Day three of CinemaCon was a biggen as both Disney/Marvel and Universal showcased their 2022 slate in front of theatre owners.
Disney/Marvel headlined the morning. They previewed a load of different stuff but focused on Lightyear, Dr Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Avatar 2, now officially titled Avatar: The Way of Water.
To get things started, as all the studios do, Disney had a quick sizzle reel where the highlights were Dr Strange 2, Thor: Love and Thunder and Lightyear; audiences got the first glimpses of Avatar 2 and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
It was the briefest of footage from the Black Panther sequel involving Nakia, Shuri and Okoye all in a line before a major battle is about to happen.
Once the reel was complete, Marvel Studios’ Kevin Feige commanded the stage like the master showman; he revealed that he’s returning to the Marvel Studios creative team retreat to plan the next 10 years of the MCU once he’s finished in Vegas.
As for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Feige stated the movie is on schedule for its November 11, 2022, release as both he and director Ryan Coogler are “working very hard right now” to get the film finished, and we might be seeing the first teaser by June, but I can see them holding off possibly until July with the release of Thor: Love and Thunder.
They then showed the first 20 minutes or so of Multiverse of Madness. The film clearly highlights the importance of America Chavez, who’s “quite literally there from the first frame”, as it involves a major battle in New York. The footage ends with Wanda showing up, also showing the importance she’ll bring to the film.
By the sound of things, the biggest winner from the Disney presentation was the first 30 minutes of Lightyear and as you can see below, the reactions coming out are fantastic.
Then came the 20th Century Studios offerings of David O. Russell’s new film Amsterdam and it’s described as an “original romantic crime epic during the early 20th century” and has a stellar cast of Margot Robbie, John David Washington, Christian Bale, Chris Rock, Taylor Swift, Zoe Saldana, Rami Malek, Michael Shannon, Anya Taylor-Joy, Mike Myers and Robert De Niro.
With this description, filmmaker and cast, don’t be surprised If this becomes an Oscar contender next year.
Elsewhere, The Bob’s Burgers Movie got some air time and new posters with the jest being that if you’re a fan of the series, you’ll like the film, which isn’t the best sign the movie will do well in theatres.
Finally, Avatar: The Way of the Water rounded off a fair short (if you remove the footage) presentation from the Mouse House.
Producer Jon Landau announced they’ll be re-releasing the original movie later on in the year, probably for the best, as it came out in 2009!
He followed that up by adding that the four sequels will focus on Jake and Nyteri’s family, with each film will be standalone but part of a greater connected epic saga.
There was also a special message from James Cameron and giving them an exclusive first look at the 3D teaser trailer before its worldwide release in front of Dr Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
I haven’t been able to find many reactions to the footage, but Slash Film have done a decent write-up if you’re interested.
The Bear Cave 