The 2024 D23 Expo and San Diego Comic-Con events shocked fans by making huge announcements that rivaled those made during their peak years. In fact, a lot of big events and projects in movies and music have made announcements reminiscent of the most popular projects of the past. Here we’ll look at some of these big announcements and projects, as well as what’s causing their revival.
Music
The hype surrounding the Coachella music festival peaked around 2012-2018. In recent years, there’s been a lack of interest in the celebrity music festival and a fatigue with the social media influencer culture surrounding it, and yet this year featured performances that revived the hype surrounding the festival. Guests like Kesha, Will Smith, No Doubt and Nelly Furtado performing their hits was the nostalgic excitement the festival needed to ignite interest again.
Artists who have taken a hiatus from music are now returning with new hits. Kesha has released her first single since fully becoming free from Dr. Luke and her controlling record label, a club anthem titled “JOYRIDE” similar to the ones off her early albums “Animal” and “Cannibal.” Eminem released a new album with nods to the notable moments of his career — all the way from the beginning when he debuted his alter-ego, and now to the end with “The Death of Slim Shady (Coup De Grace).” Nicki Minaj came out with “Pink Friday 2,” a return to her flow from her debut album “Pink Friday.” Katy Perry made her return to music with “WOMAN’S WORLD” looking like it came right out of her “Teenage Dream” era.
Comic-Con
San Diego Comic-Con was most popular between the years 2006-2019, with attendance rates of over 130,000 in 2015 and 2016. That was when Marvel and DC were announcing their movie universe plans with huge team-up movies with everyone’s favorite characters. Star Wars was also making a return with the original cast, and movies and TV shows were coming to life in ways that fans could only dream of.
The event started declining in popularity when these movie sequences were wrapping up, TV shows were getting old and coming to an end and the next phase of planned superhero universes were failing to get started and gather the same excitement from fans.
Right when excitement was dying down, 2024 San Diego Comic-Con made headlines with more big announcements. Popular TV shows like “Doctor Who,” “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” and “The Walking Dead” are getting spin-off shows. Harrison Ford is joining the Marvel universe, and the Russo brothers are going to be directing the next “Avengers” movies. The most shocking announcement this year was the return of Robert Downey Jr. to the Marvel universe, this time casted as the titular villain Doctor Doom in “Avengers: Doomsday.”
“Deadpool & Wolverine” premiered the same week as San Diego Comic-Con and managed to make some surprise announcements of their own. Right when superhero team-up movies were becoming the norm and unsurprising, “Deadpool & Wolverine” recruited a kick-ass team that shocked everyone. Jennifer Garner, Wesley Snipes and Chris Evans reprised their respective roles as Elektra, Blade and Johnny Storm, as well as Ryan Reynolds’ family taking on supporting roles as Deadpool variants.
D23 Expo
Disney’s D23 Expo took place over Aug. 9-11 with more big announcements.
“Incredibles 3,” “Toy Story 5,” “Frozen 3,” “Moana 2,” as well as a live-action “Lilo & Stitch” and “Mufasa: The Lion King” are in production. The “Freaky Friday” sequel is also finally taking off, with a title and trailer premiered at the expo.
So, what’s inspiring this revival in popularity in industries that were facing fatigue?
A Nostalgic Revival?
One theory is that this is an era of nostalgic revival. Gen Z is finally old enough to fully experience the things that they looked up to as kids, so now they’re bringing them back into popularity.
This could also be the result of the spike in creativity from quarantine, and now all the drafted-up projects are finally finishing production and being released. Similarly, the end of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike is allowing for new projects to be started.
There is also the sentiment of nothing is as good as it used to be, which is why we’re seeing a revival reminiscent of past projects.
Or a Cash-Grab in Harsh Times?
Another theory is that this revival is a cash-grab in harsh times. It’s no secret that the economy has been harsh, and that forces everyone to work more, including celebrities.
With that comes the return to the formula that worked, the formula that put them at their peak, which is why we’re seeing a return of the projects from the past.
Regardless of what the actual inspiration is, only time will tell if these projects are going to be as successful as the originals.
