CinemaCon was an embarrassment of riches this year. We brought you our coverage of Warner Bros. amazing panel earlier this week. While that was certainly an incredible presentation, Universal Pictures was not about to be outdone, bringing some incredible projects and talent to their star-studded presentation this year.
Universal was able to bring a jam-packed panel with some of the biggest names in cinema. However, prior to that, they screened the upcoming Dreamworks animated soon-to-be classic Forgotten Island, which garnered a terrific response from attendees there, including our own Nikita Francois. If you haven’t yet checked out our coverage of the film, along with our interviews with directors Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado, as well as stars H.E.R and Liza Soberano, check them out as well. There will definitely be more to come for Forgotten Island as we get closer to the film’s release.
Snoop
That said, following the screening, Universal kicked off their presentation with a huge bang. The studio formally announced their spiritual successor to Straight Out of Compton, with Snoop; 2027’s musical biopic about Snoop Dogg. And what better way to make the announcement than by having the rap legend himself come out and hype up the crowd with a few bars from “Ain’t Nothing But a G-Thang” and “California Love.” Snoop introduced rising star, Jonathan Daviss, who will be portraying him in the film, which will be directed by Craig Brewer (Hustle and Flow and Song Sung Blue).
The Odyssey
The hits kept coming, as chairman of Universal Pictures, Dana Langley, brought out the studio’s next amazing guest: the incredible Christopher Nolan. Nolan, of course, was there to discuss his upcoming summer blockbuster The Odyssey. “It would be quicker if I listed the stars not in The Odyssey,” he joked. Nolan went into detail about the heart of the movie is the relationship between Matt Damon’s Odysseus, and his family, portrayed by Anne Hathaway and Tom Holland. Nolan wanted to make this his next project because of the epic nature of the story, and the power of being able to tell it entirely in IMAX. He worked with the technicians at IMAX to create specific cameras they could shoot the entire film in. He cited it was a nightmare to film, but it was all worth it.
He showed us about ten minutes of the movie, which looked incredible. It was the climactic Trojan War scene showcasing Odysseus and the Grecian army hiding in the giant wooden horse. The Grecians, true to history and folklore, sneak out of the horse at night, and begin taking out the Trojans. It’s as tense and epic as any film Nolan has ever put together.
Minions and Monsters
Following The Odyssey, Universal brought out Illumination Entertainment’s founder and CEO Chris Meledandri, who received a terrific and highly energetic introduction from the one and only Jack Black. Meledandri did a victory lap over the success of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, which is heading for a $1B worldwide gross. He then began introducing us to their next project, this summer’s Minions and Monsters. The film will be taking place in the 1920s, and will follow the yellow chaos agents around Hollywood, as they infiltrate the Golden Age of Cinema. The clips they showed had homages to Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and Harold Lloyd. The film will include the voice talent of Christoph Waltz and Jeff Bridges.
To be honest, I’ve never been the biggest fan of the Despicable Me franchise outside of the first film. They make money for sure, and entertain the younger audiences, but quality for the franchise has declined film after film, thanks to Illumination’s generally weak approach to sketch-based storytelling. As such the clips from the film didn’t appeal to me that much, but it had Black, who was sitting behind us, chuckling in his seat with laughter, so they’re doing something right! The homages to classic silent films was charming. However, despite how much money this will make, I remain a skeptic that the film can recapture the magic from the original Despicable Me. We’ll see.
The presentation continued to a few trailers for this year’s upcoming slate of films. Among them included the upcoming Will Gluck (Easy A, Anyone But You) directed romantic comedy, One Night Only, starring Monica Barbaro and Callum Turner; the Blumhouse horror feature, Other Mommy, starring Jessica Chastain; and the sequel to Violent Night, Violent Night 2. Of the three films, Violent Night 2 is arguably the one I’m most excited for, offering a fun look at the ultra violent action comedy. David Harbour is back as St. Nick, and this time he’s on his own naughty list, because of how many people he’s killed. He’s got to work his way back to officially being Santa Claus, but this time, he’s got help in the form of Kristen Bell’s Mrs. Claus! It was ridiculous, bloody, and fun!
Focker-in-Law
The presentation rolled on with Universal’s next special guest, Ben Stiller! The comedian was there to bring out the next installment in the Meet the Parents saga, Focker-In-Law. The film, which co-stars Ariana Grande and (of course) Robert De Niro hits theaters in November. Stiller joked about how he had always envisioned Meet the Parents as a cinematic universe which would see a trilogy, followed by a sixteen year gap, before coming to a head with this latest sequel. Stiller discussed how today, he’s older than De Niro was when they did the first Meet the Parents. At that point, De Niro himself came out to do a charming bit of comedy with Stiller. They had not lost a bit of the chemistry we first saw 26 years ago. They showed the trailer for the film, which you can see here:
After De Niro and Stiller exited the stage, Universal showed a few more trailers from Focus Features, including the latest adaptation of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility, and the latest from Robert Eggers, Werewulf! Werewulf looks creepy and surreal, just like Eggers’ take on Nosferatu. The difference being a fair amount more body horror, given the nightmarish transformation scenes. Either way, I’m seated for this one!
Disclosure Day
Speaking of being seated for a film, it was time for Universal’s grand finale. They brought out Academy Award Nominee Colman Domingo to make a great introduction for the one and only Steven Spielberg! Believe it or not, it was the legendary director’s first time at CinemaCon, where he had the honor of being presented with a commemorative one-time-only award called the “MPA America250 Award.” It was nice for him to get something, but in all honesty it felt like a ploy to get him to the convention. Ultimately it worked, and Spielberg and Domingo got into a spirited Q&A panel.
Domingo and Spielberg spoke about how much the communal experience of movie theaters means to him, which is why he makes films exclusively for theaters. When he was a kid, he used to put on charity screenings in his home where he would rent movies, bring everyone together, and get everyone to immerse themselves in the magic of cinema for an evening. When Domingo asked about what the secret is for crafting a perfect movie, Spielberg stated that it always starts with getting the cast right.
Spielberg also discussed his mischievous adventures in which he’d find a way to sneak into the Universal Studios backlot as a teenager. He’d go on the Studio Tour, hide in the bathroom, and then when the tour left without him, wander and explore the lot by himself. That’s how much cinema meant to him. Domingo also got him to discuss his fascination with extraterrestrials. From Close Encounters, to E.T., and War of the Worlds, the subject has always been a personal one for the famed director to explore in all of his works.
Spielberg discussed how his curiosity about life in the stars came from his father. He discussed how in the 50s, when he was growing up, America had a profound fascination with aliens. As he grew older, he discovered that there was more and more evidence regarding the existence of extraterrestrials, and he began to accept the notion that we are not alone in the universe. That took him to 2017, when he read a New York Times article about UFOs. The article inspired him to dive further into the potential truth behind aliens, which eventually led into his creation of Disclosure Day.
It was the perfect introduction to the extended trailer that he and Domingo presented. The film looks terrific! Spielberg wanted to make sure that none of what we’ve seen in this trailer and the ones they’ve released spoiled the third act of the film. That said, if what we saw in the extended trailer is only in the first two acts of the film, we’re in for a terrific ride. The movie gave me absolute X-Files vibes, with two characters being actively pursued by a government who wants to silence them after they discover an important truth. The footage was tense, exciting, and grounded at the same time, with everything seeming very character driven and personal.
It was, overall, a very impressive showing. However I couldn’t help but be slightly disappointed by the lack of news regarding further projects following 2026; especially since Warner Bros. revealed so much. That being said, the clips and trailers they showcased, as well as the sheer amount of star power they brought made this a truly once in a lifetime showcase!
We’ll have more coverage of CinemaCon coming soon, including our coverage of the Walt Disney Studios panel, this coming week!
