Let’s get the bad news out of the way: some studios are totally skipping Comic-Con this year. 20th Century Fox, Paramount Pictures and Universal Pictures are all no-shows this year meaning if you were expecting to see anything from “World War Z,” you’re outta luck. And apparently, you only have yourself to blame for not watching “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World." 

But don't be too hard on yourself. Sony Pictures, Walt Disney Pictures, Warner Bros. and Lionsgate will still be in San Diego so there’s plenty of panels to watch and get excited about. Here’s a quick rundown of what will be going down starting Thursday and what’s worth stopping to check out.

Sylvester Stallone in "The Expendables 2" (Courtesy Lionsgate)

Thursday, July 12

“The Expendables 2”

What is it? A sequel to “The Expendables,” the 2010 action flick.

Who’s going to be there? Sylvester Stallone, Terry Crews, Randy Couture, Dolph Lundgren, Jean Claude Van Damme, and Ahnold!

Worth going to? Obviously. The real question is, can one room handle so much testosterone? There’s a lot of fun to be had here with the cast and one can only wonder how they will outdo the first “Expendables,” which was kind of the action movie to end all action movies. Did I mention, Ahnold?!?

“Oz: The Great and Powerful”

 What is it? A prequel to the “Wizard of Oz” based on the 1900 book “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz”

Who’s going to be there? Director Sam Raimi

Worth going to? Maybe. The cast in this movie is killer with Mila Kunis and James Franco starring and Michelle Williams and Rachel Weisz also onboard. Why aren’t any of them going to be at this panel? Still, the “Spiderman” and “Evil Dead” director is always worth listening to and maybe there’s a teaser trailer to be debuted here.

“The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 2”

What is it? The third movie in the “Twilight” series

Who’s going to be there? A good chunk of the cast, including Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, Taylor Lautner, and director Bill Condon

Worth going to? I mean, I wouldn’t. But if you already own Team Jacob t-shirts and you’re devoted to the books and movies, sure, why not?

Other film panels on Thursday:

“Frankenweenie” with Tim Burton

“Hotel Transylvania” with Genndy Tartakovsky

“Wreck-It Ralph” with John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Rich Moore

“Chinese Zodiac” with Jackie Chan

Friday, July 13

“ParaNorman”

What is it? An animated zombie comedy thriller brought to you from the folks that made “Coraline”

Who’s going to be there? Kodi Smit-McPhee, Anna Kendrick, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Travis Knight, Chris Butler, Sam Fell

Worth going to: Maybe. This is a very funny group presenting at this panel (it’s McLovin!) and “ParaNorman” appears to be very much a sleeper hit in the same way “Coraline” was. But if you’re not big on animated family films, this might not be for you.

“Resident Evil: Retribution”

What is it? The fifth movie in the “Resident Evil” series

Who’s going to be there? Milla Jovovich, Michelle Rodriguez, Oded Fehr, Boris Kodjoe, Mika Nakashima and director Paul W.S. Anderson

Worth going to? No. Why can’t Umbrella Corp get its s*** together, stop the zombie outbreak and spare us from more of these “Resident Evil” sequels? Milla Jovovich is pretty and has some talent, which makes it all the tougher to see her forever doomed to fight zombies.

Colin Farrell in "Total Recall" (Courtesy Columbia Pictures)

What is it? A remake of the 1990 sci-fi film (minus the trip to Mars; no word on whether Ahnold will be involved, though for your fetishists out there, this will be back), which was based on a Philip K. Dick novel, “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale”

Who’s going to be there? Colin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale, Jessica Biel, Bryan Cranston, Len Wiseman

Worth going to? Probably. The cast at this panel is pretty legit, especially with Walter White in attendance. The trailer makes this look like your standard action flick but maybe we’ll see more at Comic Con to convince us otherwise.

“Looper”

What is it? A sci-fi film where Joseph Gordon Levitt is a hitman and everything’s totally kosher until he’s tasked with killing his future self (!)

Who’s going to be there? Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Emily Blunt and director Rian Johnson

Worth going to? Probably. The concept seems decent enough and Joseph Gordon-Levitt is likeable, funny chap. It’s also a reunion between director Rian Johnson and Gordon-Levitt, both of whom worked together on the very underrated 2005 movie, “Brick,” so if you loved “Brick,” this panel is just for you.

“Elysium”

What is it? A sci-fi film about a select few of the one percent who live aboard the eponymously named space ship while the rest of the population toils on an overpopulated Earth.

Who’s going to be there? Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, producer Simon Kinberg and director Neill Blomkamp.

Worth going to? Maybe. Did you like “District 9”? If you did, Neill Blomkamp directed that so expect to hear a lot of talk about the social and political issues in this film.  But if you didn’t like “District 9,” you may want to skip this entirely.

Saturday, July 14

Jamie Foxx and Christopher Waltz in "Django Unchained" (Courtesy Columbia Pictures)

What is it? A western of sorts from Quentin Tarantino. Jamie Foxx stars as Django, a slave who right before the Civil War is freed by and then teams up with Christopher Waltz to catch fugitives. Here:this trailer explains it better

Who’s going to be there: Jamie Foxx, Christopher Waltz, Kerry Washington and director Quentin Tarantino

Worth going to see? YES! Tarantino alone is worth the price of entry but Foxx, Waltz and Washington are all very funny and talented folks. The last time Waltz and Tarantino teamed up, we got Colonel Hans Landa in “Inglorious Bastards” so we can’t wait to hear what they have in store for us this time around.

“Man of Steel”

What is it? A reboot of the “Superman” franchise.

Who’s going to be there? Unannounced

Worth going to? Yes? Not a lot is known about this reboot other than Henry Cavill being pegged to star as Superman/Clark Kent and Michael Shannon will play General Zod. But with Zack Snyder and Chris Nolan aboard, this could be very interesting movie and/or panel discussion—assuming somebody shows up to talk.

“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”

What is it: A prequel to something called "The Lord of the Rings," whatever that is

Who’s going to be there? Director Peter Jackson and cast members Martin Freeman and Ian McKellen

Worth going to? Yes. After all the drama this movie has been through (Remember how Guillermo Del Torro directing this? That was funny...) it's nice to see this thing finally coming together and ready to come out next year. This is probably the "nerdiest" panel given the fanbase but there's bound to something for everyone to enjoy.

“Iron Man 3”

What is it? A sequel to “Iron Man” and “Iron Man 2”

Who’s going to be there? Unannounced cast members (Robert Downey Jr?) and producer Kevin Feige

Worth going to? Yes. You could have Robert Downey Jr., Ben Kingsley and  Don Cheadle sitting around telling some great stories and jokes. Oh, and telling us about how Iron Man 3 will be better than “Iron Man 2” and “The Avengers”—or at least one would imagine. If none of the above actors show up, not my fault you wasted your time, though.

Other panels on Saturday:

“End of Watch” with Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Pena, David Ayer

“Silent Hill: Revelations 3D” with Adelaide Clemens, Kit Harington, Michael J. Bassett, Samuel Hadida

“Pacific Rim” with unannounced but Guillermo Del Toro is directing and Stringer Bell from "The Wire" is starring so this panel has some potential. It's a film about giant robots fighting sea monsters, so you can't go wrong with that.

Reach Writer Salomon here; follow him on Twitter here.