Credit: D23Attendees of the upcoming San Diego Comic-Con 2023 were met with some unexpected news earlier this week when Marvel Studios announced that they would not be presenting in Hall H in an unusual break of tradition. Now, disappointed fans are taking to social media to share their comments, theories, and questions about Marvel’s presence at the event and the future of the MCU in general.
Before the COVID-19 outbreak, Marvel had a reputation for putting on quite the show at Comic-Con, dropping teaser trailers, hosting live panel discussions with fan-favorite actors, and giving casting announcements for their upcoming slate of projects.
Considering Marvel Studios has always made a big splash at San Diego Comic-Con, hopes were high for this year’s presentation, especially after the studios’ triumphant return to the area last year. After taking a two-year break from in-person festivities due to the pandemic, Marvel President Kevin Feige revealed the entire release date for Phases Five and Six were announced to a crowd of ecstatic fans.
Lucky audience members were also treated to a first glimpse at James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023), as well as a trailer for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2023) and release windows for Marvel’s (now, mostly postponed) slate of upcoming movies and Disney+ shows.
However, it looks like the pressure was too much for the superhero studio this year, amid plummeting Disney stocks, a less-than-impressive reception to the MCU’s Phase Four, a massive drop in Disney+ subscribers, and, most importantly, the ongoing WGA strike. Not to mention the studio’s Jonathan Majors/Kang problem, which has yet to be addressed.
With this in mind, on top of Marvel’s recent announcement that nearly all of their projects had been delayed due to the WGA strike, it shouldn’t come as a complete shock that the studio elected to skip Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con this year, as, quite frankly, there’s nothing worth announcing at the moment.
Of course, the studio could showcase some of the existing work they created prior to the strike, but with most, if not all of Disney/Marvel’s productions currently shut down, the future of these projects is still very much in the air.
Of course, Marvel will still have a presence on the convention floor—just not on stage. Those hoping for casting reveals for the highly-anticipated Fantastic Four (2025) might still get their long-awaited confirmations, and maybe we’ll end up getting an official Loki Season 2 trailer after all.
But until then, disgruntled Marvel fans are taking to Twitter to share their complaints and annoyances in an attempt to make sense of things following the recent Comic-Con news, which is understandable considering those who paid to attend had to dish out a fair amount of time and money to go.
Some users poked fun at the matter, with this individual writing “SDCC this year” accompanied by a pretty pathetic looking birthday party—a nod to the fact that now Marvel, Universal, and HBO will be sitting out the event:
SDCC this year… pic.twitter.com/FAXXOaBRqx
— RonsRides (@RPOIII) June 20, 2023
This person blamed the studio for simply not wanting to address the issue of Jonathan Majors, whose role as Kang the Conqueror in the MCU remains shrouded in uncertainly following his March arrest. The actor just recently appeared in court ahead of his domestic violence trail, which is scheduled for August 3:
Wow. Is this to avoid discussing replacing Jonathan Majors? For shame. Still no announcement.
— Neil Lumbard (@NeilLumbard) June 21, 2023
This user echoed his remarks with a similar theory, adding that Kevin Feige’s “brain probably exploded” amid the Jonathan Majors drama, Hollywood writers strike, and other nonstop drama surrounding the brand:
Feige knows everyone’s gonna be asking about Majors. Since his trial date is in August.. & with all the shifting movie dates and writers strike, I can imagine his brain probably exploded..
— ceejay (@ceejayyalt) June 20, 2023
Similarly to many fans hoping to get some epic reveals at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, this fan expressed their disappointment following news that Marvel will not be presenting at Hall H:
ridiculous im so disappointed 😔 #MarvelStudios #SDCC
— Darius (@Flea_Breeland) June 21, 2023
This person hilariously tied in the not-so-hilarious news to Sony’s Spider-Man Universe, mimicking Marvel’s decision with a clip from the recently-released Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023):
Marvel Studios skipping Comic-Con this year pic.twitter.com/nRyTvGG9oh
— BLURAYANGEL 🦇 (@blurayangel) June 20, 2023
Finally, this Disney fan backed up Marvel’s decision to skip the event, providing some much-needed context about why the studio was probably forced against their will to forgo any major announcements:
This makes sense. They just kicked the can down the line for their entire slate. Aside from a panel on D+ series this year not much else they could do. No point making announcements past 2026.
— Disney Red Pilled (@DisneyRedPill) June 21, 2023
This news is certainly a bummer for all of us looking forward to our yearly dose of major Marvel news, but sadly, it seems like we’ll just have to sit this one out. At the very least, disgruntled fans should know they’re alone, and that there’s still plenty of exciting MCU content on the horizon. Here’s to next year!
What do you think of Marvel skipping Hall H at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con? Let us know in the comments below.