Marvel stole the spotlight at San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) last week with major announcements for its biggest franchises. Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey continued its record-breaking box office run despite piracy and AI controversy, and Paramount’s proposed merger cleared in Europe while hitting another legal roadblock in the US.
Marvel Led Comic-Con’s Biggest Announcements
SDCC once again became Hollywood’s biggest showcase as Disney, Amazon MGM Studios, Apple TV+ and Marvel packed Hall H with exclusive footage, premiere dates and major casting reveals.
Disney opened with Percy Jackson and the Olympians, screening the opening minutes of Season 3 before confirming a November 20 premiere. The season adapts Rick Riordan’s The Titan’s Curse, marking the first live-action adaptation of the novel. Executive producer Dan Shotz also unveiled an interactive fan experience featuring hidden clues about the new season.
Amazon MGM then pulled back the curtain on Blade Runner 2099. The Michelle Yeoh and Hunter Schafer-led limited series is set 59 years after Blade Runner 2049, with the studio confirming an eight-episode run and a November 25 premiere.
The presentation was followed by The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 3, which debuted a teaser, confirmed weekly episodes beginning November 11 and revealed Simon Pegg as the voice of a Balrog.
Apple TV+ made its Hall H debut with previews of several upcoming projects, including Matchbox: The Movie starring John Cena, Danai Gurira, Jessica Biel and Sam Richardson, arriving October 9.
The studio also released the Season 2 trailer for Dark Matter, offered a first look at Neuromancer ahead of its January 22 debut, and screened exclusive footage from Ryan Reynolds’ action comedy Mayday, set for September 4.
Marvel closed Saturday’s programme with Comic-Con’s biggest panel. Fresh off the record-breaking launch of the Avengers: Doomsday trailer, which generated 503 million views in its first 24 hours, Marvel gave fans exclusive footage confirming Robert Downey Jr.’s Victor Von Doom leading an army of Sentinels against the Avengers, Fantastic Four and X-Men.
Kevin Feige also announced a new Ghost Rider film starring Ryan Gosling as Johnny Blaze, directed by Shawn Levy and targeting a 2028 theatrical release. Ryan Coogler later joined Letitia Wright, Winston Duke and David Jonsson to confirm Jonsson’s casting as T’Challa’s son in Black Panther 3, scheduled for December 15, 2028.
The Odyssey Keeps Breaking Records Despite Piracy
Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey remained one of the week’s biggest stories after a high-quality pirated copy surfaced on X on Saturday, drawing millions of views before being removed. A lower-quality upload appeared the following day and was also taken down after a copyright complaint.
The leaks appeared to have little impact on the film’s box office performance. The epic earned $87 million domestically and $128.3 million internationally during its second weekend for a global weekend total of $215.3 million. Combined with its opening weekend and weekday earnings, the film has now reached $639.6 million worldwide.
Universal described the result as the strongest second-weekend hold for any film opening above $100 million. The film also became the fastest release to reach one million views on Letterboxd, achieving the milestone in six days and surpassing records previously held by Barbie and Project Hail Mary.
The film also became part of a wider debate around artificial intelligence after Elon Musk responded to an AI-generated three-minute adaptation of Homer’s Odyssey created using Grok Imagine.
Paramount Wins in Europe but Waits on US Courts
Paramount’s proposed $111 billion merger with Warner Bros. Discovery received conditional approval from the European Commission on July 22, provided Paramount exits its stake in United International Pictures within 13 months of the deal closing.
The agreement also prevents Paramount from entering similar theatrical distribution partnerships with Universal across the European Economic Area for the next 10 years. European cinema body UNIC welcomed the decision but argued the conditions should have gone further.
In the United States, however, the merger remains tied up in court. On Thursday, US District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín extended the temporary restraining order until mid-August to allow more time before a preliminary injunction hearing.
A day later, Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery jointly agreed to pause the transaction until June 1, 2027, or until five days after a final ruling on the ongoing antitrust lawsuits.
The delay also increases the cost of the deal, with Paramount facing a ticking fee of 25 cents per WBD share for every quarter the merger remains incomplete after September 30, potentially amounting to about $210 million each month.
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