Comic-Con Preview 2009: The Next Wave

Sherlock Holmes (Movie)
STARRING Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law; DIRECTOR Guy Ritchie

When you think Sherlock Holmes, you generally don't think kung fu. But diving into Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic stories, Ritchie found references to Holmes' fighting skills — and reimagined the icon. Out went the cap and curvy pipe. In came bare-knuckle brawling. ''Holmes was the first martial artist in contemporary culture,'' Ritchie says. ''He's got all sorts of faculties in his arsenal of talents.'' But this reboot — in which Holmes (Downey) and Watson (Law) take on an occultist (Mark Strong) who's spreading fear — still prizes deduction. ''Holmes is an intellectual action hero,'' Ritchie says. The shoot was highly stimulating. ''It went to the extremes,'' says Downey. ''There's the super-manly, knock-down-drag-out fight sequences, and then there's Holmes' mind. So I really got my ya-yas out.'' (WARNER BROS., DEC. 25, 2009)

2012 (Movie)
STARRING John Cusack, Amanda Peet; DIRECTOR Roland Emmerich

Like any relationship, Emmerich's love affair with world destruction (see: Independence Day, Godzilla, The Day After Tomorrow) needs spicing up now and then. So the director was originally less than thrilled about going back to familiar ground for his latest action opus, about a writer (Cusack) who tries to save his ex-wife (Peet) and children from global cataclysm. ''I said, 'Oh, not destroying the White House again!''' recalls the director, who based the movie's apocalyptic premise on Mayan mythology and obscure scientific works. Lucky for fans, Emmerich found a way to keep it fresh. ''I thought, 'Maybe the aircraft carrier JFKcrashes into it!''' he says, referring to a scene that made it into the movie's trailer. ''JFK returns to the White House! I like that!'' (SONY, NOV. 13, 2009)

9 (Movie)
STARRING Voices of Elijah Wood, John C. Reilly, Jennifer Connelly; DIRECTOR Shane Acker

Produced by Tim Burton and Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted), 9 is an animated sci-fi adventure about a group of rag-doll creatures who, led by the plucky title character, 9 (Wood), battle machines that have decimated the human race. Think Terminator meets WALL-E. ''A tragedy befell the humans, and the human at the centerpiece of it actually created the dolls,'' says newcomer Acker, who earned an Oscar nod for the 2005 short on which this film is based. ''So the movie becomes the dolls' quest for their own identity.'' The ''stitchpunks,'' as Acker calls the little critters, are ''very creative beings. They comb the landscape to create new contraptions that will make their life better. So even though the world is falling apart, there's still hope. The creatures represent a new beginning for humanity.'' (FOCUS, SEPT. 9, 2009)