(L-R): Pan’s Labyrinth director Guillermo del Toro and star Doug Jones during a July 24 Hall H panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2026 to celebrate the Oct. 9 20th anniversary re-release of the film.
SAN DIEGO — At first glance, the 2026 edition of San Diego Comic-Con International, running July 22-26 throughout downtown San Diego, had a bit of a different feel to it.
While the interactive fan experiences surrounding the immediate vicinity of the San Diego Convention Center weren’t as prominent this year, entertainment companies still made sure convention guests had plenty to see and do.
Between the Hall H reveals, expansive promotional events and massive crowds (estimated at more than 135,000 credentialed guests), Comic-Con continues to be driven by the presence of big stars and fueled by the popularity of major franchises.
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The Marvel Studios’ panel July 25 featured a huge showcase from president and producer Kevin Feige, who moderated a panel for the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday with Robert Downey Jr. and 16 cast members. The film arrives in theaters Dec. 18. Among those on stage were directors Anthony and Joe Russo, and cast members Chris Evans, Pedro Pascal, Paul Rudd, Anthony Mackie, Simu Liu, James Marsden, David Harbour, Letitia Wright, Lewis Pullman, Kelsey Grammer, Danny Ramirez, Winston Duke, Hannah John-Kamen, Rebecca Romijn, Tenoch Huerta Mejia and Hayley Atwell.
The audience was given an exclusive preview of the film, and each attendee was given a Doctor Doom mask and cloak to wear. And Ryan Reynolds crashed the panel dressed in a gray Deadpool costume to jokingly beg for a role in the film.
Later during the panel, Jon Bernthal discussed his role as The Punisher in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, the fourth Tom Holland “Spider-Man” film, releasing July 31 from Sony Pictures.
In addition, Marvel announced a new Ghost Rider film to star Ryan Gosling and be directed by Shawn Levy for release in 2028. And Ryan Coogler is returning to write and direct the third installment of his “Black Panther” trilogy, with David Jonsson playing the new Black Panther. The film is slated for release Dec. 15, 2028.
The Marvel panel was unfortunately at the center of a controversy that emerged over Comic-Con’s Hall H line policy, as hundreds of fans who had waited in line for hours to receive bracelets that supposedly guaranteed admission to the panel were denied entry into the 6,500-capacity room due to it being full. Despite early speculation about the potential for counterfeit bracelets, Comic-Con attributed the incident to people who viewed earlier panels in Hall H not clearing out (once guests enter the room, they are allowed to stay until the end of the programming day). Despite the capacity limits, many of the affected fans were still allowed in the room for standing-room viewing of the panel.
This led to discussions about San Diego Comic-Con outgrowing the convention center, though organizers have committed to staying in the city until at least 2030. Among the social media firestorm over the incident, some suggested that panels too big for even Hall H should be held at nearby 40,000-seat Petco Park, the baseball stadium that serves as home to the San Diego Padres (who are always scheduled for road trips during Comic-Con, freeing up the facility).
In another Hall H panel July 25, cast members from various “Star Trek” shows gathered to celebrate the franchise’s 60th anniversary. Following an introduction by Eugene “Rod” Roddenberry, son of “Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry, the discussion was joined by George Takei (the original “Star Trek” series), Michael Dorn (“Star Trek: The Next Generation), Robert Picardo (“Star Trek: Voyager” and “Star Trek: Starfleet Academy”), Cirroc Lofton (“Star Trek: Deep Space Nine”, Dominic Keating (“Star Trek: Enterprise”), Doug Jones (“Star Trek: Discovery”), Michelle Hurd (“Star Trek: Picard”), Jerry O’connell (“Star Trek: Lower Decks”), Christina Chong (“Star Trek: Strange New Worlds”) and Karim Diané (“Star Trek: Starfleet Academy”).
This was followed by a look at “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” season four, which premiered on Paramount+ July 23. Stars Anson Mount, Rebecca Romijn, Ethan Peck, Christina Chong, Celia Rose Gooding, Melissa Nadsman, Henry Alonso Myers and Alex Kurtzman to chat about what audiences can expect from the new season
The night before, July 24, “Star Trek” fans were treated to a screening of the first two episodes of season four of “Strange New Worlds” at the Balboa Theatre in downtown San Diego.
“Star Trek” was also celebrated throughout the weekend with a captain’s chair photo opp in conjunction with a new “Magic the Gathering” “Star Trek” edition of the card game at the Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina, and a “Star Trek” bar at Paramount+ The Lodge in the Gaslamp Quarter of downtown San Diego.
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The July 24 Hall H panel for Amazon MGM Studios’ Spaceballs: The New One touted the sequel with a message from Mel Brooks and a discussion moderated by Kevin Smith featuring stars Daphne Zuniga, Keke Palmer, Lewis Pullman and Josh Gad, director Josh Greenbaum, and screenwriters Dan Hernandez and Benji Samit. As the crew arrived on stage, Spaceballs troopers combed the audience looking for Dark Helmet impersonators, only to uncover Rick Moranis hiding among the fans. Moranis, reprising his role from the original film after a long hiatus from acting to focus on his family, then joined the group onstage. The film is slated for an April 2027 release.
HBO Max was on hand in San Diego to promote two of its newest shows — “Lanterns” and “Stuart Fails to Save the Universe” — with two activations in the Gaslamp Quarter that immersed fans in the story. “Lanterns Training Headquarters” recruited attendees into the Green Lantern Corps, presenting those who proved their fearlessness with a replica Green Lantern ring. For “Stuart Fails,” HBO Max opened “The Comic Center of Pasadena,” giving fans of “The Big Bang Theory” a chance to visit Stuart’s comic book store from the show and attempt to save the universe from a device that is ripping reality apart.
Beyond the activations, HBO Max also presented Hall H panels for both shows. The July 23 “Stuart Fails” panel treated attendees to an advance screening and conversation featuring creators Chuck Lorre, Zak Penn and Bill Prady alongside series stars Kevin Sussman, Lauren Lapkus, John Ross Bowie, and Brian Posehn. The series premiered later that night.
The “Lanterns” panel July 24 offered an exclusive first look at the series, which premieres Aug. 16 on HBO and Max, and never-before-seen footage. Cast members Kyle Chandler, Aaron Pierre, Garret Dillahunt and Poorna Jagannathan, alongside creators and writers Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof and Tom King, also stopped by the “Lanterns Training Headquarters” to take on the challenge themselves.
Director Guillermo del Toro was on hand to promote Cineverse’s 20th anniversary re-release of Pan’s Labyrinth, which returns to theaters on his birthday, Oct. 9, with new 3D and 4K conversions. He discussed the film at a July 24 Hall H panel alongside cast members Ivana Baquero and Doug Jones, and Oscar-winning cinematographer Guillermo Navarro.
In discussing the film’s 3D conversion, del Toro said he was determined not to take any shortcuts, and he was stunned by the result.
“I said, let’s see, I think we can make it so that it’s expressively powerful so the real world is a little flatter and the fantasy world has a huge depth,” del Toro said. “So thematically it will add to the movie. I was honestly not expecting how it was going to affect me seeing it. It’s incredible. It really, really changes”
The director also decried the use of artificial intelligence in filmmaking.
“Since we’re paying, honestly, I said absolutely no goddamn AI,” he said. “It’s much more expensive. I don’t care. … What we’re protecting is the beauty and the redeeming power of art. And it’s not about who gets the job. It’s about we are protecting a lineage of art. If we cut a generation of people from learning their craft, you’re cutting the rest of the history of that medium away from them.”
