San Diego Comic-Con 2023 took place over the weekend with major announcements for fans of TV, movies, comics, and video games. We at The Nerd Stash want to highlight the top ten announcements to come out of Comic-Con 2023. This year’s Comic-Con was a different experience, with the Writers’ Strike and the SAG-AFTRA strike preventing actors and writers from attending. However, the many announcements from the event proved to make the conference as exciting as ever. And the following announcements were among the most exciting. So without further ado, here are our ten favorite announcements to come out of Comic-Con 2023.
10. ‘Interview with the Vampire’ Season 2 Trailer is Released
Unfortunately, AMC’s Interview with the Vampire was one of the many panels canceled in light of the ongoing strikes. The show was also forced to pause production due to the strikes. However, fans of the show got some good news when the trailer was revealed on Friday night. After turning on Lestat (Sam Reid) at the end of season one, Louis (Jacob Anderson) and Claudia (Delainey Hayles) are finding refuge with a new coven. But it doesn’t look like Lestat is that simple to avoid. While production on the show may take a while to get started again, this trailer gave fans the holdover they will need.
9. The ‘Borderlands’ Movie Gets a Release Date
Borderlands fans got a long-awaited announcement at Comic-Con when the official release date for the movie was revealed. Those fans have been waiting for this news since 2015 when the film was announced. While video game adaptations of the past have often been failures, newer adaptations have proven to be big successes. These include The Super Mario Bros. Movie, HBO’s The Last of Us, and Netflix’s The Witcher. The Borderlands movie certainly has the makings of a big success, with director Eli Roth helming the film. The movie also has an all-star cast, including Cate Blanchett, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Hart, Ariana Greenblatt, Florian Munteanu, and Jack Black as Claptrap. The movie will release on August 9, 2024.
8. Max Releases ‘Harley Quinn’ Season 4 Trailer
We also got the teaser for season four of DC’s outrageous animated series Harley Quinn, teasing “more sex, more drama, more bane being bane, and more Harlivy.” We get a glimpse into the couple’s complicated relationship, with Harley fighting alongside the good guys and Poison Ivy, who is now CEO of the Legion of Doom. Harley’s new allegiances are frustrating not only because of Ivy but because she can’t let go of her violent streak. As the Justice League has to remind her, “No killing.” We will see Harley Quinn navigate all this craziness when season four has its four-episode premiere on July 27.
7. Spider-Man 2 Drops Story Trailer
Sony had massive success with the video games Spider-Man and Spider-Man: Miles Morales. And if Spider-Man 2 lives up to what this story trailer suggests, we can expect another round of gold. Unsurprisingly, we will see our two Spider-Men (Peter and Miles) fighting crime while dealing with their complicated personal lives. We’re also going to see more of Harry Osborn than ever, and many speculate he will be taking on the role of Venom. Harry’s twisting towards villainy has always created massive tension between him and his childhood friend Peter. Fans are eager to see how that storyline will play out in this new game that was teased at Comic-Con 2023.
6. Two DC Animated Movies Announced at Comic-Con 2023
After screening Justice League: Warworld at Comic-Con 2023, DC announced that two iconic graphic novels would be released as direct-to-video animated movies. One of those movies is Crisis on Infinite Earths, considered the definitive multiverse story in the DC Comics universe. The story has been adapted at other times, with the DC Arrowverse adaptation being the most famous.
Another DC animated film was announced at Comic-Con 2023. The influential and iconic Watchmen will get an animated adaptation. This will be the third time Alan Moore’s masterpiece has been adapted following a 2008 film and an HBO miniseries. While we’re not sure what the details of these adaptations are, it is known that Watchmen will be rated R.
5. The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon Trailer Revealed
While The Walking Dead may be over, Daryl Dixon’s journey isn’t. Comic-Con 2023 featured a trailer for the spin-off series The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon. This show will see Norman Reedus’ character wash up on the shore in France, unsure of how he got there. The trailer introduces us to a new character: a boy named Laurent (Louis Puech Scigliuzz). A nun tells Daryl that they have been waiting for him to deliver Laurent, who they say will lead the revival of humanity. It appears that this new Walking Dead story is borrowing a little from the Joel and Ellie story in The Last of Us. Is Laurent a “chosen one” who can cure this long zombie apocalypse? This feels like a long shot, but we will find out soon enough.
4. Adult Swim Releases ‘Rick and Morty: The Anime’ Trailer
When you hear about a Rick and Morty anime series, it almost sounds like a mere fan concept. Or it may sound like a Citadel of Ricks or an interdimensional cable episode. But that’s not the case. Rick and Morty: The Anime is a real show picked up by Adult Swim, and Comic-Con 2023 gave us our first look. Alongside what appears to be the title sequence, we also got a message from Takashi Sano, who expressed his high hopes for the series. Sano said,
“And after all ten episodes, I think you’ll find yourself in a peculiar state of mind. And that state, I believe, best reflects the feelings I get watching Rick and Morty.”
3. Marvel Announces a New Punisher
One of Comic-Con 2023’s biggest announcements was the dawn of a new Punisher in the Marvel Comics universe. With Frank Castle now a villain, someone had to step into the role of the violent anti-hero. Marvel announced that former SHIELD agest Frank Garrison is taking over the moniker. Details of how he will play the part are unknown? Is he going to try and redeem the bloodthirsty vigilante’s violent image? Or will he suffer his own tragedy similar to Castle’s that awakens a violent vendetta against crime? The possibilities for this storyline are endless.
2. Prime Drops ‘Invincible’ Season 2 Trailer (and Special Episode)
Fans have been waiting eagerly for Invincible season two since 2021. They finally got some good news this past January when Prime Video teased a late 2023 release. Now they’ve finally graced fans with a teaser trailer for the upcoming season. And that wasn’t the only gift Co-creator Robert Kirkman had for fans. During the Comic-Con panel, Kirkman announced a special episode of the series. The episode, Invincible: Atom Eve, explores the origin story of Samantha Wilkins/Atom Eve. The special had a screening at Comic-Con, and it is now available on Prime Video. Invincible season two will release on November 3rd.
1. ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Final Season Clip and More
Star Trek knows how to take over any conference, and Comic-Con 2023 was no exception. We got an action-packed extended clip from the final season of Star Trek: Discovery, the very first Star Trek series, exclusively from Paramount+. The final season will premiere in January 2024.
In addition, we also got a new trailer for season four of the animated comedy series Star Trek: Lower Decks. Season four will premiere on September 7. Check out the trailer below:
The Star Trek Comic-Con 2023 panel also made a big announcement and dropped a trailer for episode nine of Strange New Worlds. The episode is titled “Subspace Rhapsody,” and it is—we aren’t kidding—a musical episode. We don’t blame you if you need to see it to believe it, so check out the trailer below:
All of these announcements, and others unmentioned, were awesome in their own right. But Star Trek had so much candy for the Trekkies that they had to take the top spot for Comic-Con 2023 announcements.
