New York Comic-Con Report: Universal Panels for “Your Highness” and “The Thing”

I just returned from my experience New York Comic-Con yesterday, and I have some really cool things I’d like to tell you guys about from my time there. This is the first of a set of articles for both MovieViral and our sister site GamingViral, so keep your eyes peeled for what I have to say about all the stuff I attended.

Without further ado, here’s what I have to say about the two Universal Pictures panels I attended. The first was for the upcoming medieval times-set comedy Your Highness, starring James Franco and Danny McBride. Both actors were present at the panel, along with Justin Theroux and director David Gordon Green (who also directed “The Pineapple Express”). I didn’t stick around for the whole thing since I was pretty busy getting swag on the main show floor, but I did stay for the beginning questions given by the moderators to the main cast and crew members present, along with whatever footage was shown. During the Your Highness panel, Franco and McBride talked about their experiences working on the movie and how they were trying to make something that was original and not ripping off other comedies. And from seeing the red-band trailer that followed, I can say they weren’t kidding.


The trailer basically outlined the plot of the film while giving us some scenes that ranged from action-packed fights to hilarious scenes of raunchy, Monty Python-esque humor. The film is about two heirs to the king’s throne, the brave and heroic Fabious (Franco) and his lazy, snarky brother Thadeous (McBride), who embark on a perilous quest to rescue Fabious’ bride-to-be from an evil wizard (Theroux) in order to save their father’s kingdom. Along the way, they’re accompanied by a bad-ass warrior princess (played by Natalie Portman), who Thadeous gets the hots for. Overall, the trailer was REALLY funny and showed that the film knows exactly what it is and doesn’t try and hide it’s true colors from the audience.

Sadly, I didn’t stick around for the following Q&A session, but I did return two hours later for the panel for The Thing, the prequel to the legendary John Carpenter remake of the same name. I originally thought I wasn’t going to be able to make it to this panel, but through chance (and a failed attempt to try and find a line for an autograph session), I was able to attend after all. Again, the director, Matthijs van Heijningen Jr., and a few of the cast members showed up, including Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, best known as Mr. Eko on “Lost”! They kicked things off (no pun intended) with the premiere of the first teaser trailer, which Heijningen Jr. had just recently cut together himself, followed by a few questions to the people present from the moderator about the film itself. The teaser, I’m glad to say, was GREAT! Like the Your Highness trailer, it tells about the story the film’s about, in this case the long-awaited tale of the infamous Norwegian research team that was only mentioned in the John Carpenter film. Full of brief effects shots, and a VERY unsettling mood accompanied at one point by Norwegian folk music, the movie looks like it’ll be a good companion to it’s predecessor. They even briefly play the theme cue from the John Carpenter film at the end! The people working on this film really seem to know how to make a movie like this good without intruding onto what came before it. In fact, Heijningen Jr. and the two producers there were also there even mention how they didn’t want to just simply rehash Carpenter’s film and instead did their own movie while still respecting the source material.


Overall, both panels were very well-done and showcased how much potential these two films have. Your Highness will be released on, April 8, 2011, while The Thing will be out a few weeks later on April 29. Stay tuned for more news and features from NYCC later today!