Comic-Con 2015 kicks off with 'Batman v Superman,' 'Star Wars,' 'Hunger Games' sneak peeks

Comic-Con 2015 kicks off with 'Batman v Superman,' 'Star Wars,' 'Hunger Games' sneak peeks

Comic-Con comes early this year, kicking off Wednesday with Preview Night. The largest fan convention in the United States is expected to draw 160,000 fanboys and -girls to the San Diego Convention Center and its surrounds to celebrate movies, television, toys, video games, cosplay and of course comic books.

The annual event usually takes place later in July — it hasn’t been held this early in nearly two decades — but it’s been located in San Diego ever since its founding in 1970, when just 300 attended. And it’ll stay in America’s Finest City for the foreseeable future, despite attempts to lure it elsewhere, including an aggressive campaign by Los Angeles, which succeeded in drawing sister con Wonder Con starting next year.

Last week, San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer announced that Comic-Con will stay in his city through 2018. The event’s contract was set to expire next year.

"Fans near and far can rejoice that their favorite superheroes and celebrities will continue to gather under the San Diego sun," Faulconer said in a statement. "San Diego and Comic-Con are a natural pair, and we're both extremely pleased to continue our four-decade partnership. And San Diego residents can take heart knowing that the world-famous convention will continue to pump tens of millions into our economy to support local jobs, street repair and neighborhood services."

Comic-Con is the San Diego Convention Center’s largest event of the year. The city “conservatively” estimates that it generates $135.9 million regionally and adds $2.8 million in tax revenues for the city. Discussions to keep the mother of all cons in the city included Comic-Con International, the San Diego Tourism Authority, the San Diego Convention Center and local hotels, which agreed to keep rates from skyrocketing during an event that sells out in an hour.

The convention center has also lobbied to keep Comic-Con in San Diego with promises of a $520 million expansion with huge ballrooms, additional meeting spaces and 225,000-plus square feet of exhibition space, but the renovations haven’t started yet, noted the Los Angeles Times.

"We've grown up in San Diego, and we're excited to have reached an agreement that will keep us here through 2018," added Comic-Con spokesperson David Glanzer. "We worked hand-in-hand with Mayor Faulconer, hoteliers and the tourism industry which will allow us to continue delivering our dynamic convention in America's Finest City."

One entity that won’t be on-hand for the festivities this year is Marvel. The superhero brand has made a habit of wowing the 6,500 fans who manage to score a seat in Hall H with stunts like parading the entire cast of “The Avengers” onto the stage. A presentation like that can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, and with “Ant-Man” hitting screens next week and “Captain America: Civil War” currently shooting, the timing just wasn’t right this year to make the trip south worth it.

With Marvel out of the picture, expect DC to fill the void at Warner Bros.’ 90-minute presentation on Saturday with Henry Cavill and Ben Affleck on hand to pump “Batman v Superman” for the third year in a row. Other highlights include the final installment of “The Hunger Games” and the next “Star Wars.”

Here’s a preview of what the Hollywood studios are sneak-peeking at Comic-Con 2015:

Open Road— Thursday, 10:30 a.m., Hall H
Open Road Films has yet to announce its Comic-Con lineup, but the distributor behind such genre flicks as the “Haunted House” spoofs, “The Host” based on Stephenie Meyer’s novel and Robert Rodriguez’s “Machete Kills” has reserved an hour in Hall H and has a few projects on deck that might be of interest to con-goers: a live-action “Max Steel” based on the Mattel toy line due Aug. 18; maybe Oliver Stone’s “Snowden” starring Joseph Gordeon-Levitt slated for Christmas Day; and a parody of “Fifty Shades of Grey” from the “Haunted House” team in January of next year.

“The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2”— Thursday, 12 p.m., Hall H
Lionsgate’s YA franchise starring Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson has grossed more than $2.3 billion worldwide, and Lionsgate is offering a sneak peek at the Nov. 20 finale including exclusive, never-before-seen footage as well a cast and filmmaker Q&A.

Lucasfilm— Friday, 5:30 p.m., Hall H
The company is synonymous with one brand, so let’s just call this panel what it is: “Star Wars ZOMG.” Director J.J. Abrams, producer Kathleen Kennedy, writer Lawrence Kasdan and “special guests” provide a “special look” at “The Force Awakens.” After whipping fans into a frenzy back in April at the Star Wars Celebration, the production isn’t expected to unveil any new footage at Comic-Con.

“The Visit”— Friday, 6 p.m., Horton Grand Theatre
Writer-director M. Night Shyamalan plus producer Jason Blum (“Paranormal Activity,” “The Purge,” “Insidious”) will discuss the “Sixth Sense” filmmaker’s latest twisty thriller from Universal, due in theaters Sept. 11.

Warner Bros.— Saturday, 10:30 a.m., Hall H
With Marvel sitting out this year, count on Warner Bros. to bring out the big guns, including director Zack Snyder and stars Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill for “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” (due March 25, 2016), along with Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg, Jeremy Irons, Holly Hunter and Gal Godot. Also on tap are Hugh Jackman, Garrett Hedlund, Levi Miller and director Joe Wright for “Pan” (Oct. 9). And Cavill will return to the stage with Armie Hammer for “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” (Aug. 14) with co-stars Alicia Vikander and Elizabeth Debicki.

“Pride and Prejudice and Zombies”— Saturday, 12:15 p.m., Hall H
From the mind that brought us “Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter” comes this Jane Austen-“Walking Dead” mashup. Cast members Lily James, Sam Riley, Bella Heathcote, Douglas Booth, Jack Huston and Matt Smith plus writer-direcotr Burr Steers and the book’s author Seth Grahame-Smith will be on-hand for a first look at the Feb. 5, 2016, release. Screen Gems will also use its hour in Hall H to promote “Patient Zero” with stars Matt Smith, John Bradley, Natalie Dormer and Clive Standen along with director Stefan Ruzowitzky and writer Mike Le.

Quentin Tarantino’s “The Hateful Eight”— Saturday, 1:30 p.m., Hall H
The “Pulp Fiction” impresario will be on-hand to share an exclusive look at his eighth film, which is due out Christmas Day, followed by a Q&A with as-yet-unnamed cast members.

Legendary Pictures— Saturday, 2:30 p.m., Hall H
Details are scarce, but “Warcraft” (slated for June 2016), Guillermo del Toro’s “Crimson Peak” (Oct. 16), Zhang Yimou’s “Great Wall” (Nov. 23, 2016) and “Krampus” (Dec. 4) are all scheduled to make an appearance in Hall H.

Nerdist: “The Hive”— Saturday, 3:30 p.m., Horton Grand Theatre
Chris Hardwick’s geek empire makes its first foray into film with this upcoming horror flick starring Kathryn Prescott, Gabriel Basso and Jacob Zachar. The panel will provide a first look plus a Q&A with director Dave Yarovesky and the cast.

20th Century Fox— Saturday, 5:45 p.m., Hall H
The studio hasn’t released its lineup yet, but let’s see: its “Fantastic Four” reboot is due Aug. 7; Ridley Scott’s “The Martian” starring Matt Damon on Oct. 2; “Victor Frankenstein” starring Daniel Radcliffe on Nov. 25; “The Peanuts Movie” on Nov. 6; and Oscar winner Alejandro González Iñárritu’s “The Revenent” with Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy on Christmas Day. And looking ahead to 2016, there are “Deadpool” starring Ryan Reynolds, Tim Burton’s “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children,” and new “X-Men” and “Independence Day” movies before next year’s Comic-Con, so you do the math.