San Diego Comic Con! It needs no introduction. As the mecca of all things nerdy, SDCC has no shortage of announcements in all mediums-books, movies, video games, board games, you name it. With the exception of Lucasfilm, who had it's own convention in Europe just last weekend, just about every major studio had some kind of announcement. Let's take a look at some of my favorites, in no particular order!

Taika Waititi’s Thor: Ragnarok

Taika Waititi is best known for directing the 2014 New Zealand vampire comedy What We Do In The Shadows. During SDCC, he showed a mockumentary detailing what Thor was up to during the events of Captain America: Civil War, showing Thor moving in with a random dude in Australia, who writes emails to Tony Stark and Steve Rogers at Thor’s behest. The short also shows Thor “helping” kids at a local school, trying to figure out where the Infinity Stones are, and having coffee with Bruce Banner. Afterwards, Waititi showed a reel of behind-the-scenes footage, ending with a delightfully retro new logo for Thor: Ragnarok. If Waititi brings the same kind of weird, otherworldly humor to Ragnarok that James Gunn brought to Guardians of the Galaxy, we already have a strong contender for best Phase 3 film.

Suicide Squad is the gift that keeps on giving.

While Man of Steel and Batman v. Superman may have polarized fans (though the Director’s cut of BvS is spectacular), Suicide Squad looks to do for the DC Extended Universe what Iron Man did for The Marvel Cinematic Universe, giving us a story that moves beyond the typical good vs evil superhero tropes, assembling a team of incarcerated super-villains to take on a greater evil. Ever since SS was first announced, their marketing team has crushed it with color, features, posters, Queen songs and more-and SDCC was no different, showing us a new trailer, potentially spoilery toys and much more. When Superman himself (Henry Cavill) sneaks into your autograph session, you know you’ve done did good. August 5th can’t get here soon enough.

The Aliens franchise is going back to it’s roots.

Twenty-four years after it’s premiere, Alien 3 is still a source of contention for fans of the Aliens universe. David Fincher’s first major studio outing was dictated by Twentieth Century Fox, who provided Fincher with a haphazard, unfinished script that was amended during filming and ultimately recut by the studio itself before being released. While original Alien director Ridley Scott is directing a trilogy of prequels beginning with 2017’s Alien: Covenant, District 9 and Chappie director Neill Blomkamp has been busy crafting a true sequel to James Cameron’s 1986 Aliens. Though the film has been put on hold in favor of Scott’s films, both James Cameron and actress Sigourney Weaver spoke openly about Blomkamp’s proposed script, with Cameron saying the script “works gangbusters.”

Mystery Science Theater 3000 is back, debuts on Netflix.

MST3K, The classic, witty lets-make-fun-of-bad-movies-with-robots staple of the 90’s, is coming back! After a massively-successful Kickstarter campaign, the new season netted not only comedian Patton Oswalt and new media extraordinaire Felicia Day, but also a network- the revived series will premiere on Netflix sometime “in the not too distant future,” and will feature appearances from the original cast and, of course, a taciturn cast of robots. MST3K was a Netflix staple of mine during late nights at art school, so I’m excited to see what the comedic geniuses of the classic show will fuse together with Oswalt and Day in the mix.

Brie Larson is confirmed as Captain Marvel.

The rumor mill was strong with this one-after an eternity of speculation, Marvel confirmed Brie Larson is Carol Danvers, AKA Captain Marvel, the first female-led superhero movie for Marvel. Captain Marvel helped me jump back into reading comics with it’s blend of nerdy humor and relatable storytelling-while you’re waiting for the March 8, 2019 release, go read Kelly Sue Deconnick's fantastic run writing Captain Marvel, which helped catapult Danvers into the spotlight.

So. Much. DC.

The Wonder Woman trailer.The Justice League footage. Where to begin? DC showed it was listening to fans and critics alike who were put off by the overly-dark tone of Man of Steel and Batman v. Superman, delivering trailers that built on the mythology of the Justice League, but also showed they were capable of humor, without delving into the Avengers joke-a-minute formula. With Justice League and Suicide Squad providing sequels to BvS, Wonder Woman takes Diana to her first meeting with the outside world, during World War I. While Marvel is starting to feel set in it’s ways as it approaches the tenth anniversary of the MCU (which launched with Iron Man in 2008), the DC Extended Universe is building itself up to not only be the MCU’s rival, but also show Marvel how to improve it’s own game. Which brings us to...

Doctor Strange looks fantastic.

“You think you know how the world works,” Tilda Swinton’s Ancient One says to Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange. The same could be said of Marvel, which has been criticized over the past few years for being too formulaic in its storytelling, the outstanding Guardians of the Galaxy notwithstanding. In much the same vein as Guardians, Strange was a movie many thought couldn’t be made, simply because it would be too “weird” to see the Sorcerer Supreme wield his interdimensional magic on the big screen. With Inception-grade trippiness, large-scale stakes and phenomenal casting, Marvel’s biggest gamble could very well be the proof it needs that it doesn’t need infinity stones or the Avengers to tell a good story.

Riverdale is an unexpected surprise.

Of all of the shows previewed at this year’s SDCC, perhaps none were as surprising as Riverdale. Part of Archie’s rebirth over the past few years, which have included Jughead by Chip Zdarsky and the all-new Archie, illustrated by Saga artist Fiona Staples, Riverdale is a dark and gritty take on Archie’s hometown. Starting the season with the death of high school all-star Jason Blossom, this show has some serious Dawson’s Creek vibes. The CW isn’t known for ordering predictable shows, but time will tell whether this one is a bust or not.

All the cosplay.

So. Much. Cosplay. From con favorites like Deadpool and steampunk to Overwatch and Tomb Raider to Transformers and McDonald’s Thor, there is plenty of inspiration-and competition- leading up to Dragon*Con. See you Labor Day!