Your Comic-Con 2025 News: 'Peacemaker,' 'Starfleet Academy' and More Thrills

CNET

2 days ago

Though Marvel isn't hitting Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con 2025, the event is in full swing and excitement has been high over the sneak peeks at Tron: Ares, Predator: Badlands and toy booths for Lego and Hot Wheels. But there's more news coming for TV shows, movies and games. We're enthused about what we've seen from Avatar: The Last Airbender, Gen V and Welcome to Derry, so we're riding along with fans as announcements and trailer drops come out.
We'll be posting highlights here from the four-day affair to help you keep up with the hottest, weirdest and most interesting stuff that hits. Stay tuned for our daily updates as the weekend rolls on.
Peacemaker season 2 trailer gives a portal and Rick Flagg Sr.
James Gunn arrived in Hall H with the Peacemaker crew on Saturday, giving an intro for John Cena that saw the wrestler-actor hit the stage in full costume. Gunn ceremoniously set fans up for the official season 2 trailer debut, which is set to the tune of Ozzy Osbourne's Road to Nowhere. An interdimensional portal, two Peacemakers and a vengeance-seeking Rick Flagg Sr. make for an interestingly chaotic season. Peep it below, and get ready to welcome the series back to your screen HBO Max on Aug. 21.
Coyote vs. Acme gets release date
After being rescued from the pile of scrapped ashes left by Warner Bros. Discovery, the Coyote vs. Acme movie will hit theaters next year thanks to Ketchup Entertainment. Footage screened during a Comic-Con panel, showed John Cena playing Acme's attorney in a case that pits Wile E. Coyote against the corporation for faulty goods. Cast members Will Forte, Eric Bauza and Martha Kelly were on deck along with director Dave Green. The film is set to debut on Aug. 28, 2026.
Wile E. Coyote on stage at Comic-Con 2025.
Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty Images
Avatar: Seven Havens first look
It's a 20-year anniversary celebration for Avatar: The Last Airbender, the award-winning animated series that aired on Nickelodeon. Thursday's Comic-Con panel brought together original creators Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino and voice cast Zach Tyler Eisen, Jennie Kwan, Michaela Jill Murphy, Jack DeSena (Sokka), Dante Basco (Zuko) and Dee Bradley Baker for a look at the past and present, including Avatar: Seven Havens.
The new animated sequel series, which was originally announced in February, has 26 episodes and will be split into two installments. Fans will meet Avatar Pavi when the series debuts, but for now, here's a glimpse at the bender picking up the mantle.
Nickelodeon
Five Nights at Freddy's 2
The sequel from Blumhouse sees an unsuspecting group pull up to the creepy pizzeria, not knowing about the killer, life-like animatronics with nothing but evil in store. They clearly don't know about Freddy's history. Skeet Ulrich appeared in Hall H, announcing that he will be in the movie as "somebody with a very particular and specific past and somebody who has a deep emotional tie to what's going on."
For those paying attention, this is sort of a Scream reunion as Matthew Lillard is returning as villain William Afton. Aside from that, details for Ulrich's character are under wraps. The film hits theaters on Dec. 5.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians, season 2 release date
Pack up for Camp Half-Blood when the fantasy series returns, this time introducing Tantalus, Thalia and the goddess Athena to the story. The new season arrives on Disney Plus on Dec. 10, and fans will see Percy dealing with more than fantastical monsters: Grover goes missing and there's drama with friends and a new sibling.
Twisted Metal season 2 sneak peek
With a week left before the new episodes of Peacock's Grindhouse series returns, the show's main cast, which includes Anthony Mackie, Stephanie Beatriz, Anthony Carrigan and Joe Seanoa, along with showrunner Michael Jonathan Smith, hit the stage in Hall H to tease what's in store.
Smith revealed two sneak peek clips for the new season. The first scene found Stu (played by Mike Mitchell) striving to be a better killer. With Sweet Tooth as his mentor, it looks like he has some lofty, murderous goals. Stu takes the crew out but he missed all the major organs, which Sweet Tooth says is a major no-no. You have to go for "the grapes, the apple or the banana," the evil clown explains. The last victim to die recognizes Sweet Tooth, which brightens the killer's spirits, until he calls him "Big Baby."
Yes, there's a notorious killer out there named "Big Baby" and it looks like Sweet Tooth is going to hunt him down now, too.
Michael James Shaw stars as Axel in season 2 of Twisted Metal on Peacock.
Peacock
The next clip finds John Doe being vulnerable as he talks about living a life without any childhood memories. But, as he realizes, things could be much worse if he had all that knowledge. The big reveal in this clip comes toward the end as Axel (played by Michael James Shaw), the character who's attached to two giant wheels, comes barrelling through flames, all smiles. Get ready for a trip back into the wastes. Twisted Metal season 2 drops its first three episodes on July 31.
Outlander, season 8 teaser
Outlander's final season is due out early next year, ending the love-and-war saga for Jamie and Claire. How will their story -- and history -- play out? Starz shared a teaser for the last chapter, and Frank Randall's book has everyone on edge. Check out the clip, mark your calendar for this series' end and the beginning of the spinoff, Outlander: Blood of My Blood.
Invincible VS trailer shows Battle Beast
Gamers were treated to a trailer for the new Invincible VS, a bloody superhero game based on Robert Kirkman's animated Prime Video series. We've been following all the details for this upcoming release but watch below to see Battle Beast bare his teeth in this latest character reveal.
The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon is ending soon
AMC served up a new trailer for season 3 of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, but Hall H news revealed the show is renewed for a fourth and final season. Season 3 sees Norman Reedus's Daryl and Melissa McBride's Carol heading to Spain in the new installment as they try to find their way home. Although production for season 4 starts soon, there aren't any details about its plot. In the meantime, fans can tune in on Sept. 7 for the next round.
Rick and Morty's President Curtis gets a spinoff
Adult Swim announced that the popular President Curtis is getting his own animated series, with star Keith David reprising his role as the voice behind the titular character.
"President Curtis has always been a blast to play," David said in a statement. "Getting to explore his world more deeply in this new series is a dream. I can't wait for fans to see what kind of chaos he stirs up when Rick isn't around to steal the spotlight."
Adult Swim
Alien: Earth brings the Xenomorph to TV
Alien: Earth fans in attendance were treated to a world premiere screening of the pilot episode. After that, show creator Noah Hawley and executive producer David W. Zucker took the stage with cast members Timothy Olyphant, Sydney Chandler, Babou Ceesay, Samuel Blenkin and Alex Lawther to give further insight into what to expect from the sci-fi drama.
The first immediate detail any fan of the franchise will notice is how familiar-feeling things will be in the first few moments of the series. Hawley revealed during the panel that the Maginot, the ship in the series, "was built to the exact specifications" of the Nostromo from the original 1979 movie.
Sydney Chandler plays Wendy in FX's Alien: Earth on Hulu.
Patrick Brown/FX Networks
Sydney Chandler's Wendy is basically the show's Ripley. She's a different sort of synthetic human (the consciousness of a 12-year-old girl lives inside her). There's plenty of Xenomorph action, along with some other creepy specimens. Honestly, this may be the sci-fi series of the year. It premieres on Aug. 12 on Hulu.
Gen V season 2 trailer gets a boost from Starlight
A panel for Boys spin-off Gen V teased a tense and gory sophomore year for Marie and fellow supes at Godolkin University. Gen V's second season is set after the fourth season of The Boys and debuts with three episodes on Sept. 17.
During the panel, which featured series creator Eric Kripke, producer Michelle Fazekas and stars Jaz Sinclair, London Thor, Derek Lu, Maddie Phillips and newcomer Hamish Linklater, a brand-new trailer for the upcoming season was shown. It looks like Starlight is coming to Godolkin, and she has a big job for Marie that'll surely inform the new storyline and, potentially, the plot of the final season of The Boys.
The Boys season 5's Jared Padalecki
Speaking of The Boys ... To whet the appetites of the fans in the room, Kripke dropped a little clip for the fifth and final season of the hit comic book series. In the sneak peek, Homelander (who now has political power) addresses a crowd. "This is a safer, more god-fearing nation," he says. Yet fear is the only thing on the faces of those he's speaking to.
Other characters who pop up are a furious Billy Butcher, Soldier Boy in a cryo-tank and a first-ever glimpse of Supernatural star Jared Padalecki. Having Padalecki and Jenson Ackles back on screen together is enough to get me to tune in.
Predator: Badlands sneak peek
Director Dan Trachtenberg and stars Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi and Elle Fanning hit the Hall H stage to promote Predator: Badlands. Is this the Predator/Alien crossover movie we've been yearning for? It doesn't seem so. Trachtenberg revealed that Badlands will focus on the relationship between Elle Fanning's Weyland-Yutani android (a detail that connects both franchises) and the Predator.
20th Century Studios
Everything is apparently out to kill the Predator here. "He's essentially the Dutch of this movie," Trachtenberg revealed, referencing Arnold Schwarzenegger's character in the classic film. Fun tidbit: The scene of the droid and Predator being strapped together in Badlands was inspired by Chewbacca and C-3PO from Star Wars.
As for a sneak peek, the first 15 minutes of the movie were shown. In it, the Predator had to fight another Predator -- his brother, it turns out -- in a cave. Our main Predator loses the battle, which prompts his Predator father to send him out into the wild to prove himself. He must head to another planet and hunt an "unkillable" creature that even sparks fear in his own dad.
Tron: Ares had a light show and music video
Jared Leto is Ares in Tron: Ares, which will hit theaters on Oct. 10.
Leah Gallo/ Disney
After nearly 15 years, Tron returned to San Diego. The last time fans headed to the grid, Tron: Legacy took Hall H by storm. It's been a long time coming, and director Joachim Rønning and stars Jared Leto, Jeff Bridges, Greta Lee, Jodie Turner-Smith, Cameron Monaghan, Gillian Anderson and Evan Peters gave the Comic-Con crowd an exciting look at the next entry in the iconic franchise: Tron: Ares.
One clip showed Peters' Julian Dillinger (who shares the name of the villain from the 1982 movie) sending Leto's Ares and Turner-Smith's Athena on a mission to get Eve Kim (played by Lee) and the stick of important code that she stole from Encom, Dillinger's company. Eve evades them and steals Athena's light cycle. She barely escapes and another clip found her entering the Grid for the first time. Ares rescues her from an ocean of digital water. She finally agrees to help Ares find the code. Glitzy red and blue laser light beams bounced across the room and screen, dazzling the crowd for a final time when Nine Inch Nails' music video for As Alive As You Need Me to Be played.
Crunchyroll to launch 'Anime Nights'
Crunchyroll's presence at SDCC this year includes a FanFest music event featuring artists across multiple genres in a two-day anime-inspired concert series. But on Saturday, the anime giant announced the addition of Anime Nights, which will see the company screen feature films in theaters across the US each third Monday of the month.
Beginning Oct. 20, fans can gather to see films like Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid: A Lonely Dragon Wants to be Loved. Crunchyroll will offer programming at "225 theaters across participating chains throughout the U.S., including Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, AMC Theatres, Regal, Cinemark Theatres, Harkins Theatres and Landmark Cinemas."
Starfleet Academy joins Star Trek family
An original Paramount Plus series, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is set to drop in 2026, just in time to celebrate the franchise's 60th anniversary. Saturday's panel presentation included a teaser trailer of the new show, which focuses on a group of young student cadets looking to earn their place as Starfleet officers. Check out the clip and Paul Giamatti's villainous turn as Nus Braka.
Talent on hand at SDCC included Holly Hunter, who plays Nahla Ake, the captain of the USS Athena and the school chancellor. Panelists also included co-showrunners Alex Kurtzman and Noga Landau, along with Starfleet cadets Sandro Rosta (who plays Caleb Mir), Karim Diané (who stars as the Klingon Jay-Den Kraag), Kerrice Brooks (playing Sam), George Hawkins (who stars as Darem Reymi) and Bella Shepard, who plays Genesis Lythe, the daughter of an admiral.