Premieres and Panels Set to Wow Comic-Con Attendees

Comic-Con officially opened on Monday in San Diego and welcomed tens of thousands of fans and visitors. There is one particularly special historic first for the long-running convention this year that is generating buzz among the faithful who show up year after year for a weekend of pop culture exhibits and celebrations.

This will be the first time legendary filmmaker George Lucas will be at Comic-Con. The founder of Lucasfilm, creator of the iconic “Star Wars” saga and its “Indiana Jones” spin-off franchise, has yet to attend the convention that has grown into one of the largest celebrations of storytelling, cinema, and fandom, even with those worlds being directly tied to Lucas.

David Glanzer, Chief Communications and Strategy Officer for Comic-Con, described this year’s convention as a moment of “true full-circle for Lucas,” whose expansive and lasting influence on the building of worlds and visual storytelling is unmatched. “Nearly five decades ago, Star Wars made one of its earliest public appearances at our convention, alongside a booth offering [comic book artist] Howard Chaykin’s now legendary Star Wars poster as a promotional item,” Glanzer said in a statement.

Lucas will join a Sunday panel moderated by Queen Latifah. He will be joined by Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro and Oscar-winning artist Doug Chiang, whose work has spanned four decades and countless concepts in the Star Wars universe. Together, they will talk about the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, a new museum in Los Angeles scheduled to open next year, and the mission behind it.

Lucas has long championed the “storytelling and the history of illustrated narrative as expressed through the lens of film, the graphic novel, and concept art.” The museum will celebrate illustrated narratives and storytelling, while also including a large archive of Lucas’s collection.

Comic-Con’s Growth Through the Years

Comic-Con is an annual event in San Diego, California, that has been going strong for nearly five decades. It began in 1970 as a small gathering of comic book fans. In the years since, San Diego Comic-Con has expanded to encompass the full universe of popular culture that comic books influenced. Each year, Comic-Con now draws a crowd of approximately 130,000 visitors to the San Diego Convention Center.

Attendees visit for panels, sneak peeks, and premieres for Hollywood’s hottest projects. They also gather to cosplay, shop for collectibles, or simply engage with other fans.

Alien Universe, Predator Universe

The world premiere of the series “Alien: Earth” has everyone talking, and the promise of a sneak peek is driving anticipation for this year’s Comic-Con. The show, directed by Noah Hawley, is a prequel to Ridley Scott’s 1979 sci-fi classic “Alien.” The ten-episode series promises to dive into the expanding universe of the franchise, set just a few years before the events of Scott’s classic. The series will premiere tomorrow in Hall H, the convention’s most prized venue, with a release date on streaming services in August.

Filmmaker Dan Trachtenberg will be on a panel about a brand-new take on a well-known franchise in the sci-fi pantheon, “Predator: Badlands.” The feature, which opens in September, is another reimagining of the Predator universe in which, as the trailer teases, the Predator gets to be the prey. Trachtenberg, who rebooted the series with 2022’s Prey, will be joined on the panel by the film’s stars, Elle Fanning and Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi, who plays the alien Dek.

Marvel Won’t Attend This Year

Marvel Studios will be largely absent from Comic-Con 2022. The studio won’t be holding its usual Hall H show because of the circumstances surrounding its upcoming installment in the “Avengers” saga. The Sunday panel was scrapped after production on the film, which was set in England, was ongoing at the time, Variety reported. “It’s logistically complicated, and we decided against Hall H this year for the whole show,” Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige told Variety.

The Marvel universe isn’t the only one known for film franchises and comics featuring aliens and costumed superheroes. Sci-fi fans will step up this year in a big way in Hall H. Panels at the 2022 Comic-Con are lined up with shows on a scale to ensure fans leave energized for the weekend.

Ryan Gosling, Peacemaker, and Other A-List Attendees

Ryan Gosling is one A-list name everyone is excited to see in a Sunday panel on “Project Hail Mary.” The film based on Andy Weir’s novel will be released in theaters next year. Gosling stars as Ryland Grace, a former schoolteacher who wakes up alone on a spaceship and finds out that he is the last remaining hope for the future of the human race. At the Saturday panel, he will be joined by directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who are known for their Spider-Verse trilogy.

Fans of the DC Universe will also be interested in a panel for the second season of “Peacemaker.” The show’s creator and star, James Gunn, is now at the helm of the wider DC cinematic reboot (think Superman) as well. Gunn and the cast will share behind-the-scenes footage, a preview of the new season, and more at the panel.

As news and updates on blockbuster projects, films, TV shows, games, and toys make up headlines, Comic-Con remains first and foremost a weekend to celebrate fandom and community. It’s also a chance for thousands to show up to the convention center dressed as all kinds of princesses, warriors, aliens, and heroes.

Comic-Con is open to the public and runs through Sunday, July 27.