San Diego Comic-Con is counter-Olympics programming for nerds everywhere. Running the same weekend the 2024 Games opened, SDCC features panels from the stars and creators of our favorite IP-driven projects — including Transformers, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Lord of the Rings, The Walking Dead, and more — all for the sake of giving fans what they want: a few crumbs about releases in postproduction, newly green-lit shows, and maybe a spicy spoiler a panelist spilled, to the horror of press people the world over. Aside from all the trailers, what are we getting? Let’s dive into the Olympic-swimming-pool-size highlights out of San Diego Comic-Con 2024, including a an oddly familiar villain to lead the next phase of the MCU, a surprise virtual appearance from Kamala Harris, plus major news from Dexter, Doctor Who, Star Trek, The Boys, and more.
Star Trek
A July 27 Star Trek panel doubled as an info dump about several different projects. The two-episode premiere of the upcoming final season of Star Trek: Lower Decks got a date: October 24. But if the show ending makes you sad, you can rest assured that the franchise still has other content in the works. For example, Alex Kurtzman is co-writing a live-action, half-hour comedy with Justin Simien (Dear White People) and Star Trek: Lower Decks star Tawny Newsome. Currently in development at Paramount+, the show will follow Federation outsiders who are serving on a gleaming resort planet — and having their day-to-day “exploits†broadcast to the entire quadrant.
It also seems like some sort of Star Trek musical, in the vein of the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds musical episode “Substance Rhapsody,†might be on the way. Per Deadline, EP Akiva Goldsman told a fan who asked if there would be any similar episodes in the future, “We’re in the very early stages of figuring out whether we can bring a version of that to the stage.†Meanwhile, Cillian O’Sullivan has joined the cast of the upcoming season of Strange New Worlds and will recur as the legacy character Dr. Roger Korby.
The Simpsons
Show creator Matt Groening surprised the audience by playing a clip of Kamala Harris during a July 27 panel, introducing her as a Simpsons “superfan.†Quoting the 1996 episode ‘Treehouse of Horror VII,†Harris said, “We must move forward, not backward; upward, not forward; and always twirling, twirling, twirling toward freedom.†Per The Hollywood Reporter, this is a resurfaced video message that was taken years ago, so it wasn’t recorded specifically for Comic-Con. Still, after a presidential campaign that has included Brat summer memes and an appearance on Drag Race, it doesn’t seem like Harris would mind an opportunity to keep courting the stan vote.
In a Violent Nature
IFC Films and Shudder had Johnny make a surprise appearance in a July 26 panel to help announce that we’re getting In a Violent Nature 2. Chris Nash will return as screenwriter for the slasher sequel.
Dexter
Michael C. Hall made a surprise appearance in a July 26 panel where Showtime announced that he would return as Dexter in the new series Dexter: Resurrection, a present-day follow-up to 2021’s Dexter: New Blood. It is set to premiere in summer 2025. Hall will also narrate the inner voice of young Dexter in the previously announced origin story Dexter: Original Sin, which is expected to launch in December 2024.
Doctor Who
The Who-niverse is expanding. Russell Tovey and Gugu Mbatha-Raw will lead the cast of The War Between the Land and the Sea, a five-part spinoff from Russell T Davies ordered by the BBC and Disney+. The news was announced in Hall H on July 26. Per an official description, the show will see a “fearsome and ancient species†emerging from the ocean to trigger an international crisis. It sounds like UNIT — including Kate Lethbridge-Stewart (Jemma Redgrave) and Colonel Ibrahim (Alexander Devrient) — will have to do their best to save humanity without the Doctor.
We also got some casting news for the main show. A preview of the Christmas special showed Nicola Coughlan’s character, Joy, coming face to face with a Silurian and the Fifteenth Doctor. Meanwhile The Little Mermaid star Jonah Hauer-King was confirmed to star in Doctor Who’s next season as part of Ruby Sunday’s story.
The Boys
Haven’t had enough of The Boys? Don’t fret; there’s more coming even after the series concludes with season five. Prime Video has green-lit Vought Rising, a prequel following the rise of the franchise’s New York–based evil media empire in the 1950s. Aya Cash and Jensen Ackles reprise their roles from the original series, while Boys writer and executive producer Paul Grellong will serve as showrunner, Prime Video confirmed. The news was announced at a July 26 panel featuring Boys creator Eric Kripke and cast members Antony Starr, Jessie T. Usher, Jack Quaid, Erin Moriarty, Karen Fukuhara, Claudia Doumit, Susan Heyward, Valorie Curry, Laz Alonso, Tomer Capone, Nathan Mitchell, and Chace Crawford. It’s the series’ second spinoff after the college drama Gen V.
Marvel Cinematic Universe
Just when Robert Downey Jr. think’s he’s out, a multiverse pulls him back in. RDJ made a grand entrance into Hall H in full Doctor Doom cosplay. The Russo bros. (also back from summer hols on non-MCU projects) announced the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. According to Variety, Downey is back not as Tony Stark but as Victor Von Doom. Why does he look like earth’s fallen hero Iron Man? TBD! Probably a multiverse variant, but Skrulls and a Doombot with a reskin are also in play. Or — here’s a thought — don’t explain it at all. They do it all the time on Law & Order, why not here? Gwyneth Paltrow, as usual, is baffled.
In a different part of the MCU, Harrison Ford is hulking out. Walking on stage, Ford gave us his best Hulk rage noises. He’s playing Thaddeus “Thunderbolt†Ross in Captain America: Brave New World.