“Do you have jobs? It seems like you have a lot of free time. Why are you here?” said the actor, wearing an overcoat and top hat, as he emerged from a downtown San Diego storefront covered in fake snow marked with a “Scrooge and Marley” sign. The crowd gathered, recording on cellphones and chanting “Merry Christmas!” Was saying.

“All I can say is that you are all very, very strange people. Hypocrites!” Depp called out sadly as he slipped back inside the building.

“Ebenezer”, set for release on November 13, is the embattled star’s first studio film in eight years. Their presence on the streets of the Gaslamp Quarter – outside any official panels – matches the more guerrilla-style approach to marketing and promotion that some Hollywood studios have adopted at the expo in recent years.

More than 120,000 people are expected to attend the four-day convention, which began in 1970 with a gathering of several hundred sci-fi and comics fans and a personal appearance by Marvel icon Jack Kirby.

Organizers have said in recent years that San Diego’s event and hotel space may not be enough to handle the growing crowds, and they have planned to move to Los Angeles or another large city. But the city’s mayor, Todd Gloria, said as the expo opened Wednesday that it will stay in San Diego until 2030. He said the announcement “reflects our shared commitment to the fans, creators, businesses and workers who make Comic-Con unlike anything else in the world.”

PJ Richardson, 44, drove cross-country from Orlando, Florida with his family for his first Comic-Con International. He had visited a small convention in his hometown – but it did not prepare him for the vastness of toys and collectibles displayed at the Bayfront Expo.

“This is Mecca. It happens once in a lifetime, so we had to come. It was a thousand times more,” he said. “The setup of all the booths and everything is absolutely amazing.”

K-pop group Enhypen Joined Thursday’s panel about vampire storytelling with director Catherine Hardwicke of the first “Twilight” film and franchise actors Peter Facinelli and Ashley Greene. This marked one of many moments of cross-pop culture exchange.

Members of different fandoms unite through cosplay, showing off handmade costumes and exchanging photos. Breonna Slawock, 27, came from Indiana to attend the convention dressed as the elf paladin Velas from the Dungeons & Dragons-themed web series “Critical Role.” His skin was colored purple.

“Apparently I’m biased towards body paint. I think it looks really neat when people do that. I saw someone who had red, which I think was from ‘Hazbin Hotel’, which was amazing. We just saw three Doctor Dooms in there!” He said. “It’s a blast.”

Comic-Con has grown to include cosplay contests, autograph booths, obstacle courses, concerts and panels covering everything from video games – new titles include Wolverine and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – to movie poster art and sword fighting.

It appears the Avengers are set to return to Hall H as Marvel Studios uses Comic-Con to build hype for the December release of “Avengers: Doomsday” — and lay out the path forward as audience interest in superhero movies wanes.

That Saturday panel is the most anticipated moment of the nation’s largest pop culture convention, which runs through Sunday.

DC Studios, which like Marvel skipped last year’s Comic-Con because the timing of the promotional campaign wasn’t right, will be showcasing its HBO “Lantern” series with stars Aaron Pierre and Kyle Chandler at a “training headquarters” activation and panel Friday in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter.

That presentation, like Marvel’s, will take place in the convention center’s 6,500-person Premiere Showcase: Hall H. Livestreams aren’t allowed inside, but online reaction from fans in attendance can quickly boost — or ruin — a movie or TV show’s chances.

Another coveted TV highlight: The actors of “Widow’s Bay” are expected to visit the Bayside Convention Center on Saturday as Apple TV celebrates the comedy-horror series’ 19 Emmy nominations.

Comedy fans won’t have to roam the desert to find an update on “Spaceballs: The New One,” the focus of Friday’s panel. The film, to be released next year, stars Rick Moranis, Bill Pullman and 100-year-old Mel Brooks reprising their roles from Brooks’ 1987 parody.

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