After years of massive Comic-Con panels with full Avengers casts, it didn’t seem possible that Marvel Studios could go bigger. But, boy, did they.
In a first for Hall H, the studio surprised the 7,000-strong crowd by revealing a hidden stage in the back of the cavernous room, with castmembers from Thunderbolts* and the 2000s X-Men movies appearing.
After giving brief speeches, the actors made their way from the back, through the entire hall, high-fiving fans along the way and the crowd screaming like it was a Beatles or BTS concert. They joined the main stage already populated by Pedro Pascal, Chris Evans, Hayley Atwell, and the star attraction, Robert Downey Jr.
It was just one part of supersized panel, that included the startling revelations that Alien: Romulus breakout David Jonsson would play the son of T’Challa (the late Chadwick Boseman) in Black Panther 3 for a Dec. 15, 2028 release. He will take the mantle of the Black Panther.
Another bombshell: not only would Ryan Gosling play Ghost Rider in a new movie, but Deadpool & Wolverine and Gosling’s Star Wars: Starfighter director Shawn Levy would direct for a 2028 release.
Even Ryan Reynolds, who had not attended Apple TV’s presentation of his upcoming action comedy Mayday earlier in the day, crashed the proceedings — in costume as a cosplayer named Ricky, but really as Deadpool. He pointedly asked if production had begun. (Apparently he wasn’t invited.) Downey was having none of it, jokingly seeming annoyed with the Merc with the Mouth.
“It’s in the can, bro. Look around you. Did you bump your head?” Downey told Deadpool, who then asked about possible additional photography to add new people to the mix. The crowd “awwed” in sadness.
On some level, there had been pressure all week for Marvel to pull out all the stops for its Comic-Con presentation. On Monday, it released the trailer for Doomsday, and while it racked up record views showing a lot of interest, reaction was not enthusiastic. And with a checkered slate since 2019’s mega-event Avengers: Endgame, the company needed to show that Doomsday isn’t a grasp at past glories. And while not indicative of future quality, Saturday’s panel demolished any negativity from days prior.
In addition to the big news drops and the sheer force of actors, it was a massive spectacle with light shows and pop music. And, oh yes, costumes. Each attendee received a Doom mask and cape that they donned when asked by Downey, who in his Doom accent, asked the assembled legion to join his cause. Marvel, with this panel, continued to up the ante. The crowd was continually on its feet; every time it would sit down, some reveal would jolt them back up, to see, to yell, to record on their phones.
And in a bit of a redo, Marvel showed a Hall H-only reel that it called an extended look but was, to many fans, what the initial trailer should have been: something that clearly delineated the stakes and the threat. “Victor, did you do this?!” yells Pascal’s Richards to Doom. Doom says, “All of you have lived stolen lives” at one point and raises an army of giant mutant-killing robots known as Sentinels out of the ground. He tosses Thor aside like a doll. And begins with Susan Storm (aka The Invisible Woman) explaining Doom’s motivation, saying “Everything he loved was taken from him.”
Ahead of the panel, the feeling in the room was electric. Hundreds, if not thousands, of people camped overnight for a chance at Comic-Con’s hottest ticket. Marvel gave away Doctor Doom masks and capes, while the Fantastic Four robot H.E.R.B.I.E. was onstage.
And it began with a sizzle reel of Marvel’s greatest hits — not just of Marvel Studios, but of films made before Iron Man kicked off the MCU in 2008. There was footage of Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man and Patrick Stewart’s Prof. X. Feige, with the help of Jon Bernthal, also showed an action sequence from Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which opens next week and for which little has been shown.
Marvel boss Kevin Feige, a confident and loose speaker, began his talk by giving due to the source of all things at Marvel Studios, the comics. He referred to the change in leadership at the publishing division, thanking outgoing editor-in-chief C.B. Cebulski for his work and giving a shout out for the new chief, Stephen Wacker.
“Without the comics, no MCU, no movies, no TV shows, no animation,” Feige said. “Nothing.”