The San Diego Comic-Con has gone through quite a few makeovers throughout the years. Starting as a tiny, niche convention decades prior, SDCC morphed into the premier event in the comic book industry. And with the rise of superhero films, the convention has turned into one of the biggest film events of the year, as well. Except in 2019, that seems to be changing, as almost all of the major studios are sitting this year out, including the latest one to flee, Sony.
According to Deadline, Sony is joining Universal and Warner Bros. by stepping aside and skipping this year’s San Diego Comic-Con. And like the other two big studios that won’t be present, Sony has plenty that it could promote in a couple of weeks.
The most obvious films that should be being promoted at this year’s event are “Zombieland 2: Double Tap,” “Charlie’s Angels,” and “The Grudge.” This films are set to be released in October, November, and January, respectively, and would seemingly gain the most from panels in Hall H. Alas, that’s not to be. There’s also the Blumhouse film “Fantasy Island,” which is arriving in February, but that’s just far enough away that there might not be much to market, and knowing how Blumhouse operates, they were likely going to hold off promoting the film until later this year, anyway.
But maybe the most egregious films that are missing from the comic book-focused event are Sony’s upcoming superhero offerings. Sure, ‘Spider-Man: Far From Home” is arriving next week and was never going to be part of Sony’s panel anyway, but the studio also has the Vin Diesel-starring “Bloodshot” coming out in February, and the newest Spidey spin-off film, “Morbius” arriving next July.
READ MORE: ‘Charlie’s Angels’ Trailer Says Don’t Judge These Girls By Their (Under)Cover
Both films have been in production for quite some time now and could have stolen the show at SDCC, just due to the lack of competition. And even for “Morbius,” which arrives a couple of weeks after next years convention, waiting for 2020 just isn’t an option for any of the aforementioned films.
So, why is Sony doing it? The report says that the marketing team is focusing its efforts on the launches of ‘Far From Home’ and Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.” One can’t help but wonder if this is actually a shift in priorities for studios after a lackluster SDCC last year (Marvel Studios sat the 2018 iteration out). Are studios finding that Comic-Con isn’t a necessity anymore?
READ MORE: Jared Leto Does What Jared Leto Does In Gloomy, Angst-y ‘Morbius’ First Look Image
People are assuming that Marvel Studios will, indeed, show up this year. And if that’s the case, you can expect Marvel Studios to absolutely dominate the news cycle, as there will likely be announcements and footage. Basically, all the bells and whistles the studio is known for. But even then, Marvel Studios has the upcoming D23 on the docket, which is the Disney-run event, and they may want to hold back some of the big news until then.
Long story short, this year’s SDCC is starting to feel a bit thin on the movie side of things. Let’s see if this is an anomaly or the beginning of a trend.
