Comic-Con International in San Diego (SDCC) – the Mecca of all things comic-related – took place this weekend. After two years of virtual events because of the pandemic, this marked the physical return of one of the greatest fan conventions in the world. Naturally, the anticipation for the MCU and DCEU panels were at fever-pitch levels, as the people expected both cinematic franchises to bring out the big guns and blow us away with huge reveals. Sadly, they both brought out the water pistols instead.
No Cavill, no party
In the lead-up to SDCC, Deadline reported that Warner Bros. Discovery and DC would utilise their panel time to confirm the return of Henry Cavill as Superman for future films. It was the kind of feel-good news story that the DCEU needed, since too much of the conversation has boiled around the Snyderverse and the endless drama surrounding it. The return of Cavill’s Man of Steel would at least delight and be the best of both worlds – no matter which side of the fence we sit on in terms of the restoration of the Snyderverse – and be a buzzworthy topic for the fans and the film industry.
Instead, DC and Warner Bros. delivered two trailers that they could have dropped on any given day of the week. There was no game-changing revelation or announcement about Cavill or anything really. It was thousands of people queuing up to watch two trailers – in fact, Black Adam‘s footage wasn’t even a trailer, but more of a teaser. Granted, Warner Bros. Discovery is still trying to find its footing and decide on the long-term plan after the merger, but there could have been some announcement about a Superman project in the pipeline.
We were told that Black Adam is changing the DCEU, but it’s difficult to see or believe it right now.
The MCU announced nothing we didn’t know
Marvel Studios (the MCU) made more of an effort than DC (the DCEU) this year, but it was also akin to a PowerPoint presentation from Kevin Feige and Co. than anything juicy. Apart from the new Black Panther: Wakanda Forever trailer, which showcased Riri Williams, Namor, and how the film will address the real-life passing of Chadwick Boseman, and the announcement of Charlie Cox’s Daredevil returning for a Disney+ show, there was no huge revelation that the average fan didn’t know about going into SDCC.
Much like the Cavill rumour, there were murmurings that Marvel would announce the cast for the Fantastic Four movie or even drop more info on the X-Men. Instead, we received a colourful spreadsheet with dates. Again, this isn’t the kind of news to showcase at a convention – unless someone works for an accounting firm.
The panels could have been emails
Without a shadow of a doubt, the pandemic impacted both Marvel and DC’s plans for the immediate future. It’s understandable, and no one can be too upset by the fact there might not be monumental announcements every year. However, the SDCC 2022 panels felt like an absolute waste of time for fans of both cinematic universes. The studios could have skipped the convention altogether and sent out emails with the relevant news and links to trailers – would have cost them less to produce and been less time-consuming for the rest of us.
My biggest joy was seeing the DnD trailer & the Teen Wolf movie one, confirming that at least Derek is returning when they vehemently denied he wasn’t. But after reading this through I do really feel cheated now, you’re entirely right when you compare it to the past Comic Cons it doesn’t match the Hype. Even the high evolutionary dressed-up felt underwhelming.
I’m beyond tired of DC keep rebooting & recasting Superman & Batman. The saddest part about all this is that we aren’t getting Cavill back. Where do we go from here?