25 Comic-Con Trailers Ranked, From ‘Justice League’ to ‘Game of Thrones’ (Videos)

DC Comics movies and Bruce Campbell are among our top picks for Comic-Con’s best in show

comic con walking dead doctor strange wonder woman

Comic-Con has come and gone, and it has left us with a bunch of trailers aiming for our excitement and disposable income. So which trailers have us intrigued and which ones made us feeling numb?

25. “Game of Thrones”

Was this really necessary? This supposed teaser for Season 7 of “GoT” is just a dramatic montage of pre-production work with Season 6 soundbites played over it. Hopefully at next year’s SDCC we’ll get something more concrete once they get some footage from actual filming.

24. “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword”

A gritty revamp of medieval tales with a lot of CGI thrown in. Pass.

23. “Kong: Skull Island”

This premise is a bit more intriguing: what if a modern military unit accidentally ended up on King Kong’s island that natural evolution forgot? It could be interesting, though the combination of Samuel L. Jackson and CGI primates is going to spawn some bad memories of “The Legend of Tarzan.”

22. “Fear The Walking Dead”

AMC doubled down on Walking Dead-mania with this spinoff, but reception has been relatively “meh.” If a trip down to Mexico and to a cult that sacrifices their own to the roamers isn’t enough to kick start this series back into shape, nothing will.

21. “Iron Fist”

If you’re a hardcore Marvel fan who is fully aware of who Iron Fist is, this trailer should get you sufficiently excited. For the uninitiated, it’s a little bit too insubstantial, at least compared to the “Luke Cage” trailer.

20. “Blair Witch”

The found footage horror genre has come full circle, as the surprise sequel to “The Blair Witch Project” features another team of students filming their doom, this time with 21st century video technology like drone cameras. It looks unnerving, but can it avoid feeling like a rehash of the first film’s plot?

19. “Legends of the Hidden Temple”

It is so strange that this exists, but it seems anything is game when it comes to nostalgia. Nickelodeon is taking one of its ’90s game shows and turning it into a TV movie featuring the show’s original host Kirk Fogg. If this movie doesn’t have a scene with them struggling to put together that silver monkey statue, we’re out.

18. “The Walking Dead”

That’s right, “TWD.” Keep milking that cliffhanger. But thanks for introducing King Ezekiel and his CGI tiger, Shiva, to the series. Let the comparisons to Robb Stark and Grey Wind begin.

17. “Justice League Action

With its 11-minute run time, this new “Justice League” cartoon probably won’t hit the storytelling heights of “Young Justice” or “Justice League Unlimited,” but that’s not what it’s aiming for. It wants to be a quick blast of action, and it looks like it’s going to fulfill that goal splendidly.

16. “Fantastic Beasts”

J.K. Rowling is taking a big roll of the dice here, as she tries to expand the “Harry Potter” franchise into an entire wizarding world beyond The Boy Who Lived. “Fantastic Beasts” makes Roaring ’20s New York look sumptuous, but it’s still not clear whether it’s cast can be as emotionally resonant as the Hogwarts crew.

15. “Arrow”

The Season 5 trailer gave a glimpse of the CW series’ new big bad, Prometheus. More intriguing is the return of Cassidy, who was killed off last season.

14. “Legion”

“X-Men: Apocalypse” was a let down, but this series about Professor X’s son looks interesting. As the trailer demonstrates, Legion is a mutant as powerful as his dad, but his powers are jumbled up thanks to multiple personality disorder and schizophrenia.

13. “The Flash

Season 3 of the acclaimed CW series will adapt “Flashpoint,” the event comic that DC used in 2012 to reboot their entire universe. This looks like it’s going to be a fun season, though it’s too bad we didn’t get more of Dr. Alchemy, who is being voiced by “Saw” icon Tobin Bell.

12. “Son of Zorn”

Fox seems to be taking a page out of Adult Swim’s book with this comedy about a “He-Man” style hero trying to fit in with his family in the real world. Here’s hoping this can keep going even after the premise wears thin.

11. “Sherlock”

This could be the last season of Benedict Cumberbatch’s breakthrough show, and Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss are promising very dark days for Sherlock … including the possibly return of Moriarty.

10. “Snowden”

If you like your cinematic retelling of Edward Snowden’s story more in the style of “Citizenfour,” Oliver Stone’s melodramatic look on the surveillance state might be a bit too much. But, hey, it’s Oliver Stone and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. That combination can’t be ignored.

9. “American Gods”

If you saw Season 6 of “Game of Thrones,” you know what a great actor Ian McShane is. Now you can see him really strut his stuff in this adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s classic, in which he plays a modern-day version of Odin. Anthony Hopkins, you’re on notice.

8. “Doctor Strange”

When it comes to movies about magical beings in New York, we’ll take Cumberbatch and “Strange” over Redmayne and “Fantastic Beasts.” Yes, Rowling has a Magical Congress, but Marvel has Bald Tilda Swinton and buildings that ripple like water.

7. “Defenders”

A simple teaser with clever use of Nirvana drives the point home: the Netflix equivalent of “The Avengers” is coming. Not only does it effectively sell the show; it also sells all the other Marvel series that are being included in this crossover.

6. “Wonder Woman”

It goes without saying, but Themyscira looks gorgeous. Gal Gadot’s portrayal of Diana was one of the few well-received portions of “Batman v Superman,” and if her chats in this trailer with Chris Pine are any indication, she’s going to have more chances to wow us next year.

5. “Suicide Squad”

Everyone’s already pretty jazzed for “Suicide Squad,” but this music video sent the hype through the roof. Not only was it fun, it also gave us a greater sense of what’s at stake for the characters and gave a chance for those not named Joker or Harley Quinn to take the spotlight.

4.) “Lego Batman”

In the same weekend that “The Killing Joke” proved a lot of fans have had enough of grimdark Batman, we get this trailer that completely mocks it. It also seems that “Lego Batman” is going to play with the idea that Alfred — played masterfully here by Ralph Fiennes — is still playing the daddy role to an emotionally stunted vigilante.

3. “Ash Vs. Evil Dead”

If this trailer just consisted of Ash ripping open a keg of beer with his chainsaw, it would be enough. But the balls-out ridiculousness and Motorhead soundtrack that follows proves that the “Evil Dead” franchise is as strong as it has ever been.

2. “Luke Cage”

Unlike “Iron Fist,” this teaser does a great job getting newbies interested in Luke Cage. His awesome fight scene is part crime noir, part superpower showcase, as Cage beats up mooks while demonstrating his bulletproof skin. This is the kind of dark, gritty superhero tale that feels intriguing.

1. “Justice League”

THIS is how you win over the “Batman v Superman” critics. The new trailer introduces us to the DCCU’s take on Aquaman, Flash, and Cyborg, and they all look like winners. The message is clear: this is going to be a blast. Let’s just hope comic book movie fans don’t end up looking back at this trailer like they look back at the “Man of Steel” teaser.

Comments