Team BSS was representin’ this week at New York Comic Con to bring you all the important information from the Shadowhunters panel. Four members of the main cast attended including Kat McNamara, Isaiah Mustafa, Matthew Daddario, and now-series-regular Alisha Wainwright, along with our classic trio of showrunners comprised of Todd Slavkin, Darren Swimmer, and Matt Hastings. Fans have been itching for details about Season 3, which has been kept hush-hush up until this point. But the panel delivered all the goods – here’s a breakdown of the highlights.
On Luke Garroway
Isaiah Mustafa kept things pretty close to the chest in terms of his character, Luke Garroway, but he did say that Luke is quite protective of the werewolves when it comes to his partner, Ollie, to whom he referred to as the “thorn in his side.” Todd Slavkin and Darren Swimmer teased that Luke fans will love the new season and that there will be a scene in which Luke talks about his past, hinting also about the return of his sister, Cleophas.
On Clary Fairchild
Kat McNamara mainly focused on the consequences of Clary Fairchild not only bringing Jace Herondale back from the dead but also using the Angel Raziel’s wish. As it turns out, this wish is actually of the last resort variety – you know, the kind that’s end-of-the-world, one-time, get-out-of-jail-free. Oops. Kat defended her character, however, saying that she made a “passionate choice in a high-stress situation,” and the other Shadowhunters aren’t too happy about it. The evolution of Clary’s badassery was another topic of discussion, which Kat said comes from the trials and tribulations her character has gone through that have changed who she is as a person, as well as the strength she draws from those who support her. On the subject of Clace, Kat says the couple is finally in a place where they can be just that – a couple. They are also choosing to keep what happened at Lake Lyn a secret between just the two of them – wonder how long that will last.
On Maia Roberts
Alisha Wainwright is happy to be working with Alberto Rosende in bringing a deeper-than-ever exploration of the relationship between Maia Roberts and Simon Lewis to the screen. She says Simon is Maia’s knight in shining armor and compared their romance to a fairytale, adding that Maia is a little obsessed with him – get in line, girl. She also confirmed that Maia’s backstory would be delved into and that the theme of forgiveness and healing would become important to her ongoing story this season – enter Jordan, her ex-boyfriend.
On Alec Lightwood
Matthew Daddario got philosophical when it came to the question of Alec Lightwood’s happiness this season. He said that while Alec is happy, he’s also experiencing stress as he gets into the bigger complexities of his relationship with Magnus Bane. Matt Hastings elaborated on these said complexities, adding that the subject of Magnus’ immortality will be weighing heavily on Alec’s mind. Matthew expressed concern for his character and said he wished that Alec would relax and think things through. (The word ‘temper’ was also thrown around – eek!)
Action Scenes
It looks like Season 3 will be continuing the trend of ramping up the action from season to season. Kat was excited about the first time the show will have multiple actors all doing wire work at one time. Darren credited the actors as being martial arts experts by now and teased a scene in which Luke apparently flies into walls – which Isaiah joked was an extension of his character’s drunk scene from the Season 2 finale. In all seriousness, the action is definitely being taken up a notch, especially when it comes to Maia – Alisha has even damaged the trainer’s fingers while training for these scenes!
On the Other Characters
Just because part of the cast was absent doesn’t mean we didn’t get some juicy tidbits on the other characters.
Isabelle Lightwood is stronger than ever this season and is given the title of the new Weapons Master at the Institute – that’s almost Iron Sister-level status! She also has a newfound admiration for the mundanes she fights to protect after their twelve-step program saved her life.
Dying and coming back to life has driven Jace to become a workaholic. Does this mean spending more time in the demon-fighting arena? We don’t know. But we were told that it gets to the point where we’ll be getting a “Jace Herondale’s Day Off” type of episode – let the shenanigans begin!
New Reveals
We also got details regarding the show’s new big bad this season and news of her casting was dropped exclusively at the panel. Canadian actress Anna Hopkins, who Todd and Darren worked with previously on SyFy’s Defiance, will play Jonathan Morgenstern’s demon mother, Lilith. Following Jonathan’s defeat, she’ll be holding Jace responsible and seeking her revenge.
In other casting news, it was announced that Hamilton star and highkey Shadowhunters fan Javier Muñoz will be playing warlock Lorenzo Rey, a major adversary to Magnus. This announcement was paired with a delightfully excited video message from the star himself.
Fan Appreciation
Matthew was in fine form, giving fans gifts and hugs during the Q&A portion of the panel. One fan who had been injured at another event was given the Malec hat straight off his head, while another fan faced with impending brain surgery was presented with panel moderator Jim Halterman’s “Love Is Love” t-shirt, which was designed by members of the team here at BSS! The rest of the cast were generous with the hugs as well, gushing about the fandom, who Isaiah described as a “warm blanket.”
The premiere date for Shadowhunters Season 3 has been announced as Tuesday, April 3rd, 2018. The show will be moving from the Monday slot into the coveted Tuesday slot, but we have a long wait ahead of us. Until then, keep on the lookout for more of our exclusives from NYCC17 coming soon, as well as more exciting new content from us throughout the hiatus!
