For years, Comic-Con International in San Diego has been the preeminent pop / geek culture conspiracy in the US. It all stopped in 2020, when Covid-19 forced organizers to cancel them for the first time in five decades. Now, in 2022, they are celebrating the event again in the sacred halls (Pavilion H, Ballroom 20) of the San Diego Convention Center. But the question remains: can the event reach its former glory?
Long before 2020, Comic-Con had begun to lose some of its brilliance. Or rather, it seemed like a moving event. After years of major Hollywood studios running out through SDCC, leaving fans and retailers of independent comics aside, those studios began to reduce the heat in their presentations at the convention. (Or, in the case of Disney, saving some of its big revelations for its own events, like the D23.) Streamers like Netflix came in to fill many gaps, but the predominant feeling was that things were changing, from us.
This year’s event is scheduled to begin tonight, and many eyes – fans, studios, journalists – are watching. Perhaps those who felt intensely the absence of Comic-Con in recent years will return with renewed enthusiasm; perhaps everyone will have advanced and the waning interest will have diminished still further. Regardless, event organizers and their presenters will give it their all in hopes of getting the hype back.
“What hype?” you ask? Well, Marvel is back safe. After a hugely successful presentation in 2019 during which the studio announced that it was restarting Blade with Mahershala Ali, this year Marvel is once again having its first hour on Saturday afternoon. The studio has not said what it will bring, but fans will likely be waiting for news about it Wakanda forever, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, The wonders, and other projects. Warner Bros. he has already said that he will bring Adam black and the new Shazam film. Also in the file: Dungeons & Dragons: Honor among thieves, Dragon Housei The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
In other words, heavy hitters with a lot of credibility. If anything can bring dazzle back to the convention, it’s a bunch of Marvel projects and more Game of Thrones. The prevalence of sequels and reboots may seem like overheated remnants, but after nearly three years without Comic-Con, it may also seem like seeing friends after a long quarantine.
Whatever happens, we will be watching. WIRED will be doing a live blog of the event and presumably many other outlets will be overseeing what happens in great detail. Not to be too dramatic, but the future of nerdom depends on it.