The city of San Diego is slowly cooling down after a heated weekend of rampant fandom and excitement from this year’s Comic-Con announcements. 

All eyes were on the annual SDCC panel hosted by Marvel, which is rejigging its Cinematic Universe after lackluster box-office performance from its latest films. To help turn the tide, Avengers: Endgame directors Anthony and Joseph Russo are coming back on board for the next two films in the saga and looking to replicate their success with Endgame, which grossed more than US$2.7 billion worldwide in 2019. 

The fifth film in the franchise, Avengers: Doomsday, is slated to hit theaters in May 2026 and will see the return of Robert Downey Jr. to the MCU. However, the actor won’t be donning Tony Stark’s red-and-gold Iron Man armor because he has instead been cast as the film’s core antagonist, Doctor Doom. Disney and the Russo brothers will follow up Doomsday with a sequel called Avengers: Secret Wars in 2027. 

Meanwhile, Jazwares returned to the San Diego Convention Center to hold its second-ever Comic-Con panel, unveiling new licensed ranges of Squishmallows plush based on Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch (Walmart exclusive), Netflix’s Stranger Things (launching this fall) and The Lord of the Rings (launching next spring). 

The Florida-based toyco also announced its first limited-edition range of Hello Kitty and Friends products, which will hit the Jazwares e-commerce shop later this year. SKUs include an eight-inch Hello Kitty Birthday plush, a set of six action figures, and an eight-inch collection featuring Lolita Hello Kitty, Kuromi and My Melody. In addition, the company gave fans a sneak-peek at its Total Anime Collection action figures, featuring an SDCC-exclusive figure of Eren Jaeger from Attack on Titan that was available for purchase at the show. 

Rounding out the announcements, The LEGO Group showcased a wide range of upcoming licensed offerings, including a Dungeons & Dragons collection of Minifigures, a new Starfighter set for the company’s Jedi Bob Star Wars character, and a moving 1,215-piece Mario and Yoshi kit that recreates the character sprites from Nintendo’s Super Mario World video game.