Countless fans filed into the iconic Hall H at the San Diego Comic-Con to get exclusive looks at the newest Hollywood releases. We may not have 10 minutes of never-before-seen footage for you (that’s for attendees only), but we do have the low-down on the panels. Here’s an inside look at five projects releasing soon.
Peacemaker season 2
The season 2 trailer for Peacemaker was revealed for the first time to an eager crowd at San Diego Comic-Con. In his first public appearance since the release of Superman, James Gunn (Superman, Guardians of the Galaxy) gave insight into the project at the Peacemaker panel.
Gunn explained how the season will play into the greater DC cinematic universe. “[When] Superman ends, it leads directly into the show. The show happens a month after the events in Superman,” said Gunn. “A lot of the characters return in the season of Peacemaker.”
When asked about the tone at the start of season 2, a costumed John Cena (WWE, Barbie) said his character is going through a rough patch. “[He] thinks the grass might be greener on the other side and that’s a journey that a lot of us can relate to,” Cena said. “So, I think people will enjoy that lane of the season because it hits home.”
The 8-episode season will be released on Aug 21st on HBO Max.
Tron: Ares
Tron: Ares is the third installment in the Tron series. The star-studded cast, creator, and director gathered in Hall H to talk about the film and the legacy of the franchise.
Jeff Bridges (The Big Lebowski) starred in the original Tron film in 1982. “To be continuing the story, you know, just amazing. [Steven Lisberger] created this wild world that is so much fun to be a part of, and these times, you know, artificial intelligence that’s on everybody’s mind and hearts these days, and to be part of telling that story is so exciting for me,” said Bridges.
Creator Steven Lisberger continued by saying, “As far out as Tron was and is, it actually became real life. And that’s even more far out than the film. And my feeling about Tron is that the most important thing is that we kick this technology around artistically before it kicks us around.”
But it wasn’t just the original cast and crew that felt a deep connection to the project. “When I was young, you know, there were days where you just kind of didn’t know what to grab a hold of. And movies like this really gave me something to dream for and dream about,” said Jared Leto. “We worked on this movie for nine, I think it’s 10 years now. And it started with just a word, Ares. And so, to be up here with these people and this cast, it’s a beautiful thing. I’m really grateful.”
Tron: Ares will hit theaters on October 10, 2025.
IT: Welcome to Derry
As an expansion to Stephen King’s IT series, the brother and sister producing duo Andy Muschietti and Barbara Muschietti bring IT: Welcome to Derry to the small screen. The nine-episode series will be exclusively available on HBO Max this fall. The Muschiettis watched behind the partition as the crowd previewed 10 minutes of the series.
The inspiration behind the series was one of the book’s greatest mysteries: How did IT become Pennywise? “Apart from all the joy that the two movies [IT Part 1 & 2] brought to us, also there was a frustration for not being able to tell the larger story,” said Andy Muschietti. “We always had the idea of somehow going back and digging into the book. Coming out of the movie, also with Bill Skarsgård, we had conversations where we came out exhausted and excited about the whole experience, and we always fantasized about doing an origin story.”
According to Barbara Muschietti, they took the idea of turning the origin story into a series to Stephen King. After King’s support, they started crafting a story that goes backward in time, to 1962, to tell the strange beginnings of Pennywise the Clown.
IT: Welcome to Derry will premiere on HBO MAX in October 2025.
Predator: Badlands
Comic con fans got an exclusive look at the first 15 minutes of Dan Trachtenberg’s (Prey, Predator: Killer of Killers) Predator: Badlands. Trachtenberg told the crowd in Hall H that the film will take the Predator franchise in a different direction.
“I realized something that has never happened [in the Predator franchise], and that is the Predator never wins. They’re supposed to be the greatest hunters in the galaxy, and humans seem to be really formidable and always taking them down,” Trachtenberg said.
He goes on to describe this version of the predator, played by Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi (The Panthers, Far North), as an anti-hero. This film will also be the first in the franchise to feature no human characters, with Elle Fanning (Maleficent, A Complete Unknown) playing an android. Despite its different approach, Predator: Badlands will flesh out the Predator universe. Schuster-Koloamatangi, who plays a young predator, learned Yautja, a language created for the predators, to help with world-building.
The film will be released in theaters on November 7, 2025.
Project Hail Mary
Project Hail Mary, a science fiction novel about a teacher who wakes up on a spaceship with no memory of how he got there, is coming to the big screen. Author Andy Weir (The Martian) produced the film alongside lead actor and producer Ryan Gosling (Drive, Barbie).
“I knew it would be brilliant because it’s Andy,” Gosling said. “But nothing could prepare me for what he had come up with this time. And it took me places I’ve never been. It showed me things I had never seen. It was as heartbreaking as it was funny. And I was just blown away.”
Hall H got a sneak peek at the first 5 minutes of the film, but we’ll have to wait until March 20, 2026, to see it in theaters.
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