‘Sharknado: The 4th Awakens’ at Comic-Con: Exclusive photos, plus highlights, ‘Sharknado 5’ chatter
On Friday night at San Diego Comic-Con, attendees to the “Sharknado: The 4th Awakens” panel were treated to many things … and one of those things was many more sharks! This was a panel all about celebrating the fun of this franchise, and the spirit of escapism and craziness that comes along with it.
As you can see through some of the exclusive photos in this article, we attended the “Sharknado” Comic-Con panel, and there was great fun to be had! Joining moderator / director Anthony C. Ferrante were stars Ian Ziering, Tara Reid, and Ryan Newman, franchise newcomers Cody Linley and Masiela Lusha, and also producer David Michael Latt. The panel effectively began with the trailer below, before bouncing around to some other subjects.
For example, clearly Reid’s character of April has survived (somehow) the events of the third movie, and after a 5 year time jump, there will be a little bit of peace for Fin (Ziering) and his family living in Kansas. Yet, at the same time this is not a film that tends to embrace peace for long. There will be chaos, there will be new forms of Sharknados, and there will also be Gary Busey (who is a personal favorite of ours). Reid in particular told a story about Busey improvising on the set, and it turned into an experience like no other that left some cast members laughing and others crying. Of course, with Busey how do you expect anything else?
There was also a special sneak peek from the movie (which airs on Syfy July 31 at 8:00 p.m. Eastern time) during the panel featuring a particularly crazy scene with Fin aboard a train. Let’s just say that if you loved the action and shark attacks from the first three movies, you’ll also love this. There will also be cameos aplenty, and despite a short production time in comparison to many other movies, Ferrante managed to cram in quite a bit of material. Much praised was given to Latt, production company The Asylum, and the network for allowing ideas so outside the box to actually come to fruition.
As for a few highlights from the Q&A session:
1. Ziering claimed that Clint Eastwood was his dream cameo; Reid wanted Marilyn Monroe, provided the list could include dead people. (She and Newman then also mentioned Meryl Streep.)
2. Latt and Ferrante both were open to continuing the franchise, but the ball is really in the court of Syfy depending on what the ratings are for the upcoming movie. There were several ideas for “Sharknado 5” tossed around, but Ferrante indicated that he had already come up with some ideas of his own.
3. Ziering’s favorite moment of the franchise was a scene in “The Second One,” which was filmed in Manhattan and one where real New Yorkers were chiming in as if they were a part of the team of extras.
4. Linley (best known for “Hannah Montana”) relished the opportunity to have fun as Matt Shepard, and take on a role that didn’t force him to take himself so seriously.
5. At one point, several cast members were kind enough to greet a young child who came to the panel dressed as an actual Sharknado. Cuteness overload was had by us all.