Mike and Chris look back at SDCC 2018 and describe the best and worst panels, movie news, trailers, exclusive footage and more from Comic-Con! It was a heck of a year at San Diego Comic-Con 2018. It may have felt smaller than usual, thanks to the absence of usual heavy hitters like Marvel, Star Wars, Game of Thrones, and Westworld, but there was still plenty to get excited about at SDCC this year. Whether you were hunting for rare Funko Pops, trying to find the best cosplay at Comic-Con, or wanted to watch the latest exclusive footage from upcoming shows and movies like Titans, Doctor Who, Iron Fist 2, The Walking Dead, Netflix's Disenchantment, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Shazam, Wonder Woman 1984, Aquaman, or any other of the massive future hits that showed up this year to engage directly with fans, there was something for everyone at Comic-Con this year. You could even visit the Taco Bell from Demolition Man, and if you did, it was probably your favorite meal of the entire week. If you didn't get a chance to check out any of that, you're going to have to settle for watching this video in which GameSpot's Mike Rougeau and Chris Hayner recap all their favorite moments from Comic-Con 2018, discuss the best panels of the show, and even complain a bit about a few disappointments. When you're done, check out more of our SDCC 2018 coverage below.<doc-sep>"Star Trek: Discovery," "The Orville," "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" and many more beloved — and new — sci-fi titles and franchises took center stage at Comic-Con International: San Diego last weekend, unleashing a fountain of new footage and an eruption of announcements for fans. So, just in case you missed something, here's our helpful, all-you-need-to-know guide to the best bits of this year's San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC). "Star Trek: Discovery" "Star Trek: Discovery" went big at this year's Comic-Con, taking over the legendary Hall H and offering a first look at Season 2 and details about "Star Trek: Short Treks." On hand from Discovery were cast members Sonequa Martin-Green, Doug Jones, Shazad Latif, Mary Wiseman, Anthony Rapp, Wilson Cruz, Mary Chieffo and Anson Mount. Fans were treated to a sneak peek at the show's upcoming second season, with footage introduced by series co-creator and executive producer Alex Kurtzman, who directed the Season 2 premiere. You may remember that, back in June, showrunners Gretchen Berg and Aaron Harberts were let go, and Kurtzman was effectively told to take the conn. If you recall, at the end of Season 1, the USS Discovery was last seen in a rendezvous with the USS Enterprise, currently under the command of Capt. Christopher Pike. Apparently, Spock (who, coincidentally, has taken a leave of absence from the Enterprise so we don't get to see him — yet) is connected to a significant new cosmic threat, with strange anomalies popping up throughout Federation space, necessitating an urgent response from the Enterprise and now the Discovery, which Capt. Pike takes command of. What does poor Saru have to do to become captain? ! Before Discovery returns for its second season, CBS also revealed that it will release four "Short Treks" minisodes, which will be approximately 10 to 15 minutes long and will cover many of our favorite secondary characters. Rainn Wilson will return to play the mischievous Harry Mudd in a short that he will also direct, and Aldis Hodge will star in another as Craft, a man who finds himself the only human on board a deserted ship. Additional episodes will include a deep dive into Saru's backstory as the first Kelpien to join Starfleet, plus Tilly's journey aboard the USS Discovery and her friendship with an unlikely partner. Intriguing. "There is no shortage of compelling stories to tell in the Star Trek universe that inspire, entertain, and either challenge our preconceived ideas or affirm long-held beliefs, and we are excited to broaden the universe already with 'Short Treks,'" Kurtzman said in a statement. "Each episode will deliver closed-ended stories while revealing clues about what's to come on in future 'Star Trek: Discovery' episodes," he added. "They'll also introduce audiences to new characters who may inhabit the larger world of Star Trek." In addition, a couple of cast announcements were confirmed, including Rebecca Romijn as Number One — a character played by Majel Barrett in the pilot episode ("The Cage") in the original "Star Trek" — and the return of Cruz, who will reprise his role as the Discovery's chief medical officer, Hugh Culber … even though the character was controversially killed off in the first season. The second season will also visit Saru's home world and continue to explore the Klingon storyline established in Season 1 surrounding L'Rell's ascendancy to the position of chancellor on the Klingon home world Qo'noS. There was no mention of Section 31, so we don't know yet if that clandestine arm of Starfleet is involved with the aforementioned cosmic threat, despite the tease of "Section 31 Bridge Blueprints" back in April. Season 2 will beam onto our screens via CBS All Access in the U.S., the Space channel in Canada and Netflix for the rest of Earth in early 2019. [Where Should 'Star Trek: Discovery' Boldly Go in Season 2? We've Got a Few Ideas] "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" A still from the teaser trailer for the surprise seventh season of "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" released at San Diego Comic-Con 2018. (Image credit: Lucasarts) During the 10th anniversary celebration panel, it was announced that "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" will return with 12 brand-new episodes on Disney's streaming service, sending fans into a frenzy. Created by George Lucas, the show became the entry point into the "Star Wars" universe for an entire generation, following characters like Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Padmé Amidala, while introducing new ones, like Ahsoka Tano and Captain Rex. It's now regarded as essential "Star Wars" and has even won a number of Emmys. However, "Clone Wars" was never finished; it ended after five seasons — just as Ahsoka was leaving the Jedi Order. Five post-season episodes were later released as "The Lost Missions," but the story wasn't over. Fans have been clamoring for Disney and Lucasfilm to finish what was started — and now, finally, it's happening. "The Orville" A still from the teaser trailer released at San Diego Comic-Con 2018 for "The Orville" Season 2. (Image credit: Fox) Oddly enough, the new trailer for Season 2 of "Star Trek: Discovery" seemed to have more humor than the trailer for "The Orville" … but there's no denying that this looks like it's going to be a lot of fun. The show is clearly bigger and better — and has a larger budget — than last year. The series' creator, Seth MacFarlane, has said he wants the show to lean a little less toward comedy and more toward serious sci-fi. But there's no doubt that there will still be the trademark MacFarlane tension-breaking humor, punctuating some otherwise suspenseful scenes. "The Orville" was a big hit for Fox when it debuted last September, and the 12-episode run retained a high viewership. Jon Favreau directed the show's pilot, and through its first season, it attracted some big names and former Trekkies to take the helm, including Brannon Braga (producer on “Star Trek: The Next Generation”), who directed four episodes; Robert Duncan McNeill (Lt Tom Paris in “Star Trek: Voyager”), who directed two; and even Jonathan Frakes (Commander Riker in “Star Trek: The Next Generation” and director of “Star Trek: First Contact” and three episodes of “Star Trek: Discovery”). The show stars MacFarlane, Adrianne Palicki, Penny Johnson Jerald, Scott Grimes, Peter Macon, Halston Sage, J. Lee and Mark Jackson. Season 2 premieres Sunday, Dec. 30 on Fox, which is only a few weeks before Season 2 of "Star Trek: Discovery" will likely air. Next year is already looking good. "Judge Dredd: Mega City One" A shot from "Judge Dredd." (Image credit: Lionsgate) Fans of "2000 AD," the long-running British sci-fi comic book series that gave the world Judge Dredd, were going bananas last week. First, Duncan Jones — writer and director of the epic, indie, sci-fi smash hits "Moon" and "Mute" — announced on Twitter that his next project would be about Rogue Trooper, another fan-favorite "2000 AD" character. See more The story follows one particular genetically engineered supersoldier, nicknamed Rogue, during a future war on a planet called Nu Earth. It's a gritty, toxic war story that draws inspiration from many real conflicts over the past few centuries. The planet's surface has become so poisoned that soldiers must wear chemical suits to survive — except Rogue, who has been designed to be able to survive in the deadly environment. The special effects required certainly represent a challenge for Jones, but from what we’ve already seen of his work, we're convinced he's the right man for the job. And secondly, Rebellion, the owners of "2000 AD," announced during its panel at SDCC that preparation for the much-anticipated TV series "Judge Dredd: Mega City One" is progressing apace. During the panel, fans learned that the pilot script and plot for the show's first two years have been completed, with Rob Williams, a name familiar to Dredd fans, signed on to the project. Williams, who has written Dredd for many years, is the creative lead for the show. In addition to the pilot, he worked with a group of writers on the plot for the show's first couple of seasons. Despite the title, Dredd himself will not be the sole focus of the show, which will instead be an ensemble drama. And there are so many amazing characters in the expanded Judge Dredd universe that it could explore, including Chopper, Judge Anderson, America and Judge Death, to name just a few. Karl Urban, who starred as Dredd in the 2012 attempt to bring the larger-than-life character to the big screen — written by Alex Garland, known for "Sunshine," "Ex Machina" and "Annihilation" — has already expressed interest in returning to the role, so we'll have to watch this story closely as it develops. "Doctor Who" The Thirteenth Doctor gets to work in the newest "Doctor Who" series. (Image credit: Sophie Mutevelian/BBC Studios) "Doctor Who" will return later this year with a new Doctor, played by a woman for the very first time. The trailer gives us our first real look at Jodie Whittaker in action as the Thirteenth Doctor as she recruits a few new companions: Yasmin (Mandip Gill), Ryan (Tosin Cole) and Graham (Bradley Walsh). Plus, it teases the new worlds and adventures they'll be embarking on. We also get our tiniest first glimpse at the latest incarnation of the all-important Sonic Screwdriver. During the panel, Whittaker talked about her journey from Cardiff to Gallifrey, Hollywood and beyond. Don't worry if you missed it; the full panel is available on YouTube below. The new season will be a 10-week run of 50-minute episodes on BBC America beginning in the fall, kicking off with a feature-length episode, the panelists said. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.<doc-sep>
A Venom movie without Spider-Man seems like a dicy gamble, but the footage Sony debuted exclusively during Comic-Con 2018 had fans excited nonetheless. It didn't hurt that they teased an eventual crossover with Tom Holland's Spider-Man, although it didn't sound like something that will happen any time soon. In the clip, Tom Hardy's character Eddie Brock struggles to get the Symbiote under his control. He tries meditating, but there's footage of more violent scenes interspersed as he attempts to clear his mind. "You cannot change the past. But in the present moment, you are in total control," a voiceover says, but clearly that's not the case. The footage showed Riz Ahmed's character, Dr. Carlton Drake, demonstrating the Symbiote's effect on an unwilling patient/victim. He's intent on forcing humanity to evolve. In another scene, Eddie races down the street on a motorcycle while the Symbiote erupts from his body, attacking nearby cars. Eddie speaks to the Symbiote, which can project words directly into Eddie's mind, or appear as a CG Venom head protruding from Eddie's body. In another scene, the two appear to have melded and reached some sort of balance; the Symbiote face peels partially away from Eddie's, and the two proclaim together, "We are Venom." During the Sony movies panel in San Diego Comic-Con's Hall H, Tom Hardy said Venom will stick closely to the storyline in the Lethal Protector comics. "[Eddie] is an anti-hero, so he'll figure on a goal, and he'll do whatever he has to do to get to that goal," he said. Earlier at SDCC, Hardy revealed why he took the role. Ahmed said during the panel that Carlton Drake is a "genius billionaire inventor" who is trying to answer the question of "what does the future of humanity look like" with the Earth on the brink of ecological collapse. Another Symbiote appeared in the footage as well, and director Ruben Fleischer explained afterward that as fans suspected, it was Riot--an adversary of Venom's who is a "stronger and more powerful" Symbiote. He also has the ability to jump between hosts. "In our movie, you never know quite where Riot's going to turn up," Fleischer said. Fans were expecting a little bit more, but Fleischer only teased that "there may or may not be other villains in the movie," saying he didn't want to give too much away. However, moderator Jessica Chobot got one more small tease for fans, asking Fleischer and Hardy whether this cinematic incarnation will ever face off with Spider-Man, knowing that's what fans really want. "I have to think that the studio's thinking the same way and that at some point down the road they're going to run into each other's paths," Fleischer said. "What, me? Go toe-to-toe with Tom Holland? I'll have a go, yeah," Hardy added. "He's an awesome actor and I'd love to work with him, and I love Spider-Man. Who knows?" Venom hits theaters October 5. San Diego Comic-Con 2018 Coverage