A virtual panel for The Walking Dead at SDCC at Home could be awesome

Getting The Walking Dead cast together for a virtual panel might be a better idea

If you have ever attended a panel for The Walking Dead or any other show or movie at a pop culture convention, then you know how incredible the experience can be. The room is positively electric, with fans cheering and the cast laughing and joking around. While in-person panels aren’t possible right now, there are a number of reasons why a virtual panel might be much better.

I’ve been attending fan conventions since I was 11. My first conventions were Star Trek conventions, back when Creation hosted them in major cities before pulling them in favor of one big convention in Las Vegas. The energy in the room was always thrilling. I remember sitting in the front row when Jonathan Frakes and Marina Sirtis came on stage and the roar from the crown behind me was insane.

Nothing will ever replace that feeling. Nothing.

In the age of COVID-19, though, things are changing. In-person conventions with thousands of people packed like sardines into a tight space won’t be happening any time soon. Photo ops, autographs and meet and greets are off the menu for a while. Pop culture conventions, live everything else, are being forced to adapt to the changing times.

Comic-Con International was forced to cancel San Diego Comic-Con in July, which is where The Walking Dead cast has traditionally gathered to reveal the trailer for the upcoming season, but with no filming completed as of this writing, there will be no trailer. So what kind of content might be possible for the newly announced SDCC at Home?

The cast can still come together, though, for a virtual panel.

You’ve probably seen celebrities on Zoom calls throughout the pandemic. Something like that would be very possible for SDCC at Home, if for no other reason than to give a message to the fans that life will go on and the show will film as soon as it’s safe.

In many ways, a virtual panel would be so much better than a live action panel. Hall H panels are roughly 45-60 minutes long for most shows. That includes the time it takes for the moderator to introduce the cast, breaks for applause (which can be time consuming) and the dreaded Q&A session. Q&A is a time trap, what with so many fans who come to the microphone to pronounce their undying love for a cast member, which gets more applause.

From a pragmatic standpoint, if you only have 45 minutes with The Walking Dead cast, those precious minutes add up. Soon you only have about 30 minutes of quality time if you’re lucky, and then there’s the trailer.

A virtual panel would eliminate the breaks for applause. Cast members would show up on screen, so no lengthy introductions would be needed. Fans would have a solid 45-60 minutes of insight, reflection, jokes and banter from the cast, and it would be awesome.

There is no word yet on whether The Walking Dead will be part of SDCC at Home, but if the opportunity to have a virtual panel is available, we’ll take it.