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San Diego Comic-Con 2025 has just ended, but the future of the event beyond 2027 is already in doubt thanks to comments made by Comic-Con International executives — and complications from a major international sporting event that you just might have heard of that’s scheduled to visit the US in a few years.

The long-term future of San Diego Comic-Con has been something of an open question for years at this point; since 2019, when Comic-Con International signed a five-year contract with the city of San Diego, extensions to keep Comic-Con in the city have been notably short-term; in July 2024, it extended its contract one year to include the 2025 show, and in January 2025, it signed a two-year extension to include the 2026 and 2027 shows. Beyond that, however, other factors might end up pushing the show elsewhere… or temporarily closing it down altogether.

Speaking during the Comic-Con Talkback panel at the end of SDCC 2025, a fan raised the question of whether or not Comic-Con has thought about the fact that the Los Angeles Olympics are set to run July 14 through 30 2028 — dates that coincide with the traditional late-July run of San Diego Comic-Con. It’s not simply that the potential overlap would mean that Southern California would be busier than usual in general; the surfing competition in the 2028 Olympics is set to take place at Lower Trestles Beach in San Diego County, guaranteeing a higher turnout in San Diego during that time.

“There are real, practical things that we have to consider and those are anything from possibly having to move to a location that may not be impacted by the events in LA, like you said, the potential of sitting out the year, [or] any number of things,” Comic-Con International chief communications and strategy officer David Glanzer said in response. “The real determining factor, I think, is the impact the decision may have on unions and also the financial impact we will take.”

Glanzer likened any potential change to the traditional SDCC show date and location to Comic-Con Special Edition, a three-day convention that took place in November 2021 to mark CCI’s return to live events following the COVID outbreak. “I think what a lot of people don't realize is it was a very expensive show. That was a show where we actually lost revenue, but it was worth it to us just trying to get back into the program,” he said. When it comes to 2028, he promised, “Whatever decision we make will not be made lightly. And hopefully, everyone will support us in whatever that decision happens to be. But we really don't know where we are here on that.”

San Diego Comic-Con 2026 will take place July 22 through July 26, 2026 at the San Diego Convention Center. Two years after that… who knows?

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