After taking 2020 and 2021 off for obvious reasons, San Diego Comic-Con felt almost like the good old days when it returned for 2022. But 2023 has brought some new challenges for the long-running convention: thanks to the ongoing WGA strike and a likely SAG-AFTRA strike, many major studios and streamers will be sitting this one out.
Earlier this week, we learned that Kevin Feige and Marvel Studios would not be taking over Hall H for their traditional star-studded onslaught of announcements — one of the most sought-after panels for fans, and always one of the biggest excitement-getters at SDCC. Now, you can add more no-shows to the list; as Variety reports, with no talent available to represent movies or series (writers have been on strike since the start of May, and actors will likely go on strike June 30), there’ll be no panels for Disney, Marvel, or Lucasfilm; no HBO; no Sony Pictures; no Universal Pictures; and no Netflix.
Still on the fence is Warner Bros., which has some big-ticket DC releases coming up; the trade at least reports that “the company’s streaming service, Max, is planning on bringing some animation titles to the convention.” Also, while Paramount Pictures will touting its new animated release Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, “its streamer, Paramount+, has yet to commit to panels for its Star Trek shows.”
San Diego Comic-Con kicks off July 19 and wraps up July 21; we’ll surely be learning more about just what’ll be on tap this year as that time frame draws nearer.