The stars glittered at New York Comic Con this past weekend, where celebrities (and superheroes) came to promote their new television shows and films at the Javits Center.
Ryan Reynolds, beloved in geek fandom for his turn as antihero “Deadpool,” also made a surprise appearance to discuss his upcoming film “Free Guy."
Margot Robbie (Harley Quinn) and the cast of “Birds of Prey” descended on the crowd just days after the first trailer of the highly-anticipated movie dropped.
Some highlights from the television panels included tributes to the late actor Luke Perry whose death last spring was heartbreaking for the cast of “Riverdale” both on screen and off. Perry played Fred Andrews, Archie’s father. His death is explained in the first episode of season four – which airs Oct. 9 on The CW — and creates “an air of melancholy” according to showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa.
Actor Skeet Ulrich, (FP Jones) said it was “incredibly painful” to relive but the cast and crew wanted to make sure Perry, along with his character, received the tribute he deserved.
“It was a beautiful episode,” Ulrich said.
Molly Ringwald, who plays Archie’s mother, said the episode gave her closure since she couldn’t attend Perry’s memorial.
“He was my guy,” she said. “It felt like a nice goodbye.”
Season two of “Charmed” — the story of three powerful witch sisters —returns on Oct. 11 with a lot of changes, promised new showrunners Craig Shapiro and Liz Kruger. The reboot of the 1990s hit show appears on The CW.
“We are sort of bringing a different energy to season two,” said Kruger. “The storylines are more epic, more cinematic, more stylish, a deeper mythology, edgier, sexier … moodier. lots of adjectives.”
Rupert Evans (Harry Greenwood, the siblings’ magical guardian) said the show is darker and that more time was spent on special effects.
“Something kind of happens seven or eight minutes into the first episode that kind of changes everything,” he teased. “It makes it unrecognizable in a way.”
Fans of “Emergence” (ABC, Tuesdays) will see some big questions answered on the Oct. 8 episode. Comic Con attendees got a sneak peek of the thriller based on Long Island but were sworn to secrecy.
Allison Tolman, who plays Police Chief Jo Evans, said her unflappable character takes the reveal better than she would have. She said Jo isn’t your typical female cop usually portrayed on television.
“I feel like a lot of times, police women in shows are like these hardened women whose fathers never hugged them,” Tolman said. “I think (Jo’s) very capable, warm, kind of a bad ass. I just love her.”
