Comic-Con Goes Intergalactic with Alien and Star Wars

Comic-Con got underway today in San Diego with tens of thousands of fans of pop culture and a special guest who has been making some longtime attendees’ hearts race.

Sci-fi icon George Lucas will be making his first Comic-Con appearance this year. While his “Star Wars” and “Indiana Jones” franchises have long shared an especially close relationship with the mega convention that has become one of the world’s premier showcases of storytelling, cinema, and fandom, Lucas has never before attended the event.

The legendary filmmaker will be attending Comic-Con for the first time this year, marking a “true full-circle moment,” as per David Glanzer, the Chief Communications and Strategy Officer. Glanzer points out that “almost 50 years ago, Star Wars made one of its first public appearances at our convention,” and added that the “booth housed a Howard Chaykin Star Wars poster given as a promotional item.”

Lucas will be taking part in an upcoming Sunday panel discussion moderated by Queen Latifah and dedicated to the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, which is due to open in Los Angeles next year. The museum will feature Lucas, Guillermo del Toro, and Oscar winner Doug Chiang, who has designed sets and props for the “Star Wars” universe for over 30 years. The trio will be discussing Lucas’s expansive vision of a museum that will pay homage to the art of illustrated narrative storytelling via film, comics, and the like, while also opening its doors to a treasure trove of Lucas’s collection.

Comic-Con has come a long way from its initial comic book roots: it first launched in San Diego in 1970 as a small, 300-person comic book convention. It has since grown into one of the most significant pop culture conventions on the planet, now drawing upwards of 130,000 attendees each year to participate in cosplay, collect comics, and most importantly, catch a first look at sneak peeks, panel discussions, and world premieres from the most anticipated Hollywood projects.

Alien has the world premiere of the series this year, and is on the hunt for the Predator

One of the most exciting series premieres at Comic-Con is the world premiere of “Alien: Earth,” the latest series from Ridley Scott’s legacy franchise. Set a few years before the titular 1979 movie, the new series by director Noah Hawley promises to take fans deeper into the world of the Alien mythology. The highly anticipated series, which is available in August for streaming, is set to premiere in Hall H tomorrow.

Fans will also see an intriguing new direction from this sci-fi stalwart as the series premieres its first feature, Predator: Badlands. The latest film in the “Predator” universe features a twist on the long-running saga of the alien warrior: for the first time, the Predator is the prey. With Dan Trachtenberg (2019’s “Prey”) coming back at the helm of the series, fans will be eager to see how the director plans to continue expanding the universe’s mythology. They’ll also be able to learn more about what the next chapter of this reimagined universe will be by checking in on the series panel, where they will be joined by star Elle Fanning and Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi, who plays the alien Dek.

Marvel Pulis is lining back this year, but will sci-fi fandom keep Comic-Con ramped up?

Marvel Studios will be downscaling its in-person presence at this year’s Comic-Con. The studio will not be taking part in its annual Hall H presentation at the event. Citing production changes around its next Avengers installment, Marvel decided to pull back on its overall presence at the convention this year.

Variety also noted that there were travel-related logistical issues for the studio because of ongoing issues in the UK, making the studio’s decision to pull out of the conference even more unfortunate for the Marvel faithful.

Fans needn’t be too disheartened, however. While many eyes were on Marvel’s participation at this year’s event, a number and fantasy heavy hitters were more than willing to pick up the slack in the programming o,f Hall H, and fans in attendance are expected to be juiced up on action for this weekend.

Ryan Gosling and Peacemaker are on deck for their next big roles, as are other familiar faces

The first film that will be tackled from the discussion table will be “Project Hail Mary,” based on the best-selling book by Andy Weir, the author of The Martian. Set to be a theatrical release for the coming year, the space-based flick will feature Gosling in the role of Ryland Grace, a former schoolteacher who awakens to find himself the sole occupant of a spaceship and the only chance left to save the planet from environmental collapse. Panelists at Saturday’s discussion will include Gosling and co-directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, whose Spider-Verse trilogy revitalized the Marvel superhero spinoff franchise.

DC fans are also set to be treated to a look at the second season of the “Peacemaker” series. James Gunn, who has just recently taken on the reins of DC’s next cinematic reboot with Superman, will be joined by the cast of the hit series to offer a behind-the-scenes look and some new footage at the upcoming season.

Fans in costume are there for Comic-Con all weekend long

Comic-Con events are big enough to include extravagant displays and announcements, but at their core, the event is a gathering for the true fans. Those attendees will not only be filling seats at panels and conference rooms at the San Diego Convention Center, they will also be filling the show floors in their own costume of princesses, warriors, aliens, and superheroes. The event will run until Sunday, July 27.