With the ongoing WGA strike and the impending SAG-AFTRA strike (if deals aren’t reached by June 30), San Diego Comic-Con will look very different this year. If the actors join the striking writers and showrunners, that means they won’t be sitting on panels – and as such, the studios are backing out of the con.
Marvel, Lucas Films and their parent company Disney aren’t planning any SDCC panels(opens in a new tab), Variety reported. Netflix, Sony Pictures, Universal Pictures and HBO are also absent from the convention, which is set to begin on July 19.
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Others have a “wait and see” attitude. NBC, for example, will only hold its panels if there’s no cast strike (although that may not be the case for its streaming service, Peacock). Warner Bros. apparently hasn’t made a decision, but its Max streaming service will apparently bring animation titles at SDCC(opens in a new tab). The same goes for Paramount Pictures and a panel for the next animated film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem.
Apple, meanwhile, hasn’t said whether it will go ahead with its panels, according to Variety. Amazon plans to have “some” kind of presence, with Boys: Generation V and the next season The wheel of time scheduled for this fall.
“Regarding the strike and its possible effects on Comic-Con, we tend to refrain from speculation or prediction,” an SDCC spokesperson said. Variety in a report. “I will say that we hope 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 work diligently on our summer event in hopes of make it as fun, educational and festive as years past.”
