More Major Companies Are Skipping Comic-Con This Year
A whole bunch of studios won't be appearing at the San Diego Comic-Con, including Marvel, Lucasfilm, Sony, and more.
It seems like companies are seeing fewer and fewer reasons to show up at in-person conventions. This has resulted in the cancelations of some notable conventions, including E3. Variety reports that multiple big names are choosing to skip San Diego Comic-Con, including Lucasfilm, Marvel, Netflix, Universal, and Sony.
Other studios, such as NBC, Apple, and Warner Brothers, have not yet committed to appear yet. NBC Specifically has noted that their presence will depend on whether there is an ongoing actors’ strike at the time of the convention.
These changes are a huge departure from the previous year’s Comic-Con, which featured major actors, writers, and showrunners from all of the no-shows. For example, HBO featured George R.R. Martin and the cast and crew of House of the Dragon, Marvel featured Kevin Feige and several actors, and Lucasfilm promoted several of its star wars properties.
While its parent company might not be attending Comic-Con, Max (Formally HBO Max before the new CEO decided that brand recognition was a bad thing) will be promoting some of its animated titles at Comic-Con. Other studios that will be appearing include Paramount Pictures (which will be showing off its upcoming Ninja Turtles movie) and Amazon (which will probably promote The Boys: Gen V and The Wheel of Time).
Even though Paramount will have a presence, they have not announced any panels related to any of its ongoing Star Trek series — by far the most well-known property on the studio’s beleaguered streaming service.
During San Diego Comic-Con 2022, Paramount hosted the Star Trek Universe panel, which brought aboard cast members from Star Trek: Picard, Lower Decks, and Strange New Worlds. Since Strange New Worlds and Lower Decks are still ongoing, and the new show Star Trek: Starfleet Academy has been announced, the series’ absence will be particularly notable.
Despite the diminished presence of major studios, San Diego Comic-Con has given no sign that it intends to cancel the event. Spokesperson David Glanzer acknowledged the notable absences, blaming it on the writer’s strike and potential actor’s strike, but he implied that the convention will still continue. He stated that Comic-Con staff and crew are continuing to work on getting things together for the convention.
However, Glanzer’s current optimism about the situation doesn’t guarantee that the convention won’t be canceled. If the convention is unable to attract enough high-profile figures to fill up the four-day schedule, there’s still a chance that the convention will be called off.
However, the fact that tickets to San Diego Comic-Con 2023 have been sold out for more than eight months makes it seem less likely that the show will be canceled. Regardless of how few celebrities make an appearance, the convention is still a high-profile event that most geeks want to make it to, regardless of who will make a showing.
