San Diego Comic-Con is slated to begin July 20 but, this year, the usually star-studded event is expected to have far fewer notable faces.
Several major Hollywood players are reportedly expected to downsize their presence at the convention amid the ongoing SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) strike.
The downsized presence is expected to include major studios pulling out of or changing their panels.
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“The Writer's Guild strike, the Screen Actors Guild strike, that's basically put a pause on a lot of the name celebrities because part of the strike is, we're not going to promote this work either, and so, is there going to be a Comic Con without stars?” San Diego State University Professor of TV, Film and New Media Brian Hu asked.
Despite impact from the strikes, many Comic-Con attendees are still anticipating the big event.
“It doesn’t really change my perception of going. Like I’m in full support of the strike. I believe the actors do need to be paid more but with the strike going on I believe Comic-Con is going to go back into what it originally was — comics — you know,” Xander Valerio said.
The convention normally brings a big crowd and a lot of money to the San Diego community.
“We have sellout in all the hotels in the area. We have buyouts for large media parties, we have large events and people looking for places to eat, looking for places to shop, looking to do things after the event,” Executive Director of the Gaslamp Quarter Association Michael Trimble said.
Even if the event has fewer notable celebrities there will still be many comics and cosplay with a packed program schedule.
