All roads currently lead to San Diego as one of the world's biggest annual multi-genre entertainment conventions opens its doors to thousands of attendees of the 2015 San Diego Comic-Con.
This year's four-day annual congregation of movie, TV, animation, comic book, video game, and pop culture fans from around the world is scheduled to begin on Thursday, July 9, and culminates on Sunday, July 12. A special preview night for the press, professionals, and preview night badge holders can attend all the programs lined-up on Wednesday, July 8.
Some of the staple movie exhibitors like Marvel Studios, Sony Pictures, and Paramount Pictures will miss out on this year's event, but there will still be a lot of exciting up-and-coming films that will be presented in the renowned Hall H panel venue, including Warner Bros.' "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" as well as the latest installment in the "Star Wars" saga, "Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens" from Lucasfilm.
Other upcoming films schedules for an SDCC panel include Lionsgate's "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2" and "The Last Witch Hunter."
Television shows will also present exciting news at this year's SDCC, wherein the cast of fan-favorite series will attend their respective panels and preview presentations, including HBO's "Game of Thrones," AMC's "The Walking Dead" and "Fear The Walking Dead," as well as Marvel TV and DC TV programs.
The complete line-up of schedules and exhibitors for the four-day event can be found in their website, or fans can print the entire schedule through their printable program. Those who cannot attend can check out IGN's SDCC Hub for live updates about the ongoing events during the convention.
Meanwhile, San Diego mayor Kevin Faulconer finally announced Thursday that the yearly entertainment event will remain in the city for at least another two years. Mayor Faulconer and the organizers of Comic-Con International managed to sign a new agreement to extend the exhibit's contract with the city until 2018. The previous contract is slated to expire in 2016.
Earlier speculations claimed that the Comic-Con organizers are beginning to consider relocating to a bigger convention center after the contract expires despite having conducted the event in the Bayfront area since it began in 1970. But the mayor reportedly tried to convince the local hotel and tourism industry to lower their rates since they tend to increase during the annual event.
However, the details of the new agreement between the city of San Diego, the San Diego Comic Convention administration, and the Comic-Con International organizers were not divulged during the announcement.
