The Best Hot Takes From San Diego Comic-Con
The 2025 San Diego Comic-Con ran from Wednesday, July 23 through Sunday, July 27, drawing approximately 135,000 fans to the San Diego Convention Center and much of the surrounding Gaslamp District. Comics and entertainment news is always made at the annual event, and this year was no different. Here are some of the biggest stories that emerged from this year’s con.
Marvel and DC Crossovers
Marvel Comics and DC Comics, the industry’s big two and traditionally rivals, are once again crossing over their characters. September 2025 will bring Marvel/DC Deadpool/Batman #1, which includes not only that story but as backup stories, Rocket Raccoon/Green Lantern and Wolverine (Old Man Logan)/Batman (The Dark Knight Returns). Writing credits will be shared by Zeb Wells with Kevin Smith, Kelly Thompson, Chip Zdarsky, and Al Ewing. Greg Capullo, Adam Kubert, Gurihiru, Terry Dodson, and Dike Ruan provide the art. The exception is Wolverine (Old Man Logan)/Batman (The Dark Knight Returns), which will be written and drawn by Frank Miller.
In other Marvel crossover news, Alien vs. Captain America will premiere in November, pitting the vibranium shield-wielding superhero against Ridley Scott’s monstrous xenomorphs. This one’s written by Frank Tieri, with art by Stefano Raffaele.
Coyote vs. Acme Packs Hall H
At a seating capacity of 6,500, Hall H is the largest hall in the San Diego Convention Center. On Saturday, the capacity crowd finally saw footage from the Warner Bros. feature film Coyote vs. Acme. Originally greenlit in 2019, it was supposedly ready for release in 2024, but the studio’s film division, worried about low box office, shelved it. Looney Tunes fans have been clamoring for it ever since. The Comic-Con panel, which included director Dave Green, star Will Forte, voice actor Eric Bauza, actor P.J. Byrne, and host Paul Sheer, promised a firm release date of August 28, 2026.
Twenty Years of Avatar: The Last Airbender
Nickelodeon drew 5,000 fans for a Comic-Con panel celebrating 20 years of Avatar: The Last Airbender. Moderated by Janet Varney, the voice of Korra, a reunion of the original voice cast of Zach Tyler Eisen (Aang), Jack De Sena (Sokka), Michaela Jill Murphy (Toph), Jennie Kwan (Suki), Dante Basco (Zuko), and Dee Bradley Baker (Appa) delighted the capacity crowd. Also appearing on the panel were creators Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino, and series composer Jeremy Zuckerman. In addition to discussing the twenty-year legacy, the panel teased a new 2D animated series, Avatar: Seven Havens. A new Avatar Studios movie, The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender, will be released on October 9, 2026.
New Season of Peacemaker Announced
Season one of James Gunn’s DC Comics TV series Peacemaker ended in 2023, and since then news about a second season has been hard to come by. But at Comic-Con, the news finally broke that season 2 will premiere August 21, 2025, on HBO Max. Fans at the Saturday panel were treated to a short video message from Gunn that led into the first season-two trailer. The show stars John Cena as Peacemaker; with Danielle Brooks, Freddie Stroma, Jennifer Holland, Steve Agee, and Dee Bradley Baker.
Crunchyroll’s Anime Nights
At Comic-Con, parties can stretch late into the night and it’s sometimes hard to get people up early in the morning. But Crunchyroll didn’t blink getting the onsite media into its press breakfast, where the company’s president, Rahul Purini, announced a new program that gets anime into American movie theaters on a regular basis. Anime Nights will debut on October 20, and going forward, select theaters will screen anime films on the third Monday of every month. The inaugural film will be Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid, followed in November by Overlord.
At the breakfast, Purini explained the thinking behind Anime Nights. “We talk a lot about community, and it is about getting together in real life at Comic-Con and Anime Expo. You get the energy and the joy that comes with that, but not everybody has a chance to go to the convention. But everybody can get to their local cinema and sit in a theater with 200 fans and have that experience.”
