15 Things We're Looking Forward To At Comic-Con 2016

San Diego Comic-Con International 2016 is quickly approaching, which means it's once again time to list our 15 most anticipated panels at the convention. This year's schedule is very different from years past. Television has an increased presence, while it seems more movie studios have decided to forgo the convention. And as a result we're getting a couple of pretty great movie cast reunion/retrospective panels. What made our list of the most anticipated panels for Comic Con 2016? Which films should be at Comic-Con this year but aren't? Hit the jump to find out.

Please note: We have decided to limit this list to official Comic-Con panels, which means it doesn't include any of the offsite events at places like NerdHQ or Nerdist. This also excludes offsite screenings like Sausage Party and the Star Trek Beyond premiere (which will be followed by a live performance of the score). We've also not included on-the-floor events like signings or exclusive items. What follows are our top 15 most anticipated panel presentations for the 2016 convention.

Every year during preview night Comic-Con teams with Warner Bros. Television to present exclusive world premiere screenings of their pilot episodes. This year's screening will include five new shows of the upcoming 2016-17 television season: Riverdale, Powerless, People of Earth, Frequency, and Time After Time-as well as a new episode of Teen Titans Go! Preview night used to be a more low-key affair, a chance to walk the show floor before all the madness. Nowadays preview night is often even crazier and more packed than the other days of the Con. While these screenings don't feature any panels with celebrities and showrunners, it does offer a chance to avoid the craziness on the show floor and instead sit back and relax. This might not be the most exciting line-up of series but it should be fun.

I'm not so sure I'm excited about the return of Prison Break, but as a long-time 24 fan, I am somewhat curious of the reboot series. Sure the last season of 24 was not that good, but I just can't quit this real-time (is it real-time anymore?) series. Besides, what else are you doing on Sunday at Comic-Con? I'm usually roaming the show floor looking for something cool and trying to get it at a discount (it's no secret that many of these dealers don't want to pack up their goods and drag them all the way home).

For 24: Legacy, Corey Hawkins (Straight Outta Compton), Miranda Otto (Homeland, Lord of the Rings), and Jimmy Smits (Sons of Anarchy, Star Wars: Episodes II & III), will join the creators/producers of the original 24 – Howard Gordon, Manny Coto, and Evan Katz — for a special presentation of the new series.

Any kid of the 1980s and 1990s has fond memories of Nickelodeon's All That and Legends of the Hidden Temple. This panel reunites the casts of these classic shows for one morning only. Josh Server, Danny Tamberelli, Lori Beth Denberg, and Kel Mitchell will reminisce about All That, with a few added surprises, whatever that means. The panel will also feature a first look at Nick's new TV movie based on Legends of the Hidden Temple with returning cast members Kirk Fogg and Dee Bradley Baker on stage to talk about it.

I'm very excited for HBO's new comedy series Vice Principals starring Danny McBride and Walton Goggins. Sure, this isn't a typical Comic-Con property, but the combination of McBride, Goggins, and executive producer Jody Hill on stage just sounds like a good time.

Joss Whedon returns with another panel sponsored by Dark Horse Comics, although don't expect that much talk about comic books. The presentation is usually just a down-to-earth Q&A with Whedon, giving insight into Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Serenity, Firefly and The Avengers. Typically the thing devolves into Whedon complaining about how making Marvel film adaptations personally crushed his soul (my wording, not his). The questions range from what is his favorite character that he's ever created to what is the meaning of life.

Friday in Hall H is basically owned by television shows this year. I stopped watching The Walking Dead a couple seasons ago but it's hard to deny the popularity of this horror comic book adaptation. Most of the cast will be in attendance, including: Andrew Lincoln, Norman Reeds, Steven Yeun, Lauren Cohan, Danai Gurira, Chandler Riggs, Sonequa Martin-Green, Michael Cudlitz, Josh McDermitt, Ross Marquand, Christian Serratos, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan as well as executive producer and showrunner Scott M. Gimple, executive producer Robert Kirkman, executive producer Gale Anne Hurd, executive producer Dave Alpert, and special effects makeup supervisor and executive producer Greg Nicotero. And things won't get boring because it's being moderated by Hall H all-star Chris Hardwick (Nerdist, Talking Dead). The panelists are expected to talk about the shocking finale of season 6 and give us a sneak peek at season 7, which won't begin airing until October.

It's a travesty that a filmmaker with the stature of Brad Bird is appearing at Comic-Con, but relegated to one of the smaller rooms instead of Hall H or Ballroom 20. Bird is making an appearance in support of a new documentary looking back at his 1999 animated classic The Iron Giant. The documentary will screen and be followed by a discussion with Brad Bird. Might be a good opportunity to ask Bird about The Incredibles 2, although he is very good at shutting down questions about future projects.

AMC's adaptation of Preacher is one of the more interesting TV shows on television today and executive producers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg are coming to San Diego to discuss the first season of the series with comic book co-creator and series co-executive producer Garth Ennis and members of the cast including Dominic Cooper, Ruth Nega, Joseph Gilgun, Ian Colette and Graham McTavish. Director Kevin Smith will be moderating a question and answer session that will follow a live reading of the newest episode, airing Sunday. I'm not sure a script reading is something that will play big in Hall H but its the most interesting and unusual things I've seen advertised for the Hall this year.

And if you miss Kevin Smith at the Preacher panel and script reading, he will return in his usual Saturday night timeslot to do his typical Q&A and storytelling session. Even if you aren't a fan of Smith's films, the guy is great behind the mic and if you don't have a party to go to on Saturday night this is the place to be. Smith will talk about Yoga Hosers, his AMC shows Comic Book Men and Geeking Out, directing an episode of The Flash for The CW, his forthcoming Buckaroo Banzai adaptation, and the Mallrats television sequel.

If you're still watching Marvel's Agents of SHIELD, I'm sorry. Netflix is the place to be for Marvel television series. I've really enjoyed both seasons of Daredevil and Jessica Jones and while I don't think Luke Cage is the most interesting of characters, I'm interested to see where this Marvel television universe goes. The panel will include exclusive footage from the upcoming series ahead of its September 30 global debut on Netflix. Marvel's head of television Jeph Loeb will moderate the hour.

It's Game of Thrones in Hall H, what more is there to say about this one. Moderated by It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia's Rob McElhenney, the panel will feature John Bradley (Samwell Tarly), Liam Cunningham (Davos Seaworth), Nathalie Emmanuel (Missandei), Conleth Hill (Varys), Faye Marsay (The Waif), Hannah Murray (Gilly), Kristian Nairn (Hodor), Iwan Rheon (Ramsay Bolton), Sophie Turner (Sansa Stark), and Isaac Hempstead Wright (Bran Stark).

I'm not sure anyone knows if Luc Besson's new science fiction movie is going to be any good, but I think we're all excited to get a first look at the weird comic book adaptation in Hall H on Thursday afternoon.

Special operatives Valerian and Laureling embark on a mission to the breathtaking intergalactic city of Alpha, an ever-expanding metropolis made up of thousands of species from all corners of the universe. Alpha's 17 million inhabitants have converged over time, uniting their talents, technology, and resources for the betterment of all. But not everyone on Alpha shares in these same objectives; unseen forces are at work, placing their race in great danger. Lic Besson (The Fifth Element, The Professional), producer Virginie Besson-Silla (Lucy, Revolver), Dane DeHaan (Amazing Spider-Man 2, Chronicle), and Cara Delevingne (Suicide Squad, Paper Towns) join moderator Josh Horowitz (MTV) and special surprise panelists for the first public sneak peek at Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, coming to theaters from EuropaCorp in Summer 2017.

Its weird that we're getting so many retrospective panels this year at Comic-Con, but I'm certainly not complaining. The coolest of the bunch is definitely the Aliens 30th Anniversary retrospective. The panelist listing is a who's who of everyone you would want for this franchise: Writer/director James Cameron (Avatar) and producer Gale Anne Hurd (The Walking Dead) join cast members Sigourney Weaver (Avatar), Bill Paxton (True Lies), Lance Henriksen (Millennium), Michael Biehn (The Terminator), and Paul Reiser (Red Oaks). The program says they will take a "look back at the iconic science fiction classic in honor of the film's 30th anniversary" but who knows if we'll get a peek at Ridley Scott's in-production Alien: Covenant or if Neill Blomkamp will surprise Comic-Con with his vision for his own Alien sequel. And Cameron often goes off the script and doesn't follow the rules and guidelines, so we could get some information on his future Avatar sequels as well.

The second most anticipated presentation at San Diego Comic-Con 2016 is a no brainer: Warner Bros. always seems to bring the big movies and surprise reveals to San Diego. This year's panel will be hosted by Conan O'Brien, which should be a lot of fun. The studio has announced a slate of films including Wonder Woman, Suicide Squad, The LEGO Batman Movie, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, Kong: Skull Island and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

Knowing Warner Bros., we can probably also expect a surprise or two or three during the presentation. How about a preview of Justice League? It's still shooting but I was on set and screened a scene which would be perfect for Hall H. It would also be cool if they teased Andy Serkis' Jungle Book and the untitled Blade Runner sequel. Less likely are Steven Spielberg's Ready Player One and Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk, which are also currently in production. In the past Warner Bros. has surprised fans with teaser trailer for films that weren't even in production, like Godzilla or Warcraft, but I'm not sure if that was more of a Legendary Pictures thing (and as you know, Legendary is no longer with WB but now over at Universal).

Is it any surprise that Marvel Studios is the number one most anticipated presentation of Comic-Con this year? Studio president and producer Kevin Feige and special guests provide an inside look at the ever expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe. Expected is a look at Doctor Strange and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, but what else might Feige have in store for us this year in Hall H?

I think we could get a surprise appearance from Spider-Man: Homecoming or the currently filming Thor: Ragnarok but might we get some big announcements about the future of the MCU? The easiest guess would be the announcement of a Captain Marvel director and or an actress to take on the role. Whatever the case, Marvel sure knows how to put on a show and they make Saturday at Hall H worth all those many hours waiting overnight in line.

Of course, we'll be covering a mass majority of the presentations listed above on the site and on our official twitter account @Slashfilm, so please stay tuned this week!