Comic-Con returns with Tolkien's elves and Game of Thrones' dragons

Tens of thousands of fans, many dressed as their favorite heroes, flocked to San Diego on Thursday July 21 for the big return of Comic-Con, the most famous festival dedicated to pop-culture where series derived from

and

.

Hollywood movie studios, like Disney and Warner Bros., are also out in force in the Southern California town, and have not denied rumors of an exclusive premiere preview of

or the announcement of a new film dedicated to Superman.

The last two editions of the festival took place via the internet because of the coronavirus pandemic and enthusiasts are in short supply.

More than 130,000 of them in total are expected in San Diego.

," said David Glanzer, the festival's communications manager.

With one difference: visitors will have to add a sanitary mask to their hobbit, princess or alien costume.

," David Glanzer told AFP.

This year, Comic-Con opens with

, a Paramount film starring Chris Pine, Hugh Grant and

star Regé-Jean Page.

This feature film is the first big-budget adaptation of the medieval fantasy universe of Dungeons & Dragons, the most popular role-playing game brought to the fore in recent years by the teenagers of

.

But these are two series that should make a splash in San Diego:

Amazon Prime's

, offshoot of the global hit

.

Rings & Dragons

The Rings of Power

is an ambitious project set in the universe created by JRR Tolkien, long before the events described by Peter Jackson in his trilogy.

The series - slated for five seasons and premiering September 2 - is reported to have cost more than $1 billion.

It would be a personal obsession of Jeff Bezos, the multi-billionaire founder of Amazon.

Much of this money has gone into buying the rights to Tolkien's universe, but a big budget has also been earmarked for running promotional events for fans, including those at Comic-Con.

Amazon should come in force Friday, July 22 with hobbits, elves and dwarves in the gigantic Hall H of the San Diego Convention Center where enthusiasts will queue for hours, if not days, to see the first exclusive details of this series. .

The following day, Comic-Con will see the dragons from the first

spinoff series ,

, which premieres August 21 on HBO.

The creator of this universe, George RR Martin, has denied any idea of ​​a rivalry between the two fantastic series.

,” the author wrote on his blog.

Seen around the world, the eight seasons of this series have won a total of 59 Emmy Awards, a record for the equivalent of the Oscars of American television, and paved the way for many similar series.

Starring Matt Smith, Rhys Ifans and Emma D'Arcy,

tells the violent and troubled story of the Targaryen family, some 300 years before the events depicted in

.

Warner Bros will present the superhero film

, taken from the DC comics, a role tailor-made for the imposing Dwayne Johnson.

The Californian festival will bid farewell to the famous AMC series

, the last episodes of which will soon be broadcast, but will also mark the launch of a spin-off series,

.