Comic Con 2012

Colin and Katie at Comic Con on July 14, 2012

"As it readies for its fifth season, the magical adventure of Merlin returns to Comic-Con International when actors Colin Morgan, Angel Coulby, and Katie McGrath, along with co-creators and executive producers Julian Murphy and Johnny Capps, lead a surprise-filled panel on Sunday, July 15.

The 10:30 a.m. panel, in Room 6BCF, featured a Comic-Con-exclusive sneak preview of the upcoming season of MERLIN – which last season attracted its biggest audiences ever on both Syfy in the U.S. as well as BBC One in the U.K. Comic-Con fans will be the first in the world to get a glimpse of exactly what will become of the wickedly beautifulMorgana (Katie McGrath), the fate of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere(Bradley James and Angel Coulby), and the role Merlin(Colin Morgan) will play in the future of Camelot.

The MERLIN panel will also feature a brand-new, fan-favourite blooper reel created by the producers especially for Comic-Con, as well as details of the soon-to-be-released MERLIN Facebook game and the Series 5 tagline.

This marked the final appearance of the Merlin Panel at Comic-Con. 

Gallery

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Source

• Comic Mix
• MerlinOfficial: #SDCC #Merlin panel is coming together nicely - Sunday, July 15th, 10:30am - Room 6BCF

Reveals

Season 5 will pick up three years later. They had various iconic Arthurian moments that they knew they had to get to in Series 4 and 5. They're writing the centre of Series 5 right now. Sounds like a stressful process. They deliver the show one day before it airs. One time there was an issue with the tape. They had to fix it and get it back to BBC Saturday morning before it aired that night.

Katie McGrath calls her character Morgana a "misunderstood hero." That got a laugh, but it's sweet to see her loyalty toward her character. As for what Morgana will be up to in Series 5, the most important part is in the time that's gone by. She's spent quite a large part of the 3 years that have passed imprisoned. She's been persecuted for her magic. It's not just about getting the throne. It's about revenge for her. "I think she thinks Arthur is behind a lot of that," McGrath says. "So you thought she was bad before… she's better."

When asked about Morgana and Gwen and what might happen between those two, McGrath said, "You're gonna get the legend, but not how you expect it." Coulby added, "That's definitely a very juicy story line to look out for."

And we'll get to see Morgana more in Camelot (and interacting with the other characters) but "not like you'd expect."

Morgan says Merlin gives as good as he gets this season.

Liam Cunningham is joining the show and the executive producers announced that Anthony Head is returning to his role as Uther Pendragon in Series 5.

Bradley James (Arthur) did a video apologising for not being here for the panel. He's in Wales where it's raining. They also showed us a video featuring bloopers, among which were numerous sword issues, messing up lines, and lots of trips and falls, including James tripping through a thick set of vines. One funny snippet had Merlin and Arthur looking off at something in the distance, then Arthur raises a small digital camera to take a photo. It was unexpected (even for bloopers) and funny.

There was another video, which had Bradley James interviewing Rupert Young about Sir Leon, and also showed footage of Young on set, obsessing over his hair, his costume and every other aspect of his role. It was funny seeing him act like he thought he was the star of this show.

Johnny admitted to having lots of cake cravings when he's stressed. He eats biscuits and cake a lot when working. Merlin is apparently built on cake.

They showed the trailer for Series 5. It begins by flashing to each of the main characters one-by-one looking serious. A shot of the round table. Someone says something about sewing the seeds of destruction. People in red capes in the snow running. A scary wolf. Shirtless man with a sword. A knight in battle. A chandelier drops on the table. Merlin and Arthur get caught in a net-trap. A creepy person chanting or saying some kind of spell. Talk of a prophecy- sounds like a threat to Arthur. Lots of action scenes. Fire. Merlin tells Arthur he will protect him or die at his side. A voice (off screen) says, "Camelot's great trial has begun."

Answering a question about Gwen being enchanted to cheat on Arthur (and whether she will ever learn the truth about what happened), Angel says the most important thing for Gwen is having Arthur's trust. She doesn't know she was enchanted. She would never do it again. She's moved passed it. In the three years between series their relationship has moved on. It's made them stronger in the end.

The enchanted bracelet isn't going to come back. It's been banished. "Honest."

They'd love to bring Warwick Davis back but they'd need to find a good story for his character to fit in.

And those were the highlights of the panel! Series 5 is expected to premiere on BBC this Fall.

Video Gallery

MERLIN Panel - San Diego Comic-Con 2012 (7 15 12)

MERLIN Panel - San Diego Comic-Con 2012

Merlin at Comic-Con 2012! Merlin