The Life of Michael Turner Tribute Panel

Fans, friends and family of Michael Turner gathered today at San Diego Comic Con to honor the artist’s life. Wizard attended the tribute and will have more details on the remembrances and anecdotes of the many lives that Michael Turner touched later on this week.

GRANT MORRISON AND DEEPAK CHOPRA

Virgin Comics Chief Creative Officer Gotham Chopra started off the panel by introducing the stars of the show: Grant Morrison and Deepak Chopra.

Gotham opened the panel by asking Deepak what is the soul and asked Morrison to talk about superheroes.
“As you’re listening to me, turn your attention to who is listening,” instructed Deepak. “Do you feel a presence? If you do, that’s your soul. It’s not your mind. That’s the voice saying, ‘I wish I’d gone to the bathroom before.’ Your mind is a conversation.”

“Which brings us onto superheroes, I guess,” said Morrison. “The superhero, I feel ask if it’s rising in conscious as a desperate way to rise out of the situation we’re in right now.”
Morrison referenced an All-Star Superman issue that displayed human history and its attempts to visually depict the superhuman—from Krishna to Superman.
“That imaginative concept is actually one o fthe best ways out of the deathtrap western culture has gotten itself into,” added Morrison. “This whole thing to me is about the stories we try to tell each other and that I try to tell in comics.”

Gotham then asked the panelists to talk about the role mythology in culture today.
“We read Superman comics and we start looking at what the actual problems are and what powers we have to stop them,” said Morrison. “For me, the fact that the superhero is coming through is a good thing.”

“The field of human consciousness is a field of infinite possibilities,” said Deepak. “It’s beyond your imagination. Yet the best we can do is qualify or represent the infinite through a symbol. The symbolic expression of that is what we call a superhero because that superhero has dormant potentials that you have, that we all have.”

“If you want a more close-up view of it, think about yourself sitting in that chair,” said Morrison. “We’re all one thing. And every single one of us has the potential to influence that one thing.”

“You have to admit, this panel is always so different than any other one out there,” joked Gotham.

Gotham referenced the various characters the two addressed with their particular works of fiction—Batman, Superman, Buddha and Jesus—and asked how they all connect.
“I think the theme here—Batman, Superman, Jesus, Buddha—is redemption and resurrection and death,” said Deepak. In order to recreate something, to lift yourself to a higher existence, you have to let something die. The other theme is the constant battle between good and evil.
“These are cosmic forces. If you had only good and creation, there would be no universe,” continued Deepak. “If they were only destructive forces, then the universe would disappear in the black hole.
The good guys have to keep winning, but they can never win.”
Deepak went on to explain that the universe needs the tension between good and evil—the two keep each other moving forward.

A trailer also played a trailer for Morrison’s upcoming project with Virgin Comics, MBX, a digitally animated film that presents a re-imaging of the Mahabharata, the Hindu myth telling the story of an epic war and the Hindu deity of Krishna.
“To me, it’s part of the whole exchange that we’re talking about, with Deepak doing a story about Christ and me doing a story about Indian myth,” said Morrison. “It’s time for us to be doing this cross-cultural swapping.”

Before the video started some technical difficulties that left the room dark staring a black screen.
“We are now staring at the field of pure potential,” laughed Morrison for the trailer started up.

Morrison explained that when researching the story of the Mahabharata, he discovered many of the characters represent the exact idea of the superhuman and the potential within all of us.

Questions then opened to the audience.

‘DCU: ONE WEEKEND LATER’

[BREAKING NEWS!] This just in…

One of the biggest pieces of news coming out of this year’s Comic-Con arrived during Sunday’s “DCU: One Weekend Later” Panel, which announced NEIL GAIMAN will be writing a Batman project with art by Andy Kubert that spawns out of “Batman R.I.P!”

The project comes out January 2009 following a two-part story written by the legendary Denny O’Neil!

Now, on to the panel report…

Executive Editor Dan Didio opened the panel by calling his “cohorts” onto the stage: Bob Wayne, senior story editor Ian Sattler, editor Matt Idelson, Art Baltazar, Franco, Jann Jones and Geoff Johns.

Didio asked the crowd about all the announcements that came out of the con this weekend.
“New Krypton. 100,000 Kryptonians. Kandor. New Krypton,” repeated Idelson from a fan’s statement.
“It’s a recap, but yes,” laughed Johns after Didio asked him to confirm the statements.

Flash: Rebirth, Green Lantern, the upcoming Star Sapphires story in Green Lantern Corps, the icon characters appearing in Justice League and Static in Teen Titans, and Legion of 3 Worlds were also talked about.

“And if you guys like speedsters, you should definitely check it out,” said Johns of Legion. “Especially if you like teenage speedsters.”

Didio also mentioned Kevin Smith writing a Batman miniseries, and Batman teaming up with the Archie Comics superheroes in Brave and the Bold.

Johns also stated his involvement in a “Smallville” episode introducing the Legion of Super-Heroes.

Didio then brought onto the stage one of the fans who read Final Crisis #3 in the Final Crisis Panel, who answered a few questions from the audience.

Didio then brought onto stage a fan dressed as Supergirl to recap Supergirl news; however, the fan stopped reading about 10 months ago. Idleson told her why she should start reading:
“New creative team. The book won’t suck. She won’t be a slut,” said Idelson.

Didio hinted to a video, but Wayne suggested they save the video for last “To give them something to talk about when they left the room.”

Questions then opened to the audience.

A fan asked about Firestorm Ron Raymond.
“Black Lantern,” said Johns.

A fan asked if a Batwoman series will be coming out.
“We would love to see Batwoman in her own book,” said Didio. “She’s actually going to be part of the New Justice League team.”

A fan asked for inside info on Batman R.I.P and Didio said to stay to the end of the panel because an announcement is coming up.

A fan asked if Johns used Alan Moore’s backup story in Green Lantern, which mentions a Blackest Night, as a start point for his story.
“I saw the backup story where they said the Green Lantern Corps will end one day,” said Johns. “I thought I wanted to know what that story is, so I’m going to tell it.”

A fan asked Johns about the Blackest Night being the end of the Green Lanterns, but Johns told him that in Legion a new Green Lantern is there with a new Oath.
“I told you that,” said Johns.
Johns confirmed that in Legion of 3 Worlds there are two Green Lanterns with a new Green Lantern Oath.

A fan asked about the state of Booster Gold and Johns announced that Dan Jurgens will be taking over writing duties on the book with issue #15.

Another fan asked if Jor-El or Ralph Dibny would appear in Blackest Night.
“Anyone dead is eligible,” said Johns, “which is the best thing about it.”

A fan asked if reprinting of the Trail of the Flash story.
“You mean the fastest man alive and the slowest story ever printed,” said Wayne. “No.”
“I like that story,” said Johns.
“I know,” said Wayne. “We had this conversation before. I threw a pancake at you once.”

SDCC: Smallville Screening and Q&A

It’s kids day here at San Diego Comic Con, but the many panels are still going on throughout the day for the older crowd. One of the first panels of the day was the ever-popular Smallville screening and panel. Jeph Loeb took the stage to thunderous applause as the lights dimmed. “You are the reason why this show is on for eight seasons,” said Loeb. “You are truly the best fans in the world.” Jeph Loeb introduced the star-studded panel which included series veterans Allison Mack and Justin Hartley, newcomers Sam Witwer and Cassidy Freeman, and showrunners Kelly Souders, Brian Peterson, Todd Slavkin and Darren Swimmer.

Although this announcement came nearer to the middle of the panel, it’s just that important. Superstar DC writer Geoff Johns has signed on to write an episode of Smallville! This season, Johns will be writing an episode introducing the amazing Legion of Super Heroes.

The screening turned out to be a never-before sneak peak of season eight. The trailer began with, “Every journey has a beginning” and showed iconic clips from the first season of Smallville: Kal-El as a baby being launched from Krypton and Martha and Jonathan Kent finding the baby Kryptonian. “Every boy becomes a man” showcased all of Clark’s powers. “Every man will fall in love” showed clips of his star-crossed romance with Lana Lang. “Every hero discovers his destiny” showcased the creation of the Fortress of Solitude, Clark’s battle with Lex, and the introduction of Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, Green Arrow, the Justice League, and the Phantom Zone. “Every hero says goodbye” showed Jonathan’s death, and Martha’s exit from the series, and Lex leaving Clark at the graveyard. Finally, “but every hero has a future…” We are introduced to Tess Mercer, see Clark getting beat up in Russia, Chloe saying she’s not special while battling to get away from an assailant. The clips teased more Justice League, Chloe and Jimmy together, and Clark and Lois together at the daily planet. We also saw Green Arrow shooting Clark. Finally, the teaser ended with a S-pendant in Clark’s hand, and a close up on Sam Witwer with a voice over saying, “There’s something out there, and whatever it is, it can kill you.”

Allison Mack mentioned that Tom Welling and Erica Durance wanted to be at the panel, but were busy with filming. An ovation was also given to the writers of Smallville who were present in the crowd. The panel then opened it up to the audience for questions. The first audience question concerned the “No tights, no flights’ mantra of comic books. The creative team mentioned that they are “going to hold to the no tights part of that.” The next questions revealed that the origin of Green Arrow would be revealed sometime during this season, as well as new details about Sam Witwer’s character, Doomsday. “His name is Davis Bloom, paramedic, really nice guy, and eventually he’s going to start blacking out and losing time, and what he finds out…it’s not great,” said Witwer. “Eventually the character will have to deal with that. This guy is actually a really, really nice guy.” Later when asked about villains, Witwer said, “Lex was a great villain, but he couldn’t kill Superman.” Cassidy Freeman also spoke about her character, Tess.”Tess is kind of Miss Mystery. You’re going to find out her backstory. She’s the new girl at LuthorCorp and nobody knows why; but she is and I think she’ll find an inner strength within her self to run this company.”
One of the most disappointing news for fans was the news that Michael Rosenbaum was leaving Smallville. Brian Peterson explained the situation. “Obviously Michael Rosenbaum is one of the best actors,” he said. “You definitely haven’t heard the last of Lex. The door is open to Michael Rosenbaum when he’s done going out and pursing his other endeavors.”
One of the fans was so well-dressed as Green Arrow, that Allison Mack and Justin Hartley took out digital cameras and said they would show them to the costume designer of Smallville. The Green Arrow lookalike was invited to show off his costume and his moves in front of the panel. The panel was then asked about whether the Smallville Justice League will make another appearance. Kelly Souders teased, “I will say watch the premiere episode of the season. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed if you’re a Justice fan.” Brian Peterson teased a possible crossover with Supernatural by saying, “I can’t confirm or deny anything right now.” If you’re looking for more characters, the creative team mentioned that DC has been great about working with them in order to open the door for a lot of new characters.

Check out the new season of Smallville, premiering this fall on the CW network.

[REVIEW] ‘Wolverine and the X-Men’

Wizard Staff Writer Kevin Mahadeo and I were lucky enough to attend an advance screening of the first three episodes of the upcoming Marvel animated series “Wolverine and the X-Men.” After series writer Craig Kyle took the stage to introduce the film, the episodes began rolling. The introduction sported a star-studded cast of mutants including Angel, Beast, Cyclops, Emma Frost, Storm, Nightcrawler, Beast, Iceman, Shadowcat and—of course—Wolverine.

The series is set during the Mutant Registration Act, and begins with Wolverine leaving the X-Men. We are introduced to the academy as Wolverine travels the grounds, saying goodbye to Colossus, Beast and Rogue (who takes his leaving as a very personal insult). That’s about as far as we get before all hell starts to break loose. There’s some kind of explosion, and the scene flashes to one year later. Troops known as the M.R.D’s have begun to arrest mutants and imprison them in maximum security prisons. It’s very reminiscent of the beginning of the events that spawned “Days of the Future Past.” Suffice it to say, Wolverine has been traveling alone, and events transpire that inspire him to get the X-Men back together.

The series is extremely well put together, giving many different takes on some characters, while staying very true to the comic counterparts of others (Angel’s costume is exactly the same, Animated Rogue is still incredibly annoying and emo). The strength of this series, though, lies in its compelling storyline. In “X-Men: Evolution,” the formation of the core cast always felt forced and deliberate, while for this series, there seems to be a real reason to introduce each of the characters throughout the first few episodes.

By the end of the first three episodes, we still didn’t have the entire cast as shown in the credits. In fact, for the first episode and a half, the only real X-Men that are on the team are Wolverine and Beast. However, that doesn’t mean that other mutants don’t appear. In those same two episodes there are cameos from Pyro, Boom Boom, Rockslide, Wolfsbane, Dust, Toad, Blob, Avalanche, Quicksilver, Jean Grey, Storm, Nightcrawler and Domino. The creative team has spared no expense putting in some of the lesser known, but still fan favorite, characters of the X-Men mythos. Nothing demonstrates this faithfulness to fans more than the inclusion of Emma Frost. Emma’s character is spot on, and Kevin and I can’t wait to see exactly how she’s going to be manipulating the X-Men to her own will.

These days, it’s difficult to find Emma in the comics without Cyclops. This series is no exception. However, this series’ version of Cyclops is one like you’ve never seen. He’s lost Jean and he lives alone, blasting his television with optic beams as he sees fit. He no longer serves as the leader of the X-Men, but is much more reminiscent of the brooding, serious Cyclops in Grant Morrison’s run on New X-Men than has ever been seen in animation before. It’s a change that fans will have to get used to, as it seems as though it’s in the series to stay.

Overall, the series has an excellent premise, a great voice cast and fans will be excited to see where it goes.

“Wolverine and the X-Men” will air in January 2009 on the Nicktoons network.

‘Fringe’ Q&A

After the limited preview pilot showing on Wednesday night, the “Fringe” panel today began with an extended trailer for the highly anticipated new series from “Lost” creator J.J. Abrams.

After the trailer, the panel—which included series creator J. J. Abrams, writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, executive producers Bryan Burk and Jeff Pinkner and stars Anna Torv, Joshua Jackson and John Noble—took the stage and began with a question about ground rules for Fringe.

“The rules are going to try to make this show—the only thing that scares us is finding the right pace. We don’t have any of these rules that we’ll find ourselves breaking anyway,” said series creator J.J. Abrams. “A lot of the stuff dealing with ‘Fringe’ has to do with stuff I liked as a kid…This is really about saying what do we love and how can we do a show that lets us play with those toys.”

The panel was then opened to general questions from the audience. Joshua Jackson was asked about his decision to come back to television.

“The decision to come back was based on the pilot script which read as an incredibly dense movie, frankly. I wasn’t really anxious to get back into the TV world, so it was the [show that got me back.]”

“In fairness the role was originally called Pacey,” joked Abrams, “What’s great about having Josh is that he’s obviously a very smart guy and we think what Josh brings is an incredible wit with great skill. He’s just a pro.”

“Fringe” boasts one of the most eclectic staff of writers, drawing on scribes from “The X-Files” to “Gossip Girl.”

“We looked for and hired writers…to find as many talented people as we could no matter what genres they came from,” said Jeff Pinkner. “We were looking for people who could bring different things to the show. We were very lucky to have Darin Morgan who was one of the signature ‘X-Files’ writers, we have one of the Whedons on our staff. We have perhaps the best writing staff in Hollywood, so we’re going to try hard not to f— it up.”

For those unaware, “Fringe” will have a comic produced in tandem with the series. Abrams explained, “[The comic will allow us to] tell some stories about characters and create this peripheral world.”

Roberto Orci echoed this sentiment, explaining, “I think it’s something we haven’t done before.”

Abrams agreed saying, “There are certain things you can’t do in TV that you can do in a comic book.”

A certain fan asked about the value of internet criticism.

Jeff Pinkner responded, “I think that feedback from the internet is not only valuable, it’s necessary.” He went on to describe some of his experiences with internet feedback during his time on “Alias,” and continued, “We’ve found feedback from the internet was very valuable.”

The panel wrapped up with some tidbits about other highly anticipated projects from the creative team. When asked about the upcoming Star Trek film, and whether or not George Takei would appear, J.J. Abrams mentioned, “We had a meeting with that guy and he was awesome, he was just the greatest guy. So…sure.”

Orci and Kurtzman were also asked about the upcoming Transformers sequel, and were unable to reveal any details except Orci who mentioned, “If you like giant robots, you’re going to LOVE Transformers 2.”

That’s it from “Fringe,” look forward to it this fall on FOX.

-SS

[SDCC:] MARVEL’S ULTIMATE UNIVERSE MUST DIE PANEL

Here we are at Marvel’s final panel of the day: The Ultimate Universe Must Die! Fans continued the file into the half-filed quadruple room (6CDEF) as the panel’s start—and apparent death of the Ultimate Universe—loomed ever closer.

After a few minutes of technical problems, Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada took the stage and riled up the crowd before and started the panel with a trailer for The Stand by Stephen King, which he admitted was a little off the beaten path for the Ultimate Universe.
The Stand releases at 12:01 am on Sept 10 along with Dark Tower: Treachery.

Quesada then introduced the panelists: Marketing Guru Jim McCann, Jeph Loeb, Joe Pokaski, Aron Coleitte and publisher Dan Buckley.

Marvel also announced the return of MARK MILLAR to the Ultimate Universe and artist FRANK CHO becoming officially exclusive to Marvel!

Loeb also announced that the next Ultimates book will be written by him and drawn by Cho.

Slides then followed of Bendis flicking off the camera, the upcoming issue of Ultimate Spider-Man, a preview ad for Ultimate Origins, Ultimate Hulk Special, Ultimate Captain American Annual, and a preview pages of Ultimatum!
The first page showed Doctor Doom apparently marching out of his castle.
The second featured Thor and Valkerie
The final page showed the Ultron that appeared at the end of Ultimates #4.

Questions then opened to the audience.

A fan asked the infamous Ultimate Hulk vs. Wolverine question.
At which point, Damon Lindelof rushed to the stage saying, “I apologize here in person.” He then proceeded to turn in the script to the final issue!
“So please, never ask me that question again,” laughed Quesada.

A fan dressed as DC’s Captain Marvel came to the mic. After receiving some jest, he said he’s not in the wrong panel and that he wants to be here.
“Listen, most DC fans want to be here, too,” joked Quesada.
The fan asked if Ultimate Deadpool would return.
“Yeah. There’s some plans for that,” said Loeb who then turned the question over to Coleitte.
“Yes. Absolutely, Ultimate Deadpool is coming back,” said Coleitte.

A fan asked about the Bryan Singer Ultimate X-Men project.
“Did you see Superman Returns,” questioned Loeb.
Buckley said that if Singer were to hand in a script they’d publish it, but it seems unlikely.

A fan asked Quesada what the most controversial thing he did in the Ultimate Universe was.
“The beginning of the ultimate universe,” said Quesada. “And of course, putting the those guys on the books. No one knew who or what a Brian Michael Bendis was.”

Another fan asked if the Ultimate X-Men would feel any repercussions from using drugs in the current arc.
“No, we like it when people do drugs,” said Loeb.
“It’s completely a pro-drug book,” joked Coleitte. “They’re going to be pretty messed up coming out of this book.”

A fan asked if Ultimate Spider-Man would be ending after Ultimatum.
“No,” said Buckley.
“Yes,” said Quesada.
“Maybe,” added Loeb.

Another fan asked the panelists which Ultimate character they want to see die.
Buckley took the question saying that everything dealing with Ultimatum answers that question.
“When you finish reading the book, you’ll see which one we don’t like because they die,” laughed Buckley.

[SDCC:] MARVEL SECRET INVASION PANEL

Welcome once again Wizardites and Wizarditesses to another installment of Kevin M.’s San Diego Comic-Con 2008 panels. This time, I’m at arguably Marvel’s most popular panel—The Secret Invasion Panel! The line outside stretched far beyond the convention interiors and out into the setting sun. They’re still waiting for a few people to come into the room, so except more soon!

Welcome once again Wizardites and Wizarditesses to another installment of Kevin M.’s San Diego Comic-Con 2008 panels. This time, I’m at arguably Marvel’s most popular panel—The Secret Invasion Panel! The line outside stretched far beyond the convention interiors and out into the setting sun. They’re still waiting for a few people to come into the room, so except more soon!

Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada started off the panel to many applause and cheers from the crowd.
“Alright, we’re done,” joked Quesada.
Quesada introduced the “humungous dais” of guests beside him: Marketing Guru Jim McCann, Joe Pokaski, Christos Gage, Peter David, Greg Pak, Fred Van Lente, Ivan Brandon, Jason Aaron, Brian Reed, Chris Yost, editor Nick Lowe, Daniel Way and C.B. Cebulski.

Quesada then showed some pages from Secret Invasion #5, and announced a new Thunderbolts team of Andy Diggle and Roberto De La Torre.
Marvel also announced “War of Kings,” which starts in August with Pokaski’s Inhumans tie-in and with a series coming up at the end of this year by Yost about Vulcan, Havok, Polaris and others. McCann said “War of Kings” focuses on a bevy of the Marvel space-based characters—including the Guardians of the Galaxy and Nova.

Questions then opened to the audience.

A fan asked about Parker Robins and whether an ongoing series might be in the works after Secret Invasion.
“That’s a fantastic question,” said Quesada. “Will there be an ongoing with the Hood? Probably not.”
However, Quesada did say that Bendis does have plans for the character. Behind Quesada an image presented at Wizard World Chicago of Emma Frost, the Hood, Doctor Doom, Namor and Loki appeared on the screen.

A fan asked how far ahead Marvel plans.
“We have what we call The Big Marvel Summits,” said Quesada. “The big ones are the broad brush strokes of the Marvel Universe.”
Quesada also said the sometimes happy accidents occur, such as Civil War.

Another fan questioned about whether Norman and Harry would have a reunion in the future. Quesada assured the fan that it would be addressed, and that Norman and Harry will have a connection coming up.

A fan asked about when the “War of Kings” event will be coming about.
“It is definitely coming up early next year,” said Lowe. “It won’t be a big summer event, but it will be a winter, spring event. So bring your long coats and sweaters, and then your dress for the last half.”

Another fan asked about the Infinity Gems and whether they would be seen again anytime soon.
“If I had my way, we will,” said Reed. “The infinity Gems is one of my favorite pieces of Marvel lore. I keep talking to editor Tom Brevoort saying, ‘I want to do this. I want to do this.’ But the opportunity hasn’t arisen yet.”

Brian Bendis called in to talk to Bob, who early called Bendis a punk for not coming to the show.
“He says he’s at Alan Moore’s house,” said Bob.

Quesada put Bendis on speaker phone to answer questions from fans.
A fan asked if Alias ties in to SI: Bendis said no, but it will in “Secret Invasion 2. Coming next Fall.”
Another fan asked why Bendis sold out Powers and Bendis said, “Boo you,” to much applause and laughter.
Another fan asked if the Skrull in House of M would be explored and Bendis said their story would be told in New Avengers #45.
After answering a few questions, Bendis thanked everyone in the audience for supporting the book and everyone on the panel for enhancing the event. He also promised a “super ending.”

Talking about his current involvement at Marvel, David expressed how much he enjoyed being a part of the industry in this day and age.
“I can truthfully say that I’ve never been as happy as a writer as I am right now,” said David. “People think in most industry’s when you’re older you’re slushed off to the side. I’m middle aged and I’ve never felt more vital.”

A fan asked about Deadpool and what he’ll be doing and what direction the book will be going in.
“Deadpool is one a mission for someone I can’t tell you about something I can’t tell you about,” laughed Way. “The direction afterward, oh, I can’t tell you about that either.”

A fan asked if Layla Miller will be get an origin story and if she’ll be back in the Marvel Universe. David said he was “in no rush to give a lengthy exposition” on her backstory because it adds to her air of mystery. He also confirmed that Layla will be back in regular continuity.

SDCC: A Look Back and Forward at DC Universe Animated Original Movies

The fans at San Diego Comic Con waited in eager anticipation for the look back and forward at the critically acclaimed DC Universe animated movies. The panel was moderated by DC Comics senior Vice President of creative affairs Gregory Noveck and included DC Comics president and publisher Paul Levitz, DCU films executive producer Bruce Timm, director Lauren Montgomery, voice director Andrea Romano and surprise guest and voice actor in the upcoming Wonder Woman animated feature Nathan Fillion.

A year ago was the premiere of Superman/Doomsday, and today they’re officially announcing the Wonder Woman movie coming to DVD in February of 2009. Before showing a clip of the highly anticipated film, Gregory Noveck asked the panel to recap on how the DC Universe Animated Original Movies came to be.

“We got to the point where it was clear we had an opportunity to do animation that was not just there to fill space in between commercials.” said Paul Levitz, “This isn’t about making an advertiser happy, let’s make the best thing that we can and get it into the hands of our fans.”

Levitz continued to recap the short but amazing history of the franchise, detailing work on Superman/Doomsday, New Frontier, and Dark Knight.

“One of the things we’ve tried to do with these movies is bring in some stellar voice talent,” said Gregory Noveck, “Now for Wonder Woman, Nathan Fillion is voicing Steve Trevor and reteaming with Keri Russell as Princess Diana, Alfred Molina, it’s a pretty stellar cast.”

Noveck then announced that Superman/Doomsday will be re-released November 25 on a special edition Blu-Ray disc with 128 minutes of extra content including 4 of Bruce Timm’s hand-picked favorite Superman the Animated Series. After cheers from the audience, Gregory Noveck continued to give details about Wonder Woman. The film is going to premiere at A-Kon, and it’s an original Wonder Woman story, but based on a story by Gail Simone, who was in attendance and stood up amongst cheers from the audience, and written by Michael Jelenic. He then announced other cast members Rosario Dawson as Artemis, Virginia Madsen as Hippolyta and Oliver Platt as Hades.

When asked about how she decided on casting, Andrea Romano commented, “I had just seen Waitress, and I had worked with Nathan before and known how great an actor he was.” She continued, “There had to be this innocence of coming into man’s world, and that was beautifully put together.”

Romano then told a story where Oliver Platt was recording and was forced to shed a noisy, rustling shirt.

Nathan Fillion commented on the excellent job that the creative team had done with Wonder Woman.

“One thing that you guys did really well was giving us a female character who is incredibly strong and incredibly heroic and doesn’t try to be a man,” he said, “I think Keri [Russell] does that very well.”

On the creation of Wonder Woman as a character, Lauren Montgomery mentioned, “I wanted to make her an amazon,” she said. “She’s not a weigh-lifting he/she, she has muscle and she has definition without being too manly. I wanted to make her respectable. We were trying to give her a very Greek looking influence so we played around with her profile and her chin line.”

Noveck then came back to mention that Wonder Woman will be available in Two-Disc, Single Disc, Blu-Ray formats with bonus features, and joked, “We’re going to ask Nathan to reenact Oliver’s recording for you.”

The panel then showed a very short clip of the new feature which was short, but amazing. It showed Wonder Woman adorning her boots, bracelets, and tiara, and facing various warriors and monsters in amazing animation. It showed everything from mythical monsters to Greek soldiers getting the pulp beaten out of them by Wonder Woman. The clip finished with the tagline, “Justice Never Looked So Good,” and Keri Russel’s voice saying, “It’s not polite to hit a lady.”

The panel then opened it up for general questions.

When asked about future Batman films, specifically Knightfall, Bruce Timm responded, “I can guarantee you we will. Knightfall is not currently on the schedule.”

The team was asked about many, many possibilities for animation adaptions including Kingdom Come.

“If you guys want to see Kingdom Come, you want to see it look like Kingdom Come. When we can make it look like that for less than $174 billion, we will deliver it,” said Gregory Noveck.

When asked about the level of action, Lauren Montgomery mentioned, “There’s a lot of battles in this due to Michael Jelenic,” she said, “There’s a lot of violence in it, but it’s only the necessary violence.

Wonder Woman will be released in February of next year.

[SDCC:] TERMINATOR: SALVATION PANEL

Hey once again fans! Kevin M. still here in Hall H of the Convention Center after viewing half of the Lost Panel (of which you can read the write up below featuring a Matthew Fox appearance and super-secret video). I stayed behind to catch the “Terminator: Salvation” Panel which starts in a few minutes, so stayed tuned for more!

And then the music began, with that all too familiar clanging. On stage stood a Terminator model which fans ran to take pictures of. Eventually, the eyes lit up into a bright red and the head began to move.

And here we go!

McG took the stage saying that filming is going on and that SOME OF THE CAST WAS HERE AND WILL BE COMING OUT!

McG said he spoke with James Cameron and Arnold, Stan Winston; and got Jonathan Nolan (writer of “The Dark Knight”) to write this film. Also, we wanted to get a well-respected actor of this generation to star: Christian Bale.

McG also confirmed the movie will be R-Rated.
“Having said that, we’re looking forward to showing you guys some of the film that no one has seen before,” said McG. “But first, I’m going to call our collective friend in Japan, Christian Bale.”

McG then called up Bale. After getting voice-mail, the crowd left thunderous applause and cheers for the actor on the voicemail. Then he started the footage from the film:

The video stared with an image of a crashed helicopter with John Connor lying on the ground. He then walks off. Bale and Worthington talking to each other. You see Sam Worthington asking for help and Anton Yelchin coming in and saying “Come with me if you want to live.” Afterwards followed flashes of soldiers running, a parachuter dangling, lots of skull crushing and destruction and explosions. “If you saved us once in another future you can save us in this one,” was heard in voiceover.

After the video, McG called out the cast present: Common, Bryce Dallas Howard, Moon Bloodgood, Yelchin (”Playing the young Kyle Reese”) and Worthington.

Questions then opened to the audience.

One fan asked about the idea of fate as expressed in the original films and whether that will be touched upon.
McG turned the question over the Howard, who picked up a cup saying that if she dropped the cup, it should hit the table. But when she let it go, she grabbed it with the other hand.
Your destiny is to hit the table, but your free will can advert that destiny,” said Howard. “And that’s what this movie is about.”

A fan asked about controlling information being leaked to the public about the film.
“Well, we release like everybody does misinformation campaigns,” said McG. “We want to protect that was well because that’s one of the joys of going to the movies.”

A fan asked Yelchin how he prepared for the role of Kyle Reese.
“I looked a lot at T1 and broke it down and looked at who this guy was and where he came from and how he becomes who he is,” said Yelchin. He also talked about looking at Reese’s own personal inner journey as a kid raised in a hellish world who just wants to help people in the end.

A fan dressed as Sarah Connor asked why that machine was on stage (indicated the Terminator stage) when so many innocent people were in the audience.
McG said that with Sarah Connor here, she could easily protect everyone should the T-600 become active.

A fan dressed as the T-1000 came up and asked if anyone has seen John Connor and held up the picture of John Connor from “Terminator 2.”

Another fan asked in a flawless Arnold accent how much involvement Cameron and Arnold had.
“That was awesome,” said McG of the impersonation. “And if you’re Asian that f–king unbelievable. In fact, get up here. Come up on the stage.”
He also called up the fans dressed as Sarah and the T-1000.

McG spoke a lot about staying true to Cameron’s original vision, while at the same time expanding on the mythology. Since the movie takes place before the future of the first movie, many of the models don’t look as “advanced” as the model from the first film.

McG asked Common what attracted him to the film.
“I’m just glad to be here,” said Common. “I’m just very grateful to be here and be a part of this team. Every time I see the trailer and clips from the film, I’m like, ‘I’m in the Terminator!’”

The showed with McG saying he was going to play the trailer again only if everyone freaked out!

After thunderous cheering, he played the trailer again the close the panel.