What Was The Best Trailer Of Comic-Con 2018?

San Diego Comic-Con 2018 brought with it a wealth of big film and TV reveals, but the real excitement for movie fans the world over comes from the trailers. In the past, most SDCC footage was just for those lucky enough to be in Hall H, but after spates of leaks, more and more it’s being used to release full trailers.

This year may not have been quite as voluminous as previous years, but more than made up for it in quality: we got first looks at Doctor Who season 11, Glass, Shazam!, Aquaman and Godzilla: King of the Monsters, while Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald debuted new footage – and lots more besides.

Related: San Diego Comic-Con 2018: Every Movie & TV Trailer

That’s a lot of trailers, and as always some rose to the top. What was the best trailer from Comic-Con 2018? Here are our top picks, but be sure to go down to the comments and have your say.

Honorable Mention: Aquaman

Entering SDCC 2018, Aquaman was the film to beat. A slow rollout of magazine exclusives and set visit reports had gradually built up expectations for James Wan’s film, and an extended wait for the trailer (it drops with just five months to release) put a lot of weight on this footage. In the end, what was shown has divided fans somewhat, with choppy editing and poor CGI not seeing Arthur Curry at his best. However, if you push past these trappings (and factor in that Hall H-exclusive second trailer was much better), the movie that it’s selling appears rather strong; Atlantis is a fully built society, and the film will take Arthur through many of those seven kingdoms and beyond.

Read More: Aquaman Trailer Breakdown

5. Doctor Who Season 11

We’d seen her announced and teased in the World Cup, but this Doctor Who Comic-Con trailer was the first proper look at Jodie Whittaker’s Thirteenth Doctor in action. It’s short and sweet, not even running a minute long, but quickly establishes the forward-thinking approach, the three new “friends” (gone is the word companion) and, of course, the Doctor herself. The series is still shooting, so a longer trailer is sure to come, but it’s unlikely to match Whittaker’s “Right, this is going to be fun.“

Related: Doctor Who Season 11 Trailer Breakdown

4. Star Wars: The Clone Wars Revival

As a trailer for a real show, this one’s debatable – especially given that it represents the revival in an unfinished state and thus may not be indicative of the released product – but the chills of learning Star Wars: The Clone Wars will get a proper finale is undeniable. And the announcement teaser fuels that, starting off as a simple visual summary of the Clone Wars before revealing that the series is returning proper. The actual new footage is short, but is full of Easter Eggs referencing unused plotlines that may reappear (and you can’t go wrong with Star Wars: The Force Awakens‘ trailer music).

Read More: Star Wars: The Clone Wars Revival Trailer Breakdown

3. Glass

The pitch for Glass is enough to get most people excited: a sequel to both Unbreakable and Split that brings Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson and all 24 James McAvoys together. That’s why the Comic-Con trailer (which M. Night Shyamalan held back for the convention) was such a delight: it was neither a repeat of  the previous films, nor was it a simple crossover. Glass looks very much its own thing, with Shyamalan injecting a distinct style and promising something advancing (if not exactly following the common superhero formula). A highlight has to be Beast meeting Mr. Glass, where Elijah really milks his supervillain name.

Read More: Glass Is Setting Itself Up As An Anti-MCU

2. Shazam!

Many didn’t even expect a Shazam! trailer to drop at Comic-Con 2018, with it theorized DC would keep widespread focus on Aquaman and only screen footage to Hall H. However, they ended up dropping a “teaser” than runs at nearly three-minutes long. It properly sells the tone of the film – its DCEU connections and comedic bent are front-and-center – but what’s so impressive is that despite being so long it is still mostly a tease, focusing on Billy Batson as a character and his immediate reaction to being a superhero. Somewhat unsurprisingly, the shot of Billy shouting “SHAZAM” and him transforming in a puff of smoke is one of the most impressive shots from all of Comic-Con. Well, almost…

Read More: Shazam! Trailer Breakdown

1. Godzilla: King of The Monsters

Godzilla: King of the Monsters was something of a late entrant into the Comic-Con 2018 hype game, not confirmed for the Warner Bros. panel until much later than others. And, with its release still ten months out, a trailer was suspect. But, drop it did, and it sure was something to behold. Whereas a lot of recent monster movies – including previous MonsterVerse entries Godzilla and Kong: Skull Island – hid their creatures in early trailers (a move evocative of Cloverfield and J.J. Abrams’ mystery box) this gave multiple showstopping looks at Godzilla, as well as new pals Mothra, Rodan and Ghidorah. While the motivating plot of Godzilla 2 is questionable – humanity has doomed the Earth so we need to awaken old Titans to save us – the scale and breadth of the spectacle on show is shaking. Considering Kong: Skull Island‘s trailer was a highlight of SDCC 2016, Legendary’s unsuspecting shared universe is now two-for-two.

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Of course, these trailers are for everyone. What did you think of Comic-Con 2018’s offering, and which was your favorite? Join the discussion down in the comments.

Next: Screen Rant’s Comic-Con 2018 Guide