Comic-Con 2013: ‘Supernatural’ Panel

‘Supernatural’ season 8 literally went down in flames with this past season finale “Sacrifice,” but you’d never know it from the raucous Hall H panel from Comic-Con 2013! Fan favorites Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki, Mark Sheppard, Misha Collins, executive producers Robert Singer and Jeremy Carver, and a special guest packed the halls to preview the new season and answer questions of the road ahead, so what new ‘Supernatural’ shenanigans can we expect from season 9?

Amid the sizzle reel of season 9, we caught a new scene of Sam returning to the Men of Letters bunker, and nearly getting hit by a crossbow bolt from a panicked Kevin Tran! The exchange is soon followed by a healthy-looking Sam dragging Crowley into the base, where the brothers interrogate the Hell King and demand the identity of every possessing demon on the planet. Crowley balks, but the boys threaten to leave him alone with his newfound humanity, terrifying him.

Showrunner Jeremy Carver also talked about the role of angels crashing to earth as a “free-for-all” that leads to a number of overarching stories for the season. Likely the highlight of the panel, the attendees began discussing Felicia Day’s character Charlie Bradbury, before the woman herself appeared to confront them! Charlie will definitely be back next season, but here were the highlights from the cast and crew at the ‘Supernatural’ Comic-Con 2013 panel:

• The fallen angels won’t represent a unified body, and many will have different reactions to being banished to Earth. “A world of fallen angels is dirty, blood, scary, and in some ways very human world.”
• The relationship between Sam and Dean has gotten stronger than ever since the boys chose each other over saving the world, but that relationship has drastically affected the ‘Supernatural’ world in that Hell is currently without its king, and Heaven has endured a colossal shift in its operation.
• As we’ve previously heard, Castiel will have to adjust to his more human limitations this season. The panelists joked about Castiel having to learn to use the bathroom and flush a toilet, among the more humorous Castiel gags this season.
• Crowley will definitely feel the lingering effects of his humanity, and we’ll “go on a little journey” to see how far the effects have gone.
• The producers also acknowledged that Jim Beaver will return as Bobby Singer, but “in a way you wouldn’t guess and wouldn’t expect.” Shortly therafter the crowd erupted in cheers to see Felicia Day appear, but producers offered few details of the “big plans” for Charlie’s story this coming year. Still, Day praised the character, and her “Teflon vagina” in dealing with the men of the series.
• Asked if Castiel will learn to drive the Impala, Jensen Ackles offered a flat “no,” and joked about how he doesn’t like the show’s production crew to touch the car either.
• Future episodes might finally address what happens to angels and demons upon being killed -- something Jeremy carver described as “ripe for storytelling.”
• Misha Collins will direct the season’s 17th episode, while Jared Padalecki currently has no plans to venture behind the cameras as his co-stars have.
• No immediate plans for antichrist character Jesse to return, or any others, but Carver previewed that any past characters that “pop” remain on their radar to return to the series.

We’ll hear more from ‘Supernatural’ season 9 in the coming weeks, but what say you? Did the Comic-Con 2013 panel get you primed to see Sam and Dean take on a world full of fallen angels this fall? What new aspects are you most excited to see?