DC FanDome, Warner Bros.'s virtual fan event for DC Comics and various film, TV, and game adaptations launched in 2020 as an online alternative to convention appearances, will not be returning this year, Popverse can confirm.

Speculation about the event has been growing for the past couple of months, fueled by a lack of an announcement from DC or Warner Bros. Discovery - previously, the event had been announced months in advance, with 2021’s DC FanDome revealed six months ahead of time – as well as a mass return to in-person events across the board, with conventions like Comic-Con International: San Diego, C2E2, and Emerald City Comic Con offering their largest shows since before the COVID pandemic began over the past few months.

So far in 2022, DC as a company has already attended San Diego Comic-Con with a series of panels for publishing, TV, movie, and gaming projects, as well as exclusive merchandise available to attendees of those panels, with DC talent appearing at other conventions independently. DC is also expected to present panels at New York Comic Con next month.

DC released a statement to Popverse reading, “With the return of in person events, Warner Bros. Discovery is excited to be able to engage with our fans live at numerous comic-cons around the world and will not be scheduling DC FanDome for 2022.”

An additional factor adding to the curiosity surrounding DC FanDome is the current contraction of DC’s parent company Warner Bros. Discovery, which has in recent weeks laid off 14 percent of the staff of HBO Max . Notably, however, Warner Bros. Discovery chief David Zaslav is on record as saying that DC is “top of the list” for Warner Bros. Discovery in terms of priorities, and it’s believed that the decision to forego DC FanDome this year is unrelated to any budgetary concern.

DC FanDome launched in August 2020 as an “immersive virtual fan experience” with exclusive content broadcast online for a 24-hour window, with a follow-up event the following month. The 2020 event was viewed by more than 22 million people globally across the day-long stream. In April 2021, it was announced that a second FanDome would take place in October that year, broadcast across a number of different platforms including YouTube, Twitch, and Twitter and featuring early looks at projects including HBO Max’s Peacemaker and the upcoming big screen Black Adam.

DC showed out in Hall H of the San Diego Convention Center at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con with a panel showcasing Black Adam and Shazam: Fury of the Gods. Go revisit the lightning via our liveblog from July.