Comic Con 2015: Legendary Panel with Warcraft, Crimson Peak & More!

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

 

Boy oh boy it has been a crazy day in the legendary Hall H here at the 2015 San Diego Comic-Con and the Legendary Pictures panel was absolutely no exception. From evil Santa Clause to the incredible lands of Azeroth, Legendary had plenty of store for us. The three main films that were showcased during the panel were of course WARCRAFT, CRIMSON PEAK and finally the small horror thriller KRAMPUS which arrives during the holiday season. So check out what each part of the panel included below and stay tuned for more coverage.

CRIMSON PEAK

– Producer Thomas Tull came out first to introduce the first footage from the "Crimson Peak" and then wanted to take a poll with everyone on how many times director Guillermo Del Toro will say the F-word.

– The new trailer and extra footage was incredibly effective and it's a pretty terrifying experience in the Hall H setup with the incredible surround mixing and volume. The visuals are absolutely incredible.

– Host Chris Hardwick then took over and introduced Guillermo and also the films's stars including Tom Hiddleston, Mia Wasikowska and Jessica Chastain. Guillermo told everyone to ignore Tom when he came out for fun.

– The first thing Guillermo wanted to mention is that he truly felt that this was the first time that he could make a real adult horror story in the English language. He of course has made several classic films in Spanish such as "Pan's Labyrinth".

– Guillermo said that he wants to create a "lush gothic romance" with this film and it looks like he achieved it. He also said he wanted to create a film for strong women.

– A question from the audience was regarding the set and which parts were their favorites. While Tom loved the Great Hall, Guillermo just loved the bathroom of course.

– Guillermo and the cast then went into detail about the 10-page character biography that had been written for each of them so that they truly could become that character. None of the actors had ever experienced anything like that before.

– When asked if there was any difference with the Thomas Sharpe character when Benedict Cumberbatch was written in as opposed to Tom Hiddleston, Guillermo said the character was set in stone so nothing really changed.

– They then showed another red-band type trailer for the film and there was a red-blooded skeleton figure that just chilled everyone to the bone. Very well done.

– Then Jessica Chastain talked about what it was like working on the film and with Guillermo. Guillermo made a joke about he and Tom Hiddleston being twins and that because Tom is so handsome, he could kick puppies and get away with it. Big laughs all around and the panel wrapped up.

KRAMPUS

– This panel was the big question mark for everyone as most really had no idea who Krampus is to begin with. Think a very evil Santa Clause who punishes bad people in the harshest way and that's what Krampus is.

– The panel begins with a terrific trailer which might be online sometime soon. It first depicts the modern horrors of Christmas in various slo-motion shots of events like people fighting on Boxing Day, misbehaved children, etc. Then it all built up to a particular person or thing being very upset for all of this and wants to take revenge of sorts. Very creep and had a strong supernatural feel to it without giving away anything.

– Toni Collette made her very first Comic-Con appearance for "Krampus" and couldn't have been happier to be there. Adam Scott quickly joined her also with director Michael Dougherty.

– One of the first thing Adam Scott talks about is the good old movies of Amblin like Poltergeist and other classic 80's horror-type films.

– When writer/director Michael Dougherty was asked about what audiences should expect to get out of it, he said "“I think it’s a movie that’s very scary but up until that point, it’s like you’re watching a Vacation movie or Parenthood” which is a cool comparison/mashup.

– Despite the dark tone of the trailer, it is apparently extremely funny in the first half according to Toni.

– They couldn't take any audience questions as they were already running late and "Warcraft" was next. The panel wrapped up and it was a fun one and the movie looks to be a horror/Christmas blast.

WARCRAFT

– This was it…the big one! The very first thing that happens is director Duncan Jones comes out to the stage for maybe the 2nd or 3rd time in a row for just this movie alone.

– Once he's out on stage, the extendable screens open up with a near 360 degree rotation so we know we're in for a massive visual treat.

– They then start introducing the following in order (we couldn't take photos unfortunately of the posters/character photos): Paula Patton as "Garona", Ben Foster as "Medivh", Toby Kebbell as "Durotan" (insanely badass CGI character), Dominic Cooper as "King Llayne", Rob Kazinsky as "Orgrim" (also a WoW fanboy), Ben Schnetzer as "Khadgar", Ruth Negga as "Lady Taria" (insanely beautiful), Clancy Brown as "Blackhand" and finally Daniel Wu as "Gul'dan". This is a massive stage gathering.

– They all begin by talking about the incredible CGI usage here which in my opinion rivals Avatar by a light year. The Hordes themselves are full motion capture while the Alliance are a mix of live-action and CGI.

– Paula Patton talks about how cool it was playing a half-human, half-orc character and being overwhelmed by the scope of Azeroth.

 

– Dominic Cooper said that it sucked that he had to wear heavy uncomfortable armour every day while those for motion capture got to wear nice comfy pajama type clothes.

– Ben Foster came for the first time and had a blast with his character. Reminded me a lot of Raiden from "Mortal Kombat".

– Rob Kazinsky mentioned that he was a die-hard World of Warcraft fan which partly led to a previous girlfriend leaving him. Then of course he got this part so he thought that was wicked.

– Clancy Brown then did a voice impersonation of his character Blackhand which was so goddamn good that you could almost close your eyes and see him. Such an underrated talent.

– Ruth Negga (soon to be seen in "Preacher") then talked about her badass character and said that "Behind every man is a good woman."

– Then to top it all off, we were given a glimpse for a few minutes of some of the most mind-blowing fantasy film footage since the original "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. The stuff they showed was mind-blowing including thousands and orcs and humans battling in lush landscapes. It's very easy to see why this film has been in post-production for a couple years cause the technical sophistication is immense.

– The panel then wrapped up and that was it for Legendary.