30 JUNE 2024
We all bring different wish lists to Comic-Con. SDCC plays Santa to us all, handing out (or withholding) toys for gamers, anime fans, collectors, comic readers, Marvel and DC fans, creatives, and so on. But there are some things I think many of us are crossing our fingers for. Such as...
#1. Anything to revive interest in all the shows pushed out to 2025
This is a general one because it's just applicable to too much. We all have favorite TV shows that got delayed over last year's strike. It was such a bitter pill to swallow when we saw "<Show name> will return in 2025" which sounded so far away at the time. But now that some of those beloved shows are returning within 6 months, it's reasonable to think their marketing gods will dangle them under our noses and say, "remember us?"
#2. The San Diego Comic-Con Cruise
Talk about arriving in 2025. What will happen on this cruise? Who are the guests? What are the events? The website offers some of that, but we need to know more. While I am not the cruising type, I do think this looks very fun and probably solves the perennial "how do I meet people?" question that attendees ask every summer. Hopefully SDCC makes a big splash (sorry) about this.
#3. Deadpool anything
Landing right on SDCC weekend is always iffy, as the release cat is out of the bag at that point - but we should see some fun promotions and events.
I'm extremely excited for the animated Watchmen (which will keep the graphic novel's ending) but I suspect we are more likely to get Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths (also good) if DC continues their Friday night Ballroom 20 animated film tradition. Both are excellent choices, really.
#5. Beetlejuice 2
Confession: Despite being a hardcore Halloween/goth/paranormal comedy fan, I didn't see classic Beetlejuice until 2 years ago... And I was less than wowed by it. I'm excited about the sequel though because I figure Jenna Ortega, Monica Belluci, and Winona Ryder will sear the screen with their combined star power. Having a panel on this would be super fun.
#6. Lord of the Rings
"Highly anticipated" doesn't quite describe the new movie hitting later this year. At least, it's come up in literally every "so what else is coming out this year" conversation I've had. Everything about it looks tantalizing.
Remember this offsite? Let's hope for round 2. And if there is one - go as soon as you can, because it will grow unbearably long lines fast.
#9. Interview with a Vampire
I am not holding out a lot of hope that Sam Reid and Jacob Anderson will grace our SDCC stage, but I know IWTV fans are aching for that very event. We'll see!
Just like a true superhero, SDCC has an origin story - and you will hear it in documentary See You at San Diego. Per Deadline, "The See You at San Diego documentary will follow how a scrappy group of teenage fans, zinesters, illustrators, stoners, hippies, weirdoes, bookworms, and science buffs in the late 1960s joined forces with an unemployed thirtysomething comic fan to create what has now become one of the most influential pop culture events ever." To be clear, I don't think this is going to release soon but it would be interesting to get a peek at it and hear some stories from the SDCC immortals who were around at the start.
#11. Heretic
If you too are an A24 fan, you may be hoping to get a glimpse at this November release about 2 Mormon girls attempting to convert Hugh Grant. A screening would be dope on a rope, but I'd settle for an intriguing A24 panel with a few clips.
#12. Marvel
Deadline says Marvel will dominate Hall H on Friday (well, they said they'd be there; I added the "dominate" because Marvel plays second fiddle to who exactly?) The Hall H line started yesterday.
#13. Alien
This standalone installment takes place between the events of 1979 and 1986. I need an incredible offsite, a beautiful supplementary graphic novel, and maybe a plushie.
You know that in recent years, many cosplayers have angrily defended the relevance of dressing up as Brandon Lee - nay, the need to show up at Comic Cons dressed as their icon. Now, on the 30th anniversary of the Crow (yes, that's the right number), their commitment is entirely justified as the franchise gets rebooted. So I simply cannot imagine an SDCC where this doesn't launch strong promotion and a few hundred cosplayers. Right?
#15. AI
AI is a conversation happening in every creative field right now (my friends and I talked about its impact on our livelihoods for hours last night) and it's highlighting the always-fraught divide between creators and executives (or my computer slyly tried to correct it to, "executioners.") Last year at SDCC, Mike Mignola called it a "train that's going to be hard to stop" and Dave McKean shared his experiences using Midjourney and how he concluded that part of art's power is its personal genesis. I expect several panels on AI this year - from legal parameters to collaboration to career adaptation to ethics - and possibly a fistfight.
#16. Joker: Folie a Deux
In all of his iterations, Joker inspires worship, action figures, cosplayers, and sometimes, unfortunately, imitators. With the movie coming out in October, fanboys and cosplayers should be feeling inspired.
#17. Exclusives that are attainable and actually exclusive
This subject has been beaten to death, but it's still annoying to have an item marketed to us as a "Con exclusive" and then get a separate vendor email about it going live for literally everyone on the planet on the same day as the Con. It's also annoying to see exclusives get gobbled up by vendors and their friends who are already in the Exhibit Hall before we get in. And - to make it a magic 3 - it's triply annoying to have an artist exhaustively promote her items all over social media, get everyone excited, and then bring only 25 of them and be sold out in 10 minutes. I know most of this will repeat, but I'm hoping some of the more indie booths/vendors/creators will do things a little differently this year.
#18. Sandman Season 2/Dead Boy Detectives
Production has already started; will we get a panel that answers online speculation and provides some pretty visuals? And maybe an announcement that our favorite dead boy sleuths are returning?
#19. My Favorite Thing is Monsters Part 2
I remember when My Favorite Thing is Monsters came out and Jamie and Gilbert Hernandez gave Emil Ferris a shoutout during their panel. Most of the audience seemed puzzled by the mention and unfamiliar with her work. Now the book has hit massive heights of praise and popularity and Part 2 released this year. I'd love an Emil Ferris panel. Maybe she could team up with E.M. Carroll, whose A Guest in the House seems to complement her work nicely.
No doubt your list looks very different. What are you hoping for? Do you think you'll get it?
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