DC and Warners Bros. grabbed early headlines this year but the SDCC is also seeing Marvel launch its next wave of films, series and licensed properties…
Warner Bros. may have had their fair share of the headlines in the earliest days of this year’s SDCC revelations, but that doesn’t mean Marvel haven’t been getting ready to show more of their works. We’ve already seen their Netflix expansion plans. Now there’s more on other projects.
The much anticipated Doctor Strange movie, starring Benedict Cumberbatch in the title role (with a supporting cast that includes Chewitel Ejiofor, Tilda Swinton, Rachel McAdams, Benedict Wong and Mads Mikkelsen) has only given us a few glimpses so far, but the SDCC-released trailer gives a better idea of the mission and character dynamics.
Based on the world-spanning trailer it does seem as if this will be Marvel‘s answer to Inception, with a lot of reality-bending and twisted city-scapes showing us the power of the mystic arts over space and time… but even with its huge VFX budget and starry cast, the film will need a solid story. However the studio has been known for getting the basics right and building from them so there’s every reason to believe that Marvel could have another winner…
Less well known to the mainstream audiences is Legion. The television series, due to launch on FX nearly year, tells the story of David Haller, a young man who might actually be the world’s most powerful mutant. However his psyche is shattered, littered with different personalities and so even he doesn’t know what or who to believe. As interested parties circle to both help and hinder, David may find that uncovering what is real and what he makes real may be two very different things.
Haller is played by the ever-versatile Dan Stevens, probably best known for his role in Downtown Abbey though the actor has also been seen in recent years with roles in A Walk Among the Tombstones, Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb, psychological thriller The Guest and was even the uncredited voice of TIM in The Tomorrow People reboot. The series will also feature Aubrey Plaza, Jean Smart and Hamish Linklater.
Again, Legion looks to be a project where visual effects will play a large part in defining the look of the project, though in thi case they look to be less predictable and interestingly applied. It certainly wouldn’t be the first show to play with dreamscapes and be able to play to the humorous potential as well as the dark and dramatic. In the comics, Haller is actually the son of Charles Xavier though it is not known if this part of the mythology will eventually become part of the television lore.
