Warner Bros. CinemaCon Panel Showcases New Footage From ‘Barbie’, ‘Dune: Part Two’, ‘Wonka’ and More
In a rare move for a studio head, Warner Bros. Discovery David Zaslav took the stage on Tuesday to host Warners’ CinemaCon panel in Las Vegas, where it was all about reaffirming the company’s commitment to the theatrical model.
Zaslav, who took over the company after the WB acquisition by Discovery last year, has been making tough decisions over the past year to stay away from the streaming model. Per Deadline, he told theater owners:
“I’m convinced, there is no other place to see a motion picture, to have impacts on all parts of the world…we believe in full windowing of the business, we don’t believe in streaming. We’re in no rush to bring movies to Max.
We’re a storytelling company, we’re not in the broadband business, we’re not in the phone business.”
The Color Purple footage shown at Warner Bros. CinemaCon panel
Zaslav was very excited to introduce Oprah Winfrey to the stage, after telling the audience their personal backstory:
“We went on this journey together…there’s no harder fighter in the world than Oprah Winfrey. We created the No. 1 network in America for the Black community. We became close friends. When the deal closed (Warner Bros Discovery) and then I called Oprah. How did this happen? This transaction…we were sharing this joy…halfway in the conversation, she said Steven Spielberg and I are making a movie for you, The Color Purple, the Musical for you…I thought to myself, growing up in Brooklyn, I don’t think that was something I’d here that Oprah Winfrey and Steven Spielberg are making a movie for me.”
Winfrey jumped into stardom with the 1985, Steven Spielberg-directed version. Blitz Bazawule is taking the reins this time around, with Winfrey and Spielberg attached as producers. Here is Discussing Film‘s description of the footage:
The first footage showed an energetic and vibrant retelling with the tagline “Not your mama’s Color Purple.” The entire main ensemble, including Taraji P. Henson, Colman Domingo, Corey Hawkins, Danielle Brooks, H.E.R., Ciara, Jon Batiste, Halle Bailey, and Fantasia in her big screen debut, gets a chance to shine in the trailer. Judging by the impressive cinematic color palette and imaginative visual scale, this take on The Color Purple could be the main film event of the 2023 holiday season. Fans should not be worried about this adaptation lacking style or flair, the vast arrays of colors pop off from the screen and the beats of the musical numbers are felt from your seat. Just by this one trailer, The Color Purple looks to be a heavy contender in the next awards season no doubt.
According to Deadline, Bazawule and Winfrey had the following exchange on the stage:
WINFREY: “We knew you were the director to bring this version to the screen. How did you know you were the one?”
BAZAWULE: “I started this journey with the utmost respect for you, but also for Alice Walker, whose book gave us this amazing story….At its core it’s about finding your voice, your family and breaking through obstacles which keep you down.”
WINFREY: “We’re going to get the groups in the seats. It’s a celebration of sisterhood.”
(From left) Blitz Bazawule, Fantasia Barrino, Danielle Brooks, Taraji P. Henson and Oprah Winfrey at the CinemaCon Warner Bros. Pictures presentation for “The Color Purple” this week in Las Vegas. Image via CNN.
Barbie dazzles CinemaCon during the Warner Bros. panel
One of the highlights of the presentation was a new trailer for Barbie, which Greta Gerwig, Ryan Gosling and Margot Robbie introduced onstage. Here’s Deadline‘s description of the footage:
In the clip, Barbie is on Pink Beach enjoying her posh life with Ken, dancing the night away. But the world goes sour — burnt toast, cold water and flat feet (the latter which makes her and her friends yell). Robbie’s Barbie seeks out weird Barbie (Kate McKinnon), who is like a rag doll.
Weird Barbie tells perfect Barbie, “You can go back to your regular life, or you can know the truth about the universe.”
Indigo Girls’ “Closer to Fine” blasts during the trailer as Robbie’s Barbie embarks on a fresh journey that takes her to the real world. Will Ferrell’s Mattel Toys CEO learns of this and freaks out about the dolls making their way into the real world. There’s a moment when a guy on the beach slaps Barbie’s behind, and she punches him out; she and Ken get arrested.
Meg 2: The Trench and The Nun 2 also showcased during the presentation
Two of Warner Bros.’ quieter releases, Meg 2 and The Nun 2 were also featured during the presentation. Ben Wheatley is directing Jason Statham in the sequel to the Man vs. Giant Shark sequel that is coming to theaters this August. Here is Discussing Film‘s description of what the audience saw:
The footage begins in prehistoric times, where we see a massive T-Rex hunt for fish at a beach only to then be chomped in two by an even bigger megalodon. Fast forward to the present, and the team from the first film led by Jason Statham travels to the bottom of the ocean to make a horrifying discovery: there’s a trench that acts as a doorway to a slew of prehistoric creatures that have survived extinction all these millions of years.
This trench soon releases giant squids, megalodons, and a variety of other prehistoric reptiles upon modern society. More specifically, Jason Statham and his team have to face the main threat of 3 megalodons who hunt together in a pack and are led by the biggest one they have ever seen. The film’s supporting cast, including Sienna Guillory, Cliff Curtis, Shuya Sophia Cai, Page Kennedy, Skyler Samuels, Sergio Peris-Mencheta, and Wu Jing, are all seen getting in on the monster action in the trailer. Statham, though, gets the most batshit insane heroic moments as he rides giant tsunami-sized waves and takes on megalodons on a jet ski one on one with only a huge metallic spear as his weapon.
After that, The Nun 2 will be scaring audiences on September 8. Here is Deadline‘s description of the first footage from the film, which was shown to CinemaCon attendees:
“There was also ‘The Nun 2’ footage, which showed the devil conjuring through a stained glass window at a very creaky dark convent school. A demon that was once an angel has to be faced down and, the trailer promises, ‘The truth will be discovered behind the greatest event in the Conjuring Universe.’ The sequel was shot in abaonded church over in Europe.”
New Wonka footage premieres at the Warner Bros. panel
Paul King (Paddington) is directing a young Willy Wonka film starring Timothée Chalamet, which is also a musical. That much we knew, but it was also revealed during the Warner Bros. panel at CinemaCon that Hugh Grant, who had collaborated with King on the Paddington films, is playing an Oompa Loompa! The first footage for the film was previewed last year at this event; here is the description of the new footage, per Deadline:
The origins story stars Timothée Chalamet as the titular candymeister, who lands in a mid-European city (the pic was shot in London) after traveling the world perfecting his craft. “I’m something of a magician, inventor and chocolate maker,” he says.
His goal is to open a chocolate shop. But Willy Wonka soon learns he must battle some pretty sinister characters. He’s told, “Many people have come here to sell chocolate and been crushed by the chocolate cartel.”
This Wonka, as Chalamet told the CinemaCon audience in Las Vegas today, “is full of joy and optimism.” In the trailer, he is undeterred and says, “Mark my words, this is going to be the greatest chocolate shop the world has ever seen.” In a fun interaction, Wonka then comes across an Oompa Loompa, played by Hugh Grant.
Wonka will sing his way into theaters on December 15.
Dune: Part Two was also highlighted at the panel
Timothée Chalamet had more than one movie showcased at the panel. Besides Wonka, he was also there to introduce, along with Zendaya and director Denis Villeneuve, the first-ever footage from Dune: Part Two. While the footage isn’t public yet, it’s likely it will be released rather soon, perhaps in a little over a month to play in front of The Flash.
The sequel to the 2021 multiple-Oscar winner adapts the second half of Frank Herbert’s classic, and Villeneuve describes it as a true epic:
“Part Two is an epic war movie, much more dense. We visited Arrakis. We visit new locations; everything is new in the film. In the first movie, we shot 40% in Imax — this time it’s full Imax.”
Zendaya also confirmed what the director had teased before the first movie came out — she has a major role in the sequel:
“She’s not just in dreams this time. I only got a small time to find out who she was [in ‘Part One’]. … These are still two young people who are trying to grow up, fall in love and leave, being a warrior for your people.”
Here is Deadline‘s description of the new trailer:
The jawdropping trailer begins with Chani and Paul sitting at the edge of the desert. “It’s breathtaking, just imagine water,” he tells her.
Florence Pugh’s Princess Corrino says, “In the shadow of Arakis lies many secrets, but the darkness to all of that is what remains.”
“Fury Will Rise” flashes across the screen as the pic’s tagline.
“What if Paul Atreides was still alive?” asks Pugh’s character.
We see him rise as a great leader among the Fremen, getting advice from Javier Bardem’s Stilgar about riding the worm. Awesome grappling and hook work as Paul tries to wrestle and mount the beast, getting swallowed up by the sand. There’s a shot of someone’s eyes turning blue, getting high on the spice.
“Be simple, but direct,” says Stilgar.
“Nothing fancy,” answers Paul. Shots of him appearing atop of a canyon to cheering people, and fighting knife to knife with Butler’s character, played by Sting in the original film.
Dune: Part Two debuts in theaters on November 3, 2023.
Blue Beetle brings the family to CinemaCon
DC’s next movie of the year after The Flash was also featured during the presentation. Peter Safran, co-CEO of DC Studios, and director Ángel Manuel Soto introduced an extended version of the trailer that came out a few weeks ago. Here is Discussing Film‘s description:
For the most part, the trailer plays the same as the one fans can find online, with the exception of added moments where we get to see Jaime Reyes test out the abilities of the scarab armor in action. He gets creative with using force fields and turns his hands into oversized power fists to take a group of goons down. Aside from these additional action beats, we get to see the Reyes family more in action.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom makes a splash at the Warner Bros. panel
The last DC film of the year, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, also showed its first footage at the event. While internal buzz around the movie is not great, Warner Bros. is surely hoping to make a big return on this one considering how well the first Aquaman played out. James Wan is coming back as the director, and though he couldn’t be in Las Vegas, he sent a video along with star Jason Momoa. Said Wan:
“It’s an action-adventure story with a really fun bromance between Arthur and Orm. Orm was a villain the first time around, but this time Arthur needs him.”
Here is Deadline‘s description of the footage:
Lots of fisticuffs with Black Manta, serious speeches by Aquaman — who has a new baby — and the Black Trident enemy how has a lot of power. The trailer begins with Aquaman back near his lighthouse home, contemplating life with Temuera Morrison’s Tom Curry. But there’s still a lot of drama and chaos under the water as Aquaman battles a huge submarine beneath and foes on the beach.
“I’m supposed to be a king, to bring the land and sea together,” says Momoa’s Aquaman. There’s action beneath the Earth’s surface in the Arctic. In a battle scene, Aquaman tells Black Manta, “No one hits my brother but me.” At which point, Patrick Wilson’s King Orm says, “Do not call me brother!” Says Black Trident, the new enemy, “I’m going to destroy Aquaman and everything he holds dear!”
“Sometimes not giving up is the most heroic thing you can do,” says Morrison’s character.
“If you lead,” King Orm tells Aquaman, “Atlantis will follow.”
Amber Heard’s Mera has a cameo in a battle scene.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom will swim into theaters on December 20.
A new trailer for The Flash also premiered during the panel, as well as online. The studio felt confident enough in the film to show it to the people at the event, almost two months before it came out, with the response being overwhelmingly positive.
CinemaCon continues on Wednesday with panels from Disney Studios and Universal Pictures and Focus Features.
Miguel Fernández is a Spanish student that has movies as his second passion in life. His favorite movie of all time is The Lord of the Rings, but he is also a huge Star Wars fan. However, fantasy movies are not his only cup of tea, as authors like Scorsese, Fincher, Kubrick or Hitchcock have been an obsession for him since he started to understand the language of filmmaking. He is that guy who will watch a black and white movie, just because it is in black and white.
