Cheyenne Suarez

'Star Wars' creator George Lucas to hit Comic-Con for first time

Article (news)

Agence France-Presse

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1753329019991490353307_1070262658461138_6726544928557026474_n.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="(From left): George Lucas, Doug Chiang, and John Knoll in a scene from Lucasfilm&#x27;s &#x27;Light &amp; Magic,&#x27; Season 2, exclusively on Disney+. Photo from Lucasfilm&#x27;s FB page"/>(From left): George Lucas, Doug Chiang, and John Knoll in a scene from Lucasfilm&#x27;s &#x27;Light &amp; Magic,&#x27; Season 2, exclusively on Disney+. Photo from Lucasfilm&#x27;s FB pageSAN DIEGO — Comic-Con kicks off Thursday in San Diego, California, with expectations running high among devoted fans keen to catch a glimpse of George Lucas at his first-ever appearance at the convention.</div>Other expected highlights of the gathering -- one of the world&#x27;s biggest celebrations of pop culture -- include the world premiere of the prequel series &quot;Alien: Earth.&quot;Comic-Con began holding events in San Diego in 1970, as a low-key and rather niche huddle, but has now grown to an annual get-together that attracts 130,000 people eager to hear behind-the-scenes tidbits from Hollywood stars and directors unveiling their latest projects.This year&#x27;s edition will be marked by the presence of legendary filmmaker Lucas, who has never visited the convention before despite Comic-Con culture being deeply rooted in his &quot;Star Wars&quot; and &quot;Indiana Jones&quot; franchises.In a session on Sunday set to be moderated by Queen Latifah, Lucas will discuss the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art with Mexican director Guillermo del Toro and Oscar-winning artist Doug Chiang, who has shaped the iconic &quot;Star Wars&quot; universe for decades.The museum, scheduled to open in Los Angeles next year, will be dedicated to illustrated narratives and will house the Lucas archive.&quot;Nearly five decades ago, Star Wars made one of its earliest public appearances at our convention, along with a booth featuring (comic book artist) Howard Chaykin’s now legendary Star Wars poster as a promotional item,&quot; said David Glanzer, Chief Communications and Strategy Officer.&quot;Now, to have Mr. Lucas... is a true full-circle moment. His lifelong dedication to visual storytelling and world-building resonates deeply with us and our community.&quot;<div>Alien, Predator, and the End of the World</div>Marvel Studios will have a smaller presence at the convention this year, skipping its eagerly awaited annual presentation in Hall H.According to Variety, changes to the premiere of the new &quot;Avengers&quot; installment complicated logistics for the studio, whose cast is currently filming in Britain.Despite this notable absence, events at coveted Hall H still promise great excitement for fans of science fiction, a core genre of the convention.On Friday, it will host the world premiere of the pilot episode of the prequel &quot;Alien: Earth,&quot; directed by Noah Hawley and slated to hit streaming platforms in August.The series takes place a couple of years before the events depicted in Ridley Scott&#x27;s 1979 film &quot;Alien,&quot; offering an expansion of the venerated franchise.Another fan favorite that will have its moment in the spotlight is &quot;Predator: Badlands,&quot; with a panel Friday set to include director Dan Trachtenberg, who revitalized the brand with &quot;Prey&quot; (2022).Joining him will be stars Elle Fanning and Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi, who plays the predator Dek.The panel is expected to reveal more from the production, which centers the predator as prey, not hunter, for the first time.On Saturday, award-winning actor Ryan Gosling and directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (behind the new &quot;Spider-Verse&quot; trilogy) will present their &quot;Project Hail Mary,&quot; which is due in theaters next year.The film, based on the book by Andy Weir (&quot;The Martian&quot;), follows Ryland Grace (Gosling), a former science teacher who wakes up on a spaceship to discover he&#x27;s on a mission to save the Earth.Another buzzed-about presentation is for the highly anticipated second season of &quot;Peacemaker,&quot; in which James Gunn (&quot;Superman&quot;) and his cast are expected to offer sneak peeks.But it won&#x27;t all be deadly serious -- thousands of those in attendance will come dressed as princesses, warriors, aliens and other characters from the pantheon of pop culture.Comic-Con runs from Thursday to Sunday, July 27.<div>© Agence France-Presse</div>

The Force is strong with this year’s Comic-Con! George Lucas himself is finally making his first-ever appearance at the ultimate geek mecca in San Diego, where fans are gearing up for a once-in-a-lifetime weekend of Star Wars nostalgia.

The Force is strong with this year’s Comic-Con! George Lucas himself is finally making his first-ever appearance at the ultimate geek mecca in San Diego, where fans are gearing up for a once-in-a-lifetime weekend of Star Wars nostalgia.