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Warner Bros’ CineEurope show here in Barcelona was a starry, jam-packed affair featuring Zendaya and Timothée Chalamet who talked up Dune: Part Two, as well as their respective upcoming titles Challengers and Wonka. The proceedings kicked off with a pre-taped intro video featuring President of International Theatrical Distribution Andrew Cripps zipping along the 405 in the Barbie car, and with Margot Robbie putting in an appearance. Helen Mirren, who narrates Barbie, also narrated the presentation in a voice over.
On stage, Cripps was sporting The Flash branded sneakers from Puma, rather than the pink Barbie suit he wore at CinemaCon. Quipped the exec, “They may not be as fast as we thought last week, but we think there’s a lot of miles left in them” – a reference to the good holds the studio hopes for.
Warner is “executing an exciting new vision” Cripps said as he launched the show.
Footage included an extended look at DC’s Blue Beetle which was introduced by stars Xolo Mariduena and Bruna Marquezine via video message.
Next up, Zendaya graced the stage to present the trailer for Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers. Said the star, “It’s fun, sexy and modern” with “an intense back-and-forth” that includes “a messy, complicated love triangle with a killer score.” MGM/UA has domestic while WB has international on the film.
Related: ‘Challengers’ Trailer: Zendaya Playing Her Own Game Of Doubles In Luca Guadagnino’s Tennis Drama
Zendaya later returned with her Dune: Part Two co-star Chalamet. His character “is trying to redeem the House of Atreides” in the Legendary sequel directed by Denis Villeneuve. “In Part One, he was a student. In Part Two, he’s thrown into the Fremen culture and the terrors of the desert,” Chalamet said. Zendaya added of the relationship between her Chani and Chalamet’s Paul, “It’s a beautiful love story; there’s a war going on while they are just trying to grow up.” She was also psyched about the action, “I got to do fight scenes.”
Joining the sequel are Florence Pugh, Christopher Walken, Austin Butler and Lea Seydoux. Praised Chalamet, “What a crazy new group. Everyone brought their flavor and came in fully on fire.”
As seen in the trailer, Paul goes through a “rite of passage” as he endeavors to ride a sandworm. “The sandworms were real,” Chalamet joked. The beasts even had their own unit, “There was a main unit, a second unit and a sandworm unit.” Villeneuve then appeared in a pre-taped message saying he was deep in post, and introduced a behind-the-scenes featurette.
Also getting a lot of time during the presentation was Greta Gerwig’s Barbie which releases in July. Producer David Heyman was on hand to talk up the film, noting that Robbie’s titular character had 40 costumes. Robbie then appeared in a video with Simu Liu, Kate McKinnon, Will Ferrell, Issa Rae and America Ferrara to toss to the first 20 minutes.
A sneak peek at August release, Meg 2: The Trench was further featured as was an extended look at New Line’s The Nun 2, while M Night Shyamalan and his daughter Ishana sent a video to talk up their respective projects: her feature directing debut, The Watchers (a “gothic fairy tale”) and his Trap (a “psychological thriller set at a concert”). The pair said how “excited” they are to have joined the Warner Bros family.
Chalamet returned to the stage for an extended look at Paul King’s Wonka which producer Heyman also introduced. For Chalamet, “It was a dream come true. I grew up on the Gene Wilder movie. It’s really how Willy became Wonka.” For Heyman, “there is not an ounce of cynicism” in the film which hits theaters for the holidays in December. CineEurope was also treated to an exclusive scene featuring Hugh Grant’s Oompa-Loompa.
Rounding out the presentation, WB showed off behind-the-scenes footage of Legendary’s Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, a brief look at Robert Pattinson in Bong Joon-ho’s Mickey 17, a first look at Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth in George Miller’s Furiosa, and a sizzle for the Oprah Winfrey-produced The Color Purple which she introduced via video. The studio closed the show with a scene from James Wan and DC’s sequel, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, which releases in December.