Maybe hold off on buying those plane tickets to San Diego. Collider reports that, as has been rumored for months now, Marvel Studios will not be presenting at San Diego Comic-Con this summer, ensuring that Hall H will be at least somewhat less scream-filled by the time the annual event rolls around.
Marvel has typically occupied a Saturday slot in the massive (but wi-fi-challenged) Hall H in years past, and its presentations and panels have long been one of the marquee events of the yearly convention. Fans and press alike pack the hall to get a glimpse at the latest cast lineup, a new trailer, even a snap of a logo, but that’s all over now (well, at least for a year). As Collider notes, theatrics have gone a long way at the annual panels, with the studio using its time to announce big news, like that Mark Ruffalo is now The Hulk, or that Tom Hiddleston is super into Loki cosplay, or even what a particularly hyped sequel’s full title is (hey, Avengers: Age Of Ultron).
Last year was, however, kind of a bust, as the days leading up to the convention were positively fraught with rumors that Marvel was going to use the panel to announce the signing of Joaquin Phoenix as Doctor Strange. (Truth is, if you followed the panel either in person or online, it seemed obvious that something was missing and that they were maybe even stalling. It was genuinely strange and definitely a misfire for the entertainment giant.)
The move is far from surprising—back in October, Marvel held its own press event in Los Angeles, a star-studded and jaw-dropping melee the studio used to announce all of its Phase 3 movies, complete with release dates and, when applicable, attached talent. Marvel also skipped Comic-Con in 2011, so this move may not be entirely indicative of its future in San Diego. (Then again, that October event was a major hit, and didn’t require bowing to the demands of the Comic-Con elite, certainly an attractive prospect to the Marvel brass.)
The full Comic-Con schedule will be announced in the coming weeks, so sit tight, who knows who might take over that Saturday slot (cough, DC, cough).