Del Toro on Making the Monsters of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark
There's plenty to get excited about at San Diego Comic-Con. Huge panels, massive reveals, and those caped crusaders that we all love so much. But whilst most of the convention-goers were queuing up to get into Marvel's Hall H panel, a small audience squeezed into the Horton Grand Theatre for a once in a lifetime experience, and IGN was lucky enough to be there.
The intimate panel was a creature feature like no other as monster maverick Guillermo del Toro and director Andrè Øvredal were joined by their core special effects team Mike Elizalde (Hellboy), Mike Hill (The Shape of Water), and Norman Cabrera (Hellboy) to reveal the secrets and creatures behind Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.
Why Marvel Is Making Blade with Mahershala Ali According to Kevin Feige
In the biggest surprise of San Diego Comic-Con 2019, Marvel Studios revealed not only are they making a Blade project, but it will be starring Mahershala Ali.
When IGN had the chance to speak to Marvel's Kevin Feige after the panel, we asked why now was the right time for Blade, and why Ali was the right star to play him. The answer was simple: "They're the same answer: Blade now because of Mahershala, and Mahershala because he loves Blade."
Watch the full IGN interview with Feige:
Jane Foster as Thor Explained
There were almost too many earth-shattering announcements from Marvel’s panel at San Diego Comic-Con, but one in particular rocked all nine realms. Love and Thunder, the fourth movie worthy of the title of Thor, is not only bringing back Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson, and director Taika Waititi, but also Natalie Portman. And this time, she’ll be wielding the title and hammer of the Mighty Thor.
When Waititi introduced Portman and she took the stage, he mentioned the comic book storyline he’d been reading while Thor: Ragnarok was in production: the Jason Aaron run of Thor. Comic fans familiar with Jane Foster knew immediately what that meant for Portman’s character, but do you? Here’s the rundown on who Jane Foster is in the comics, why she takes up the hammer, what happened to Thor, and what else we might see in Thor: Love and Thunder.
Marvel’s Kevin Feige Says MCU X-Men Will Be ‘Quite Different’ Than Fox Movies
Hot off the Phase 4 MCU news at San Diego Comic Con 2019, IGN’s Terri Schwartz talked to Kevin Feige about one of the biggest teases of the Marvel Studios panel: the mention of the X-Men.
Rather, Feige referred to them as “mutants” on stage, so we started by clarifying why he didn’t use the proper team name, “X-Men.”
“‘Mutants’ and ‘X-Men’ are interchangeable. I just said ‘mutants,’” Feige explained.
We also questioned Feige on how they’ll be approaching the X-Men for the MCU.
“Whatever we do will be quite different than what’s been done before,” Feige said.
Watch the full interview below:
It seems obvious Marvel would present the X-Men differently given the state of the MCU, but now we have official word that things won’t be much like what we’ve seen over the years in the Fox movies. Those films often put Wolverine in the starring role and, barring that, largely focused on the relationship between frenemies Professor X and Magneto. With audiences having seen those elements on the big screen since the first X-Men movie in 2000, it’s likely that Fiege will take the X-franchise in a new direction.
Kevin Feige on No Avengers Movie in MCU Phase 4: It’s About ‘Beginnings’
Marvel Studios announced 11 new movies and TV shows for its upcoming Phase 4 at San Diego Comic-Con 2019, but noticeably absent was any movie titled "Avengers."
IGN asked Kevin Feige the reason behind leaving their flagship franchise's name out of the next several years of upcoming projects, and he explained the shift in strategy in the next phase. Watch the full interview with Feige below:
"We had a movie this year called Avengers: Endgame, and it is very much an ending, as you saw, to so many of those characters," he said on the Marvel Studios press line. "So Phase 4 is about beginnings, and Phase 4 is about learning new things about characters you already think you know, like Black Widow; meeting incredible new characters like The Eternals and Shang-Chi; going on new adventures with Doctor Strange and Thor; and these Disney+ shows which I promise will be spectacular and what no one is expecting."
Young Justice Renewed for Season 4 on DC Universe
The good news keeps coming from the DC Universe panel at Comic-Con. Young Justice has been renewed for a fourth season on the DC Universe streaming app.
Even as they screened an upcoming episode of the series, executive producers Greg Weisman and Brandon Vietti revealed that production is already underway on Season 4. In other words, we won't have to wait nearly as long as the gap between Seasons 2 and 3.
"We're writing. We're coming up with stories. We're on it." said Vietti.
Weisman teased a significant shift in tone for Season 4, even as the series continues further the Apokolips storyline.
"More is coming from Apokolips. We've got a real slow burn on Apokolips, but it builds every season. We've had a couple seasons in a row that have been epicly plot-focused, but I think we're pushing back to a little more of a character focus in Season 4. There will be new characters - I won't say who - but we're going to focus in more on a smaller cast."
Black Widow: First Full Footage Breakdown
Although it’s only been filming for a few weeks, action-packed footage from Black Widow was shown at Saturday’s Marvel Studios panel at San Diego Comic-Con. And it didn’t disappoint.
The footage began with dialogue and footage of Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) from past Marvel movies like Civil War, Age of Ultron, Endgame, and Iron Man 2. (The movie takes place between Civil War and Infinity War.)
Cut to a cityscape shot of Budapest. Natasha enters an apartment building . She approaches an apartment door, gun drawn. She’s sweeps room to room, gun pointed, until she hears a Russian woman’s voice: “I know you’re out there.” She reaches the kitchen. It’s Yelena (Florence Pugh), who also her gun drawn.
Titans: Season 2 Premiere Date Revealed
Titans: Season 2 has been given a release date. As revealed at the DC Universe panel at Comic-Con, Season 2 will debut on the DC Universe streaming service on Friday, September 6.
This is good news for a series recently hit by tragedy. Production on Season 2 shut down for several days after special effects coordinator Warren Appleby was killed during a rehearsal.
Fans were treated to a Season 2 sizzle reel as the panel began, one which offered a glimpse of Iain Glen's Bruce Wayne and the revamped Titans lineup that now includes Hawk, Dove, Wonder Girl (in costume) and Superboy. The footage ended with a first look at Esai Morales' Deathstroke, whose costume is reminiscent of the one in the Batman: Arkham games.
Black Widow Time Period Confirmed
One thing that fans have been wondering regarding the currently-shooting Black Widow movie is when the film takes place. Considering the fate of the Scarlett Johansson character in Avengers: Endgame, a sequel seemed highly unlikely.
And now we know that in fact Black Widow is a prequel. David Harbour, who plays Red Guardian in the film, has confirmed to IGN that the film takes place between Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War. That means the film will be covering the period when Natasha Romanoff was on the lam after siding with Cap during the superhero civil war.
Avengers: Endgame to Beat Avatar at Worldwide Box Office
Just as the Marvel festivities at San Diego Comic-Con began, parent company Disney and Marvel Studios announced that, with the expected box office gross of Avengers: Endgame through the weekend, it will now officially be the highest-grossing movie of all time worldwide, beating out James Cameron's Avatar.
As reported by THR, Disney and Marvel have confirmed that, as of Saturday, Avengers: Endgame will have hit $2.7892 billion at the worldwide box office, and is expected to make over $500,000 on Sunday. This will allow it to surpass Avatar's $2.7897 billion total. (Box office totals for weekends are normally projected before the weekend ends, which is why, for those who don't follow box office tallies week by week, Disney and Marvel would be making such a claim this early.)