San Diego Comic Con has been cancelled. The world’s biggest comic convention that serves as a gathering for geeks and pop-culture afficionados has been called off due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak. The event was scheduled to take place between July 23-26 and this marks the first time in its 50 year history that it has been cancelled.

There were concerns a while back that the event could be cancelled and it appears those have come true. Spokesperson David Glanzer released the following statement about the event.

Extraordinary times require extraordinary measures and while we are saddened to take this action, we know it is the right decision. We eagerly look forward to the time when we can all meet again and share in the community we all love and enjoy.

The cancellation comes as California governor Gavin Newsom has issued a ban of public gatherings with 250 or more people. SDCC numbers can easily run in the thousands with the famed Hall-H alone capable of hosting as many as 6,500 attendees. The cancellation is also concerning because it takes place much ahead from now and casts doubt about the viability of other events and movie releases scheduled around that time, for instance Christopher Nolan’s Tenet.

SDCC is the biggest event for Movies & TV Shows deeply rooted in pop-culture to make some big announcements. This year, Warner Bros. was expected to attend the panel and show off its upcoming DC Universe movies. The coronavirus has been wreaking havoc upon the movie industry and has already led to several movie releases getting delayed. Over 2 million cases have been reported worldwide and have resulted in over 150,000 deaths. It appears the outbreak isn’t going away any time soon.