For a while there it looked like San Diego Comic-Con's Hall H was going to be a barren wasteland. No Warner Bros., no Sony, Fox has been engulfed by the Disney machine...what were we going to get that would get the fanboys and fangirls all riled up? Fortunately, Marvel Studios came to the rescue confirming their return after taking a break last year. Now, their panel has been confirmed and it looks to be the highlight of the week.
The Marvel Studios panel has been confirmed for Hall H at its usual time of Saturday, July 20th from 5:15pm-6:45pm PST. That's 90 minutes of what we expect will be the first true reveal of Marvel's Phase 4 plan. Here's the panel description:
"Marvel Studios president and producer Kevin Feige and surprise panelists provide an inside look at the ever-expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe."
"Surprise panelists"? Hmmmm...what does that mean? Maybe Angelina Jolie comes out and confirms her role in The Eternals? The pop for that would be huge.
So what can we expect? Honestly? I've got no idea, and neither do you. We have an idea of what Marvel has coming up, but how much of that is ready to even be talked about is unclear. That said, we will probably get an update on Black Widow which is shooting now, and hopefully Scarlett Johannson and director Chloe Zhao can be in attendance, or possibly send a video from set.
We could hear more about other titles in the works such as Shang-Chi and The Eternals, but I think we all want to learn about Guardians of the Galaxy 3, Black Panther 2, and Doctor Strange 2 which Marvel have been really quiet about.
If there's one thing I've come to appreciate about the Marvel panels it's the giant board laying out the complete upcoming release date schedule and that's what I'm hoping for most. None of the films they could talk about have confirmed dates but I'm expecting that to change.
Undoubtedly, some fan will step up to the mic and ask about the X-Men and Fantastic Four, but I'm doubtful Kevin Feige will give much of an answer beyond "We're talking about that now". Perhaps he'll have something to add about New Mutants, though? I wouldn't be surprised if the cast of Spider-Man: Far from Home comes out for a victory lap.
If you're planning on coming to Comic-Con and you want to attend this panel, plan on being in line very early on Friday. Not kidding. Pack a lunch. And dinner. And maybe wear a diaper. It's going to be a tough stretch. There's nothing I hate hearing more than someone who comes to Comic-Con for a particular event in Hall H and isn't prepared for when they need to start lining up.
