One of our favorite signs that San Diego Comic-Con is almost here has nothing to do with exclusives or panel announcements. It’s when downtown San Diego starts transforming, as giant wraps and banners begin appearing on hotels and buildings throughout the Gaslamp. Every new installation is a reminder that the convention is just days away, and the excitement is officially building.

To learn more about the process that goes into turning buildings in the Gaslamp into works of art, you can check out our SDConCast episode with KAP Media Group.

[UPDATE July 16 #8]

Over at the Prime Video wrap, we’ve gotten The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power filled in now on the windows, as well as the premiere date of November 11, 2026.

Plus the start of whatever this is in the corner…

Here’s also a look at the completed The Vampire Lestat wrap.

[UPDATE July 16 #7]

He’s here! Hudson Williams has joined the line-up on the YAGA wrap.

[UPDATE July 16 #6]

We love a good side wrap, and The Rookie is looking gorgeous here with this extra placement.

Over at the Omni, more Star Wars Funko Pop!s are showing up. We’ve got a little peek of Babu Frik here.

[UPDATE July 16 #5]

In the land of Mordor, in the fires of Mount Doom, the Dark Lord Sauron forged in secret a secret wrap… We’d love to see some non-text on this wrap for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, but progress continues.

[UPDATE July 16 #4]

Advertisements are springing up in places advertisements have never been seen before at San Diego Comic-Con! Including on the ground in front of Old Spaghetti Factory (try the Manager’s Favorite with Meat Sauce and Mizithra, you’ll thank us), for ENHYPEN and their Blood Saga.

Something tells us this won’t last the whole con.

[UPDATE July 16 #3]

And you didn’t really think you wouldn’t get a vampire update, did you? They’re finally filling in the middle section, though at the moment it’s just the logo, and we’re far more curious what’s going on the rest.

[UPDATE July 16 #2]

At the Hilton Gaslamp, there’s been quite a bit of progress on the YAGA wrap. And yes, for those concerned, the windows obviously get wrapped as well. We have a feeling that Hudson Williams and Noah Reid may be on the other half of this wrap.

On the other side, The Walking Dead: Dead City is basically complete.

[UPDATE July 16]

We have seen your crashouts online, and there’s good news ahead: The Hilton Gaslamp Prime Video wrap along 5th Avenue remains The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. You can breathe easy.

Of course, right now, it does look like “The Lord of ORIGINAL”.

[UPDATE July 15 #12]

And for our final update for the evening, the Prime Video wrap is currently just a lot of red, and the words “Prime Original”. Will it ever say anything else? Stay tuned to find out tomorrow… We still think this is for Blade Runner 2099, but we could always be wrong.

[UPDATE July 15 #11]

Daniel and Armand have officially joined The Vampire Lestat wrap now. The only section left to be complete should be the side portion.

[UPDATE July 15 #10]

The Hilton Gaslamp is looking gorgeous, with The Walking Dead: Dead City having made significant movement in just one day.

And on the other larger spot, there’s YAGA. And we spy Carrie Anne-Moss now added as part of the wrap.

Wolverine is now finished, and we’re loving how vibrant that yellow is. Did you notice that the slashes are meant to look like they’re literally ripping through the hotel rooms?

[UPDATE July 15 #9]

We’re headed back to Petco Park, where The Rookie is now fully complete.

The other side of Petco is Abbott Elementary, with a fun new design for 2026.

Over at the Omni, the Funko wrap now has some Star Wars Pop! figures.

[UPDATE July 15 #8]

Over on the other side of the Hilton Gaslamp, they’ve started work on the annual Prime Video wall. Right now there’s not much to see beyond some very sunset-looking colors and a hint of the Prime Video logo, but to us, it’s giving Blade Runner. It’s giving… O R I G I N A L.

But enough of that, let’s get back to vampires. Lestat is basically filled in on both sides completely. All that seems left to do is to finish Armand, Daniel, and whatever is going on the middle section.

[UPDATE July 15 #7]

After a well-deserved lunch break, crews are back on the ground. We’re loving how much The Walking Dead: Dead City really pops on the Hilton Gaslamp, and Neegan is here now as well.

Over at the Omni, Wolverine is looking pretty close to finished. Could they wrap this one up today? (No pun intended)

[UPDATE July 15 #6]

Work continues on YAGA, with Clark Backo, who is playing Carson in the series, now partially filled in. Our strong prediction is it won’t be long until Hudson Williams’ face is looming over the San Diego Convention Center.

[UPDATE July 15 #5]

Over at the Hilton Gaslamp, work continues on YAGA — and yes, it’s definitely YAGA.

[UPDATE July 15 #4]

Our own Parks & Cons got a closer look at The Walking Dead: Dead City wrap.

[UPDATE July 15 #3]

[UPDATE July 15 #2]

On the non-vampire side of things, work has started at Happy Does for The Lodge.

Back over at Petco, we’ve got The Rookie basically complete. On the other side… we may not have a panel for offsite for Abbott Elementary, but at least we’ve still got a wrap.

 

Over at the Omni, work continues on the Marvel Wolverine wrap.

And there are lots of updates on the Hilton Gaslamp, which — to the surprise of no one — is The Walking Dead: Dead City.

In the middle area, we’ve got Devil in Silver, which no one saw coming.

And finally, across the way, we have… something. 

[UPDATE July 15]

It’s a new day, and we are back on the ground! We’re starting off back at the Pendry, where The Vampire Lestat work continues. And most importantly, both Daniel and Armand are starting to fill in.

 

[UPDATE July 14 #4]

Let’s start over at the Hilton Gaslamp, which is also already going up. Will both wraps be The Walking Dead: Dead City, as Interview with the Vampire got back in 2023? Or will the smaller Lou & Mickey’s overhead wrap be YAGA? Time will soon tell.

Back at the Omni, work continues on the Funko Toy Story wrap, which is actually… really cute. Gosh darn it.

Over at the Omni, it’s a lot of movement in the pelvic region for The Vampire Lestat‘s wrap.

And finally for this update, we’ve got a bit of movement on Petco Park for The Rookie.

[UPDATE July 14 #3]

We’ve also got an update for you on Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender, which is looking gorgeous in the San Diego sun today.

[UPDATE July 14 #2]

Marvel’s Wolverine is coming along nicely over at the Omni.

On the other side of the Omni, the Funko wrap is really poppin’.

But the most exciting news at the moment is that we appear to have movement on Petco Park, for The Rookie.

[UPDATE July 14]

We’ve had quite a lot of movement since yesterday. Regina has been added to the front section, and much more of Lestat is also now filled in. We’re fairly certain that curly hair in the bottom right also belongs to Daniel.

On the other side, there is another Lestat in black and white starting to form.

[UPDATE July 13 #5]

On the non-The Vampire Lestat side of things, there has been a lot of progress on all of the other wraps started today, including Funko’s logo and Toy Story‘s Jessie over on the Omni, Wolverine on the other side of the Omni, Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender on Park One.

[UPDATE July 13 #4]

They are tearing through The Vampire Lestat wrap, which has already seen significant progress today — including the addition of Gabriella. On the other side, you can also see part of the logo again, in a different font. Lestat is now much more filled in on that side.

[UPDATE Julty 13 #3]

We’re ready to rock out to The Vampire Lestat at their Friday Hall H panel, but first, it’s all about Loustat at the moment as the Pendry wrap fills in more.

[UPDATE July 13 #2]

YIP! The Park One spot this year appears to fully be Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender, with Appa getting the side spot, and Aang front and center on the main portion, with a tagline reading “The legacy reawakens”.

Back at the Omni, there’s more Funko (yay?), this time for Toy Story. You can see Jesse and her lasso peeking out below.

The main portion of the Omni, though, is not Funko at all, but the upcoming video game Marvel’s Wolverine.

[UPDATE July 13]

Surprise! Wraps appear to be going up a little earlier this year. Up first, we are fairly certain that the Pendry is The Vampire Lestat, taking over from the typical spot for The Walking Dead series of the summer. We have a feeling this means that The Walking Dead: Dead City will be on the Hilton Gaslamp’s big spot, possibly with YAGA in the Lou & Mickey spot.

You can definitely see “Vampire Lestat” lettering, as well as Sam Reid’s hair… and what I think may be Louis? It appears to be ripped up posters.

Next, if the Omni has one fault this year… it’s that it’s going to be covered in Funko.

[UPDATE June 29]

Players, assemble! Wizards of the Coast have started taking over signage in the Gaslamp for their Magic the Gathering Marvel Super Heroes, which transforms your favorite Marvel heroes and villains into Magic cards. Currently, there are five signs, each depicting a different Marvel character: Black Panther, the Hulk, Iron Man, Thor, and Black Widow.

We already know there will be promo cards at the event, featuring Loki and more, but fans are definitely hoping for a repeat of last summer’s amazing offsite.