Marvel Bows Out, Alien Steps In at Comic-Con

Comic-Con officially opens in San Diego on Thursday, bringing tens of thousands of pop culture fans from all over the world to the event—and this year, there’s one particularly historic attendee who has longtime fans extremely excited.

Legendary filmmaker George Lucas will make his first Comic-Con appearance at this year’s convention. It’s a milestone for a pop culture institution with deep roots in Lucas’s “Star Wars” and “Indiana Jones” film universes, despite the filmmaker never before having attended the massive celebration of storytelling, cinema, and fandom.

“It’s a true full-circle moment,” said David Glanzer, Chief Communications and Strategy Officer, via a press release. “Nearly half a century ago, Star Wars made one of its very first public appearances at our convention, where a booth was staffed by the venerable [comic book artist] Howard Chaykin and distributed his now legendary Star Wars poster as a promotional giveaway.”

Lucas will appear on a Sunday panel moderated by Queen Latifah that will focus on the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, an upcoming museum opening next year in Los Angeles. Lucas will be joined by acclaimed Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, as well as Academy Award-winning artist Doug Chiang, whose designs have been woven into the Star Wars canon for decades. The three will share details on the museum, which aims to celebrate and uplift illustrated stories and storytelling as interpreted through the cinematic lens of film, comics, and concept art. It will also feature a comprehensive archive of Lucas’s collection.

A Brief History of Comic-Con

Comic-Con was first held in San Diego in 1970 as a small con for comic book fans. The initial event drew only 300 attendees, with founder Shel Dorf wanting to “put on the largest and best comic book convention” of the year in the city. But as times changed, Comic-Con would grow in the decades to come as pop culture continued to grow in prominence within modern society. Now, Comic-Con is an event that brings around 130,000 fans annually to San Diego for a weekend to celebrate comics, cosplay, collectibles, and the rare chance to experience sneak peeks, panel discussions, and world premieres from Hollywood’s most highly anticipated projects.

Alien and Predator Return for More Sci-Fi Fandom

One of the most anticipated projects on deck this year is the world premiere of the series “Alien: Earth,” a prequel series to Ridley Scott’s 1979 sci-fi classic “Alien.” The new series, set just a few years before the original film, is from “Fargo” and “The Kingdom” director Noah Hawley and delves deep into the franchise’s mythology. The world premiere will take place in Hall H—the site of the convention’s most highly anticipated panels—tomorrow, and the series is set to debut on streaming services in August.

Not far behind in the line-up for attendees is the feature film “Predator: Badlands.” The new take on the long-running sci-fi franchise puts a fun new spin on the series: this time around, the hunters become the hunted. Director Dan Trachtenberg, who put new life into the franchise with last year’s “Prey,” will be on hand at the panel alongside star Elle Fanning, as well as Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi, who will play the alien named Dek in the film. Fans will be excited to hear more about what Trachtenberg and the creative team have planned for this re-imagined chapter of the series.

Marvel Will Have a Limited Presence, Sci-Fi Star Power to Fill the Void

This year, Marvel Studios will have a limited presence at Comic-Con. The studio won’t have its traditional Hall H premiere due to developments involving the studio’s next “Avengers” film, which have meant the convention is a difficult one to plan around. Variety reported earlier this year that production on the Marvel Studios film continues to go on in the UK, meaning it would have been difficult for the studio to commit to a Comic-Con panel in advance.

But Marvel’s absence doesn’t mean the con is missing buzz from the big screen. Comic-Con, as much as it’s an homage to comic lore and cosplay and a great opportunity to nab merch and other unique collectibles, is also a time for fans to get excited about the blockbusters that are still to come. Sci-fi powerhouses are set to have a major presence at this year’s convention, filling the void of Marvel Studios and ensuring panels will keep fans hopping all weekend long.

Ryan Gosling, Peacemaker, and Other Celebrities to Appear at the Event

Another film buzzed about heavily this year is the presentation of “Project Hail Mary,” an adaptation of the book of the same name from The Martian author Andy Weir. The film will be hitting theaters next year, with Ryan Gosling starring as former school teacher Ryland Grace, who awakens to find himself the lone inhabitant on a spaceship and realizes he is humanity’s last hope. Gosling will join directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller at Saturday’s panel.

DC fans will also get a chance to learn about what’s coming for the second season of “Peacemaker,” with the Peacemaker himself, played by John Cena, and creator James Gunn on hand to show off behind-the-scenes footage and clips from the new season. Gunn is also at the helm of DC’s next cinematic reboot in the Superman series of films, so fans will be curious as to how the Snyderverse and the world of the Peacemaker characters will line up for the future.

Costumes, Collectibles, and Conventions

Star-studded announcements, behind-the-scenes footage, exclusive movie trailers, and celebrity panels make the headlines, but at Comic-Con, it’s all about fandom and a true community. Thousands of fans in San Diego will don their costumes to arrive at the event dressed as princesses, warriors, aliens, and superheroes. Whether in the audience to see George Lucas step into the Comic-Con spotlight for the first time, see the first look at an alien-ravaged Earth, or to geek out on comic lore and cosplay, this year’s San Diego Comic-Con will surely be one for the pop culture history books.