Marvel Studios Brings Captain America, Thunderbolts, Fantastic 4, and RDJ to SDCC 2024

Getting into the Marvel Studios panel at SDCC Hall H is one of the most difficult things to do at the con, and with good reason. Some of the biggest announcements for the franchise happen here, and 2024 was absolutely filled with mind-blowing surprises.

Though Deadpool & Wolverine had its own panel on Thursday via lottery, we weren’t entirely left high and dry at the main event.  The whole shebang kicked off with the Deadpool choir and a hoard of Deadpool’s roaming the aisles.  (Check out Angie’s review of the film here).  It was certainly one way to excite an audience that was already bubbling with a mixture of anxious energy and exhaustion from the brutal process that it takes to get into the panel.  People were on their feet and dancing immediately. 

We jumped right into news about Captain America: Brave New World, including exclusive clips of the film, showing several key moments featuring Harrison Ford and Giancarlo Esposito.  I’ve been fairly lukewarm on this film, but their energy was certainly enough to turn the tide for me and I’m definitely looking more forward to it now than I was prior to the event.  It was also revealed that Esposito will be playing the leader of the Serpent Society, Sidewinder. 

From there we moved on to Thunderbolts*, where we didn’t learn exactly what the asterisk is all about (though they did tease a bit), but were treated to a hilarious and charming crowd walk-through by David Harbour. 

After the Deadpool & Wolverine panel earlier this week, it was confirmed via the drone show that Fantastic 4 would be making an appearance.  Feige told us at the beginning of this segment that the cast couldn’t attend as they’d be filming in the UK starting on Tuesday.  But that was, indeed, a huge lie.  The cast was in attendance.  I may have lost my voice a bit screaming with enthusiasm for Pedro Pascal, but I have no regrets. 

The title of the film was also revealed after a short video compilation of the cast doing screen tests for their characters. It’ll officially be called Fantastic 4: First Steps.  At the end of their segment, a retrofuturistic vehicle sailed over the audience to take them back to the UK in time to begin production.  The effect was incredibly cool, and had that been the crescendo of the panel, I’d have been a satisfied fan.  But no, there was even more to come! 

Avengers 5, which has been in a bit of a limbo since Marvel Studios cut ties with Jonathan Majors, had several huge pieces of news.  First, it’ll be directed by the Russos, who will also be directing Secret Wars.  Secondly, it’ll be titled Doomsday.  Yep, Doctor Doom is coming to the MCU in just two years time!  And lastly, Dr Doom will be played by… Robert Downey Jr.  No, really! And the way they revealed this is a moment I won’t soon forget. 

I’ve been attending Marvel Hall H panels since 2016, and this was definitely the biggest and most dramatic reveal for me.  Of course, major things occurred before I started attending, but I’ll hold this moment in a special place in my heart for a long time to come. It was perfectly coordinated. 

How this is going to work exactly remains to be seen, obviously.  So let the speculation begin!

Author: Angel Wilson

Angel is the admin of The Geekiary and a geek culture commentator. They earned a BA in Film & Digital Media from UC Santa Cruz. They have contributed to various podcasts and webcasts including An Englishman in San Diego, Free to Be Radio, and Genre TV for All. They identify as queer.

Help support independent journalism. Subscribe to our Patreon.

Copyright © The Geekiary