About the WonderCon footage:
The trailers make the movie seem like it's gonna be all GRIMDARK and GRITTY, but the leaked WonderCon footage shows us that the movie is more like Steven Spielberg and less like Christopher Nolan. If this is good or bad, depends on your frame of reference. Personally I could go either way. Of course, Steven Spielberg can make "dark" movies, e.g. War of the Worlds, but that's beside the point.
I understand why Gareth Edwards does this though - to contrast with Cloverfield (which was a bit bleak) and also to contrast with his own earlier movie Monsters, which was a downer at times. On the other hand, "dark" movies are all the rage now, that's why marketing makes it seem like it's going to make you feel really bad. With that said, the movie is definitely going to be more serious than Pacific Rim and that is a good thing IMHO.
I also like the references.