My Saturday of San Diego Comic-Con 2026 was jam-packed. If you missed my previous recaps, here are my writeups of Preview Night, Day 1, and Day 2. Day 3 included press rooms for Audible Originals Dungeon Crawler Carl & Heads Will Roll as well as for TNT series The Librarians: The Next Chapter. I also checked out the Percy Jackson activation, a surprise Widow’s Bay pop-up, and returned to Audible’s Level Up Lounge for a book signing. I attended the panel for Prime Video’s Reacher and Neagley, went to a party for Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, and checked out an early screening of the latest House of the Dragon episode.
Audible Press Rooms
My morning started off early with back-to-back press rooms for two Audible Originals, Dungeon Crawler Carl and Heads Will Roll.
Dungeon Crawler Carl Press Room
For the second year in a row, Audible brought Dungeon Crawler Carl to San Diego Comic-Con, and this time the book series’ presence was even bigger, with panels, donut trucks, a Level Up Lounge offsite, and more. At the Audible panel, it was announced that narrator Jeff Hays would continue to be the voice of Princess Donut for the upcoming live-action Peacock TV series adaptation, which was wonderful news to fans of the Audible Original audiobooks.
Last year when I covered Audible’s press room for the series, I hadn’t read any of the books, but since then I have binged all 8 of the audiobooks and have become a major DCC fan. It was amazing to see how this fandom has blown up at SDCC in just the past year, with so many folks dressed as Carl and Princess Donut at this year’s convention!
In Audible’s press room for the audiobook series, we got the chance to speak with author Matt Dinniman & narrator Jeff Hays. Check out that interview below. Note, I do ask a question about a certain A-ha moment in book 8 which may or may not be considered a spoiler.
Heads Will Roll Press Room
Heads Will Roll is an Audible Original from Saturday Night Live star Kate McKinnon and her cocreator/costar (and real-life sister) Emily Lynne. Produced by Broadway Video, this is not an audiobook—it’s a 10-episode, star-studded audio comedy that features performances from Meryl Streep, Tim Gunn, Peter Dinklage, Queer Eye’s Fab Five, and so many more.
Queen Mortuana of the Night Realm (McKinnon) and her ditsy raven minion JoJo (Lynne) receive a prophecy about a peasant uprising. Together, they must journey to find the “Shard of Acquiescence”, which will put down the rebellion and save the throne. Will their friendship survive sensitive generals, chatty sex slaves, whiny behemoths, princes with bird fetishes, and the notion of democracy?
This raunchy satire also includes the wicked talents of Andrea Martin, Carol Kane, Audra McDonald, Aidy Bryant, Alex Moffat, Heidi Gardner, Chris Redd, Steve Higgins, Bob the Drag Queen, Esther Perel, and more. So, hold on to your head, and let the bad times roll.
To celebrate the launch of the second season of Heads Will Roll this past June, Audible brought the series to San Diego Comic-Con for a panel and press room. In the press room for the romantic comedy series, we got the opportunity to speak with hilarious creators/stars Kate McKinnon & Emily Lynne. The sisters have amazing comedic timing and chemistry, and it was a joy to just watch them speak and finish each others sentences. They talked about working together, finding the voices for the characters, creating the songs for the series, some of the second season’s amazing guest stars, and more.
Percy Jackson & The Olympians Experience
Next, I headed down to the Gaslamp area to check out this year’s Percy Jackson activation. Disney+ brought the series back again this year for another interactive experience for fans, though it was a little bit disappointing compared to last year’s event.
When visitors arrive, they are asked which of the three gods they follow, and are placed in the appropriate line. I chose Poseidon, and was given a blue scroll wrapped with a Percy wristband. 3 groups of 8 people were then led through a large stone doorway, and then sent in different directions depending upon their deity group. For Poseidon, we made our way to the left where there was some foliage and a waterfall. Someone from the group activated a symbol on the wall to stop the water so we could proceed through another short hallway to an open area. Here, there were two camera stations set up. We were taught a quick 3-step choreography and then filmed one-by-one for a short video that made it look like we were swimming, harnessing the power of the ocean, and then unleashing it. Afterwards, we entered our phone or email to receive the video, and were given a bag with a mystery pin. There was also another photo op in front of the show logo.
Last year’s activation was much longer and had a more of an interactive element to it, interacting with actors in character. It also had much better swag. Hopefully if they return again next year, the experience will be a bit more extensive.
After this, I went to drop some stuff off at my hotel room and pick up some stuff I needed for later in the day, when I saw a van outside my hotel handing out free Bang Energy drinks, so I grabbed one.
Then, just as I got up to my room, I saw a notification from the SDCC Unofficial Blog that there was a surprise pop-up experience for Apple TV’s Widow’s Bay nearby, so I immediately headed back outside to get in line.
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Widow’s Bay Pop-Up
While Widow’s Bay was one of the shows that Apple was bringing to its panel on Saturday afternoon, there was no mention that there was going to be any sort of activation, so this was a pleasant surprise! The pop-up was in front of the spot where Peanuts always has their store, and was made to look like a Widow’s Bay tourist center. The line moved quite quickly, there was a bit of a breeze, and they had sounds of seagulls playing to add to the ambiance.
When you got to the front, there was a man in character as a town resident, asking where you were from, extolling the virtues of the town, and handing visitors a keychain.
Then you stepped into the visitor center, which was covered with posters, photos and news articles. Another town representative took a photo with you and handed you a brochure/map.
Upon exiting the visitor center there was another photo op with a cutout of a body of a Pilgrim and a spot to place your head. There was also a display of postcards that you could select from, and another town representative eager to sell you some property in Widow’s Bay.
It was very quick but fun, and had a lot of interactivity to make you feel like you had really entered this New England town and were speaking to some of its townsfolk.
The Librarians: The Next Chapter Press Room
Next, I headed back to the Hilton Bayfront for my final press room of this year’s cnvention.
The Librarians: The Next Chapter returns to TNT this Sunday, August 2 to kick off its second season at 9 p.m. ET/PT, with a second episode airing on Monday night. This season, the team must confront not only external threats but also their own deepest fears and darkest nightmares. Lysa and Connor grapple with the realities of their new roles as Librarians, while Charlie struggles under the weight of being the team’s sole Guardian. Vikram, meanwhile, must surrender his lone-wolf instincts to fully embrace team mentality. Further complicating matters, the group unexpectedly crosses paths with legendary magician Merlin (Dominic Monaghan), who challenges the very foundation of the Library and tempts them to break its most sacred rule.
At this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, we got the opportunity to speak with the new crop of librarians—Callum McGowan, Bluey Robinson, Olivia Morris & Jessica Green— as well as showrunner Dean Devlin and returning librarians from the original series, Lindy Booth & Christian Kane, who will guest on an episode this season. The cast was a lot of fun, sharing stories about what it was like working on the show, the games they played on set, some of the amazing guest stars they worked with, and more. Showrunner Dean Devlin talked about the endless possibilities for the franchise, and shared some of the challenges of having the only scripted show on two different networks, while the veteran Librarians talked about returning to this world.
Check out our interview videos here.
“Reacher’s Back and Neagley’s In” Panel
After this, I headed back to Ballroom 20, where I had a reserved seating pass for Prime Video’s combined Reacher/Neagley panel.
For Reacher, the panel included Alan Ritchson (“Jack Reacher”) and two of this season’s guest stars, Agnez Mo (“Lila Hoth”) & Anggun (“Amisha Hoth”). And representing Neagley were stars Maria Sten (Francis Neagley”), Greyston Holt (“Hudson Riley”) & Jasper Jones (“Keno”).
It was a fun discussion of both series, with the panelists revealing the trailers for both shows. I had watched screeners for the new season of Reacher before SDCC (there was originally supposed to be a press room), and while reviews are currently embargoed, I can say that fans are definitely in for a treat, with the non-stop action and humor they’ve come to expect.
At the panel, it was revealed that Reacher Season 4 will premiere with 3 episodes on August 12, and then release weekly, while the first season of Neagley will be released all at once on September 16, the same day as the Reacher season finale. We also learned that Reacher Season Five will be based on the book “Make Me”, and Lee Child will be giving Neagley her first book, “Zero Margin”, next year. During the panel, Alan Ritchson tried to dispel some rumors, saying he is in talks to play a non-Batman DC character.
Return to Audible’s Level Up Lounge
After the panel, I headed back to Audible’s Level Up Lounge because I had managed to score a timeslot for a signing with Dungeon Crawler Carl author Matt Dinniman and narrator Jeff Hays.
They had us make our way through the normal lounge side quests in order to get to the signing. So I earned some more XP coins, which I later cashed out to get Princess Donut keychains for both me and my twin brother, who has also become quite a fan of the audiobook series. I was also thrilled to see that this time around the lounge was offering a “Virgin Dirty Shirley” drink option, which I was happy to partake in.
Being an audiobook listener, I didn’t actually have anything to get signed—i couldn’t really have them sign my iPhone—so I had had my brother use his Prime shipping to overnight a hardcover to my hotel. When it was my turn, I talked to the guys about this fact, and followed up on the question I had asked that morning in the press room.
Attack of the Killer Tomatoes After Party
Next I had an early access ticket for the Attack of the Killer Tomatoes After Party. When we entered the party, we were given a lanyard and a collector’s card, a ticket for some poster raffles, and a plush tomato. There was a photo op there as well. The general consensus from the folks I went with was that the party was a bit of a let-down. The original description made it sound like they were going to have a meet and greet line with the cast and creators as you walked in, but this was not the case. The cast was pretty much just keeping to themselves and not really mingling with the attendees. It was a paid bar, but they kept announcing free pizza. The only problem was this was locked away in some VIP-only area. I stayed for a couple of the raffle drawings (I did not win) but took off pretty early.
Special Sneak Preview of Latest House of the Dragon Episode
My final event of the night was back in the convention center, for a late night early screening of the following night’s new House of the Dragon episode. Series creator Ryan Condal and EP Sara Hess took the stage to provide a short intro before the episode. The director of the episode and some of the other crew members were also in the audience.
It was a long day, and afterwards I went back to my hotel to pack. Sunday of SDCC was going to be a lot lighter. Look for my Day 4 recap soon.
