The San Diego Comic Con is notorious for many things – fans camping in long lines to be the first to see new trailers, spotting celebrities in the delirium-inducing Exhibit Hall, and more cosplayers than there are multiverses in the Marvel canon. It is pretty much Christmas in July for fan boys and girls across the globe, where the Pop Culture industry comes out to share a slew of projects set to delight the masses over the next few years. “SDCC” is how we find out winter is coming, who will next pilot the Tardis, and where the Avengers assemble. However, it’s easy to get lost in the avalanche of news and hype — which is why we made this special news roundup of all the biggest announcements.

1. Marvel’s “Phase 4” – There is no Endgame in sight for Marvel movie fans as the MCU’s producer Kevin Feige announced their next phase of stories coming to screens soon. The next two years will bring us five Marvel films and five television series, which will be exclusive to Disney’s new streaming service. Out of these titles, Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow will finally get her long begged for solo film. The first Asian lead in a superhero film will be introduced with “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.” And, not only is “Thor 4” confirmed with Taika Waititi directing, but Natalie Portman is back as Jane Foster, and wielding Thor’s hammer no less. If that amazing batch of news wasn’t enough, the Marvel panel had one more surprise – the character of Blade is coming back to the big screen, with Oscar winner Mahershala Ali taking up the mantle. 

2. Boldly going forward, CBS All Access previewed season three of “Star Trek: Discovery,” throwing its characters into a whirlwind of new adventures. But, it can’t be universe-altering drama all the time, which is where the new animated comedy “Star Trek: Lower Decks” comes in, following “the support crew serving on one of Starfleet’s least important ships”. Maybe it will be “The Office” in space! However, the most hype surrounded the trailer for the release of the new series “Star Trek: Picard.” It follows Patrick Stewart reigniting the character of Jean Luc Picard from “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” considered by many to be the best captain of the franchise.

3. Trailers, trailers, trailers! There were so many trailers released, it’s impossible to talk about all of them at once. You have to see them to believe. You can watch the biggest SDCC trailers here. Just a few included are “IT: Chapter 2”, “His Dark Materials”, “Snowpiercer”, and HBO’s “Watchmen.” 

4. Lastly, in one of the more plot-twisty plot twists of the convention, news broke that Brandon Routh will once again don the red cape of Superman on “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” an Arrowverse crossover event. “Arrow”. Yep – that Brandon Routh, star of the 2006 film “Superman Returns,” which received a tepid response from critics and moviegoers alike. Few outright blamed Routh for its problems, leaving a question as to what he could have done with the role long term. With the final season of The CW’s “Arrow” television show pulling out all the stops for its conclusion, both Brandon Routh and Tyler Hoechlin’s versions of Superman will be featured in what we can only assume is a “Into the Spider-verse”-esque send off the series.

What are you most excited about in the upcoming year? We’d love to know. And remember, the UNT Media Library has all sorts of pop culture films and shows like the ones featured at SDCC every year. Browse our catalog online to find your next favorite.