Legendary Pictures Announces Comic-Con Panel, ‘Mass Effect’ Movie On Tap

The news on which films and studios will be involved in panels at this year's Comic-Con has largely been negative so far. Marvel Studios, for example, will not have a formal presence in Hall H, but Legendary Pictures will and they're bringing some surprising guests.

Legendary has been behind some of the biggest and best Warner Bros. movies including all of Zack Snyder's films, Christopher Nolan's "Batman" features and "The Hangover" films. As such, there now seems to be some light creeping in for those hoping The Dark Knight Rises or Man of Steel will make a surprise showing. If you're so inclined to get your hopes up, I would lean toward Man of Steel as Snyder has a healthy history with Comic-Con.

As for the confirmed presentations, Guillermo Del Toro will be back at the Con with his recently assembled cast for monster movie Pacific Rim. He will be joined by the film's writer Travis Beacham (Clash of the Titans) and stars Idris Elba, Charlie Hunnam, Charlie Day and the just-added Rinko Kinkuchi (The Brothers Bloom).

The press release (via /Film) also mentions the newly assembled cast for The Seventh Son, a fantasy set in the 1700s based on the first book in a six-novel young adult series titled The Last Apprentice by Joseph Delaney (known internationally as The Wardstone Chronicles). Director Sergei Bodrov will be on hand with stars Ben Barnes, Alicia Vikander and the now-confirmed Jeff Bridges, who will play a mentor character named "the Spook." 


Bradley Cooper and I, Robot director Alex Proyas will also discuss their tackling of John Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost.

Most of these projects are barely even in development and have no release dates, so the fact that Legendary is flying out these names to give presentations when they will have nothing to show for the films is a coming-out party of sorts to say they're committed to making them. That's terrific news for fans of the "Mass Effect" games as creator Casey Hudson and screenwriter Mark Protosevich (Thor) will talk about their plans for the film adaptation, even without a director or any semblance of a green light (as far as we know).

Reality is, with Pacific Rim having the only set release date of the bunch (July 12, 2013), none of these projects will see theaters until at least the second half of 2013 or later. Still, as a fan it's terrific to see this level of commitment from a production company.