Following celebrity and exhibitor cancellations due to coronavirus, organizers of Seattle's Emerald City Comic Con announce they will postpone the event until this summer. Fan conventions like this one have become staples in the entertainment industry, especially in the last decade. At their core, they offer fans a chance to ask their favorite actors, creators, and artists questions about media they love. However, they've also become an important opportunity for studios to show off upcoming projects, especially at giant conventions like San Diego Comic-Con.
Emerald City Comic Con, which, until today, was scheduled for next week, was set to feature actors like Avengers: Endgame stars Mark Ruffalo and Karen Gillan, as well as Michael J. Fox of the Back to the Future movies. Supergirl's Chyler Leigh and Floriana Lima were also originally set to appear on a panel together. However, as actors and exhibitors, including DC Comics, began to pull out of the convention in recent weeks, it became clear Emerald City Comic Con was running out of options.
The organizers behind the event, Reedpop, announced the postponement on social media via the Emerald City Comic Con Twitter account. They also provided additional details on the convention's website, outlining exactly how they came to the decision. In their full statement, Reedpop explained, "We did everything that we could to run the event as planned, but ultimately, we are following the guidance of the local public health officials indicating that conventions should now be postponed." The organizers went on to reassure fans that every attendee would be refunded their ticket money and that they are working "to secure alternate dates this summer." Check out Emerald City Comic Con's announcement on Twitter below:
The coronavirus has had an unprecedented effect on the entertainment industry, especially movie studios. MGM made the surprising decision earlier this week to postpone its release of Bond 25, No Time to Die. What's more, the studio pushed the movie back a full seven months, all the way to November 2020. This led to speculation that movies like F9 and Black Widow may not be far behind. However, both Disney and Universal are reportedly hanging on to their May release dates. Movie productions have also been impacted by the coronavirus; Mission: Impossible 7 recently halted what was supposed to be a three-week-long shoot in Italy.
Though fans who had planned on attending Emerald City Comic Con are disappointed to hear of its postponement, it's good that Reedpop is taking the coronavirus so seriously. It's also possible that even more celebrity guests and exhibitors may have pulled out of the event this coming week, making the delay the right call. The move to summer 2020 puts Emerald City Comic Con closer to July's San Diego Comic-Con, an event that may face its own coronavirus-related challenges, depending on what happens in the next several months. Hopefully, by then the outbreak will be more under control, allowing fans to attend Emerald City Comic Con, as well as others.
Source: Emerald City Comic Con