In past years, Marvel’s Hall H panel was the highlight of San Diego Comic-Con. Just last year, Marvel pulled back the curtain on The Multiverse Saga at SDCC, revealing new trailers, release dates, and more for Phases 5 and 6. We were expecting another exciting appearance this year, but TheWrap now reports that Marvel Studios is skipping Hall H in 2023.
As Umberto Gonzalez explains in his report, the ongoing WGA strike is impacting many studios, including Marvel. Several Marvel Studios projects, such as Blade, Daredevil, Thunderbolts, and Wonder Man, have indefinitely paused production due to the strike.
On top of that, SAG-AFTRA (the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) could join the WGA with a strike of its own once its contract with Hollywood studios expires on June 30. This would have all but forced Marvel to cancel any big plans for Comic-Con anyway, as none of the actors would have shown up.
Although Gonzalez claims Marvel will “have a presence on the convention floor,” we shouldn’t be expecting any significant announcements. Of course, there’s still a chance we’ll get a new trailer or two the week of San Diego Comic-Con, even without a panel.
Given the state of the MCU, Marvel really could have used the boost that a Hall H panel usually provides. Fans are geared up for a slew of trailers and announcements, but Marvel Studios may not have much news to share at the moment. The studio would be much better served to wait for the strike (or strikes) to resolve before attempting to nail down a new schedule in the wake of the recent MCU release date shakeup that Disney announced last week.
Strike or no strike, the next time we hear from Marvel Studios, we want to see a steady hand on the tiller guiding us through the increasingly murky Multiverse Saga.
