Bad news, everyone. Well, at least for everyone who is going to be attending San Diego Comic-Con. Joss Whedon, one of the most important figures in the world of fandom, won't be attending the event this year. Granted, it is for good reason, since he is currently busy handling the reshoots on Justice League, but it still serves as a bummer for those in attendance that Warner Bros. wasn't able to arrange for him to make an appearance at the convention.

The news comes courtesy of An Englishman in San Diego, who got confirmation from Joss Whedon directly that he won't be making it to SDCC 2017. Their contributor Mark Searby ran into Joss Whedon on the street in the U.K. and, when asked about whether or not he will be in attendance at Comic-Con this year, Whedon broke the bad news. Here's what he had to say about it.

"I won't be there. Only the second time in twenty years I won't make it."

Even before Hollywood managed to essentially take over San Diego Comic-Con a little more than a decade ago, Joss Whedon was a huge part of the event. Dating back to his TV days, working on shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, he was very much connected to the fans. Not to mention his work as a comic book writer. Many consider his Astonishing X-Men run to be among the best in the history of the X-Men, which is no small feat. He also scored a huge hit, at least with fans, with the short-lived sci-fi series Firefly, which originally aired in 2002, just as Hollywood was really starting to make a big impact at SDCC.

Joss Whedon wound up making a big leap when Marvel Studios tapped him to helm The Avengers, which was released in 2012. He followed that up with Avengers: Age of Ultron, so he has been a major figure at SDCC in recent years. Warner Bros. recently hired him to write and direct a Batgirl movie as part of the DCEU, which would give him one very good reason to be there this year. Zack Snyder also recently had to leave the director's chair on Justice League following a personal tragedy, leaving Joss Whedon to step in and finish up the movie. Since that is the next DCEU movie Warner Bros. has slated for release, they would probably love to have Whedon there. But it is more important for him to finish Justice League, so it is with good reason that he isn't going.

Even though Joss Whedon won't actually be at San Diego Comic-Con this year, his presence will still be felt. With a Justice League trailer expected to drop and with Warner Bros. doing a big presentation, his name will come up. Maybe he can record a little message for those in attendance? In any case, those heading to SDCC this year won't be able to have him sign any Firefly posters or Buffy box sets.