While some major Hollywood studios shied away from San Diego Comic-Con International this year due to the actor’s strike, there was still plenty to see and do in the surrounding downtown area. Over a dozen promotions and free immersive experiences filled the Gaslamp Quarter, East Village, and along the waterfront. Most were there to promote upcoming TV shows and movies with photo ops and interactive venues.
Visitors without Comic-Con badges were treated to a pop culture extravaganza. For followers of Anne Rice, there was The Street of Immortality, an experience, and activation that transformed a local downtown terrace into a New Orleans-inspired street similar to an Interview with the Vampire setting. Inside, guests were invited into a bar to sip from The Elixir of Immortality and interact with characters found in settings like the Hotel Iberville and Nawlins Records
FX offered lots to do in front of the Hilton San Diego Bayfront with two popular shows and two coming soon. There was a mock plane and Arctic scene for A Murder at the End of the World. Also present was a wellness clinic for American Horror Story. And a vampire garden in What We Do in the Shadows.
Hulu focused on photo opportunities celebrating its numerous animated shows Archer, Stewie’s time travel pad from Family Guy, several locations from Futurama, and a facsimile of Bob’s Burger restaurant counter.
Pulling out all the promotional stops was Paramount+, wrapping several downtown buildings with ads and activations with key locations in the Gaslamp Quarter. Among these was a hidden speakeasy for 1923, that engaged visitors with a vintage photo, a place to get a fake tattoo from Ink Master, and get sketched in a spaceship or other site by Star Trek artists. Visitors were also treated to a re-creation of a scene from Yellowjackets.
Paramount+ revealed an action-packed sneak-peek clip from the upcoming final season of Star Trek: Discovery during the Star Trek universe presentation at San Diego Comic-Con. The new clip features Sonequa Martin-Green as Captain Burnham and season five’s newest cast members Callum Keith Rennie as Rayner, Elias Toufexis as L’ak, and Eve Harlow as Moll. One of the service’s longest-running original dramas, the series will conclude with its upcoming fifth season in early 2024. The fifth and final season will find Captain Burnham and the crew of the U.S.S. Discovery uncovering a mystery that will send them on an epic adventure across the galaxy to find an ancient power whose very existence has been deliberately hidden for centuries. But there are others on the hunt as well. Dangerous foes desperate to claim the prize for themselves and who stopped at nothing to get it.
Star Trek: Discovery season five cast members include Sonequa Martin-Green (Captain Michael Burnham), Doug Jones (Saru), Anthony Rapp (Paul Stamets), Mary Wiseman (Sylvia Tilly), Wilson Cruz (Dr. Hugh Culber), David Ajala (Cleveland “Book” Booker), Blu del Barrio (Adira) and Callum Keith Rennie (Rayner). Season five also features recurring guest stars Elias Toufexis (L’ak) and Eve Harlow (Moll). The series is produced by CBS Studios in association with Secret Hideout and Roddenberry Entertainment. Alex Kurtzman, Michelle Paradise, Heather Kadin, Aaron Baiers, Olatunde Osunsanmi, Frank Siracusa, John Weber, Rod Roddenberry, and Trevor Roth serve as executive producers. Alex Kurtzman and Michelle Paradise serve as co-showrunners. Check out their sneak peak: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUEvKV3Mwpk
Star Trek: Discovery seasons one through four are currently streaming exclusively on Paramount+ in the U.S., the U.K., Switzerland, South Korea, Latin America, Germany, France, Italy, Australia, and Austria. Seasons two and three are also available on the Pluto TV “Star Trek” channel in Switzerland, Germany, and Austria. In Canada, it airs on Bell Media’s CTV Sci-Fi Channel. Star Trek: Discovery is distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution.
Fans were even able to travel through time to save the world via NBC’s Quantum Leap HQ. Fans could also survey a crime scene from Law and Order to hunt for clues. Some fans could try their vocal cords for a judge in the rotating chair on The Voice.
Along the San Diego bayfront, Adult Swim featured a festival chock full of comedians, live music, and free activities for those 18 years and older. Friday evening live performances featured Flying Lotus, Debby Friday, and Hemlocke Springs. Saturday night performances included Ginger Root and Saba.
Talent interviews were scarce due to the writer’s strike and studios pulling out at the last minute. But there were some exceptions. Like Supersonic, the 15th annual Behind-the-Music panel. This was a behind-the-scenes look at what goes into creating the scores and sounds to some of today’s most popular TV Series and Films! Featured panelists included Phil McGowan (Score Mixer – Paramount+’s Star Trek: Picard; Blizzard Entertainment’s Diablo IV), Sherri Chung (Composer – HBO Max’s Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai; The CW’s Batwoman), Chris Bacon (Composer – Netflix’s Wednesday; Sony Pictures’ Men In Black: International), Amanda Jones (Composer – HBO Max’s Adventure Time: Distant Lands; The CW’s Naomi), Kurt Farquhar (Composer – Disney+’s The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder; Blumhouse Television’s Absolute Dominion) and Michael Yezerski (Composer – Netflix’s Cabinet of Curiosities; Starz’s Blindspotting).
The Ghosts of Ruin team conducted press room interviews. The new interactive animated series invites viewers to get involved in production and influence how the show is created. The action takes viewers into a dystopian future where video games sync directly with the minds of people and are indistinguishable from reality.
See you next year at Comic-con ’24!
