Comic-Con 2012: “Breaking Dawn” Panel Brings Surprises

The most anticipated panel of Comic-Con 2012 (for better or worse) was also the convention’s first of the week. Summit Entertainment brought The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 to Hall H, and they definitely had the goods. Get the highlights of the panel, including my reaction to the footage shown, after the break.

The panel started off with the big three themselves, Kristin Stewart (Bella), Robert Pattinson (Edward), and Taylor Lautner (Jacob), as well the books’ author Stephanie Meyers and Mackenzie Foy, who plays Bella and Edward’s fast growing vampire daughter Renesmee.

As far as footage goes, we thought we might see a new trailer or a few clips, but we started off being shown the first 7 minutes of the film. Spoilers ahead. We start right away with Bella waking up and getting used to her new senses. She wants to see Renesmee, but Edward reminds her that she should hunt first. They go out to hunt, and Bella is loving her new abilities. However, she suddenly smells a human rock climbing nearby, and she goes after him. Fortunately, Edward is able to catch up and convince her to stop. Next, Bella is about to attack a deer, but a mountain lion leaps into action first. Bella takes down the mountain lion and bites down. When they get back to the house, Jacob is there, and they start walking in to Renesmee.

Overall, the scenes are pretty much typical Twilight, though Kristen Stewart seems to be having fun playing the vampire role finally. There’s definitely a new confidence that is nice to finally see in the character. The editing is interesting too. Since Bella’s senses are heightened, the camera movement is swift and moves with her.

The panel talked a bit, then we saw our final clip. The Cullens teach Bella how to act human because she is going to see her dad for the first time since being changed to a vampire. It’s a very humorous scene, and it played very well to the audience.

Next the entire Cullen family joins the panel, making this the largest panel the Twilight series has ever done for Comic-Con. In fact, this was Jackson Rathbone’s (Jasper) first Comic-Con. We quickly got to the fan Q&A, and the first question was what villain would the panel dress up as for Comic-Con, and Pattinson won some points with me by saying Zod (The villain from Superman II and the upcoming Man of Steel). Meyers confirmed that there are no plans to finish Midnight Sun or do anything else with Twilight, as she’s a bit burnt out on vampires at the moment.

There were a few other interesting and funny moments from the Q&A, but the real surprise was when they brought out almost the entire cast of the film, totaling over 20 people. Afterwards, Stephanie Meyers finished things off with an introduction to a series of clips in the coming movie The Host, based on her novel. The footage was intriguing, if not amazing, and it definitely reflects the style of director Andrew Niccol. I haven’t read the book, but the movie looks worth checking out, especially with Saoirse Ronan in the starring role.

Let us know if you have any questions about Summit Entertainment’s panel in the comments below. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 opens in theaters on November 16th.