Comic-Con 2025 kicks off with new 'Freddy's,' 'Toxic Avenger' and thousands of costume-clad fans (UPDATED)

SAN DIEGO, Calif. — Tens of thousands of fans — many in costumes — descended Thursday on Comic-Con International, the four-day pop culture spectacle that will feature updates on the new "Predator" movie, "Alien" series and a special appearance by George Lucas. Fans packed into the convention's famed Hall H for updates on the "Five Nights at Freddy's" sequel and the "Toxic Avenger" reboot, with a panel on "South Park" coming later in the day. The convention won't have major news about any upcoming Marvel movies or what's next for the hit relaunch of DC's high-flying "Superman" franchise. Both studios are sitting out Comic-Con 2025, as far as their film slates go. An estimated 135,000 people will attend the convention, which will greet Lucas on Sunday for his first Comic-Con appearance. The "Star Wars" creator will discuss his new Lucas Museum of Narrative Art that will open next year in Los Angeles. Fans of the "Alien" and "Predator" franchises will have plenty to cheer. Elle Fanning, star of "Predator: Badlands," will discuss the film this week. FX will also bring the stars and creators of "Alien: Earth," a series that will unleash the Xenomorph species on Earth next month. "Alien: Earth" will be one of the projects that brings a massive interactive experience to San Diego, with a replica of spacecraft from the series. The attraction will feature what's described as a terrifying mission at night. Marvel may not be presenting new movies, but it will have a "Fantastic Four: First Steps" attraction near the convention, a tie-in to Friday's release of the latest attempt to successfully launch its "first family" in theaters. A main feature of the convention is its 460,000-square-foot (42,700-square-meter) exhibitor section, which features exclusive merchandise, comic book art and exhibits from brands like Star Wars, Lego, Nickelodeon, Paramount and more. 'Five Nights at Freddy's 2': More pizzerias and murderous bots No animatronics — or humans — were harmed when "Five Nights at Freddy's 2" came to Comic-Con. That wasn't necessarily the case on the movie set for the robots. "They're there, you can actually hug them," star Piper Rubio said. But she noted that the animatronics sometimes malfunctioned, whether it was odd facial expressions, "fingers falling off or the occasional foxes catching on fire." The movies are based on the popular Five Nights at Freddy's video game about a cursed pizza restaurant with possessed, murderous animatronic characters. The first film was Blumhouse's biggest opening when it dual-launched in theaters and on the Peacock streaming service in 2023, earning $130.6 million globally in its first weekend. Director Emma Tammi said the second movie has three times the number of animatronics as the first. Star Josh Hutcherson said the movie also features multiple Freddy Fazbear's Pizza franchises and new animatronic characters, like Mangle. Teo Briones, who's starred in "Final Destination Bloodlines" and "Chucky," is a newcomer to the series and said he was immediately excited to be part of a movie based on a game he played as a child. "It's really special to be a part of something that has been such an important cultural thing for my generation," he said. "Five Nights at Freddy's 2" will be released Dec. 5. From the wastes to Hall H for 'The Toxic Avenger" A year ago, "Toxic Avenger" seemed lost in the waste. But on Thursday, the earnestly gory reboot of the classic 1984 B-movie from Troma Entertainment was in Comic-Con's vaunted Hall H like it was a regular blockbuster. The movie was shot in 2021 and had a festival premiere in 2023, but struggled to find a distributor. It had been deemed unreleaseable by some with its ultra-graphic, though weirdly warm comic violence, most of it incurred by the tutu-wearing title character's toxic mop. Cineverse is now giving it an unrated wide release on Aug. 29. Blair said he had a few non-negotiables that were gladly granted when he agreed to make the film. "He had to have a tutu. He had to have a mop," the director said, and, he said. No CGI. "I was pretty insistent that we had to have a performer in a suit," Blair said. Peter Dinklage plays the hero in his pre-toxic form and provides the voice throughout the film that also stars Elijah Wood, Taylour Paige and Jacob Tremblay. All but Bacon were on the stage. "There's other people up here!" Dinklage said after the first bunch of questions during the Q&A were all for him. "Ever seen 'Lord of the Rings?!' I wasn't in that!" Wood, the "LOTR" star sitting next to him, laughed as much as anyone in the room. Comedy takes over Hall H Comedians Gabriel "Fluffy" Iglesias and Jo Koy whipped Hall H into a frenzy during a mostly-packed session to promote their massive 2026 comedy show at Los Angeles' SoFi Stadium. The pair traded light — and mostly family-suitable — banter about their inspirations and heroes (Iglesias cited his mother, which led Koy to want to change his answer from Eddie Murphy) and their passionate fan bases. They said their show would involve each doing at least 90-minute sets, special guests and befitting a show at a football stadium, probably some tailgating. They said fans should expect to be there all day. Koy joked that it was "challenging to get back here" and that he was ignoring calls from family and friends to get them passes to the convention. They ended the session handing out autographed Funko collective figures of their likenesses and a selfie with the crowd. They warned anyone who was there with someone they shouldn't be to take cover. "We're not Coldplay," Iglesias joked, citing the viral kiss cam saga involving a tech company CEO captured embracing an employee at one of the band's concerts.