Even before SAG-AFTRA sent the actors on strike, San Diego Comic-Con was lacking the star power of previous years. Marvel Studios and DC Studios are skipping this year’s convention, leaving the San Diego Convention Center’s infamous Hall H vacant during long stretches of the con. In a normal year, there would be Hall H panels from start to finish across all four days of the convention. But since other major studios are avoiding Comic-Con this year as well, there just wasn’t enough to fill those gaps.
- Max Original Animation
- Paramount Pictures: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2: Symbiotic Relationships
- Peacock’s Original Comedy Series Twisted Metal
- Peacock’s The Continental: From the World of John Wick
- A Conversation with the Cast and Creator of Prime Video’s Invincible
- Justice League: Warworld
- Inside the Writers’ Room: Building a Better Future for Writers
- Futurama
- Babylon 5: The Road Home
Having said that, there are still a lot of great panels at Comic-Con that are going forward regardless of the actors’ and writers’ strikes. And to help you make your plans for SDCC 2023, we’ve assembled our picks for the 10 best San Diego Comic-Con 2023 panels. Note that we’re starting with panels on Thursday, July 20, and ending with panels on Saturday, July 22. There are panels on Sunday, July 23, but none that fall within our selections.
Max Original Animation
Time: Thursday, July 20 | 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. PT
Location: Ballroom 20
One of the things you’ll find this year is that animation doesn’t fall under WGA or SAG-AFTRA rules, so there are still a lot of animated panels at Comic-Con. Max Original Animation’s panel will feature the first look at Harley Quinn season 4, as well as the Adventure Time spinoff, Adventure Time: Fionna & Cake.
Additionally, Max will throw the spotlight on Young Love, a new animated series based on characters from Sony’s Oscar-winning short, Hair Love. And there may be a few more surprises as well.
Paramount Pictures: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
Time: Thursday, July 20 | 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. PT
Location: Hall H
Hey, look everyone, it’s a Hall H panel! You won’t see many of those this year. Paramount Pictures isn’t promising any cast members or any of the creators behind Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. But you will get to see new previews and a behind-the-scenes look at the next iteration of the TMNT.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2: Symbiotic Relationships
Time: Thursday, July 20 | 2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. PT
Location: Hall H
Since Marvel Studios is taking a skip year at Comic-Con, Sony’s panel for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is the default destination panel for gamers and comic book fans. Voice-over actors Yuri Lowenthal (Peter Parker), Nadji Jeter (Miles Morales), Laura Bailey (Mary Jane Watson), and Tony Todd (Venom) will be joined by Insomniac Games’ creative director Bryan Intihar, game director Ryan Smith, narrative director Jon Paquette, and senior art director Jacinda Chew.
Marvel Games creative director Bill Rosemann will also be on hand for new footage from the game and a tease about how the Venom symbiote will affect the lives of Peter, Miles, Mary Jane, and everyone in their orbit.
Peacock’s Original Comedy Series Twisted Metal
Time: Thursday, July 20 | 3:15 p.m. – 4:15 p.m. PT
Location: Ballroom 20
We can practically guarantee that the cast and showrunners of Twisted Metal will not be at this Comic-Con panel, due to the respective actors’ and writers’ strikes. But the good news for Comic-Con attendees is that Peacock will likely premiere the first episode of Twisted Metal here, and possibly another episode beyond that.
Peacock’s The Continental: From the World of John Wick
Time: Friday, July 21 | 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. PT
Location: Ballroom 20
To be honest, we’re a little surprised that this panel wasn’t canceled, since the stars and writers of The Continental: From the World of John Wick will not be able to make their promised appearance here. That said, there’s no better way to make it worthwhile to attendees than to show them the first episode of this miniseries on the second-biggest stage at Comic-Con.
If you’re wondering how this fits in with the John Wick movies, it follows the younger version of Ian McShane’s character, Winston, as he joins the criminal underworld in ’70s New York. For this series, Winston will be played by Colin Woodell, with Mel Gibson as a character named Cormac.
A Conversation with the Cast and Creator of Prime Video’s Invincible
Time: Friday, July 21 | 5:45 p.m. – 6:45 p.m. PT
Location: Room 6BCF
There’s a good chance that some cast members from Invincible may show up for this panel since as stated above, animation tends not to be covered by SAG-AFTRA and the WGA. Series creator Robert Kirkman will also be there, as Amazon Studios is likely to premiere the first look at Invincible season 2.
Justice League: Warworld
Time: Friday, July 21 | 9:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m. PT
Location: Ballroom 20
It’s a Comic-Con tradition for Warner Bros. Animation to premiere the latest DC animated direct-to-video movie. This year, it’s Justice League: War World. Within the film, Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman have been kidnapped and memory-wiped by an unknown adversary who puts them through the wringer. Additionally, there are appearances by more obscure DC heroes in this mix, including Jonah Hex and Warlord, who also find themselves trapped on War World.
Inside the Writers’ Room: Building a Better Future for Writers
Time: Saturday, July 22 | 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. PT
Location: Room 24ABC
This is one panel that the TV writers won’t be boycotting. That’s because this year’s panel is giving the writers a forum to explain why they’re striking, and how they want to rebuild and protect writers’ rooms in the streaming era.
This year’s panelists include Star Trek: Picard showrunner Terry Matalas, as well as Gabrielle Stanton (The Summer I Turned Pretty), Ashley E. Miller (DOTA: Dragon’s Blood), Kay Reindl (Shining Vale), Deric A. Hughes (Quantum Leap), Christopher Cantwell (Halt & Catch Fire), Anslem Richardson (The Boys), VJ Boyd (Justified), Marc Bernardin (Carnival Row), Amy Berg (Warrior Nun), and Steven Melching (Star Wars Rebels).
Futurama
Time: Saturday, July 22 | 11:00 a.m .- 11:45 a.m. PT
Location: Ballroom 20
Good news, everyone! Comic-Con attendees will be the first to see a new episode from Futurama in over 10 years. Hulu’s revival season will premiere later this month, but this will also offer fans an early look at some of the new stories that await as Futurama heads back to the future.
Babylon 5: The Road Home
Time: Saturday, July 22 | 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. PT
Location: Room 6BCF
The proposed Babylon 5 reboot series doesn’t seem to be going forward at The CW, but series creator J. Michael Straczynski was given the chance to write a new animated film, Babylon 5: The Road Home. The surviving cast members from the original series are reprising their roles, including Bruce Boxleitner as John Sheridan, Claudia Christian as Susan Ivanova, Peter Jurasik as Londo Mollari, Bill Mumy as Lennier, Tracy Scoggins as Elizabeth Lochley, and Patricia Tallman as Lyta Alexander.
This will be the world premiere of The Road Home, and there is a Q&A panel afterward with panelists to be announced.
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