What Will Marvel Tease at SDCC Hall H 2017?

Summer is fast approaching, and with it comes the now-usual slew of superhero movies. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 will be kicking off the blockbuster season in May, followed by Wonder Woman in June, and Spider-Man: Homecoming in July. It's an incredible slate, with the first female-fronted offering for either the MCU or the DCEU, and Spidey's first solo movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, after years of reboots over at Sony (and of course, his cameo in Captain America: Civil War).

But as all comic book fans know, not every major Marvel event is happening in a movie theater this summer. This July, Marvel will be returning to one of the biggest events in the nerd calendar: SDCC. San Diego Comic Con, the best-known comic-con in the world, is back from July 20-23, along with its legendary lines to get into the biggest events of the weekend: the Hall H panels.

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Marvel's Hall H History

Doctor Strange Cast on Hall H Stage at San Diego Comic-Con 2016

Marvel has a history of absolutely epic presentations at Hall H, ever since Robert Downey Jr swaggered onto the stage as Tony Stark back in 2009. He attended the event to promote Iron Man 2, which was set for release the following year, and launched years of Marvel Hall H panels that would tease upcoming movies and have a little fun with the audience.

Since then, there have been major years for Marvel, and a few quieter ones. The comic giant even skipped two events, in 2011 and 2015, when there just wasn't enough to warrant an entire panel. In other years, Hall H audiences have been treated to everything from Tom Hiddleston swanning in as Loki and demanding that they all bow to him, to the full roll call of The Avengers, to news about movie titles and directors, to the reveal of preview footage and trailers. As a general rule, the presentation is used to promote movies arriving within the next year or two, although smaller details can be revealed for films even further in the future.

So what can we expect from Marvel this time around?

Thor: Ragnarok

Thor hasn't been a major focus of one of Marvel's Hall H panels so far, other than as a member of the Avengers, but this could be his year. Thor: Ragnarok is due to hit screens in November, which means that there will be plenty of edited footage ready and waiting for a summer reveal. Thor: Ragnarok will also be the next Marvel release post-SDCC, so some kind of teaser or panel with the cast is very likely to happen.

However, this isn't a guarantee. There isn't a huge amount of news that Marvel can reveal about Thor: Ragnarok so close to the release date, and the first trailers have already hit. This would be similar to how Marvel featured Doctor Strange last year, however, (a few months prior to release) so it's still a good bet.

Black Panther

One of the most likely contenders for a big Hall H reveal is Black Panther. Filming wrapped earlier this month, and it's the next big solo movie for 2018, so it's very possible that SDCC will see the release of some teaser footage, or even an early teaser trailer. There are plenty of new cast members that would make for a phenomenal panel, and the novelty of a new corner of the MCU would certainly make this a popular choice.

It's even possible that the first trailer for Black Panther could be cut in time for SDCC, although this is a little early, making a teaser trailer a more likely option. The cast was featured in last year's presentation, so if this follows the same pattern as Guardians did (cast announcement in 2012, footage in 2013, movie release in 2014) then fans can definitely expect some new footage from the film, even if it's not the primary focus of the panel.

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The Avengers

Thanos with the Gauntlet in Infinity War.

The other big candidate for a comic-con presentation is the upcoming Avengers: Infinity War. Set for release in spring of 2018, Infinity War is deep into filming at the moment and will likely have a lot of juicy footage to share with fans at the presentation. Marvel could even choose to reveal something big - a new shot of Thanos, some footage of a surprising team-up, or even a confirmation of a specific character taking part (perhaps someone from the Defenders...).

While it's possible that the Hall H panel will breeze past Infinity War, this is the event that the MCU has been building towards since Iron Man. That's a decade of superhero movies leading up to this movie, and that means Infinity War is almost certainly going to make an appearance at SDCC in some shape or form.

Phase 4

Infinity War isn't the only Avengers movie that could get a mention this year, either. The fourth Avengers film, due out in 2019, has yet to get an official title - which could be a great announcement for SDCC. A title and logo is very likely, although Marvel won't want to reveal anything more than that, in order to keep fans guessing about who survives Infinity War. (Despite rumors this week that Zoe Saldana let the Avengers 4 title slip, which James Gunn has vehemently denied.)

In addition, there are a few other Phase 4 movies that could get a mention this summer. Ant-Man and The Wasp, due out in 2018, could well get some attention at the Hall H panel, although its still being prepped at the moment so there isn't likely to be any special footage ready for a reveal. Guardians of the Galaxy 3 could be discussed as well, especially if Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 does well next month. There will definitely be no footage for that one, but scenes cut from Vol 2 could be shown, along with an official title and/or logo for the third volume in the series. Finally, there could be some news about the future of Spider-Man in the MCU, post-Homecoming. News on a follow-up solo-Spidey flick would be amazing, although it would confirm his survival past Infinity War, which may prevent Marvel revealing anything until after that major event.

Marvel TV

What about the small screen side of Marvel's universe? In previous years, the Marvel TV shows have had their own panels, rather than being part of the larger MCU Hall H panel, so it's unlikely. Last year, Ballroom 20 hosted panels for Luke Cage and Agents of SHIELD, and this is probably going to happen again in 2017 (although The Defenders would be taking the spotlight as a team this time around).

However, as the television side of the MCU continues to expand with New Warriors, Cloak and Dagger, and Inhumans, it's possible that some of the new shows will be featured - or at least mentioned - during the event.

What Else Can We Expect?

While it's possible to speculate about what Marvel has in store for Hall H this summer, they could well do something completely unpredictable. When Loki showed up in 2013, it wasn't to promote a specific film, it was just to make the fans happy. Marvel has plenty of material that they could share with the audience, and there's bound to be some news to break as well, but they haven't always made that the focus of their presentation.

This is a studio that likes to have fun - and that could mean absolutely anything. They could even reveal the next three phases of the MCU masterplan! We'll find out in only a few short months.