Some of the biggest stars in entertainment are descending on San Diego for Comic Con International, the annual gathering of movie, television and comic book super fans.

Around 130,000 people are expected to attend the four-day event in California, with a host of panels being held for upcoming blockbusters including Suicide Squad, Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them and Dr Strange starring Benedict Cumberbatch.

Game Of Thrones, The Walking Dead and Sherlock are among the TV shows which will feature at the convention, where many fans don the costumes of their favourite fictional characters.

The cast of Star Trek: Beyond in LondonThe cast of Star Trek: Beyond in London (Ian West/PA)

The cast of Star Trek: Beyond will kick off the convention on the red carpet on Wednesday night at the film’s US premiere.

Now in its 47th year, Comic Con has grown from around 100 attendees in 1970 to become one of the world’s biggest pop culture events.

Music superstar Justin Timberlake will join actress Anna Kendrick on Thursday to preview their new DreamWorks animation Trolls.

Justin Timberlake and Anna KendrickJustin Timberlake and Anna Kendrick (Joel Ryan/AP)

Oscar-winning director Oliver Stone and actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt will present their new film Snowden, the story of NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, who is also expected to appear via the internet for a question and answer session.

Warner Bros will showcase a number of eagerly anticipated films on Saturday at the convention’s 6,500-seat Hall H, hosted by US comedian Conan O’Brien.

Suicide Squad, starring Will Smith, Jared Leto and Margot Robbie will feature at the event, while Chris Pine and Gal Gadot will provide updates on the new Wonder Woman film.

Tom Hiddleston and Oscar-winning actress Brie Larson will preview Kong: Skull Island and Eddie Redmayne and Colin Farrell will provide a further glimpse at the Harry Potter spin-off Fantastic Beasts And Where to Find Them.

Marvel Studios will also stage its presentation on Saturday, with a first look at Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 2 starring Chris Pratt, and previews of Dr Strange, Spider-Man: Homecoming and Thor: Ragnarok.

Events will be held to mark the 30th anniversary of Aliens – with director James Cameron and Sigourney Weaver expected to attend – and the 50th anniversary of Star Trek with original Captain Kirk actor William Shatner.

William ShatnerWilliam Shatner (Richard Shotwell/AP)

The popularity of gaming app Pokemon Go has seen its panel on Sunday move to the convention’s largest room, Hall H, to accommodate fans. John Hanke, founder of Niantic, the makers of the game, is expected to speak.

Sue Kroll, president of worldwide marketing and distribution at Warner Bros, said: “Comic-Con is one of our favourite annual events and we’re thrilled to have an extraordinary line-up of films to highlight this year.

“It’s always exciting for us to give these fans a taste of what we’re bringing to theatre in such a direct way, connecting them with the talented actors and film-makers who work so hard to make everyone’s movie-going experience a memorable one.”