LAS VEGAS – Warner Bros. made some very smart decisions for its 2024 CinemaCon presentation. First off, controversial Warner Bros Discovery chairman David Zaslav was nowhere to be found (let alone mentioned). This was about the movies first and nothing more. Second, they brought stars. Sure, Lady Gaga couldn’t make it (perhaps she had a migraine), but Robert Pattinson? Anya Taylor-Joy? Chris Hemsworth? Michael Keaton? Kevin Costner? That works. And, third, they brought enough real footage to quiet any naysayers regarding their high-profile slate. Yep, just like the lucrative first quarter, it was a good afternoon for WB.
After distribution heads Andrew Cripps and Jeff Goldstein came out in matching “Beetlejuice” outfits (with white wigs, no less), they handed the baton over to studio co-chairs and CEOs Pam Addy and Michael De Luca. The pair have worked together for over 20 years, but collaborating as on-stage interviewers is perhaps, um, not their strongest suit. Again, luckily, they had a lot of good stuff to show and left the world’s theater owners buzzing. Let’s break it down, shall we?
“Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” (May 24)
George Miller, Tayor-Joy, and Hemsworth were on hand to tease this “Mad Max: Fury Road” prequel which is already set to debut at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival next month. Taylor-Joy revealed that working with Miller was watching someone “painting” a canvas and Hemsworth said Miller was a “god-like” figure in his household growing up. And added, “I’ve never been on a set that seems horrifying, exhausting…and then completely safe.” If you were concerned about the first teaser (somewhat too CG) or wondered what the conflict is after the full trailer, well, Miller was here to erase your doubts (or at least the press and distribution attendees). He screened a brand new, three-part preview (likely a little over three minutes long) that sets up a tale that takes place over 16-18 years. The first chapter shows Furiosa as a child and Dementus (Hemsworth), killing her mother. The second chapter showed a now slightly grown-up Furiosa (Taylor-Joy) in the background as Dementus and a familiar face, a younger Immortan Joe (now played by Lachy Hume) meeting for the first time. Are their hateful rivals or are they warlords looking for an alliance? The final chapter, “Ride Into Vengeance” has our heroine on a mission as she screams, “My mother! My childhood! I want them back!” The action was massive, and Taylor-Joy’s transformation is utterly impressive. If you had any doubts beforehand (like this writer), throw them out the window.
“Mickey 17” (Jan 31, 2025)
Bong Joon Ho made his first trip to CinemaCon and the Oscar-winner was in a very good mood. Speaking partially through an on-stage interpreter, he says, “It’s a Sci-Fi movie, but it’s a human story.” And he added, “A simple man goes to save the world. It’s a very strange hero journey.” Then the preview played and anyone who thinks the strange end of January release date means Director Bong has a misfire on his hands is very mistaken. “Mickey 17” centers on a man who has agreed to a gig in space where every time he dies, he’s reincarnated. The footage shows the very funny ways Mickey keeps on dying and the colorful characters around him including a dictator (Mark Ruffalo), the dictator’s wife (Toni Collette), Mickey’s work buddy who is also a bit off (Steven Yeun), and his girlfriend (Naomi Ackie). Oh, and Pattinson isn’t just playing Mickey 17, the 17th incarnation of Mickey. He’s also playing Mickey 18 because – whoops – another version of him wasn’t killed when they were supposed to be (he’s not a close, it’s called “human reprinting”). The preview was super funny, included Director Bong’s trademark eye-popping visuals, and looked super commercial with Pattinson in his most comedic role, er, roles yet. And we will continue to scream from the mountain tops: why is this movie being released on a traditional “dump” date in the United States? It makes absolutely no sense. After the footage, a buoyant Pattinson came out and said he thought it was he it was “one of the most original, funny Sci-Fi [scripts]” he’d seen. Bong says he thought Pattinson was perfect for the role because “he has a crazy thing in his eyes.” And, yes, Bong probably got the biggest laughs out of anyone who appeared at the WB presentation.
“The Watchers” (June 14)
We have lots of thoughts on M. Night Shyamalan producing his daughter’s feature debut as a studio movie. No, not an indie to get her feet wet, but an actual studio directing gig two years out of college. But, at least her thriller looks at least better shot than her dad’s next movie. Ishana Night Shyamalan was on stage to talk about the film and preview a new trailer which wasn’t as interesting as the teaser that dropped last month. The gist? Elle Fanning gets lost in the woods and is somehow trapped in a modern room with other captives. It features a massive mirror where something (aliens? demons? does it matter?) looks upon them as…entertainment. It’s based on A.M. Shine’s 2021 novel of the same name.
“Trap” (August 9)
The senior Shyamalan has moved his production deal from Universal to Warner Bros. His first film in that partnership finds Josh Hartnett as a dad taking his daughter to see her favorite pop star, Lady Raven (played, no joke, by the director’s other daughter, Saleka Shyamalan) in a major arena. He quickly notices an increased police presence while taking a bathroom break. A merch employee spills that the police believe the notorious serial killer The Butcher is there and has found a way to “trap” him from escaping. And before you can even wonder who that might really be, the trailer reveals the killer is none other than…Hartnett’s character. Yes, the whole point of the movie is to root for this psychopath to escape. Maybe. Shyamalan came out and thanked theater owners before strangely cutting to Saleka who sang a song we assume is from the movie (he didn’t even acknowledge who she was, it was like a strange stage production).
“Horizon: An American Saga, Part 1 and 2” (June 28, August 16)
Beyond the strength of their slate, one thing De Luca and Abdy did on Tuesday was convince theater owners and the media they are very much behind Kevin Costner’s partially self-funded two-part Western epic. Costner arrived on stage with a very warm welcome. He noted he first began working on this passion project in 1988 and wasn’t sure how to describe it but noted, “I have a tendency to like journey movies.” and “When the lights go out we just take a ride.” He did add that both chapters “take place over 12 years with the Civil War in between.” None of the cast was there besides Costner, but he cut a special preview that interspersed footage from both movies. It’s set for a Cannes out-of-competition debut next month (a genuine surprise), but based on the preview looked more like a streamer or prestige limited series than a stand-alone movie.
“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” (Sept. 5)
Tim Burton brought out most of the gang for this long-awaited sequel including Catherine O’Hara, Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci, Willam Dafoe, and, of course, the mischief maker himself, Michael Keaton (Jenna Ortega and Winona Ryder couldn’t get out of their Netflix projects). Keaton joked he was the only one that wasn’t “alerted to the dress code” (everyone was in all-black except for him) while O’Hara said she’s heard rumors of a sequel for years and wondered if they were making it without her. Keaton chimed in saying, “There is no sequel without Catherine.” The cast was very excited about the movie. Keaton has seen it twice and says it’s very funny and they all loved how Burton shot it in the same practical effects style of the first movie. This was confirmed by a behind-the-scenes piece that showed a lot of the makeup and creature designs. A new, longer trailer played up the comedy, Burton’s visual aesthetic, and Dafoe as, potentially, Beetlejuice’s nemesis. They are going for that “It” franchise release date, but maybe closer to Halloween makes more sense.
“Joker: Folie à Deux”
You’ve likely seen the new trailer already as it dropped online immediately after the event. Phillips didn’t have much to add except that he and Phoenix spent a lot of time discussing the “Joker” sequel during the pandemic and he cast Gaga because she’s “magic.” As for whether it’s a musical or not he remarked, “We haven’t talked about it like that. Music is an essential element.” Whatever your take on the teaser, it completely played for the CinemaCon audience who left the Caesars Palace theater thinking they have a massive hit on their hands.
Additionally, Warner Bros. and DC Studios didn’t show any footage from James Gunn’s “Superman,” but the co-head of that fledgling new division said to expect himself and the cast at CinemaCon next year to kick off the “Summer of Superman.” Instead, co-head Peter Safran presented the first trailer from DC Studios’ Sundance acquisition, “Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story” which Fathom Events will bring to theaters in September.
The studios ended the presentation with a series of phone videos from the sets of some films currently in production. Jack Black hyped up “Minecraft” from New Zealand; David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan confirmed they had seen a cape while shooting “Superman” in Atlanta; Maggie Gyllenhaal spoke from the set of her latest directorial effort, “The Bride”; the cast of the latest “Final Destination” promised a nostalgic comeback (or something along those lines); and Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan popped up to remind everyone their latest thriller is now their fifth movie together.