San Diego Comic-Con going virtual again this summer, planning in-person convention for November

All across the country, COVID-19 vaccines are starting to roll out and infection numbers have been on the decline. But even with this progress, it's still going to take a while for massive in-person events to come back. San Diego Comic-Con officially announced on Monday that the 2021 iteration of the annual summer pop culture bonanza will once again take place virtually.

Comic-Con first made the jump from in-person to virtual events last July, which was just a few months into the COVID-19 pandemic. A year later, they're sticking with it, although there will be some changes: This year, Comic-Con only has enough resources to put on three days' worth of events, from July 23 to 25, instead of the usual four or five (not to mention all the Comic-Con-adjacent events that would pop up in San Diego the week of the event).

However, there is a ray of light at the end of the tunnel. It was also announced that SDCC "is planning to present a three-day in-person convention in San Diego in November." If there's one thing we've all learned over the past year, it's to keep our plans open, so the statement notes that "specific details as to attendance capacity, badge cost, and related information" for the in-person events are still being worked out.

So there will be two San Diego Comic-Con events this year: a virtual one at its usual time in midsummer and an in-person one in the offseason of November. Read the full statement below, and stay tuned to the official Comic-Con website for further updates.

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