CinemaCon Day 2 Recap - Warner Bros. Debuts First Footage For AQUAMAN & MOWGLI; New FANTASTIC BEASTS 2 Trailer
Another day of CinemaCon is in the books and in yesterday's second presentation, we were treated to exclusive footage from Aquaman, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, Ocean's 8 and more!
After a strong showing from Disney in the morning, Warner Bros. brought the heat in the afternoon with first looks at Aquaman, Mowgli, Shazam!, The Nun, and A Star Is Born. We were also treated to new trailers for Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, Tag, Ocean's 8, and a lot more.
Read my recap of the Warner Bros. Pictures presentation below:
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Aquaman
Warner Bros. didn't hold back the goods and kickstarted their lengthy presentation with a DC Films sizzle reel, which was followed by the introduction of director James Wan and his Aquaman cast, which included Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Patrick Wilson, and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II.
While many were expecting a full-fledged trailer, Wan instead did us one better and showed off an unfinished extended sizzle reel with our first official look at the eagerly-awaited film. The footage begins with a flashback as we see Arthur Curry arrive in the mythical city of Atlantis for the very first time in his life, riding in on a sub with Mera. We're given several finished and unfinished shots of the city of Atlantis, which looks absolutely stunning and unlike anything we've seen from the DC Films universe thusfar.
He's sort of welcomed by Orm, a.k.a. Ocean Master, who is sporting a very comic-accurate looking costume, with helmet and everything, and we quickly learn that he isn't all that pleased to see Arthur, seeing him only as a new challenger for the throne. (Side note: They don't need air bubbles to communicate.) The pair do battle in an underwater colosseum and while Orm is definitely the better warrior, it did look like Curry was more than able to hold his own against his half-brother. We don't see the whole fight, but we do catch a look at Orm removing his helmet and revealing a very blonde Patrick Wilson.
The trailer then cuts to the submarine sequence where a shirtless Arthur kicks a ton of ass. He's then seen talking to Mera, who teases a catastrophic event that only Arthur can prevent and if he doesn't, then billions could die. It then gets even more interesting as we see both Arthur and Mera travel all over the world, by land, including a stellar shot of them walking through massive sand dunes in an unnamed desert and a rooftop chase in what looked like Italy.
There's a lot of quick footage, including shots of Willem Dafoe's Vulko offering Arthur some guidance, a blink and you'll miss it shot of Nicole Kidman as Queen Atlanna, a savage-looking Black Manta who looks exactly like his comics counterpart, and a pre-viz look at an epic battle scene where we see one side ride into battle on sharks.
My biggest takeaway from the trailer was the film's scope, it's absolutely massive. Takes Arthur & Mera on a globe-trotting adventure that looks considerably better than anything we saw the King of Atlantis do in Justice League. Wan has gone above and beyond with crafting the world of Atlantis and it's completely understandable why he had been so reluctant to show anything until now. It may be a while before the trailer is made available to the public since a lot of the effects still need time to be completed, but trust me, it's well worth the wait.
Shazam!
Warner Bros. opened their presentation with a DC Films sizzle reel, previewing their upcoming slate, which is apparently only focusing on three films at the moment. One of the films was David F. Sandberg's Shazam!, which only recently began filming.
There wasn't much to show as far as footage goes, but we did see behind-the-scenes footage of Zachary Levi in costume, which actually looked pretty great on the big screen. Levi also seems to be having a blast in the role and we see him perform a variety of stunts. We also get to see him recreate the piano sequence from Big, which was a treat, although it's unclear whether that scene will be apart of the final movie or if it was just Levi goofing around on set.
They also gave us a very quick look at Mark Strong as the villain of the piece, Doctor Sivana, and he looked pretty cool decked out in an all-black leather costume. The Shazam! portion of the reel cuts out after we see Billy Batson (Asher Angel) yell the magic words that give him his superpowers.
Wonder Woman 2
The final portion of the DC Films sizzle reel featured Patty Jenkins and Gal Gadot teasing their upcoming Wonder Woman sequel and while it did seem for a moment that we were going to get an official title card, it looks like they are going to keep that under wraps until it actually begins production this summer.
Jenkins did confirm that the movie will take us to the '80s where we'll reunite with Diana as a seasoned superheroine, who now has plenty of wins under her golden belt. They didn't give us any concept art, but we did see some comic book art of Cheetah (Kristen Wiig), who will be the villain of the piece.
Life of the Party
Next up, Warner Bros. shifted their attention to comedy with an extended look at Melissa McCarthy's Life of the Party, which was directed by McCarthy's real-life husband Ben Falcone.
The extended trailer opens with a clip of Deanna (McCarthy) at a divorce mediation, doing her best not to lash out at her husband (Matt Walsh), which proves to be increasingly difficult with his new wife and her mortal enemy by his side (Julie Bowen). Luckily, she also has some backup from Christine (Maya Rudolph), who steals the show. Rudolph is actually a constant highlight throughout the footage we were shown and her performance may be worth the cost of admission alone.
Ocean's 8
Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Mindy Kaling, Sarah Paulson, and Awkwafina were next onstage to give us an extended look at their upcoming Ocean's spinoff, Ocean's 8, which sees Bullock star as Danny Ocean's estranged sister Debbie.
As a huge fan of the original trilogy, it was a big treat to see six-eigths of the cast assembled and get an advanced sneak peek at the film, which I think looks pretty fantastic. There wasn't much new footage shown, mostly just remixed footage from the two trailers, but regardless, this should be one of the summer's coolest surprises.
The Nun
Horror was next on the docket and while producer James Wan didn't return to the stage, he was very present in the extended preview we were shown, which featured the first footage from Corin Hardy's The Nun, which will be the fifth installment in The Conjuring universe and is a direct spinoff of The Conjuring 2.
The footage was sufficiently creepy as we see Taissa Farmiga and Demian Bichir find themselves up against a series of dead nuns. Wan also teases the continued growth of his horror universe and says if superhero movies can do it, why can't horror?
It: Chapter 2
Warner Bros. and New Line confirmed that It: Chapter 2 would go into production this summer and director Andy Muschietti was quick to reassure fans that it would contain many of the same elements that made the first one so popular, the humor, the emotion, the horror, but was quick to add that the new film is going to be much scarier. "It's going to be a more intense experience, so bring your adult diapers... to the theater."
The sequel hits theaters September 6, 2019.
Tag
After an intense fifteen minutes or so, Warner Bros. lightened the mood up again by bringing out the entire principal cast of their upcoming comedy Tag, including Jeremy Renner, Ed Helms, Jon Hamm, Jake Johnson, Annabelle Wallis, Hannibal Buress, Isla Fisher, and Leslie Bibb.
The movie, which is about a group of friends that have stayed intouch over the years by playing a neverending game of tag, showed off its first clip featuring a look at Jerry (Renner) in action as the greatest tag player to have ever lived (er, well, the greatest in their friend group). He quickly bests everyone before we get an extended trailer for the film, which is duo out June 15.
The Meg
Jason Statham vs. a Megalodon. What more could you ask for from a mid-August release?
The movie continues to look as crazy as ever and the new trailer we were shown offered up a little more backstory on how Jonas Taylor (Statham) first came across the gigantic underwater beast before giving us some bonkers footage of the beast in action, chomping down on swimmers and more.
Crazy Rich Asians
The cast of Crazy Rich Asians, including Constance Wu and Henry Golding, was next on stage to preview their upcoming romantic comedy, which is based on the hit 2013 novel of the same name.
The movie has been generating quite a lot of buzz on the interwebs since its trailer launch earlier this week and it looked like it was well-received by the audience in attendance yesterday as well. Should be a strong performer this August.
Teen Titans Go! To The Movies
The Teen Titans are finally getting their own movie and surprisingly enough, it actually looked pretty good.
The new trailer opens with the gang at the movies, waiting for a preview of an upcoming movie about Batman's greatest ally, who Robin believes is him, but is actually Alfred. Disappointed, he takes his team to the WB lot, hoping to find a way to get a movie made about them, but after getting turned down, the fivesome sets out to find themselves an archenemy and prove themselves as heroes.
Enter Deathstroke (Will Arnett) and get ready for a lot of Deadpool jokes after the Titans loudly question whether or not he's the the Merc with a Mouth, which only annoys Slade since he was actually created long before Marvel's psychotic antihero. There's actually a few Ryan Reynolds references sprinkled in the trailer, including a Green Lantern joke.
Smallfoot
Warner Bros. launched the official trailer for Smallfoot, which you can view above, shortly after debuting an extended sneak peek during their presentation.
Channing Tatum, Zendaya, and Common were on stage to promote the movie, which follows a Yeti who is convinced that Smallfeet creatures actually do exist and are not just some urban legend. It's an interesting twist on the classic Big Foot tale and with a late September release date, it might be a fourth quarter hit for the Warner Animation Group.
Mowgli
It's been a long time coming, but we finally got our first look at Mowgli, Andy Serkis' much darker take on The Jungle Book tale and it looked pretty fantastic as the master of motion-capture brought to life the jungles of India in a very non-Disney manner.
Serkis, Rohan Chand, Cate Blanchett, Matthew Rhys, and Benedict Cumberbatch were all onhand to promote the movie, which looked considerably more intense and much darker than the 2016 Disney-produced blockbuster. Blanchett's Kaa looks and sounds terrifying and she was quick to tell us that she prepared for the role by watching a video of an anaconda taking down a crocodile, which she was surprised to see. We also see Baloo (Serkis), Bagheera (Christian Bale), and Shere Khan (Cumberbatch), who all look terrific.
A Star Is Born
Bradley Cooper showed up solo to give us the first look at his upcoming directorial debut, A Star Is Born, which stars Lady Gaga and it looked fantastic. Easily the only movie we've seen so far that may ultimately go on to pick up an Oscar nomination or two.
Cooper, who also produced and penned the script, seems to have really knocked it out of the park and his chemistry with Gaga is exceptionally strong, feels extremely genuine. With an early October release date, it'll probably be a few more weeks before the trailer is officially release, but regardless, this should be a really strong performer this fall.
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald closed out a star-studded night for Warner Bros. with the debuted of a new trailer for the highly-anticipated sequel. The footage was described as a little raw, but at first glance, it was hardly noticeable and should make its way online sometime this summer, if not sooner.
The trailer picks up at Hogwarts where Professor Dumbledore (Jude Law) is teaching his class about boggarts, "everyone is scared of something," and we then see him with a young Newt Scamander, whose boggart is revealed to be having to work in an office one day, which gets a chuckle out of Dumbledore. We're shown a lot more of the film's new locales and the returning faces and unlike the previous trailer, this one is relatively heavy on Grindelwald (Johnny Depp), who is seen wreaking havoc all across Europe.
The trailer ends with a few key moments as we see an interaction between Dumbledore and and adult Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) with the former telling his pupil that he is unable to move against Grindelwald, so it's up to Newt to step in and save the day. He then smiles and apparates away in typical Dumbledore fashion. The next shot is a pretty wicked scene of Grindelwald riding through a snow storm on a sleigh and the tag is Newt and Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler) meeting the immortal inventor of the Sorcerer's Stone, Nicolas Flamel (Brontis Jodorowsky), which was a very cool reveal.
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