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Tribune News Service

It is hard to keep a good convention down.
One year after some of Hollywood’s largest studios stayed away from Comic-Con International, they are back in force from July 23. The biggest of them all, Marvel Studios, will return to the 6,500-seat Hall H, as will HBO with its latest superhero show and dozens of other studios with star-studded casts.
Comic-Con’s line-up since the Covid-19 pandemic has been cyclical, with the biggest names staying away one year and then a large push the next year.
Last year was marked by an era of Hollywood belt-tightening, after some gigantic box office duds and some production moving out of Los Angeles. There were still some big studio bombs this year, such as Supergirl, but the industry seems less likely to ignore a marketing opportunity this time around, says Heidi MacDonald, editor of the comic book news website The Beat.
Why do studios pay for a Comic-Con panel?
MacDonald says large panels have proven they have the ability to cut through the noise of social media and other distractions to create excitement.
“Marketers realise Comic-Con is very popular. It’s going to get so much attention,” MacDonald says. “It’s one of the few ways to get a message out there that gets past one [X post] or one Instagram reel.”
There have been naysayers about the effectiveness of a Comic-Con panel. DC Studios co-chair James Gunn, who oversees Superman and Batman films, said last year on the New Rockstars YouTube channel that a large Comic-Con panel can cost millions of dollars and believed his own posts on Instagram promoting films can get the same reach as a media panel – and cost nothing.

MacDonald says media attention is one thing, but her publication constantly sees examples of how much fans appreciate in-person events, like Comic-Con, where they can have an experience.
“They want to be in the room,” she says. “They want to see the magic, they want to hear the roar of the crowd, they want to hear the ground shake.”
Hollywood’s fickle nature may mean little to attendees or advertisers. The event still sells out its more than 130,000 tickets almost instantly.
The return of large Hollywood studios means more A-list celebrities in downtown San Diego, even if they are just shuttled around in a black Cadillac Escalade.
The stars and studios returning to Comic-Con
Marvel Studios does not announce which of its cast members will appear beforehand, but, if past panels are any indication, it tends to bring as many people as can fit on the Hall H stage. The cast of its upcoming film, Avengers: Doomsday, could fill at least two San Diego city buses.
Some of the cast likely to show up include Robert Downey Jnr, Chris Evans, Vanessa Kirby, Florence Pugh, Pedro Pascal, Chris Hemsworth, Channing Tatum, Patrick Stewart, David Harbour, Simu Liu, Awkwafina and Benedict Cumberbatch.
HBO is back but not with its Game of Thrones universe like usual. It will feature its upcoming Lanterns show, which follows characters from DC’s Green Lantern comic books. It stars Kyle Chandler and Aaron Pierre.
Another studio returning after a long absence is Apple TV. It made a huge Comic-Con push in 2022, taking over much of a downtown building to promote its show Severance. Then, the studio took the next few years off. It returns this year with several of its shows and movies, including Silo and Mayday, an upcoming action comedy film starring Ryan Reynolds.
Apple TV has confirmed John Cena, Jessica Biel, Rebecca Ferguson and Jessica Henwick for its panels.
It is not just your typical Hollywood casts ready to make a splash, but international ones, too. One of Bollywood’s biggest stars, Ranbir Kapoor, will be there to promote his latest Indian film, Ramayana. Also appearing is South Korean model and actress Jung Ho-yeon with her new thriller, Hope.

Carl Winston, founding director of the Payne School of Hospitality and Tourism Management at San Diego State University, says international stars making news in San Diego can only be good for tourism, locally and throughout the US.
“If you’re a fan from Korea or India,” he says. “You’re going to see another commercial from America. And that can totally drive visitation in a time when we desperately need it.”
How Comic-Con extends beyond the actual convention
Organisers of Comic-Con have argued for years that they don’t have enough space and could sell more tickets if the San Diego Convention Centre were bigger. Yet a spillover effect means more events throughout downtown San Diego.
Badge holders will be getting their steps in with official events at nearby hotels and even the San Diego Central Library.
“I think it’s great. We talk a lot about how Comic-Con is more than just the four walls of the convention centre,” says Daniel Kuperschmid, CEO of the San Diego Tourism Authority. “It touches a lot of the city in a positive way.”
He says official events and other activities highlight San Diego as a fun and walkable city.

There will be dozens of things to do for people without badges during the convention, which runs from July 23 to 26, with a preview night on July 22.
There is a promotion for the Clash of Clans video game at Seaport Village; HBO is turning an event space on J Street into a simulated training headquarters based on its Lanterns show; and Nickelodeon will have an interactive stage at Children’s Museum Park off Island Avenue, where participants can get covered in slime.
Apple’s activation for its Silo show could be the most immersive. The show is about thousands of humans living underground in a silo because the air is so toxic outside that they would die instantly.
Apple said its installation will be a “multisensory installation that transports visitors into the silo itself”.


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Hollywood’s largest studios are back at San Diego Comic-Con after deliberately missing out on the convention in 2025


Hollywood’s largest studios are back at San Diego Comic-Con after deliberately missing out on the convention in 2025.


Here’s why San Diego Comic-Con 2026 will see Marvel, HBO, Apple TV and more return

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Hollywood’s largest studios are back at San Diego Comic-Con after deliberately missing out on the convention in 2025

Why do studios pay for a Comic-Con panel?

Hollywood’s largest studios are back at San Diego Comic-Con after deliberately missing out on the convention in 2025