The world’s largest celebration of pop culture fandom saw thousands of misty-eyed comic book fans and sci-fi nerds donning their best cosplay outfits and descending on San Diego. 

The spectacular array of costumes marked the 50th edition of Comic-Con International. The popular event kicked off on Thursday and will round up on Monday.

Some 135,000 cosplayers, bloggers, movie executives and humble fans have turned out to catch glimpses of their heroes, in town to promote the next mega-hit films, TV shows and comic books.   

A cosplayer dressed as Poison Ivy from DC Comics attends the 2019 Comic-Con International on July 18 

Cosplayer dressses as Captain Marvel from the 2019 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Carol Danvers

Cosplayer dresses as Spiderman 

Cosplayer dresses as Valak from ‘The Conjuring’

This anniversary edition promises to be more nostalgia-laden than most. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton made a joint appearance on Thursday, and will soon also reunite on screen for the first time since 1991’s ‘Terminator 2’ for Paramount’s killer cyborg sequel ‘Dark Fate.’

Also pushing hard on sentimental buttons will be Patrick Stewart, attending a panel for the launch of CBS’s new Star Trek series in which he reprises the fan-favorite role of Captain Jean-Luc Picard after almost two decades. 

And lackluster reviews be damned: the cast of ‘Game of Thrones’ — or at least a hardy few – will reassemble to dissect HBO’s fantasy epic in front of an audience on Friday in Hall H.

A cosplayer dresses as the clown from Stephen King’s 1986 horror novel It

Cosplayer dresses as Magical Girl Jester from the live Dungeon & Dragons show Critical Role 

Cosplayer dresses as Little Red Riding Hood 

With author George R. R. Martin rumored to be attending, devotees who have kept the faith will be scouring for details of the numerous prequel series believed to be in development.

Kicking things off on Wednesday evening was New Line Cinema and Warner Bros.’ now-traditional ‘Scare Diego,’ which for the second year running offered fans insights into evil clown slasher ‘It: Chapter Two,’ based on the 1986 Stephen King novel.

Netflix may be newer to the game, but it too is mining the archives in search of its next big hit.

Cosplayer Matthew Morningstar poses while dressed as the ‘Joker’ supervillain from Batman on the first day of the event

Cosplayers portray Robin Scoops Ahoy from ‘Stranger Things’ (left) and a girl scout (right)

Cosplayer Devan Blake dresses as Valak from ‘The Conjuring’ 

A prequel series to classic 1982 fantasy film ‘The Dark Crystal’ is generating buzz, with its combination of old-fashioned puppetry and cutting-edge visual effects aiming to cast a spell on old and young alike.

In its search for the next ‘Game of Thrones’ the web streaming giant is set to lift the lid on ‘The Witcher,’ starring Superman actor Henry Cavill as the monster hunter from a series of cult 1990s Polish novels which spawned a lucrative video game franchise.

An exact release date for the upcoming series has not been announced yet, but we will be learning more about the show during a panel dedicated to it. It’s set for the convention’s most notorious venue, Hall H, on Friday.  

Another set of magical books getting the premium TV treatment is Philip Pullman’s acclaimed ‘His Dark Materials’ trilogy, which will be previewed by HBO on Thursday.

Cosplayer Arielle Barels dresses as Robin from'Batman: The Dark Night Returns'

Cosplayer Arielle Barels dresses as Robin from ‘Batman: The Dark Night Returns’ 

Cosplayer dresses as Princess Peach from Nintendo's'Mario' franchise. Peach is the princess of the fictional Mushroom kingdom

Cosplayer dresses as Princess Peach from Nintendo’s ‘Mario’ franchise. Peach is the princess of the fictional Mushroom kingdom 

Cosplayers dress as four Marge Simpsons

Cosplayers dress as four Marge Simpsons 

 HBO kicked off its programming schedule on Thursday by debuting the first trailer for its highly-anticipated series His Dark Materials.

The show is a co-production between HBO and BBC, with the networks ordering two eight-episode seasons, the first of which slated to debut this fall.

The trailer debuted during the show’s Hall H panel at San Diego Comic-Con, featuring stars James McAvoy, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ruth Wilson and Dafne Keen. 

Cosplayers Jennifer Carter and Be'la Dornon dress as Phoenix (left) and Thanos (right)

Cosplayers Jennifer Carter and Be’la Dornon dress as Phoenix (left) and Thanos (right)

Cosplayer Maddie Stalling dressed as Magical Girl Jester from the live Dungeon & Dragons show Critical Role

Cosplayer Maddie Stalling dressed as Magical Girl Jester from the live Dungeon & Dragons show Critical Role

A cosplayer portrays the Riddler, a supervillain appearing in comic books published by DC Comics

A cosplayer portrays the Riddler, a supervillain appearing in comic books published by DC Comics

Marvel Studios returns after skipping an edition and is expected to announce which characters from its comic-book back catalog will next be mined for its hyper-successful ‘cinematic universe.’

After the recent ‘Avengers: Endgame’ and ‘Spider-Man: Far From Home,’ it is now time for ‘Phase Four’ of the juggernaut of interconnected superhero films.

Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige is in town, and hopes are mounting that he and billed ‘surprise panelists’ will unveil identities of the eight untitled Marvel films on parent company Disney’s release slate.

Cosplayer Kezia Chuaqul from Austin, Texas is dressed as'Magik' from X-Men

Cosplayer Kezia Chuaqul from Austin, Texas is dressed as ‘Magik’ from X-Men

Cosplayers pose at Comic-Con International

Cosplayers pose at Comic-Con International 

Cosplayers dress as Hook and Tinkerbell from Peter Pan

Cosplayers dress as Hook and Tinkerbell from Peter Pan 

A standalone film for Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow and a fourth ‘Thor’ movie are among those widely thought to be in the works.

‘Avengers: Endgame’ directors the Russo brothers will also stop by to discuss the making of a film edging ever-closer to toppling Avatar’s global all-time box office record.

The absence of any DC Universe movies from Warner Bros. has been coolly received by superhero fans, however, while film studio giants Sony and Universal are skipping this year entirely.

And sure to stir controversy in some of the internet’s darker depths is an early glimpse at The CW’s new ‘Batwoman’ series, featuring Ruby Rose as an openly lesbian, feminist superheroine.

A bevy of celebrities turned out for the event, including Ugly Betty star America Ferrera who led the stars for the Superstore panel on Thursday. 

Ruth Wilson, who stars in an upcoming TV miniseries adaptation of classic Philip Pullman fantasy novel His Dark Materials, made some magic of her own in a red leather midi-dress as she appeared on a panel to discuss the film at San Diego Comic-Con.

Also in attendance was ABC crime drama Stumptown star Cobie Smulders. 

Smulders posed up a storm at San Diego Comic-Con this Thursday in aid of the upcoming program which airs in September. 

Cosplayers Jude Albright (front) and Alexander Albright portray Dream and Death from the DC comic book series'The Sandman'

Cosplayers Jude Albright (front) and Alexander Albright portray Dream and Death from the DC comic book series ‘The Sandman’ 

A cosplayer dresses as The Joker

A cosplayer dresses as The Joker