Superhero fans are in for a treat at next month's Comic-Con in San Diego after Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 director James Gunn announced his Marvel film will be joining the fun.
"We… are coming to San Diego Comic-Con this year," he said on a Facebook video with star Chris Pratt. "We're gonna be there, I'm gonna be there, Chris Pratt is going to be there - a bunch of the gang is going to be there and we're gonna show you guys something pretty cool.”
Pratt, who has just finished shooting his role of Star-Lord in the film, also boosted expectations for the sequel to the 2014 Marvel hit, saying: "This is gonna be the greatest spectacle film of all time."
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Scheduled for release in the UK next April, Guardians Vol 2 sees the actor reuniting with Zoe Saldana (Gamora), Dave Bautista (Drax), Bradley Cooper (Rocket) and Vin Diesel (Groot). New additions include Kurt Russell, Elizabeth Debicki and Sylvester Stallone.
The superheroes will be competing with DC Comics' Suicide Squad and fellow Marvel film Doctor Strange at Comic-Con, which is the biggest multi-genre entertainment and comics event in the pop-culture calendar.
With Guardians 2 on board, Marvel is putting together an impressive line-up the event, says Chris Agar on ScreenRant. You have to wonder what they'll add in the coming weeks, he continues, suggesting there may be some teases for their 2017 releases Spider-Man: Homecoming and Thor: Ragnarok.
Last year, Agar notes, Marvel bypassed Comic-Con to promote their projects at Disney's D23 convention, but that event is not taking place this year. "If the studio wants to get the ball rolling early on promotion, Comic-Con is the place to do it," he says.
But not everyone thinks the event is a good place to launch their blockbuster campaigns. Earlier this year, The Wrap reported that 20th Century Fox was pulling out due to piracy concerns.
Fox was expected to show glimpses of major upcoming releases such as Assassin's Creed, with Michael Fassbender, Hugh Jackman's Wolverine 3 and Maze Runner: The Death Cure. However, the studio is apparently worried that exclusive footage shown to fans in attendance will be pirated.
Last year, Fox screened previews from its superhero film Deadpool in a trailer prepared especially for the 2015 convention. Two days later, a pirated version was available online.
Comic-Con International, San Diego, runs from 21-24 July.
