San Diego Comic Con is going to be a major event for comic and movie fans next month with big announcements and expectations. This year, Marvel Studios returns to the most famous comic convention, and it seems as though they won’t leave fans disappointed.
Scott Derrickson, the director for the upcoming Marvel’s Doctor Strange , shared a behind-the-scenes image of actors Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Baron Mordo, and himself on his Twitter. Derrickson also posted another tweet that fans took as a hint that a new Doctor Strange trailer might be released at SDCC.
Another Marvel Studios movie trailer in the works, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 , might also be making its debut at SDCC. James Gunn, who’s in the Guardians director’s seat again, posted his own teasing tweet in response to Derrickson’s post.
Most of the principal photography for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 will be completed by the time the comic convention opens up next month. That leaves Gunn enough time to at least make a teaser trailer to keep people excited.
Marvel has other comic films in pre-production such as Black Panther , Captain Marvel , Avengers: Infinity War , and Spider-Man: Homecoming . SDCC goers are sure to get an earful of information about these movies, such as new cast members signed onto the films, which actress will play Captain Marvel, and other news.
This year marks the return of Marvel Studios to SDCC, since they haven’t done a panel at the comic convention since 2014, when they unveiled Avengers: Age of Ultron . While Marvel is sure to make a splash at the convention, another major studio is bowing out of attendance this summer.
It was announced in late April that 20th Century Fox will not have a major panel at SDCC this year. The major film studio explained that they are skipping the event due to piracy concerns of their exclusive content that was a problem at last year’s event, according to The Wrap .
With 20th Century Fox not featuring any clips from their upcoming films, it certainly gives Marvel films more exposure to the media, particularly Doctor Strange , which has a November 4 release date.
“You wonder what I see in your future? Possibility.” pic.twitter.com/8IVll143VK
— Doctor Strange (@DrStrange) April 13, 2016
There has been a Doctor Strange controversy regarding the casting of the Ancient One, which is a Tibetan character in the comics. Fans of the popular comic book showed their displeasure over the casting of Tilda Swinton, a white British actress, to play the Ancient One instead.
A Marvel spokesperson tried to explain that they wanted to avoid showing an Asian character that featured racist stereotypes, as reported by Variety .
“The Ancient One is a title that is not exclusively held by any one character, but rather a moniker passed down through time, and in this particular film the embodiment is Celtic.”
Marvel still has hope that Doctor Strange will be a big hit with movie fans so that more movies in the series can be filmed. It’s also most likely that Cumberbatch’s Stephen Strange, or other Doctor Strange characters, will make possible appearances in other movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Action star Scott Adkins, whose character in Doctor Strange has not been announced in public, told The Huffington Post on June 9 that the upcoming movie has some scary elements , which can qualify the Marvel film as a horror flick.
“This is going to show that other dimension side. I’m sure [director] Scott Derrickson’s going to bring some of his horror element into it as well. It’s gonna be a different version of a Marvel comic.”
San Diego Comic Con begins with a Preview Night on Wednesday, July 20, and runs through Sunday, July 24.
[Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images]