Comic-Con 2012: ‘Sons of Anarchy’ Panel Revs Up for Season 5

Are you ready for it? 'Cause here's the last panel we're reporting on from Comic-Con 2012. So let's get to it!

'Sons of Anarchy' creator Kurt Sutter brought with him Charlie Hunnam, Katey Sagal, Ron Perlman, Maggie Siff, Kim Coates, Mark Boone Junior, Tommy Flanagan, Theo Rossi, Ryan Hurst and Dayton Callie to the Hall of H on Sunday in San Diego.

Season 4 ended with Jax sitting pretty on the throne of SAMCRO after ousting the treacherous Clay Morrow. We got quick look at how he'll be handling the new power in the recently released season 5 trailer, but we were on hand in San Diego this year to get all the latest details for ‘Sons of Anarchy’ season 5.

So, with a premiere officially announced for Tuesday, September 11, what did we learn from the panel?

• Things got off to a late star (thank you, Seth MacFarlane), but being that it’s Sunday, no panels are scheduled after ‘Sons of Anarchy’ anyway.
• We saw a recap reel of the previous season, before being treated to some new clips! We saw Jax writing in a diary, Clay looking none-too-healthy, a bizarre blacked out sex scene (later explained to be between Gemma and Jimmy Smits’ character Nero Padilla), Tara in a bathtub smoking up, with a gun near! We also saw some night-biking as a pickup runs a SAMCRO truck off the road before shooting it up and setting it on fire! Engaged in a tense shoot-out with the thugs, Jax desperately tries to rescue poor Phil from the truck’s cab!
• So, how are things going to be between Gemma and Tara, now that Jax is at the head of the club? "It's really the push and pull of mother-daughter relationships. It's not a linear arc this season for them in terms of that struggle, it really changes episode to episode." Katey Sagal adds, “I think she loves Tara very, very much, but at the same time, she's threatened by her position." Sutter jokes that the inspiration came from his own teenage daughter’s relationship with his wife Katey Sagal, but Sagal fires back that the home relationship isn’t exactly what they see on TV.
• Where will season 5 find Clay now that he remains a member of the club, but no longer in the seat of power? Says Ron Perlman, "Clay only knows of one way and that is to be on top. He takes the back seat to no one. He takes orders from no one. He lets no one else set the agenda.”
• As for where Tig will find himself this season, Kim Coates jokes about how the character always ends up killing the wrong girl, as with criminal Damon Pope’s daughter last season, before adding, “This season, Tig's really off the leash. He's totally a wild card now and the way Kurt has set it up for this character, it's really, really intense,"
• What of Opie and Bobby, last seen in fairly dire circumstances at the end of season 4? Ryan Hurst says that the character’s father Piney will start to show through in him, though Opie still wishes for a normal family life, comparing him to the biblical Job for having his heart ripped out and trampled. Sutter explains that Opie will be “in the wind” a bit this season as the club tries to win back his respect, and have a big episode in the season’s second hour.
• As for Bobby? “Bobby has always been seemingly the level-headed member of this idiot band. I guess that's destined to continue, unless he starts to go off the rails," Mark Boone Jr says. "He's always standing in for what the Club needs, I guess. So that's still his job."
• When asked which of the cast was the worst motorcycle rider, everyone looks to Ron Perlman, who sheepishly admits to it. Says Perlman, "I think it's an inner-ear thing.” Impressively, Charlie Hunnam actually rode his bike to Comic-Con!
• Would it interest you to know that someone on the Comic-Con 2012 ‘Sons of Anarchy’ panel actually reads comics? Theo Rossi advised a fan that he reads 'The Punisher,' most Batman comics and “anything by Warren Ellis.”
• Sutter also explained that more of Juice’s mixed-race backstory would be explored this season. After defending the multi-ethnic nature of his predominantly white show.
• Don’t expect much in the way of flashbacks or more extensive scenes with John Teller, but Kurt Sutter has talked to FX about potentially doing a prequel showing how The First Nine formed the club.
• Sutter and Hunnam’s final words on the season: “This is really the season of Jax at the head of the table and what kind of leader he will become.” Hunnam adds, "I've been feeling a little empathy for Clay, starting to realize that it's not as easy as it looked to turn this club around and to rule without compromising one's integrity.”

That’s it for Comic-Con 2012! Check out the ‘Sons of Anarchy’ season 5 premiere this September, keep it here for the latest and tell us what you think in the comments!