The San Diego Comic Con has become quite the interesting beast. I first attended the convention back in 2006, a time when you could actually cover the convention as a member of the press. You didn’t have to wait in long lines just to sit in a giant convention hall and actually leave said convention hall to participate in interviews and then return to check out more teaser footage.
The last time I attended Comic Con was back in 2009, when I had to get up around 4 AM to wait in line with a bunch of teen girls lining up to see the The Twilight Saga: New Moon panel just so I can see the Avatar footage. I felt defeated. It was a low point in my career here at RopeofSilicon and I haven’t been back since. However, this isn’t to say Comic Con doesn’t have its place in this industry, but some information from Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn paints a very interesting picture.
During a Q&A session on Facebook (via JoBlo), Gunn was asked if he’d be at Comic Con as he is working on Guardians of the Galaxy 2, to which he replied, “I’m not sure. Marvel isn’t going so I’m not sure I will either.”
Record scratch! What, Marvel isn’t going to something called Comic Con? The largest comic convention in the world? Shocked? I’m not, not too all that much. Marvel will still likely have a presence at the convention, but I assume Gunn is saying Marvel won’t hold a panel, opting instead to present at Disney’s bi-annual D23 convention in August.
The more you think about it, this actually makes sense, considering Comic Con is pretty much just a marketing convention and Marvel Studios has done a wonderful job marketing their movies all on their own. Was there anyone that didn’t know about Ant-Man and at that point you’re just marketing to the converted, you need to convince everyone else on that title.
So why not wait until August to reveal goodies from the likes of Captain America: Civil War (most likely with a Spider-Man tease), Doctor Strange, Guardians of the Galaxy 2 and Thor: Ragnarok?
I have to assume, however, Warner Bros. and DC won’t miss the chance to try and boost their profile with footage from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Shazam and Suicide Squad.
All that said, if there’s one thing Marvel has proven, love ’em or hate ’em, they know how to manage their brand and until they falter I can’t really question any of their decisions. You?
