LRF COMIC-CON (SEASON 36)

 

LRF Comic-Con returns for Season 36, bringing with it a new wave of casting reveals, exclusive footage, first-look posters, and updates on the studio’s upcoming slate of comic book and comic book-adjacent films. From major superhero franchises to cult properties and genre-bending adaptations, this year’s presentation offers the first major glimpse at some of the biggest projects of the upcoming LRF season. Plus, LRF's resident Comic Book Guy will share his opinions from the Con floor after each panel.


ROUND 1 - BOBA FETT

LRF Comic-Con opens with one of the loudest crowd reactions in recent memory as Jason Momoa (Aquaman, Conan the Barbarian) storms onto the stage, Guinness in hand, to officially unveil Boba Fett, the studio’s long-rumored standalone film centered on the iconic Star Wars bounty hunter. Directed by horror and action specialist James Wan (Tarzan, DOOM) and written by Nic Suzuki (Robopocalypse, Sniper), the project promises a brutal, stripped-down take on the galaxy’s most feared mercenary. Momoa confirms the film will adapt elements from classic Expanded Universe lore, including Black Sun, Prince Xizor, Jodo Kast, and Fett’s estranged family, while emphasizing that the film is “more western crime saga than nostalgia trip.” Momoa then introduces the audience to the film’s opening sequence, which is screened exclusively for attendees....

Wind howls across the smog-choked skyline of Ord Mantell, a mining world decimated by decades of strip mining operations. In the narrow alleys of a rusted-out city, Boba Fett (Jason Momoa) moves through a half-collapsed power relay station. His armor is scorched from earlier hits. His rangefinder twitches. His blaster is drawn but low on charge. He stalks his target - a debt-ridden slicer - into a subterranean pumping station, stepping over leaking coolant and the bodies of mercenaries he already defeated. The target makes a desperate last stand, jury-rigging a security turret from scavenged parts, but Fett flanks it using his grappling line and disables it with a thermal detonator. When the dust settles, the target is alive, wounded, and shackled. Fett limps slightly as he drags the captive to his ship, Slave I, parked on a ridge above the outpost.

ROUND 4 - LOBO

Vin Diesel (Superman: The Last Son of Krypton, Gargoyles) takes the stage to officially unveil Lobo, the studio’s upcoming adaptation of the ultraviolent DC Comics antihero. Directed by Doug Liman (Splinter Cell, The Lone Gunman) and written by APJ (Batman: Duality, Broadway Joe), the film is described as a brutal sci-fi action comedy following “the galaxy’s last guy you’d ever want hunting you.” Diesel receives a thunderous ovation before presenting the film’s first official poster and promising fans that the project will fully embrace the character’s violent, absurd, and unapologetically over-the-top tone. 

The crowd reaction only intensifies when Diesel introduces Ruth Negga (Scion, Haute Couture) as co-star Darlene, marking the first supporting casting announcement for the film. Negga jokes that she signed onto the project “before fully understanding how insane it was.” 

ROUND 5 - LUKE CAGE: THE PURPLE MAN

LRF Comic-Con takes a bizarre and unexpectedly stylish turn when the panel for Luke Cage: The Purple Man begins not with title star Omari Hardwick, but with the arrival of Matthias Schweighöfer (Army of Thieves, Oppenheimer), who is officially revealed to be playing Zebediah Killgrave - better known as the Purple Man. Schweighöfer immediately leans into the character’s manipulative charm, jokingly telling the audience, “You’re all going to love me by the end of this panel.” Directed by George Tillman Jr. (Luke Cage: Power Man, Big George Foreman) and written by Jimmy Ellis (Rubicon Lies, Macbeth) and Dwight Gallo (The Lone Ranger, The Punisher: Purgatory), the sequel is described as a psychedelic, funk-fueled psychological thriller set against the glittering nightlife of late-1970s New York City.

The panel’s biggest surprise comes when Sabrina Carpenter (Bunny, The Water Cure) appears via live video call to officially confirm she’s playing mutant disco superstar Dazzler in the film. Carpenter then helps unveil one of the centerpiece songs featured in the movie’s soundtrack: Diana Ross’ classic disco anthem “Upside Down,” which blasts throughout the as purple lights sweep across the crowd and promotional imagery from the film flashes onscreen. 

ROUND 7 - THE HULK 3

Marvel’s gamma-powered corner of the LRF Universe storms back into Comic-Con as filmmaker Leigh Whannell (The Hulk, Wolf Man) takes the stage to officially unveil The Hulk 3, the newest chapter in the studio’s darker, horror-inspired Hulk saga. The panel’s major surprise comes when Timothy Olyphant (The Hulk 2, Redhead) joins him onstage to officially confirm his expanded role as Glenn Talbot - now fully transformed into the monstrous Abomination. Olyphant receives a huge reaction from the crowd, joking that he has “never been offered a role involving this much screaming and mutation” before Whannell describes the character as “less a supervillain and more a human catastrophe.” The pair then present the film’s first official poster.

Though no footage is shown, Whannell heavily emphasizes the sequel’s horror influences, citing David Cronenberg and classic monster cinema as key inspirations behind Talbot’s transformation. He also hints that Bruce Banner enters the story in a more stable place emotionally than audiences have previously seen, making Talbot’s violent spiral into monstrosity a direct contrast to Banner’s hard-earned control.

ROUND 8 - BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER 2

LRF Comic-Con shifts into lighter supernatural territory as Buffy the Vampire Slayer 2 star Meg Donnelly (The Saints, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) takes the stage to discuss the in-production sequel. Donnelly quickly wins over the crowd while teasing the film’s larger emphasis on horror, romance, and dark comedy, unexpectedly citing Bring It On as one of the sequel’s biggest tonal inspirations due to its blend of teen rivalry, humor, and heightened drama. She promises the new film will dive deeper into the emotional chaos of Buffy trying to balance normal teenage life with increasingly dangerous supernatural threats, while also teasing the arrivals of several major fan-favorite characters into the rebooted continuity.

The panel’s biggest moment comes when Donnelly officially announces that Dacre Montgomery (The Flash #2, Detroit: Become Human) has been cast as Angel, with Montgomery then joining her onstage to a massive audience reaction. Montgomery jokes that he’s “spent most of his life preparing to brood professionally,” while Donnelly playfully describes Angel as “Buffy’s biggest red flag so far.” 

And that's a wrap on the Season 35 LRF COMIC-CON! Season 36 kicks off on May 18th!