finally, a fan asked Joss Whedon if any of the characters of the show was set to transition to the big screen, to which he only answered: “We don’t know.” As vague as it sounds, we’re calling it now: this is another corporate foreshadowing by Disney. Believe us!

We also thought the announcement of a Snowpiercer TV series is fantastic—have you seen the film? If you haven’t, we think it’s Bong Joon-ho’s best foray into the western market yet. For the uninitiated, Snowpiercer is a dystopian sci-fi thriller based on Le Transperceneige, a novel by Jacques Lob.

There was also a panel for Game of Thrones, and fan favorites Maisie Williams, Isaac Hempstead Wright, Jacob Anderson, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Liam Cunningham, John Bradley, and Conleth Hill were all there. Showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss weren’t present—and we can all agree it’s for the better! Season 8 ended on a slightly disappointing note, and it’s better to remember the GoT panel for being there merely as a means to treat the fans with the cast’s appearance; nothing more.

What Did We Think were the Best Moments in This Year’s SDCC?

You can always count on the comedic genius of Conan O’Brien and Andy Richter, and #TeamCoco’s ConanCon in SDCC is as brilliant as ever. This year, they also brought along Conan’s very own line of Funko Pops—from Conan’s version of a White Walker, to his very own Spider-Man, these collectible figs are just insane and adorable. People are now actually trading these figs over at Reddit, along with other collectibles bought at SDCC.

Conan also brought perhaps one of SDCC’s most pleasant surprises, and as ‘80s kids, what we thought of as SDCC 2019’s best reveal: Top Gun: Maverick, and it was announced by none other Pete “Maverick” Mitchell himself, Tom Cruise! It was an absolute joy to watch the trailer, and the moment the Top Gun Anthem theme played, we were bathed in pure nostalgia. In the trailer, we found out that Maverick never got past the rank of Captain and as the 2-minute trailer drew to a close, we were treated to an exhilarating scene of a classic F-14 Tomcat being flown by Maverick. It was PURE epicness!

While we all know Marvel and Disney has a 10-year roadmap for the Marvel Cinematic Universe already planned ahead, it was the announcement that Blade was finally being included back into the MCU that got us, and this time, Mahershala Ali is taking the lead. Wesley Snipes absolutely owned the role in the first trilogy—with celebrity rumors that he even insisted to stay in character between takes (much to the discomfort of the cast and crew, though it paid off) but as they say: new version, new blood. We’ve yet to see Moonlight and the third season of True Detective (shame—we know!), but we thought Ali was superb in Predators and The Place Beyond the Pines. It’s about time the MCU finally got the right dhampir treatment!

What’s in store for Comic-Con in the future?

The greatest appeal and charm of Comic-Con events are the reveals. The small surprises in-between. The guests, the in-depth panels with fans, the intellectual back-and-forth between fandom creators and its fans—these are what fuels the essence of being in a Comic-Con event.

We can expect more video game adaptations. Perhaps the next Comic-Con will be in time for the reveal of Tom Holland’s Uncharted TV show. Maybe there will be another season for The Witcher, if it becomes successful. Timing is everything and it could also pave the way for the next Stranger Things reveal. Of course, we have no doubt that the MCU will take center stage again but we’re still hopeful that the recent Comic-Con is a call-to-action for DC that they’re not out of the game yet—at least, at the moment.

Whatever happens, it will be another exciting phase for us fans. And we can’t wait!