A real celebration for all film fans: CinemaCon is one of the biggest events of the film industry and offers studios the chance to present new projects. This time, there were four days of interesting announcements and exciting trailers to see at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. We did summarize the highlights for you!

Warner Bros.

Warner Bros. provided another pretaste of the highly anticipated prequel "Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga" at CinemaCon. As DiscussingFilm reported, the audience was presented with new footage in three acts, in which different parts of Furiosa's life were shown.

This was shortly followed by what was probably the biggest highlight of the panel: the first official trailer for "Joker 2: Folie à Deux". As already suspected in advance, the toxic relationship between Arthur and Harley will be the central element of the story, accompanied by dreamy dance and song interludes. Nevertheless, the trailer also has plenty of dark moments to offer, which are strongly reminiscent of the first part. The film, directed by Todd Phillips, will be released in US cinemas on October 4 this year.

There were also further insights into "Beetlejuice 2", "The Watchers" by Ishana Night Shyamalan and the very first trailer for Bong Joon-ho's sci-fi adventure "Mickey 17" with Robert Pattinson. However, this was exclusive material that has not been made available to the general public yet.

Lionsgate

Lionsgate also had a lot to offer at CinemaCon this year. For example: The sequel "Now You See Me 3" and a remake of the horror classic "The Blair Witch Project" under the direction of Jason Blum were announced. There was also being talked about the planned live-action adaptation of "Naruto" and a live-action adaptation of the classic board game "Monopoly". Margot Robbie will be responsible for this with her production company LuckyChap. Toy and game adaptations seem to have taken a liking to the "Barbie" actress: In addition to "Monopoly", she is currently also producing a film adaptation of "The Sims".

There was also news about Guy Ritchie's next film: "In the Grey" is scheduled for release on January 17, 2025, in which Henry Cavill and Jake Gyllenhaal play two extraction specialists who have to rescue a negotiator from a dicey situation. A first trailer for the Michael Jackson biopic "Michael" was also presented on location.

First John Wick: Ballerina trailer

In addition to scenes from "Borderlands" and "The Crow" remake, among others, a real highlight for the local audience followed: the first trailer for the "John Wick" spin-off "Ballerina" made quite an impression at CinemaCon. DiscussingFilm described the screening as follows: You can see the origins of Ana de Armas' new lead character as she is taken in by the Ruska Roma crime family and trained to become an elite assassin. Her path leads her into snowy regions where she wants to destroy a rival family from within. In the process, among others, she meets Norman Reedus, who warns her that she may have overreached herself with her ambitions.

She will also be accompanied on her journey by John Wick himself, who is already a living legend at this point. This is possible because "Ballerina" is set between the third and fourth "John Wick" films. In one scene, she calls out Baba Yaga - and Keanu Reeves steps off a train into the snowy landscape in an epic shot. She asks him, "How do I start doing what you do?" And his answer is simple: "It looks like you already have."

The stunts and violence shown are said to be in no way inferior to the original: Among other things, the ballerina breaks the bones out of other assassins' elbows with brute force, burns them with a giant flamethrower and puts grenades in their mouths. Unfortunately, the film will not be released until next year following a major postponement after "John Wick" creator Chad Stahelski ordered numerous reshoots with new action scenes. "Ballerina" is now scheduled for release on June 6, 2025.

Universal Pictures

Universal announced at its CinemaCon panel that the sequel to "Five Nights at Freddy's" will be released in fall 2025. Although part 1 was taken with rather mixed reactions, it was extremely successful with worldwide box office takings of almost 300 million dollars. So it's hardly surprising, that the studio wants to build on these numbers. On the other hand, there was new film material for "Despicable Me 4", "The Wolf Man", the disaster film "Twisters" and "Wicked" with Ariana Grande. Robert Egger's "Nosferatu" adaptation was also able to impress the audience with its first images. Additionally, there was a first trailer for the remake "Speak No Evil" with James McAvoy.

Paramount Pictures

Paramount Pictures announced a major crossover at CinemaCon: the Transformers will meet G.I. Joe in a new film. A first trailer for "Transformers One" was also presented. According to initial information, the look of the film will be something completely new.

The Turtles, on the other hand, will return in two new projects: Not only can we expect the sequel "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem 2", but also an R-rated live-action adaptation entitled "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin". A new "Star Trek" film has also been announced, which is due to be released next year. Meanwhile, Glen Powell is taking on the lead role in Edgar Wright's "The Running Man" remake. A new "Scary Movie" film is also in development. There was also a final trailer for "IF" with Ryan Reynolds.

Fans of blue hedgehogs also got their money's worth, as a first teaser trailer for "Sonic the Hedgehog 3" was shown to the audience on site. Jim Carrey's Dr. Robotnik appears in it with a noticeable belly and unkempt hair. However, when his assistant hands him one of Sonic's electric feathers, he regains his courage. In another scene, Sonic, Knuckles and Tails on one side and Shadow the Hedgehog on the other come face to face. The film will still be released in cinemas on December 20, 2024.

The first teaser for Ridley Scott's "Gladiator 2", on the other hand, was only presented on the stage of the colloseum at Caesars Palace. According to Variety, the teaser showed Paul Mescal taking on an attacking rhino, a horde of vicious baboons and Pedro Pascal. There was also naval bombardment, plenty of political intrigue - and two diabolical emperors who are said to be every bit the equal of Joaquin Phoenix's character from Part 1. Denzel Washington's character also made a brief appearance: "Rome must fall", he says in one scene, "I need only to give it a push". The movie will be released on November 22.

Disney

Disney showed lots of clips from their upcoming films. These include the next "Planet of the Apes" and "Alien: Romulus", but also "Captain America 4: Brave New World" and "Deadpool & Wolverine". MCU boss Kevin Feige announced that the official title of "Thunderbolts" is "Thunderbolts*" with an asterisk behind it. What this means, however, will only be revealed with the release of the film.

Among other things, over half an hour of "Inside Out 2" was shown. One new feature in the film, alongside other emotions, are the beliefs that Riley develops as a teenager. They are collected at the bottom of the subconscious - where the forgotten memories used to be.

Director Barry Jenkins revealed that his prequel "Mufasa: The Lion King" will contain completely new songs - but he is not yet allowed to reveal who is developing them. Unfortunately, a first teaser was also shown exclusively for the audience on site. The same applies to a first teaser trailer for "Moana 2", in which she sings a song about returning home.