San Diego Comic-Con is happening this week: Here's a preview
The city of San Diego is gearing up this week to celebrate the pop culture extravaganza known as Comic-Con. 2019 marks the 50th anniversary of the show, which celebrates movies, television, comic books, and more. This year's event has plenty of scheduled panels and events which will give those in attendance a look into the future of entertainment.
Comic-Con runs July 17-21 with the majority of events taking place in the San Diego Convention Center and the Gaslamp District, just outside of the hall. The 2019 show has some highly-anticipated panels taking place over the weekend, including one from Marvel Studios. On Saturday evening, Marvel Studios president and producer Kevin Feige will be present at a panel in Hall H along with special guests to discuss the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Many fans have assumed that Feige will officially reveal the titles of the next Marvel movies, but that has not been confirmed as of this writing. Additionally, Marvel has other panels planned involving its television, video game, and comic book products.
Marvel's return isn't the only highly-anticipated panel of the weekend. Netflix's upcoming series The Witcher will have a panel on Friday afternoon, also in Hall H. Based on Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski's novels — which also spawned a critically-acclaimed video game series —stars of the upcoming series Henry Cavill, Anya Chalotra, and Frey Allan will be on the panel. There is a good chance panel-goers will be treated to footage of the upcoming show, as many of these panels tend to preview footage to those in attendance.
Aside from news, the show will also feature activations, which are stationary events promoting upcoming movies, television, or other products. One such example during 2018's Comic-Con was a Taco Bell that was modeled after the restaurant's appearance in the 1993 movie "Demolition Man," to celebrate the film's 25th anniversary. This year, Warner Brothers and New Line Cinema are planning a few activations around the city under the title "ScareDiego." The activations take place on Wednesday, July 17 and will focus on "It: Chapter 2," which comes to theaters in September. There are no further details as to what ScareDiego will consist of, but it will be a good chance for fans to get closer to their favorite films in new ways.
This will be a big week for television and movie news coming out of Comic-Con. However, the show's focus isn't entirely on movie and TV news; many attend the event for collectibles that are exclusive to the show, especially for the company Funko. There are many toys and action figures as well as specialty movie posters and vinyl records that can only be purchased at the convention, which will be available in limited quantities. San Diego Comic-Con begins on Wednesday and continues until Sunday this week.
A variety of Star Trek-related events are expected. The Star Trek Universe Panel planned for July 20 will feature "Star Trek: Discovery," the highly anticipated new series "Star Trek: Picard," starring Sir Patrick Stewart, and the new animated series "Star Trek: Lower Decks." Several cast members from "Discovery," including will be on-hand for their panel. And the "Star Trek: Picard" cast members, including Sir Patrick Stewart will be seen together for the first time at Comic-Con.
