#SDCC Programming

[lastcellontheleft]

We didn’t get a S4 announcement, but you know what the absolute best thing about today’s C2E2 Hannibal panel truly was? 

For almost the first time since the show ended, Fannibals showed how profitable Hannibal can still be. 

C2E2 sold out of their remaining VIP ticket packages with guaranteed panel seating within 48 hours of the reunion announcement. Paid PopVerse subscriptions to stream the panel spiked with previously untapped demos (if socials are anything to go by). The largest event hall at C2E2 was overcapacity 45 minutes before the panel; while that’s normal for cons like SDCC and NYCC, in my experience that’s less common at C2E2.

Not to mention Mads and Hugh making bank with autograph and photo-op sales; a huge component of drawing in good talent to table at cons as well, making sure they make enough over the weekend to justify their presence beyond panel appearances. From a talent booking/event management perspective, this is the absolute dream scenario.

So, here’s the super fun part: ReedPop, the company that owns C2E2, also owns/operates New York Comic Con (NYCC), one of the highest-profile US entertainment conventions after San Diego Comic-Con. Now that ReedPop is aware of the viability of Hannibal programming, it would be extremely surprising if RP didn’t attempt a run at a larger, proper reunion panel at NYCC.

Honestly, great job, team. 2024 could very well be the year we get real buzz going again!

[felassan]

SDCC Program - "Dragon Age: Meet the Heroic Companions of Thedas Friday July 26, 2024 3:15pm - 4:15pm PDT Room 6BCF With the world recently getting its first detailed look at the next Dragon Age game, it’s time to meet the actors bringing these characters to life, from the beloved returning personalities like Varric and Solas to the new and remarkable cast of The Veilguard. Lucy James (video producer and host at GameSpot) dives in with John Epler (Dragon Age creative director), Ashley Barlow (creative performance director), and several companion voiceover actors/actresses from the game. Attendees will hear from the voice actors of Dragon Age: The Veilguard discussing their motivations and inspirations that have lit up the personalities and uniqueness of each companion."

[source]

Lucy James: "I still can't believe it, but. I am hosting the Dragon Age panel at San Diego Comic-Con this year!!" [source]

[context]

[maharetscompound]

Interview with the Vampire - All 2025 Interviews - Part One

An archive of all IWTV interviews in 2025.

This is a compilation of interviews in 2025 with the IWTV cast & production team - about IWTV or, at least, mentioning IWTV.

(Interviews about other projects, without an IWTV mention, will not be included.)

If I miss anything, please let me know!

Interview Count:

January: 3 February: 6 March: 3 April: 10 May: 11 June: 10 First Half of 2025: 43 interviews

January 2025

Jan 5 - Katie O'shaughnessy - Chatting with Daniel Hart (Video) - Daniel Hart

Jan 14 - Cosmopolitan UK - Delainey Hayles: My Little Black Beauty Book - Delainey Hayles

Jan 15 - Empty Theater Club - Lin Codega on debut novel MOTHEATER, Interview With The Vampire Writer's Room, & More! - Lin Codega

February 2025

Feb 5 - Emsolation Podcast - Sam Reid Talks the Final Season of The Newsreader (Video) - Sam Reid

Feb 7 - Gold Derby - Critics' Choice Red Carpet (Video) - Sam Reid and Delainey Hayles

Feb 7 - IMDB - Critics Choice Red Carpet (Video) - Sam Reid and Delainey Hayles

Feb 10 - Someone Else's Movie - Jacob Anderson on Hot Rod - Jacob Anderson

Feb 21 - Roundtable with Robert Bannon - Jacob Anderson Talks New Movie "Timestalker", Game of Thrones, Music, & More - Jacob Anderson

Feb 26 - Pacific Screenwriting Program - Making the Leap: Playwriting to Screenwriting (Video) - Anusree Roy

March 2025

Mar 5 - SciFi Vision - Jacob Anderson Talks Timestalker, Interview with a Vampire, Doctor Who & More - Jacob Anderson

Mar 11 - IWTV S3 Writer's Room - Inside Scoop from the S3 Writer's Room - Sam Slade (writer's room assistant), Hannah Moscovitch, Ryan Kattner, Daniel Hart, Matthew Santos and Sam Reid

Mar 24 - Q with Tom Power - What History Books Leave Out About the 1947 Partition - Anusree Roy

April 2025

Apr 4 - The Ankler - Series Business Showcase Red Carpet - Sam Reid and Mark Johnson

Apr 5 - Deadline - Red Carpet & Panel: Contenders Television FYC - Sam Reid and Mark Johnson

Apr 9 - Deadline - AMC Upfront Red Carpet - Sam Reid

Apr 9 - AMC - AMC Upfront Red Carpet - Sam Reid

Apr 10 - SAG-AFTRA Foundation - 2x8 Screening and Conversation - Sam Reid and Eric Bogosian

Apr 14 - Little Known Facts with Ilana Levine - Eric Bogosian

Apr 15 - Awards Buzz - Sam Reid on the Betrayal at the Heart of Season Two - Sam Reid

Apr 22 - ABC News - Interview with the Vampire director Levan Akin takes on stunning Georgian LGBT film - Levan Akin

Apr 25 - Nerdist - Eric Bogosian Dives Into Daniel Molloy, Elder Queer Representation, and All Things INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE - Eric Bogosian (Bonus Part Two)

Apr 29 - TV Insider - Sam Reid Explains ‘Interview With the Vampire’s Rockstar Lestat Teaser & Looks Back on Season 2 - Sam Reid

May 2025

May 9 - Gold Derby - Sam Reid, Mark Johnson, and the ‘Interview With the Vampire’ team sink their teeth into FYC season - Sam Reid, Mark Johnson, Daniel Hart, Mara LePere-Schloop and Yuka Shirasuna

May 12 - Gold Derby - ‘Anne Rice’s Interview With the Vampire’ cinematographer - Earle Dresner (Second Video: Cinematographer Panel)

May 13 - The Ankler - AMC’s ‘Interview with the Vampire’: Series Business Showcase - Sam Reid and Mark Johnson

May 23 - Gold Derby -‘Anne Rice’s Interview With the Vampire’ composer Daniel Hart on leaning into horror for Season 2 - Daniel Hart - (Second Video: TV Composers Panel)

May 26 - TV Insider - Interview with the Vampire star Jacob Anderson unpacks the gothic horror of Season 2 - Jacob Anderson

May 26 - Toronto Life - Hannah Moscovitch on her new play, Red Like Fruit - Hannah Moscovitch

May 28 - Playbill - Hannah Moscovitch Tackles Tough Questions About Consent in Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes - Hannah Moscovitch

May 29 - Awards Focus - Jacob Anderson on the Emotional Toll and Creative Rewards of ‘Interview With the Vampire’ Season Two - Jacob Anderson

May 30 - SDCC Unofficial Blog - What We Learned About Anne Rice’s Immortal Universe at the ATX TV Festival Panel - Rolin Jones and Mark Johnson

May 30 - Film Updates - Interview: Delainey Hayles on ‘Interview with the Vampire’ - Delainey Hayles

May 30 - Deadline - Mark Johnson Re-Ups AMC Deal - Mark Johnson

June 2025

June 2 - In Creative Company - Jacob Anderson on Interview with the Vampire - Jacob Anderson

June 2 - In Creative Company - Sam Reid on Interview with the Vampire - Sam Reid

June 2 - Awards Focus - Delainey Hayles on Stepping into the Fire as Claudia in AMC’s ‘Interview with the Vampire’ - Delainey Hayles

June 3 - She Does the City - Hannah Moscovitch Wants Women to Be Heard in ‘Red Like Fruit’ - Hannah Moscovitch

June 7 - Sneak Peek - ATX TV Festival Roundtable - Rolin Jones and Mark Johnson

June 9 - LA Times - Your ‘Interview With the Vampire’ tattoos humble (and horrify) showrunner Rolin Jones - Rolin Jones

June 12 - Backstage - Interview With the Vampire(s): Jacob Anderson and Sam Reid on Love, Loss + Eternal Life - Jacob Anderson and Sam Reid

June 13 - TV Insider - Delainey Hayles on Recreating Claudia After Whirlwind Casting - Delainey Hayles

June 15 - Indie Wire - Rolin Jones Knew ‘Interview with the Vampire’ Season 2 Nailed It When He Saw Jacob Anderson’s Dramatic Transformation - Rolin Jones

June 17 - TV Insider - Sam Reid Picks his Costars’ Best Scenes - Sam Reid

[dailycass-cain]

Can you tell us more about Gabrych and the end of the 2000 run? Why was it cancelled?

Near the end of the comic book event "Infinite Crisis", Batgirl Vol. 1 was axed. This was not due to low sales (several DC Comics at the time were selling worse and continued on when the relaunch "One Year Later" program was to hit) but for a rather sexist reason.

Back in 2010, the inker for Batgirl Vol. 1, Jesse Delperdang, posted on Deviantart the real reason the series was canceled, "canceled to make room for the coming Batwoman."

That "coming Batwoman" was an ongoing series by Devin Grayson, and would never see the light of day (DC got cold feet when the character got more publicity than they realized and decided to retool the character (which we got with Greg Rucka and J.H. Williams III over in Detective Comics a few years later).

Because more than "one female bat comic" was one too many. Not only that but just last year Dan DiDio posted on Facebook the original outline he had for "OYL" regarding Cass:

Of course, DiDio always changed his mind and instead, we got the racist caricature in OYL. Nor would this be the last time DiDio would change his thoughts on what to do with Cass (2009, 2011, and 2016. Each a can of worms of themselves).

So that's why Batgirl Vol. 1 was canceled, due to sexism.

As for Gabrych, he continued to work with DC until an Omega Men mini in 2006-2007 and began to go back to his life outside DC Comics. He did come back to write a 2010 graphic novel Frogtown for the Vertigo label.

The thing is, DC Editorial under DiDio was a nasty business. Sometimes you followed the edicts or didn't and walked altogether (Kelley Puckett for a brief run with Supergirl Vol. 5 in 2008 and Dylan Horrocks with the "War Games" event when he and Grayson objected to Stephanie Brown being brutally murdered and DC taking away Babs from the comic too). Or you got nasty pricks in editing to deal with like Eddie Berganza (a noted DiDio toadie). It was just a toxic culture altogether, and I'm glad it is over when DiDio got fired in early 2020.

Two have left comics altogether (Puckett & Gabrych) and Horrocks is doing indie comic work in his native New Zealand, but avoiding the Big 2 after the "War Games" experience.

The sad truth is, if you write a Batgirl ongoing there's a 75% chance you're gonna get out of the industry. Literally, there's only a handful of Batgirl writers who've done stories on the ongoings and not left.

We just got Bryan Q. Miller back to DC in a few months (they're also reprinting the Batgirl Vol. 3 run he did), and that's probably cause most of the old regime left (see an SDCC 2020 Batgirls panel he was on with Sarah Kuhn and others where he goes onto a tale regarding his clashes with the heads over Cass).

Puckett did do a new foreword to his Batman Adventures run which got an Omnibus recently. So MAYBE there's hope for him too.

I hope I answered your question to the fullest on why Batgirl Vol. 1 ended and why Gabrych left the industry.

[ileftmysoulinnorway]

IWTV S3 production length and premiere date

I can't stress enough that this is just my speculation based on a few dates that may or may not turn out to be accurate. But I've been puzzling over this for a while, so...

What is more or less certain: pre-production started: April 2025. Production will start: June 16. Production will end (in Canada): in October (either October 1, 10, 12 or 17, sources vary). Premiere will be: 2026.

The conflicting end dates might indicate that October 1 is the end of production in Canada, while October 10 or 17 could be them finishing work elsewhere. There are several strong hints that they will film in NOLA again, that final week or two could be reserved for it. Or not. Frankly, only a week or two in New Orleans would mean a very brief flashbacks, even if most of the NOLA scenes could be filmed in a studio in Canada.

Can a comparison with S2 tell us anything? Season 2 was originally scheduled to film from April 3 to August 31 (22 weeks for 8 episodes). The strikes disrupted the schedule, and filming actually ended up lasting longer than expected.

If S3 production runs from June 16 to October 10, that's only 17 weeks. This could suggest fewer episodes than S2, which is unlikely (there are indications that S3 will have 8 episodes). It most likely means that they plan to shoot more quickly than they did for S2. Managing to film that many episodes in that timeframe is not unheard of.

Or the October end dates are not accurate. One of the crew members is supposed to work on S3 until November 25, 2025. This person might be continuing with post-production, but it could also mean that filming will last beyond October to include places outside Canada (New Orleans, maybe even Europe). This would result in about 23 weeks of filming, more consistent with S2. But I'm more and more convinced that it's unlikely.

There's more. It looks like the projected end of post-production is March 6, 2026. If production ends in late November, the post-production window would be extremely tight. If production wraps in mid-October, the post-production length would be roughly what's expected.

The good news is, if the March 6, 2026 post-production ending date is accurate, S3 could potentially premiere as early as April 2026. But the actual premiere will likely depend on AMC's programming schedule and could be pushed back weeks or months.

What to take from this?

My best guess for now is 8 episodes, production from June 16 to October 10. Most filming in Ontario, some in New Orleans (they could obviously stay in NOLA for more than one week in October). Post-production should be completed by early March, with a premiere in spring 2026. April, if they want to have a shot at the Emmys, or May again. Alternatively, they could wait until October to make the most of the spooky season and really lean into the promotion (SDCC 2026, music videos, etc.).

[toseesoclearly]

do we know how trustworthy the person who claims to of seen a trailer on reddit is? because they seem to of just pointed out a lot of stuff that couldve been guessed from leaks/pap pics and are refusing to share any video recording or pics of this supposed trailer due to it being watermarked... bcs i really dont think we're getting anything at all this month due to netflix marketing squid game/ shifting focus to marketing for wednesday 2 so i dont see why we would get anything for st rn other than maybe first look pics or poster reveals seeing as vol 1 is 150~ days away...

they posted a (bad but accurate if you strip away their editorializing) description of the Tudum date announcement teaser to Reddit at the end of April, so I do think they are legit.

at that point, they said they worked at a copywriting company, my guess is an agency who works with Netflix marketing outside the US based on their overall vibe.

they posted this ca. April 25 (in my memory they were trying really hard to leak this from April 25-30 and kept getting bullied/reported/their posts kept getting deleted lol):

if this is true, I do expect a teaser this month. ST is one of their flagship series and Netflix has opened the gates on promo for their slate for the rest of the year. they want people to know something is coming after Wednesday s2, like the overlap with the Wednesday s2/Squid Game s3 promo. 2m35 is on the longer side for a "teaser trailer" but the Wednesday teaser was over 2m, so it's not out of range for their MO lately.

I do think it's going to be dropped at SDCC personally but I've made bad guesses about that stuff before (we'll know if there is a ST panel at SDCC next week, they announce the full program 2 weeks ahead of time)

[mikeywayarchive]

Mikey Way & Jon Rivera will have a signing at San Diego Comic Con on Saturday, July 27, 2024!

Title TBA for now (7/15/24)

[disneytva]

Hulu's Animayhem Returns to SDCC With a Factory of 20th Television Animation

Disney is once again bringing the Hulu Animayhem to San Diego Comic-Con. Last year, the streaming service created a hub for all of its adult animated favorites, from Futurama to Solar Opposites, the Bob's Burgers, and The Simpsons.

This year's activation is designed like a factory with all the characters of your favorite animated shows working to crank out some of the best series the medium has to offer. Mock-ups show a floor filled with references to Animayhem's flagship programs, with Bob Belcher, Homer and Bart Simpson, Fry and Bender, Hit-Monkey and Bryce, and more flying through the gears and conveyer belts that make it all work. Deeper inside the factory is where the real magic lies, however, with a selection of immersive activities based on the shows and exclusive collectible memorabilia that can only be found at the yearly convention

Key among the factory's many moving parts is a replica of Futurama's Slurm Factory. The highly addictive soft drink, which may or may not be made from the slime excreted from the butt of an alien slug queen, is Fry's favorite drink in the year 3000 and the episode "Fry and the Slurm Factory" gives him and the Planet Express crew a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see how it's made. Animayhem's replica recreates the factory as it appeared in the beloved episode, from the Willy Wonka-inspired music to the borderline copyright-infringing Grunka Lunkas and, of course, the Slurm Queen herself for some unique photo opportunities.

Past that is the Cutawayland Storage, a special 25th-anniversary celebration of Family Guy full of all the best cutaway gags from the Seth MacFarlane show's long history. Fans can pick up 2D objects that correspond with specific jokes and take them to viewing stations to see the cutaway play out on the spot. Add in some cutouts of the Griffin family in their signature yellow tuxedos from the show's iconic intro sequence, and the station has no shortage of photo opportunities to commemorate such a major milestone.

Slurm isn’t the only treat fans can see the making of. Another area replicates The Simpsons LardLad Donut Factory where Homer Simpson's favorite pink-sprinkled sweets are made. As part of a partnership with the SoCal staple Randy’s Donuts, attendees can pick up ready-made donuts with suspiciously green icing that may be toxic waste from Mr. Burns's power plant.

From there, the factory opens up with a bevy of interactable activities including a chance to sing along to the end credits songs of Bob's Burgers and get a shareable video from Bob's Record-O-Matic, take a Solar Opposites-themed Goobler stress test and get a corresponding Goobler stress ball based on the results, and search for the Bonsai Master's Sword in a Hit-Monkey-themed katana factory to win an SDCC-exclusive set of pins.

American Dad fans can also come to the rescue of the show's disguise-loving extraterrestrial star, Roger. His cries for help will ring throughout the activation as he's stuck in a CIA lab and being dissected. Following Stan and Francine's example from "The Scarlett Getter," participants will have to quickly reassemble the alien in an Operation-like game, a task easier said than done with his strange organs scattered all over the place. Whether that operation is successful or not, a photo opportunity with Roger's golden turd will be available thereafter

For anyone who needs a quick rest after all the adult animation activity, the Animayhem Factory is stocked with a break room courtesy of three of 20th Television Animation - The Great North. A fridge in the room can be opened for some refreshing cold air during the red-hot summer while also providing a view of the Tobin family's idyllic Alaskan cabin.

Hulu's Animayhem activation opens on July 25 from 11:30 a.m. through 7 p.m., July 26-27 from 9:30 a.m. through 7 p.m. daily, and July 28 from 9:30 a.m. through 5 p.m. Stay tuned here at Collider for all of our coverage of SDCC throughout the weekend. Get an exclusive look at the Animayhem factory in the gallery above.

[animesavior]

Clark: “One week ago, Earth faced an alien invasion. You’ve heard different versions of what happened, but we at the Daily Planet have a duty to bring you the truth.” Jimmy: “The truth is that Superman and his cousin [Supergirl] saved us. But they weren’t alone.” Lois: “The people of Metropolis came together to help them, putting aside their differences to protect our home.” Clark: “The invader was defeated, and justice came to those who those who tried to benefit from fear and pain.” Lois: “But even as this brought out the best in many, it brought out the worst in others. And there will always be new threats to face.” Clark: “No one knows what will come next for Metropolis, but there’s one thing we at the Daily Planet know for certain…” Jimmy: “No matter what the future holds…” Lois: “No matter what is thrown at us…” Clark: “We will face it together.” -          My Adventures with Superman (Season 2, Ep. 10)

The Toonami Trending Rundown for the month of July 2024. During these past few weeks, fans got to enjoy the final two episodes of My Adventures with Superman season 2, among other great moments. And as July is the month of San Diego Comic-Con, Toonami viewers got to enjoy some big announcements in regard to several upcoming shows.

During the night of the airing of the penultimate episode of My Adventures with Superman season 2 on July 13-14, #MyAdventuresWithSuperman would trend on the USA on Twitter, while One Piece trended on Tumblr. And during the night of July 20-21, where we saw the season 2 finale of My Adventures with Superman, #Toonami would trend in the US alongside #MyAdventuresWithSuperman and #NarutoShippuden. #Toonami also trended on Tumblr. The night of July 27-28 did not see any trends, as Toonami showcased a MAWS marathon of season 2 during SDCC week.

As for Toonami Rewind, #ToonamiRewind would trend in the US during the broadcasts of July 12, 19, and 26, though on July 19, Sailor Moon and Naruto would also trend in the US, while Naruto also trended on Tumblr. Which isn’t bad, especially considering that on July 26, both the Olympics opening ceremony and Comic-Con were occurring at the same time.

As mentioned, San Diego Comic-Con took place at the end of July, and in case you missed it, Toonami fans got to enjoy several announcements during the convention. The big news was that we got a brand-new show announcement in Rooster Fighter by Shū Sakuratani.

Adult Swim announced that the English dubbed version of Rick and Morty: The Anime will premiere on Thursday August 15 @ midnight EDT/PDT, while the Japanese (with English subtitles) version will air on Toonami on Saturday, August 17 @ midnight.

Also, towards the end of the Rick and Morty panel, Jason DeMarco also revealed that we finally have a release date for Junji Ito’s Uzumaki after several years of delays: September 28, 2024 at 12:30 a.m., following premiere episodes of Rick and Morty: The Anime. Back during Anime Expo 2024, the Uzumaki cast was revealed by Production I.G, with Abby Trott as Kirie Goshima and Robbie Daymond as Shuichi Saito. In addition, Lazarus, the newest work of Shinichiro Watanabe, will be scheduled to premiere in 2025.

Finally, during the Demon Slayer panel on Saturday night, Aniplex announced that Demon Slayer’s third season, the Swordsmith Village arc, will begin airing on Toonami this August 10.

Meanwhile, for those who have been wanting to see more Lycoris Recoil, it’s been announced during the show’s second anniversary program that there are six short films in the works, that will depict the daily lives of Chisato, Takina, and others in the LycoRico cast. While Director Shingo Adachi will return in supervising, each of the six movies will feature different people handling direction and storyboarding, including character designer Imigimuru will be in charge of some of the scripts. A release date is to be announced.

Of course, this won’t be the end of My Adventures with Superman, as DC is hard at work creating the show’s third season, so stay tuned. In the meantime, we’ll have the trending rundown for the first few weeks of August, including the premiere of Demon Slayer's Swordsmith Village arc and the premiere of Rick and Morty: The Anime, out in the coming days, as with other articles and interviews from San Diego Comic-Con coming soon. Until next time, Be sure to register to vote for this year’s elections if you’re eligible and haven’t already, and let’s go Team USA.

Legend: The shows listed are ordered based on their appearance on the schedule. Show trends are listed in bold. The number next to the listed trend represents the highest it trended on the list (not counting the promoted trend), judging only by the images placed in the rundown. For the Twitter tweet counts, the listed number of tweets are also sorely based on the highest number shown based on the images on the rundown.

July 12, 2024 Toonami Rewind Trends

United States Trends:

#ToonamiRewind [#25]

Tweet Counts:

#SailorMoon [2,303 tweets]

July 13-14, 2024 Toonami Trends

United States Trends:

#MyAdventuresWithSuperman [#26]

Tweet Counts:

#MyAdventuresWithSuperman [2,539 tweets]

Tumblr Trends:

#one piece [#8]

July 19, 2024 Toonami Rewind Trends

United States Trends:

#ToonamiRewind [#17]

#SailorMoon [Trended with #ToonamiRewind]

#Naruto [Trended with #ToonamiRewind]

Tweet Counts:

#SailorMoon [3,307 tweets]

#Naruto [14.3k tweets]

Tumblr Trends:

#naruto [#9]

July 20-21, 2024 Toonami Trends

United States Trends:

#Toonami [Trended with #MyAdventuresWithSuperman]

#MyAdventuresWithSuperman [#7]

#NarutoShippuden [Trended with #MyAdventuresWithSuperman]

Tumblr Trends:

#Toonami [#8]

July 26, 2024 Toonami Rewind Trends

United States Trends:

#ToonamiRewind [#2]

Tweet Counts:

#ToonamiRewind [1,552 tweets]

#SailorMoon [4,244 tweets]

#Naruto [8,515 tweets]

If you wish to send me a tip for the work on the trending rundown, donations can be sent to PayPal.Me/DanielLimjoco.

Only Toonami on [adult swim] on Cartoon Network.

[generalpierrotdameron]

1. This is the way…seeker. Justina Ireland’s new novel will explore Vernestra Rwoh’s life about 20 years prior to the events of The Acolyte, a giant leap from when we last saw the teenaged prodigy in Phase III of The High Republic storytelling. 2. Yord and Jecki live! We have good news for members of the Yord Horde and Jecki Jam: Tessa Gratton will resurrect these fan-favorite characters for a new YA novel set in the years leading up to The Acolyte. The book arrives in July 2025. No word yet on a San Diego Comic-Con exclusive edition with bonus steamer. 6. Even more art from The Acolyte. And arriving next year, The Art of The Acolyte will join the bestselling series of Abrams books based on Star Wars productions, taking us behind the scenes with concept art, costume designs, creature illustrations, and more! Written by Kristin Baver with a foreword by series creator Leslye Headland, the book arrives next July.

SDCC 2024: The Acolyte Publishing Program and Other Reveals from the Lucasfilm Panel

[thefanthropologist]

I'm Never Going Back to SDCC As A Fan

Originally published Feb 10, 2025

In 2009, the summer after my freshman year of college, I went to San Diego Comic Con for the first time. I had already been wanting to go for years and I was excited to meet some friends I had only talked to online. It was a whirlwind experience that I absolutely loved - the line for Hall H was absolutely packed with Twilight fans and if you wanted to see any other programming you had to camp out behind them. The line for the morning Doctor Who panel was the same as for the Supernatural panel (scheduled at the same time) and I slept overnight on the sidewalk surrounded by fans of my other fandom.

I opted for David Tennant. No regrets.

I don't even remember the dealer's room, it was probably too overwhelming. (I also get it confused with GenCon's.) At one point a panel I was in line for was announced to be in another wing of the hotel and everyone got up and RAN. People were crying. It was liberating to be in such a large community where people cared so much.

I'm also never going back. Even then, while I enjoyed being in the front row of a Heroes panel in a rather intimate room (after the first ever Glee panel where I didn't know anyone at the table), it felt stifling to be so focused on star worship and commercialism. I was filled with the looming sense that this was the best it was going to get because the con would keep expanding rapidly and blowing up in mainstream culture. There was a level of showmanship that was admirable but felt more like attending a theater performance than attending a fan convention.

READ THE REST--

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The Fanthropologist is a weekly newsletter by Lena Barkin. Friday discussion posts are exclusive to paid subscribers on Ghost. If you'd like to support the newsletter, tell your friends, consider leaving a tip, or sign up for a free subscription.

[felassan]

Dark Horse on Twitter: "#/SDCC 2024 is here! Come visit Dark Horse at booth #/2615 and check out our signing and programming schedules here: https://bit.ly/3zSIdFH" [source] [link]

What the Dark Horse booth looks like :)

[etaleah]

I wouldn’t count on anything from SDCC at this point. If I’m proven wrong, great, but I’ve looked through the whole programming schedule and there’s no mention of Sonic anywhere. Paramount seems to mainly be promoting their animated movies, and they didn’t promote either of the first two Sonic films at SDCC, so this follows that pattern.

Given the dates of the trailer drops for the last two movies, I feel like August 20th or around then is more likely. Which pains me, but what can ya do 🙃

[tygendoughtryss]

"The Golden Room" in AHSOKA

The Golden Room

In the first trailer of the Ahsoka Series, scheduled to air on August 23rd, 2023, there is a captivating glimpse of what appears to be a "Golden Room". Enclosed within, we find a spacious chair positioned elegantly in front of a window, flanked by two droids. It is a peculiar sight, as the window's design deviates from what one might expect in the quarters or office of a Star Destroyer.

Reflecting on Star Wars Rebels Season 4's finale, where Ezra summons the enigmatic Purrgils to thwart Thrawn and his fleet on Lothal, we witness these remarkable space whales—possessing tentacles—seizing Thrawn, his entire armada, and making a breathtaking jump into hyperspace at lightspeed. In the wake of this daring feat, the Purrgils inadvertently shattered many of the Star Destroyer's windows.

It is plausible that Thrawn, in the aftermath of this incident, sought to restore this room with the assistance of the remaining Imperial staff, incorporating elements representative of his people, the Chiss. The result? A genuinely unique aesthetic with gilded arches bearing soft curves, a departure from the monotonous, uniform greys customary in the Empire's architecture. During San Diego Comic-Con 2023, the fascinating concept art of the Golden Room was unveiled, creating a buzz on social media with captivating photos. The intricate details showcased in this artwork shattered my belief that the Chiss were responsible for constructing the Golden Room. As a result, I have formulated a fresh theory that aligns with the newly revealed information.

When considering the idea of a private room on his Imperial Star Destroyer (ISD), I found it initially believable to see two droids stationed at operational consoles on the right and left. It would make sense for Thrawn to desire solitude in his quarters, potentially programming the droids to vacate upon his arrival and entry. Unlike the Chiss Ascendancy, the Empire incorporates droids as part of its crew, assigning them to perform mundane and repetitive tasks such as data transfer and calculations. However, Thrawn, despite his self-sufficiency, understands how to leverage their presence to his advantage. In Star Wars Rebels, for instance, he capitalizes on two Assassin Droids for combat techniques and training purposes.

Upon examining the concept art from SDCC, it becomes apparent that this room contains four droids and an abundance of technical equipment. This revelation has led me to reconsider my initial assumptions. It seems overwhelming to assume that this space belongs to Thrawn in his ISD. Detailed observation of the ceiling unveils gears that intricately move, resembling a clockwork mechanism. Furthermore, the shape and design resemble the two-dimensional star map logo in the AHSOKA Series Logo, both surrounding the letters and as a luminous three-dimensional element in the latest trailer, activated by Magistrate Morgan Elsbeth's touch. Morgan Elsbeth proves herself as a faithful confidant to Grand Admiral Thrawn in the trailer, where we witness her skillfully activating the luminous outlines of a star map. The majestic formation rises around her, resembling a magnificent cupola.

The intricate structure of the star map immediately reminded me of the detailed rack wheels in the artwork. It bears a resemblance to the ceiling of the Golden Room. Could this technical equipment be employed in creating the star map? Undoubtedly, it would require a sophisticated technique, deploying droids to wield its power.

Although I am not a gamer and have never played KOTOR I or II, I am familiar with the Rakatan species—an ancient civilization within the Star Wars universe that thrived approximately 25,000 years before the Battle of Yavin. Residing primarily in the Unknown Regions, their existence in the Legends' canon ended within 10,000 years. Interestingly enough, fan theories propose that the Rakatan might be responsible for creating the intricate star map showcased in the second trailer. This map seems to possess abundant information and details, encompassing various space regions and planets to a greater extent than other star maps. It is worth noting that Thrawn, with his cunning propensity, would undoubtedly exploit the potential of such a map. Pointedly, these maps are inherently driven by the Dark Side of the Force, a power that gradually corrupts the maps and those who utilize them.

Continuing my theory: What if, in the finale of Star Wars Rebels Season 4, the Purrgils, along with Ezra, Thrawn, and the entire 7th Fleet, traversed hyperspace and arrived in the territories of the Rakatan Empire? Imagine Thrawn and his crew stumbling upon derelict Rakatan ships, drifting through space in various states of disrepair while some remained grounded on the planet. This revelation would add a whole new layer of intrigue to the narrative.

In the book "Star Wars - Dark Force Rising," the revelation of the Katana Fleet resembles the vessels of the Rakatan fleet. Why not incorporate and adapt this concept from the Rakatan fleet?

The Ahsoka Series takes place approximately sixteen years after the conclusion of the Star Wars Rebels. It is speculated that Thrawn and his crew have restored numerous Rakatan ships. Notably, the concept art of this room differs from the typical design of Star Destroyer bridges or any known secondary bridge. Star Destroyers typically have limited space for star maps. The Golden room depicting the interior of a Rakatan ship offers an explanation for its unique, elegant, and alien-like appearance, as well as the presence of unfamiliar droids. It is believed that this room's technology was operated by Thrawn, who repurposed and utilized it after it was created by an intelligent species different from his own. It is intriguing to note that Force users are tasked with piloting the Rakatan ship, which potentially explains Thrawn's decision to forge a close alliance with Magistrate Morgan Elsbeth. Consequently, she gains access to the map. She is activating it in the presence of Baylan Skoll and Shin Hati, Force users who harness the Dark Side but are not Sith, on an unidentified planet, as depicted in the second trailer.

Thrawn, known for his minimalist approach, would likely utilize the Golden Room as either a secondary ship bridge or a star map room rather than a private space. His personal quarters would be stripped down to the essentials. Opting for a dimly lit environment, Thrawn would spend his time reviewing holograms, studying and analyzing art and artifacts, as well as devising his military strategies and tactics. The furnishings in his private space would be kept to a bare minimum, with a few monitors and operational areas being the only necessities. By minimizing distractions and surrounding himself only with objects of significance and purpose, Thrawn finds the tranquility needed to meditate. This portrayal is further supported by depictions in Star Wars Rebels, where Thrawn is often seen meticulously examining holographic displays, sculptures, artworks, and artifacts.

However, the Golden Room, depicted in the concept art, exhibits a distinct design style from the Chiss minimalist aesthetic. While it may not serve as Thrawn's personal chamber, its mechanical, functional, and elegant features would undoubtedly align with his purpose and advantage. This text was written with the great help of SWAG77.

[mariacallous]

On the surface, Comic-Con International 2023 looked like it did in years past. Throngs of fans, many in costume, crowded intersections beneath glossy advertisements for television shows dozens of stories high. Inside the convention center, people inched through the packed exhibition floor, lining up for exclusive merchandise and collectibles and work from their favorite artists. Across the convention’s many panel sites, experts discussed a wide range of pop culture and genre fiction topics. Some attendees played tabletop games; others met for anime-viewing sessions. Comic artists and publishers gathered for the Eisners, their industry’s most prestigious award.

But a trip into Hall H Saturday afternoon underscored the strangeness of this year’s convention, which fell two and a half months into the Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike and just a week into the parallel strike from the film and television actors of the Screen Actors Guild—American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). In an ordinary year, Hall H’s 6,100 seats would have been filled by people who’d literally waited all day (or night) to get inside, and networks and studios would have shown them exclusive footage accompanied by A-list talent onstage—a rare opportunity for fans and the entertainment industry to face each other directly. This year, you could simply walk into the partly empty Hall H; at the Star Trek presentation, entertainment journalist Scott Mantz stood alone at the dais, queuing up sizzle reels and calling out absent actors’ names for rounds of applause. In that room, it was glaringly obvious that this was a San Diego Comic-Con without Hollywood.

There have, of course, been many SDCCs without Hollywood—the “comic” in its name is a reminder of its origins as the Golden State Comic Book Convention, which a few hundred people first attended in 1970. Over the decades, the event’s scope steadily expanded, but the studios and big genre franchises only began to dominate the space in the past decade and a half. That dominance defined the convention’s role in the entertainment industry in turn: a place for trailer drops and major announcements, and for many industry-side people, a chance to see a physical embodiment of “fandom,” even if only a tiny slice of fan culture is represented there.

Some of Hollywood’s major players have been pulling back from SDCC since the height of the corporate saturation in the mid-2010s; Star Wars, for example, hasn’t had much of a presence in years, as Disney shifted fan-facing activity to its own events like Star Wars Celebration and D23. But this year, with the writers already striking and a SAG-AFTRA strike looming, many studios and networks began to cancel their scheduled programming; when the actors’ strike officially began and SAG-AFTRA forbade members from doing any promotional work, the SDCC schedule became a sea of cancellations. In advance of the convention, there was speculation that Hollywood’s withdrawal might mean a return to its roots—that perhaps comics could once again be the star of the show.

But even in absentia, Hollywood still hung over a good deal of the convention, which is as much an entertainment-industry event as a fan-oriented one. Many WGA and SAG-AFTRA members have spoken about this year’s strike motivations as “existential”: the feeling that this is a major inflection point, for the entertainment industry specifically and for workers broadly. 

That feeling was palpable in San Diego, and not just from the actors and writers who attended in a non-promotional capacity. Since the strikes began, the studios have seemingly worked to pit fans against the people who make the things they love, framing delays as the fault of the striking writers, rather than unwillingness from the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents the studios, to give writers a deal they find fair. Online, this framing has been largely rejected by fans, and that spirit seemed to carry over to SDCC too. There was a sense that an unusual—and yes, for some, disappointing—Comic-Con was an absolutely necessary one, because the future of entertainment media on all sides of the equation was at stake.

On Friday morning, a group wearing familiar-looking black shirts set up shop at an intersection across from the convention center that is usually occupied by network-sponsored promoters or a particularly persistent group of protestors who shout at people that they’re going to hell. This morning’s group was made up of some of the more than 1,000 San Diego-based members of SAG-AFTRA, who, in lieu of joining the picket lines outside studios and the offices of streaming services in Los Angeles, were raising awareness about the strike outside a mostly actor-free Comic-Con.

“When I was a young man, we were celebrating the superheroes in comic books. Now, because of Hollywood, they’ve leapt off the page and onto the big screen,” says Lou Slocum, who has lived in San Diego since 1972 and became a member of SAG in 1995. “Normally they would be here and they would be celebrated. The closest we can get are the superheroes in cosplay right now.”

Slocum stresses the group’s support for Comic-Con and its attendees, and he makes it clear the SAG-AFTRA gathering isn’t a picket line and is not intended to impede anyone’s access to the convention. He expresses sympathy for anyone who might have been expecting to see their favorite actor or footage from their favorite show, but he hasn’t met with resistance from fans—on the contrary, he says, they’ve been greeted with a great deal of support from passers-by. “The people that I have met today have been all thumbs-up, V for victory, hugs,” he says. “We love it, and we’re very pleasantly surprised.”

While some panels and programming didn’t acknowledge the strike at all, plenty did—and some even focused on it. Slocum began his career in voice-over, which he says is like “the canary in the coal mine” right now, a sentiment stressed in a panel on the future of artificial intelligence in entertainment hosted by the National Association of Voice Actors. Panelists described the immediate threat to not just their livelihoods, but their own personal autonomy, as companies and fans alike use AI tools to manipulate their voices without their consent. (SAG-AFTRA national executive director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, who’d joined the panel, got a big laugh when he compared the situation to Ursula and Ariel in The Little Mermaid.)

The WGA shares different but equally pressing worries about AI, as well as broader concerns about the future of film and television writing. The strike served as an intermittent joke during a long-running television writers’ panel Saturday morning. “We really can’t talk about anything, because of the strike, so we’re going to keep these introductions going for an hour and a half,” moderator Mark A. Altman quipped halfway through the bios of the 11 panelists—but the vast majority of the conversation focused on how deeply concerned these established writers were about younger writers starting out in the industry.

“The whole point of the strike is we’re fighting for the future, and the future of our craft,” says C. J. Hoke, a writer who attended the panel and who became a member of the WGA last summer. “Seeing experienced showrunners talking about that and really rooting for the next generation is inspiring, and just encourages me to stay on the line with everyone.” Aside from the backing of members of her own profession, Hoke observed a wide range of solidarity at the con, which she characterized as a “swelling from the ground level.” 

“It’s been wonderful seeing people on the floor with ‘We support the WGA’ signs and buttons and shirts,” she says. “I think everyone here really cares about the storytelling, and really supports the writers.”

Karina Montgomery was one con-goer with that sort of button—hers read “This Character Wouldn’t Exist Without WGA and SAG-AFTRA Labor,” which she wore over an impeccable cosplay of Helly R. from Severance. Montgomery, who also moderates the Severance fan Discord and contributes to the Severance wiki, began the week worrying about confusing messaging from SAG-AFTRA on fan activity, particularly over whether cosplay was considered scabbing. (The organization has since clarified that its guidance on cosplay was intended only for paid influencers, not ordinary fans.) “I was very happy to get to show up,” Montgomery says. “But I wanted to still show that I was supporting, so I designed this button.”

For many cosplayers, conventions like SDCC are about both creators and fellow fans. “The whole thing is connecting with people who love the shows and support the shows and want to be seen by the creators of the shows,” says Montgomery. “To be like, ‘Look, we see what you do, and we love it.’” 

To her, solidarity for the strikes was more important than a desire to cosplay—but cosplay could be a sort of solidarity too. “I'm gonna love a show that I love regardless of whether it’s canceled,” Montgomery says. “But if, for example, it became a scab activity to cosplay, I would not. I want to support the people who make the show that I love—I’m a booster. If I’m supporting the AMPTP by dressing like this, I don’t want to dress like this.”

But many creators weren’t even at the con to see these shows of solidarity. Others felt the absence of fan-creator interactions acutely. It was veteran TV writer Javier Grillo-Marxuach’s 22nd Comic-Con, and one in which he would have, under normal circumstances, promoted his writing on the new season of The Witcher. (Full disclosure: Grillo-Marxuach is a friend of this writer.) “I would love to do that work for Netflix right now,” he says. “For a lot of us, those are the goodies. You write a show and you get to come here and meet the fans, and they’re excited, and maybe you show them the show, and they recognize who’s the person who wrote that show.”

Grillo-Marxuach described the “gaps where Hollywood should be”—for all the talk of the event potentially returning to its comics-first roots, he noted that the film and television industry has undeniably altered SDCC a great deal. And those missing pieces were noticeable. 

Because it’s in those connections between the people who love stuff and the people who make the stuff they love that so much of SDCC rests, from the fans cheering for the biggest studio presentations in Hall H to the indie comic artist signing their work on the exhibition floor. The event is at its heart a consumerist one, and in attendees’ quests for material objects, that human connection is often diminished—the relationship is often boiled down to fan and corporation, with someone to do the selling in the middle.

In a normal year, SDCC puts live human faces on both sides of the fan-creator divide—and this year, those human faces helped contextualize the strike, giving nonstriking attendees a firsthand view on the struggles facing entertainment industry workers. Both the WGA and SAG-AFTRA have raised alarms about a future in which studio and streaming executives steadily whittle away the number of people making movies and television shows, using AI to permanently remove them from the equation. It’s not hard to imagine a world in which the fan-corporate relationship is the only one left in that chain.

Fans also understand that the writers’ and actors’ struggles are directly entwined with their own. “Genre fans tend to be very aware of the writers, very aware of what the talent does, and they’re also very aware of how much they have to pay to actually see the things they want to watch,” says Grillo-Marxuach. “That financial sting puts them in a similar place to the writers. And a lot of the time, they feel like they're getting nickel-and-dimed to death, too, on their viewing, and I think that creates a lot of solidarity with us.”

But many fans are also workers, and they can see how these strikes echo their own job concerns. SAG-AFTRA’s Slocum cites parallel labor movements brewing across the country, from fellow entertainment workers like animation artists and members of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees to Starbucks baristas and UPS drivers. “I really feel we're at the beginning of a middle-class stand in this country,” he says. Grillo-Marxuach echoes those sentiments: “One of the reasons people are so sympathetic to us is that the problems of writers as labor mirror the problems of labor as labor right now.”

While the strikes seem likely to stretch on in the near term, it seems unlikely that next year’s Comic-Con will be much similar to this one. But the strikes that utterly altered this year’s event will certainly define its future—and the future of the entertainment industry on the whole. Many fans who were already invested in their favorite shows and films now care just as deeply about the labor conditions under which those shows and films were made. Their consciousness, Slocum says, has been given a raise.

[graphicpolicy]

SDCC 2023: Paramount+ brings Star Trek, Transformers: Earthspark, and Big Nate!

SDCC 2023: Paramount+ brings Star Trek, Transformers: Earthspark, and Big Nate! #SDCC #SDCC2023 #SDCC23

Paramount+ will once again bring a mountain of entertainment to fans attending this year’s San Diego Comic-Con with unforgettable programming from fan-favorite series and franchises featuring exclusive never-before-seen content, first-look reveals and a special premiere screening. In addition to the programming, The Lodge: A Paramount+ Experience will make its official San Diego Comic-Con debut…