San Diego Comic-Con 2021 postponed — for now

San Diego Comic-Con will attempt to hold an in-person convention in November 2021, while staging a three-day online-only event during the expo’s traditional July dates, the convention’s management said on Monday.

The online event, Comic-Con@Home, will take place July 23-25. The November gathering hasn’t been dated yet, but organizers say they plan for it to be a three-day affair as well.

“At this time, we are still working on specific details as to attendance capacity, badge cost, and related information,” Comic-Con International said in a statement.

Organizers canceled SDCC 2020 about one month into the global COVID-19 pandemic’s outbreak in North America. Convention management went ahead with an online event in July, during which partners and creators staged panels and trailer reveals. Still, it was the first time in San Diego Comic-Con’s 50-year history that the convention was canceled.

“It appears that July will still be too early to safely hold an in-person event of the magnitude of Comic-Con,” CCI said. “For this reason, we have made the challenging decision to postpone Comic-Con 2021 as an in-person gathering until our 2022 dates, and once again hold this year’s celebration as the free online Comic-Con@Home.”

When they canceled SDCC 2020 last year, organizers said that those who purchased badges for the event had the option to ask for a refund, or transfer their badges to the 2021 show. Comic-Con International now says those badges will be automatically rolled over to 2022’s con, unless the badge holder requests a refund.

“The past several months have taken a great toll on both families and friends,” Comic-Con International said, “and we hope this effort is a small move toward a return to gather as a community to not only celebrate popular art, but also friendship, education, and the enduring spirit of the fandom that is so much a part of Comic-Con.”