A Harry Potter Pensieve Experience
That’s right, Harry Potter is still kicking it at comic con, and not even with its quintuplet step-sisters film franchise Fantastic Beasts. This immersive fan experience put on by audible was all about the books to celebrate the 20th anniversary of when we all first met The Boy Who Lived. It wasn’t exactly clear what would happen, but it was really cool! You’re given the choice between six characters and given a vial of their memories. Then you enter the pensieve, which is a swirl of noise from the audiobooks. You put on headphones, insert your vial into the penseive, and magically you’re hearing a passage of that character from one of the books! The best part? You get to keep the vial as a souvenir plus they give you a free book download voucher. We went with Hermione Granger, whose passage was all about the beginning of SPEW from Goblet of Fire.
Marvel’s The Runaways Panel & Season 2 Sneak Peek
After finally finishing season 1, we wanted to know what the heck would happen next to the kids from Brentwood and if their parents’ plan would work out. Jeph Loeb moderated, which is always an experience, and at first it didn’t seem like they were going to give us that much panel-wise. The cast for the six main kids (now deemed The Runaways and their parents deemed Pride) were there along with a head writer, but it was clearly orchestrated because they quickly launched into airing the first episode of season 2…which no one was complaining about!
We can definitely say that season 2 already has a different feel than season 1. The scope seems larger, and during the panel they talked about the two sides going to war. It sounds like Molly will become a full out superhero, which was put into motion in episode 1, and apparently there is a mole in the group! During audience Q&A, Jeph Loeb would not confirm nor deny if Cloak & Dagger (also on Hulu) would have a crossover, which makes us think YES. Season 2 introduces some new characters and we can attest that Darius Davis is back and playing a bigger role in the story. All in all, the new season sounds exciting and I’m looking forward to it. It airs on Hulu December 21, so you have some time to catch up if you’ve not seen season 1 yet.
Guillermo del Toro Es El Mejor
Lorena went into the Tales of Arcadia: 3Below panel knowing only two things about it: Guillermo del Toro directed it and Diego Luna acted in it. 100% sold already, right? The panel did NOT disappoint! Not only was Guillermo his usual adorable and brilliant self and Diego Luna smiled enough to warm up the entire audience, but Glenn freaking Close was a surprise panelist! She voices the AI of Mothership in this animated series and happens to be performing off-Broadway in Mother of the Maid so she figured, why not swing by?
They aired the world premier of the series’ first episode, which was really riveting stuff, even though it’s not exactly up my wheelhouse. It’s part of the Troll Hunters universe, and the executive producers and Guillermo confirmed that there would be lots of crossovers and already the narratives are shared. Guillermo explained when developing Tales of Arcadia’s three different parts (third one yet to come!), he wanted something that families could all watch together with milk and cookies, and he’s definitely delivered. In fact, Diego admitted he showed his son the first four episodes last night, and this morning he may or may not have caught him sneaking onto the laptop to watch more. After seeing the first episode, I get why. It is fast-paced, fun, impactful, and humorous. Check out the teaser trailer, which is basically the show open:
Guillermo explained the idea for this story was inspired by a show he watched as a child where three aliens came to Earth and became animals. He found it fascinating that they became invisible as animals, not realizing that a horse was considered different than a human. The aliens in 3Below are a prince (Diego Luna), princess (Tatiana Maslany) and their royal bodyguard (Nick Offerman) who flee to Earth because it’s one of the worst planets in the universe, making it the perfect place to hide. They land in Arcadia and determined to be invisible while hiding out on Earth, they ask Mother to make them into the least noticed beings. She turns them into a girl, a latino, and a senior citizen. While it’s humorous, it’s also a very pointed look at our society.
My favorite part of the first episode was Nick Offerman’s performance as the bodyguard. He is hilarious! Guillermo said that he feels Nick always gives a stupendous performance no matter the role or screen time involved. He also mentioned that Nick’s a great wood worker, in case you needed a cabinet or something. So, apparently Ron Swanson’s skill set wasn’t farfetched at all. At the very end of it, they brought out a cake and we all got to sing Guillermo happy birthday, since it’s on October 9th.
Overall, this was an excellent panel, which is no surprise given Guillermo’s essence and Diego’s beautiful face. My only complaint was how much they talked about having big dinners to discuss the season’s storyline. Stop talking about ropa vieja when I haven’t had lunch yet, Guillermo! Tales of Arcadia: 3Below comes out on Netflix on December 21.
Discovery of Witches
Nothing makes us happier than great books getting turned into even better adaptations. (That actually happens right? Tell us it happens). When we saw a few preview clips of DoW at San Diego Comic Con we were cautiously optimistic about the upcoming show: the cast looks good, the sets look authentic, the tone is appropriately autumnal. But that CAUTIOUS part was still there.
Then … we screened the first episode.
I liked A Discovery of Witches when I read it, but I wasn’t expecting the show to blow me away. Then, I interviewed Deborah Harkness this summer, and SHE blew me away. Thoughtful, unique (she’s a historian who has studied the same types of texts that her character Diana studies and in the same library) was gracious and erudite. She’s spent years thinking about the way the show should be adapted for screens and she knows something about what makes that work. And guess what? That turned into a great pilot episode of television.
If you aren’t into A Discovery of Witches now, you will be when it airs on Sundance (and Shudder) on January 17th.
Hasbro Reveals New Star Wars Toys
It may have taken 30 full minutes to see the five new toys Habro is rolling out for their Star Wars lines, but it was worth it because they are really cool. There’s a new tank from Rogue One, a throwback Han Solo stormtrooper figure, and three new figures for the Black Line.
Lois & Clark 25th Anniversary Reunion
Not gonna lie, attending this panel was only inspired by Lorena’s love of the show Supergirl, in which both Dean Cain and Teri Hatcher play parental characters. Thankfully, the moderator asked about Supergirl and both actors were excited to talk about it. Dean admitted to having some serious suit envy while on set, especially for Supergirl’s suit. He said that it was so cool compared to the one he wore, and then Teri reminded him that he had no padding in his suit and was all muscle himself. This garnered a cheer from the crowd, who were SUPER INTO Lois & Clark (like, whoa, you guys, it was intense fandom passion in Main Hall). Teri continued that adoration by explaining she took her villainous role in Supergirl because she knew her fans from Lois & Clark would be excited about her doing it. She admitted that she loved playing an evil character and turning off that morality button.
They talked quite a bit about Lois & Clark and the audience Q&A was pretty impressive in its depth (like I said, some serious fans). They said the biggest difference nowadays is how quickly you can receive feedback and fan response. Dean explained that he had no idea how much the fans loved Lois & Clark until he attended a comic con and had that interaction. The internet simply didn’t exist back in the 90s like it does today. One thing I loved was how they explained their chemistry was always just there, they never even did a screen test. Teri explained that she loved the rom com moments best from an acting standpoint, citing the honeymoon in Metropolis episode as a favorite to act. Dean reminisced that his favorite moment was when Clark proposes to Lois and she asks, “Who is asking, Clark or Superman?” He felt like that moment summed up the show. And in case you wondered, it may be 25 years later but Dean Cain has still got it…
