Comic-Con International in San Diego has established itself as an annual launching pad for some of Hollywood’s most-anticipated movie trailers and television previews, and the 2018 edition of the show continued that tradition.
Among the big premieres at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con were the first trailers for James Wan’s oceanic superhero movie Aquaman and M. Night Shyamalan’s crossover film Glass, as well as early peeks at The Walking Dead season 9 and Star Trek: Discovery season 2, among other projects.
Here are the Comic-Con trailers and movie previews we were most excited about this year.
‘Aquaman’
Wonder Woman has been the only critical and commercial hit for Warner Bros. Pictures’ live-action superhero universe so far, which puts the pressure on Aquaman to give the studio another win. The first trailer for the film premiered during the studio’s crowded, two-hour panel.
‘Disenchanted’
Netflix delivered the first, full trailer for The Simpsons and Futurama creator Matt Groenig’s new series, Disenchanted. The trailer offers a few more details about the focus of the show: A hard-drinking, strong-willed young princess named Bean, who sets out with an elf and her personal demon to find her way in the world.
‘Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald’
Warner Bros. Pictures added a little magic to its panel with the first look at Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, the sequel to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and the next installment of the Harry Potter big-screen universe.
‘Glass’
M. Night Shyamalan brought the first trailer for Glass to Comic-Con, giving audiences a peek at a film almost 20 years in the making. The film brings together several characters from 2000’s Unbreakable and 2016’s Split, including Mr. Glass (Samuel L. Jackson), The Horde (James McAvoy), and David Dunn (Bruce Willis).
‘Godzilla: King of the Monsters’
Joining Aquaman at Warner Bros. Pictures’ movie panel was the kaiju brawler Godzilla: King of the Monsters, which will extend the connection between recent monster movies Godzilla and Kong: Skull Island and build on the studio’s plans for a cinematic universe of giant monsters. The first trailer for the film was packed with famous monsters from Godzilla’s history, including Mothra, Rodan, and the multi-headed King Ghidorah.
The first teaser for King of the Monsters (see below) was released July 18 on the Instagram account for star Millie Bobby Brown (aka Eleven from Stranger Things), just a few days before the studio’s panel.
George R.R. Martin’s ‘Nightflyers’
A while back, we got a sneak peek at Nightflyers, the upcoming “Psycho in space” series from Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin. Now we have a full trailer (see above) for the sci-fi horror series. The trailer debuted during the show’s panel at Comic-Con, and it was also revealed that the series will premiere this fall on Syfy network.
‘The Orville’
A surprise hit for FOX, The Orville returns for a second season later this year, and the network released the first trailer for season 2 on the final day of Comic-Con. Seth MacFarlane’s sci-fi series appears to be picking up where it left off, with more cosmic adventures and irreverent comedy that takes its colorful cast from one end of the universe to the other.
‘Shazam’
During its Comic-Con panel, Warner Bros. Pictures also revealed the first trailer for Shazam!, another upcoming superhero film set within its live-action DC Comics superhero universe. The film follows a young boy who gains the ability to turn into a powerful hero with magical abilities and is based on DC’s long-standing hero, Captain Marvel (aka Shazam). This one was a bit of a pleasant surprise, and has fans describing it as “Big with superpowers.”
‘Star Trek: Discovery’
Christopher Pike is in the house — or rather, the ship — in the first trailer for the explosive second season of Star Trek: Discovery, which debuted in San Diego. Played by Anson Mount, Pike has a long history with the franchise (including the film reboots) and offers a fun connection for CBS’ popular new series. He’s dropped smack dab into the middle of the action in the first trailer, taking over the Discovery as captain.
‘The Walking Dead’
The cast of AMC’s hit zombie drama made the trip to San Diego for Comic-Con, and the panel for The Walking Dead featured the debut of the first full trailer for the series’ ninth season — the last one for longtime series star Andrew Lincoln, the actor confirmed.
Updated July 23 with the final roundup of the best trailers from Comic-Con.
