It’s less than two weeks away from Comic-Con, and CCI is releasing the programming schedule for Comic-Con 2016 in its annual fashion. We’ll be bringing you the highlights of each day as they’re announced.
We’ll also be discussing our thoughts on this year’s lineup, including our top picks, in a special series of live podcasts this weekend. The first of which covered Preview Night, Thursday’s and Friday’s lineup, and the second segment — in which we break down Saturday and Sunday — will be on Sunday, July 10 at 2PM PT / 5PM ET.
With that said, let’s dive right into Saturday.
Hall H looks relatively close to what we thought it would, with some surprises – the biggest being, where is Lionsgate?! Considering they’re in bed with Comic-Con International for a video-on-demand streaming service, you’d think they could shell out for a panel (and especially considering two different Power Rangers actors said they were coming to Comic-Con), but looks like we’re likely getting a repeat of 2014 when Lionsgate brought some stars and shoved them all into their booth instead for signings (and maybe an offsite). But now let’s focus on what is in Hall H.
Warner Bros. kicks off the day in their usual morning slot at 11:30AM, and although it’s currently the dreaded vaguest of vague descriptions (“A sneak peek at a few upcoming releases”, we already know we’ll be seeing Suicide Squad, The LEGO Batman Movie, Kong: Skull Island (with the return of Tom Hiddleston), and presumably Wonder Woman as well (and it doesn’t hurt that a few hours later, Wonder Woman actress Connie Nielsen is scheduled to appear on Entertainment Weekly: Who Who Kick Ass panel).
Chugging right along in that room, there’s also the previously announced Star Trek panel (with William Shatner, Scott Bakula, Michael Dorn, Jeri Ryan, and Brent Spiner), a celebration of the 30th Anniversary of Aliens (with James Cameron, Sigourney Weaver, Bill Paxton, Lance Henriksen, Michael Biehn, Paul Reiser, and more), and the previously mentioned Women Who Kick Ass panel. Then it’s Marvel Studios from 5:30PM-6:30PM, and while no cast or films are listed, it’s going to be Guardians of the Galaxy 2 with at least James Gunn, Chris Pratt, and Karen Gillan in attendance – as well as Doctor Strange. Good luck getting into anything before Marvel, but if Kevin Smith is your cup of tea, his annual 7PM nightcap panel should be a breeze to get into (and if you haven’t already, do yourself a favor and go read his panel description).
Over in Ballroom 20, it’s the annual Once Upon a Time panel and the Fox Animation block, with The Vampire Diaries sandwiched in between. Then there’s Grimm, followed by the daytime equivalent of the former WB/DC TV block in Hall H, with back-to-back panels for Supergirl, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, The Flash, and Arrow. In Indigo, it’s another day of awesome TV, with Powerpuff Girls (which will be HUGE), Lucifer, Gotham, The Expanse, The Last Man on Earth, and more. Elsewhere in the convention center, there’s Wynonna Earp in 24ABC at 2:30PM, as well as Marvel Animation panel to discuss Marvel’s Ultimate Spider-Man vs. The Sinister Six, Marvel’s Avengers: Ultron Revolution, and Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy at 12:30PM in 6A, and a chance to see never before seen Star Trek photos and clips in 5AB at 12:30PM with Star Trek: The Roddenberry Vault. Plus, relive your childhood with the All That reunion panel in 6A at 11:15AM.
For lovers of comics, it’s another amazing day. It’s a huge deal that Pokémon Adventures manga creators Hidenori Kusaka and Satoshi Yamamoto are doing a panel at 1PM in the Horton Grand. There’s a 75th Anniversary panel for Archie in Room 4 at 1PM with surprise Riverdale appearances, a BOOM! Studios overview in 24ABC at 12:30PM to catch you up on the latest happenings, a panel with some Image Comics’ best and brightest in 7AB at 1PM, a look at what’s happening with Titan Comics’ Doctor Who and Torchwood lines (with John Barrowman in attendance!), Oni Press’ Invader ZIM with lots of serious talent, and a 30th Anniversary panel for Dark Horse in 7AB at 3PM. There’s also two main DC panels to note – the “Meet the Co-Publishers” panel in 12:30PM in 6DE with Jim Lee and Dan DiDio, and then of course 75 Years of Wonder Woman in 6DE at 3PM with “a few surprise guests” (and considering Henry Cavill turned out to the Superman version of this panel a few years ago – keep an eye out, Gal Gadot fans). Plus, there’s the obvious highlight – the Spotlight on Stan Lee at 1:45PM in 6A.
There are a few dozen other panels we could point you towards, including “I Read It Before (And After) It Was a Movie” which discusses the process of turning books into films with the actual authors in Room 7AB at 10AM, a TV writers panel with some of the best names in the biz in 24ABC at 6:30PM, famed composer Bear McCreary discussing making music for your favorite TV shows in Room 8 at 3:30PM, or “Women Rocking Hollywood” which features female directors discussing how they’re kicking ass and breaking down barriers in Hollywood (including Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke). Cartoonist Daniel Clowes makes his return to the convention for the first time in 15 years with a Spotlight, there’s exclusive scenes from Monster High in 5AB at 11:30AM, Adam Savage delving into the world of cosplay in 6DE at 6:56PM, and screenwriter and novelist William Gibson gets a spotlight in 24ABC at 11:30AM. The strangest panel of the day probably goes to “NASA & Angry Birds on a Journey to Mars”, because, why not?
You can view the full Saturday programming schedule on the MySched website.
What will you be lining up for on the first full day of Comic-Con? Let us know in the comments.
