Fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe were disappointed when news emerged earlier this year that the studio planned to skip the traditional Hall H presentation at this summer's Comic-Con International in San Diego.
Ahead of the announcement, fans were expecting a massive presentation to crown what many see as Marvel Studios' biggest year thus far, given the box office and critical successes of Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War, and offer at least some details on what lies ahead. And while the studio will have a presence at the ever-popular convention, it will focus on its 10th year anniversary and how its movies have grown into worldwide phenomenons since the debut of Iron Man in 2008.
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Still, with the shock ending to Infinity War leaving everyone stunned and clueless, fans were hoping a Hall H presentation would unveil what Phase Four will look like once Avengers 4 wraps.
Marvel has skipped Hall H before, of course, most notably in 2014. That year, the studio opted to roll out its Phase Three plans a few months later in October at the Disney-owned El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood. The call to avoid Hall H this year, then, isn't out of the ordinary, especially as studio President Kevin Feige wants to maintain the secrecy of the upcoming slate of movies.
Feige has been cagey about the specifics, but it appears the main reason Marvel is passing on the traditional SDCC presentation this summer is to preserve the mystery as to what happened in the wake of Thanos' snap in Infinity War. In short, seeing as how the film wiped out half the life in the universe, Marvel most likely simply doesn't want to reveal its hand too early.
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Captain Marvel, out in March 2019, just recently wrapped shooting, and apart from most likely not having any polished footage to show off, things are being probably being kept under wraps to build hype. After all, not only is her film Marvel's first female-led superhero release, is will set the stage for her highly-anticipated arrival in Avengers 4 as the new face of the MCU. It's only logical to hold off on sharing the first footage of her until Marvel is ready to officially kick off the full marketing blitz for her arrival, and, well, we're still a little far out from the film's premiere for that.
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Avengers 4, out a couple months later, in May, is the endgame for every unresolved Marvel movie plot this far. It makes sense,e then that Marvel would want to keep as much about the film a secret as possible, from the title, to the plot, to what journey the cast will be on. Feige, as well as the directors the Russo Brothers, want this to cap Phase Three and launch the next era of Marvel films, so it's understandable that they wouldn't want to spoil or drop early hints for what is basically the final chapter of a decade-long story.
Then there's Spider-Man: Far From Home, the Homecoming sequel which will arrive next July, just before 2019's Comic-Con International. Filming has only just commenced but even if it had started earlier, seeing as how it kicks off Phase Four and also starts mere minutes after the Infinity War sequel ends, there's no way Feige and Co. would want to divulge any details at this point in time.
None of this means Marvel isn't planning some sort of presentation in the near-ish future, of course. While the decision to skip Hall H comes in a year when there isn’t a D-23 Expo being held by Disney, Marvel may very well be planning another presentation along the lines of the El Capitan Theatre event four years ago. Back then, it was held because many of the movie deals weren’t in place to announce in time for Comic-Con, so Marvel had to keep its cards close to chest. Thus time, we might get one somewhere down the line in 2018 because the timing will make sense to kick off the Captain Marvel promotion.
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At the end of the day, fans know deep down that good things come to those who wait. Right now, as hungry as we all are for details, Marvel Studios keeping mum is actually a blessing in disguise. By opting not to share a massive, footage-filled spectacular at SDCC, Marvel is teasing us with something that has become rarer than ever when it comes to massive Hollywood blockbusters: genuine surprise. And isn't that worth waiting a few more months before we see Captain Marvel take flight and power up for the first time?