At Comic-Con 2014, TV may have finally overtaken films as the biggest draw of the show. While several movie studios withheld footage and cast members from highly anticipated flicks like Star Wars Episode VII or the Terminator reboot, almost every genre TV show had a presence at Comic-Con. Only “Doctor Who” and “Daredevil” stayed home.
Warner Bros. was even able to leverage the four DC Comics inspired TV shows into the biggest panel that Comic-Con has ever seen, as the casts of “Constantine,” “Arrow,” “The Flash” and “Gotham” shared the stage at Hall H on Saturday night.
CraveOnline also had the opportunity to speak with the cast of “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” “Arrow,” “Constantine,” “The Flash,” “IZombie,” “Person of Interest,” “Teen Wolf,” “Mike Tyson’s Mysteries,” “Penny Dreadful,” “Toy Story That Time Forgot,” Evangeline Lilly and even George R.R. Martin, the creator of “Game of Thrones.”
Related: The 5 Biggest Gaming Announcements of Comic-Con 2014
However, Comic-Con was oddly lacking when it came to big TV announcements this year. There were a few notable breaking news items, but only a few. The vast majority of the announcements had been made prior to Comic-Con, which may have kept some of the shows from gathering additional press during the whirlwind of Comic-Con coverage.
Now that we’ve had some time to process the convention, CraveOnline has assembled our picks for the Top 5 TV Announcements of Comic-Con 2014. But feel free to suggest your own picks in the comment section below!
The Top 5 TV Announcements of Comic-Con 2014
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5. Donald Glover Returns To Community?
Up until the very end of June, the future looked very bleak for “Community.” NBC had canceled “Community” after five seasons and Hulu walked away from negotiations to pick it up.
Out of nowhere, Yahoo Screen scooped up the show and ordered the long hoped-for “Community” Season 6. And suddenly, “Community” was back on the San Diego Comic-Con schedule for at least one more time.
During this year’s Comic-Con panel, “Community” creator Dan Harmon openly spoke about bringing Donald Glover back to reprise his role as Troy Barnes, after Glover departed the series early in the fifth season. However, Harmon indicated that he would save Troy’s return for the Community movie, if it happens.
Harmon also confirmed that Jonathan Banks won’t be returning for “Community” Season 6, but he did hold out hope for John Oliver to once again appear as Professor Ian Duncan.
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4. The Simpsons & Family Guy Crossover
Technically, this crossover was announced at Comic-Con 2013. And neither “Family Guy” nor “The Simpsons” have been at their comedic peak for years...
But damn it, I can’t stop watching the trailer from the upcoming “Family Guy” episode that brings the Griffins to Springfield for a crossover with “The Simpsons.” It’s really, really funny and the over-the-top fight between Homer Simpson and Peter Griffin was insane in all of the best ways.
In just a single five minute clip, this crossover seems to capture the tone of both shows while mocking the feud between the series and “Family Guy’s” many similarities to “The Simpsons.” There’s even quite a few jokes at “Family Guy’s” expense, as well as pokes at “Bob’s Burgers” and “The Cleveland Show.”
Now, it could be that Fox just put all of the crossover’s best laughs into a single trailer, but I think we’re all hoping that this will be great.
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3. HBO Announces New Game of Thrones Cast Members
During the first few “Game of Thrones’ panels at Comic-Con, HBO didn’t save any announcements to make at the show. The premium network has since learned from its mistakes.
This year, George R.R. Martin and the rest of the “Game of Thrones” panelists came to San Diego with news about several of the new cast members that will join the series in its fifth season.
Among the new additions, the standouts are Keisha Castle-Hughes as Obara Sand, Jessica Henwick as Nymeria (“Nym”) San and Rosabell Laurenti Sellers as Tyene Sand. Collectively, these sisters are known as the Sand Snakes, and they just may be out for blood after the death of their father, Prince Oberyn Martell.
In fact, it looks like most of the new additions are playing characters from Dorne, including former “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” co-star Alexander Siddig, Toby Sebastian and DeObia Oparei. Veteran actor Jonathan Pryce has also been cast the High Sparrow and Nell Tiger Free will take over the role of Myrcella Baratheon, Cersei and Jaime’s daughter who hasn’t been seen since the second season of “Game of Thrones!”
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2. The Main Villain of Arrow Season 3 Is...
When you’ve got the biggest panel in Comic-Con history lined up for Saturday night, it pays to have a big announcement in your pocket. The executive producers of “Arrow” came prepared with the reveal that one of Batman’s greatest villains, Ra’s al Ghul will be the “Big Bad” of season 3.
Ra’s al Ghul was so heavily referenced that his inclusion in “Arrow” seemed inevitable. We’ve already met one of his daughters and his League of Assassins. Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) even has a personal connection to the League, now that Sara Lance (Caity Lotz) is once again working for them.
The “Arrow” executive producers have indicated that Ra’s al Ghul doesn’t actually have any issue with Oliver Queen when the season begins. In fact, Ra’s al Ghul believes that being “Oliver Queen” is holding back the Arrow from being an even greater hero. But if his history in the comic books or in Batman Begins is any indication, Ra’s’ idea of heroism will be very different than Oliver’s.
There’s also the intriguing possibility that the arrival of Ra’s al Ghul may lead Oliver to team up with Malcolm Merlyn (John Barrowman) aka the Dark Archer and the real father of Oliver’s sister. Considering the bad blood between Oliver and Malcolm, that would be a very entertaining alliance.
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1. Sam Raimi Is Making an Evil Dead TV Series
“Groovy.”
I don’t think that anyone saw this coming, but here it is. Sam Raimi himself has said that there is an “Evil Dead” TV series in the works... and he’s developing it alongside Bruce Campbell, the star of the original Evil Dead films and the Army of Darkness movie as Ash Williams.
This is barely a year after Evil Dead received an impressive remake in theaters, which also included a cameo from Campbell as Ash in the credit sequence.
In anyone else’s hands, an “Evil Dead” TV show wouldn’t be very exciting. But if Raimi and Campbell really want to bring it to TV, then this is the right time for it. “The Walking Dead” and “American Horror Story” are two of television’s biggest hits. Maybe “Evil Dead” can find new life on television and be a hit as well.
