Comic-Con returns in full swing this week in San Diego, where a highly anticipated Marvel superhero movie event is set to draw thousands of fans dressed in costumes of fictional heroes and science-fiction villains.
One of the world’s largest pop culture events, Comic-Con began five decades ago as a simple comic book-themed gathering in a hotel basement but today draws huge crowds and top stars promoting new movies and television shows.
Last year’s Comic-Con was affected by the Hollywood strike, which prevented actors from attending and also reduced fan interest, but this time around 130,000 visitors are expected to attend the Comic-Con in the Southern California city.
The hottest ticket is Saturday night’s presentation of Marvel movies, where parent company Disney is expected to unveil plans to reboot its big-grossing superhero film franchise after years of major missteps.
Marvel movies have dominated the Hollywood and global box office for years, with 2019’s “Avengers: Endgame” briefly becoming the highest-grossing film of all time with more than $2.79 billion.
But the past few years have produced more flops than hits, as fans complained about overly-complicated plots and mourned the departure of favorite characters such as Robert Downey Jr.’s “Iron Man.”
And the franchise has been hit by domestic violence revelations about actor Jonathan Majors, who was set to be a major new supervillain in several films.
Majors, who was convicted of assaulting and harassing his then-girlfriend, has been dropped by Marvel, but there’s no information on who or what will replace him.
Saturday’s presentation is expected to reveal how Disney will move forward without him, and is being viewed by some observers as a potential “make or break” moment.
The event will take place inside the 6,000-capacity Hall H, where many people queue for days to gain entry.
“If the company wants to attract anyone other than its dwindling fan base, it needs to answer these questions in Hall H,” Susana Polo wrote for entertainment news outlet Polygon.
Disney’s Comic-Con lineup also includes “Alien: Romulus,” the latest installment in the long-running science-fiction saga, and a “celebration” event for this weekend’s major superhero films “Deadpool and Wolverine.”
Rival studio Warner, which runs DC superhero movies, is keeping a low profile but will offer a sneak peek of its Batman spinoff TV series “The Penguin,” starring Colin Farrell.
Elsewhere, the film “Those About to Die”, starring Anthony Hopkins, will tell the bloody story of ancient Rome and its gruesome world of chariot races and gladiator battles, and will feature a number of fan events.
Amazon’s Prime Video will lift the curtain on the second season of its “Lord of the Rings” television series, aiming to improve upon the mixed reviews of its hugely expensive first season two years ago.
And following the success of recent video game adaptations like “Fallout” and “The Last of Us” for the small screen, Amazon will take viewers into the Japanese criminal underworld with “Yakuza: Like a Dragon,” based on Sega’s hit game.
But for many, Comic-Con is primarily a place to dress up as Disney characters or fearsome samurai warriors and meet like-minded fans to buy and trade comic books.
Comic-Con runs from Thursday through Sunday.
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