On the eve of San Diego Comic Con 2024, the penultimate event for con and pop culture, I thought I’d share what I’m most looking forward to. Yes, I know – everyone wants to see how Marvel is going to incorporate X-Men into the MCU, et cetera. I’m sticking to what I most want to see for this article. I’m sure AI can write you an article driven by a more consensus set of anticipated news and events.

First of all, I’m attending alone this year. My family has competing plans and frankly, forgot about the SDCC dates. It’s only my second time attending the last 5 years, mostly because of the pandemic, but I also skipped last year because of the writers/actors strikes that disrupted the show. I have no Press or Professional badge this year, e.g. no special access. And, keeping my streak alive ever since SDCC started the Exclusives portal, I got shut out of any poster signings and exclusives, as well as any offsite activations. In a nutshell, I generally have no agenda. Will I join the line for Hall H? We’ll see but I have not done it in the past and it probably will only happen if I meet folks that want to form a line group.

For some context, I have loved going to SDCC over the years. I’m not a gamer but pretty much everything else appeals to me. I love television and film, comic book art, toys and comics that drive my inner nostalgia. My first SDCC was 2009 and the first several years attending are probably experiences that will be impossible to repeat given the changes to the show, the overall evolution of the entertainment industry and social media, and just how much bigger SDCC is now. In 2009, the first movie poster(s) I got signed were for the movie ‘Watchmen’ and all I had to do was go to an Exhibitor booth (I forgot which toy manufacturer) and make a small purchase. The signings (actually for two posters) happened right on the show floor. A couple of years later, most major television and movie signings had evolved to be part of a line process in which you could line up (potentially all night like Hall H) and once you made it to the front of the line, you could pick from the shows or movies that were left. Warner Brothers/The CW were long time big providers of signings so the CW DC slate always provided lots of options, even if you weren’t one of the first in line. If you were lucky over the years, you could have attended star-filled signings such as ‘Edge of Tomorrow’, ‘Fantastic Beasts’, ‘Gravity’, ‘Ready Player One’ and ‘Game of Thrones’. Other popular signings from the likes of Marvel and ‘The Walking Dead’ had other processes often requiring you to line up first thing in the morning and participate in a lottery to win the lucky wristband. I always try for these but usually can’t even get into the line early enough to draw. This is where the complaints often start as exhibitors and professionals who have early floor access usually fill those lines before the regular attendees possibly can.

Anyway, I’m sure I’ll revisit the topic of signings again but let me get back on topic. Here’s what I’m most excited about:

1. The Marvel Hall H panel – I don’t think I’ll be able to get into Hall H but will definitely be watching the livestream. Let’s face it, it’s been a bad couple of years for Marvel. Some of it is Marvel’s fault. A lot of it is the result of how the theater industry has taken a beating since the pandemic. But Marvel panels have always been the biggest thing at SDCC and I’m not buying that there is superhero fatigue, just fatigue of bad movies. Here’s what I most want to see:
   • Surprises – There are always lots of rumors of new projects, actors getting cast, etc. and nothing is more fun than when a major cast announcement happens on stage. And with the Russo’s returning to the Avengers projects, perhaps Marvel is willing to realize they need to return to what made them successful. Could we see an appearance from a Chris Evans, RDJ or Scarlett Johannson signaling, at minimum, a cameo in an upcoming project. Or could any of today’s big A-listers like Glen Powell, Sydney Sweeney, Timothy Chalamet, etc. make an entry into the MCU?
   • ‘Captain America: Brave New World’ – The last trailer looks amazing and very much gives a ‘Winter Soldier’ vibe. Can a Cap movie be successful without Evans? I think so and I sure hope BNW revives the MCU with a film that is grounded in kick-ass action and true character development.
   • ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ – The Netflix show may still be the most popular of all the Marvel Netflix and Disney + shows. The production of this show seems like it was quite troubled with delays and creator swaps but hopefully the results pay off one of the best comic book arcs in Daredevil lore. Amongst all the cast announcements and returns from the Netflix show, what we haven’t learned is whether Elektra makes an appearance in the series, and if so, who will play her. Elodie Yung was amazing in the Netflix series but she’s busy cleaning at the moment.
   • More or less the ned of the multi-verse – We may need it from time to time to bring back a character we love or to introduce X-Men and parallel Spideys. But enough already!
2. ‘The Penguin’ and HBO – HBO used to be a big deal at SDCC. And they may still be with SDCC-friendly titles like ‘House of the Dragon’ and ‘The Last of Us’. But the show I’m most excited about is ‘The Penguin’ and I don’t really know why. Did I ever need a show about Penguin? Is a Batman series with probably no, or very little Batman worth watching? Yet, somehow nothing HBO has on their slate is more interesting to me than this. Lost in the James Gunn reboot of the DCU is just how good Matt Reeves’ ‘The Batman’ was, so the executives at DC were smart enough to leave good alone and carve out this nice little space for the Reeves’ universe. And, let’s not forget how good Colin Farrell can be.
3. Cosplay in 2024 – Nothing beats SDCC for Cosplay where you have legions of fans of any single genre/title that can fill whole ballrooms. And SDCC is a pretty good pulse of where pop culture is today. I expect some new costumes from ‘The Acolyte’ and ‘Fallout’ this year. And with the MCU and DCU pretty quiet right now, I’m expecting anime and video game cosplayers to be out in bigger numbers like never before.
4. ‘Alien Romulus’ – With a Hall H panel, I’m really curious what will be shown to get fans excited. Are you excited about the clips and trailers to date? Seems like there is more or less a return to the horror genre alah the original ‘Alien’ versus the more philosophical heavy storylines of ‘Prometheus’ and ‘Covenant’. Maybe that’s what the franchise needs.
5. Other surprises? Will we get any unannounced surprises? Lady Gaga? All quiet on the Star Wars front? Could Brad Pitt and ‘F1’ make an appearance? Doesn’t Francis Ford Coppola’s ‘Megalopolis’ seem perfect for a SDCC appearance?

What are you most looking for? I’ll be sure to report daily updates on here and our social accounts!