It has been 70 days since the Writers Guild of America (WGA) began their strike against the AMPTP, demanding fair compensation for their work. As expected, most of Hollywood and other production-heavy cities have been feeling the impact. Daily strikes in front of the major studios have drawn International attention and news. SAG-AFTRA is also looking at a possible strike, the looming July 12th negotiation deadline large in everyone’s mind. But one big question continues to arise this month- what about San Diego Comic-Con?
The annual gathering in San Diego has become a showcase for large studios and streaming houses in recent years. Parades of films, television shows and other projects take up most of the big rooms (Hall H, Ballroom 20, Indigo, etc.) but this year, that isn’t the case. In late June 2023, several big studios made it clear they would not be participating in the event. Whether this was due to the WGA strike or the possibility of a SAG-AFTRA strike wasn’t clear. (Although we did have some sources in all areas of guilds and production tell us studios had told talent they would not be making SDCC as big of a priority this year, meaning no money to send talent to the event, or for big installations and activations.)
The WGA’s strike website has been updated to answer one big question- should union members actively promote their projects at Comic-Con? The answer is pretty clear-
As far as attending, that answer is a little more nebulous. At the present time, it doesn’t appear the union has plans to picket SDCC, but that could change.
San Diego Comic-Con happens July 19th-23rd.
