For most of the 2010s, Warner Bros. cast a huge shadow over San Diego Comic-Con. Between its sizable presence on the showroom floor and a protracted presentation in Hall H that could last well over two hours, the studio was unmatched in its ability—even with arch-rival Marvel Studios using the largest fan convention in North America in its favour.
This year, the studio took a decidedly different approach. He completely missed the expo, including the presence of DC Comics. And though he used his hour-long panel in Hall H to showcase two of his 2022 releases — “Black Adam” and “Shazam! Wrath of the Gods’ — DC Studios’ biggest films of 2023, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom and The Flash, were completely MIA. There is no mention of other DC titles such as “Batgirl” (expected to debut this year) and “Blue Beetle” (the first Latin American superhero film), nor updates on the future of Gal Gadot’s “Wonder Woman” and “The Batman” Robert Pattinson .” (Meanwhile, persistent Internet rumors about an appearance by Man of Steel star Henry Cavill also turned out to be as unfounded as they seemed.)
Instead, “Shazam! 2” star Zachary Levy poked fun at co-stars Lucy Liu, Asher Angel and Jack Dylan Grazer and director David F. Sandberg, while Helen Mirren and Rachel Zeigler appeared in a scripted video message in which Mirren celebrated her female co-stars by saying : “Ya pussy power!”
It was up to Dwayne Johnson, in a Black Adam costume, to carry the drama, stepping onto a raised platform surrounded by smoke and sending lightning into the audience – activating blue lights in the ropes handed out to the audience in Hall H.
The crowd cheered him on, but there was a palpable sense that they were eager for more: an audience member asked Levi if Shazam would fight Superman (Levy made a silly face and then winked at the audience), and Johnson was asked how Black Adam would fare against the man of steel. (Johnson’s eyebrow-raising response: “It probably all depends on who’s playing Superman.”)
As for Aquaman 2 and The Flash, studio insiders said those films are too far behind the schedule to warrant a big Comic-Con unveiling. But in previous years, Warner Bros. has used Hall H as a launch pad for films well past the calendar year. The 2014 panel for the studio included a first-ever look at 2015’s Mad Max: Fury Road. Zack Snyder first announced 2016’s Batman v Superman at Comic-Con in 2013; the panel for the film took place in 2015.
Both Aquaman 2 and The Flash finished shooting months ago, giving their respective directors, James Wan and Andy Muschietti, plenty of time to put together some shiny footage to generate buzz commensurate with the characters’ standing in the comics. A faithful horse.
Aquaman 2, however, stars Amber Heard, who just spent months at the center of one of the ugliest public legal battles in Hollywood history against ex-husband Johnny Depp. A jury found in June that both defamed each other, but Depp was awarded millions more in damages against Heard, who was also mercilessly mocked and criticized by Depp’s fans on social media. (She filed a notice of appeal on July 21.)
And “The Flash” star Ezra Miller faces multiple allegations of abusive behavior, including choking a woman in Iceland and harassing another woman at her home in Berlin, as well as two arrests in Hawaii this year — once in March, for disorderly conduct and harassment and another month later for second degree assault. (Miller has never commented on allegations of misconduct against them; a source close to the situation said Diversity in June that the actor is privately focusing on their health and healing, hoping to answer the allegations at some point in the future.)
The circumstances of Hurd’s and Miller’s situations are quite different. However, in both cases Warner Bros. is faced with an impossible dilemma without much precedent, even in the #MeToo era: How to promote their escapist superhero franchises when their stars are embroiled in toxic scandals that overshadow all other talk about them.
In the case of Aquaman 2, Walter Hamada, who heads the studio’s DC division, testified in a video deposition in the Heard-Depp trial that the studio considered recasting Heard as Mera opposite star Jason Momoa because the actors “didn’t have lots of chemistry together.
“Editorially, they were able to make that relationship work in the first film, but there was concern that it took a lot of effort to get there,” Hamada said. Not exactly a rousing endorsement for a movie.
However, Mera is not the central character for Aquaman, and the film’s promotion may downplay Heard’s presence. That’s not possible for “The Flash,” which is built around Miller’s performances as multiple versions of their speed hero, Barry Allen. Although the studio may replace Miller for future “Flash” films, calls to remake Muschietti’s film with a new actor are financially untenable.
The Flash was mentioned during the panel, in the “Shazam! 2” trailer, just not in name; although the character appeared on screen, Miller’s face did not. (In contrast, Aquaman and Batman get full name-checking in the trailer, with Momoa and Ben Affleck’s faces popping up on screen.)
At one point Warner Bros. will need to engage DC fans for these movies and the actors in them. But instead of trying to navigate these turbulent waters in front of over 6,000 Comic-Con superfans, Warner Bros. chose to avoid them altogether – for now.
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