Behind the Scenes Reveals Light Up Comic-Con

Comic-Con began today in San Diego, welcoming tens of thousands of fans of pop culture from across the globe. But this year, one particular presence at the convention is making longtime attendees especially giddy with excitement.

Sci-fi giant George Lucas, of “Star Wars” and “Indiana Jones” fame, will be making his first Comic-Con appearance at the convention, according to an announcement on Thursday.

Comic-Con’s connection to Lucas is nothing new, however. The pop culture extravaganza has close ties to some of Lucas’s most-loved properties, most notably Star Wars and Indiana Jones, but he had previously never made an appearance at one of the fan-geared conventions, which became some of the most iconic events for telling stories, film, and fandom.

But as the SDCC website puts it, 2024 marks “a true full-circle moment” for the franchise: “Nearly 50 years ago, Star Wars made one of its first public appearances at our convention, and had a booth that included [comic book artist] Howard Chaykin’s now legendary Star Wars poster as a promotional giveaway.” David Glanzer, SDCC’s Chief Communications and Strategy Officer, called Lucas’s appearance a true full-circle moment, paying tribute to his impact on the medium as one of the most well-known and influential storytellers, creators, and world-builders in film and visual art.

The filmmaker will join in on a special Sunday panel, which will be moderated by Queen Latifah. The panel will be all about Lucas’s upcoming Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, set to open next year in Los Angeles. Lucas will be joined by Mexican director Guillermo del Toro and Oscar-winning artist Doug Chiang, whose work has been a major inspiration in crafting the world of Star Wars over the years. Chiang has continued his work on the property over the decades, spanning multiple decades, trilogies, and phases. Attendees at the event can expect to hear about the inspiration, history, and excitement of the museum’s programming. Lucas, del Toro, and Chiang will “explore and celebrate the art of storytelling through film, comics and concept art,” and the museum is also slated to feature an archive of Lucas’s collection.

Comic-Con Through the Years

Comic-Con began in 1970 as a small event in San Diego dedicated to comic books and the fans of them. Over the years, the event has ballooned into a major media event: in recent years, Comic-Con has drawn in around 130,000 attendees each year. Fans come to the event not only for the fun of cosplaying and merchandise, but also to get some of their first looks at upcoming projects, exclusive content, panel discussions, and world premieres of Hollywood’s most highly anticipated films.

Alien and Predator World Premieres

One of the major events at the convention this year will be the world premiere of the series “Alien: Earth,” which will be a prequel to Ridley Scott’s cult classic 1979 film Alien. The new series will feature direction by Noah Hawley and will serve as a prequel to Scott’s original classic Alien film, set only a few years before the original story takes place. The Alien: Earth world premiere will take place tomorrow in the most coveted Comic-Con panel space: Hall H. The series will be available on streaming services in August.

The franchise’s continued longevity will also see a lot of love at the convention, with the long-awaited Predator: Badlands also in the spotlight. The film marks the newest reimagining of the genre’s long-lived science fiction title. As the name implies, for the first time, the iconic Predator character will find himself in a flip situation: as the hunted, rather than the hunter. Predator: Badlands director Dan Trachtenberg will be on the panel alongside some of the film’s actors, Elle Fanning, and Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi, who plays the alien known as Dek.

Marvel Is Dialing It Back, But Sci-Fi Won’t Let Fans Down

There are a couple of notable absences at the 2024 convention, including Marvel Studios, one of the biggest major players in Hollywood. Marvel has decided this year to scale back its presence at the Comic-Con event, skipping a traditional Hall H presentation this year, according to Variety, due to changes with the release of its most recent Avengers installment, which is likely to be next year’s Endgame 5. While Marvel’s situation meant that it had some “excruciating logistics” getting to Comic-Con from the studio’s London production site, that is not the case for every franchise, as sci-fi seems ready to take up the slack.

One way or another, Comic-Con’s fans won’t be left wanting for superhero content: the biggest names in genre storytelling will be stepping in to fill the gap.

Ryan Gosling, Peacemaker, and More Major Guests

Ryan Gosling is also one of the major names that Comic-Con fans are looking forward to this year: in theaters next year will be the new film Project Hail Mary. The project is an adaptation of the book of the same name, by Andy Weir, who was also behind the runaway success of The Martian. For Project Hail Mary, Gosling will take on the role of former schoolteacher Ryland Grace, who wakes up alone in his bed aboard a spaceship, with amnesia but an inkling that he may be the last hope for the survival of the human race. The star will appear alongside the film’s directors, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, on Saturday’s panel.

Fans of the DC Comics universe can also look forward to updates on Peacemaker season 2: the creator James Gunn, who is taking on the task of rebooting DC’s cinema universe, most recently with the Superman: Superman Heavy Metal film, will be joined by the rest of the Peacemaker cast to present behind-the-scenes footage and previews of the second season of the hit series.

A Celebration of Costumes and Culture

While headlines and panel schedules get a lot of the press attention for the Comic-Con event, for a lot of the fans who attend, it’s still first and foremost about celebrating culture and being a part of a fandom community. You will find thousands of attendees to the Comic-Con convention flooding the space decked out in costumes of all types and varieties, princesses and fighters, fantastical aliens, and spandex superheroes. Comic-Con runs through Sunday, July 27.

Whether attendees are there to see George Lucas for the first time at Comic-Con, get their first looks at an alien-invaded Earth, or learn a little bit more about their favorite comic properties and cosplay with their friends, 2024 is already a year to remember.