The first official day of San Diego Comic Con 2016 kicks off with a huge variety of panels and opportunities on the floor for con goers. Considered one of the slower days — if slow days still exist during the convention weekend — Thursday is a great day for you to get around to buying collectibles, picking up swag, walking the floor, and getting your self settled into that con mentality.
Remember to pick up your lanyard and WB bag with your schedule and booklets at the Sails Pavilion before heading down to the floor. Familiarize yourself with the RFID system and make sure to pack your extra battery packs for Pokemon GO! The con will not be offering free wifi this year, so keep that in mind going into panels and areas with spotty service.
Don’t forget about the awesome outdoor events that are happening around the con! Thursday is a great day to visit them and take a look at some of the exciting things they have to offer.
Here are our top picks for the first official day of the convention!
CW3PR’s 8th Annual Behind-The-Music: Crime, Death, and Resurrection 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM @ Room 25ABC
Join television and film’s top composers as they discuss how their music elevates the high drama, mystery and mayhem in some of your favorite cinematic stories. These musicians of the screen will reveal the in-depth scoring processes that enliven some of TV and film’s most popular and thrilling programs. The panel will highlight the music of fan-favorite shows and movies including Mr. Robot, Fargo, American Horror Story, Legion, Guardians of the Galaxy, Dominion, The Night Of, Batman: The Dark Knight Rises, Scream Queens, Salem, Power, The People v. O.J. Simpson CSI: NY, and more. Celebrity moderators: Violett Beane (The Flash, The Leftovers) & Drew Roy (Falling Skies). Panelists include Jeff Russo (Fargo, The Night Of, Power, Legion), Mac Quayle (Mr. Robot, American Horror Story, Scream Queens, The People v. O.J. Simpson), Tyler Bates (Guardians of the Galaxy,Salem, Kingdom), Mike Suby (The Vampire Diaries, Containment, The Originals), Bill Brown(Dominion, CSI: NY), and Christopher Drake (Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Yoga Hosers).
Dreamworks Animation Theatrical 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM @ Hall H
DreamWorks Animation invites you to find your happy place with a special Trolls presentation moderated by Chris Hardwick featuring Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, director Mike Mitchell, co-director Walt Dohrn and producer Gina Shay.
DC All Access: No Boundaries 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM @ Room 6DE
DC Comics is always pushing the envelope. Find out what’s new and upcoming from across the Digital spectrum to the world of DC Rebirth with key contributors whose unique voices add to the DC Comics experience!
Snowden 11:45 AM – 12:45 PM @ Hall H
The Geek & Sundry Panel 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM @ Indigo Ballroom
Calling all geeks! Join Felicia Day (Supernatural, The Guild ) as she leads you on a journey through the thrilling fanscape of Geek & Sundry. Special guests include Matthew Mercer (Critical Role),Laura Bailey (Critical Role, Titansgrave), Marisha Ray ( Critical Role, Signal Boost), Ryon Day (Co-Optitude), Ivan Van Norman (TableTop, Game the Game) and more! Get the inside scoop on some of your favorite shows and learn about what exciting new stuff Geek & Sundry has in store for the future. Game on!
CBS Television Studios Block – including Scorpion, American Gothic, and MacGyver 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM @ Ballroom 20
CBS brings the stars of their biggest shows to Ballroom 20 in a three hour panel that will definitely be a must-see Thursday afternoon. Series stars include Elyes Gabel (Scorpion), Katharine McPhee (Scorpion), Justin Chatwin (American Gothic), Lucas Till (MacGyver), George Eads (MacGyver) and many more!
The Smitten Word: Romancing the Reader 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM @ Horton Grand Theatre
Bestselling authors Sylvia Day (Crossfire novels), Christina Lauren (Beautiful series), Nalini Singh (Psy-Changling series), Chloe Neil (The Devil’s Isle and Chicagoland Vampires series), and Tessa Dare (Castles Ever After series) turn up the heat at SDCC as they discuss the power of romance, the range and voice of the genre, and blush-inducing conversation and have a hilarious battle over movies, TV shows, and Hollywood’s hottest. Moderated by HelenKay Dimon (Bad Boys Undercover series).
The Nerdist Panel with Chris Hardwick 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM @ Indigo Ballroom
It’s that time of year again-time to enjoy your burrito with Chris Hardwick (Comedy Central’s@Midnight, AMC’s Talking Dead) and talk all things Nerdist! Joining Chris will be an all-star panel of your favorite Nerdist personalities, including Jessica Chobot (Nerdist News), Rachel Heine(editor-in-chief), Dan Casey (The Dan Cave), Alicia Lutes (Fangirling), Legendary Digital NetworksAdam Rymer, and a surprise guest or two. Join the gang for a lively conversation about the big things to come for Nerdist in the near future. Surprises, announcements, and, of course, quemments await!
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM @ Hall H
Star Trek: 50th Year Celebration with Roddenberry Entertainment 1:30 PM – 2:30 PM @ Room 24ABC
Eugene “Rod” Roddenberry (executive producer, 2017 Star Trek TV series, son of Gene Roddenberry) and Trevor Roth (executive producer, 2017 Star Trek TV series) will be showing a special 5-minute Star Trek celebration video, releasing some exclusive material from the Roddenberry Vault, and partaking in a Q&A session moderated by Tory Mell (producer, convention director at Roddenberry Entertainment).
USA Network’s Falling Water: World Premiere Screening 1:45 PM – 2:45 PM @ Room 6A
Be the first to see USA Network’s highly anticipated new drama series Falling Water, presented by creators Gale Anne Hurd (The Walking Dead) and Blake Masters (Brotherhood). Ever wonder what would happen if someone could control our dreams? This mind-bending new thriller, starring David Ajala, Will Yun Lee, and Lizzie Brochere, explores this question through the lives of three unrelated people who slowly realize they are dreaming separate parts of a single common dream-a dream that just might hold the key to the fate of humanity.
The Strain: Screening and Q&A 3:15 PM – 4:15 PM @ Ballroom 20
The Man in the High Castle 4:15 PM – 5:15 PM @ Room 6A
Amazon’s most-streamed original series, The Man in the High Castle, returns to Comic-Con! Based on Philip K. Dick’s Hugo Award-winning novel, the show depicts a haunting and unsettling reality that could have been if the Allied Powers had lost World War II and explores that world almost 20 years after that loss. Join executive producer Isa Dick Hackett, daughter of the late Philip K. Dick, executives David Zucker and Dan Percival, along with members of the cast DJ Qualls, Alexa Davalos, Luke Kleintank, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Rupert Evans, Bella Heathcoteand Rufus Sewell to learn how starkly similar this world is to today and what’s to come in season 2.
MTV Teen Wolf 4:30 PM – 5:30 PM @ Ballroom 20
Executive producer Jeff Davis and the cast of Teen Wolf return to Comic-Con for the seventh consecutive year. The pack from MTV’s hit series will dish on the upcoming season, answer fan questions, and share the first sneak peek of season 6.
Captain America 75th Anniversary 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM @ Room 9
Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, Captain America has been wielding his shield, donning red, white, and blue, and fighting the good fight for 75 years. From Captain America Comics #1 to Captain America: Civil War, Steve Rogers has had a pretty decent 75 years, to say the least. Come celebrate “Cap” with Allen Bellman (artist, Captain America) all while being interviewed and questioned by former Kirby assistant, moderator Mark Evanier (author, Kirby: King of Comics).
Van Helsing 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM @ Indigo Ballroom
Premiering exclusive first-look footage from Syfy’s new series Van Helsing. Stars Kelly Overton(True Blood), Jonathan Scarfe (Hell on Wheels), and Christopher Heyerdahl (Twilight, True Blood) will join creator/showrunner Neil LaBute (In The Company of Men, Hell on Wheels) and executive producers Simon Barry (Continuum), Chad Oakes (Fargo, Hell on Wheels), and Mike Frislev (Fargo, Hell on Wheels) in a panel moderated by Holly Hines (Dynamic Television).
Women of Color in Comics: Race, Gender & the Comic Book Medium 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM @ Room 25ABC
The Women in Comics Collective, aka WinC (Pronounced ‘Wink’), is an international organization that highlights the merit and craftwork of women working the comic book and multimedia industries. Their membership is comprised of artists, writers, educators, filmmakers, show producers, art gallery directors, cosplayers, game developers, bloggers, and toy makers. They have an on going panel discussion series that has traveled all over the country. This latest installment will focus on female and racial representation in comics, the fandom as well as the industry! Featured panelists are Vanee Matsalia-Smith (English professor, sci-fi writer, Black Girl Nerds contributor), Leen Isabel (artist, Girls Drawin’ Girls, Pole Dancing Adventures, co-publisher at Dark Productions, GeekxGirls Cosplay Collective), Jay Justice (professional cosplayer and costumer, Marvel Comics), Kimberly Jesika (publicist, journalist at Huffington Post, publisher at Dollface Entertainment, animator), Ray Felix (artist, publisher, Bronx Heroes Comic Con founder), and Vita Ayala (writer, Black Mask Studios, DC Comics). The panel will be moderated by Regine L. Sawyer (coordinator and founder of The Women in Comics Collective, owner/writer at Lockett Down Productions).
Marvel’s Luke Cage 5:45 PM to 6:45 PM @ Ballroom 20
The cast of the upcoming Netflix original series Marvel’s Luke Cage make their first-ever appearance, answering questions and giving fans a look at exclusive footage from the highly anticipated series, ahead of its September 30 global debut on Netflix. Moderated by Jeph Loeb(executive producer and Marvel’s Head of Television).
Being a Nerd for a Living: IGN Talks Movies, TV, and Comics 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM @ Room 7AB
Join the crew from IGN to hear how they turned their nerdy passions into careers, and then stick around for the fan Q&A. Panelists include editors Joshua Yehl (comics), Jim Vejvoda (movies),Terri Schwartz (movies/TV), Scott Collura (movies), Eric Goldman (TV), Alanah Pearce (toys & culture), and Naomi Kyle (host).
USA Network’s Mr. Robot: Panel Discussion with the Cast 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM @ Room 6BCF
Hello, friend. USA’s Golden Globe Award-winning series, Mr. Robot, is making its Comic-Con debut. Go behind the scenes with stars Rami Malek, Christian Slater, Portia Doubleday, Carly Chaikin and season 2 newcomer Grace Gummer as they discuss the series’ exciting second season. Mr. Robot follows Elliot, a cyber-security engineer who becomes involved in the underground hacker group fsociety, after being recruited by their mysterious leader. Season 2 explores the consequences of fsociety’s 5/9 hack on multi-national company Evil Corp. as well as the illusion of control.
Dark Matter: Season 2 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM @ Room 6DE
In the midst of the epic space drama’s second season, cast members Melissa O’Neil (Two),Anthony Lemke (Three), Alex Mallari Jr. (Four), Jodelle Ferland (Five), and newcomer Melanie Liburd (Nyx) along with executive producer Jay Firestone, will discuss new storylines, characters, sets, and behind-the-scenes tidbits. Moderated by Teddy Wilson and Ajay Fry(Innerspace). There will also be some exclusive, never-before-seen footage shown.
English