Lucas, del Toro, and Chiang Discuss Storytelling at Comic-Con

Comic-Con made its official start on Friday in San Diego, the place of pilgrimage for tens of thousands of pop culture aficionados worldwide, many of whom will be treated to a first ever this year.

Science fiction film director George Lucas will attend Comic-Con for the first time. The iconic creator behind the blockbuster series Star Wars and Indiana Jones has never before participated in one of the world’s largest gatherings for storytelling, cinema, and fandom.

Lucas has always had a special connection with San Diego Comic-Con, a connection that extends back decades. “In 1977, near the start of our five-decade relationship, Star Wars made one of its earliest public appearances at our convention, where we had a booth featuring [comic book artist] Howard Chaykin’s now legendary Star Wars poster as a promotional item,” said David Glanzer, Chief Communications and Strategy Officer. “George’s attendance this year is a true full-circle moment for us and fandom.”

Lucas will join a Sunday afternoon panel moderated by Queen Latifah to discuss the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, a cultural institution opening in Los Angeles next year. Joining Lucas for the panel will be Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro and artist Doug Chiang, whose work has informed Star Wars films for decades. Lucas and his guests will be on hand to discuss the illustrated stories and visual art that the museum will be dedicated to showcasing, including film, comics, and concept art. The museum will also house a significant archive of Lucas’s collection.

Comic-Con Is No Comic Book Convention Anymore

Comic-Con began in 1970 as a small fan-driven gathering focused on comic books. For four decades, San Diego Comic-Con has grown to include a rich array of film, television, gaming, art, and literature, as well as cosplay and merchandise. It is now one of the most high-profile and one of the largest pop culture events in the world, with attendance of around 130,000 people.

Comic-Con has become a celebrated annual pilgrimage for geeks, nerds, superfans, actors, producers, directors, and creative talents around the world who are coming to Comic-Con for a rare chance to preview Hollywood’s most highly anticipated upcoming projects in everything from movies and TV to comics and video games.

Alien and Predator Are Big Names at Comic-Con 2024

One of the most highly anticipated of those sneak peeks this year is the world premiere of the series Alien: Earth. A prequel series to Ridley Scott’s 1979 feature Alien, the first installment of the anthology series will be directed by Noah Hawley and produced by Ridley Scott and his daughter, Laura, with whom Hawley worked on the 2019 series Fargo: Season 4. The series’ mythology will explore the alien species in the franchise a few years before the events of the 1979 movie. The premiere will take place tomorrow in Hall H, the convention’s most iconic venue, and will be available to stream in August.

Another big-name debut at Comic-Con this year is the feature film Predator: Badlands. The latest reimagining of the sci-fi action franchise has a fun twist for fans: the Predator will be the hunted, for the first time. Directed by Dan Trachtenberg, whose work on Prey rebooted the series in 2022, the feature will have a panel and a world premiere presentation at Comic-Con on Saturday. The cast of the movie will be on hand at the event, including Elle Fanning and Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi, who plays the alien Dek.

Marvel Is Slashing Its Presence at Comic-Con

Marvel Studios is expected to downscale its presence this year in a significant development for the normally Comic-Con powerhouse. Marvel Studios will not have its typical Hall H presentation this year, the fan site ComingSoon.net reports, due to a change in plans for the studio’s next Avengers film. In a statement given to Variety, a Marvel Studios spokesperson said that due to ongoing production in the U.K., last-minute changes to the Avengers film became “operationally difficult for us,” and, “We don’t want to scale back or alter the experiences we provide for our guests, so we decided not to present this year.”

Sci-fi Is Stepping Up, and So Are the Stars

Despite Marvel’s absence, which would have filled Hall H at the end of the conference, Comic-Con is not letting the cat out of the bag just yet. Comic-Con’s sci-fi stars are there in full force this year, with programming in Hall H that will make up for the Marvel absence through the weekend.

Ryan Gosling will be at Comic-Con for the first time to make an appearance on Saturday for the presentation of Project Hail Mary, based on the book by the same name from Andy Weir, author of The Martian. The film adaptation of the book is scheduled for theaters next year, and stars Gosling as Ryland Grace, a former schoolteacher who wakes up alone on a spaceship and must find a way to save Earth’s last hope for survival. On the panel, Gosling will be joined by directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who are also set to lead the next Spider-Verse trilogy.

DC fans also have reason to be excited for updates on the next chapter of Peacemaker. Show creator James Gunn, who is also now in charge of DC’s reboot of their entire cinematic universe, with Superman being the first lead, will be on hand with the cast to share a first look at season two, as well as exclusive behind-the-scenes content.

Cosplay and Merchandise Are at the Heart of Comic-Con

Comic-Con may have the star power and the sneak peeks on the marquee, but this pop culture convention is and always has been about the fans. Costumed fans in the thousands will descend on the Comic-Con convention center on Saturday and Sunday, dressed as everyone from princesses and warriors to aliens and superheroes.

Comic-Con will continue through Sunday, July 27.