Marvel Studios is heading back to San Diego Comic-Con. During a virtual press conference on Friday for the company’s upcoming feature film “Thor: Love and Thunder,” studio president Kevin Feige confirmed that the studio will have a presence at the pop culture expo, set to take place in July.
The announcement is a major boost for SDCC, which canceled its in-person conventions in July 2020 and July 2021 due to the COVID pandemic. Although a pared down Comic-Con did take place at the San Diego Convention Center over Thanksgiving weekend in 2021, Marvel did not hold any panels during the event, nor did it participate in the virtual Comic-Con@Home events that replaced the July 2020 and 2021 conventions.
Feige and Disney have not clarified Marvel’s exact plans for SDCC. Upcoming films and shows set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe that could be teased during the convention include this November’s “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” next year’s “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” and “The Marvels,” and undated projects such as “Blade” starring Mahershala Ali. Disney+ series that may receive focus include this August’s “I Am Groot” and “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law,” as well as “Echo,” “Secret Invasion,” “Ironheart,” “Armor Wars” and “Agatha: House of Harkness.”
Marvel has a history of very buzzy panels at SDCC; during their 2019 outing, the studio announced Natalie Portman would return for “Thor: Love and Thunder” and confirmed that Ali would star in a “Blade” reboot. The announcements dominated social media buzz at the convention, with nine of their projects making social-analytics firm ListenFirst Media’s list of 10 most tweeted about properties at the convention.
San Diego Comic-Con runs from July 21 to July 24 at the San Diego Convention Center. For information on future Marvel Studios projects, read Variety‘s regularly updating list of upcoming films and Disney+ shows from the company.
