In this special early week edition of my This Week In Sci-Fi TV column, I run down some of the big trailer releases along with news announcements from this past weekend at the San Diego Comic-Con. I covered some of the early news from the Con here, and be sure to check back regularly on Fridays as I cover the news and updates from the week relating to #scifi and #fantasy television.
New #StarTrekDiscovery Trailer
We are getting closer to the premiere date for the latest Star Trek television series Discovery, and Comic-Con delivered yet another trailer for the show. And this time we get a glimpse of the Klingons who will apparently play a big part in the series. That show is set to debut on CBS on Sunday, September 24th. After that, it will be available online at the network’s streaming service CBS All Access. You can get the rundown on the panel here.
#Westworld Season 2 Trailer
HBO’s Westworld rolled into Comic-Con on a high note, having cleaned up with the recent Emmy nominations, and fans were given their first look at the new season. It is mostly just a montage of scenes set to Sammy Davis Jr. singing “I Gotta Be Me”, but it has plenty of blood and showed us some fan favorites like the Man in Black. There is no indication from the trailer that the series will extend beyond Westworld in the coming season, but Jonathan Nolan hinted about it during the panel. Westworld will be returning for its second season early-to-mid 2018.
#TheExpanse Season 3
Syfy’s space saga The Expanse will be returning for its third season in early 2018, and at Comic-Con fans learned that Lost and Revolution veteran Elizabeth Mitchell will be be making a guest appearance on the show in its coming year. The character that she will play has not been revealed, but fans were treated to a new trailer for the third season which includes the return of a character from Season 1 (beware, all you spoiler-phobes). You can get the full rundown of the panel here.
#StrangerThings Season 2 Trailer
It has been just over a year since Netflix’s throwback paranormal series Stranger Things first debuted last Summer, and the streaming service brought a new trailer and the cast of the show to Comic-Con to get fans prepped for the second season. The trailer has plenty of the expected 80’s references with a nice inclusion of Vincent Price’s classic Thriller voice-over. The trailer clues us in to one returning character from the first season, and according to the panel another might be returning as well. The show’s second season has its debut on October 27th.
#TheWalkingDead Season 8 Trailer
Fans got their first extended look at Season 8 of The Walking Dead with the epic-length (five-plus minutes) Comic-Con trailer that will give fans plenty to pick through until the shows returns. Rick Grimes rallies his people with a pretty moving speech in which he proclaims: “That bigger world is ours by right! We’ve already won!” And it sure looks like a showdown is near with Negan and his saviors! TWD returns for its eighth season on Sunday, October 22nd at 9 PM EST. You can get the full rundown on The Walking Deadand Fear the Walking Dead panel, which included a tribute to stuntman John Bernecker, at this link.
#TheDefenders New Trailer
Fans who attended the panel for Netflix’s The Defenders got a surprise when they were treated to the first full episode of the show. That hasn’t been released online, obviously, but a new trailer was unveiled in which we see more of the show’s big bad played by Sigourney Weaver, as well as Electra and Stick. The Defenders debuts on August 18th and you can read about the Comic-Con panel here.
‘The Last Ship’ Season 4
The fourth season of TNT’s post-apocalyptic series The Last Ship has its debut on August 20th, and a trailer for that was shared with the audience at Comic-Con. As the upcoming season begins, Captain Chandler has retreated from his former duties, claiming he is “done playing the hero”, and lives with his family in a small town in Greece. Meanwhile, the virus that had wiped out most of humanity has now jumped to the plant kingdom and threatens to bring worldwide famine. The Last Ship will air on Sundays at 9 PM EST on TNT. You can get the rundown on the panel here.
‘Ghost Wars’ Trailer
Syfy gave us the first look at its upcoming paranormal series Ghost Wars which stars Avan Jogia, Vincent D’Onofrio, Meat Loaf and Kim Coates. That series follows a man who must struggle with his own inner demons as well as the prejudices of those around him as he contends with a mass haunting in the small Alaskan town of Port Moore. It will debut at some point this Fall.
FOX Releases New Trailers for ‘The Gifted’ And ‘The Orville’
We already got a first look at the X-Men spin-off series The Gifted and the sci fi spoof The Orville when FOX announced pickups for both shows in May. But the network brought new trailers and much of the cast for both to Comic-Con to get fans excited about the upcoming shows. The Gifted will air on Mondays at 9 PM EST and debuts on October 2nd. You can read the rundown of the Comic-Con panel here.
The Orville will air on Thursdays at 9 PM EST and will deliver a sneak preview on Sunday, September 10th before it has its timeslot debut on September 28th. You can read about the Comic-Con panel at this link.
The CW Releases Trailers For ‘Arrow’
The CW released an extended trailer for the upcoming season of Arrow that recapped the major events from the season finale then gave us a glimpse of the fallout from that. We see a few of the heroes that survive into the current season, and I am sure we will learn about more as the year progresses. Plus, news broke at Comic-Con that genre veteran Michael Emerson (Lost, Person of Interest) will be joining the cast in the upcoming season. Arrow moves to Thursdays at 9 PM EST this season and returns on October 12th.
“Hey guys, I think we broke time!” Thus starts off the new trailer for the third season of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow which includes circuses, dinosaurs and . . . a trip to the Titanic? Plus, Matt Ryan’s Constantine could make an appearance on the show according to news leaked at the Comic-Con panel. Legends of Tomorrow returns on October 10th.
Believe it or not, there were even more trailers released at Comic-Con including The Flash, Lucifer, and Fear the Walking Dead along with several upcoming films. You can see the full rundown of the trailers here.
