At this point, it’s beginning to look like the summer is going to be greatly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, as regulations on travel and social gatherings don’t seem to be ending anytime soon. So, with that in mind, we’ve seen quite a few events that were expected to happen this summer either get canceled or postponed, with the Cannes Film Festival moving from Spring to maybe June but still likely going to face cancellation. And for fans of certain types of film and TV series, all eyes are on San Diego Comic-Con to see if that event will still happen.
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According to a new statement from the SDCC officials, it appears that they’re still planning on hosting the event this year, although it’s unclear if that will actually be an option.
“To our amazing Comic-Con and WonderCon fans: We understand how difficult the current climate has been for all of us and appreciate your continued support through these trying times,” read the statement. “No one is as hopeful as we are that we will be able to celebrate #SDCC2020 together come July.”
The statement continued, “As we continue to monitor the situation with local authorities, we will post updates on our social channels! Until then, remember: ‘A hero is an ordinary individual who finds strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.’ — Christopher Reeve”
At this point, there aren’t many optimistic people that believe that the world will return to relative normalcy by July. In fact, even if social distancing guidelines and regulations are weakened by then, the idea that SDCC will be able to house hundreds of thousands of people in a convention center over a four-day period seems a bit silly. That being said, there’s really no other option for the event, and optimism is probably the best idea, at this point.
Every year, SDCC is one of the biggest events for the film and TV industry, primarily for studios with genre fare and superhero films. This year was also expected to be one of the biggest to date, with Marvel likely premiering some “Eternals” and ‘Shang-Chi’ footage, among other things. However, with production halted on most films and TV series, other projects being delayed, and the state of the film/TV industry as it is currently, even if SDCC holds an event in July, what will people promote?
So, for now, Comic-Con does seem to be going forward with its July 23 start date. We’ll just have to see if that pans out or not.