One of the major reasons you aren't seeing quite as many major studios attending Comic-Con this year is the issue of piracy. Every single year the event, specifically the stuff going on in Hall H, is racked with security issues that find many of the exclusive trailer leaked onto the Internet moments after debuting. Last year it was Deadpool, Suicide Squad, Warcraft, X-Men: Apocalypse...all emerged online soon after their panels, forcing the studios to speed up plans and just release the trailers in full.
With Comic-Con right around the corner, a solution may be in place to help stop it. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 director James Gunn hit Facebook over the weekend to hype the upcoming release of the film. That led to a fan asking him a question about when the trailer could hit, and his response teased the security measures going on at Comic-Con...
“Well, you might see something if you’re in Hall H on July 23 with me and the Marvel panel. Or if someone secretly films that — which is less likely to happen because of new technology, but I still know sometimes happens — then you’ll see it right after. If not then, it will be a short while."
Technology? What technology? Gunn doesn't say but maybe it's some kind of coding they are inserting into each trailer. Or maybe they'll have everything in 3D?
This poses an interesting dilemma for me. I'm skipping Comic-Con for the first time in years, because it's an energy-sapping, soul-crushing experience that I'm not in the mood for. At least not right now. So do I hope that some asshat leaks the trailer so Marvel puts out the full version sooner? Or do I hope the integrity of the event is maintained and have to wait like everybody else?
Actually, I hope for the latter, no matter how much I'll despite waiting. I'll be back at Comic-Con next year, anyway, and will want all of these studios to keep bringing their exclusives. I've always understood why studios keep a tight lid on this stuff. Others have made the argument that this footage should be made available to everybody immediately. Well, why? Why would they do that? The only people who are going to really spread good buzz about a superhero movie are the people who spent hundreds, sometimes thousands of dollars to be there at Comic-Con. Casual moviegoers, those who aren't total fanboys, aren't going to have the same level of passion, and why would you want to deal with them right off the bat?
So my fingers are crossed nothing hits the web except what we are supposed to see. Comic-Con begins in just 10 days when we'll find out how tight this security really is.
