The Comic-Con Movies We’re Most Excited About

San Diego Comic-Con isn’t just about comics. The convention plays host to trailers, teasers and panels from Hollywood’s biggest blockbusters. Last year at Comic-Con, audiences got their first glimpse of Jared Leto’s Joker from Suicide Squad and a big surprise when Harrison
Ford, Han Solo himself, showed up at the Star Wars panel.

This year, Wonder Woman (celebrating her 75th birthday) will vie for first lady of the convention as star Gal Gadot and director Patty Jenkins preview next year’s much-anticipated film; Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them will usher in the next era of J.K. Rowling’s wizarding world; and Benedict Cumberbatch, a Comic-Con vet from Sherlock, will introduce his new role as Doctor Strange.

Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman will finally make her long-awaited big-screen debut in June 2017. The origin story will take place during World War I — a century before the Batman v Superman — and follow a young Diana Prince and her love interest Steve Trevor (Chris Pine). Star Gal Gadot and director Patty Jenkins, along with co-stars Pine and Connie Nielsen, will be on hand at the convention to tease the movie.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

The followup to Guardians doesn’t hit theaters until May of 2017, but Chris Pratt and director James Gunn have confirmed that they’ll appear on stage at the Marvel panel—possibly to release the first trailer for the film. As teased in the original film, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 will see the Guardians team unraveling the mystery of Peter Quill’s (Chris Pratt’s) parentage.

Suicide Squad

The whole “skwad” will be in full force at Comic-Con, including Will Smith (Deadshot), Jared Leto (The Joker), Margot Robbie (Harley Quinn), Joel Kinnaman (Rick Flag), Viola Davis (Amanda Waller), Jai Courtney (Captain Boomerang) and Cara Delevingne (Enchantress). Last year, Warner Bros. debuted the first trailer for the film—and the first shots of Jared Leto as the Joker—at Comic-Con. This year, perhaps Leto will bring some of his notorious method acting tales to the panel.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Between the onstage and on-shelf debut of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, the opening of a Harry Potter theme park at Universal Studios in Los Angeles and the upcoming trilogy Fantastic Beasts, the wizarding world is staging a comeback. Eddie Redmayne and Colin Farrell are among the actors that will join director David Yates (who helmed four of the Harry Potter films) to give the Comic-Con audience a deeper look at what J.K. Rowling’s vision of a magical, 1920s-era New York.

Doctor Strange

Benedict Cumberbatch, Doctor Strange himself, will discuss the film, in which he plays a neurosurgeon who after an accident learns the ways of magic from a sorcerer (Tilda Swinton). The movie will be Marvel’s biggest departure from the classic superhero template to-date. But the studio has expertly mastered a range of tones—from the quippy Guardians to the noir-esque Winter Soldier—so a turn to the supernatural could open up a whole new genre of blockbuster.

Snowden

Academy Award winner Oliver Stone takes on the story of NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, played in the film by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Stone and stars Levitt and Shailene Woodley will not only participate in a panel, they also plan at a separate time to screen the thriller for the first time ever for an exclusive group—with Edward Snowden himself appearing via video chat.

The LEGO Batman Movie

The LEGO Movie could have been a giant marketing scheme, but wound up being one of the funniest and most delightful family films in years. That’s why The LEGO Batman Movie—with Will Arnett reprising his role as a deep-voiced, insecure Batman—just might be the comic relief we need from an ever-expanding (and exhausting) universe of superheroes. Arnett has suggested that the film will poke fun at Batman’s relationship with the Joker (voiced in this version by Zach Galifianakis).

Kong: Skull Island

Tom Hiddleston and Brie Larson star in the latest installment in the Kong franchise. A team of 1970s explorers venture onto an uncharted island in the Pacific only to encounter—you guessed it—the colossal ape. And no, this Kong (thankfully) will not have the Empire State building.

King Arthur: Legend of the Sword

Director Guy Ritchie gives King Arthur street cred in his new take on the timeless legend. Charlie Hunnam plays the man who pulls the sword from the stone and battles his tyrannical uncle, played by Ritchie favorite Jude Law. Sons of Anarchy star Hunnam will join the Warner Bros. panel to preview the film.

More Marvel

Though Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn and Doctor Strange director Scott Derrickson have both suggested that their films will get teasers at the convention, Marvel Studios has not yet confirmed what other upcoming projects could release footage or photos during Marvel’s panel. Some have speculated that Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige will discuss Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Thor: Ragnarok (2017) or Black Panther while onstage.

Sausage Party

Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg are about to turn Comic-Con into a sausage party. The comedy team’s latest venture is an R-rated animated film about a sausage on a quest to find the meaning of life, starring Rogen, Kristen Wiig and Jonah Hill. Rogen teased on Twitter that fans might get a glimpse or even a screening of the movie (due out in August) at the convention.

Star Trek 50th Anniversary

To celebrate Star Trek’s 50th anniversary, stars from across the Trekkie universe—including William Shatner, Scott Bakula, Michael Dorn, Jeri Ryan, and Brent Spiner—will appear together on a panel to talk about the impact the franchise has had on our culture, from inspiring Star Wars to teaching its audience how to embrace humanity’s differences. The panel will be lead by Bryan Fuller, the executive producer of the upcoming Star Trek TV series, which means attendees may even get a teaser of the new project.