Ryan Gosling Leads Sci-Fi Launch with Project Hail Mary

Fans of sci-fi franchises like Alien, Predator, Star Wars, and Star Trek have a lot to get excited about this year at Comic-Con, which opened today in San Diego to tens of thousands of people from around the world who have come for the chance to geek out over pop culture from film to comics.

George Lucas is making a first-ever appearance at the annual convention. Comic-Con has strong ties to Lucas’s most famous films — Star Wars and Indiana Jones — but he has never before attended. David Glanzer, Comic-Con’s Chief Communications and Strategy Officer, said in a statement: “Nearly five decades ago, Star Wars made one of its earliest public appearances at our convention and was exhibited alongside a booth that offered [comic book artist] Howard Chaykin’s now legendary Star Wars poster as a promotional giveaway. George’s attendance this year is a true full-circle moment.”

Lucas, whose Star Wars saga and Indiana Jones films pioneered the way for cinematic special effects and larger-than-life adventure epics, will participate in a Sunday panel moderated by Queen Latifah. Lucas will be joined by Guillermo del Toro, the Mexican director who’s also a lifetime Comic-Con attendee, as well as Oscar-winning artist and concept designer Doug Chiang, whose work has appeared in Star Wars media for more than 30 years. The three will discuss the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, which is opening next year in Los Angeles. Lucas said of the museum in a statement: “Art, to me, is one of our most powerful tools for telling stories and exploring our inner worlds. The Lucas Museum will be a haven for both creators and fans.”

The museum will also feature Lucas’s archives and personal collection. Del Toro, Chiang, and Lucas will discuss the museum’s concept, as well as their thoughts on film, comics, and other media.

Comic-Con: A Brief History

Comic-Con International: San Diego started as a small fan-run meeting for comic book lovers in 1970, but has since expanded into a cultural phenomenon. The event now features around 130,000 visitors per year from all over the world. Fans come for the cosplay, exclusive collectibles, behind-the-scenes footage, and the opportunity to see world premieres of some of Hollywood’s biggest projects.

Alien and Predator to the Center of Attention

There will be a series world premiere at Comic-Con this year called Alien: Earth, a prequel to the original Ridley Scott Alien movie from 1979. The upcoming series by Noah Hawley will explore more of the lore of the Alien franchise. Alien: Earth is set a few years before the events of the original movie, and its first episode will premiere tomorrow in Hall H, the convention’s largest venue, before it’s available to stream in August.

The highly anticipated movie Predator: Badlands will also be one to watch at this year’s Comic-Con. The new film for the sci-fi franchise adds a twist to the alien hunters’ origin story: for the first time in the franchise, the Predator is the prey. Director Dan Trachtenberg, who in 2022 returned the series to its roots with Prey, will be on the panel with Elle Fanning, as well as Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi, who plays the alien known as Dek.

Marvel Reduces Its Presence

Marvel Studios will be downscaling its usual panel this year and won’t have a Hall H presentation. The news follows recent changes to its upcoming Avengers movie, with Variety reporting the studio decided against a San Diego premiere after production in the UK was delayed and “logistics around putting a trailer together became challenging.”

However, Marvel will still have a presence at Comic-Con, with the studio programming smaller events throughout the weekend. In the meantime, though, there are plenty of sci-fi blockbusters to fill the gap at Comic-Con, with top-billed events in Hall H this weekend.

Ryan Gosling, Peacemaker, and More

Sci-fi and geek culture fans also have Project Hail Mary to look forward to. The highly anticipated adaptation of a novel of the same name by The Martian author Andy Weir is set to be released in theaters next year. The film stars Ryan Gosling as a former schoolteacher named Ryland Grace who is the last person on his spaceship to wake up from cryosleep and find himself on a mission to save the planet. Gosling will join directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller at Saturday’s panel.

DC’s Peacemaker also received a first look at Season 2 earlier this year, and fans of the anti-hero should also be on the lookout for more on that series, as well as behind-the-scenes footage and a preview of the second season. Peacemaker creator and director James Gunn is also at the helm of DC’s reboot of the Superman franchise.

Costumes Galore

Of course, while blockbuster films and star-studded panels might make the headlines, Comic-Con is also a place for fans to geek out and be part of a community. Thousands of attendees will descend on the San Diego Convention Center dressed as their favorite characters — be they princesses, warriors, aliens, or superheroes. The event will run through Sunday, July 27.