By James Hancock July 12th, 2015
San Diego Comic Con 2015 has officially wrapped and I am now relaxing back at my hotel eagerly trying to catch up on everything I missed. As I said in my Day 1 post, it is not remotely possible to keep track of everything Comic-Con has to offer and only as the dust settles in the days to come will I have the chance to digest properly all the news and surprises that were revealed at this year’s convention. If you missed my earlier posts, you can find them here: Day 1, Day 2 & Day 3. The last day of Comic-Con is usually like the day after a wedding where most people are too hungover to function. I wearily returned to the convention center today and was surprised to see that the convention seemed more full today, if possible, than any other day so far. Most people use this day to scour the convention center for bargains in that no exhibitor wishes to pay to send their inventory back to wherever they came from. I managed not to spend a dime this year on loot but I did treat myself today to easily the geekiest thing I did the entire convention.
Back in 2001, there was an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer that has become the stuff of pop culture legend, episode 7 of season 6 otherwise known as ‘Once More With Feeling’. Every show or movie that Joss Whedon has ever touched has a massive cult following at Comic-Con, but this one episode has a cult entirely unto itself and each year there is a special screening on the last of the convention for the rabid fans. This is not a simple screening, but rather a sing along and the hundreds of people that attend the screening each year dance, sing, and scream their way through the majority of the episode. I only made it through the first 3 seasons of the show before tapping out, but back in 2010 when I came to my first Comic-Con, I attended one of these screenings and I was overwhelmed by the contagious joy and excitement of the screening. In spite of being only a casual fan, the episode fills me with glee and covers my arms in goosebumps. I can only imagine what emotions the diehard fans experience. Here is a little taste of the climax of the episode below.
Unfortunately I did not get the chance to attend any other panels today in that I was busy trying to sell Blu-Rays of Bill Plympton’s Cheatin’ and then shutting down the booth, but now that the convention is officially over I thought I’d compile a collection of all the panels that I wish I had been able to attend over the last few days. There was an incredible slate of films featured at this year’s convention so without any rhyme or reason to their order, here are the videos of the panels for all the films that I’m beyond fired up to see when they are released.
The Hateful 8
Quentin Tarantino is one of my favorite living filmmakers and I’m looking forward to The Hateful 8 more than any film I can think of in a very long time. I love how completely Tarantino embraces the Comic-Con experience and how he understands the evolution of the event over the years. In my opinion, there is no better place to build anticipation for his work. His critics always like to claim that Tarantino steals from his filmmaking heroes but usually these same cynics can’t name one movie that Tarantino reputedly borrows from. One aspect of this film that will be 100% new is the score, Ennio Morricone’s first full Western score in several decades. The Hateful 8 is going to be a special experience.
Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens
I’ve been waiting for a good Star Wars movie since 1983 and now I am finally going to get to see one. The Force is strong with this one.
Fox: X-Men: Apocalypse/Deadpool/The Fantastic Four
After seeing last summer’s X-Men: Days of Future Past Fox clearly has their house in order when it comes to this property. I can only hope that they manage to sustain the intensity of last summer’s blockbuster that I saw 4 times in the theater. Whether or not this world will ever overlap with The Fantastic Four remains to be seen, but for now I’m eager to see anything Fox does with the properties they have licensed from Marvel. Maybe next summer we’ll receive the announcement that every geek wants to hear: Fox and Marvel reuniting all the characters of the Marvel Universe under one roof where they belong.
Warner Bros: DC/Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice/Suicide Squad
I’ve been talking all kinds of smack about Warner Bros’s approach to the world of DC Comics ever since I saw the lackluster Man of Steel. Based on the some of what we’ve learned at this year’s convention I may be spending a lot of time apologizing for my comments and taking back everything I said. I am officially fired up to see everything they’re cooking cooking up at Warner Bros that takes place in the new DC Cinematic Universe.
Crimson Peak
Guillermo Del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth is one of my favorite movies of the 21st century and it thrills me to no end to see Del Toro back in the horror genre. Jessica Chastain also has a supernatural control over my mind and body. Bring on Crimson Peak.
Warcraft
I was a hardcore raider in World of Warcraft for many years and logged in more days that I care to admit. That said, I wouldn’t take back any of that time I spent on the world of Azeroth and countless of hours I spent taking down raid bosses with my guild. I am officially retired from WoW, but I’ll never forget the time I spent with the millions of other nutcases one encounters while playing that amazing game.
Ash vs The Evil Dead
I grew up watching Bruce Campbell kick all kinds of ass in The Evil Dead, Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness. I went so far as to co-found the Dead by Dawn Society in high school, a movie club devoted to this amazing franchise. An army of Deadites could not stop me from watching the first episode when this show finally airs.
Alright guys, that’s all I got. I am absolutely fucking fried and I still need to pack to get ready to return to New York. Comic-Con has been absolutely sensational and I can’t wait to start making plans for SDCC2016.
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