Last weekend one of the biggest comicbook conventions was held in Anaheim, California: WonderCon. Among the countless panels were a touching tribute to Stan Lee in which fans shared their favorite memories of the legend and several Marvel TV presentations. Even though the folks at Marvel Studios are a bit tied up right now, convention goers still got a sneak peek at shows including Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Legion, Cloak & Dagger, and the animated series Marvel Rising to quench their thirst for new Marvel content. Below is a comprehensive guide to the new Marvel news that dropped during the convention.
The train keeps chugging along for Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. despite some big changes at the end of last season. The first big reveal was the release date for the sixth season, which dropped on social media in conjunction with the panel.
Several cast members were present to discuss the upcoming season, including Clark Gregg, Elizabeth Henstridge, Iain De Caestecker, Henry Simmons, Natalia Cordova-Buckley, and Jeff Ward, as well as executive producers Jed Whedon, Jeff Bell, and Maurissa Tancharoen. Instead of the usual panel format, Agents opted to surprise the audience with a full screening of the premiere episode and a discussion afterwards. Without sharing any spoilers, we’ll just say that audience reactions were resoundingly positive for the first episode. In addition to the episode screened, the panelists spoke about the new season and shared some behind-the-scenes memories. Elizabeth Henstridge even revealed to the audience that her fondest recollection from her time on the show had to do with Stan Lee. She recalled: “Walking on the set for the first time to shoot the pilot was just a surreal feeling. Also, getting to film a scene with Stan Lee is something I will never forget.”
Unfortunately for those not present at the panel, no new footage has been released to the public, so we will just have to trust the audience members’ excitement and wait until the new season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. premieres May 10 on ABC.
Freeform’s Cloak & Dagger followed suit and also surprised fans with the first episode of the second season and a conversation with cast members Olivia Holt, Aubrey Joseph, Emma Lahana, and showrunner Joe Pokaski. In addition to teasing the greater amount of action versus exposition in season two, the panel also revealed that the comicbook villain Mayhem would make an appearance as the alter ego of Lahana’s Brigid O’Reilly. Luckily for fans attending the discussion, they didn’t have to wait long for the next installment of Cloak & Dagger, which premiered a few days ago on Freeform.
Though the X-Men universe is now in the hands of Disney, there’s one last season of FX’s weird and brilliant show about the troubled and powerful mutant David Haller, Legion. The third season, which will premiere this summer, was teased with over 10 minutes of footage from the premiere episode. Since this is one of the final panels for Legion, the cast and creators also took some time to pay tribute to the last two seasons and make it clear that since it will be the final go around, they’ll be pulling out all the stops. Nothing is off limits.
The biggest takeaways from the panel were the debut of the newest member of team Legion, the mutant Switch played by Lauren Tsai, and the confirmation of the long-awaited appearance of the most famous mutant of all, Charles Xavier, portrayed by Harry Lloyd.
Tsai was joined by the rest of the main cast consisting of Amber Midthunder, Jeremie Harris, Navid Negahban, Aubrey Plaza, Rachel Keller, and Dan Stevens. Executive producers Lauren Schuler Donner and showrunner Noah Hawley joined in the conversation, as well as Jeph Loeb, the Head of Marvel TV, who was present for all the Marvel panels over the weekend.
To wrap up the weekend, there was a Sunday morning panel to introduce the new animated series Marvel Rising: Heart of Iron, which premiered last week on Marvel HQ. During this discussion, it was also revealed that there are three more animated Marvel Rising series to come this year: Battle of;the Bands, Operation Shuri, and Playing with Fire.
In addition to several voice cast members present, including Milana Vayntrub, Kathreen Khavari, Kamil McFadden, and Sofia Wylie, senior executives at Marvel Animation Cort Lane and Marsha Griffin were also in attendance to present the four new series to the WonderCon audience.
There was a lot to digest for Marvel fans at WonderCon, just in time for the premieres of Cloak & Dagger and Marvel Rising: Heart of Iron. Next up will be San Diego Comic-Con this summer, so that will give everyone time to think of new questions to ask when the next round of panels are brought to audiences from around the world!