Couldn’t make it to Comic-Con this year? Here are some of the highlights you may have missed.
‘Supernatural’ season 8 literally went down in flames with this past season finale “Sacrifice,” but you’d never know it from the raucous Hall H panel from Comic-Con 2013! Fan favorites Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki, Mark Sheppard, Misha Collins, executive producers Robert Singer and Jeremy Carver, and a special guest packed the halls to preview the new season and answer questions of the road ahead, so what new ‘Supernatural’ shenanigans can we expect from season 9?
Amid the sizzle reel of season 9, we caught a new scene of Sam returning to the Men of Letters bunker, and nearly getting hit by a crossbow bolt from a panicked Kevin Tran! The exchange is soon followed by a healthy-looking Sam dragging Crowley into the base, where the brothers interrogate the Hell King and demand the identity of every possessing demon on the planet. Crowley balks, but the boys threaten to leave him alone with his newfound humanity, terrifying him.
Showrunner Jeremy Carver also talked about the role of angels crashing to earth as a “free-for-all” that leads to a number of overarching stories for the season. Likely the highlight of the panel, the attendees began discussing Felicia Day’s character Charlie Bradbury, before the woman herself appeared to confront them! Charlie will definitely be back next season, but here were the highlights from the cast and crew at the ‘Supernatural’ Comic-Con 2013 panel:
- The fallen angels won’t represent a unified body, and many will have different reactions to being banished to Earth. “A world of fallen angels is dirty, blood, scary, and in some ways very human world.”
- The relationship between Sam and Dean has gotten stronger than ever since the boys chose each other over saving the world, but that relationship has drastically affected the ‘Supernatural’ world in that Hell is currently without its king, and Heaven has endured a colossal shift in its operation.
- As we’ve previously heard, Castiel will have to adjust to his more human limitations this season. The panelists joked about Castiel having to learn to use the bathroom and flush a toilet, among the more humorous Castiel gags this season.
- Crowley will definitely feel the lingering effects of his humanity, and we’ll “go on a little journey” to see how far the effects have gone.
- The producers also acknowledged that Jim Beaver will return as Bobby Singer, but “in a way you wouldn’t guess and wouldn’t expect.” Shortly thereafter the crowd erupted in cheers to see Felicia Day appear, but producers offered few details of the “big plans” for Charlie’s story this coming year. Still, Day praised the character, and her “Teflon vagina” in dealing with the men of the series.
- Asked if Castiel will learn to drive the Impala, Jensen Ackles offered a flat “no,” and joked about how he doesn’t like the show’s production crew to touch the car either.
- Future episodes might finally address what happens to angels and demons upon being killed — something Jeremy carver described as “ripe for storytelling.”
- Misha Collins will direct the season’s 17th episode, while Jared Padalecki currently has no plans to venture behind the cameras as his co-stars have.
- No immediate plans for antichrist character Jesse to return, or any others, but Carver previewed that any past characters that “pop” remain on their radar to return to the series.
We’ll hear more from ‘Supernatural’ season 9 in the coming weeks, but what say you? Did the Comic-Con 2013 panel get you primed to see Sam and Dean take on a world full of fallen angels this fall? What new aspects are you most excited to see?
Supernatural returned to Comic-Con this year in its usual Sunday-morning timeslot in Hall H. Taking the stage were showrunner Jeremy Carver, Winchester Bros Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles, Misha Collins (whom the audience greeted with great enthusiasm), Mark Sheppard, and executive producer Robert Singer in his Comic-Con debut.
To kick things off the audience was treated to a trailer sizzle reel to build anticipation for Season 9, embedded above. One highlight: Crowley being treated to a fate almost worse than death. “We’re going to leave you alone,” said the Winchesters. With no one to talk to, “solitary is pretty much your own personal hell.”
The descriptor for Season 9 is “free-for-all,” a term Carver uses liberally. (At this point, Collins and Sheppard interrupted their showrunner with some namecard hijinks.) Carver said that “a world with fallen angels is a dirty, scary, bloody, and really human world.”
He also said that “the brothers’ choice to save each other has left them stronger than ever, but there’s a tremendous amount of fallout. They’re walking into a world where all the normal constructions of heaven and hell aren’t the same anymore.”
Padalecki added, “When we have the king of hell living in our dungeon and angels walking around all over, we’re really going to need each other.”
As for our favorite fallen angel, Collins promised a “remarkable shift” for Castiel. Now when he pops in, “basically [all he can do is] fold laundry.” He also experiences eating for the first time… and what follows.
“There’s a great bathroom scene,” Padalecki cracked—and “it’s a three-episode arc,” said Carver.
The Winchesters will still be hanging out in the bunker. “Men of Letters is the first permanent set we’ve had in eight seasons,” observed Singer. (No more seedy motels? Fie!)
When a fan asked about Bobby’s return, which Jim Beaver spilled on Twitter, Singer griped: “Jim Beaver tweets he’s going to be coming back before we have any plans to do it!” Then Carver elaborated, but only slightly: “He’s coming back in a way you wouldn’t expect, and that’s how I’m going to leave it.”
Regarding the return of Charlie, Singer complained about Felicia Day’s diva behavior on set—and she rushed onstage to defend her rep. Astonishingly, she revealed that this panel marked her first time in Hall H. Raving about her guest-star experience, Day said she’s “blessed to be working with these amazing men with excellent hair.”
Then she added, “I think this show needs a Teflon vagina,” to which Singer quipped: “That’s why we have Mark Sheppard!”
Day also answered an unsolicited question: How do Jensen and Jared smell? “Coriander and leather. It’s a potpourri scent.”
The conversation turned next to a few of Dean’s favorite things—in particular, the Impala. “He loves driving that beast down the highway, rocking out to rock ‘n’ roll,” said Ackles. ” And pie.”
Ackles and Collins then bickered about Castiel learning to driving Dean’s baby. As Singer noted, Ackles “has a sick proprietary feeling about this car.” In fact, Ackles admitted he doesn’t even like it when the Teamsters drive it.
As for the Winchesters’ favorite weapons, Padalecki said he really wants to use the car’s grenade launcher, while Ackles loves his 1911, a gun he can proficiently shoot, take apart, and reassemble.
Like Ackles before him, Collins is taking a turn behind the camera this season to direct Episode 17. Sheppard grumbled, “They don’t let me do anything.”
Carver mostly remained tightlipped about Season 9, but he did say this: “We’re going to see angels and demons intersect a lot this year. It’s going to be really fun and interesting. And a free-for-all.”