New York Comic Con Reveals First Wave of Guests for 2026 Show

Ahead of general ticket sales, which go live today at 12pm ET, ReedPop has announced the first wave of guests for this year’s New York Comic Con.

Headlining entertainment guests this year include Anakin Skywalker himself, Hayden Christensen, alongside Emperor Palpatine, aka Ian McDiarmid. Lena Headey (Game of Thrones, 300) and Jamie Campbell Bower (Stranger Things, Camelot) will also be there. Fans of Smallville will get a mini-reunion with Tom Welling, Kristin Kreuk, Erica Durance, and Michael Rosenbaum scheduled to appear. And if you’re a different kind of DC fan, you might be interested in the Superman & Lois guests – Tyler Hoechlin, Bitsie Tulloch, and Michael Cudlitz. You can also expect to see a number of guests from Scream, Jurassic Park, and Brooklyn Nine-Nine, among others.

As for comic guests, we have some staples returning yet again in 2026, including Frank Miller, Jim Lee, James Tynion IV, and Scott Snyder. Authors like Rick Riordan and Kami Garcia will also be in attendance.

We also have the first list of companies who will be exhibiting on the show floor. Dark Horse is back after a brief hiatus. DC and Marvel are both on the list, as are Boom! and Webtoon. Publishing giants HarperCollins, Penguin Random House, Scholastic, and Simon & Schuster will all be back. Anime staples Crunchyroll, Toei Animation, and VIZ Media will all be there as well.

For the full list of Guests, click here. Details on photo ops and autographing sessions will be released at a later date – usually mid-July.

This is NYCC’s 20th anniversary, so fans are expecting a lot. I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say that this announcement has been met with some disappointment. But I feel the need to remind people that a) NYCC is a programming-centric con so there will be a lot of interesting guests who may not be announced, and b) this is only the first wave of guests.

As a perennial attendee, I am always able to find something to enjoy every day, every year that I attend. I have never not had a good time. Personally, I’m excited for a potential Jurassic Park panel, and I would love to see Tyler Hoechlin again. I think the last time I saw him was at San Diego Comic-Con several years ago. And with Rick Riordan attending, my fingers are crossed for a Percy Jackson and the Olympians panel ahead of season 3.

NYCC will be held Thursday, October 8, through Sunday, October 11, at the Javits Convention Center in Manhattan. For the 20th anniversary, ReedPop has partnered with NYC icon Coney Island to bring what will hopefully be a fun and unique experience to this year’s event.

I hope to see some of you there!

Author: Jamie Sugah

Jamie has a BA in English with a focus in creative writing from The Ohio State University. She self-published her first novel, The Perils of Long Hair on a Windy Day, which is available through Amazon. She is currently an archivist and lives in New York City with her demon ninja vampire cat. She covers television, books, movies, anime, and conventions in the NYC area.

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