San Diego Comic-Con is an ever-evolving beast, and the 2026 event is no different. The TV takeover continues as studios and streamers throw more marketing dollars toward their upcoming series than films, and in a place where superheroes used to rule the world, more fandoms are getting a sizable spotlight as ads begin to flood the Gaslamp Quarter for the weekend.<\/p>\n
RELATED: Comic-Con 2026 Movie & TV Panel Schedule: Apple TV Debuts In Hall H, \u2018Percy Jackson\u2019 Kicks Things Off\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n In some ways, nothing has changed. Attendees\u00a0still can expect to be inundated with promotional material from essentially every major studio and streamer in the biz including ABC, Hulu, Marvel, FX, 20th Television, Disney+, HBO, DC Studios, AMC, Prime Video, Amazon MGM Studios and more.<\/p>\n Marvel is back with its buzzy Hall H panel this year, ahead of the release of Avengers: Doomsday, so naturally the film is at the forefront of the studio\u2019s marketing push in San Diego. Doomsday signage resembling bright green stained glass (Castle Doom, perhaps?) has been draped over the famous Gaslamp sign at the corner of 5th and L, and green flags with the Avengers logo are waving on just about every light pole in the area.<\/p>\n Interestingly, the Avengers signage is somewhat difficult to distinguish from HBO\u2019s Lanterns\u00a0promos, which also line the streets with, well, a whole lot of muted green \u2014 an unfortunate coincidence of release timing, surely.<\/p>\n While both have quite a ubiquitous presence inside and outside of the convention center, the dueling superhero studios are keeping the signage low-key this year. Other than a few glimpses of Lanterns\u00a0stars Kyle Chandler and Aaron Pierre, the masked and caped crusaders are not really on display on the streets of San Diego. This tracks, given the recent superhero fatigue at the box office. Motion picture marketing execs are being extra cautious about what they show off. Following Marvel\u2019s mega pre-Covid 2019 announcement of future films and series, it learned the hard way what happens when a studio over-announces (i.e., Mahershala Ali in Blade, a project which is still in development and was hard to get off the ground). Studios know if they bring it, they need to win it. With the fans, that is.<\/p>\n RELATED: Marvel\u2019s Kevin Feige Says He Feels \u201cLike A Gigantic Loser & Failure\u201d Over Failed \u2018Blade\u2019 Reboot With Mahershala Ali\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n It remains to be seen how Marvel might top the 2024 reveal that Robert Downey Jr. was returning as Victor Von Doom for Doomsday<\/a>, but the studio\u00a0already has shown that it is willing to sit the Con out when it has nothing interesting to say these days, so some big surprises are expected. DC easily filled Marvel\u2019s lack of presence last year (besides a late-night screening of Deadpool & Wolverine) with Peacemaker\u00a0promo galore. This year, all of that energy is being channeled into\u00a0Lanterns.\u00a0<\/p>\n Warner Bros Discovery also is throwing some weight behind its latest Big Bang Theory\u00a0spinoff,\u00a0Stuart Fails to Save the Universe.\u00a0In addition to a few posters, the studio has brought the \u201cComic Center of Pasadena\u201d all the way to San Diego for fans to enjoy. That activation is at Sparks Gallery in 6th Avenue.<\/p>\n Disney also has claimed several of its other usual spots across downtown San Diego, including the side of the Hilton Bayfront and Petco Park. Wrapped around the Padres\u2019 stadium Con-goers will spot posters for two ABC hits, The Rookie\u00a0and\u00a0Abbott Elementary, which both are vets at this point, having had some sort of ad presence during the past several years. Look to the right, and an ominous \u201c13\u201d plastered on the side of the Hilton Bayfront is preparing audiences for the upcoming season of American Horror Story.<\/p>\n RELATED: Disney Entertainment Television Unveils Comic-Con 2026 Plans And Programming With \u2018Percy Jackson,\u2019 \u2018King Of The Hill & \u2018The Rookie\u2019 Returning\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n Percy Jackson and the Olympians is back in front of the convention center this year teasing the third season, based on Rick Riordan\u2019s\u00a0The Titan\u2019s Curse.\u00a0The series has another a titan-sized activation planned similar to last year\u2019s, where visitors pick a path between Percy (Walker Scobell), Annabeth (Leah Sava-Jeffries) or Thalia (Tamara Smart) after entering Poseidon\u2019s trident when it branches into its three prongs. Disney Entertainment Television is definitely the winner when it comes to activations, also boasting Hulu\u2019s Animayhem and an\u00a0American Horror Story\u00a0stunt.<\/p>\n Hudson Williams as Henry Park and Carrie-Anne Moss, Clark Backo, and Noah Reid in Crave\/AMC+\u2019s \u2018YAGA\u2019 | #SDCC<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/w9TmN5kj6F<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Deadline (@DEADLINE) July 22, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Paramount has noticeably scaled back its efforts in the SDCC marketing war in recent years, though the company\u00a0still is putting its stamp on the event. The well-known Paramount Lodge is back at the Happy Does Bar and is sure to have a line down the sidewalk all weekend long. As attendees head into the convention center, they\u2019ll also spot a massive poster for the Paramount+ series Star Trek: Strange New Worlds\u00a0on the side of the Marriott Marquis. The studio\u00a0always is partial to Star Trek\u00a0but is leaning particularly hard into the sci-fi franchise this year to celebrate its 60th anniversary<\/a>.<\/p>\n Amazon also has limited its signage this year, but you can\u2019t miss Sauron looming over 5th Avenue across from the Hard Rock, teasing the new season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Ryan Gosling\u2019s Project Hail Mary, which bowed earlier this year, also is on display.<\/p>\n And it wouldn\u2019t be SDCC without AMC. The small but mighty studio tends to carve out a respectable chunk of the Gaslamp District to draw attention to its fan-favorite franchises like\u00a0The Walking Dead\u00a0and\u00a0the Anne Rice universe. The Vampire Lestat has taken over the Pendry hotel, as well as several other buildings across downtown San Diego. This year, though, the poster to see is AMC+\/Crave\u2019s Yaga: A Witch Hunt promo on the front of the Hilton Gaslamp Quarter, which features Heated Rivalry\u00a0star Hudson Williams.<\/p>\n Check out the signage below.<\/p>\n