Comic-Con Goes Galactic with George Lucas and Alien Prequel

UPDATED: July 24, 2022, 12:08 pmSan Diego – Comic-Con officially opened its doors on Thursday in San Diego, with tens of thousands of pop culture fans from around the world pouring into the convention center this weekend for Comic-Con…and this year’s lineup has a very historic first among attendees that is likely to excite longtime fans.

Legendary filmmaker George Lucas will be at Comic-Con for the first time in the event’s history. Lucas has long been associated with Comic-Con through his celebrated film franchises Star Wars and Indiana Jones, and despite those properties having had a long and rich history at the annual pop culture convention, Lucas himself has never before attended.

Comic-Con, for its part, has signaled the moment as a truly major landmark in the event’s storied history, with Chief Communications and Strategy Officer David Glanzer saying, “Star Wars made one of its first public appearances at our convention nearly 50 years ago, and there was a booth at our event giving away [comic book artist] Howard Chaykin’s now legendary Star Wars poster as a promotional item.” Glanzer added that Lucas’s attendance is a “true full-circle moment, a testament to Lucas’ enduring impact on storytelling through world-building and visual communication.”

Lucas will be at a special Sunday panel being moderated by Queen Latifah, in which the filmmakers will be in attendance to discuss the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, a new museum opening in Los Angeles next year. The panelists will include Lucas, acclaimed Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, and Oscar-winning concept artist Doug Chiang, who has worked on Lucas’ Star Wars universe for decades. The panel will discuss how the museum will pay homage to illustrated stories and storytelling in general, and will explore how the genres of film, comics, and concept art have shaped and influenced the narrative nature of these properties. The museum will also include Lucas’s archives.

A Brief History of Comic-Con

Comic-Con began as a small pop-up event for comic book collectors in San Diego in 1970. It has since become one of the most high-profile and highly attended events of its kind, with an average of 130,000 people making the pilgrimage each year to Comic-Con to indulge in some of the funnest parts of fandom like cosplay, memorabilia, and unique chances to see sneak peeks, panels, and world premieres from Hollywood’s most buzzworthy projects.

Alien and Predator

Thursday’s big premiere was the world premiere of the new series Alien: Earth, a prequel series to the Ridley Scott-directed 1979 sci-fi film Alien. Directed by Noah Hawley, the Alien series promises to explore more of the popular film’s mythology in a prequel set just a few years before the 1979 movie’s original events. The series’ debut will be tomorrow in Hall H, Comic-Con’s largest, most high-profile venue, and the series will debut on streaming services in August.

The Predator: Badlands will also be a focus this year, in a reimagined take on the classic sci-fi series in which the Predator finds itself hunted for the first time ever. Directed by Dan Trachtenberg, who rebooted the Alien franchise last year with the wildly popular Prey, the panel will include members of the Predator cast, including Elle Fanning, as well as Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi, who plays the alien Dek.

Marvel to Scale Back at Comic-Con

Marvel Studios has announced that it will be scaling back on its presence at Comic-Con this year, as well, by skipping its traditional Hall H debut for the first time since it was rebooted in the aftermath of the pandemic. The studio has decided against a full premiere as a result of challenges that cropped up in the production of next year’s Avengers due to ongoing circumstances in the UK, per Variety.

In the absence of Marvel, sci-fi has stepped up in a big way to help fill the gap. As such, big names, major panels, and star-studded events have become the order of the day for the programming in Hall H, and are sure to leave fans excited as the weekend progresses.

Ryan Gosling, Peacemaker, and More

In other big news, “Project Hail Mary,” based on the novel of the same name by Andy Weir, author of the bestseller The Martian, is poised to make its big debut and is scheduled for theatrical release next year. The Ryan Gosling-starring sci-fi film is about a former schoolteacher named Ryland Grace, who wakes up alone on a spaceship to find out that he is humanity’s last hope. Gosling will be present at Saturday’s panel along with directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who made a name for themselves with the Spider-Verse trilogy.

The team behind Peacemaker has also returned for Season 2, with DC Universe showrunner James Gunn set to take over for DC’s overall cinematic reboot with Superman at the helm. Gunn and the rest of the cast will return to share behind-the-scenes clips and previews of what to expect from the new season.

Costumes and Community

But don’t be fooled: aside from the big announcements, star-studded panels, and buzzworthy premieres, Comic-Con is really about the fans, and the things that they love to do. Countless fans will swarm the San Diego Convention Center in elaborate costumes representing their favorite princesses, superheroes, warriors, aliens, monsters, and more this weekend. Comic-Con runs through Sunday, July 27.

Whether it’s for the chance to see George Lucas at his very first Comic-Con, or for a first glimpse of an alien-infested Earth, or just to dive into comics and cosplay, this year’s convention is sure to be one for the books.