Movies

Warner Bros. Won't Have A Hall H Panel At Comic-Con, But 'IT Chapter Two' Is Coming To ScareDiego

Warner Bros in Hall H
By Chris Evangelista/

Summer is almost here, which means San Diego Comic-Con is right around the corner. And this year's Comic-Con has a surprise in store. Or rather, not in store: Warner Bros. won't be bringing anything to the fabled Hall H this year. The studio could've easily had panels relating to Wonder Woman 1984, Joker and even Matt Reeves's The Batman. Instead, they're sitting this one out. In fact, the only WB movie to have any sort of representation at SDCC in 2019 will be It Chapter Two.

If you were expecting some sort of DC superhero related goodness at Comic-Con this year, sorry to disappoint.

As you can see above, the only major panel for the studio will be It Chapter Two at ScareDiego, which is an opening night event devoted to horror films. You can expect to see new It 2 footage if you're there, but don't be surprised if it doesn't end up online afterward.

I attended Comic-Con last year, but won't be going back this year, because I was not a fan. That said, I'm kicking myself now, because It Chapter Two is one of my most anticipated movies of the year. Oh well, I'll have to live vicariously through my coworkers.

The big news here, though, is that WB is going to avoid bringing any of their DC films to the convention. Matt Reeves's The Batman starring Robert Pattinson hasn't started filming yet, but Warners could've possibly put together something for SDCC. And then there are films like Wonder Woman 1984 and Joker, both of which have already filmed and could've easily provided new footage for attendees. Ditto Birds of Prey. And then there are the other big titles: Doctor Sleep, Dune, Godzilla vs. Kong. The list goes on and on. Warners hasn't skipped Hall H in 20 years, so why would they do so now – especially when they have an impressive line-up?

For one thing, big studios are starting to realize they might not need SDCC anymore. Disney has their own in-house conventions, where they can control everything themselves. As a result, Star Wars had no presence at SDCC last year. And when the end of Game of Thrones was still on the horizon, HBO declined to bring a panel for that show to the 2018 con. Attendance has begun to decline ever-so-slightly, primarily because local Comic-Cons have began to grow. A few years ago, studios felt like SDCC was the only game in town to market their big properties. Now, it's dawned on them there are other ways to get the message out.

San Diego Comic-Con runs from July 18, 2019 through July 21, 2019.

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