Comic-Con 2015: ‘Heroes Reborn’ Cast and Creator Talk Rebooting ‘Heroes’

Heroes Reborn creator Tim Kring along with cast members Jack Coleman, Zachary Levi, Robbie Kay, Ryan Guzman, Danika Yarosh, Gatlin Green, Henry Zebrowski, Judith Shekoni, Masi Oka and Rya Kihlstedt as well as guest stars Greg Grunberg and Dylan Bruce were all in attendance on Sunday to promote the new series at San Diego Comic-Con.

Prior to sitting down with us in the press room, the cast had their panel in the infamous Hall H where they debuted the Heroes Reborn extended trailer. The trailer provided fans a glimpse into what the 13 episodes will hold – which appears to be a much darker feel than the original series.

Below we have a few highlights and quotes that we heard in the Comic-Con press room.

Heroes Reborn Comic-Con 2015 Highlights

Quentin Frady

“Heroes took the superhero genre serious before anyone else did.” Henry Zebrowski said as he answered his first press table question.

The actor described the series as a post-apocalyptic thriller which is very different than the original series. “It’s about a world in terror,” Zebrowski stated. “It’s much more dangerous and intense than the original series. We’re Dark-Knighting the series.”

Erica

Rya Kihlstedt was the next cast member to sit down with us. She briefly teased her character to press saying, “Erica is the CEO of a huge corporation. She has a big agenda.”

Does she have powers? Kihlstedt smirked and said, “Her vision, her money and her reach.”

Mystery Character

There will be new characters as well, including the one played by Dylan Bruce (who couldn’t tell us the name of his character or if he will have powers). What Bruce could tell us about his character is that he a survivalist, he sometimes does cruel things, and he’s got a ton of skeletons in his closet. He also apparently gained 10 pounds for the role, which he hinted was a clue.

Tommy & Malina

“Everyone starts off at different points. It’s almost like 5 different series. As the series continues you’ll see characters start to interact,” Robbie Kay (who plays Tommy) said. “The show picks up with Tommy aware of his power, but he doesn’t understand it. Tommy has the ability to make things disappear. He doesn’t know where things go. It’s a morality issue for him. It terrifies him.”

Does Malina have powers? “She has the power to harness all the elements,” Danika Yarosh revealed. “She’s spent the last two years in the Arctic, because that’s where it is safe to use her power.”

Creator Tim Kring

Next at our table was creator Tim Kring, the man with answers, or at least we were hopeful we could get a few out of him.

Kring also described the series as having a much darker, thriller kind of quality. “There are elements here that we would have done in the fifth season of Heroes.” Kring revealed.

As far as the future for the brand beyond the initial 13 episodes that NBC has ordered? So far that is all that Kring has spoke to NBC about. The series will have a beginning, middle and an end. However, if the series is successful – there is hope for more episodes. “The Heroes brand was always able to reinvent characters,” Kring commented. “The brand is malleable enough that we could continue to reinvent.”

The Haitian

For our returning characters, there are a few differences, but not so much with Jimmy Jean-Louis’ character, The Haitian. “There’s not a lot of differences with my character now from the original. He still has his powers.” Jean-Louis revealed.

Hiro

As far as Hiro, played by Masi Oka, we can expect him to have matured, but his humor hasn’t been completely lost. He will be a cross between the original Hiro we knew as well as the future Hiro we also knew. A lot of things have changed for him, though he is still running his father’s company.

Any chance for Ando to return (Hiro’s best friend)? According to Oka, he hasn’t been back. Oka is only in 3 episodes and has already shot all of his scenes.

“You’re going to see some actions and lines you heard in the past,” Oka smiled. “It’s a love letter to fans.”

Noah Bennet & Matt Parkman

“There’s something missing from my character’s memory.” Jack Coleman said when asked where Noah has been since we last left him.

Where has Matt been? “It seems, I’ve been trying to be a family man,” Greg Grunberg answered. “There are new discoveries on where my loyalties lie.”

We’ll have more coverage coming from our Heroes Reborn interviews! Lots of videos – Stay tuned!

Heroes Reborn premieres September 24 at 8/7c on NBC!

Photo Credit: NBC