Marvel and DC Hope to Rally Fans at Comic-Con

Comic-Con International: San Diego, the granddaddy of them is all is approaching and this year Hall H may be log-jammed with upcoming superhero entries as both Marvel and WB look to have major presences. This year may mark bit of return for Marvel, especially, after pretty much sitting out last year in favor of Star Wars (both Marvel and Lucasfilm are now at the charge of parent company Disney). Marvel will be looking to tout the upcoming Doctor Strange and Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol 2, plus perhaps few more surprises (Brie Larson’s confirmation as Captain Marvel, perhaps?) whilst WB and DC appear to making a big push for their upcoming Suicide Squad and the upcoming fan convention giant.

On the Doctor Strange front, it appears unclear what may be unearthed, but director Scott Derrickson teased on Twitter about being on hand, presumably star Benedict Cumberbatch and likely others will join in as well. Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2 director James Gunn added in on the Twitter conversation, teasing his appearance. With principal photography nearly complete on Guardians, Comic-Con attendees may see the first glimpse of the eagerly anticipated sequel due out in theaters next summer.

On the DC front, Comic-Con may provide a platform to help soothe seeming tensions on the DC Extended Universe front. Following the divisive reaction to this spring’s Batman v Superman (which received major Comic-Con push last year), this year’s panel may be a bit more tenuous. Suicide Squad is expected to get a major plug before hitting theaters in August with likely most (if not all) of the major players in the cast expected to attend. Along with the big push includes an announced tapping with the ensemble for Conan O’Brien’s TBS talk show, a Harley Quinn tattoo parlor (another of which appears at SXSW this year), a virtual reality experience that put fans into the action and an aggressive transformation of the Gaslamp Quarter’s Hard Rock Hotel into Belle Reve Penitentiary.

San Diego Comic-Con runs this year from July 21-24.