Today was the day for fans of the DC Universe whether it’s their love of comics, animation, box office films, video games, fan art, collectibles or TV shows. Today’s virtual event included tons of talent from all of these avenues of the entertainment industry within the DC world as well as sneak peeks, behind the scenes looks, teasers, trailers and announcements galore.
The cavalcade of DC properties that were discussed included:
The box office films Black Adam, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, The Suicide Squad, The Flash, Blue Bettle, Batgirl,Shazam! Gods of Fury and The Batman;
The current TV shows The Flash, Superman & Lois, Stargirl,Supergirl, Doom Patrol, Batwoman,Legends of Tomorrow, Titans, Sweet Tooth and Pennyworth; as well as the upcoming new shows Peacemaker, DMZ, Naomi and The Sandman;
Animated projects (film or in print) such as Aquaman: King of Atlantis, Milestone Media’s Next Generation DC, My Adventures with Superman, League of Super Pets, Injustice, Catwoman: Hunted, Batman: Unburied, Harley Quinn, Young Justice: Phantoms, Batman: Wayne Family Adventures and Batman: Caped Crusader;
Video games such as Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, Gotham Knights and DC’s Heroes and Villains;
The 20th Anniversary of the TV series Smallville and the 80th Anniversary of Wonder Woman were spotlighted: and
Other properties like the upcoming John Ridley book “The Other History of the DC Universe,” “Monkey Prince” comics, Hot Wheels “Batwheels,” new collectibles from McFarlane Toys, the first digital title “Robins” and the “Trial of the Amazons” comics.
Here are some of the big moments from today’s virtual event:
Black Adam sneak peek:
The movie will be in theatres on July 29, 2022.
The Flash introduction of the legendary gold boots.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom behind the scenes:
The movie will be in theatres on December 16, 2022.
Milestone Media Next Generation DC Announcement. This is a new venture created to develop the next generation of comic book artists, writers, colorists, editors and more.
Jim Lee, the renowned comic book artist, writer, editor and publisher, announced that Superman has a new motto: “Truth, justice and a better tomorrow.”
Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart will team up, once again, this time providing their voices to the animated movie DC’s League of Super Pets, voicing Krypto and Ace respectively.
The Flash (the box office movie) sneak peek:
The movie is in production now with no official release date set just yet.
DC was in the mood for renewals with Doom Patrol and Titans both announcing each would be back for a 4th season on HBO Max; Sweet Tooth will be back with season two on Netflix and Pennyworth will be back for a 3rd season with all 3 seasons airing on HBO Max.
Here is your first look at Gwendoline Christie (from Game of Thrones and the Star Wars franchise) as Lucifer Morningstar in the upcoming live adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman.
DC’s Legends of Tomorrow will celebrate 100 episodes and here is a tribute to the show’s “100 episodes in 100 seconds”:
Patty Jenkins and the one and only Lynda Carter shared a conversation about Wonder Woman’s 80th Anniversary, shared that Wonder Woman 3 will happen, and it was also shared that a year-long celebration of everyday women is ongoing via Real Women.
New York Comic Con 2021 was held this weekend with both in-person and virtual panels. TV was represented by many different shows, ranging from superheroes to sci-fi to fantasy to thriller to time travel to apocalyptic to comedy.
The following is only a sampling of the panels that took place over the last few days.
SUPERGIRL
Melissa Benoist participated in a virtual panel for Supergirl and she shared the following:
“I don’t think I truly realized what I was signing up for, so my expectations…my mind was blown right from the start. It was one of the hardest, most challenging experiences of my life, and I think it will remain that for the rest of my life. I hope that (Supergirl) always and forever…shows fans and young women in particular how to be true to yourself and not be afraid to speak up and to empower the people you love around you and really embrace community.”
With the show now wrapped, the two-hour series finale of Supergirl will air on The CW on November 9, Benoist is busy with her 1-year-old child and a new project through her Three Things production banner based on the young adult novel series ‘Haven’s Secret.’
BATTLESTAR GALACTICA RETROSPECTIVE with EDWARD JAMES OLMOS AND MARY MCDONNELL
[CREDIT: Bennett Raglin-Getty Images for ReedPop]
“So say we all!”
Edward James Olmost and Mary McDonnell appeared in person for this retrospective on the reboot of the 1970’s series that debuted as a mini-series back in 2003.
Both actors were “a bit dubious about the reboot (at first), but after reading the script, (they) both were sold.” They both remembered the dearly departed Richard Hatch, who starred in the original series and came back to play Tom Zarek in the reboot. They shared that Hatch was dubious as well, but became a huge defender of it once it began.
Among the other things they shared during their time on stage was:
* Series creator Ronald D. Moore told McDonnell her character, Laura Roslin, would live to see Earth at the end (of the show) and then die soon after;
* They didn’t know who the famous “final five” Cylons were until they got the scripts for those episodes, and they shared that even some of the actors who ended up playing those Cylons didn’t know;
* McDonnell shared that her most emblematic comment as Roslin was in season 4 when Adama was being threatened. She uttered the line, “I’m coming for all of you” over the comms, and that made McDonnell realize that Roslin was a powerhouse of rage and loss; and,
* Olmos shared that the most difficult scene for him was when Adama put the ring on Roslin’s finger after her death. “It was the last thing we shot together, and it ended up becoming the truth of what life is, the cycle.” And, he shared that he “was very fortunate to part” of the show.
You can rewatch Battlestar Galactica on Peacock, and a revival of the show is in the works for Peacock as well.
The sixth and final season of the sci-fi drama that went from Syfy to Amazon Prime Video was at the con virtually with most of the cast and the producers in attendance. There will be plenty of pedal-to-the-metal excitement, as each episode will roll out “old-school style” – one episode per week.
There will be plenty of tension, guilt and worry on the Rocif with the “not-so-welcome” Clarissa (aka Peaches) in Alex’s (who died last season) stead; tension between Naomi and Amos; Holden still has the weight of the universe on his shoulders; and Avasarala is back heading the UN, trying to save the universe.
The Expanse is back one last time on December 10 on Amazon.
The cast and creator were there virtually to talk about the debut of the fantasy series. Creator Rafe Judkins shared that this show “will be different from other fantasy TV series out there. It’s the book’s connection to Eastern religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism philosophy that makes (it) stand out. It’s not really about defeating evil, it’s about restoring balance to the world. And at a time like this in the world, he feels finding balance is super relevant right now.”
For lead star Rosamund Pike, she shared that “she is a big reader of fantasy, and was intrigued that the central character who gets to change these people’s lives is a woman.
The sets and costumes were described by some of the cast members as “grand scale,” and there was even some speculation on season two before the show even debuts.
Cast members Jack Quaid, Antony Starr, Erin Moriarty, Chase Crawford and Karen Fukuhara took to the stage in New York to talk about the first two seasons of the superhero series, as they didn’t share much about the upcoming third season.
As you can imagine, the conversation included talk about their super suits, with Antony sharing that Homelander’s getup is among one of the most intense ensembles, stating, “My suit’s a nightmare.” And, Erin teased that Nathan Mitchell (who plays Black Noir) fell asleep in his suit, which covers him head-to-toe, he was “fully 100% asleep, caught on camera.” Jack and Karen shared that while they don’t have super suits, they’re “always covered in blood.”
Some other behind the scenes items were:
* Helen Mirren almost provided the voice over for The Deep’s gills (but that eventually went to Patton Oswalt);
* “We are children on set,” the cast admitted; and,
* Chase joked the Fresca obsession is “still a secret…we don’t know.”
The third season of The Boys will air on Amazon Prime Video, but an official date has yet to be set.
It was another virtual panel for the CBS thriller series that has since moved over to Paramount+. While the season two finale aired on Sunday night, fans can be happy to know that the show will be back for a third season.
The main cast and executive producers were on tap for the panel with co-creator Robert King sharing that the discussions throughout the series between Kristen and David are the “heartbeat” of the series.
Each cast member shared something:
* Katja Herbers shared she enjoyed Kristen unraveling in season two; she’s “always really happy” when a new script comes in;
* Mike Colter shared that he’s “drawn to his character because he’s very far from (who he is) himself, especially when it comes to religion; and,
* Michael Emerson shared that Leland “relishes his work, and he likes the expressions on people’s faces when his sickness goes down; I’m not working so hard at comedy, but I’m grateful it’s there.”
The time travel drama was on the stage with Sam Heughan, author Diana Gabaldon and EP Maril Davis appearing in person while cast members Caitriona Balfe, Sophie Skelton, Lauren Lyle, Cesar Domboy and John Bell were there virtually.
Season 6 will focus on Claire and her beloved Jamie’s attempts to settle in peace and thrive in colonial America – not an easy task, on highlands or in North Carolina. You can see the teaser trailer in the link below:
The upcoming season will feature a 90-minute premiere episode and overall consists of 8 episodes. Production on Season 7 will start soon, consisting of 16 episodes.
Outlander will be back with season 6 in early 2022.
PSYCH 3: THIS IS GUS
Check out the trailer for the latest movie:
Psych 3: This Is Gust will debut on Peacock on November 18.
HANNA
Season 3 of Hanna will consist of 6 episodes and will premiere on Amazon Prime on November 24.
Here is a trailer:
THE CW’S 4400
Based on the USA Network series The 4400, this reboot still has many elements of the original’s premise, but taken from the perspective of the predominantly black cast. Thousands of people who were abducted from across different points throughout the 21st century are suddenly returned together in the present day with no memory of where they were taken or who took them. What the 4400 do know, however, is that some of them develop different superhuman abilities that drastically change their lives even more.
The panel featured a conversation with showrunner/writer/executive producer Eliza Clark and several members of the principal cast, including Ben Schnetzer who plays Yorick Brown, the titular last man on Earth after all other humans with a Y chromosome start dropping dead. Even Brian K. Vaughan (co-creator of the comic upon which the series is based) took to the stage in a surprise appearance.
The show went through a lot to get to the small screen: they lost a pair of showrunners, they lost their leading man and then the COVID pandemic hit. They were two weeks from kicking off when the world suddenly went into lockdown.
Clark did share that, “We wanted to photograph people differently, and particularly women, than they have been photographed [before]. Ultimately, what we decided (was) the female gaze was, subjectivity, point-of-view, and detail. You see the roots of hair, you’re seeing skin, sweat, dirt under fingernails. Each scene is shot from somebody’s point-of-view, so that you feel like you’re inside of it.”
You can currently watch Y: The Last Man on FX on Hulu.
The anthology series will be set in the days after the September 11 terrorist attacks when letters led to five deaths and caused panic across the United States.
The cast this time will consist of Daniel Dae Kim [in his first lead role] as FBI Special Agent Matthew Ryker, a character created for the series, and Tony Goldwyn as Dr. Bruce Ivins. Ryker was a microbiologist before he became an FBI agent; Ivins was the lead anthrax researcher for the government.
The Hot Zone: Anthrax will premiere on National Geographic on November 28.
It looks like the show will be heading to New York Comic Con in October.
The show’s Twitter page made the announcement:
“You heard it here first: #Outlander is headed to @NY_Comic_Con! Tickets go on sale July 11. Visit New York Comic Con for more information.”
This announcement comes shortly after Starz revealed that Outlander will be back for Season 6 (hopefully) in early 2022, and marks the third time the series has made an appearance at the (normally) annual event. There has been no word on which cast members will be attending, but in the past series leads Caitriona Balfe and Sam Heughan have participated along with co-stars Sophie Skelton and Richard Rankin.
New York Comic Con will take place from October 7 through October 10 with Outlander scheduled for Saturday, October 9. Most events are typically held at the Javits Center, but check the convention’s website to confirm.
The 8-hour global event of DC Fandome took place today (with encore presentations going through tomorrow) as well as even more “stuff” to be presented on September 12. You can get all the details here.
But some of the big highlights from the fan experience included the brand new trailer for Wonder Woman 1984, a behind-the-scenes look at The Suicide Squad, a teaser for Zack Snyder’s Director’s Cut of Justice League, the introduction of Black Adam (which inducts Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson into the DC Universe) and the first trailer for The Batman.
Check out the details below:
Wonder Woman 1984:
The Suicide Squad [which features familiar faces, reprising their roles from the 2016 movie as well as new faces like Idris Elba, Michael Rooker, John Cena, Peter Capaldi and Nathan Fillion (just to name a few):
Snyder’s Cut:
Black Adam Teaser Trailer:
Black Adam Concept Trailer:
The Batman:
If you want to get in on the encore presentations at DC Fandome, you can head over here to check it out!
Today is the final day of panels for Comic Con @Home, which will include panels for the Freeform fantasy series Motherland: Fort Salem, the upcoming FOX drama nExt and the final season of The CW’s post-apocalyptic series The 100 as well as a panels focusing on Who’s the Best Doctor Who, the Psychology of Pop Culture and Christmas and A Conversation with (the one and only) Nathan Fillion [among many other panels].
The first panels start at 10 AM and the final panels start at 4 PM.
For many years now, Supernatural has been a part of the Sunday line-up in Hall H, and it only feels right to include pictures – taken by our own Dominick Dusseault – from last year, which was the show’s final appearance at Comic Con since it is coming to an end after 15 seasons on The CW.
Supernatural:
Jared Padalecki
Jensen Ackles
Mischa Collins
Alexander Calvert
Mischa, Jensen and Jared
Rob Benedict and Richard Speight, Jr.
It also seemed like the right time to include pictures – also from Dominick Dusseault – from last year’s panels for The Witcher and Game of Thrones:
The Witcher:
Henry Cavill
Anya Chalotra
Freya Allan
Series Creator Lauren Schmidt Hissrich, Freya, Henry and Anya
Game of Thrones:
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau
Maisie Williams
Isaac Hempstead Wright
John Bradley
Liam Cunningham
Conleth Hill
Jacob Anderson
Here’s to next year’s event (that will hopefully be held in person).
Today is the third full day of panels for Comic Con @Home, which will feature panels for TV shows For All Mankind, the new Peacock series Brave New World, Netflix’s The Order, the new HBO thriller Lovecraft Country, ABC’s Stumptown, the fan favorite Wynonna Earp, the AMC thriller NOS4A2 and a salute to the popular sci-fi series Farscape as well as a reunion/salute to the original box office movie Constantine – that is expected to include Keanu Reeves, who is also expected to show up for the panel focusing on the new Bill & Ted movie and An Evening with Kevin Smith [among many other panels].
The first panels start at 10 AM and the final panels start at 6 PM.
Since there are a few panels dedicated to the world of Marvel – included a scientific salute to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – it felt only right to take a look back, courtesy of photos taken by our very own Dominick Dusseault, – to the plethora of Marvel cast members who appeared at a huge Marvel event last year:
Black Widow:
Scarlett Johansson
David Harbour
Rachel Weisz
Florence Pugh
O-T Fagbenle
Blade:
Mahershala Ali
Doctor Strange:
Benedict Cumberbatch
The Eternals:
Angelina Jolie as Thena
Richard Madden as Ikaris
Salma Hayek as Ajak
Dong-seok Ma as Gilgamesh
Kumail Nanjiani as Kingo
Brian Tyree Henry as Phastos
Lauren Ridloff as Makkari
Lia McHugh as Sprite
Falcon and Winter Soldier:
Anthony Mackie
Sebastian and Anthony
Sebastian Stan
Hawkeye:
Jeremy Renner
Loki:
Tom Hiddleston
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings:
Simu Liu
Thor: Love and Thunder:
Chris Hemsworth
Natalie Portman
Tessa Thompson
Taika Waititi
WandaVision:
Elizabeth Olsen
Paul Bettany
Teyonah Parris
What If:
Jeffrey Wright
And, since this year’s event features a panel dedicated to Kevin Smith, it only seemed fitting to include pictures – courtesy of Dominick Dusseault – from last year’s panel that featured Kevin along with a few of his co-stars from the Jay and Silent Bob Reboot movie:
Today is the second full day of panels for Comic Con @Home, which will feature panels for TV shows such as Vikings, Fear the Walking Dead, The Walking Dead, the new spin-off series The Walking Dead: World Beyond, the new drama The Capture from Peacock, The CW’s Pandora and the upcoming Quibi thriller Don’t Look Deeper as well as the annual Brave Warriors panel sponsored by Entertainment Weekly, the annual Fan Favorites panel hosted by TV Guide Magazine, a salute to the work of actress Charlize Theron and A Zoom with Joss Whedon [among lots of other panels].
The first panels start at 10 AM and the final panels start at 6 PM with the 32nd Annual Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards getting underway at 7 PM, which rounds out the night.
Since there are three panels dedicated to the world of The Walking Dead included among the panels for this events at-home event, let’s take a visit back to last year’s Comic Con – courtesy of photos taken by our very own Dominick Dusseault – when actors from Fear the Walking Dead and The Walking Dead appeared at the 2019 event:
Fear the Walking Dead:
Alycia Debnam-Carey
Lennie James
Danay Garcia and Maggie Grace
Jenna Elfman
Karen David
Austin Amelio, Alexa Nisenson and Rubén Blades
The Walking Dead:
Danai Gurira
Jeffrey Dean Morgan
Cailey Fleming
Norman Reedus
Melissa McBride
Avi Nash and Ryan Hurst
Nadia Hilker
Eleanor Matsuura and Cooper Andrews
Last year also found some of the cast of The CW sci-fi series Pandora taking to the stage, and this year’s event will find some of the panel participating in a video panel. Let’s take a look at some of the pictures that Dominick Dusseault took from last year’s Pandora in-person panel:
Priscilla Quintana
Oliver Dench
Tehmina Sunny
John Harlan Kim
Johann Urb
And, as a way to honor both of this year’s TV Guide Magazine and Entertainment Weekly annual events, let’s look back at the ladies who participated in the Women Who Kick Ass panel as well as the cast of Westworld; all taken by Dominick Dusseault:
Women Who Kick Ass:
Shohreh Aghdashloo from The Expanse
Colbie Smulders from Stumptown and The Avengers franchise
Freema Agyeman from Doctor Who and New Amsterdam
Betty Gilpin from GLOW
Jeri Ryan from Star Trek: Picard and Star Trek: Voyager
Today is the first full day of panels for Comic Con @Home, which will feature panels for TV shows such as the rebooted Star Trek universe, His Dark Materials, Utopia, Upload and The Boys (all three Amazon dramas) and Van Helsing as well as a salute to LGBTQ Characters on TV and Building a Better Heroine, among many other panels.
The first panels start at 10 AM and the final panels start at 6 PM.
There is one panel today focusing on the Marvel franchise, so let’s take a visit back to last year’s Comic Con – courtesy of photos taken by our very own Dominick Dusseault – when some of the creative minds behind the franchise made an appearance at the 2019 event:
Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely (Writers for Avengers: Endgame)
Joe and Anthony Russo (Directors of some of the Avengers franchise movies)
Since Star Trek was also included in one of the panels today, let’s take a look at pictures also taken by Dominick Dusseault for the same panel at Comic Con 2019:
For the first time in its 50 year history, San Diego Comic Con will not be held – at least not in person.
Due to the global pandemic, the annual fete that has become the mega entertainment event of the year for pop culture geeks and nerds alike will be conducted online through You Tube. There is a separate link for every panel scheduled throughout Comic Con @Home.
While this year’s schedule isn’t as voluminous as in years past, there are still plenty of interesting panels scheduled throughout each day of this year’s at home event.
The first panels start at 3 PM and the final panels start at 6 PM.
Among the highlights for today’s panels are comic books, graphic novels, books, GeekEd and more.
To tie in with this year’s event, and today’s focus on comic books, let’s take a visit back to last year’s Comic Con – courtesy of photos taken by our very own Dominick Dusseault – when the leads of Riverdale made an appearance at the 2019 event:
Rueben’s Ramblings is celebrating its 10th Anniversary!!
In honor of that I decided to highlight some of the big events that took place during each year of the past 10 years.
Today’s salute is focused on 2018:
A couple of the more memorable shows that debuted during that year included:
* Altered Carbon – This cyberpunk series was created by Laeta Kalogridis based on the 2002 novel of the same name by author Richard K. Morgan. In a world where consciousness can be transferred to different bodies, Takeshi Kovacs (Will Yun Lee and Joel Kinnaman), a former soldier turned investigator, must solve a murder. Hamilton alum Renée Elise Goldsberry was also one of the cast members.
* Good Omens – From the minds of Neil Gaiman and the late Terry Pratchett, based on their 1990 novel, the mini-series aired on Amazon Prime. The series followed demon Crowley (Doctor Who alum David Tennant) and the angel Aziraphale (Michael Sheen), longtime friends who, having grown accustomed to life on Earth as representatives of Heaven and Hell, seek to prevent the coming of the Antichrist and with it Armageddon, the final battle between Heaven and Hell.
* Chilling Adventures of Sabrina – Right on time for Halloween, the first half of the first season of this much-darker look at Sabrina (the teenage witch from the creator of Riverdale) debuted on Netflix, starring Mad Men alum Kiernan Shipka in the title role.
Two shows that came to an end that year included:
*12 Monkeys – The final 11 episodes of this post-apocalyptic, time-traveling series aired on Syfy during the summer of 2018, finally connecting the mysteries and bringing the war and the virus to an end (or at least it seemed that way); and in a twist, James and Cassie were reunited.
* Nashville – The show moved from ABC where it aired for 4 seasons to CMT for its final two seasons in which Rayna James (lead star Connie Britton) died due to injuries sustained in a car accident and the show ended with Deacon (lead star Charles Esten) performing on stage then the show broke the fourth wall with every previous cast member from the show joining him on stage to sing.
Some big events that took place throughout 2018 included:
The Me Too and Time’s Up movements were top headlines for the year.
Jodie Whitaker became the 13th Doctor on Doctor Who, the first woman to play the character in the series. She made her official debut in the 2017 Christmas special, and then began her time as Doctor Who in the latter part of 2018.
Brandon Victor Dixon performed to rave reviews in the live televised event of Jesus Christ Superstar on NBC that aired on Easter Sunday (April 1).
You can see him in action in this clip from the live special:
We all mourned the loss in November of the one and only, the legendary Stan Lee.
Actress Nicole Maines debuted on Supergirl, playing the character Nia Nal. She soon became the first transgender superhero on TV.
[Photo Credit: Dominick Dusseault]
Among the great pictures from this year that were captured by our photographer Dom included the Felicity Reunion at the ATX Festival, Johnny Depp appearing in character and a Dr. Horrible Reunion both at San Diego Comic Con.
And, our very own Roz had the fantastic opportunity to get a photo with the one and only Nichelle Nichols (Lieutenant Uhura from the original Star Trek) at Wonder Con.
Nichelle Nichols and Roz
The top movie at the box office in 2018 was Black Panther and it should also be mentioned that the overnight sensation was Crazy Rich Asians. It was also this year that Shazam! and Aquaman hit the screens. Meanwhile some of the worst movies for the year were Holmes & Watson, The Happytime Murders and Gotti.
Following in the tradition, I had started a number of years earlier, I selected a group of interesting people as part of my faces of the year and new faces to be on the look out for in the new year.
Some of the people I picked for 2018 included: Noah Centineo, Letita Wright, Kelly Marie Tran, Timothee Chalamet, Awkwafina, Gemma Chan, Tiffany Haddish, Indya Moore, Kiki Layne and Henry Golding.
Rueben's Ramblings 