Comic-Con 2026: Blade Runner 2099 And The Rings Of Power Hall H Panel (Live Updates)

Please join us for our live coverage of the panel for HBO's "Lanterns." Our coverage will begin at 12:30 p.m. PT (3:30 p.m. ET). 

The panel just ended after playing the trailer again. At the end of the panel, Benjamin Walker reviewed the new casting announcements from the day.

Next up for Looper coverage is the "Lanterns" panel. We'll have live coverage as stars Kyle Chandler and Aaron Pierre take the stage. 

The panel just ended after playing the trailer again. At the end of the panel, Benjamin Walker reviewed the new casting announcements from the day. 

McKay: "The Balrog is a character, so he should have a voice. Every season we want to show a different side of him. He should have a scene with Sauron this season. Balrogs know how to live in fire. Sauron goes to the Balrog to learn this power."

Simon Pegg is voicing "The Balrog" this season!

Looks like no McCreary this year, but four of the Nazgûl just appeared on stage very briefly. No time to get a picture unfortunately! 

Charlie Vickers on the the early versions of the Nazgûl we will see this season: "They're helping spread the good word of Sauron."

Here's some news we didn't know yet!

Eddie Marsan will play a character named Thrain, Durin IV's brother, and Andrew Richardson is a character named Anarion.

Owain Arthur: "Disa and Durin's marriage is tested."

Ismael Cruz Córdova (Arondir) compares his mission with Galadriel to someone attending a Beyonce concert from the nosebleeds and getting called out as Beyonce's new bestie.

First teaser shows a lot of heavy action! Shots of most cast members fighting at different points. Shots of Galadriel and Celeborn reuniting... The trailer ends with Sauron forging a ring in the fiery chasms of Mount Doom.

Jamie Campbell Bower responds "I'm sorry" to a man who says, "My wife loves you!" 

Owain Arthur, who plays former prince, now King Durin IV, notes that he's really missing Peter Mullan, who previously played his father.

He says next season includes "a lot of tears, a lot of fighting."

Patrick McKay: "You guys are not ready for Numenor this season. It's gonna surprise many people."

Cynthia Addai-Robinson: "I still consider myself the queen, and so do many others, so it's debatable." 

Weyman: "Gandalf is learning about soft power and touching people's hearts."

Weyman: "He's the Gandalf we all know and love."

Daniel Weyman notes that it's a joy to finally be able to say that he is playing Gandalf. He's spent six years referring to him as the Stranger.

Executive producers John D. Payne and Patrick McKay are also on stage.

"Rings of Power" cast is here! Looks like no Morfydd Clark, but Jamie Campbell Bower joined the established series regulars and executive producers. 

"Rings of Power" always makes amazing use of the big screens in Hall H. 

Looks like "Blade Runner 2099" is coming to a close. "Rings of Power" next!

Cora (Schafer) is put on a gurney and forcibly tied down and then flipped upside down. It appears to be a replicant test or something they're testing the character for. We didn't see the typical "Blade Runner" shot of the close up on the eye, but we did see it in the trailer. The machine looking at Cora makes a lot of noise.

Olwen (Yeoh) enters and says, "I'll finish with her." She looks at Cora and begins a sort of interrogation, indicating that results of some kind came through. She followed it up with, "Most have never seen a child before. It throws them. Didn't brother you. What does that mean? You're meant to be here."

The important part of the clip is Olwen asking Cora, "Why did you let something weaker hurt you?" Cora responds, "I'd never killed anything before."

Olwen replies, "That's not all you'll have to do. You have to see the lie in front of you."

We're getting another scene, just for SDCC. Description to follow.

Hunter Schafer says the level of detail on the series is "brilliant." Yeoh echoes Schafer's comments, noting that the actors could see the details on set, and it wasn't entirely from a blue/green screen.

Silka Luisa calls 2099 "a rebirth," so she felt it should look "hot and sticky," refers to the iconography as "sunshine noir."

It was a relatively short teaser, considering they finished filming nearly two years ago!

The series premiere date is November 25.

The teaser includes a lot of imagery that feels very much like "Blade Runner." The iconic night sky is prevalent throughout the trailer.

Narration by Schafer says in part, "How much longer until we are nothing?"

Yeoh says, "Humans want what was taken from them, but it's our time now."

Teaser will probably be online before too long!

Horowitz says we're going to be getting a teaser now.... Footage description to follow!

Showrunner Silka Luisa reports that Michelle Yeoh was the first actor they thought of for the role of the show's main replicant. She also says that Hunter Schafer, as Cora, is the heart of the show.

Schafer says that "Blade Runner 2049" "broke my brain." After Horowitz notes that this will be the most action-heavy series Schafer has been featured in, Schafer reports being thrilled at getting to do a lot of stunts.

Yeoh: "It's a real privilege to be a part of this iconic franchise."

Lots of cheers from the crowd.

Hunter Schafer: "Cora has been grinding and trying to survive under the order of the new world. She has to ensure quite a lot to come out of it on the other side."

Schafer is very careful to avoid spoilers!

Michelle Yeoh: "Blade Runner is iconic... visionary... Roy Batty... When I was young, I thought he was so cool!"

She says she jumped at the opportunity to play a replicant because of Rutger Hauer's portrayal.

Andrew Kosove: "Fans of the franchise will see connective tissue to the first two films." However, he says that new fans of franchise will be welcome. "We're very excited for the new generation."

Executive producer Broderick Johnson is singing the praises of original "Blade Runner" director Ridley Scott. Showrunner Silka Louisa calls his involvement "a real gift."

Present cast and crew includes showrunner Silka Luisa, stars Michelle Yeoh and Hunter Schafer, and executive producers Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove.

"Blade Runner 2099" is the first show featured! We got a brief glimpse at early footage with the big extended screens in Hall H. A voice said, "Replicants... More human than human." Josh Horowitz is hosting the panel. Cast coming out soon!

We have 5 minutes until the panel is scheduled to start. San Diego Comic-Con, especially Hall H, is remarkably consistent about sticking to its schedule, so don't expect any delays.

While we don't know which of the two shows featured in this panel will be showcased first, the first person on stage today will most likely be San Diego Comic-Con Director of Programming Eddie Ibrahim. Ibrahim introduces most Hall H panels and often reminds fans not to record any of the exclusive footage during the event (the studios will probably release it online shortly after the panel anyway!).

As for expected cast members in "The Rings of Power" panel, we will almost certainly see series leads Morfydd Clark (Galadriel), Charlie Vickers (Sauron), Robert Aramayo (Elrond), and Daniel Weyman (Gandalf), along with additional series regulars like:

• Benjamin Walker (Gil-galad)
• Ismael Cruz Córdova (Arondir)
• Sophia Nomvete (Disa)
• Cynthia Addai-Robinson (Míriel)
• Lloyd Owen (Elendil)
• Maxim Baldry (Isildur)

Amazon has also announced several new cast members for Season 3, making Comic-Con seem like an ideal opportunity to formally introduce their characters to fans:

• Jamie Campbell Bower (recently revealed as Celeborn)
• Eddie Marsan
• Andrew Richardson
• Zubin Varla (recently revealed as Khamûl the Easterling)
• Adam Young

The other half of the upcoming panel will focus on the third season of "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power." In sharp contrast to its futuristic panel partner, we actually know quite a bit about Prime Video's Middle Earth series. 

Seasons 1 and 2 of the series were previously featured in their own Hall H panels in 2022 and 2024, respectively. The 2022 panel was hosted by Stephen Colbert and opened with a live performance conducted by composer Bear McCreary. Two years later, Prime Video again spared no expense, bringing McCreary back for another elaborate musical opening, this time featuring a male choir and taiko drummers. If we had to bet, we'd bank on seeing (and hopefully hearing) McCreary in this panel again.

It is also fairly typical for Prime Video to release a full trailer for the upcoming season during this panel.

While panels can always add chairs mid-panel, it does feel relevant that there are six chairs currently on stage. That would perfectly fit the expected series regulars and showrunner of "Blade Runner 2099," plus a panel moderator. 

We're still not sure which series Prime Video will present first today, but the two shows the streamer chose for this panel could not be more different, both in terms of production and plot. 

"Blade Runner 2099" is an entirely new spin-off of the beloved "Blade Runner" movie franchise, which starred Harrison Ford. The new series was first announced in February 2022, but beyond casting, things have been largely quiet in terms of news for the last four years. We know principal photography wrapped in late 2024, so the post-production process has been extensive. 

At a minimum, we expect to see stars Michelle Yeoh and Hunter Schafer on stage today with showrunner Silka Luisa. Other series regulars likely to appear at the panel include Dimitri Abold and Lewis Gribben.

We think it's less likely that recurring cast members appear in the panel, but if they do, those could include Tom Burke, Sheila Atim, Matthew Needham, and Johnny Harris, all of whom are playing presently unknown characters.

I made it in! Hall H is the largest panel room at San Diego Comic-Con and can hold as many as 6,500 people. As you can see, hundreds of fans are continuing to file in.

We're hearing that the general audience is being let in, but the press line is still yet to go through security.  

Welcome to Looper's first day of live coverage from Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con 2026.

We're kicking off the day with Prime Video's presentation featuring "Blade Runner 2099" and "The Rings of Power." I'm still waiting to get into Hall H, where fans have been lining up since yesterday for the first panel of the day.

Here's a look at the view from outside the venue as we wait for the doors to open.