San Diego Comic-Con 2026 has produced a mixed run of announcements, with Marvel Studios dominating headlines through high-profile casting reveals, including David Jonsson joining Black Panther III and Ryan Gosling taking on the role of Ghost Rider, alongside footage from Avengers that was warmly received by attendees. HBO's Lanterns also drew strong enthusiasm from the crowd, while DC's film division stayed conspicuously quiet, leaving its presence at the convention notably subdued compared with rival franchises and its own past showings.

Away from the major studios, the convention threw up an unexpected cultural talking point, as fans of Dungeon Crawler Carl formed a fandom presence sizeable enough to rival established cosplay favourites, while Ryan Reynolds' "Jeanpool" stunt marketing added further buzz to the floor. Overall, the event reflected a year of mixed fortunes across franchises, with big names trading wins and misses rather than delivering uniformly strong showings.