Following those two initial teasers, Heroes creator Tim Kring unleashed an extended trailer at Comic Con for his upcoming NBC event series Heroes Reborn. And I’ve got to say, it looks pretty damn good to me. I consider the first season of Heroes, which aired way back in 2006, one of the most exciting and gripping debuts for a TV series (even with the somewhat anti-climactic conclusion with Sylar slithering away). The show wavered in its ability to remain creatively charged over the course of its next few seasons, and it eventually fizzled out and was cancelled after its fourth batch of episodes aired in 2010. Now, Kring is back with a truncated 13-episode count and a tight story promising a beginning, middle, and end to wholly satisfy viewers. Kring is pushing for Reborn to harken back to the series’ season 1 roots, featuring a new cast of characters discovering extraordinary abilities for the very first time and dealing with the ramifications. Tying Reborn to Heroes proper are returning characters such as Noah “HRG” Bennet (Jack Coleman), among others. They all get nods in this trailer.
At the Heroes Reborn panel at Comic Con, Kring confirmed that the event series takes place 5 years after the conclusion of season 4 when–spoiler alert–it was made public that “EVOs” or evolved humans have powers. “The world knows about these people, so it changes the story considerably,” said Kring. “When you discovered you had a power, it was mystical journey of discovery. Now, if you wake up with a power, you know it’s a very bad thing because you’ll be exploited.”
Longtime viewers will find out what happened to fan-favorite characters, even the ones who aren’t returning to reprise their roles, such as Hayden Panettiere (who played cheerleader Claire Bennet) and Milo Ventimiglia (Peter Petrelli). “The universe that we’re building around the show does all that,” Kring said. “We do unpack what happened in the previous years. By the time you watch the finale, you’ll have a big chunk of that answered for you.”
While you’re waiting for Heroes Reborn to premiere this fall on NBC, there’s a digital web series that servers a prequel for what’s coming up. It actually stars Henry Zebrowski as Quentin Frady, a character who also has a major role in the event series. To watch the multi-part Dark Matter series, download the free Heroes Reborn app.
“Dark Matter tells a story that connects up with the show in a really unique way,” says Kring. “I don’t think anybody’s ever quite done a series that connects up to the show in the way this does.” Sounds to me like Heroes fans know what they’re going to do tonight.