At the Astro Boy panel, Kristen Bell and Freddie Highmore were in attendance to give fans their first look at the manga hero’s origin story. IGN reports that the footage, created exclusively for Comic-Con, sets up a movie that is largely geared toward younger comic fans.
The trailer begins with a slick montage and voiceover depicting Astro Boy’s construction, races into an action montage that sets up Nicolas Cage as Astro Boy’s dad, and concludes with Astro Boy’s confrontation with the Peacemaker. The trailer also featured Astro Boy unloading machine guns from his butt, so that might make it worth the price of admission.
The biggest surprise at the panel was the announcement that both Samuel L. Jackson and Oscar-winner Charlize Theron will lend their voices to the film. Astro Boy is slated for an October 23, 2009 release, is directed by David Bowers and also stars Donald Sutherland, Bill Nighy, Moises Arias, Matt Lucas, Eugene Levy and Nathan Lane.
