With the ongoing WGA strike and the looming SAG-AFTRA strike (if agreements aren’t reached by June 30), San Diego Comic-Con will look a lot different this year. If actors join writers and showrunners in striking, that means they won’t be sitting on panels — and as such, studios are pulling out of the con.
Marvel, Lucas Films and their parent company Disney aren’t planning any SDCC panels, Variety reported. Netflix, Sony Pictures, Universal Pictures, and HBO are also sitting out the con, which is scheduled to begin July 19.
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Others have a “wait and see” attitude. NBC, for instance, will only hold its panels if there’s no actors strike (though that may not be the case for its streaming service, Peacock). Warner Bros. apparently hasn’t made a decision, but its streaming service Max will apparently bring animation titles to SDCC. The same is true for Paramount Pictures and a panel for the upcoming animated film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem.
Apple, meanwhile, hasn’t said whether it will go forward with its panels, according to Variety. Amazon plans to have “some” kind of presence, with The Boys: Gen V and the next season of The Wheel of Time slated for this fall.
“With regard to the strike and its possible effects on Comic-Con, we tend to refrain from speculation or forecasting,” an SDCC spokesperson told Variety 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.”
