Around the time that the new Ghost Rider film was confirmed for the con, two other films also locked in appearances. The Amazing Spider-Man took to their official site and launched a “Face Of The Fan” contest where you can submit a video saying why they should send you to SDCC to meet with the talent for the film. At the same time, the new Conan the Barbarian film also publicized an appearance when they promised to give away con passes if their Facebook page passed 150K likes. The interesting thing that links all three of these films though, is the fact that they’re all reboots of established franchises. But how does this affect their presence at the con? Read on for my predictions.
The big problem that this “reboot” status brings is the fact that all three are trying to distance themselves from legacy and expectations. That’s not to say the franchises’ pasts were terrible (especially not Spider-Man) but both justifying one’s existence and making people excited can be a very tricky thing. I think it’s best to go movie by movie:
The Amazing Spider-Man – It’s safe to say most attendees don’t want this to exist. Sam Raimi was doing a good job with the franchise (even if Sony’s control had big negative impact on the third) and getting rid of the entire cast seems like a colossal waste. In addition, director Mark Webb’s only previous film was the very-different 500 Days of Summer and he’s super inexperienced with such a huge property. I actually think the cast is decent for this one and have moderately high hopes, but I still agree with most that say it shouldn’t have happened. It’s pretty terrible that Sony had to destroy such a good foundation to save money and this film will have to present footage that’s both really good and sufficiently different from the original so that people won’t immediately call is a needless revamp.
Conan the Barbarian – Though I’ve never been a huge Conan fan, I know the original books and some of the comics have garnered a lot of love and even the Arnold Schwarzenegger movies have a small fanbase. Now this one is in the awkward position of trying to get away from the cheesy and poorly acted films, but find a large audience that the books never could. I think the trailer was pretty awful and that they went to far trying to make it gritty, but I imagine fans of the books will feel even worse. Unfortunately for the film, SDCC will likely be filled with these very fans and they have to really believe the film respects the books to give it even a sliver of attention.
Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance – This film, even more that the others, has two very distinct audiences. People that already love the comics and are ready to try out any movie that comes out, and people whose only Ghost Rider knowledge is of the first film and thus are utterly unenthused about this one. Though I lie squarely in the second, my hope is that fresh creative talent and a willingness to experiment could make this movie good. Still, I’m by no means getting my hopes up and the first film was so bad that I’m considering not even spending my time seeing if this one is better. The filmmakers have been trying to sell it as a total reboot and revamp, but SDCC is the best place where they can really prove this and force me to get really excited about it.
Are you already excited for any of these movies or will they have to earn it at SDCC?
