Comic-Con International, San Diego’s annual convention for all things blockbuster and pop culture related, launches today and runs through the end of the weekend. Conan O’Brien kicked the event off on Wednesday night in grand style by fronting his first of five shows for TBS, with an opening prerecorded segment that paid homage to one of last year’s most talked about films to take part in Comic-Con, Mad Max: Fury Road.
In the inspired opener to his show, O’Brien and his talkshow announcer Andy Richter, head down to San Diego from Burbank by driving down the “fury road”. Richter riffs on the character played by Nicholas Hoult in George Miller’s critically acclaimed action film, while O’Brien dons a magenta jumpsuit to play the scene-stealing musician with the flame-throwing guitar.
Thursday’s most anticipated events at Comic-Con include the last-ever Hunger Games panel, to tout the release of Mockingjay Part 2; BBC America’s Doctor Who presentation; a special retrospective to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Miami Vice (the classic series, not the Michael Mann movie); and a panel centered around Ridley Scott’s upcoming science fiction epic The Martian, during which Nasa employees are scheduled to talk about Mars and its connection to the film.
Friday promises to be one of the convention’s most popular days, with a rumored behind-the-scenes look at Star Wars: the Force Awakens, in addition to panels on two of television’s biggest hits, Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead.
Saturday kicks off with Warner Bros showcasing new footage from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, followed by Quentin Tarantino taking to the stage to hype his upcoming western, The Hateful Eight. Later in the day, 20th Century Fox will highlight four major releases: Fantastic Four, Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials, Victor Frankenstein and X-Men: Days of Future Past – The Rogue Cut. Ryan Reynolds is rumored to make a surprise appearance during the Fox panel in support of his lead turn in the R-rated comic-book movie Deadpool.
The convention wraps on Sunday with the anticipated American Horror Story panel, during which the upcoming season’s main star, Lady Gaga, may show.
