People talk about Comic Con as the place you go to create the next geek-entertainment sensations — and it's definitely true to some extent. But it's by no means that simple. Nerd tastemakers do get their first look at the next summer's movies, and they do start spreading buzz — but the event is probably best at helping smaller projects get more exposure. If a movie, TV show, comic or novel goes into Comic Con with tons of buzz already, the best you can hope for is simply to keep the momentum going.

Look at last year — Comic Con 2008 had a clear winner (Watchmen) and a clear loser (The Spirit). And the bad exposure at Comic Con definitely hurt The Spirit, but it's hard to argue the event helped Watchmen all that much. Meanwhile, Star Trek stayed away from Comic Con 2008, and did better than almost any movie that actually did panels there. (Looking back, Wolverine did a panel, and it grossed less than Trek domestically.)

So the io9 brain trust got together and figured out which projects we feel came out of Comic Con with more buzz than they had going in. It's highly subjective, but these are the ones we heard more excitement about after SDCC was over.

#1: District 9

This film excited us more than any other. District 9 went into Comic Con with a ton of viral marketing, and not much else. After a full year of wacky alien segregationist signage (Comic Con 2008 was plastered with the stuff, and now it's on bus shelters) we were starting to wonder if this film was just an excuse for an ARG. Then we got to see the actual movie — and suddenly Moon wasn't the only standout indie movie of the year. It didn't hurt, too, that producer Peter Jackson put his considerable mojo to work promoting it. (We managed to corner Jackson for a few minutes of geeking out about monster movies, and he explained how D9 came out of the ashes of the failed Halo movie.) The raves about District 9 were both unanimous and ubiquitous, with everyone either gushing about having seen it or wishing they had.

#2: Zombieland

Another sleeper project, and one that features the overexposed undead, Zombieland crawled out of a buzz grave at Comic Con. This movie was just so gleeful and so outrageously gonzo with its mayhem, and the panel was full of great quotable soundbites. (As opposed to the bland boilerplate we heard on some other panels.) The former TV pilot script does a great job of reinventing the buddy comedy in a fresh way, from the characters named after towns to the pairing of the paranoid Jesse Eisenberg with the gung-ho Woody Harrelson. We were wowed, and so was a capacity crowd in Hall H. The L.A. Times says simply, "Zombieland keeps the movie genre alive."

#3: V

This was a television franchise we weren't sure we wanted to see back again, and yet another remake/reboot that we were leery of. But this show opened our bleary eyes with its moody, weird and scary pilot. The cast, including Firefly's Morena Baccarin and Alan Tudyk and Lost's Elizabeth Mitchell, were snappy and fun to watch. And the old "beware of aliens bearing gifts" trope still turns out to have a decent amount of life left in it. The 4400's Scott Peters brings the right amount of paranoia to a story where the terrorists turn out to be anti-alien freedom fighters, and the media is lying to us all along. We heard several people marveling afterwards that a V remake could be so intriguing. Hollywood Reporter says the screening and panel got a strong Comic Con response."

#4: 9

We've been excited about this film since we first saw Shane Acker's award-winning short film, and every clip has gotten us more thrilled. But the movie's presentation, in the cavernous Hall H, won an uproarious response from people who had never seen anything quite like its style. Rolling Stone's Douglas Wolk (who was on our io9 panel on Thursday) praises its "rich, run-down visual design." The L.A. Times says 9 "snagged" the audience. We felt the excitement in the room, and heard people wondering afterwards about just what kind of movie would get both Tim Burton and Wanted's Timur Bekmambetov on board as producers. (We'll have exclusive interviews with Acker and Bekmambetov, later in the week.)

#5: Felicia Day

Comic Con is pretty much Felicia Day's home town, but this year she ruled more than ever. Her panel for The Guild was one of the big hits of the Con (we heard people talking about it days afterwards) and her booth for the Guild was a major destination. Tubefilter says Day had an "entrance typically reserved for A-list movie stars" at her panel, where she announced Wil Wheaton was joining the cast. And Dark Horse announced a Guild comic. But oh yeah — she also starred in the unaired Dollhouse episode, which completely rocked our world. And Joss announced that her post-apocalyptic survivalist character would be turning up again in Dollhouse season two. All she needed was the announcement of a musical about cyborg Penny, and she'd have ruled the entire con.

#6: Tron 2

Actually, the biggest winner of Comic Con 2008? Was probably Tron Legacy, or Tron 2.0, or Tr2n. Whatever they're calling it this week, the Disney sequel generated as much excitement with one amazing surprise clip of lightcycles as any other property did with a whole panel and banners everywhere. This year, Tron built on that excitement, with a clip that showcased more of its storyline. But honestly, nothing about Tron's Comic Con panel generated a tenth as much chatter as the recreation of Flynn's arcade, complete with video games we'd only played in our dreams. And a real lightcycle. That was all people wanted to talk about for days.

#7: Richard Kadrey

His new novel Sandman Slim comes out in August (we'll be reviewing it soon) and we witnessed several awestruck conversations about the cyberpunk veteran's Comic Con prowess. People talked about his three-book deal with Eos, and Sandman Slim has gotten raves from Cory Doctorow and William Gibson. There were whispers that Hollwood was paying attention, and that's part of what Comic Con is for.

#8: Stargate Universe

The Stargate franchise is rivaling Star Trek for number of consecutive years on the air, and number of shows with things like SG-1 or DS9 after the franchise name. So there's been some doubt as to whether SGU would be true to Stargate and feel fresh and interesting. But the new trailer got people ramped up, and the producers said the right things about keeping this show true to the franchise's traditions. And then Robert Carlyle said the thing about how everybody was going to die. And we were pretty much sold. We also overheard tons of hallway conversations from people surprised they were stoked about Stargate again. The San Diego Union Tribune calls SGU "promising" and says it's one of a few shows that prove "there could be light at the end of our sci-fi TV apocalypse."

#9: Sherlock Holmes

Everybody expected Iron Man 2 to be fun and to feature Samuel L. Jackson swaggering as Nick Fury. And awesome Tony Stark banter and outbursts. We even kinda expected War Machine to turn up. Iron Man 2 lived up to our expectations. But none of us expected Robert Downey Jr.'s other movie to be so much fun, and so full of Victorian verve and rocky bromance between Downey and Jude Law as Watson. We were disappointed when producer Joel Silver told us this film wasn't steampunk, but we certainly heard lots of people suddenly talking about Sherlock. Associated Press quotes Downey as calling Sherlock Holmes an "intellectual superhero." So yeah, Iron Man didn't lose any buzz, that we could see. But Sherlock noticeably gained some.

#10: Avatar

James Cameron's space epic had the biggest hype, and thus the most to lose. So it's not surprising there's a bit of an "Avatar backlash." But like we said yesterday, even most of the detractors were saying things like, "I still think it'll be great, but..." And while the footage we saw wasn't photorealistic, it was an improvement on any CG world-building we'd ever seen before. As long as this movie avoids coming across as too preachy, it stands a great chance of capitalizing on Comic Con excitement. When you have the Kansas City Star reporting that a packed room of screaming fans gave Avatar a "resounding endorsement," that's buzz.

Flynn's Arcade image by JoelTelling on Flickr. Felicia Day image by GeekGirlDiva on Flickr.

Serinda Swan says that she, Beau Garrett (Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer) and two other actresses play "temptresses from inside the computer world." She explains:

We're sort of the main guy's go-to girls. There are lights actually sewn into our wardrobe, so it's like nothing you've seen before!

By the "main guy," does she mean Kevin Flynn's evil cyber-self, or someone else? And whom exactly are these "temptresses" trying to tempt? Sean Flynn, Kevin's son? This could get ooky pretty quick.

Meanwhile, Swan, who plays Zatanna in tonight's Smallville, says she actually played her spells backwards on her ipod so she could memorize those lines backwards — when you replay her dialogue backwards, it'll sound intelligible, she promises. And Clark's mysterious wish is one that "turns him upside down." Also, she wants to find the spell-book to bring back her father, Zatara, because he died protecting her. The episode leaves the door open for her to return.

[TV Guide]

Billboard has confirmed the online rumors that Daft Punk will be donning the dayglo unitards over their leather robo exteriors, and giving the gamers a run for their money, musically speaking. This is certainly an obvious move for fans who love robots and music, but a rather bold step for Disney. But I'm sure once Daft Punk composes the lead track for Tron 2 that becomes the ipod commercial anthem like "Technologic," well, there will be no escaping it.

Me personally, I'm not the biggest fan of Daft Punk any more, since Human After All. But I love how they've been working with new artists to strengthen their style. So in that sense I really do think that Daft Punk can help elevate Tron from the retro world into the future, plus they generate one hell of a song when they hit the mark. I'm just a wee bit worried about studio meddling. Either way, I have no doubt that they will produce at least one track that you'll never forget.

Ain't It Cool News got the scoop from a source on the movie's Vancouver lot. Apparently it starts out in 1989, where Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) has created a ton of best-selling games based on his Game Grid challenges, from the first film. He's marketed everything he saw in there, as toys and action figures. Then Flynn disappears, leaving behind his seven-year-old son Sean. Alan Bradley (Bruce Boxleitner) takes over Flynn's company.

Then we jump forward to the present day, and Sean is now a twentysomething. Bradley gives Sean info that causes him to search for his dad, and the search leads him to Flynn's old arcade, and inside the computer world. Sean meets the CLU character (Flynn's computer avatar in the first movie). Flynn programmed the CLU to make the computer world a better place, but the CLU got corrupted and is creating its own interpretation of "improving the world." CLU is trying to eradicate a type of program called ISOs, and the ISOs believe Sean Flynn will save them from the CLU's attacks.

And somewhere, out there, the real Kevin Flynn is whizzing around on a classic lightcycle. Sean has to find his real dad and enlist his aid against his preternaturally young computer avatar. There's a light cycle versus light jet duel, with both the cycle and the jet creating light walls. And a huge disc battle.

It sounds like fun, and the possibilities of the two generations of Flynns teaming up against the computer image of Flynn, frozen in youth, sound almost endless. Here's hoping! Oh, and supposedly the actual title will be "Tron" plus something after a colon.

After last year's amazing Tron 2.0 test footage premiered at San Diego's Comic Con we were all left stunned. "What, old barefoot Flynn is watching young Flynn destroy some poor blue program? FANTASTIC, and whoa evil beard." While many of you have debated the evilness of Bridges' beard, and the plot summary reveals that there is some rebellion going on against a corrupt cyber-entity which may or may not be Bridges (he could be the rebellion's leader for all we know). But what we've heard a report about how they're going to do it.

A source reveals to io9 that Jeff Bridges has been sent up to Canada to be digitized. A plaster cast has been created of Bridges.

Our tipster tells us that:

They will then take that 3D model and make him younger and then slap it on a body double in post.
As this is only one cog in the machine, I can't give a whole lot of detail. Canada scans actors and props to be used for various projects. These are very high resolution scans that pick up every wrinkle, face lift and scar on the actors body.

If this is true, it totally explains how there can be two Jeff Bridges in the shot together: the real Jeff, and his digitized, younger 3-D clone. Here's hoping it looks as cool as it sounds.

While Wilde's enthusiasm for Tron 2.0 (or Tr2n, or 2ron or whatever the hell it's calling itself today) may be obvious, what struck us about her interview with Sci Fi Wire was just how secretive a movie this seems to be:

Of course, I'm, you know, in a total cone of silence here, so I can't give you anything interesting. But the film will be just as impressive for our time as it was in 1982 for the original. The technological advances have, of course, been enormous, and the effects that we have access to have been so revolutionary. ... We saw an incredible advancement in technology with the use of the face replacement in Benjamin Button, and I think that is marking some of what's to come, and certainly .... in the direction of Tron. Just as far as people being incredibly innovative and taking huge steps forward as far as using technology to create alternative realities. And I think that it's really going to please people that it's going to be just as kind of huge and shocking and just as much of a new movie-watching experience as the first one was.

Part of that pleasure, of course, came from the Light Cycles of the first movie, but ask Wilde whether she gets to ride one in the new movie and you get this response:

[squeals] I can't tell you!!! But I want to! I want to! I'm afraid I'd be murdered before I left the building [laughs].

Okay, someone needs to cut down on Olivia's meds right now. No more squealing or paranoid delusions of people murdering her for today, please.

She did, however, admit that the previously released description of the character she plays in the movie - "someone who works in the virtual world to defeat the Master Control Program" - wasn't exactly correct ("I tell you, it's not a great description. I don't know who made it up. Someone's grasping for straws there.") and confirmed Bruce Boxleitner's involvement in the sequel:

He's so fantastic, Bruce. He's been telling us all about the process of making the first one. And it's just great. Like, they were on an entirely black velvet set, wearing white bodysuits that they weren't allowed to sweat in, even though there was a bank of lights so powerful that they caused a brownout in Burbank. So they weren't allowed to sweat. They're running around in white suits on black velvet with these lights. And they were saying terms that for the time had no meaning for them. They didn't know what a "program" was. Bruce was saying they were ... pulling these things out of, like, sci-fi dictionaries. I mean, they had no idea.

Olivia Wilde Reveals A Few Secrets From Tr2n, With A Blast From The Past [SciFi Wire]

I don't know much about Garrett Hedlund, other than he played a poorly pieced-together young virgin in Georgia Rule, and the exceedingly annoying emo warrior Murtagh in Eragon. But I can say this: the boy will look good in a unitard.

This should be a make-or-break role for Hedlund, seeing as he'll have to go face to face with alumni light cyclers Jeff Bridges and Bruce Boxleitner.

Hedlund plays a young man trapped in a computer yet again. He's forced to retrace the steps of the original Kevin Flynn (Bridges) who will be returning as the CEO of a software corporation.

Welcome to the games. But if you want to compete with Bridges, I suggest you grow a beard. (No, I'm never going to stop talking about the beard, ever).

[The Hollywood Reporter]

According to Coming Soon, Boxleitner is back and ready for some serious action. We now know that Tron 2.0 is the next chapter after Tron and supposedly takes place after some time (which would explain why everyone is older). Also recently reported to join the cast is Olivia Wilde, who will play a worker who helps fight MCP (Master Control Program) and Beau Garrett is a "siren." I cannot wait, plus I'm over the moon that the cast is returning to make this film, beards and all.

In other good news TR2N is now being titled Tron 2.0 all across imdb, which means the TRZ name scare is probably behind us.

But how do you think the character Tron has aged over the years? And what do you make of this speculation that Bridges will be evil? (Possibly based on the beard alone.)

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Wilde ("Thirteen" in Fox's medical drama, although she'll always be Seth Cohen's girlfriend Alex to me) will play "a worker in the virtual world who tries to help fight Master Control Program, the villainous intelligence protocol that was the nemesis in the original film," while 4: Rise Of The Silver Surfer's Beau Garrett has also signed up for the movie, and will play the (as-yet uncast) male lead's cybernetic love interest inside the computer world.

I may not be so excited to see Garrett fail to emote once more, but Wilde's involvement ensures that I'll be waiting in line on opening day, fingers crossed that there's no Mischa Barton cameo to ruin everything one more time.

'Tron 2.0' has its first two players [Hollywood Reporter]