7.27.07: Comic Con Day #1: Spock meets Spock

Question for the day: Is Comic Con still newsworthy? Plus: Depp is a Dark knight, Witherspoon and Vaughn meet the parents in Christmases, and more

If there was any news that came out of Thursday’s day of panels at Comic Con, it was that there was a stunning lack of news to be had. Yes, Leonard Nimoy will return as Spock to mentor the new Vulcan Zachary Quinto in J.J. Abrams reboot of Star Trek. (Quinto’s casting had been confirmed yesterday.) And Steven Spielberg once again proved that he was the ultimate showman when he used a live feed from the Hawaiian set of Indiana Jones to announce the return of Karen Allen’s Marion Ravenwood from Raiders of the Lost Ark.

However, there’s something strange afoot at this year’s gathering of geeks for fans eager for that latest bit of movie news – there aren’t that many surprises. If you were waiting to hear the real title for the J.J. Abrams-produced “Cloverfield” project, you were out of luck. Want to see the opening five minutes of Saw IV, as Lionsgate premiered last year with Saw III? Well, Comic Con organizers deemed the content too violent. (Even though that didn’t stop the studio from showing a bloody duel between two men chained to each other, fighting to the death for the keys hanging from their necks. Fans of the franchise won't be disappointed.) And the return of Allen in Indiana Jones was predicted months ago.

This isn’t to say that it wasn’t still a thrill to see Allen introduced to the crowds via video, just as it was to see Jon Favreau give fans the first glimpse of Robert Downey Jr. in motion as Tony Stark/Iron Man. But for an event that as recently as last year showed the first footage of 300 well before audiences around the world had any idea what it was, Paramount premiering the Beowulf trailer after it had been put online for everyone to see was a little odd. (And you can watch that trailer here.)

Is it a bad thing that Comic Con audiences aren’t getting the exclusive? I don’t know, and feel free to let us know what you think in the comments, but the times, they are a changin’. And speaking of which, Premiere.com has a Comic Con exclusive interview with Hellboy 2 star and Silver Surfer himself, Doug Jones here.

In non-Comic Con news..

Depp emerges out of Dark Shadows

Johnny Depp will produce and possibly star in an adaptation of the vampire soap opera Dark Shadows for Warner Bros. and producer Graham King. Depp has long been fascinated by the vampire Barnabas Collins, who was the star of the 1960s ABC serial. More at Variety.

Witherspoon and Vaughn celebrate Four Christmases

Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon will team up for the comedy Four Christmases about a couple who attempt to visit each of their divorced parents during the holidays. New Line will distribute the film. More at The Hollywood Reporter.

Sarandon continues to dig up Jackson’s Bones

Susan Sarandon will join Rachel Weisz, Ryan Gosling and Stanley Tucci in Peter Jackson’s adaptation of The Lovely Bones. She will play the grandmother of the murdered girl at the center of Alice Sebold’s story. More at Variety.