SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — This year's Comic-Con may be more focused on its more traditional roots, though not on purpose. The uncertainty posed by the ongoing writers strike and the impending actors strike has led almost all the major studios to forego the blockbuster panels Comic-Con has become known for.
“Stranger things have happened at Comic-Con, but I would predict this to be a much lower-key event," said Adam B. Vary, senior entertainment writer at Variety, who has covered the convention since 2007.
Marvel, Netflix, HBO, Universal and Sony are among the studios who revealed they will not have panels.
While some actors and writers have indicated they plan to attend and meet with fans in a way that is not directly tied to promoting a studio project, Vary says most stars would consider a traditional studio-backed panel or event to be a violation of the strike.
“They will not participate in events like Comic-Con to promote their projects. So studios will have essentially no one to go to Comic-Con to do the panels that everyone expects," he says. "There would be no one in Hall H to get everyone pumped up for the newest things.”
Vary says most studios have decided that if they cannot put an event of the quality fans have come to expect, they are better off simply skipping this year's convention.
Studios could still participate in other ways, including booths on the Convention Center floor, interactive activities outside the Convention Center and advertising.
Because attendees will no longer have to camp outside Hall H to attend blockbuster panels, they may have more time to explore the rest of the event, including meeting comic book writers and artists that have been the backbone of Comic-Con since its inception more than 50 years ago.
Though the convention is sold out and will draw more than 100,000 visitors to the Gaslamp, some fans worry that the strikes could have a lasting negative impact to Comic-Con. Their fear is that studios will decide that skipping San Diego will become a practical choice.
Though many studios, such as Disney and Netflix, have been holding their own conventions, Vary thinks Comic-Con will still be a big draw, though television may take greater focus than movies.
“It makes much more sense to still participate in Comic-Con because it’s still the largest gathering of fans in North America every year. You get one-stop shopping that way,” Vary says.
However, he says if fan reaction to a year without big stars is poor, it could create a lasting effect.
“If fans come away from this year feeling that was kind of lame, then 2024 is going to be a really important year,” Vary says.
Comic-Con begins July 20.
