Marvel Studios will not be holding a Hall H presentation at San Diego Comic-Con this year.
Following an initial report by TheWrap, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed that Marvel Studios is indeed skipping Hall H at SDCC 2023 (which is slated to take place the weekend of July 21). That said, the Disney-owned studio is still expected to have a presence on the convention floor. However, TheWrap also reports that other major players like Universal and HBO may be taking a pass on Comic-Con this year as well.
Notably, the ongoing Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike is making it difficult for studios to attend SDCC. Marvel Studios has already had to pause multiple productions as a result of the strike. These include the feature films Blade and Thunderbolts, as well as the Disney+ series Wonder Man and Daredevil: Born Again.
Further complicating any potential SDCC plans is the fact that a strike by the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) is also a distinct possibility at this stage. SAG-AFTRA’s current contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) is set to expire on June 30. If a new deal is not reached, SAG-AFTRA can order a strike anytime after that date. In the event of a strike, actors would not be able to promote their upcoming film and television projects.
Marvel Studios returned to SDCC’s Hall H in 2022
It was at last year’s SDCC that Marvel Studios held its first Hall H presentation since 2019. Marvel sat out Comic-Con in 2020 and 2021, with the event having largely shifted to the virtual space amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
During its Hall H presentation at SDCC 2022, Marvel Studios officially announced Phases Five and Six of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, consisting of previously-announced titles like Secret Invasion, Blade, Ironheart and Fantastic Four, as well as new reveals like Daredevil: Born Again, Thunderbolts, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars. Phase Five ultimately kicked off earlier this year with the release of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
