The applause surrounding the SWAT Kats reveal continued long enough that Alex simply stood at center stage and let the audience enjoy it.
Alex eventually raised the microphone again, and the crowd slowly settled. "I'm glad you're enjoying the television announcements, because our animation teams have spent an unhealthy number of nights making sure those trailers looked that good. We'll have more Titan Youth news later this year, although I think we should move toward movies next."
That immediately changed the energy inside the auditorium. Fans began shouting titles while reporters leaned toward their laptops and camera crews repositioned toward the stage.
Alex laughed as the calls overlapped. "You're all making this significantly harder than it needs to be, because nobody wants to let me build suspense anymore."
The Titan Youth artwork disappeared, leaving the screen completely black. The auditorium lights dimmed further while Alex stepped toward the side of the stage.
"We've got several films moving through production this year, and some are still too early for footage," Alex said as the room quieted around him. "This next one has finally reached the point where I'm comfortable showing you something."
A faint metallic sound rolled through the speakers before a small circular light appeared on the dark screen. The blue-white glow strengthened until the audience recognized an arc reactor, and the first heavy beat of music hit.
Robert Downey Jr. appeared first as Tony Stark, walking away from a military weapons demonstration while an explosion erupted behind him.
Tony appeared inside a dark cave with dirt across his face and the arc reactor glowing through his shirt. Sparks showered beside him while Ho Yinsen worked over a rough metal assembly, and another cut showed a hammer striking steel before Tony raised his head inside the crude Mark I helmet.
The music accelerated as the Mark I smashed through a wooden doorway beneath heavy gunfire. Flames swallowed the frame before rapid shots showed Rhodey moving through a military hangar, Pepper watching Tony through the glass of his workshop, and Obadiah Stane standing inside a dark office with an unreadable expression.
Tony's hand rose inside the workshop and a repulsor burst to life, throwing him backward hard enough to make the audience laugh. Another shot showed him lifting several feet above the floor before twisting sideways into a workbench, followed by Tony shooting into the night sky.
The frame changed to silver armor climbing through clouds as frost spread across its surface. Tony began falling, the music dropped into a deeper mechanical rhythm, and a rapid burst of images followed.
A paint mask swept across curved armor plating. A glowing eye slit activated. A repulsor charged inside a metal palm. The completed red-and-gold figure streaked between buildings while something enormous crashed through concrete in the next shot, disappearing before viewers could identify it.
Then the teaser slowed for its final sequence.
Tony walked onto a circular platform inside his workshop wearing the dark mechanical undersuit, with the arc reactor burning clearly through the center of his chest. Panels surrounding the platform opened as robotic arms unfolded from beneath the floor and nearby machinery.
The first assembly secured armor around Tony's boots and lower legs. Additional mechanical arms closed red-and-gold plates around his thighs, waist, and hips while smaller tools tightened connections with precise movements. The camera rotated around him as the chest armor moved into place around the reactor.
The music continued climbing as gauntlets enclosed Tony's forearms and shoulder sections locked over the undersuit. Robotic arms withdrew one after another until only his head remained exposed, and for a moment Tony stood completely still inside the machinery.
The helmet assembly moved forward while armor enclosed the sides of his head. The gold faceplate lowered over his features, the final mechanism locked everything into place, and both eyes ignited with a sharp white glow.
The screen went black immediately.
For several seconds, only the final note of the music remained inside the auditorium. Then the arc reactor appeared again, glowing behind metallic letters that slowly formed across the screen.
IRON MAN
The reactor burned behind the title while the entire auditorium erupted.
Fans jumped from their seats as camera flashes exploded across the lower sections. Several people shouted Robert Downey Jr.'s name while others yelled for the trailer to play again, and Alex returned toward center stage wearing an amused smile.
"I'm guessing that worked pretty well," Alex said after the cheering finally dropped enough for his microphone to compete.
The response became loud again, and Alex waited with a grin before continuing. "That was 60 seconds, and somehow I already know somebody online is going to spend four hours examining every individual frame before I get home tonight."
Laughter moved through the auditorium while concept art replaced the title. The Mark I, Mark II, and Mark III appeared beside one another, showing the progression from crude survival machine to polished red-and-gold armor.
"I know some of you have been wondering what version of Tony Stark Robert is playing," Alex said as photographs from the production appeared beside the suits. "I call it the MCU version. However, he's brilliant, reckless, funny, arrogant, damaged, and capable of becoming somebody better than the man he was yesterday. Also, here's a quick hint: the story picks up directly from Spider-Man's post-credit scene. So, are we gonna see some cameos? Maybe. Will there be new cameos? Absolutely."
The crowd applauded again as the glowing Iron Man title returned behind him.
Alex raised one hand before anyone could shout another question. "And before somebody asks for the release date, I'm keeping that one tonight because we're still in the middle of filming. You'll get the date when we're ready, and I promise the wait won't be unreasonable."
He walked toward the small table at the side of the stage, took a drink from his bottle, and gave the audience several seconds to settle while the Iron Man logo gradually faded into darkness.
When Alex returned to the center mark, another hidden presentation file had already loaded behind him. The crowd recognized the setup immediately and began quieting before he even raised the microphone.
"We've started the movie section with something mechanical, loud, and very human," Alex said as he glanced toward the black screen behind him. "For the next announcement, we're going somewhere completely different. Though it isn't a trailer like what you've seen here, but..."
Alex lowered his hand as the auditorium fell into darkness again. A low mechanical hum rolled through the speakers, followed by the faint sound of breathing somewhere inside an enclosed space.
"This is Ripley, W564502246H, warrant officer, third class, signing off."
The screen remained black for several seconds before a red emergency light flickered on.
Scarlett Johansson appeared inside a narrow industrial corridor, her face streaked with sweat and dirt while she held a pulse rifle close against her shoulder. The lights overhead continued flashing as an alarm echoed through the structure.
A computerized voice repeated through the speakers. "Containment failure detected. Biological quarantine procedures have been initiated."
Scarlett slowly moved forward as the camera followed behind her. Something scraped across the ceiling above, and she immediately raised the rifle while turning toward the sound.
The audience became completely quiet.
Another cut showed a team moving through a damaged laboratory filled with broken containment chambers. Frost covered several windows while warning lights reflected across the floor. One chamber had been torn open from the inside.
"You're crazy Burke, you know that? You really think that you can get a dangerous organism like that past ICC quarantine?"
The screen cut rapidly between images after that. Soldiers opened fire inside a dark tunnel. A motion tracker began beeping faster. Acid burned through a metal floor. Someone screamed behind a sealed door while another character desperately tried opening it.
Then the teaser became silent.
Scarlett stood alone inside a room where dozens of damaged eggs stretched into the darkness behind her.
One opened.
She slowly turned toward the sound.
The screen went black before anything emerged.
ALIEN 2 appeared across the screen in cold white lettering.
The applause arrived immediately as Alex stepped forward again. "Scarlett's back, the Xenomorphs are definitely back, and this time we're expanding much more of their biology without turning them into something less frightening."
Several fans shouted questions toward him, although Alex only smiled and raised one finger. "You're going to have to wait for the Q&A because I've still got an unreasonable number of things left on this presentation."
The Alien title disappeared, and the next transition happened without warning.
Golden light filled the screen.
Angelina Jolie appeared for barely ten seconds.
She wore Diana's Golden Eagle Armor, its metallic wings spread behind her while fire burned across an ancient battlefield below. Her sword was raised above her head, her face filled with fury as she screamed and launched herself through the air toward an enormous creature that towered above the surrounding ruins.
The monster opened its jaws.
Diana flew directly toward it.
The footage cut before impact.
DC: GODS & WONDERS appeared against darkness.
The entire auditorium erupted, and Alex laughed as he looked back toward the frozen title. "That's all you're getting tonight because the director threatened me if I showed anything else before they finished the next round of photography."
The screen changed again before the crowd had fully recovered.
A large silver X appeared against black.
Mutant faces appeared around it through concept artwork rather than footage. Charles Xavier sat inside an early version of Cerebro. Magneto stood beneath a storm-filled sky. Cyclops led a small team through a snow-covered military facility while Jean Grey reached toward a glowing containment chamber.
Another image showed Storm above an isolated Canadian complex with lightning spreading between the clouds. Nightcrawler appeared inside a security corridor while Quicksilver carried frightened children away from armed soldiers.
The final concept image showed Stryker standing behind reinforced glass while a shadowed figure with metal claws remained restrained inside a laboratory.
X-MEN: PROTOCOL ZERO appeared beneath the artwork.
Alex turned toward the audience as the reactions continued. "We're still in preparation on this one, so you're seeing concept material rather than finished footage. The story introduces mutants properly into the MCU and follows the formation of the team."
Another wave of applause followed before the screen shifted into a wide mountain landscape.
Snow covered distant peaks as a familiar musical theme began quietly. Evangeline Lilly appeared moving through a forest with a bow in hand, followed by quick images of Bilbo, Gandalf, Thorin, and the company traveling deeper into dangerous territory.
The teaser moved quickly and deliberately revealed very little. Dwarves crossed a frozen river. Gandalf stood inside ancient ruins. Bilbo opened a door while staring at something beyond it with growing fear.
Then everything went dark.
A deep sound moved through the auditorium.
Something enormous breathed.
Two glowing eyes opened inside blackness.
The screen immediately cut to the title.
THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG.
Alex looked toward the cheering audience with a grin. "That one is still filming, so you'll get more after Peter is done filming half the content."
The screen changed again, although this time Alex remained at center stage. "The next group doesn't have footage ready because several projects are either entering production or still moving through pre-production. That doesn't mean I'm letting you leave without knowing they exist."
A wardrobe opened slowly across the screen while snow drifted through the doorway.
THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE.
The audience responded immediately before the logo faded.
A red-and-white corporate symbol appeared next, followed by zombies and Nemesis art teaser.
RESIDENT EVIL.
A round of applause followed. Fans were excited to see a zombie movie from Titan Studios since they were bored of watching budget zombie movies with same stupid storyline that eventually ends up in cliffhanger.
Stars filled the screen afterward.
A familiar golden title slowly emerged.
STAR WARS.
The reaction became enormous enough that Alex had to wait several seconds before moving forward. He gave the audience an amused look while lifting the microphone. "Yes, we're finally doing the film, and no, I'm still not answering story questions tonight."
Another logo appeared through soft green light.
THE GREEN MILE.
That was followed by the silhouette of a soldier standing beneath smoke-filled skies.
HACKSAW RIDGE.
The tone changed sharply when police lights flashed across the screen.
21 JUMP STREET.
Alex announced. "Some of these films have already begun early shooting. Others are still casting, building sets, locking scripts, or moving through the less glamorous stage where hundreds of people argue about schedules and budgets."
The screen shifted again before he continued.
NIKKI HEAT
SEASON THREE.
That announcement earned another strong reaction from television fans.
Alex smiled as he walked across the stage. "Season Three is officially happening. Megan is returning as Nikki, Richard Castle is continuing with the writing team, and the new season will expand the larger case structure while keeping the character relationships that made the first two seasons work."
The auditorium lights lowered once again as the final film presentation began.
Wind moved across an empty landscape.
A red cape appeared first.
Henry Cavill stood at the edge of a massive cliff while the camera slowly approached from behind him. Another shot showed Clark inside the Daily Planet, followed by brief images of Lois, Metropolis, military vehicles surrounding something buried beneath the ground, and Superman lifting into the sky.
The music climbed while Zack Snyder's visual style filled the screen with enormous scale. Superman flew above the ocean, crossed through clouds, and finally accelerated so violently that the air distorted behind him.
The image cut to black.
MAN OF STEEL.
Beneath the title, a date appeared.
JUNE 1, 2009.
The crowd stood almost immediately.
Alex waited until the applause settled enough for him to continue. "June first. That's the release date, and I'm keeping everything else about the movie locked down until we get closer."
He took a few steps toward the front of the stage while the house lights slowly brightened. "That's everything I'm announcing from the movie and television slate tonight, although I'm sure some of you have already realized we've got a ridiculous number of empty chairs sitting offstage."
The audience immediately began reacting again.
Alex smiled wider. "That's because I didn't come alone."
The side curtains opened.
Robert Downey Jr., Rachel McAdams, Don Cheadle, Jeff Bridges, and several members of the Iron Man cast walked onto the stage first. Angelina Jolie followed in a dark evening dress, while Scarlett Johansson appeared behind her in a classic golden gown to another loud wave of applause.
Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Halle Berry, Jensen Ackles, Emily Blunt, and several other members of the X-Men ensemble joined them. Evangeline Lilly entered with members of The Hobbit cast, followed by Megan Fox and Richard Castle representing Nikki Heat.
Henry Cavill came out last beside Zack Snyder.
The stage filled quickly.
Alex looked across the enormous group before turning toward the audience with obvious amusement. "Since everybody survived my announcements, I think it's finally time for the part where you get to make our lives difficult."
Several microphones were carried into the aisles as fans immediately raised their hands.
Alex took the nearest chair and sat beside Robert while the rest of the guests settled across the stage.
He pointed toward the first microphone. "Alright, let's begin our usual Q&A."
--[AN: I'll take a few days off. Already released 5 chs this week.]
-[POWERSTONES & REVIEWS]--
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