Marvel Skipping San Diego Comic-Con Hall H One Year After Triumphant Return

Marvel Studios reportedly won’t be heading to San Diego Comic Con’s Hall H this year.

According to The Wrap, the studio won’t hold a presentation at the prestigious Hall H despite its rather excellent return last year.

It’s thought that the ongoing WGA writers’ strike is making it difficult for Marvel to plan ahead, with projects such as Blade, Thunderbolts, Daredevil: Born Again, and Wonder Man currently on hold.

Despite skipping Hall H, it’s reported that Marvel will still have a presence on the convention floor.

“The writer’s strike along with a potential strike by SAG-AFTRA are making it tough for studios to show up to the annual convention without product and performers to promote their wares,” says The Wrap.

That includes Universal and HBO, who will also reportedly sit this one out.

The Screen Actors Guild recently voted to authorize a strike if a fair deal isn’t reached by June 30, and this could impact Marvel’s productions even further if a strike does go ahead. After all, it’s not just filming that would cease – actors would be unable to do any promotional work for their film or TV projects as part of the industrial action.

San Diego Comic-Con is due to take place on July 21 – well into a possible strike period.

San Diego Comic-Con 2022 Revealed Phase 5 and 6 Plans

Still, Marvel’s decision to skip Hall H comes as a bit of a surprise to fans – after all, last year’s panel proved to be a massive hit, with announcements spanning three phases of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Marvel revealed that Phase 4 would end with She-Hulk and Black Panther Wakanda Forever. Then, the studio unveiled its full Phase 5 plans, with Quantumania leading the way. Phase 6 was announced as well, completing the Multiverse Saga with Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars.

Unfortunately, Marvel’s existing film plans may also be in jeopardy.

Phases 5 and 6 of the MCU are clearly building on the threads laid in Loki and Quantumania, with Kang proving to be the new Thanos. However, the arrest of star Jonathan Majors has cast doubt on what Marvel will do next.

After appearing in court for the first time, Jonathan Majors will go to trial on August 3 on domestic violence charges. Majors is expected to appear in Loki Season 2 and was lined up to play a major part in the future of the MCU. Disney and Marvel have yet to comment on the allegations.

All in all, it’s a turbulent time for Marvel Studios, so it’s perhaps unsurprising to see them take a step back from Hall H this year.

Want to read more about Marvel? Check out why Jack Kirby’s family has issues with a recent Stan Lee documentary as well as  Sony’s two untitled Marvel movies for 2024 and 2025.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.