Comic Book movie fans hoping for a spectacular Hall H lineup at the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con International might want to start rethinking their game plans right about now.

This year, Hall H - the infamous "main event" room for Comic-Con's biggest and most anticipated panels - will NOT be hosting some of the biggest comic book movies currently in the works, including Marvel's The Avengers.

Hero Complex is reporting that Marvel Studios - whose films Captain America and The Avengers are two major projects appealing to the 'Con crowd - will have zero presence within Hall H's hallowed walls. That is not to say Marvel will be missing from Comic-Con altogether, though: The studio (and its publishing branch) will likely have the usual array of smaller panels peppered throughout the convention. There is also a good chance (as many have predicted) that the studio will embrace Comic-Con's tradition of off-site "secret screenings" by premiering Captain America: The First Avenger somewhere in downtown San Diego in close proximity to the convention. Iron Man director Jon Favreau's new comic book adaptation Cowboys & Aliens will also be premiering at Comic-Con this year.

On the other hand, those hoping for a more detailed repeat of last year's Avengers panel (which was the roof-raising moment of Comic-Con 2010) are going to be left in the cold. Speculation is circulating that Marvel Studios (now owned by Disney) could be saving their big Avengers debut for the D23 Expo in August, alongside other Disney tentpole films like John Carter (which will also be absent from Hall H during the 'Con).

As of now, there is also no indication that Warner Bros. will be bringing Zack Snyder's Superman reboot, Man of Steel, OR Chris Nolan's third Batman film, The Dark Knight Rises, to Hall H this year. Nolan's absence isn't a surprise, but we'd be lying if we said that Man of Steel's absence wouldn't be a disappointment for us (and likely, many of you readers attending the convention).

chris nolan superman man of steel batman 3

But again, absence from Hall H doesn't mean total absence from Comic-Con: both The Dark Knight Rises and Man of Steel are currently in the earlier stages of production right now, so smaller panels and/or announcement trailers (with little to no footage) are not entirely out of the question yet. Neither is DC/WB capitalizing on Marvel's now-confirmed absence by putting together a last-minute Hall H presentation.

So what CAN comic book movie fans look forward to in Hall H during Comic-Con 2011? Well, the biggest card in the deck right now is Sony's Amazing Spider-Man, which will have a formal panel with stars like Andrew Garfield and director Marc Webb in attendance. Since ASM has been shooting for some months now, it's also highly possible that Sony will utilize the lack of competition to debut some headline-grabbing first footage from Spidey's 3D reboot. Fingers crossed.

To a (much) lesser extent, the comic book sequel/reboot Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance should also be present in the Hall - hopefully with star Nic Cage in tow.

The First Image of Andrew Garfield in the Spider-Man Costume

On the one hand, I can understand why some of the big guys (Batman, Superman, The Avengers) would opt out of a Hall H presentation this year - what with the respective films each undergoing production as we speak. On the other hand, it's hard not to feel somewhat hoodwinked when Marvel Studios made a big deal out of virtually nothing last year, centering a huge Hall H extravaganza around The Avengers cast, virtually all of whom had already been confirmed by online movie sites just like ours. You would think that this year Marvel would throw fans a bigger, more relevant, Avengers bone - say, a few shots of footage or even a new announcement trailer. Who knows though, maybe we'll get a welcome surprise...

The 2011 San Diego Comic-Con International takes place this year between July 21 - July 24. Be sure to keep up with all the surprises (and disappointments) by bookmarking our Official Comic-Con Page.

Source: Hero Complex