Good luck keeping your popsicles and ice cream from melting with the amount of heat that Warner Bros. Television Group (WBTVG) is bringing to Comic-Con International: San Diego. The Studio returns to the world’s leading pop-culture convention in 2015 with 18 series, including 13 returning fan-favorite shows and five programs making their much-anticipated Comic-Con debut. Following an at-capacity event last year, Warner Bros. Television and DC Entertainment are once again joining forces for another epic Saturday night event in Hall on July 11, featuring super heroes, Super-Villains, screenings and special appearances from returning favorites Arrow, The Flash and Gotham, plus highly anticipated series Supergirl and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow.
Also participating in all the Comic-Con action are fan favorites and new additions including Arrow’s Stephen Amell; The Flash’s Grant Gustin; The Vampire Diaries’ Paul Wesley and Ian Somerhalder; Supernatural’s Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles and Misha Collins; The Originals’ Joseph Morgan; Childrens Hospital’s Rob Corddry; Mike Tyson Mysteries’ Mike Tyson; and cast members from Gotham, Supergirl, iZOMBIE and The 100 — to name just a few — who will join producers Greg Berlanti (Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Blindspot), Jonathan Nolan & Greg Plageman (Person of Interest), Julie Plec (The Vampire Diaries, The Originals, Containment), Jason Rothenberg (The 100), Rob Thomas & Diane Ruggiero-Wright (iZOMBIE, Veronica Mars), Andrew Kreisberg (Arrow, The Flash) and many more to deliver the ultimate experience for fans, with screenings, panel sessions, autograph signings and media appearances.
- Warner Bros. Television and DC Entertainment have your Saturday night all taken care of with a nearly three-hour special event in Hall H on July 11 featuring the full pilot screening of Supergirl, along with panels, special surprises and moments inside the worlds of Arrow, The Flash, Gotham, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow and new digital series Vixen.
- Comic-Con essentials Arrow, The Big Bang Theory, Childrens Hospital, The Flash, Gotham, The 100, iZOMBIE, Mike Tyson Mysteries, The Originals, Person of Interest, Supernatural, Teen Titans Go! and The Vampire Diaries are all back in San Diego.
- World-premiere screenings of complete pilot episodes of highly anticipated new WBTV series Supergirl, Blindspot, Containment and Lucifer on Preview Night, plus an advance look at a new episode of Teen Titans Go!
- The Studio’s 2,400-square foot booth will once again be a must-visit destination on the convention floor.
SPECIAL SNEAK PEEK PILOT SCREENINGS
WEDNESDAY, JULY 8
6:00–10:00 p.m. The first time is always the best time. Comic-Con and Warner Bros. Television proudly continue our annual Preview Night tradition, with exclusive world premiere screenings of the pilot episodes of four of the most highly anticipated series of the 2015–16 television season — Supergirl, Blindspot, Containment and Lucifer — as well as a brand-new episode of Teen Titans Go!. Ballroom 20
- Supergirl: In the vast DC Comics Universe of super heroes, the rich mythology of Superman and the planet Krypton is perhaps the most famous and instantly recognizable. Enter Supergirl! Born on the doomed planet Krypton, the preteen Kara escaped at the same time as the infant Kal-El, but didn’t arrive on Earth until many years later after being lost in the Phantom Zone. Now age 24, living in National City and working as an assistant for Catco Worldwide Media mogul Cat Grant, Kara has spent so many years trying to fit in that she forgot to ever stand out. All that changes when she decides to embrace her superhuman abilities and become the hero she was always destined to be. With the help of Daily Planet photographer James Olsen, her foster sister Alex, and the research of the super-secret, off-the-grid Department of Extra-Normal Operations (DEO) and its head, Hank Henshaw, who are tasked with keeping the Earth safe from aliens, Kara takes to the skies to protect her world.
- Blindspot: Sullivan Stapleton (300: Rise of an Empire) and Jaimie Alexander (Thor films) star in Blindspot, a one-hour action thriller from Berlanti Productions (The Flash, Arrow, Pan) and writer/executive producer Martin Gero (Stargate: Atlantis). Stapleton stars as hardened FBI agent Kurt Weller, who is drawn into a complex conspiracy when a naked amnesiac, Jane Doe (Alexander), is found in Times Square covered in a series of cryptic tattoos … including his name on her back. As Weller and his teammates at the FBI begin to investigate the veritable treasure map that is Jane Doe’s tattoos, they are drawn into a high-stakes underworld that twists and turns through a labyrinth of secrets and revelations — and the information they uncover might ultimately change the world.
- Containment: When a mysterious and deadly epidemic breaks out in Atlanta, a vast urban quarantine is quickly enforced, forcing those stuck on the inside to fight for their lives while local and federal officials desperately search for a cure in Containment. Torn apart from their loved ones, the survivors trapped within the cordon are fighting against not only fatal infection, but also isolation, fear and the disintegration of society around them. But as they begin to gain each other’s trust, hope remains, and on either side of the cordon unlikely heroes will rise.
- Lucifer: The story of the original fallen angel. Bored and unhappy as the Lord of Hell, Lucifer Morningstar has resigned his throne and retired to the City of Angels, where he owns an upscale piano bar called Lux. When a beautiful pop star is murdered, he feels something awaken deep within him for the first time in roughly 10 billion years. Is he actually capable of feelings for a human being? The very thought disturbs him. The murder attracts the attention of LAPD homicide detective Chloe Dancer, who finds herself both repulsed and fascinated by Lucifer. At the same time, God’s emissary, the angel Amenadiel, has been sent to Los Angeles to convince Lucifer to return to Hell. But with the City of Angels at his feet and a newfound purpose, Lucifer’s having too much fun to go back now.
- Teen Titans Go!: The Teen Titans are back at it again, in Teen Titans Go!, with all-new comedic adventures both in and out of Titans Tower. We’ll have you covered by screening a brand-new episode.
WBTV/WBA SERIES SCHEDULE
PLEASE NOTE: Series stars and creative teams scheduled to attend are subject to change. Additional information on panel sessions, signings and other events will be provided as news breaks.
FRIDAY, JULY 10
- 10:00–11:00 a.m. The Big Bang Theory (Season 9 Premieres September 21, Mondays 8/7c on CBS): The Big Bang Theory writers are returning to San Diego, to once again solve the comedy equation and take you behind the scenes of TV’s #1 comedy! Ballroom 20
- 11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Lucifer (Midseason on FOX): Sexy, dark and irreverent, Lucifer makes its Comic-Con debut with a screening of the complete pilot episode, followed by a Q&A with series stars Tom Ellis, Lauren German, Lesley-Ann Brandt and DB Woodside and executive producers. Room 6BCF
- Time TBA Mike Tyson Mysteries (New Episodes Fall 2015 on Adult Swim): With a knockout appearance last year, Iron Mike Tyson is taking on Comic-Con again and this rematch is sure to live up to the hype. After a hilarious season of solving mysteries, the Mike Tyson Mystery Team will be back in the ring with all-new episodes on Adult Swim this fall. Join voice cast Mike Tyson and Rachel Ramras (MAD), and producer Hugh Davidson (The Looney Tunes Show) for a first look at the upcoming season and a Q&A discussion. Location TBA
- 12:30–1:30 p.m. The 100 (Midseason on The CW): Following the lethal events of the season finale, join The 100 stars along with executive producer Jason Rothenberg as they return to San Diego for their third appearance at Comic-Con. Ballroom 20
- 1:00–2:00 p.m. Teen Titans Go! (Thursdays 6/5c Cartoon Network): No trip to Comic-Con is complete without spending some time with the liveliest and craziest super hero team on television. Find out what new adventures, food fights and staring contests await Robin, Starfire, Beast Boy, Cyborg and Raven in season three of this hit animated series. Join producers Michael Jelenic (Batman: The Brave and The Bold) and Aaron Horvath (MAD) and members of the voice cast as they screen a brand-new episode, as well as take questions on all things Titans! Room 6A
- 4:30–5:30 p.m. The Originals (Thursdays 9/8c on The CW): The Originals will be returning for more sexy, supernatural intrigue, romance, alliances, betrayals and bloodshed in New Orleans this fall. Join executive producers Julie Plec and Michael Narducci along with series stars Joseph Morgan, Daniel Gillies, Phoebe Tonkin, Leah Pipes, Danielle Campbell and Charles Michael Davis for a special video presentation followed by a Q&A. Ballroom 20
- 5:45–6:45 p.m. iZOMBIE (Tuesdays 9/8c on The CW): The brainy hit iZOMBIE returns to San Diego for its sophomore appearance at Comic-Con. After the shocking events in the season finale, be among the first to get the scoop on what’s in store for season two with executive producers Rob Thomas and Diane Ruggiero-Wright, along with series stars Rose McIver, Malcolm Goodwin, Rahul Kohli, Robert Buckley and David Anders. Ballroom 20
SATURDAY, JULY 11
- 11:15 a.m.–12:15 p.m. Blindspot (Mondays 10/9c on NBC): The new one-hour action-thriller Blindspot makes its Comic-Con debut with a screening of the complete pilot episode, followed by a Q&A with star Jaimie Alexander (Thor films) and executive producers Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter and Martin Gero. Room 6A
- 5:15 p.m.–6:15 p.m. Person of Interest (Midseason on CBS): Person of Interest returns to San Diego for the fifth year! Join the discussion, as the science “fiction” of Person of Interest stays one step ahead of real-world events. Find out highly confidential intel when executive producers Jonathan Nolan, Greg Plageman and Denise Thé join series stars Jim Caviezel, Michael Emerson, Kevin Chapman and Amy Acker undergo a Comic-Con interrogation with a special video presentation and Q&A. Room 6BCF
- 6:15–7:15 p.m. Containment (Midseason on The CW): When a mysterious and deadly epidemic breaks out in Atlanta, a vast urban quarantine is quickly enforced, forcing those stuck on the inside to fight for their lives while local and federal officials desperately search for a cure. Containment makes its Comic-Con debut with a special screening of the entire pilot episode, followed by a Q&A with series stars David Gyasi, Christina Moses, Chris Wood, Claudia Black and Kristen Gutoskie, along with executive producers Julie Plec, Matt Corman and Chris Ord. Room 6BCF
- 8:00–11:00 p.m. Warner Bros. Television & DC Entertainment Present: Super Hero Saturday Night Offers Fans a Look Inside the Worlds of Arrow, The Flash and Gotham, plus a Pilot Screening of Supergirl and Video Presentations of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow and Vixen: DC fans … get ready for another Super Hero Saturday Night! Warner Bros. Television and DC Entertainment will again welcome fans into the worlds of some of DC Comics’ greatest characters during a three-hour super-experience in Hall H. The exclusive evening will feature a pilot screening of the highly anticipated new action series Supergirl, followed by a Q&A with stars and producers; plus, individual special video presentations and Q&As with stars and producers from Arrow, The Flash and Gotham. Also, don’t miss a special Q&A with cast and producers of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow and a peek at the new digital series Vixen. Hall H
SUNDAY, JULY 12
- 10:00–11:00 a.m. The Vampire Diaries (Thursdays 8/7c on The CW): The cast and creative team behind The Vampire Diaries return to San Diego — for the first time in Hall H — for a sizzling seventh appearance at Comic-Con. Series stars Ian Somerhalder, Paul Wesley, Kat Graham, Candice Accola and Michael Malarkey will join executive producers Julie Plec and Caroline Dries on stage for a video screening and Q&A session. Hall H
- 11:15 a.m.–12:15 p.m. Supernatural (Wednesdays 9/8c The CW): Join series stars Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles, Misha Collins and Mark A. Sheppard, along with executive producer Jeremy Carver, as they return to answer questions from the audience about what’s in store for the eleventh season of this exciting series! Fans will also be treated to an exclusive video presentation featuring series highlights, as well as special features from the upcoming Supernatural: The Complete Tenth Season DVD and Blu-ray™ release on September 8. Hall H
- 1:00–2:00 p.m. Childrens Hospital (New Episodes in 2016 on Adult Swim): Adult Swim’s two-time Emmy®-winning live-action comedy returns to Comic-Con for a sixth year! Creator and star Rob Corddry and executive producer David Wain will be joined onstage by select cast for a lively (and medically accurate!) Q&A. Room 25ABC
Joy Ride is an extremely raunchy and hilarious comedy that takes the mantle of ensemble risky
comedies that at times, leave your mouth on the floor. Joy Ride focuses on two best friends
Audrey and Lolo (Ashley Sullivan and Sherry Cola) end up getting roped up into a trip to Asia,
they end up on gals pal cross-continent trek to find Audrey’s long lost birth mother so she
doesn’t lose a huge business deal.
The chemistry in this movie is superb. Every character has their moment to shine and there’s
rarely a scene where you don’t get a belly laugh. I was shocked at how crazy and bold this
movie got, continually pushing the line to get a laugh. The movie does a good job of getting to
the point and getting to the scenes that really make you chuckle. There are some editing choices where the story flies by some stuff, and it feels a little incomplete, but never at the expense of really enjoying being around for the journey.
I thought that this was a sleeper for this year and certainly a movie worth watching with your
friends some weekend. It’s great to throw on if you want a laugh and really just enjoy some
great actors riffing off each other. The focus on culture was a nice touch and really elevated the movie to another level. While I would say if you’re easily offended, this movie is not for you – if you’re looking for a no holds barred comedy, Joy Ride is a trip worth taking.
Hasbro has had their pulse app out for a while now. It allows for access to items to buy, preorder, and a look into future projects and releases. It also allows for a very cool thing most nerds (a group of which I am a proud card-carrying member) have always wanted, the ability to make yourself into an action figure. I’ve contemplated making one for a time but, I finally got my chance to get my hands on one at Comic-Con this year. Now, of course, I had to wait in line as it was a pretty sought-after item. Who doesn’t want to have themselves wear the ninja suit of Snake-Eyes or dressed like a Mandalorian? I was approached by one of the booth staff as I was showing my nephew all the cool ways we could get him his own MIles Morales action figure with his face (as he’s a massive fan) and invited to take a seat and scan our faces into the Hasbro Pulse app with the help of their awesome team and make this dream a reality. My wife was with us, so of course she got in on the fun too. We scanned our faces in and it was very simple and quick. Then we all selected our figures to add our heads to. We all chose Power Rangers(Me as the Black Ranger, my wife chose the pink ranger and the nephew got the red ranger). Then we were told that we needed to wait about 4-6 weeks and we’d have our custom action figure team in our hands. This was a major part of our Comic-Con adventure and definitely, a memory my wife and nephew won’t forget (as it was both of their first Con ever). Thank you to Hasbro for being so generous(also getting me brownie points that home) and I highly suggest checking out Hasbro Pulse and all the cool stuff it has to offer.
Adapted and written largely from the Captain’s Log chapter of Bram Stoker’s magnum opus Dracula, The Last Voyage of the Demeter tells the story of Dracula’s journey by ship from Carpathia to London, and what happened to her crew in the interim.
So here we are in Bulgaria, middle of 1897, and Captain Eliot (Liam Cunningham) of the Russian schooner Demeter is here to take on some strange cargo from some unknown client and transport it to Carfax Abbey in London. In need of some extra hands, the Captain sends out his capable Second Wojchek (David Dastmalchian) to scout for some, and initially the roving black doctor and aspiring philosopher Clemens (Corey Hawkins) is passed over in favor of more work-roughened men. The adorable cabin boy of the Demeter, Toby (Woody Norman), narrowly misses being crushed by the mysterious dragon-marked crates being loaded onto the ship, saved by Clemens himself and switched out with the superstitious sailors running from the Demeter like they had been poisoned by the sign of Dracul. And now, armed with some nine or so crewmen, Doc Clemens, and Captain Eliot himself, the twenty-four strange what looks like coffins adorned with dragon signs brought mostly safely aboard, the Demeter can make for open water and the Hell that awaits them there.
The duty of showing Clemens around the ship falls to a cheerful Toby, who proudly shows him the living areas, the Captain’s quarters, the very-large cargo hold, the galley and kitchen where the overly-devout Joseph (Jon Jon Briones) cooks the crews meals, the various above decks, even the sails, and the rigging are all at least touched on, and the livestock pens that Toby himself is in charge of, including the handsome good-boy doggy Huckleberry, or just Huck. We the audience get a very clear feeling of what it’s like to actually be aboard the Demeter, just how large she really is, and what living on a ship for months at sea is really like, the reality and practicality and the dangers of it.
Everyone more or less settles in for a hopefully uneventful voyage, taking mess around the common table and exchanging ideas or aspirations for when they arrive in London early thanks to the fair winds, and receive a handsome bonus for their troubles. But that involves being alive and making it to London to spend said bonus and pay, and the coffin crates spilling dark soil from the motherland and disgorging all sorts of other nasty secrets, have some serious plans to the contrary.
First, it’s the livestock, innocent and shrieking in their locked pens as a monster takes great furious bites out of their necks, and of course, the creature just straight up ruins poor doggy Huck. Then there’s the fully grown girl that gets dislodged from an open coffin-crate, covered in bite scars and as pale as death, she eventually starts interacting and talking after several blood transfusions from Doc Clemens, Toby learns her name is Anna (Aisling Franciosi). And then, as the weather turns foul and the winds begin to be a serious problem, the attacks turn toward the remaining humans onboard the Demeter.
Most people these days are familiar with Dracula, that gorgeous cunning vampire Elder who can supposedly transform into a bat or a wolf, seducing women to voluntarily offer up their veins like an unholy sacrament, a being at once beautiful and powerful, but also horrific and murderous if given half a heartbeat to smell your blood. This is not Dracula.
Instead, the creature that hunts the humans occupying the Demeter is an absolute monster, not a single human feature left to it, barely even recognizable as humanoid-shaped, instead boasting not just full-length bat wings but an entire exo-skin of bat membranes that can be used for feeding, a mouth full of needle-like teeth akin to a predator of the deepest darkest parts of the ocean, those yellowed Nosferatu eyes that will not tolerate light in any way, and of course giant pointy bat-ears. This is a thing, a grotesque straight from the depths of Hell, and no amount of glamor magic can make this Dracula (Javier Botet) seem like anything other than what he, is – a parasitic demon who only wants your blood. There is no reasoning with it, no trapping it, not even really any talking to it (kinda hard to talk when your throat has been ripped out), and, like the much more frightening Dracula stories of old, no amount of pure faith behind a symbol does anything other than give false hope.
Coming face to face with an actual abomination does different things to different people. The formerly delightfully foul-mouthed Abrams (Chris Walley) dissolves into a blubbering mess; poor Larsen (Martin Furulund) didn’t even get to see his own death coming; and it turns out Olgaren (Stefan Kapicic) wants to live so badly, he’ll suffer becoming a blank-eyed Renfield if that’s what it takes. All of Cook Joseph’s purported pure faith didn’t stop him from trying to take the coward’s way out and didn’t save him anyway when the sound of unnatural bat wings descended on him. I find that kind of irony delicious. Dear Anna, resigned to her fate to be eternal food for the horror that terrorized her village, nevertheless wants to try and save whoever is left of the Demeter with her own sacrifice, and there aren’t many. Wojchek of course wants to kill Dracula, but for all his logic and solid practical nature, has no experience whatsoever with this sort of thing, and sure doesn’t want to sacrifice the Demeter, the beloved ship he called home that was promised to him by Captain Eliot himself, in order to destroy that demon. Even poor sweet Toby isn’t safe from the creature’s clutches, and what happens to the cabin boy of the Demeter is what finally sends Captain Eliot over the blooming edge. And who could blame him? For this sort of thing to happen during the last voyage of such a proud, solid ship as the Demeter, is some serious bullsh*t.
To leave such a film open for a potential sequel, especially when called the last voyage of something, was a pretty hefty ask, and somehow the filmmakers managed it. I personally think a different version of Van Helsing, the infamous vampire hunter, teaming up with a certain black doctor who nurses a serious grudge against Dracula, could be a kickass sequel. Until then, experience the doomed final journey of the Demeter and her poor crew in all it’s bloodstained glory, in theaters now!
Joy Ride Is An Extremely Raunchy And Hilarious Comedy
Who Doesn’t Want To Wear The Ninja Suit Of Snake-Eyes Or Dress Like The Mandalorian?
The Last Voyage of the Demeter: Double-knock on wood!
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Is A Dizzying Traversal Across A Multiverse
Cyberpunk Edge runners
Disney Legend Andreas Deja’s Hand-Drawn animated short MUSHKA premiere
Resetting Mortal Kombat A New Beginning with Mortal Kombat 1
William Shatner: You Can Call Me Bill
The Les Files With John C McGinley
Batman The Doom That Came To Gotham Wonder Con 2023
