This year’s San Diego Comic-Con International celebrated its 41st anniversary, with what started as a simple gathering of 500 comic book fans has grown into an annual fan convention that, with nearly 130,000 attendees, now boasts influence over the science fiction, fantasy, and horror segments of the entertainment industry. With good buzz from Comic-Con translating into success for a featured movie or show, and poorly received titles experiencing major flops, movie studios have taken the importance of Comic-Con, incorporating the convention as a major part of their marketing plans, especially for the science fiction, fantasy, and horror genres.
Disney had a heavy presence this year at the convention with a number of major announcements and presentations, and MousePlanet staff member Tony Phoenix and staff photographer Frank Anzalone were there to check them out.
Tron
The biggest buzz at Comic-Con was undoubtedly around Disney’s Tron: Legacy. Appearing for an unprecedented third year, Disney pulled out all of the marketing stops. Full-sized set walk-throughs and models of the light cycles attracted crowds. The city itself was filled with banners touting the film. Not much new was announced, though a new trailer was screened for the crowds.
MTV, del Toro said, “It’s such a great character that there’s literally—amongst Haunted Mansion fanatics, the hardcore ones—a cult for the Hatbox Ghost. You can Google it, it’s pretty intense, and I am one of them,” he said. The legend around the ride’s Hatbox Ghost was that it was ‘a beautiful creature’ that was discarded on the first day of ride operation because they thought it was too scary. “The reality is that Imagineers could not make the illusion work, so they took it out,” he said.
According to the MTV article, del Toro plans on taking the core mythology of the attraction, and expanding it so there are many haunted mansions around the world.
No information about release dates was announced.
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