Comic-Con Kicks Off With Marvel’s Return

Comic book fans returned to San Diego, California on Thursday for the latest Comic-Con, with convention-goers buzzing about this year's return of Marvel.

The studio skipped last year's event, but will be back at the coveted Hall H on Saturday to promote "Avengers: Doomsday," which is slated to premiere in December.

Under the Russo brothers' direction, the latest superhero flick will pick up where 2019's "Endgame" left off, bringing together heroes and villains from X-Men, the Avengers, Black Panther and the Fantastic Four to duke it out once more.

But surprises are often a major draw for the 130,000 fans who flock to the annual event, expecting to be wowed by movie previews and actor announcements.

Actor Johnny Depp stunned passersby Thursday when he appeared on a street near the convention center, decked out in full costume for the miserly Scrooge character of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" to promote "Ebenezer," due in theaters in November.

Later, the famed "Pirates of the Caribbean" swashbuckler burst into a panel, asking the audience, "Have you no lives? No responsibilities?" before sharing a preview for his new holiday movie.

- 'Barbarian' prequel -

"Barbarian" director Zach Cregger confirmed a script is in the works for a prequel to the hit film that's "got a lot of twists and turns and mysteries and crazy things" to tell the origin story of the terrifying Aunt Gladys character.

The filmmaker also offered a first look at "Resident Evil," his adaptation of the video game that is expected to hit the big screen in September.

"About five or six minutes in, he hits that woman in his car, and I wanted to see if I could just put my foot all the way down on the gas pedal and not let up until the end of the movie. That was the challenge,¨Cregger said.

"Game Night" directing duo Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley shared teasers of Apple TV's Cold War comedy "Mayday," starring Ryan Reynolds and Kenneth Branagh.

- Calling all vampires -

Fans began lining up around noon on Wednesday for Thursday's events in coveted Hall H, with sisters Adelaide and Delaney Hall heading up the queue.

"I'm gonna be camping out tonight so that I'm in there first thing tomorrow, I'm really excited," said 21-year-old Adelaide.

Her sister had tried to line up near dawn but "there was no line, and so she was like, okay. She came home, she rode her bike, and then she grabbed me, and we came down around noon, and then we got in line."

The San Diego native is eager to see the panel for "Percy Jackson and the Olympians," a fantasy TV series with its third season due out November 20.

Fans shrieked over another Thursday morning panel titled "Bite Me: Calling All Vampires," which brought together K-pop sensation ENHYPEN and some cast members from 2008's teen vampire blockbuster film "Twilight."

Since the pop culture festival began in 1970, it has grown into a major event, with thousands of sometimes-costumed fans gathering in San Diego to buy memorabilia, see their idols and celebrate beloved stories.

On Friday, DC Studios will also grace Hall H to preview its HBO series "Lanterns," starring Kyle Chandler and Aaron Pierre as small-town Nebraska detectives, which debuts August 16.

The flesh-and-blood narrative offers a new take on 2011's "Green Lantern," a Ryan Reynolds-led space adventure movie.

On Friday, fans will see the hotly anticipated preview for "Spaceballs: The New One," a long-awaited sequel to Mel Brooks's legendary space comedy.

Weeks before its opening in Los Angeles, the Lucas Museum will be on hand to share new details about its exhibits.

Comic-Con runs through Sunday, July 26.
-AFP