To kick off the Game of Thrones panel in San Diego on Friday, HBO shared a blooper reel from season four, proving that even Tywin Lannister gets tongue-tied. The panel also shared casting news about season five, announcing the addition of Alexander Siddig as Doran Martell; Toby Sebastian as Trystane Martell; Nell Tiger Free as Myrcella Baratheon; DeObia Oparei as Areo Hotah; Enzo Cilenti as Yezzan; Jessica Henwick as Nymeria (“Nym”) Sand; and Rosabell Laurenti Sellers as Tyene Sand. Keisha Castle-Hughes (Whale Runner) will join the cast as Prince Oberyn Martel’s bastard daughter Obara Sand, and Jonathan Pryce (Pirates of the Caribbean), whose appearance inspired a loud eruption from the crowd, will be playing the High Sparrow. As for George R.R. Martin’s involvement in penning upcoming episodes, he told Entertainment Weekly that he’ll be stepping aside this season, saying, “I’ve got this book that I have to finish.”
Might Sons of Anarchy get its very own Better Call Saul-style prequel? Such was the tease during the SOA panel in San Diego on Sunday. The popular FX series will begin its seventh and final season on September 9, but the end of the show doesn’t necessarily mean the end of the SOA universe for fans. “We are having serious conversations about our prequel,” said creator Kurt Sutter. “My sense is right now that I don’t know if it will be a full-on series or a mini-series,” but he added that it definitely won’t be a “spin-off.” Also while inside SDCC’s famous Hall H, Sutter shared with fans the cover art for the first novelization of the series, Sons of Anarchy: Bratva, which jumps into the plot where season four of the show left off. Charlie Hunnam, the show’s lead who didn’t make Sunday’s panel, sent a message in the form of this video, poking fun at the fact that he was attending a photo shoot for Vogue instead of going to Comic-Con.
With the Guardians of the Galaxy feature film hitting theaters this week, Comic-Con was the perfect time for Marvel to unveil its upcoming GOTG animated series on Disney XD. Marvel honchos Jeph Loeb, Stephen Wacker, Eric Radomski, and Cort Lane (along with Hulk voice actor Fred Tatasciore) attended the Marvel animation panel and showed a one-minute clip of the upcoming GOTG cartoon, which features the characters Rocket Raccoon and Star-Lord. Marvel also screened the whole first episode of Marvel’s Ultimate Spider-Man: Web Warriors, premiering August 31 on Disney XD, in which Spidey pairs up with the Avengers. And attendees of Saturday’s panel were treated to clips of the now-confirmed second seasons of Avengers Assemble, and Hulk and the Agents Of S.M.A.S.H. Loeb, Marvel’s TV chief, told the crowd, “Enjoy the cartoons. That’s what you are supposed to do on a Saturday morning.”
While their Saturday night Comic-Con panel mostly focused on Coven, American Horror Story shared cast details for season four, including the addition of John Carroll Lynch (Zodiac, The Americans) as one of the show’s villains. According to exec producer Tim Minear, Lynch will play a character who will “scare the s— out of you,” rivaling the creepiness of season one’s Rubber Man, Asylum‘s Bloody Face and Coven‘s Minotaur. Minear also described Freak Show as “Douglas Sirk meets Zodiac.” Other details revealed the names of the new characters with Emma Roberts as Maggie; Sarah Paulson as Bette and Dot Tattler; Kathy Bates as Effil Darling; Michael Chiklis as Wendell Del Toredo; Angela Bassett as Desiere Dupree; Evan Peters as Jimmy Darling; and Jessica Lange as Elsa Mars. Paulson, who plays conjoined twins, admitted that she doesn’t know why, but Bette is her favorite.
A total of 33 panelists appeared at DC’s TV program on Friday night that featured full episodes of the upcoming shows The Flash (The CW) and Gotham (Fox), plus a new trailer for Constantine (NBC), and a teaser for season three of Arrow (The CW). The panel, called “Warner Bros. Television Presents a Night of DC Entertainment,” was introduced by Arrow star Stephen Amell, who brought on actors Ben McKenzie, Grant Gustin, and Matt Ryan. Geoff Johns of DC Comics hosted the cast and producers of all four shows in a presentation to a full house of 6,500 people in Hall H. Gotham premieres on Fox on September 22; The Flash on The CW October 7; Arrow on The CW October 8; and Constantine on NBC October 24.
