San Diego Comic-Con 2026 released its full panel schedule this week, and the headline is institutional: Apple TV+ will take the stage at Hall H for the first time in the streamer‘s history, a move that signals the platform has shifted from its years-long posture as the premium outlier into direct competition with Prime Video, HBO Max, and Marvel Studios for the genre audience’s undivided attention. The convention runs July 22–26 at the San Diego Convention Center, with preview night on Wednesday.
Apple’s Hall H debut on Saturday, July 25, is a two-hour showcase running from 2:00 to 4:00 PM PT. It is anchored by the strongest hand the streamer has brought to any convention: Silo, currently mid-run in its third season with a perfect 100% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes; Widow’s Bay, which leads all 2026 Emmy nominees with 19 nominations; Dark Matter, whose second season arrives August 28; and two upcoming films, Matchbox: The Movie (John Cena, Jessica Biel; premiering October 9) and Mayday (Ryan Reynolds; Reynolds is not currently scheduled to appear). Josh Horowitz of the Happy, Sad, Confused podcast will moderate. Separately, a free multi-sensory Silo Experience installation runs July 24–26 at The Lot at 1st & J in the Gaslamp Quarter — open to the public without a badge, daily 11:00 AM–7:00 PM PT.
The full genre lineup across four days is the most concentrated in the convention’s recent history. What follows is a complete breakdown, day by day
Wednesday — Preview Night and Star Trek’s Opening Move
Preview night opens Wednesday, July 22, at the Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina, where Paramount+ begins the Star Trek 60th anniversary celebration early. Screenings of The Original Series classic “Balance of Terror” at 6:00 PM PT and the Strange New Worlds/Lower Decks crossover episode “Those Old Scientists” at 7:00 PM PT — both at the Grand Ballroom — give franchise fans their first on-site gathering before Hall H opens
Thursday — Hall H Opens With Percy Jackson, Wolverine, and Avatar
10:00–11:00 AM | Hall H Percy Jackson Season Three Comes to Hall H
Disney+ opens Thursday’s Hall H slate with the first look at Percy Jackson and the Olympians Season 3, adapting Rick Riordan’s The Titan’s Curse. Stars Walker Scobell, Aryan Simhadri, Charlie Bushnell, Tamara Smart, Levi Chrisopulos, and Olive Abercrombie join executive producers Craig Silverstein and Dan Shotz, moderated by Juju Green
11:15 AM–12:00 PM | Hall H Wolverine Deep Cuts: Insomniac Games Reveals New Story Content
Insomniac Games brings Marvel’s Wolverine — the PlayStation 5 exclusive — to Hall H for its first detailed story reveal. Creative director Marcus Smith, game director Mike Daly, narrative director Walt Williams, and actors Liam McIntyre (Wolverine) and Krizia Bajos (Jean Grey) will present never-before-seen content from the game’s campaign
12:00–12:45 PM | Hall H MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls Goes Behind the Battle
Marvel’s upcoming fighting game from Arc System Works takes the stage with the development team, moderated by fighting game commentator Sajam. Voice actors and artists including Mike Deodato join for behind-the-scenes reveals and surprise announcements
1:00–2:00 PM | Hall H Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender Previews Its Paramount+ Film
The voice cast and creative team behind Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender — the franchise’s first animated feature, now streaming on Paramount+ on July 25 — take Hall H for exclusive sneak peeks ahead of Saturday’s global premiere
2:15–3:15 PM | Hall H Stuart Fails to Save the Universe: Big Bang Theory Spinoff Arrives
HBO Max’s Big Bang Theory spinoff gets its Hall H moment with creators Chuck Lorre, Zak Penn, and Bill Prady alongside stars Kevin Sussman, Lauren Lapkus, John Ross Bowie, and Brian Posehn, for an advance screening and panel
3:30–4:30 PM | Hall H Directors on Directing: Zach Cregger and the Dungeons & Dragons Team
Collider’s annual director showcase brings together Barbarian and Weapons filmmaker Zach Cregger and Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley (Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves), moderated by Collider editor-in-chief Steven Weintraub. Cregger is widely expected to debut footage from his upcoming Resident Evil adaptation, though Prime Video has not confirmed that detail
3:30–4:30 PM | Room 6BCF (simultaneous) Batman: Caped Crusader Season Two World Premiere Screening
Prime Video and Warner Bros. Animation host the world premiere of Batman: Caped Crusader Season 2’s first episode, followed by a Q&A with voice cast and creative team. The animated noir series hails from J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot and Matt Reeves’ 6th & Idaho alongside DC Studios and Warner Bros. Animation
4:45–5:45 PM | Hall H Inside the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art
Moderator Keke Palmer leads a preview of upcoming programming from the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, joined by Seth Green and Matt Senreich of Stoopid Buddy Stoodios, DC Studios President and CCO Jim Lee, and museum senior curator Ryan Linkof. The museum is scheduled to open in Los Angeles in September
Friday — Genre TV’s Most Competitive Day
Friday is the uncontested centerpiece. Hall H runs from Blade Runner 2099 and Rings of Power at 10:00 AM through Pan’s Labyrinth’s 20th anniversary at 5:15 PM, followed by a late-night Dark Matter screening at 10:00 PM — with the free Strange New Worlds fan screening at the Balboa Theatre in between. Readers planning to attend the 10:00 AM Prime Video opening and hold their seats through midday will spend the better part of nine hours in the same room
10:00–11:30 AM | Hall H Prime Video Opens With Blade Runner 2099 and Rings of Power Season Three
The day’s first panel is also its highest-stakes for science fiction: Prime Video pairs Blade Runner 2099 — the first major public look at the long-awaited franchise continuation — with The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 3 in a 90-minute Hall H showcase
Blade Runner 2099, executive produced by Ridley Scott and created by Silka Luisa (Shining Girls), is set 50 years after Denis Villeneuve’s Blade Runner 2049. The series stars Michelle Yeoh as Olwen, a Replicant approaching the end of her life, and Hunter Schafer as co-lead. Production wrapped in December 2024; Prime Video has signaled a 2027 premiere is most likely. The panel marks the start of the show’s formal marketing campaign
The Rings of Power Season 3 — which will premiere on Prime Video on November 11, 2026 — arrives at Hall H as the first time its cast and showrunners have addressed the new season publicly. The show added Jamie Campbell Bower (Stranger Things) and Eddie Marsan in a recurring role for Season 3. Prime Video has promised exclusive footage and “thrilling surprises” for Hall H attendees specifically
11:00–11:45 AM | Hall H (overlapping) Adventure Time: Side Quests Celebrates With Cast and Crew
Finn and Jake return for the creative team’s discussion of the new Adventure Time special, now streaming on Hulu and Disney+
11:45 AM–12:30 PM | Hall H Dead City Season Three Arrives Ahead of Its Saturday Premiere
AMC brings The Walking Dead: Dead City back to Hall H ahead of the Season 3 premiere on July 26. Stars Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Negan), Lauren Cohan (Maggie), Aimee Garcia (Renata), and Raúl Castillo (Omar) join showrunner Seth Hoffman and executive producer Scott M. Gimple for an exclusive sneak peek from the premiere episode. A separate advance screening of the premiere will take place Friday evening at The Loft at Petco Park
12:30–1:15 PM | Hall H The Vampire Lestat Makes Its Hall H Debut
AMC’s acclaimed adaptation of Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire universe — the most critically discussed vampire drama of the current streaming era — takes Hall H for the first time. Jacob Anderson (Louis), Assad Zaman (Armand), and Eric Bogosian (Daniel Molloy) join showrunner Rolin Jones and executive producers Mark Johnson and Hannah Moscovitch, moderated by Rotten Tomatoes’ Jacqueline Coley
The panel will cover the Season 3 finale and include highlights from The Vampire Lestat: One Night Only Live, featuring music by composer Daniel Hart performed as Lestat. Sam Reid, who plays Lestat, will not be present — he is performing in Doubt: A Parable in Australia. A Season 4 renewal announcement is widely expected: showrunner Rolin Jones has previously suggested that showing up at SDCC would be a very good sign
1:30–2:15 PM | Hall H Lanterns: DC Studios’ Prestige Superhero Drama Gets Its First Look
HBO Max’s prestige superhero drama arrives in Hall H ahead of its August 16 premiere. Stars Kyle Chandler (Hal Jordan), Aaron Pierre (John Stewart), Garret Dillahunt (William Macon), and Poorna Jagannathan (Zoe) join co-creators Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof, and Tom King for an exclusive first look
2:45–3:30 PM | Hall H Grimm Marks Fifteen Years With a Hall H Reunion
NBC’s supernatural procedural, which premiered in 2011, reunites its cast and creative team in Hall H for a celebration of the series’ run
4:00–4:45 PM | Hall H Spaceballs: The New One Offers a Behind-the-Schwartz Look
Mel Brooks’ long-awaited sequel to the 1987 cult classic takes the Hall H stage. The new film is scheduled for release in April 2027
5:15–6:15 PM | Hall H Pan’s Labyrinth Turns Twenty: Guillermo del Toro Returns to Hall H
Guillermo del Toro joins actors Doug Jones (Faun and Pale Man) and Ivana Baquero (Ofelia) and cinematographer Guillermo Navarro for a retrospective celebrating the film’s craft and cultural legacy ahead of a theatrical 4K rerelease in October
6:00 PM PT | Balboa Theatre, 868 Fourth Ave (Free, No Badge Required) Strange New Worlds Season Four Fan Screening
Paramount+ offers a free advance screening of the first two episodes of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4 at the Balboa Theatre — which will have premiered on Paramount+ three days earlier, on July 23. Doors open 6:00 PM PT, screening at 7:00 PM PT. RSVP only, first come first served. Surprise giveaways promised. No SDCC badge required
10:00–11:00 PM | Room 6DE Dark Matter Season Two Sneaks Six Weeks Early
Apple TV+ and Den of Geek host an exclusive advance screening of the Dark Matter Season 2 premiere — a full six weeks before its August 28 release date. Star and executive producer Joel Edgerton, cast member Dayo Okeniyi, series creator and author Blake Crouch, writer and EP Jacquelyn Ben-Zekry, and EP Matt Tolmach will all attend
Season 2 picks up with Jason Dessen (Edgerton) and Daniela (Jennifer Connelly) as their fragile stability is shattered once again, while Amanda (Alice Braga) and Ryan (Jimmi Simpson) fight to find their way home
Read more:Avatar Aang Hits Paramount+ July 25: Airbending Physics and Cultural Extinction Explained
Saturday — Apple TV+ Takes Hall H; Star Trek’s Sixty-Year Celebration
12:30–1:45 PM | Hall H Star Trek Universe: Strange New Worlds Season Four Plus Sixty Years of the Franchise
Saturday’s most emotionally charged panel is a two-part event that first addresses the future of the franchise and then celebrates six decades of its past
The first portion showcases Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4, which premiered July 23 on Paramount+ and runs weekly through September 24. Anson Mount, Rebecca Romijn, Ethan Peck, Christina Chong, Celia Rose Gooding, Melissa Naenry Alonso Myers, and Alex Kurtzman for new footage and reveals from the season
The stage then pivots to the 60th anniversary franchise retrospective — one of the largest gatherings of Star Trek cast members in Hall H history. Eugene “Rod” Roddenberry, son of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, delivers the introduction. Confirmed attendees from across the franchise include Michael Dorn (The Next Generation, Worf), Robert Picardo (Voyager, The Doctor), Connor Trinneer (Enterprise, Trip Tucker), Cirroc Lofton (Deep Space Nine, Jake Sisko), Doug Jones (Discovery, Saru), Michelle Hurd (Picard, Raffi Musiker), Jerry O’Connell (Lower Decks), Karim Diané, and George Takei, who originated the role of Hikaru Sulu in 1966. Surprise appearances are promised. William Shatner will not be present — he has confirmed he has a conflicting commitment.
The panel holds additional weight given the franchise’s uncertain institutional moment. Strange New Worlds Season 4 is the final season in production under Alex Kurtzman’s tenure, and the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger has raised questions about what Star Trek looks like under incoming management. The convention serves as both celebration and, for many fans, an implicit referendum on what the franchise’s next chapter should be
2:00–4:00 PM | Hall H Apple TV+ Hall H Showcase: Silo, Dark Matter, Widow’s Bay, Matchbox, Mayday
Apple TV+’s first-ever Hall H appearance is a two-hour showcase moderated by Josh Horowitz covering five titles across three tiers of the streamer’s slate
Silo: Showrunner Graham Yost, star Rebecca Ferguson, and cast members Common, Tim Robbins, Ashley Zukerman, Jessica Henwick, and Alexandria Riley appear for the panel most anticipated by genre fans. Season 3, which launched July 3 with a 100% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes, unfolds across a dual timeline: in the present, Juliette Nichols (Ferguson) survives her forced cleaning but returns with memory loss as the silo recovers from rebellion and faces a dangerous new threat; in the “Before Times,” journalist Helen Drew (Henwick) and Congressman Daniel Keene (Zukerman) uncover a catastrophic conspiracy. The panel is expected to be the first opportunity to learn whether the already-filmed Season 4 will premiere in 2026 or 2027.
Dark Matter: Blake Crouch, Matt Tolmach, Jacquelyn Ben-Zekry, Joel Edgerton, Jennifer Connelly, and Dayo Okeniyi return to the stage following Friday night’s screening. This year marks the 10th anniversary of Crouch’s
Widow’s Bay: Apple TV+’s Emmy-leading horror comedy (19 nominations heading into the 2026 ceremony) makes its Hall H debut. Specific panelists are to be announced
Matchbox: The Movie: John Cena, Jessica Biel, Arturo Castro, Sam Richardson, and Teyonah Parris present the Mattel toy adaptation directed by Sam Hargrave (Extraction), premiering October 9 on Apple TV+
Mayday: Directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein represent the Ryan Reynolds action film. Reynolds is not currently scheduled to appear in person
3:30–4:30 PM | Ballroom 20 Reacher and Neagley Share a Stage for the First Time
Amazon’s action franchise returns with Reacher Season 4, and for the first time expands into a shared-universe event with Neagley, a spinoff starring Maria Sten. Alan Ritchson and the casts of both series take Ballroom 20 for exclusive first looks and behind-the-scenes reveals
4:45–5:45 PM | Ballroom 20 Mike Flanagan Makes His First SDCC Appearance to Present Carrie
Mike Flanagan (The Haunting of Hill House, Doctor Sleep) makes his first-ever SDCC appearance to present his reimagining of Stephen King’s Carrie as a Prime Video television event. Flanagan is joined by stars Summer Howell, Samantha Sloyan, Siena Agudong, Alison Thornton, Amber Midthunder, and Matthew Lillard for exclusive footage and a special announcement
5:30–6:30 PM | Hall H Marvel Studios Returns to Hall H After Skipping 2025
Marvel Studios closes Saturday with its first Hall H presentation since the Robert Downey Jr. Doctor Doom announcement at SDCC 2024. The studio promises special guests from across the Marvel Cinematic Universe and an exclusive look at what’s next — broadly expected to focus on Avengers: Doomsday
12:30–1:30 PM | Indigo Ballroom (simultaneous) YAGA: AMC+’s Baba Yaga Mystery Thriller Gets Its Debut Panel
AMC+’s new mystery thriller inspired by the Slavic Baba Yaga legend takes the Indigo Ballroom with stars Noah Reid (Schitt’s Creek), Clark Backo (Letterkenny), and Carrie-Anne Moss (The Matrix) joining showrunner and EP Kat Sandler, moderated by TV Guide Magazine’s Damian Holbrook
Sunday — Final Day and Dead City’s Premiere Night
Sunday closes the convention with animation, comics, and fan programming panels. The Walking Dead: Dead City Season 3 premieres on AMC and AMC+ that same evening — capping a weekend in which the franchise occupied multiple Hall H slots and a standalone premiere screening
Off-Site: Free Experiences That Don’t Require a Badge
Several major genre properties are extending into the surrounding San Diego neighborhood this year, open to anyone regardless of convention badge status
The Silo Experience at The Lot at 1st & J (450 2nd Ave) runs July 24–26, 11:00 AM–7:00 PM PT daily. The free multi-sensory installation places visitors inside the show’s underground world and is designed to draw foot traffic from the broader Gaslamp Quarter neighborhood during convention week
The Paramount+ Lodge at Happy Does (340 Fifth Ave.) runs July 22–26 and features a Port Galley display with the original U.S.S. Enterprise model provided by the Roddenberry Estate — a piece of television history on public display for the franchise’s 60th anniversary
The Star Trek Fleet Command: 60 Years of Star Trek Archives Experience at The Sinclair (643 G St.) runs July 24–26 with official archive pieces, a Holodeck VR experience, and claw machines
The Star Trek: Boldly Built activation at the Marriott Marquis (July 23–26) combines Star Trek-themed LEGO and Magic: The Gathering products in an interactive photo op experience
What Makes Hall H on Saturday the Strategic Moment of SDCC 2026
The numbers capture it plainly. Hall H seats 6,130 people. On Saturday, July 25, the room runs from 12:30 PM through 6:30 PM without clearing: Star Trek’s 60th, Apple TV+’s first Hall H appearance, and Marvel Studios’ return follow one another in sequence. A fan who arrives for the Star Trek panel at 12:30 PM and holds the seat through Marvel at 5:30 PM will see three of the most significant genre presentations of the convention’s history back-to-back
Apple TV+’s strategic significance is specific. The streamer made its first SDCC appearance in 2022 with individual series panels — Severance, For All Mankind, Foundation — and a Severance installation at the Hard Rock Hotel. In 2023 it used New York Comic Con to unveil Monarch: Legacy of Monsters with a trailer and public screening. Each year added a format. None of them claimed Hall H. Claiming Hall H in 2026 is not a scale upgrade — it is a category change. Hall H is where studios signal parity with the industry’s largest brands. It is where Peter Jackson presented The Hobbit, where Marvel announced Phase 4, where the Blade Runner panel will make its 2027 debut. The decision to occupy that room — for two hours, with five titles — positions Apple TV+ as a convention anchor, not a convention participant.
Friday presents the schedule’s most demanding logistics. Hall H opens at 10:00 AM with Blade Runner 2099 and Rings of Power, transitions through Dead City and The Vampire Lestat at midday, and continues through Lanterns, Grimm’s anniversary reunion, Spaceballs, and Pan’s Labyrinth before the doors open again. Then Room 6DE hosts the Dark Matter Season 2 late-night screening at 10:00 PM. For fans whose primary targets are Blade Runner and The Vampire Lestat — which occupy a 10:00 AM and 12:30 PM slot respectively — Friday demands arriving early, staying put, and accepting whatever comes between.
San Diego Comic-Con 2026 runs July 22–26 at the San Diego Convention Center. Hall H panels will not be live-streamed; on-site attendance is the only way to see them as they happen
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Apple TV+’s Hall H debut at SDCC 2026 mean anything beyond scheduling?
It represents a strategic shift. Apple TV+ made its SDCC debut in 2022 with individual series panels and has grown its convention presence each year since. Claiming Hall H — the 6,130-seat auditorium where studios signal major-platform status — means Apple TV+ is now competing directly for the genre audience’s attention alongside Prime Video, HBO Max, and Marvel Studios, rather than positioning itself as a premium alternative. The two-hour showcase on July 25, combining a 100% Rotten Tomatoes series with 19 Emmy nominations’ worth of another, is also the most awards-credentialed Hall H lineup the streamer has assembled.
What is the Silo Hall H panel expected to announce, and will it confirm Season Four’s air date?
The panel on Saturday, July 25, at 2:00 PM PT will include showrunner Graham Yost, Rebecca Ferguson, and several Season 3 cast members. Season 4 — the final season of the series — has already completed filming, and this Hall H appearance is considered the most likely opportunity for Apple TV+ to announce whether Season 4 will premiere in late 2026 or in 2027. No official confirmation has been made as of the schedule’s release. Attendees should expect exclusive footage, but the panel will discuss the Season 3 story in terms of what viewers have already seen, not where the “Before Times” conspiracy ultimately leads.
Which SDCC 2026 panels and experiences are free and don’t require a badge?
Three major activations are free and open to the public. The Silo Experience at The Lot at 1st & J (450 2nd Ave) runs July 24–26, 11:00 AM–7:00 PM PT. The Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4 fan screening at the Balboa Theatre on Friday, July 24 at 7:00 PM PT is RSVP-only and first-come-first-served but requires no SDCC badge. The Paramount+ Lodge at Happy Does (340 Fifth Ave.) is open daily July 22–26 and displays the original U.S.S. Enterprise model. The Star Trek Fleet Command Archives Experience at The Sinclair (643 G St.) also runs July 24–26 without a badge requirement.
Is Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season Four already out when SDCC begins?
Yes. Strange New Worlds Season 4 premieres globally on Paramount+ on July 23, 2026 — the first full day of the convention — meaning fans attending the Saturday Hall H panel or the free Friday night fan screening will have already had access to the first three weekly episodes. The panel is expected to discuss the season in progress, not as a premiere reveal
ⓒ 2026 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission
Tags:Star TrekMarvelSDCC
