Comic-Con Panels for Gen V, Wheel of Time, and More Cancelled Due to Actors’ Strike

UPDATE: On Friday, even more San Diego Comic-Con panels were canceled, including Thursday’s spotlight panels for the horror film Mother, May I? and Amazon Freevee’s Jury Duty, Saturday’s Hall H panel for Legendary Entertainment (which was set to debut footage from Dune: Part Two), and Saturday’s panel for ABC’ Abbott Elementary. The original story is as follows.

San Diego Comic-Con is set to commence later this month, but this year’s event is expected to look a lot different. With the Writers Guild of America on strike since May, and the actors union SAG-AFTRA announcing their own strike that goes into effect this weekend, fans have been curious to see what the programming will look like this year. Although Comic-Con International released a schedule for San Diego Comic-Con earlier this month, it looks like the SAG-AFTRA strike has already caused some changes. On Thursday night, a number of panel listings on San Diego Comic-Con’s website were marked as canceled, including high-profile panels for shows like The Boys spinoff Gen V, the Orphan Black spinoff Orphan Black: Echoes, and The Wheel of Time. You can check out the list of panels that have been canceled (at the time of this writing) below.

Thursday, July 20

• The Wheel of Time — 2:00pm, Ballroom 20
• An Insider Look at Cruel Summer Season 2 — 3:00pm, Indigo Ballroom
• Sesame Street Muppets Live! — 5:30pm, Room 6A
• Major Wrestling Figure Podcast — 6:00pm, Grand 12 & 13

Friday, July 21

• Spotlight on Jo Duffy — 11:00am, Room 29AB
• Gen V — 4:15pm, Ballroom 20
• New Rockstars (YouTube) — 8:00pm, Room 6DE

Saturday, July 22

• That ’70s Show 25th Anniversary — 10:00am, Indigo Ballroom
• Orphan Black: Echoes — 12:30pm, Room 6A
• Sid & Marty Krofft — 1:00pm, Room 23ABC
• Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire Season 2 — 3:45pm, Ballroom 20

Sunday, July 23

• Lights! Before Camera and Action — 11:00am, Room 7AB
• Sesame Street Special Premiere — 11:30am, Room 6BCF

Will the SAG-AFTRA Strike Impact Comic-Con?

Under the current rules, striking SAG-AFTRA members are asked not to participate in ongoing film or television productions, meaning virtually all that were still filming amid the WGA strike will now be shut down. Members are also instructed not to promote any upcoming or past projects, campaign for Emmy or other acting awards, or attend the San Diego Comic-Con convention later this month, which is the cause for some of these panel cancelations. 

Why Are SAG-AFTRA Going on Strike?

In a statement tied to the announcement, SAG-AFTRA representatives revealed that the strike is commencing after four weeks of negotiations with the AMPTP, and an existing negotiation extension from June 30th to July 12th. Back in May, SAG-AFTRA’s national board unanimously agreed to send an authorization vote to members, with and 97.91 percent of members ultimately voting in favor to authorize.

“Yesterday our union celebrated the 90th anniversary of the incorporation of Screen Actors Guild,” Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator said during a press conference. “During our nearly century long existence we’ve fought for and achieved countless gains for working actors. Today, we embark on a new important chapter in our unions history. Earlier this morning, the SAG-AFTRA national board convened following four weeks of negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television producers in a meeting, because AMPTP remains unwilling to offer a fair deal on key issues essential to protecting the livelihoods of working actors and performers. SAG AFTRA as national board unanimously voted to issue a strike order against the studios and streamers.”

What do you think of the new panel cancelations at San Diego Comic-Con 2023? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!