Comic book fans might have Comic-Con, and gamers might have various game festivals throughout the year, but movie fans have CinemaCon, hosted at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, to look forward to. Although the event is only for industry professionals and fans can’t attend like most other conventions, the announcements made there are things that everyone wants to know about. Often, big movie announcements happen here and first looks for highly anticipated upcoming flicks.
This year in particular saw a lot of significant announcements and reveals that have taken the internet by storm and made CinemaCon more widely known to the public. For most, this year is probably the first time they’ve even heard of the event, and it made quite an impression.
'Avatar: The Way of Water' Officially Announced
Although it’s been over a decade since Avatar shattered box office records and became a worldwide phenomenon, Disney and director James Cameron are finally ready to provide a sequel that will come out later this year.
Avatar 2, now officially titled Avatar: The Way of Water, was announced by Disney at CinemaCon with some interesting plot details. The film sees most of its primary cast return, including Sam Worthington as Jake Sully, and will follow Sully and his Na’vi family with Neytiri (Zoe Saldana). It’s set to release on December 16th, and fans will get to see a teaser for the film before Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Margot Robbie Becomes Barbie
If you haven’t heard, there’s a live-action Barbie movie in development with Greta Gerwig directing and Margot Robbie starring as the iconic doll, and we have our first glimpse.
At their panel, Warner Bros. unveiled the first look at Robbie as Barbie, and it looks about as perfect as you’d expect. Ryan Gosling is also set to star as Ken alongside an unbelievably star-studded cast and will hit theaters on July 23rd, 2023.
'Ghostbusters' Sequel Announced
Ghostbusters: Afterlife was one of the bigger theatrical hits last year, accumulating nearly $200 million worldwide. Now fans can look forward to a follow-up film recently announced at CinemaCon by Sony.
Details on the fifth Ghostbusters film, including cast members and story, are sparse, but many fans were wondering if the well-received “requel” would even see a second film, and now their worries can be laid to rest.
'Wicked' Adaptation Will Be a Two-Parter
Fans of Wicked finally got some big updates on the upcoming adaptation coming from Universal and Crazy Rich Asians and In the Heights director John M. Chu.
The adaptation of the beloved Broadway musical spin on The Wizard of Oz will star Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo. It was announced at CinemaCon that the adaptation would be split into two parts currently set to arrive in 2024 and 2025.
First 'Borderlands' Footage Revealed
Eli Roth’s upcoming Borderlands movie is one of the most highly anticipated upcoming video game movies, and at Lionsgate's CinemaCon panel, attendees got their first look at some footage.
Surprisingly, the brief clip shown has been chiefly praised for seemingly bringing the unique world of Borderlands to life through wild gunfights, chaotic hilarity, favorable characterizations of Lilith (Cate Blanchett), Roland (Kevin Hart), and the energetic android Claptrap (voiced by Jack Black).
Olivia Wilde’s Next Film Unveiled
We’ve been waiting on new news for Olivia Wilde's next directorial outing, Don’t Worry Darling, for quite some time, and it seems like CinemaCon attendees got a quick glimpse.
The film, which sees a 50s housewife, played by Florence Pugh, question her husband, played by Harry Styles after she becomes suspicious of the company he works for and discovers horrifying truths about their relationship. It’s a steamy psychological thriller that sounds incredibly enticing, and the first few images we’ve seen have made many wonder if a trailer is just around the corner.
El Muerto Coming to Sony’s Spider-Man Universe
Sony’s cinematic Spider-Man Universe hasn’t exactly gotten off to a hot start, and fans have only become more confused with their decision-making as they announced that a movie based on super-obscure Marvel character El Muerto is in development with musician Bad Bunny set to star in the titular role.
It’s really tough to make heads or tails of where El Muerto fits into Sony’s master plan if they even have one, since he’s just so obscure, but maybe there’s a noteworthy debut in the works.
Venom’s Third Outing Announced
While the El Muerto announcement was confusing for fans, no one was confused or upset by Sony announcing that a third Venom film is in development.
Currently, there are no details for the story or who we could see directing the film, but it’s very exciting that Venom and Eddie (both played by Tom Hardy) will return for another adventure and maybe join up with the Sinister Six squad that’s building.
'Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse' and Beyond
Sony shared quite a bit of news for the upcoming Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse at their panel, including showing the first 15 minutes of the film and revealing the title for the follow-up.
Based on what people are describing, Across the Spider-Verse opens with a bang with Hailee Steinfeld’s Spider-Gwen and Oscar Isaac’s Spider-Man 2099 being caught up in a battle where Issa Rae’s Jessica Drew/Spider-Woman helps them before they head to meet Shameik Moore’s Miles Morales. It sounds amazing, and we also now know that the “part two” film to follow will be called Beyond the Spider-Verse.
'The Batman' Will Return
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Matt Reeves’ The Batman is one of the biggest films of 2022, so it was only a matter of time before a sequel was officially announced, and Warner Bros. did just that at their panel.
It’s official, The Batman 2 is on its way and will see Reeves return to direct as well as Robert Pattinson and Zoë Kravitz return as their Batman and Catwoman, respectively. Now, the only question is, who will Pattinson’s Batman be facing off against?