Apple TV at Comic-Con: ‘Matchbox’, ‘Mayday’, ‘Widow’s Bay’ More
EXCLUSIVE: Apple TV will be making a big splash in Hall H for the first time ever at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con International with a two-hour panel set for Saturday, July 25 at 2PM with a line-up that includes their record breaking Emmy nominated Widow’s Bay series, the John Cena Mattel action movie Matchbox, the Ryan Reynolds movie Mayday as well as series Dark Matter and Silo. No word yet if Reynolds is heading down to SDCC, but it won’t be shocking if the guy behind the Merc with a Mouth shows up (Deadpool is buzzed to be in Avengers: Doomsday and Marvel Studios’ panel is on Saturday).
Josh Horowitz, host of the Happy, Sad, Confused podcast will moderate all of the panels.
Separately, Apple is holding a sneak preview screening of the first episode of Dark Matter‘s new season. There’s also a Silo multi-sensory installation that will transport visitors into the silo itself.
San Diego Comic-Con takes place from Thursday, July 23-Sunday, July 26 with preview night on Wednesday July 22.
Here’s how Apple TV’s footprint there is going down:
Friday, July 24 – Sunday, July 26, 2026
11:00 AM – 7:00 PM*
The Silo Experience
The Lot @ 1st & J, 450 2nd Ave, San Diego
Free and open to all SDCC attendees and the public
*hours subject to change
Friday, July 24
10:00PM – 11:00PM
Special Sneak Preview of Dark Matter Season two – Room 6DE
Guests include star and executive producer Joel Edgerton; cast member Dayo Okeniyi; author of the novel, creator, and executive producer Blake Crouch; writer and EP Jacquelyn Ben-Zekry; and EP Matt Tolmach.
Saturday, July 25
2:00PM – 4:00PM
Apple TV Hall H Panel
Matchbox The Movie
Panelists: John Cena, Jessica Biel, Arturo Castro, Sam Richardson, Teyonah Parris
Inspired by the Mattel toys, the Skydance co-production follows a group of friends since childhood who have their lives upended when undercover CIA agent Sean (John Cena), their long-absent former leader, returns to their small town and unwittingly gets them embroiled in a frantic international pursuit to save the world. Alongside Cena, the film stars Jessica Biel, Sam Richardson,Teyonah Parris, Arturo Castro, Corey Stoll, Bill Camp, Danai Gurira, and Golshifteh Faranhani. Sam Hargrave directed and EP’ed off a scrip by David Coggeshall. David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Don Granger produce for Skydance, alongside Robbie Brenner and Ynon Kreiz through Mattel Films as well as Jules Daly. Patrick Newall and Elizabeth Bassin serve as EPs. Matchbox: The Movie drives onto Apple TV on Oct. 9.
Widow’s Bay
Panelists to be announced
In “Widow’s Bay,” something lurks beneath the surface. Mayor Tom Loftis (Matthew Rhys) is desperate to revive his struggling community. There’s no Wi-Fi, spotty cellular reception and he must contend with superstitious locals who believe their island is cursed. He wants these people to respect him. They don’t. They think he is soft and cowardly. And he is. But Loftis is determined to build a better future for his teenage son and turn the island into a tourist destination. Miraculously, he succeeds: tourists are finally coming. Unfortunately, the locals were right. After decades of calm, the old stories that seemed too ludicrous to be true start happening again. Series stars Kate O’Flynn, Stephen Root, Kingston Rumi Southwick, Kevin Carroll and Dale Dickey. The supporting cast includes K Callan and Emmy Award-winner Jeff Hiller. Katie Dippold created and showruns. Hiro Murai executive produces through his banner Chum Films alongside Carver Karaszewski, Claudia Shin and Rhys. Murai directed five episodes in the first season, with the other episodes in the season directed by Ti West, Sam Donovan and Andrew DeYoung. Season one is currently streaming on Apple TV.
Dark Matter
Panelists Blake Crouch, Matt Tolmach, Jacquelyn Ben-Zekry, Joel Edgerton, Jennifer Connelly, Dayo Okeniyi
Dark Matter is a story about the road not taken. In season one, the series followed Jason Dessen (Joel Edgerton), a physicist, professor and family man who — one night while walking home on the streets of Chicago — is abducted into an alternate version of his life. Wonder quickly turns to nightmare when he tries to return to his reality amid the mind-bending landscape of lives he could have lived. Season two picks up with the Dessens as they settle into a quiet life in a world that finally seems safe until the unimaginable forces them to run once again. As Jason’s obsession with the Box deepens, Daniela’s (Jennifer Connelly) growing paranoia pushes her to the brink, threatening to tear their fragile stability apart. Elsewhere, Amanda (Alice Braga) and Ryan (Jimmi Simpson) join forces in a desperate attempt to find their way home. With Blair (Amanda Brugel) determined to stop him, while Leighton (Dayo Okeniyi) relentlessly chases his grand vision of creating a perfect world.
Serie is produced for Apple TV by Sony Pictures TV. Crouch serves as creator, EP, showrunner and writer alongside executive producers Matt Tolmach, Richard Lederer, and Jacquelyn Ben-Zekry, who co-wrote every episode of season two with Crouch. In addition to starring, Edgerton and Connelly are EPs. Season 2 launches on August. 28 with its first episode with new episodes dropping weekly through Oct. 30.
Mayday
Panelists: John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein.
Reynolds and Kenneth Branagh star in this spy thriller about a hotshot U.S. Navy pilot Lieutenant Troy “Assassin” Kelly (Reynolds) who is sent on a top-secret mission into Russian territory at the height of the Cold War. The operation implodes, leaving him stranded behind enemy lines. Discovered by Nikolai Ustinov (Branagh), a gruff ex-KGB agent with a penchant for American culture, Troy thinks he’s toast until the two form an unlikely alliance. The cast also includes Marcin Dorocinski, Maria Bakalova, David Morse and more. Apple Original Films and Skydance Media are producing. Pic is directed, written and produced by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein. Ellison, Goldberg and Granger produce for Skydance, alongside Maximum Effort’s Ashley Fox and Johnny Pariseau. Reynolds and George Dewey, through Maximum Effort, along with John G. Scotti, serve as EPs. The movie lands on Apple TV on Sept. 4
Silo
Panelists: Graham Yost, Rebecca Ferguson, Common, Tim Robbins, Ashley Zukerman, Jessica Henwick, Alexandria Riley.
Season 3 reveals an origin story set centuries earlier, while continuing the saga of a dystopian society of 10,000 people living underground under mysterious circumstances. In the present, Juliette Nichols (Rebecca Ferguson) survives her forced “cleaning” but returns with memory loss as the silo recovers from rebellion and faces a dangerous new threat. Meanwhile, in the “Before Times,” journalist Helen Drew (Jessica Henwick) and Congressman Daniel Keene (Ashley Zukerman) uncover a conspiracy that pulls them into a chain of events with catastrophic, irreversible consequences. The cast also includes Common, Harriet Walter, Chinaza Uche, Avi Nash, Alexandria Riley, Shane McRae, Remmie Milner, Rick Gomez, Billy Postlethwaite, and Clare Perkins. Season 3 additions alongside Zukerman and Henwick, are Laura Innes, Jessica Brown Findlay, Morven Christie, Reed Birney, and Matt Craven, with Colin Hanks set to recur, and Steve Zahn also set to return. Series is is produced by Apple Studios, EP’s by Yost, Michael Dinner, Nina Jack, Joanna Thapa, Ferguson, Morten Tyldum, Howey, Amber Templemore, Fred Golan, Rémi Aubuchon and AMC Studios. Season 3 launched on July 3 with weekly episodes occurring through Friday, September 4.
