Exclusive: Los Angeles Comic Con announces main stage panels including Lord of the Rings, The Sandlot, The Boys

Los Angeles Comic Con is just around the corner, ready to take the city by storm on the weekend of December 2-4. This year's main stage panels will include a Jimmy Neutron 20th Anniversary & Live Script Reading event, a Lord of the Rings panel featuring Elijah Wood and Sean Astin, a 20th anniversary panel for the cast members of The Sandlot, and even a Mandalorian panel featuring Giancarlo Esposito and Ming Na Wen (more details below).

Though it's only the second convention since the return after the pandemic shutdown, this year's Los Angeles Comic Con looks to be the biggest LA Comic Con ever considering ticket sales so far, said CEO Chris DeMoulin in a conversation with Popverse. To fit the growing audience, the show is expanding into the entire Los Angeles Convention Center, including some of the outdoor spaces as well.

When asked about what makes LA Comic Con unique, DeMoulin responded, "When you come to the show, what you see you could only really see in LA because LA it's such a unique city. It's such a cultural mashup of everything. Whether it's the film business, the TV business, the music business the comic business—it's all here. "

For local comics fans, LA Comic Con is a particularly special show, partially due to its years-long relationship with comic icon Stan Lee (the show was actually known as Stan Lee's Comikaze Expo and then Stan Lee's LA Comic Con). DeMoulin has shared that LA Comic Con is working with Pow! Entertainment (the company Stan Lee helped found) and Genius Brands to celebrate the famed author's centennial at this year's event. "For us," DeMoulin said, "Stan will always be part of our DNA."

As for what to expect at the biggest Los Angeles Comic Con yet— here are the announced main stage panels and their panel descriptions per Los Angeles Comic Con:

Jimmy Neutron 20th Anniversary & Live Script Reading

It’s rare you find 80s and 90s children who have never seen Jimmy Neutron. Jimmy’s determined nature made him an interesting character to teens and children alike. The cast of Jimmy Neutron, including Candi Milo, Carolyn Lawrence, Debi Derryberry, Jeff Garcia, Mark DeCarlo, and Megan Cavanagh will be on the main stage doing a live script-reading to celebrate the show’s 20th anniversary!

Lord of The Rings

Sean Astin and Elijah Wood take the Main Stage on Saturday, December 3rd to discuss what happened behind the scenes to make Peter Jackson's blockbuster Lord of the Rings film trilogy come to life.

The Boys

Your favorite group of vigilantes from The Boys, Karen Fukuhara (Kimiko), Laz Alonso (Mother’s Milk), and Tomer Capone (Frenchie) will be appearing Saturday and Sunday of Los Angeles Comic Con for autographs, photo ops and a Main Stage panel!

The Mandalorian

The Mandalorian took Disney+ by storm and has become tremendously popular during its first two seasons. This Star Wars story, set in the years after the fall of the Galactic Empire, tells the tale of a member of the race of bounty hunters that spawned Boba Fett. Ming-Na Wen (Fennec Shand) and Giancarlo Esposito (Moff Gideon) will regale convention goers with tales from one of the most innovative production sets ever built.

The Sandlot

Cast members from the classic 1993 baseball film, The Sandlot, will take the main stage on Sunday, December 4th! The group plans to get nostalgic as we take a look at the last 30 years of the classic film.

The Umbrella Academy

The Umbrella Academy is coming to Los Angeles Comic Con on Saturday, December 3rd! Show creator Steve Blackman will be joined by co-executive producers Jason Neese & Jamie Neese as well as some special guests on our Main Stage for an epic conversation about the award winning Netflix Show.

To learn more about the event (or to snag last minute tickets), check out Los Angeles Comic Con's official website.