Comic-Con Launches with Costumes, Creators, and Culture

Comic-Con began Thursday in San Diego with tens of thousands of attendees from around the world, but as with many elements of this year’s eagerly anticipated event, it’s what’s missing—and what will make a grand entrance—that’s generating the most buzz among the dedicated fans who have come for this weekend of pop culture extravagance.

George Lucas will make his first Comic-Con appearance this year. The creator of one of Comic-Con’s biggest fandoms, the franchise “Star Wars,” as well as “Indiana Jones,” has never before been in attendance at the world’s most anticipated annual gathering dedicated to storytelling, movies, fandom, and everything in between.

In a press release, David Glanzer, Chief Communications and Strategy Officer, confirmed Lucas would be in attendance this year and that the event “could not be more thrilled” to welcome the filmmaking legend. “We’re also celebrating a true full-circle moment,” Glanzer continued. “Almost 50 years ago, Star Wars debuted in one of its first public outings at our convention,” he added, referring to a panel Lucas attended on his now beloved sci-fi saga in 1979. “Alongside the presentation was a booth featuring a Howard Chaykin original Star Wars poster, which has become one of our most iconic promotional items of all time,” he said. Lucas is known for his world-building and visual effects innovations that have left a significant impact on the art of storytelling and film.

The legendary filmmaker will be on a Sunday panel on the new Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, moderated by Queen Latifah. Lucas will be joined by Mexican director Guillermo del Toro and Oscar-winning artist Doug Chiang, as well as members of the Lucas Museum team, to discuss the new cultural space opening in Los Angeles next year. In attendance and the opening of the art museum, which also has a significant focus on film, “will be an impressive collection, chronicling Lucas’ love of illustrated storytelling over the years, as well as the most comprehensive archive of Lucas’ collection,” per the release. They will be joined by moderator Latifah for a panel discussion about the new art space. Lucas, del Toro, and Chiang will also discuss the power of storytelling through film and comics, as well as how the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art hopes to use its collection of art, film, and media to inspire new creatives and honor those who have built rich and detailed worlds through visual mediums in the past.

The History and Evolution of Comic-Con

Comic-Con started in 1970 as a simple, fan-run meeting in San Diego, California, for comic book enthusiasts. From these small beginnings, San Diego Comic-Con has steadily grown into a full-blown pop culture phenomenon. According to the official Comic-Con website, the current event hosts about 130,000 people each year. Comic-Con has become one of the most well-attended conventions in the world, where fans buy collectibles and wear cosplay outfits, and view new sneak peeks of upcoming blockbusters, panel discussions, and world premieres from their favorite studios and filmmakers.

Aliens and Predators Are Dominating the Convention

One of the biggest Comic-Con panels this year will be the world premiere of “Alien: Earth.” “Alien: Earth” is an upcoming series from producer and director Noah Hawley that is a prequel to the Ridley Scott sci-fi horror film from 1979, “Alien.” The new series, due to hit streaming services in August, is already described as being “deep in the mystery, themes, and mythos of the Alien franchise,” and Hawley is set to helm the series, which takes place just a few years before the original Alien. The show’s world premiere will occur tomorrow in Hall H (Comic-Con’s most popular theater), and there will also be a preview panel for the first season of the series as part of the special presentation. Hawley and the cast of “Alien: Earth” are confirmed for the panel.

As well as the prequel series, “Predator: Badlands” will be in the spotlight on Thursday, and it appears there are some pretty major changes for this iteration of the sci-fi series. The new film features the iconic alien Predator, but this time, “nature has placed the hunter in its crosshairs,” per the official release, meaning it’s a role reversal for the big green alien. It is a new installment of the original franchise that debuted in 1987, and as a prequel to the series, it features an exciting new angle. It’s not clear whether the film will be a full feature or just a TV installment, but either way, director Dan Trachtenberg and cast members Elle Fanning and Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi, who plays the alien Dek, are on the panel, and fans can’t wait to see what’s next.

Marvel Slashes Comic-Con Plans

Marvel Studios will be a more muted presence this year. In its place, sci-fi and comic book titans have a spring in their step and have filled the void left by the comic book giant, so programming for Comic-Con 2023 in Hall H is stacked. Marvel has opted to pull back from Comic-Con this year, taking the unusual step of skipping its annual Hall H extravaganza. Variety reported that the UK film, continuing production for Marvel’s forthcoming “Avengers” film, created unmanageable programming complications for the studio’s Comic-Con event. Studio representatives also spoke to the outlet about the difficulty of planning for a panel that would follow the movie’s March 2024 release in a less-than-ideal venue.

Sci-Fi Is Stepping Up to Fill the Void Left by Marvel

Sci-fi and comic book giants have confidently stepped into the space vacated by Marvel. Programming in Hall H is stacked. In addition to the exclusive Sunday panel with George Lucas, the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art will present an afternoon talk in Henn Hall with the creators of “Star Wars: Wayward,” a new graphic novel series. The event itself and the panels are being produced by Paramount Global in association with Lucasfilm. Fans of sci-fi and fantasy will be eager to attend the film screenings and panel events with the most established names in film and comics.

Ryan Gosling and Peacemaker Panels Will Be Must-Sees

Fans can also look forward to the first look at “Project Hail Mary,” an upcoming film based on the book of the same name by Andy Weir, the author of The Martian. The new sci-fi is expected in theaters next year and will see Ryan Gosling take the lead role as Ryland Grace, a former schoolteacher and sole survivor of a spaceship mission who wakes up alone and with amnesia on the vessel with a chance to save the world from an alien catastrophe. Gosling will appear at the panel on Saturday and will be joined by directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who worked on the Spider-Verse trilogy.

Fans of the DC Comics universe will be keeping a close eye on the Peacemaker series and what’s to come with season 2, as James Gunn, the creator of the show and now head of DC’s cinematic reboot which includes Superman, will be attending, and he will be joined by the cast for some clips and sneak peeks. Gunn has been developing a Peacemaker series spin-off, and it will be interesting to see if any news is revealed in the new season.

Attendees will, of course, come decked out in costumes and dressed as their favorite characters, princesses, warriors, and aliens, and the San Diego Convention Center will become a mecca for comic and costume design, pop culture props, and indulgent meals. The site notes that over 500,000 meals are served to guests, and attendees will also take part in “enhanced and inclusive sanitary and safety protocols, transportation options, Wi-Fi, security, cosplay help, badge and ID verification, and volunteer services” at the convention site.

Whether Comic-Con attendees will be there to see George Lucas for the first time this weekend, to see the first look at an Alien-infested Earth in a prequel series, or to get immersed in comic books and create costumes for the whole family to wear, the event will certainly be one for the history books.