We recently got the disappointing news that Marvel Studios would not be hosting its highly-anticipated Hall H panel - where the big casting announcements and trailers usually feature - during this year's San Diego Comic-Con, and Variety is now reporting that several other major studios have decided to skip the event.
The ongoing WGA strike is one factor, but if SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP can't come to terms by the June 30 contract deadline, actors are expected to join writers and showrunners in going on strike and sitting out promotional events like Comic-Con, and this uncertainly has led to a lot of drop-outs.
In addition to Marvel, Disney and Lucasfilm are not planning any panels, and neither are HBO, Sony Pictures, Universal Pictures, and Netflix. Paramount Pictures is expected to hold a panel for TMNT: Mutant Mayhem, and Amazon should be on hand to promote The Boys season 4.
The big question mark is Warner Bros./DC Studios.
With The Flash already running on fumes at the box office, SDCC would be a perfect opportunity for James Gunn and Peter Safran to showcase what they have in store for the new DCU, while also doing everything in their power to sell audiences on Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom and Blue Beetle.
“With regard to the strike and its possible effects on Comic-Con, we tend to refrain from speculation or forecasting," said Comic-Con spokesperson David Glanzer in a statement. "I will say, our hope is for a speedy resolution that will prove beneficial to all parties and allow everyone to continue the work they love. Until then, we continue to diligently work on our summer event in the hopes of making it as fun, educational, and celebratory as in years past.”
San Diego Comic-Con will take place the weekend of July 21.