The highlight of San Diego Comic-Con 2018 has to be Warner Bros’ two-hour Hall H panel - and the biggest part of that was the DC presentation. Here’s everything that was shown and revealed.

With no Marvel at SDCC 2018, it’s undeniably DC’s year, and they didn’t hold back. Three films due in 2018 and 2019 were the focus - Aquaman, Shazam! and Wonder Woman 1984 - with footage playing for all three and two trailers making their way online, as well as appearances from cast and crew ready to spill big secrets.

It’s a whirlwind hour, with so much shown and reported it can be easy to lose track. Fortunately, Screen Rant was right in the fray. Here’s everything DC that came out of SDCC 2018.

  • This Page: DC Trailers & Footage From Comic-Con 2018 Page 2: All The Other DC News From Comic-Con 2018

Wonder Woman 1984 Footage

First up at the Comic-Con 2018 DC panel was Wonder Woman 1984. With a November 2019 release date and filming having only recently started, this was the furthest out movie being pushed, and thus expectations of any footage being released online were low. Indeed, the footage screened in Hall H was a work in progress, with unfinished CGI (Wonder Woman’s run, in particular, stood out) and the color grading barely started. However, it still gave a taste of what Patty Jenkins was bringing to the film (which Gal Gadot insisted wasn’t a sequel).

The sequence took place - fitting of the 1980s setting - in a mall food court; Diana fought a pair of bad guys, saving patrons as she goes. There was no sign of Cheetah, who is presumably being saved for a public reveal.

A Shazam Teaser Trailer

Going into Comic-Con 2018, it was unclear what sort of push Shazam! would get. Zachary Levi was the cover star of EW’s latest issue and several revealing images had been released, but with it still eight months out and Aquaman surely the main point of hype, a trailer was deemed unlikely: most expected footage, possibly behind-the-scenes, to screen in Hall H but not make its way online.

So it was a pleasant surprise when DC released a full Shazam! trailer (it’s called a teaser but runs almost three minutes long) for David F. Sandberg’s light-hearted DCEU entry. It presented a cliff notes version of the origin story - teenage Billy Batson meets a wizard who grants him the ability to turn into an adult superhero when uttering the word “SHAZAM!” - then explored how the new hero adapts to his powers. The highlight was a single-take transformation that will surely be gif’d to high heaven in the months to come.

Two Aquaman Trailers

DC saved the biggest until last, however. Aquaman is the only DC film releasing in 2018 and so took pride of place on their panel. First, the expected trailer debuted online. This gave an overview of the plot - Arthur Curry must return to Atlantis to stop his half-brother Orm from leading a war on the surface - and a taste of some of the underwater powers, although did receive some criticisms for its weak CGI.

However, that wasn’t the end of Aquaman footage. Those in attendance in Hall H got to see a totally different trailer cut, this one focused on specific action sequences, including a visit to a now-land portion of Atlantis and a footchase against Black Manta. It also put more focus on King Atlan’s trident, and ended with a reveal of Aquaman in his comic-accurate costume.

Page 2 of 2: All The Other DC News From Comic-Con 2018

Worlds of DC, Not DCEU

The biggest news about the DC Extended Universe is that we no longer have to call it the DC Extended Universe. That name has become synonymous with DC Films’ recent output, but was only ever a joke that went way too far: DCEU was never official. However, in lieu of a better alternative, it’s what fans and press went with regardless.

Now we have a proper alternate: Worlds of DC. This is what DC Films’ slate was called at the start of the Comic-Con 2018 panel and, while it may at first seem unwieldy, it makes some sense. While the films that the panel focused on were all part of the same shared continuity started in 2013’s Man of Steel, soon the studio’s output will diversify, with the Joaquin Phoenix Joker movie totally separate from Jared Leto’s iteration of the Clown Prince of Crime (who may also be getting his own solo feature). If there are going to be “Elseworlds” stories prominent going forward, it makes sense to make that distinction now.

Wonder Woman’s Costume Is Brighter

Darkness in DC movies has become so much a joke that Deadpool 2 and Incredibles 2 both got digs in earlier this summer. The movies that DC brought to SDCC already directly addressed this - Aquaman is a vibrant underwater epic, Shazam! intentionally pokes fun at superhero tropes and Wonder Woman 1984 is set in the 80s - but the latter twisted things in a more inter-textual way.

When the first look at Diana Prince in the sequel was revealed, it was commented that her costume was considerably brighter than the version seen in Wonder Woman (itself a notch up from her debut in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice). The footage seems to confirm that: while it wasn’t color graded, what was shown in Hall H was the brightest we’ve seen Wonder Woman’s iconic suit yet.

About Aquaman’s Pants

DC fashion was an unexpected big deal at their 2018 Comic-Con panel. After the poster for Aquaman released earlier this week, the fact he was wearing what appeared to be leather pants underwater. As if reading fans’ minds just as Arthur Curry reads fishes’, Jason Momoa provided clarity during the film’s section, saying his trousers are in fact denim. It’s unclear how much easier they are to swim in, however.

Justice League Is Done

One movie was so conspicuous by its absence at Comic-Con 2018 that it counts a development by itself: not once in the DC Hall H panel was last year’s Justice League mentioned. Now, it’s an already-released movie and thus not something Warners would be looking to promote, but for this to happen when two of the films on show have characters integral to the League indicates that it really is being put to bed.

Earlier this week, Warner Bros. stated there were no plans to release a Snyder Cut of Justice League, but it seems like the entire production is being put to bed. Given the scathing reviews and poor box office, that’s hardly surprising - especially when everything on the horizon looks so exciting.

Next: Aquaman Trailer Breakdown: 10 Secrets You Missed

This #SDCC 2018 post brought to you by Regal Cinemas.

  • Aquaman Release Date: 2018-12-21 Shazam! Release Date: 2019-04-05 Wonder Woman 2 Release Date: 2020-12-25