- [Jessica] Did Disney just kill
San Diego Comic-Con Hall H?
Ah, summer, a time for beaches, barbecues, blockbusters,
and, of course, the biggest pop culture event of the year,
San Diego Comic-Con.
And with a little over a month until the
sci-fi fantasy mecca kicks off
we're finally starting to get some details about what will
and, more importantly,
what won't be taking to the stage at Hall H.
Just this week we learned via Wonder Woman director
Patty Jenkins and star Gal Gadot
that Warner Brothers will not be appearing
at Hall H this year at all,
despite Wonder Woman 1984 hitting theaters next year.
But if that wasn't enough,
Disney dropped their own bomb on Thursday
when they released the schedule for their upcoming
fan expo/convention D23,
which will reportedly cover all things House of Mouse,
Lucas Film, Marvel Studios, and Disney+.
So, could these announcements be the nail in the coffin
for one on Comic-Cons most hallowed events,
the Hall H panel?
Let's get into it.
First of all, it's worth noting that Marvel Studios
skipped San Diego Comic-Cons Hall H last year
and it didn't appear to effect their box office returns
for two of their big screen offerings this year,
Captain Marvel and Avengers: End Game.
Don't know if you've heard about how much money
End Game has made at this point
but it's roughly in the range of,
and these are the technical terms,
a (beep) ton to a major (beep) ton.
Now, while Disney hasn't officially bowed out
of Comic-Con this year, their D23 is sending strong
signals that they probably
won't be appearing in any significant form
since they wouldn't want to preempt their own con,
which kicks off a month later in August.
It also saves them from their exclusive news getting lost
in all of the Comic-Con coverage.
As for that D23 schedule and why it's got fans ears perked
as we stated earlier, the even will give us more details
and most likely show off footage from Disney studios,
Star Wars, and even the future of
the Marvel cinematic universe,
which Kevin Feige has said
there will be no real details about MCUs phase four
until Spider-Man: Far From Home hits the big screen.
Now, according to the official schedule
Friday, August 23rd will give guests a look
at some of it's original content including
Lady and the Tramp, The Mandalorian,
High School Musical: The Musical: The Series,
and many more during this star-studded presentation.
But Saturday is where the real fun begins.
Fans will see what's on the drawing board
for the acclaimed filmmakers
at Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar Animation Studios
and get a peek at the exciting slate of
live-action projects,
from Disney to Marvel Studios to Star Wars.
As always, attendees will be treated to exclusive footage,
special guest appearances, and more.
So, it appears that Disney will be treating its fans
to something special in each of these panels
so it makes sense that they aren't going to spoil
their own expo event by revealing any of this
at San Diego a month prior.
Now, moving on to Disney's main competitor, Warner Brothers,
last year WB took advantage of Disney's absence at Hall H
to effectively win Comic-Con.
However, now that they won't be appearing on the big stage,
instead showing off footage from It: Chapter Two
and other projects in smaller panels,
it looks like Hall H will be effectively empty.
So, what does this mean for the future of Comic-Con?
Well, in the past few years
television has definitely moved to more to the forefront
and actually had decent returns
from having a presence at Comic-Con.
Shows like The Walking Dead, Game Of Thrones,
Stranger Things, and even going as far back as Lost
at SDCC has done wonders for their numbers,
and as streaming becomes more and more prominent,
it would be smart for Netflix, Amazon, Hulu
and other companies to try and carve out
a space for themselves while the movie studios
sit the con out.
Plus, as we see companies make bigger pushes
for experimentation in VR and AR tech in the fan space,
it's clear that Comic-Con is just as much about
it's fan activations as it is about the panels
so, there is definitely room for growth there.
Of course, another move for San Diego Comic-Con
to take would be a return to actual comics.
Now, the con didn't used to be all about Hall H,
it actually started out with a focus on the comics medium.
So, it would be nice to see things
come full circle and acknowledge
the thing that the con was actually built on.
At the end of the day,
Comic-Con is a major cultural event for fans
and will most likely continue to find ways to stay relevant.
Even if all the major movie studios
drop out of Hall H permanently
there are plenty of other outlets, shows, and events
that will gladly take their place.
But will Hall H continue to have the same pop culture
cache it's had in the past?
Only time will tell.
But what do you folks think?
Is Hall H officially dead?
What are you most excited to see at
San Diego Comic-Con this year?
And in vaguely Comic-Con adjacent news,
did you see the clip of Gwyneth Paltrow
finding out that she's in Spider-Man: Homecoming
in The Chef Show?
- We weren't in Spider-Man.
- Yes we were.
- [Roy] Homecoming.
- You were in Spider-Man.
- No.
- Yeah.
- I was in Avengers.
- We watched it three times this morning.
Let's discuss.
Thanks for watching.
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