First Look: Alien: Earth Premieres at Comic-Con

Comic-Con has made its official start in San Diego today, welcoming tens of thousands of pop culture aficionados from across the globe, and, for longtime attendees, one special guest, in particular, has been making headlines.

Sci-fi and film icon George Lucas, whose work has been historically tied to Comic-Con’s parent organization, will make an appearance at the annual pop-culture extravaganza for the first time this year.

Comic-Con has long had historical significance in the telling of sci-fi epics from Lucas’ long-time production company, Lucasfilm. Lucas, the legendary creator of Star Wars and Indiana Jones, has had an interesting relationship with the convention over the years.

Comic-Con and Lucasfilm first shared a connection back in 1970, the same year that the small Comic-Con was launched for the first time. Lucasfilm, at the time, was an emerging brand with the filmmaker ready to revolutionize sci-fi with his Star Wars saga and Lucasfilm’s first public appearance at the convention, roughly 53 years ago, featured a booth in Hall A with Howard Chaykin’s then-famous Star Wars poster that was given as a promotional item to guests who attended the panel. Glanzer later added in the release that, “Attending Comic-Con is a true full-circle moment for George, one more testament to his enduring impact on story-driven world-building and visual imagination.”

Lucasfilm CEO and Lucas family member, Kiri Hart, and Lucasfilm president of archives, Todd Yellin, will also be in attendance to take part in one of Sunday’s panels in a presentation hosted by Queen Latifah. According to Comic-Con’s press release, Lucas, Hart, Yellin, and Mexican director Guillermo del Toro (The Shape of Water), along with Academy Award-winning artist Doug Chiang (Star Wars), will be joining the Queen on the main stage to discuss “the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, which is set to open in Los Angeles next year.”

Sunday’s featured panel at Comic-Con will provide an “exclusive preview” of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art and an “up-close look” at the museum’s collection and the role Lucas, Chiang, del Toro, and Hart will play in “honoring illustrated storytelling” through art, film, and comic books. The museum will also feature a comprehensive archive of Lucas’s collection.

Comic-Con Has Come a Long Way Since 1970

Comic-Con was founded in 1970 in San Diego as a small convention that catered to comic book fans and geeks. It has since ballooned into an institution of pop culture; today, the four-day affair nets about 130,000 attendees each year.

Comic-Con is known for its cosplay, exclusive swag, and opportunities to see major panel discussions, movie and TV show sneak peeks, and world premieres from some of the most notable Hollywood productions.

Alien Universe Is Coming Back to Earth, First Look at ‘Alien: Earth’ at Comic-Con

Alien franchise is returning to Comic-Con with the introduction of its latest series premiere, “Alien: Earth.” The new series is a prequel to Ridley Scott’s 1979 cult-classic sci-fi horror, Alien.

The upcoming series, executive produced and written by Noah Hawley (Legion, Fargo), explores the Alien universe in greater detail and takes place a few years before the events of Scott’s original Alien film. Set to premiere in Hall H, the convention’s premiere theater, the series will also stream on streaming services later in August.

Predator: Badlands’ First Look and More, Including Possible Sequel

Fans of the cult-classic sci-fi series, Predator, will have much to look forward to this year, as a new movie in the franchise, “Predator: Badlands,” will also be making its world premiere at Comic-Con’s first show in Hall H.

The new film is a reboot of the Predator series, but this time, the tables are turned as the Predator is the one being hunted in this story.

Directed by 2022’s surprise hit, Prey’s Dan Trachtenberg, Fanning and the cast will be at the screening’s panel, where Trachtenberg will give fans a hint into what we can expect from the Predator’s next appearance.

Marvel Studios Pulls Back on Comic-Con 2023 Appearance, Sci-Fi Fills the Void

Marvel Studios, which has hosted at Hall H in recent years, will not have a “major presence” this time around, Variety reported in its story on the studio’s changing relationship with the event this year.

Marvel’s appearance at this year’s Comic-Con was expected to center on the studio’s follow-up to Avengers: Endgame, a new “Avengers” movie, but delays in the production phase of the film, mostly because of extended filming in the U.K., have made it difficult for Marvel to show up at Comic-Con, so they decided to pull back on appearances at this year’s event.

With Marvel seemingly out of the spotlight, Comic-Con 2023 has plenty of sci-fi franchise favorites to take its place at Hall H, so Marvel Studios fans should still have plenty to enjoy during the convention.

Ryan Gosling, Peacemaker, and ‘Project Hail Mary’ and More

Other featured attendees at this year’s Comic-Con are Project Hail Mary star Ryan Gosling, Peacemaker, and others.

Project Hail Mary is a film adaptation of a novel by The Martian author Andy Weir and is set to release in theaters next year. The film follows Gosling’s character, Ryland Grace, a former schoolteacher and space engineer who wakes up on a spaceship and learns he’s the last hope for humanity. On the panel, Gosling will be joined by directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who co-wrote and directed the upcoming film.

DC Comics fans of Peacemaker can expect season two of the show to dive deeper into the lore of Peacemaker. Creator James Gunn will moderate the panel, with the rest of the cast and behind-the-scenes footage of season two in action. Gunn also recently signed on as director of DC’s new live-action film reboot that will feature Superman, among others.