‘Enders Game’ and ‘Divergent’ lead the weakest Comic-Con Thursday movie panels in recent memory

There has been much discussion over the past few years about whether Comic-Con is slowly becoming a more TV-centric event.  After the organization released its weakest Thursday movie panel line up in recent memory it’s not even looking like a topic up for debate.

The only real highlight for fans this year will be Harrison Ford returning to San Diego as part of Summit Entertainment’s hour-long panel for “Enders Game” and “Divergent.” When the only other panel in Hall H that even seems interesting is “The Visionaries” with Alfonso Cuaron, Edgar Wright and Marc Webb you’ve got problems (note: this panel rarely features new footage or takes many questions from the audience).  That being said, the TV panel lineup is much more interesting (and shouldn’t the X-Files reunion be in Hall H?).

That being said, here’s a rundown of Thursday’s movie panel highlights in Hall H and the rest of the San Diego Convention center.

DreamWorks Animation Filmmakers
11:45AM – 12:45pm
Room 6A
Bill Damaschke and directors David Soren (“Turbo”), Rob Minkoff (“The Lion King,” “Peabody & Sherman)” and Dean DeBlois (“How to Train Your Dragon 2”) talk about the animation process and hopefully preview scenes from their upcoming films.

“Europa Report”
1:10 – 2:20 PM
Hall H
The indie space thriller gets a prime slot on Thursday, but be warned: star Sharlto Copley is not listed as attending.  And an hour seems like quite a long panel for this one.

“The Visionaries”
2:30-3:30 PM
Hall H
Entertainment Weekly’s annual director’s panel gets an earlier slot than usual as Marc Webb (“Amazing Spider-Man 2”), Alfonso Cuaron (“Gravity”) and Edgar Wright (“The World’s End,” “Ant Man”) stop by to talk about their upcoming films.

“Enders Game” and “Divergent”
3:50 – 4:50 PM
Things finally get interesting as the casts of Summit Entertainment’s two big tentpoles hit San Diego. “Enders Game” is up first with the one and only Harrison Ford, Asa Butterfield, Hailee Steinfeld, and Abigail Breslin.  “Divergent” will follow as Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Miles Teller, Maggie Q, Ansel Elgort, Mekhi Phifer, Ben Lamb, Ben Lloyd-Hughes and Christian Madsen take the stage. Sadly, Kate Winslet does not appear to be making her first trip to the Con.

“The Zero Theorum”

5:10 PM – 5:40 PM
Hall H
In something of a surprise, producers Zev Foreman and Dean Zanuck will provide a sneak peek at Terry Gilliam’s latest (which is still looking for a U.S. distributor).  Gilliam is not scheduled to attend as of now.

Comic-Con is expected to announce the Friday lineup of panels tomorrow.  “Amazing Spider-Man 2,” “Robocop,” “Riddick” and “Kick-Ass 2” are expected to make Hall H much more lively.

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