Every Trailer from SDCC 2016: The Good, The Meh, The Ugly

San Diego Comic-Con is the most wonderful time of the year for nerds, geeks, and No-Majs alike. Created in 1970, the San Diego Comic Convention (#SDCC or simply Comic-Con) has gone from a niche event reserved for the most loyal fans of speculative fiction to a celebrity event known the word over. Every major Hollywood studio shows up in full force with some of their most lucrative exciting offerings, teasing thousands of lucky, hungry souls with trailers of movies and television that won’t even be released until the next Comic-Con.

I’ve gathered here a comprehensive list of all the trailers released this year (so that you don’t have to!) and, as is the way of the Internet, have passed judgment on all of them.

What You Should Be Excited For:

Wonder Woman – premieres June 2, 2017

We’ve been waiting years for Wonder Woman to show up in live action, from failed pilots to director/writer announcements whose invisible jets never quite took flight. Thanks to the wild success of the Marvel franchise, DC has finally relented in giving the people what they want.

The trailer is probably the most highly anticipated of all SDCC’s premieres and it does not disappoint. We get action, humor, and the magic friggin’ lasso. 2017 cannot come soon enough.

Luke Cage– premieres September 30

From the heads over at Marvel Television and Netflix, we get a continuation of the Hell’s Kitchen Defenders line-up with the first full(-ish) trailer for Luke Cage, Hero for Hire.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ymw5uvViqPU

While he’s not sporting the yellow tights and afro we know and tolerated, he’s still just as badass. This trailer takes Daredevil’s iconic hallway fight scene and wraps a car door around it.

Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency – premieres October 22

From the outset, the trailer aims to show you that this is no rehash of your beloved detective stories.

https://youtu.be/Gv42Tjhvrgs

The eponymous detective is less Sherlock Holmes and more Inspector Clouseau (with a Corgi!) And, plus, I mean, it’s Elijah Wood.

Legion– premieres 2017

Yet another project that seemingly took years to get made, Legion is our first foray into the world of the X-men on television.

This trailer looks spectacular, with the kind of grounded, real-world visuals and tone we haven’t seen since the first X-men film, which is probably in large part thanks to the direction of Noah Hawley, creator of FX’s critically acclaimed Fargo.

King Arthur: Legend of the Sword– premieres March 24, 2017

When a friend of mine first mentioned another King Arthur movie was being made, I could only think of the underperforming, underwhelming disaster starring Clive Owen.

Directed by Guy Ritchie of Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels as well as the two Robert Downey Sherlock films, this King Arthur actually looks—dare I say it—funny. Guy Ritchie is great at visual comedy and we haven’t had a good laugh at the expense of Arthur Pendragon since Spamalot.

American Gods – premieres 2017

I’ve been hearing about an American Gods film since the book was released in 2001. In 2011, HBO abandoned it, citing that they couldn’t get a script right. Almost three years later, Starz finally got their hands on it.

If you’ve read the book, you know there are enough stories to last the show at least a decade and with Neil Gaiman himself and Hannibal’s Bryan Fuller partnered up behind the creative wheel, American Gods looks to be the adaptation we all deserve.

The Defenders – premieres 2017

A Netflix miniseries based on the lead characters from Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist, this trailer goes for a minimalist approach (as the show has yet to begin filming) using a simple voiceover and some clip art featuring the logos of the team’s comprising members.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBZtM8q2Z1g

Why should you be excited about this? Team-ups are amazing. And can you imagine Jessica Jones trying to get along with any of these guys? The Avengers these guys ain’t.

The LEGO Batman Movie – premieres February 10, 2017

The LEGO Movie was a commercial and critical success, so why not make a spinoff featuring its most popular character?

This trailer has laughs sprinkled generously throughout and the kind of quality tongue-in-cheek camp we’ve come to expect from the Dark Knight. At least… from the Adam West version.

Suicide Squad– premieres August 5

The summer’s most anticipated film and boy, does WB know that. The past few months have been a little over saturated with Suicide Squad, garnering headlines from reshoots to Jared Leto’s inexcusably creepy pranks to Viola Davis’ reaction to Jared Leto’s inexcusably creepy pranks. The interesting thing about this trailer is that we get more of a glimpse at Harley Quinn’s possible backstory in the film.

I’m still excited for the film, don’t get me wrong, but if I have to sit through another month of promotional material (this is the fifth trailer), I’ll have to be locked up in Belle Reve myself.

What You Shouldn’t Be [as] Excited For:

Fantastic Beasts And Where to Find Them – premieres November 18

For those of you who live under a rock without Twitter, Fantastic Beats and Where to Find Them is a return to the wizarding world set about 70 or so years before Voldemort first rose to power.

This is the second trailer released with a more extensive look at the magical antics of Newt Scamander and friends. Honestly, I’d rather see a Harry Potter spinoff set in modern-day and this film doesn’t strike me as having enough story to support the mythology of the preceding “sequel” films. For a good example of how wrong this could go, see Star Wars Ep. 1-3.

Blair Witch 2(?): The Woods – premieres September 16

This is the sequel that no one saw coming. Filming under the production title, “The Woods”, fans were surprised to discover that this was actually a follow-up to the… JFC, 1999 film.

Why am I not excited? Shaky, found-footage films have become overused in the 17 years since the first film was released and adding a “help me find my sister from the original movie” angle just seems like a desperate reach to milk some story out of a dying franchise. See Book of Shadows: Blair Witch Project 2.

Kong: Skull Island– premieres March 10, 2017

This is not I repeat NOT a sequel to the 9-hour Peter Jackson film, Kong. This is a reboot, I think?

Pros: Brie Larson, Samuel L., John Goodman. Cons: This is apparently the first in a new franchise culminating in an Avengers-style team-up of old movie behemoths. Remember when I said team-ups were awesome? I take that back.

What You Should Reserve Your Judgement For:

Justice League – premieres November 17, 2017

With Superman presumably dead, who will save the world?

The general consensus is that Batman v Superman was a dimly-lit wreck haphazardly placed together as a reaction to Marvel’s success with the Avengers. I’m reserving judgment because the last two films in this series were heartbreakingly mediocre, one of the main criticisms being a lack of heart and humor. This trailer at least looks to be rectifying that complaint.

Dr. Strange – premieres November 4

As with Fantastic Beasts, this trailer is a second look at the upcoming Marvel film, which places a spotlight on the other characters, likely a result of the backlash Marvel faced after the release of the first trailer featuring an Asian character portrayed by the very un-Asian Tilda Swinton.

In their history, Marvel has yet to fail its fans, but this is the first foray into the realm of magic, so it’ll be interesting to see how the fantasy collides with the rest of the science-fiction-heavy Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Justice League Action– premieres Fall 2016

An action-packed (it’s in the title, after all) installment of the many adventures of the Justice League.

Why it could be great: see Batman: The Brave and the Bold. Why it could suck: see Teen Titans Go!

Legends of the Hidden Temple – premieres Fall 2016

A feature-length take on the old Nickelodeon game show.

Fans of the game show and fans of current Nickelodeon are, to put it mildly, of two separate generations. 90s babies have a heavy nostalgia filter and will likely hate this. Kids watching Nickelodeon now with no idea the history of this show will probably find it as entertaining as any Nickelodeon original movie. So who knows?

Iron Fist – premieres 2017

Billionaire Danny Rand returns to Hell’s Kitchen after being imbued with the magic ability to end a fight in a single blow.

Like the Defenders trailer, the Iron Fist trailer doesn’t reveal very much as filming is currently underway. I have no reason to doubt this show itself will excite me as much as the other Marvel Netflix offerings, but the trailer as presented gives me very little to look forward to.

You Tell Me:

SDCC also released trailers for shows returning for new seasons (as well as a second trailer for the not-at-all comic book-related Snowden). Since I admittedly don’t watch all of these shows, you tell me how you feel about these trailers. Which ones are you excited for? Which ones make you roll your eyes? Which ones just make you give the :-/ face?

The Flash– Oct. 4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LGQRbPERaU

Arrow – Oct. 5

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxG7JR4-nCM

DC’s Legends of Tomorrow – Oct. 13

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUrbrdZj-I4

Gotham – Sept. 19