The Panels We’re Stupidly Excited For at New York Comic-Con 2018

Kim Taylor-Foster
TV Movies
TV Movies Comic-Con Comics Riverdale

New York Comic-Con just gets better and better. And NYCC 2018 looks set to be the best yet, with a bunch of panels and events we’re beside ourselves with excitement to see. We’ve picked six miss-at-your-peril highlights to mark in your diaries.

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

She-Ra
She-Ra re-envisioned for a new audience.

You don’t have to have been there first time around to get excited for the She-Ra reboot, but if She-Ra: Princess of Power or He-Man and the Masters of the Universe were your childhood fandoms, your thrill levels will be peaking, oh, right about NOW. On Thursday, October 4, showrunner of the Netflix Original Series, Noelle Stevenson, will present a first look at the all-new animated series, alongside Aimee Carrero who provides the voice of She-Ra, and Karen Fukuhara who voices fellow princess Glimmer. The series tells the story of Adora, an orphan who leaves the evil Horde behind upon discovering a magic sword that transforms her into mythical warrior princess, She-Ra.

But it’s not just the panel worth getting in a tizzy about. Dreamworks is also hosting an immersive fan experience claiming to transport all-comers to the planet of Etheria, Whispering Woods and Hordak’s Lair included.

WHEN? The Dreamworks She-Ra and the Princesses of Power panel takes place between 3-4pm on Thursday, October 4 at the Hammerstein Ballroom, Manhattan Center.

Find the fan experience at Booth 502.

American Gods (and Good Omens)

US_Starz_American_Gods
Ian McShane reprises his role as Mr Wednesday in American Gods Season 2.

The first season of American Gods was one of 2017’s TV highlights. It was indulgently slow but engrossing storytelling, with a deliciously charismatic central performance from Ian McShane as Mr Wednesday. It also looked glorious. Since it ended, fans have been eagerly awaiting news of the second season of the TV adaptation of the Neil Gaiman novel.

Dogged by behind-the-scenes issues which saw Season 1 showrunners Michael Green and Bryan Fuller exit, and with reports that replacement showrunner Jesse Alexander is being sidelined, fans will be looking for some reassurance that Season 2 is, well, going to be good.

Great to hear, then, that the much-celebrated author – who doubles as executive producer on the show — Gaiman will be in attendance at the NYCC panel to present an exclusive first look at Season 2. He’ll be joined by cast members effusing about how Season 2 ups the ante. Gaiman will also pop up again on Saturday, giving fans a glimpse of Good Omens with stars David Tennant and Michael Sheen – another panel totally worth checking out.

Like She-Ra, American Gods is also bringing an experiential treat for fans at NYCC. The Motel America Diner, one of the show’s key locations, is going to be painstakingly recreated. Littered with Easter Eggs, the diner also presents fans with the opportunity to bag some American Gods-themed swag — by making a sacrifice to the Gods, of course.

WHEN? The American Gods panel takes place between 1.30-2.30pm on Friday, October 5 at the Hammerstein Ballroom. The Good Omens panel is at 10am on Saturday, October 6 at the Madison Square Garden theater.

Riverdale

We’re just days away from Season 3 of Riverdale, and with so many theories swirling around what the next twist in Archie’s tale will bring, we’re looking to the NYCC panel to give us eager fans a deeper insight into how the third season will pan out. And if the opportunity to discover more early doors about TV’s maddest, darkest and most unflinchingly subversive teen show doesn’t fire you up to fever pitch, you need to get with the Riverdale programme pronto.

The panel will feature series cast and producers fielding questions, as well as a sneak peek at Season 3. The premiere will pick up immediately following that dramatic Season 2 finale in which we saw Archie thrown in prison, while ensuing episodes could see a cult influencing the inhabitants of Riverdale, and even zombies terrorising the town. Cannot. Wait.

WHEN? The Riverdale panel takes place between 10-11am on Sunday, October 7.

Mortal Engines

Peter Jackson fans will be champing at the bit for any insight whatsoever into Mortal Engines – and NYCC promises to deliver. Jackson himself will be on hand at the panel to answer questions put to him by moderator Andy Serkis, as well as – hopefully – questions from the audience. Jackson will be joined by members of the cast and production team – including director Christian Rivers, and partner and collaborator Fran Walsh — presenting the first eight minutes of footage from the film.

He’ll also be overseeing a detailed presentation of how the team brought a world to the screen in which mobile, motorised cities prey on other cities.

WHEN? The Mortal Engines panel takes place on Friday, October 5 at 12pm in the Hulu Theater, Madison Square Garden.

Netflix and Chills

In an obvious yet simultaneously genius play on the popular colloquial euphemism for something you’d actually probably describe as the opposite of relaxing in front of the telly, Netflix and Chills brings the scares to NYCC this October.

This panel sees the casts of upcoming Netflix shows The Haunting of Hill House, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and Umbrella Academy assemble to chat all things supernaturally spooky about their respective series as Halloween creeps closer. It’s suitably seasonal, as well as giving you three shows in one to get excited about.

But wait, there’s more. The audience will also be treated to a first look at The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance before anyone else. Fans of the Jim Henson 1982 animatronic original won’t want to miss this.

WHEN? Netflix and Chills takes place between 7.30-10pm on Friday, October 5 on the Main Stage at the Javits Center.

Hellboy

Hellboy-Harbour
David Harbour as Hellboy.

It’s been 10 years since Hellboy was last on the big screen. In Guillermo del Toro’s original 2004 movie and its 2008 sequel, Ron Perlman was the hench offspring of a demon and a witch otherwise known as Big Red. In Neil Marshall’s reboot, the role is taken over by Stranger Things star David Harbour. And a better fit it’s difficult to envisage.

Whispers suggest that the NYCC panel will give us our first glimpse of footage in the form of a trailer — presented by Hellboy creator Mike Mignola, no less, alongside the cast including Harbour himself, plus Ian McShane fresh from his American Gods panel appearance, Sasha Lane and Daniel Dae Kim.

WHEN? The Hellboy panel takes place between 11am-12pm on Saturday, October 6 on the Main Stage at the Javits Center.

Kim Taylor-Foster
Kim Taylor-Foster is Entertainment Editor for Fandom in the UK. She was raised on an unsteady diet of video nasties and violent action flicks.