Chris Hardwick's Blog, page 1814

Fox Really Wants A BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER Reboot

Here’s some news that will either make you giddy with excitement or roll your eyes in disgust, depending on how you feel about the recent TV reboot craze. According to the folks over at Deadline, Fox Chairman and CEO Gary Newman told members of the press, when discussing the success of recent reboots like X-Files and 24, that “Buffy The Vampire Slayer is probably the most ripe show we have for bringing back,” and added that “It’s something we talk about frequently. Joss Whedon is one of the greatest creators we’ve ever worked for. When Joss decides it’s time, we’ll do it.”

Ok Buffy fanatics, take a deep breath. This doesn’t mean this is going to happen for sure. What it does mean, however, is that the powers that be want it to happen, and probably pretty badly. But the final decision on such a thing would have to come from both Joss Whedon and Buffy Summers herself, Sarah Michelle Gellar. Together, these two are Buffy. But after seeing how amazing  and ready to kick ass everyone looked at the Buffy 20th reunion last year, one can’t help but wonder just what a proper Buffy the Vampire Slayer reunion would look like.

We’ve written before about why a Buffy short term “event series” revival could actually be a good thing. Now, a lot of people might say to leave well enough alone, and while I sympathize with that viewpoint, I can’t help but wonder what the life of Buffy and the Scoobies would be like as they approach middle age.  Although Joss Whedon has written and overseen up to four new “seasons” of Buffy in the pages of Dark Horse Comics (with a 12th season coming out soon), all of these are set somewhere in the recent past, meaning the characters have only aged slightly. I would love to see what it means to be a kick ass fighter of supernatural evil when you’re 40, an age we see next-to-no female heroines embody. As long as all the original creators and actors are back, consider me intrigued by the possibility at least.

Do you want to see a Sunnydale High class of 1999 20 year reunion next year? Let us know how you feel down below in the comments.

Click on For More Slayin’!

Read more details about the “season 12” Buffy comic.
Here are the show’s 10 essential episodes.
And finally, check out the Scoobie gang’s Funko Pops!

Images: Twentieth Century Fox

X-FILES Meets GOLDEN GIRLS Is the Mash-Up We Never Knew We Needed

We are smack dab in the middle of an era of TV reboots. We’ve recently seen the return of classic shows like Twin Peaks, and very soon, Roseanne will be returning after twenty years away from television screens. Meanwhile, Queer Eye was the TV reboot we all needed but didn’t even know we wanted.

The Golden Girls theme song with the X-Files intro was everything I thought it’d be and more. pic.twitter.com/vYH8x14y06

— Blake Hammond (@BigRadMachine) March 2, 2017

One show that won’t be coming back, however, is one of the most beloved — The Golden Girls. Sadly, three of the four titular girls are no longer with us, and no one wants to watch a show about Betty White’s character Rose sitting alone in the kitchen eating cheesecake by herself. (And I’d like to think that no one would dare try to recast the girls ever, unless it’s a challenge on RuPaul’s Drag Race, then it’s OK.)  But maybe then next best thing, according to Twitter user Blake Hammond, is to mash-up Golden Girls with X-Files. Now THAT is a reboot we are down for.

And yes, we know, we are still in the midst of the X-Files second event series revival, but it is probably its last, as Gillian Anderson is said to be done with the role for good. But maybe if wait just a few more years, when both Anderson officially joins David Duchovny in retirement age, X-Files can come back as a show about Mulder and Scully just sharing a house in Miami, reminiscing about the old days investigating supernatural occurrences. I mean, just watch the X-Files opening credits remixed with the classic Golden Girls theme song and tell me you wouldn’t watch that show.

What two classic shows would you like to see get the mash-up treatment? Be sure to let us know down below in the comments.

Images: Twentieth Century Fox / Disney 

 

Everything We Saw in FANTASTIC BEASTS 2’s First Trailer

When Warner Bros. announced they’d be giving us the first teaser for Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, we figured we’d be getting a brief look at the movie. It turned out we were more Ron and less Hermione on that prediction, because what we got was a full trailer showing way more, from familiar and never-before-seen places in the wizarding world, to newcomers and returning characters, to a growing threat that will force everyone to choose a side in the coming war. But for everything we saw, it was hard not to notice which key character barely showed up at all, and that might tell us something far more important than anything in the movie.

The trailer opens with sweeping shots of the most famous locale from Harry Potter, Hogwarts. It turns out has always looked absolutely beautiful.

We then see government officials apparate outside the school, where curious students look on. This shot has the potential to contain some great Easter eggs if we ever learn some of these kids are famous adults we know from Harry Potter.

The serious looking government officials have come to the school with “some questions” for Jude Law‘s young(er) Dumbledore, who at this time was still a Transfiguration professor. When the first photos from the film were released we thought these might be members of MACUSA, who let Grindelwald escape, but the man speaking appears to have a Scottish accent. It doesn’t mean the entire delegation we see here is entirely made up of people from the Ministry of Magic, since Grindelwald poses a worldwide threat, but it does show Newt is a going concern for wizarding officials on at least two continents. And also that Dumbledore was always a troublemaker.

Knowing what we know about him and how he is usually three steps ahead of most people, Dumbledore’s “this is a surprise” response means it is almost certainly not. They want to know why Newt is rumored to be going to Paris, which is seemingly confirmed by Newt piecing back together a torn up postcard from there. Later in the trailer we’ll see an important character from the first film is now living there.

While we hear an official talking to Dumbledore about Newt, we see someone in the shadows pulling the light from street lamps. Whoever it is, they appear to be using a Deluminator, just like the one Dumbledore will one day leave to Ron Weasley in his will. Could it be the exact same one? Dumbledore did invent it after all.

Of course, no matter how coy Dumbledore is about whether or not Newt is working for him, we know he is, because we see Newt trying to secretly meet Dumbledore high above the streets of London.

This next shot doesn’t reveal much, but this look Dumbledore gives at the end of his line about teaching Newt is our favorite part of the trailer, especially because it shows just how perfect Law might be in the role.

Dumbledore then spells out what will likely be the major conflict for almost every character in the movie with, “The time is coming Newt, when you’re going to have to pick a side.” We then see the first of only two images of Johnny Depp’s Dark Wizard Grindelwald (more on him later). Standing next to him is Vinda Rosier, one of Grindelwald’s most loyal followers. They stand before a huge group, likely the wizards and witches who are aligning with him.

Next we get a look at Katherine Waterston’s Tina Goldstein, who now sports a much more stylish haircut and coat. This is not the meek Tina we knew in the first movie.

That’s followed by shots of Newt with our favorite No-Maj, Dan Fogler’s Jacob Kowalski. He accompanies Newt to what looks like an underground hiding spot for Newt and many of his fantastic beasts. Remember them? You know, the creatures from the title of the franchise.

 

The next shot might be the most important one in the entire trailer. It shows Ezra Miller‘s Credence sitting on a roof with newcomer Claudia Kim who plays Maledictus, the main attraction at a French magical circus who is “the carrier of a blood curse that destines her ultimately to transform into a beast.” (Learn more about her and who–or what–she might become one day here.) Credence appears to be showing her his Obscurus; it’s emanating from his hand. If this means he can now control it, he might arguably be the most powerful wizard in the entire world–maybe ever (read more about Obscurials).

We saw the kind of destruction he wrought when he snapped in the first film. What can he do if he can harness it? There would be no greater ally in the coming war, which might be why Newt is heading to Paris–to find him. Imagine if Newt and his magizoologist skills could save Maledictus, who Credence seems to be close to, from her terrible fate.

Next we see Tina’s sister Goldie inside a massive office with a glass-domed ceiling. It’s not clear exactly where she is, but the ceiling is decorated with images and names of fantastic beasts. Our best guess? This is the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures.

We then briefly see Leta LeStrange played by Zoë Kravitz, who we only saw in a photo in the first movie when we learned her and Newt have some kind of troubled past. She’s at some kind of fancy party, though her fiance Theseus, Newt’s brother, is nowhere to be found. Considering her surname, we’re wary of which side she will ultimately choose.

Is this Newt riding a what looks to be the mythical hippocampus?

The next shot is one of the trailer’s most mysterious. Dumbledore stands in what looks to be Newt’s secret lair, staring at glowing drawings that include illegible writing and masks.

 

And we get our first glimpse at the Circus Arcanus Credence has run off with.

After a shot of Newt catching his favorite Bowtruckle, we see something truly terrifying: an angry Credence.

How angry? “Credence smash” angry.

We have no idea who these two masked men in a chariot are, but we’re always happy to see thestrals, the magical world’s best, most misunderstood animals.

Only then do we get our only look at Johnny Depp’s face as Grindelwald. His hair is long and ragged, showing considerable time has passed since the last movie when it was short. He is pale, drawn, and under guard from two wands. We know he escapes early in the movie, so this could be the opening scene.

We’re going to come back to this….

While we see Grindelwald, we hear Dumbledore say to Newt, “I can’t move against Grindelwald. It has to be you.” We know Dumbledore was reluctant to face his former friend for years, a decision which will clearly put Newt and others in danger as they fight for him. This meeting in the rain at street level takes place after the one we saw at the start of the trailer. Have the crimes of Grindelwald caused more push back on Dumbledore to actually do something, hence his statement to Newt here?

We then finally meet Newt’s brother Theseus, played by Callum Turner, as the two brothers stand together against some enemy, creating an amazing wall of fire. Considering the official synopsis for the movie says, “Lines are drawn as love and loyalty are tested, even among the truest friends and family, in an increasingly divided wizarding world,” this has us feeling a whole lot better about the brothers being on the same side together.

The last shot is a smoky haze that shows that even though these are prequels, the Deathly Hallows still hang over everything.

Like we said, way more than we were expecting. But all of it makes one aspect of this trailer stick out even more. This is the official title for the movie.

Why did we barely see the character whose name is in the title? And why do we have almost no idea what his crimes are in a trailer that showed so much?

There’s the possibility Warner Bros. is saving them for the next trailer, sure. However, it’s hard not to watch this and think it’s a way to specifically keep us from focusing on the controversy surrounding Johnny Depp–who has been accused of domestic violence by his ex-wife Amber Heard–and his continued involvement in the franchise. J.K. Rowling recently put out a vague statement supporting him, but it raised more questions than it answered.

But if they think hiding him and his character from the movie’s promotion is going to make us forget about the accusations and the lack of transparency from the studio about why they feel he should continue in the role, that’s not going to work. You can’t have him in your movie, call it The Crimes of Grindelwald, put him front and center, and think we’re going to forget about the alleged real-life crimes of the guy playing him. We’re thrilled we got a lot more here than we were expecting, but we expect better from Warner Bros.

What do you think of this trailer? What does it tell us about the movie? Talk to us about anything and everything in the comments below.

Images: Warner Bros.

More from Wizarding World!

Harry Potter wands made for LEGO tag.
A spellbinding LEGO set for Hogwarts’ Great Hall.
Cast a collecting spell for these .

Nicolas Cage Will Finally Play Superman in TEEN TITANS GO TO THE MOVIES

Nicolas Cage has never been shy about his Superman fandom. Cage gave Superman’s birth name to his own son, Kal-El Cage, and he was one of the few collectors to ever own a highly sought after copy of Action Comics #1, which was the first comic book appearance of the Man of Steel. Two decades ago, Cage was even lined up to star in Tim Burton‘s Superman Lives movie, before the project ultimately fell apart. But now, Cage is finally going to get his chance to portray the Last Son of Krypton, and not in the way anyone expected!

Via USA Today, Cage will lend his voice to Superman in Teen Titans Go to the Movies, the big screen spinoff of Cartoon Network’s Teen Titans GO! series. Given the nature of the source material, Cage’s Superman won’t be the hero as he appears in DC’s comic book universe. Instead, this Man of Steel will be filtered through the ridiculous prism of the Teen Titans’ cartoonish world.

Cage won’t be the only celebrity voice actor for the Teen Titans GO! movie, either. Earlier this week, the singer Halsey joined the cast as Wonder Woman, while rapper Lil Yachty signed on to play Green Lantern. That stunt casting makes us wonder who will voice the rest of the Justice League in this film.



This clip from The Death of Superman Lives: What Happened? shows a glimpse of what might have been, as Cage put on an early costume from the film alongside Burton and a few others. Somehow, we think comic book blockbusters would be very different today if this movie had come to pass.

Are you glad to see Cage get his chance to be super? Share your thoughts in the comment section below!

Image: Touchstone Pictures

More Nicolas Cage news!

Read our review of Nicolas Cage’s Mandy
Mod adds Nic Cage to  Dragon Ball Fighterz
Nic Cage is making a VR movie

The Writers Panel #375: Gerry Duggan + “Family Drama” from ATX

Catching up with comics writer Gerry Duggan (Deadpool), whose new Image title Analog comes out April 4. Check it out!

From ATX: Michael Rauch (creator, Royal Pains), Mitchell Burgess & Robin Green (creators, Blue Bloods), David Hudgins (Friday Night Lights), Paul Garnes (Queen Sugar), and Anna Fricke (Everwood) discuss the process of shaping familial relationships on TV, how they are inherently complicated, and why they believe week after week (or all at once) audiences invest in the struggles, successes, and tragedies of these fictional families.

Moderated by Sarah Rodman (LA Times).

Recorded at ATX Television Festival on June 9, 2017. Get your badge now for ATX’s seventh season, June 7-10, 2018, at http://atxfestival.com/

Follow @BenBlacker and Like the show on Facebook!

WESTWORLD Fans Experience Sweetwater IRL at SXSW

There’s no show better suited for elaborate publicity stunts and exclusive promotions than Westworld. And that’s never been clearer than it was with SXSW 2018’s one-of-a-kind Westworld experience.

Dubbed the Westworld: Live Without Limits Weekend, the staggeringly elaborate in-universe event that occurred on March 9 -March 11 took up more than two acres of land outside Austin. Upon arriving at the park portal, the lucky few guests got their customary black or white hats, boarded a train, and were then given (mostly) free reign of Sweetwater. That meant visiting reproductions of the Mariposa and other landmarks familiar to fans of the show, hobnobbing with hosts, and, if they were so inclined, searching for clues about where the series will go next.

Putting the town of Sweetwater together was no easy feat. HBO, agency Giant Spoon, and Westworld co-creators Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy began conceptualizing the park last November. It took five weeks of construction, 58 vendors, 60 actors, six stunt performers, five bands, and even a handful of horses (well, six, which is more than a handful) to bring the park together—and judging from the photos, all that effort was well worth it.

If this was how HBO and the Westworld showrunners built on their immersive experiences at SDCC and NYCC last year, we can only speculate how much further they’ll go for future seasons. We already know Nolan and Joy are nowhere near the show’s endpoint. Back in February, we found out via Delos Destinations that there are at least five more parks to discover. Could those be the basis for future special events? Here’s hoping. In the meantime, I’ll just painstakingly tear off another one of the links in my paper chain counting down to the season two premiere on April 22.

Would you rather herd cattle in Westworld or wield a samurai sword in one of the new Delos Destinations? Let us know in the comments!

Images: HBO

More TV news!

Titans TV series will introduce Jason Todd.
Supernatural gets animated in the Scooby Doo crossover episode.
Alan Cumming joins Doctor Who as a villain.

Opening of THE LAST JEDI/Rian Johnson Documentary Available to Watch Now

As fans of the galaxy far, far away we tend to view every new Star Wars movie through the lens of what it means for the franchise and the characters, but what must it be like to literally look through the lens and create one? The burdens and responsibilities of being in the director’s chair are almost too innumerable to imagine, which is why we’ve been eager to get an idea of what it’s really like with the upcoming documentary The Director and the Jedi, which chronicles Rian Johnson‘s experiences leading The Last Jedi. And based on the film’s opening, which you can watch right now, it’s just as emotional, overwhelming, and crazy as you’d guess.

IMDb posted the first 11-and-a-half minutes of the doc, which we first saw at Slash Film, after it had it’s world premiere this weekend at SXSW in Austin. Directed by Anthony Wonke, it opens with the wrap party in London before going back to reactions to Johnson’s hiring and his beginning work on the film. There’s tons of great, new footage and details here fans are going to absolutely love–including why a droid design was turned down, the Ahch-To Caretakers in half costume dancing, Johnson’s response to being told George Lucas wants to talk to him, and the building of the movie’s massive sets–but the early rehearsal footage with Johnson, Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy, producer Ram Bergman, Mark Hamill, and Daisy Ridley is especially outstanding.



We take that back, Rian Johnson saying a farm of Russian Twitter bots spammed him begging that fascist leader Admiral Hux wasn’t killed was the highlight here–and the lowlight.

The full documentary will be included in The Last Jedi’s home release, available on March 27th, but what’s clear from this opening segment, which made us a a lot more emotional than we were ready for, is that this isn’t merely some behind-the-scenes footage about making a movie, it’s about the personal journey of Rian Johnson as he made a Star Wars movie. A task which looks just as impossible–and amazing–as it sounds.

What stood out to you from this footage? What part of the making of The Last Jedi are you eager to learn more about? Let the force be with you, and let your thoughts be with us in the comments below.

Featured Image: Lucasfilm

More of the nerdy things you need!

What does The Last Jedi novelization tell us about Episode IX ?
Rian Johnson explains the gorilla walker design in our exclusive featurette clip!
9 things we learned about Disneyland’s new Pixar Pier !

TITANS TV Series Will Introduce Second Robin, Jason Todd

While fans might be waiting years for that Nightwing movie, or finding out the story behind Robin #2’s costume in the trophy case in Batman v Superman, it seems we will be getting live-action versions of our favorite former Batman sidekicks — just on television and not the big screen. The latest episode of the upcoming Titans television series has a very telling title, as thanks to the folks at Titans TV, we now know the name of episode seven of season one is “Jason Todd.” This very likely means that at some point in the first season of the show, Dick Grayson, played by Brenton Thwaites, will bestow the name and title of Robin to Jason Todd, before becoming Nightwing. This could all lead to his eventually becoming the popular Red Hood later on down the line.

Jason Todd is a very significant character in the Batman mythology, and to a lesser extent, that of the Teen Titans. As a character, when he was first introduced he was more or less hated, but he has eventually become a fan favorite. Jason Todd was first introduced in the pages of Batman in 1983, right around the time the now 19 year old Dick Grayson was ditching the Robin identity to become Nightwing in the pages of the New Teen Titans. Young Jason Todd was another orphan Bruce Wayne adopted who became the new Robin.

Fans at first did not take to this new Boy Wonder. He talked back to Batman too much, and its even implied he killed a criminal in cold blood. He was so unpopular, that DC Comics ran placed a 1-900 number at the end of one of their stories, asking fans to decide whether Robin #2 should live or die after being beat mercilessly by the Joker. The bloodthirsty fan base decided young Jason Todd should die by the Joker’s hands. And so Robin died, and soon was replaced by a far more popular and liked Robin, Tim Drake. Jason Todd was, for some sixteen years, a costume in a trophy case, a reminder to Batman of his greatest failure.

But when DC decided to resurrect Jason Todd, he received a whole new level of popularity. Now called the Red Hood, Jason Todd was more Punisher than Batman, not quite a hero, but not exactly a villain either. He’s been headlining his own comic Red Hood and the Outlaws for several years, and has become a staple of the DC Universe. Will the Titans TV series delve into Jason’s death and resurrection as a driven anti-hero? And how to tell all of these Nightwing and Red Hood stories without a live-action TV Batman? It definitely seems that the Titans show will be the place that we may see the extended Bat-family finally come into play in live-action first, as movies about Nightwing and Batgirl continue to hit walls at Warner Brothers.

What do you think of Jason Todd/Robin making it to live-action? And which actor would you like to see don the red hood? Be sure to let us know your thoughts down below in the comments.

Images: DC Comics

More of the nerdy things you need!

Come hang with Nerdist and Geek & Sundry at WonderCon 2018 !
9 things we learned from our trip to Disneyland’s new Pixar Pier !
Our picks for the 7 most essential Batman stories in DC Comics history!

What Does THE LAST JEDI Novelization Tell Us About EPISODE IX?

The Last Jedi‘s novelization has been revealing all new details about the galaxy far, far away. On today’s Nerdist News Talks Back, we discussed what they might tell us about Episode IX, along with rumors of a new Grand Theft Auto, and Marvel‘s first ever story-based podcast.

Leading today’s show was senior editor and host of The Dan Cave Dan Casey; he was joined by producer Jesse Gill, as well as Nerdist News writers Aliza Pearl and Joey Clift. They started by hitting the hyperdrive on the new information being unearthed in The Last Jedi‘s novel that hit stores last week. ScreenRant reports Finn knew about some of the First Order’s super weapons, as well as some other secrets they might be hiding. What kind of weapons could we see in the next movie?



New rumors also have us revved up over the possibility of getting Grand Theft Auto 6 sometime in 2021/2022. Are we excited about this, or are we skeptical? What about the reported Vice City in the ’80s setting?

Finally, the premiere episode of Marvel’s first story-based podcast, Wolverine: The Long Night, is out. It’s not free now, but it will be in the fall, so do we plan on listening to it? We also talk about what other franchises should try a scripted podcast approach like this.

Experience the Marvel Universe in a whole new way with "Wolverine: The Long Night." Listen to the first two episodes now on @Stitcher Premium, use code MARVEL for a free month: https://t.co/nGoXTbWzOc #WolverinePodcast pic.twitter.com/1j868ZFkeD

— Wolverine (@itsthewolverine) March 12, 2018

Nerdist News Talks Back airs live on our YouTube and Alpha channels every Monday through Thursday at 1 p.m. PT, and we wrap up the week with the supersized Nerdist News What the Fridays at 1 p.m. PT, only at Alpha. It’s best to tune in with us, because with a new show every day it’s almost impossible to keep up with every episode’s novelization.

We still want to hear from you about today’s topics, so talk back to us about them in the comments below.

Featured Image: Lucasfilm

More entertainment news!

Expect permanent deaths in Avengers: Infinity War.
How will Groot’s new change affect the MCU?
The internet is losing it over Luke’s Return of the Jedi “plan.”

Come Hang with Nerdist and Geek & Sundry at WonderCon 2018!

We’re still reeling from losing a high-stakes pinball tournament at the Nerdist House in Austin, TX for SXSW, but we’ll bounce back fast because Con season is just around the corner. Up next on the Nerdist agenda is WonderCon!

Once again, WonderCon is back in Anaheim, CA for another weekend of panels, parties, and wandering Artists’ Alley for the best finds. Be sure you join us all day on Saturday, March 24 in Room 300B and Sunday, March 25 in the Arena where we’ll be putting on a bunch of panels with our friends from Geek & Sundry. Our annual Nerdist News panel is on for sure, plus we’ll be covering the science of Pacific Rim, and so much more.

Check out our full schedule below, and let us know in the comments or on Twitter if you’ll be joining us!

Saturday, March 24

11:00am – 12:00pm Geek & Sundry Presents The Wednesday Club: The Art of the Third Act – In just a few weeks, Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Infinity War will hit theatres and start bringing their ten-year saga to a hopefully satisfying conclusion. What cues can the studio take from comics past and present to help them stick this landing? Join Geek & Sundry’s breakout live comic book show The Wednesday Club to find out.  Come ask Amy Dallen (Shield of Tomorrow, Sagas of Sundry), Taliesin Jaffe (Critical Role, World of Warcraft) and Matt Key (Key Question, Screen Junkies News) your questions and engage in their discussion about the art of ending an epic saga and what makes a satisfying and memorable third act. Room 300B

12:00pm – 1:00pm Nerdist News Live –  It’s Nerdist News, live! Join Jessica Chobot (Nerdist News, Bizarre States), Dan Casey (The Dan Cave, Nerdist News), Rachel Heine (Nerdist and Geek & Sundry Editor-in-Chief), Kyle Hill (Because Science, MythBusters: The Search), Nerdist writer Aliza Pearl (Shield of Tomorrow), and Brian Compton (Nerdist Producer) as they discuss the biggest pop culture stories of the day like only Nerdist can. Go behind the scenes of Nerdist News and our other shows, and bring your questions for the cast and crew. Use only as directed. 9 out of 10 doctors recommend attending the panel right before this one just to get a seat. Side effects may include uncontrollable deep cuts, hilarious Star Wars theories, and hot takes lasting over 30 seconds. Room 300B

1:00pm – 2:00pm Geek & Sundry Presents: Sagas of Sundry Live – Darin De Paul (Overwatch, World of Warcraft) will explore why fans are so captivated by Geek & Sundry’s latest hit horror RPG show Sagas of Sundry. Cast members Matthew Mercer (Critical Role, Sagas of Sundry), Ivan Van Norman (International Tabletop Day Host, Sagas of Sundry), Marisha Ray (Critical Role, Geek & Sundry Creative Director), Satine Phoenix (Sagas of Sundry, GM Tips), Amy Vorpahl (Sagas of Sundry), and Xander Jeanneret (King of the Nerds, Sagas of Sundry) will delve into the heart-wrenching and harrowing experiences their characters endured in the adventure where their actions were determined by making a pull from the “Dread Tower.” An audience Q&A to follow where fans must pull a piece of the Dread Tower and see their fate before they ask a question of the panel! Room 300B

2:00pm – 3:00pm WonderCon Women of Pop Culture, presented by Nerdist and Geek & Sundry –  Wonder Woman. Rey. The Dora Milaje. As women are reflected more and more in geek and pop culture, the women who discuss, analyze, and obsess over them have plenty to fangirl about this year. But what’s it like on the other side of the screen? Join Nerdist and Geek & Sundry Editor-in-Chief Rachel Heine and her incredible colleagues – Nerdist host Jessica Chobot (Nerdist News, Bizarre States), Geek & Sundry creative director Marisha Ray (Critical Role), Nerdist managing editor Alicia Lutes (Fangirling), Geek & Sundry host Erika Ishii (Game Engine, Sagas of Sundry: Madness), Nerdist writer Aliza Pearl (Shield of Tomorrow), and Geek Bomb creator and host Maude Garrett (Alpha Book Club) as they dive deep and break down how they got to where they are, advice for up and coming creators, and their hopes for pop culture in 2018 and beyond. Room 300B

3:00pm – 4:00pm The Science of Pacific Rim – Nerdist’s Kyle Hill (Because Science, MythBusters: The Search) breaks down everything from linking brains to kaiju caloric intakes with Dr. Crystal Dilworth (neuroscientist and science communicator) and Allen Pan (honorary MythBuster and mad scientist). Q&A session to follow. Room 300B

4:00pm – 5:00pm Bizarre States: LA – Host Jessica Chobot (Nerdist News, Bizarre States) and Andrew Bowser (Bizarre States) take their popular podcast Bizarre States on the road! They explore the mysteries of the weird, supernatural and occult, dragging into the light current and historical paranormal activities and personal experiences. Room 300B

Sunday, March 25

11:30am – 12:30pm Talks Machina with the cast of Critical Role– Join Brian W. Foster (host of Talks Machina) as he moderates a special episode featuring the cast of Critical Role:  Matthew Mercer, Marisha Ray, Laura Bailey, Travis Willingham, Sam Riegel, Liam O’Brien and Taliesin Jaffe. The cast will dive deep into the adventures of the Critical Role Campaigns and answer your burning questions. Arena