CinemaCon 2019: Warner Bros. Presentation of ‘Joker’ ‘Birds of Prey’ and More

Warner Bros. rounded out CinemaCon’s first day of presentations with their Big Pictures presentation showcasing the studio’s slate for the next year. Ayesha Tyler took the stage on Tuesday night to kick off the presentation, starting off by sharing her love for film and filmmaking.

A look back at 2018, including films like Aquaman, Ocean’s 8, The Meg, Crazy Rich Asians, A Star Is Born, Rampage, and The Mule played. Footage from Ready Player One, The Nun, Tomb Raider, and other films accompany titles citing how the studio had its biggest year ever, including more Number One box office openings than any other studio.

Footage for upcoming films begins: Shazam!, Joker, Shaft, Detective Pikachu, Godzilla: King of the Monster, and more.

Toby Emmerich, Chariman, Warner Bros. Pictures Group took the stage after the sizzle reel. Emmerich explained how important it is to Warner Bros. to create a diverse range of films of different types and genres, and proudly recalled Aquaman becoming the studio’s highest-grossing DC Comics film.

“In the DC pipeline, we have Birds of Prey, Patty Jenkin’s Wonder Woman 1984, Matt Reeves’ The Batman, and Jame Gunn’s Suicide Squad 2. Opening this Friday is New Line’s, and DC’s Shazam!,” Emmerich said. Joker footage will be shown during the presentation.

DC Super Pets, Space Jam 2, and other animated films will help the studio moving forward as well.

Emmerich dishes the presentation to a message form the cast of Shaft. “70 Shaft kicks ass. 2000 Shaft kicks ass. Done! Mother f—in’ kids need everything explained to them,” Samuel L. Jackson said. A slew of F-words follow from the cast in a comedic fashion. Footage from the film plays: Shaft seems to be raising another killer. His mother is anything but pleased. To conclude the footage, Shaft and his team burst through gas on ziplines but his son fails to break the glass.

Jeff Goldstein, President of Domestic Distribution at Warner Bros. Pictures takes the stage. He thanks the exhibitors for supporting their films and promises a big year in 2019. He discusses some of the biggest movies of the year from 2018, as well.

Tyler returns to the stage to continue the presentation. She introduces footage from upcoming DC films. From a dark screen, we see water crashing over the DC logo. Aquaman starts out on the screen with Jason Momoa thanking everyone for the support. “Hope to be seeing you soon again,” he said before throwing up two fingers. “We’re making the awesome super hero movies,” Sandberg says. “These characters have everything you want,” Jenkins says. “These stories have infinite potential, Yan adds. Wonder Woman is seen in her costume in a mall. Shazam footage comes in.

February 7, 2020, Birds of Prey is coming. “I love long titles, “Robbie said. “It’s agirl gang!” The logo flashes across the screen. Promotional footage sees the characters in place. Behind-the-scenes footage sees them filming in explosive setting. Harley hands onto a car while roller blading behind it. Black Mask takes aim with a gun. The group of five women walks toward the camera similar to how the Guardians did in their first trailer.

Then, it’s WW84. Footage begins. Wonder Woman jumps across a street, rising up through the air the entire time. “Diana is now at her full powers,” Jenkins said. Diana walks in front of the Washington Monument, cuddling with Steve Trevor while wearing a white dress. She whips he lasso in a mall. Her colleague becomes her nemesis in the form of Cheetah. It ends with a shot of her jetting down a street at super speed.

Todd Phillips takes the stage to discuss Joker. “I don’t have a lot to say about the film as it’s still taking shape but also because I want it to be a surprise,” Most of the chatter hasn’t been accurate. “I supposed that’s to be expected about an origin story abut a beloved character who has no definitive origin story.” He couldn’t describe the movie to WB execs. “I said, ‘It’s a tragedy.’ I think of the brilliant Joaquin Phoenix was here, he’d agree.’” He introduces the first teaser which will release tomorrow.

In the footage, Arthur talks with a social worker who only wants to help him. He walks alone through the streets. “My mother always tell me to smile and put on a happy face,” he explains. “She told me I had a purpose.” He works on the streets with signs, whirling them and trying to spread joy in a clown costume. It is stolen from him. When he chases them, they hit him with the sign and beat him in an alley. He is seen dancing with Zazie Beets, claiming the world is getting crazy. Bryan Tyree Henry is a nurse, seeming skeptic of him. He descended into a painted face, manipulating his lips into a Joker smile in the mirror with his fingers. Aboard a train in his costume, he belts out a creepy laugh and gets beat up by men in suits. “Gotham’s lost its way,” he said. “What kind of coward would do something that cold blooded,” Thomas Wayne says on the TV. Arthur descends into insanity. Robert DeNiro is a performer on a stage. The Joker realizes his life is not a tragedy. It’s a comedy. He is seen walking down the street with flowers in his hands. A hero shot of him in the full costume. He dances on stairs and the curtains close on him. October.

The tone was dark and gritty. It matched nothing of any comic book film before it but offered up a psychological thriller vibe. Phoenix’s Arthur Fleck often twisted himself and contorted his body as his descent into madness unraveled. Gotham offered a rich, gothic, gritty noir vibe.

The next film is a mysterious love story: The Good Liar. A challenge to make a woman fall in love in a day is launched and it is a thriller film. Helen Miren, on stage, has trouble talking about the film because it has so many twists. “The enjoyment of the movie has to do with the audience not knowing that twist at the end,” she says. “I think it’s a genre that woman, in particular, love.”

Miren says, “I love Netflix but f— Netflix.”

Next is Detective Pikachu. Pikachu takes the screening with a message for the filmmakers. “It’s original, fun, a mystery, and has plenty of heart,” Pikachu says. “Plus, like 100 unique Pokemon characters that millions from around the world know and love. Except Mr. Mime. That guy’s weird.” He introduces a sneak peak of the film.

The entire scene with Mr. Mime plays out. Justice Smith’s character has to cooperate with the Mime rules, including opening an invisible door, pouring gas on him, and using invisible matches. He walks away, leaving an invisible trail of gas. Mr. Mime is getting scared. Pikachu threatens to melt him. Mr. Mime starts offering up clues with his body language. When Smith’s character starts to figure it out, he is proud and drops the match, presumably lighting Mr. Mime on an invisible fire.

The lights in the entire place start flashing in rainbow colors. The screen reads, “Comic-Con.” Melissa McCarthy takes the stage cheering for Comic-Con. Tyler interupts her to explain that this isn’t Comic-Con but it is CinemaCon. They leave the stage embarrassed before Tyler introduces the trailer for Super Intelligence. In the film, McCarthy’s character becomes friends with a Super Intelligence voiced by James Corden as a means to comfort her. It shows her a great life and drives her around. It helps her build self confidence while also contemplating destroying or saving the world. It is set for release on December 20.

Next is Blinded By The Light, a coming of age story about a young man who heads to New Jersey after becoming a huge fan of Bruce Springsteen.

Next is Dr. Sleep. An early behind-the-scenes look plays. “When I found out that Stephen King was going to be publishing a sequel to The Shining, I lost my mind, director Mike Flanagan said. Footage of Ewan McGregor’s Danny Torrence appearing tormented plays. He reaches out and wraps his hand around a child’s. The child is approached in the woods by a woman with a needle. Danny looks in the mirror and sees “REDRUM” written on the wall behind him. It is very dark and blue.

Next is Godzilla: King of the Monsters. A trailer plays, with an introduction from Millie Bobbie Brown. A sneak peek sees war fleets in a golden, destroyed earth. The nation’s capitol is broken down and on fire. Humans are under ground, under ice working on a solution. They awaken the monsters in hopes that they will fight for them. Instead, their bunkers are destroyed and they’re left running across the ice for safety. Vera Farmiga makes a tough call to awaken the monster as Kyle Chandler’s character stand above the opening in the ice. Electrical currents become visible as the three-headed monster rises up one head at a time with some spiked tails to match. The soldiers look on concerned. Millie Bobbie Brown and Vera Farmiga observe from a helicopter. Ghidora spews electric bolts at the soldiers and wipes them out. Somehow, Kyle Chandler got away. As humans try to escape, Ghidora attacks. Godzilla comes to their defense. Ghidora opens its wings and the two square up. Farmiga tells her family over FaceTime that she is saving the world. Mothra flies over a city with her wings creating a gust of wind sweeping humans from the ground. Chandler’s character is eager to stop all of the monsters. Ghidora, Rhodan, Mothra, and Godzilla all do battle. Atomic breathe and lightning bolts are spewed. Buildings are destroyed.

Next if The Goldfinch, a heartfelt drama starring Ansel Elgort. It’s a slightly awkward exchange but tries to highlight the fact that the movie captured the “epic” nature of the book.

Animated films are highlighted next. A” Top Secret DC project” is on the way. Cyborg and Superman are on the table. Secret Life of Pets 2 is also featured. Tom and Jerry is introduced. Lots of giant dynamite sticks going around the office. Space Jam 2 is teased. Nance, Carter, and Cooler jerseys are on display. SCOOB is teased when the logo is revealed with a real Mystery Machine in the room . Will Forte is Shaggy and other voice cast members are shown too fast to capture. Zac Efron and Amanda Seyfried are voicing characters. A dance through the entire Warner Bros. Animation office continues. DC Super Pets, Tom And Jerry, SCOOB, and Space Jam are now in production.

A heavy trailer for Motherless Brooklyn starring Ed Norton, Bruce Willis, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, and Alec Baldwin plays. Norton’s character has a contdition which causes him to burst out with funny quips at bad times. He is trying to figure life out in a dangerous noir city, often putting himself in dangerous situations or investigations. November 1.

Next is The Kitchen. Melissa McCarthy plays a tough, determined role here. It’s a gritty noir story about women struggling to get by, dealing with different social issues, and determined to remind men what family means. “Pretty doesn’t matter,” McCarthy’s character tells her kids. “It’s just a tool women use.” When asked what she wants, she is seen loading a gun. Action begins to take over the screen. Tiffany Haddish is playing an intense, determined role. Moss is learning to kill and does just that. The woman cap off the trailer by saying they now run the neighborhood. By the end, they’re losing count of their money.

Next is Annabelle 3, The Conjuring universe, and IT: Chapter Two. A sizzle reel looks back at the successful horror movies from New Line Cinemas. A look at La Llorona plays. It is an ancient spirit hunting children. A little girl sees it through an umbrella before the umbrella is ripped from her hand. Later the little girl is in a bath and pulled under the water.Then, on June 28, Annabelle Comes Home is next. The artifact room is a focus. he Annabelle doll is stored there until a babysitter discovers the room and starts playing the piano. The artifacts move around, haunting her. She contemplates the doll and catches a chair rocking. After trying to run, the doll is gone. She touched everything in the room. She is now going to be super haunted and everyone looks like they;re pretty screwed as a result.

Then, Pennywise’s laugh takes over a dark room. “Time to float!” IT: Chapter Two director Andy Muschietti takes the stage with the iconic Pennywise balloons. The entire cast, young and old, takes the stage. “It was a journey of finding and looking and I’m proud to say that all the people I wanted in the movie finally landed in it,” Muschietti said. Some of the young cast members guesses which adult stars would play their older characters.

James McAvoy heard from Jessica Chastiain on set of X-Men that there’s a “really f—ing great director” and he was immediately on board.

Footage plays. Grown Beverly goes to Kersi’s house. She is looking for her father. She grew up here. A creepy woman finally opens the door and informs her that her father passed away. She invites her in for a drink, insisting. Beverly has trouble visiting this place, calling it “cleaner” when asked. She finds the love note from the first film. Down the hall,the old woman starts to contort her body and jumps out of the door frame. Over tea, the woman plays a record. There are crepy bugs on the window. They converse and joke that it is so hot here that they could die. “No one who dies here ever really dies,” the woman says before a creepy stare. Beverly is caught off guard by the woman’s temporary freeze. She is sweating profusely and fanning herself with her shirt, revealing a cut on her chest. A bell sounds and the woman goes to retrieve cookies. Beverly looks at the photos on the wall in the mean time, asking about the woman’s family — her father joined the circus. The woman walks through the background with her clothes. She asks Beverly, “Are you still his little girl?” before beginning to yell and quickly rush towards her.

The Losers Club reunites, both in the past and in the present. Pennywise is flying on balloons. Romance in the past and present. Pennywise emerges from a shadow in a basement and says “Hello!” to a little girl. September 6.

That concludes the Warner Bros. panel at CinemaCon!