While San Diego Comic Con is the behemoth for all things pop culture, from comics to movies, the international Comic-Con convention might be facing some competition with one of the biggest companies in the world. New dates for Disney’s 2017 D23 Expo will be putting themselves in the same month of San Diego Comic Con.
Hall H at the San Diego Convention Center has become synonymous with revealing the biggest trailers and movie announcements for years. Part of its popularity is due to the Marvel Studios panel towards the end of the day on Saturday every year that in the past pulled out all the stops - with a visit from Loki and the first look at Guardians of the Galaxy among other things. However, recently Marvel Studios have already proven success without Comic Con with their Phase III announcement at the El Capitan theater in 2014.
Disney will be hosting the D23 Expo 2017 at the Anaheim Convention Center the weekend of July 14-16th. In their announcement, Disney has released an announcement today and purchase dates to get tickets to the Expo:
Last year’s Expo included a wide variety of stars, including Johnny Depp, Harrison Ford, Ellen DeGeneres, Chris Evans, Ginnifer Goodwin, and Dwayne Johnson and even announced the expansion of Disneyland and Walt Disney World resorts to include a new Star Wars-themed land. One of the most notable presentations was a preview of Captain America: Civil War, which featured the first look of the movie before the initial trailer was released to the public.
“Each of Disney’s magical worlds will unite under one roof to celebrate what’s new and what’s on the horizon from theme parks, television, music, gaming, and films, including Pixar, Star Wars, and Marvel.”
While the dates of San Diego Comic-Con 2017 have not been released yet, it’s likely that the dates will fall on July 19-23, the weekend right after D23 Expo. Considering that last year, Marvel Studios did not present their regular panel in Hall H, the new D23 dates should concern many SDCC goers. It looks like that Disney does not feel as tied to Comic-Con as it once was, and putting their dates so close to SDCC, it’s clear that they are not afraid of creating some competition. With Star Wars and Marvel under their belt (in addition to Pixar and their own in-studio productions), it’s not a surprise that Disney would want to break away from Comic-Con and create its own convention.
While it’s entirely possible for fans to go to both the D23 Expo and Comic Con, it might become a bit of a financial burden. Will fans have to choose between the two? It’s possible, and unfortunately, Disney might have an advantage with Captain America and Luke Skywalker on their side.
D23 Expo 2017 will be at the Anaheim Convention Center the weekend of July 14–16.
Source: D23
