Comic-Con 2025 Highlights Include Lucas, Alien, and More

Comic-Con opened its doors this morning to tens of thousands of pop culture enthusiasts from around the world. This year is special for an added historic reason, however: sci-fi legend George Lucas will be present, for the first time at the Convention.

San Diego Comic-Con may not always be known for its ties to filmmakers, but both the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises are closely tied to the start of the SDCC. As such, it may come as a surprise to some fans that he has not set foot in San Diego for the festival since its creation in 1970.

Celebrity guests are no strangers to Comic-Con, but George Lucas is without a doubt one of the bigger names to appear, and his presence at the event has fans extremely excited. Lucas will be making a panel on Sunday, moderated by Queen Latifah, alongside Mexican film director Guillermo del Toro and concept artist Doug Chiang, both of whom have worked closely with him and are known for their work in the Star Wars universe. Oscar-winning Chiang’s career designing models, concept art, and special effects spans nearly four decades of the franchise.

The panel will be focused on Lucas’s Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, which will open in Los Angeles next year. “Narrative art” is the museum’s focus on film, comics, and concept art that build and share illustrated narratives and stories.

Lucas’s fandom archive, which will also be on display in the museum, includes rare comic books, magazines, art, and more. He is a prominent figure in both media who will be at the center of this year’s Comic-Con.

Comic-Con Is Bigger Than Ever

Comic-Con has come a long way since its small beginnings in 1970, where a small group of comic book fans came together to celebrate their fandom. Since then, SDCC has grown in scope and reach to its current capacity. This year’s event is expecting roughly 130,000 attendees over four days.

Comic-Con serves as a one-stop shop for everything pop culture, from cosplay to collectibles and every exclusive behind-the-scenes tidbit in between. Attendees will also have the opportunity to get first looks at trailers and press junkets from major projects in Hollywood.

Aliens, Predators, and War from Outer Space

The marquee event for Sunday will be the world premiere of the series Alien: Earth. The show will be a prequel series to the franchise based on Ridley Scott’s 1979 science fiction horror film Alien. Set only a few years before the events of the first film, the ten-episode series is written and directed by Noah Hawley (Legion) and will stream on a service in August.

The new series Alien: Earth is just one of many from the cinematic sci-fi franchise to be shown in Hall H. Hawley and a panel of cast members are set to make an appearance on the Comic-Con stage in Hall H to present the premiere and provide a first look at the new series.

The stage will also see the return of the Predator franchise with the presentation of a new film, Predator: Badlands. Directed by Dan Trachtenberg, who has rebooted the franchise with 2022’s Prey, the new chapter in the sci-fi franchise features a twist: the Predator is the one that gets hunted.

Fans will also get the first look at Predator: Badlands and catch a panel with director Dan Trachtenberg and its cast members Elle Fanning and Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi, who stars as the alien Dek.

Marvel Studios Less Present, Sci-Fi Fills the Gaps

Marvel Studios has announced that it will be less involved in this year’s festivities at SDCC. In a statement, Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige explained that the company is unable to present in Hall H or show any footage from their upcoming Avengers film. Due to the nature of their shooting window in the UK, Marvel decided to pull back its usual programming for this year’s Comic-Con, according to Variety.

Sci-fi mainstays have been excited to pick up the slack, however, as Hall H programming and big announcements have filled the void.

Meet Your (Space) Teacher

Fans of The Martian author Andy Weir can also look forward to a Comic-Con panel on the stage for Project Hail Mary. The film, also starring Rob Morean, is scheduled for theatrical release next year. Project Hail Mary is Weir’s follow-up to his hit book and 2020 film The Martian. Based on Weir’s novel of the same name, it follows protagonist and former schoolteacher Ryan Grace (Ryan Gosling). Grace wakes up in space alone, with no memory of how he got there, to find that he is the last hope of humanity.

Helmed by directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (Spider-Verse trilogy), Gosling will appear alongside the duo at Saturday’s panel in Hall H to present footage for the upcoming film.

Peacemaker also has a second season to look forward to. Peacemaker creator and DC Cinematic Universe veteran James Gunn has quickly risen through the ranks to become the main man in charge of the company’s efforts to reboot its feature roster. Gunn, who will be joined by the Peacemaker cast for the Comic-Con panel, is also currently at the helm of the upcoming Superman film.

Fans can catch a first look at the second season of Peacemaker as well as catch behind-the-scenes footage and new previews of the animated universe superhero at this year’s Comic-Con.

A Festival of Costumes and Community

Comic-Con has always been and will always be a fan-focused convention. Comic lore, collectibles, cosplay, and even live entertainment and panels from creators and actors drive the heart of the annual Comic-Con celebration. As you can expect, thousands of guests will be walking the halls dressed in their favorite characters, be it princess, warrior, alien, or other hero.

The Comic-Con 2022 event continues through Sunday, July 27.