Panelists include Jennifer Kluska (Director of DC Super Hero Girls), Lauren Faust (Executive Producer), Greg Griffin (Voice of Wonder Woman), Nicole Sullivan (Voice of Supergirl), and Marie Javins (DC Group Editor). The panel is moderated by Rosie Knight from Nerdist.
Knight is going to premier the new animated short called 'The Late Batsby' by Warner Bros. Animation.
The short depicts Batgirl racing on her scooter to meet up with the other Super Hero Girls as they take on Mr. Freeze.
Next question goes to Lauren Faust who animated the animated short 'The Late Batsby'. Faust is going to go through what's new and different with the animation series.
Faust says they are reintroducing the idea of secret identities. They want to look at who these girls would be as teenagers and superheroes. What is the teenage mirror of the perfect girl? That's the focus of the animated series.
Faust is talking about the villains now, she says they will also have their own teenage mirrors. For instance, Catgirl is a shoplifter. The goal is to give the villains realistic (or semi-realistic) teenager personas that you might encounter in high school.
Harley is the girl you went to school with that’s going to juvie. And Star Sapphire is the crazy ex-girlfriend.
Nicole Sullivan and Grey Griffin, who voice characters in the new series, are talking about using their own high school experiences for inspiration for the show.
Sullivan says while she can't say a lot about the episodes yet, she did say, "The girls are doing the same stuff regular girls do. What speaks to me is that everyday is drama in High School but in this series the drama for real (and possibly world ending)."
Kluska and Faust say something different with the animated series will be the other aspects of girls lives that previous iterations have not yet explored.
Knight is going to give us another sneak peak. Lauren Faust introducing an animatic from the first part of the four-part pilot that will premiering. The girls have just met one another for the first time and are discovering they have super powers.
The audience is roaring with laughter as the animatic depicts the girls initially fighting and arguing with one another.
The clip shows the girls coming to terms with the fact that they have powers for the first time and deciding whether or not they want to team up. They are exploring their secret identities for the first time.
Faust says, "We want the show to speak for itself. If it's good anybody will watch it."
Faust goes on to say, "A lot of stuff for little girls is very often us telling little girls how to behave and we want to move away from that."
Third audience question speaks to characters design and changes which felt reminiscent to "Super Best Friends Forever" animated short. Panel says the redesign was definitely inspired by the short.
The next question is about Katana and whether or not she will be returning. Thankfully she will be!
Rosie Knight says no characters are going away, this seemed to put the audience at ease.
Another question from a young girl asked about the new hair styles of some of the characters. Faust says she wanted the appearance to reflect their personality and how they think about the world.
Supergirl and Superman will have a strong story line in the show which will explore the dynamics of their relationship. Other relationships the series will look at is that between Wonder Woman and her mom.
A young audience member asks how the DC Super Hero Girls meet Harley. Spoiler: Batgirl and Harley will be best friends by day and not realize they are foes at night, beating one another up. There won't be a definitive reason for Harley turning evil, says Faust.
A mini Harley wants to know if the animated character will "really going to be a bad guy?" Faust says "There's a lot of good in her. She makes bad choices because she is so full of love. You'll see."
The question is about whether or not the new look of the series will replace the visual look of the rest of the DC Super Hero Girls universe. Knight responds no, this is an expansion, not a replacement.
In response to a question about whether or not the animated series will address how they got their powers Faust and Kluska say will be looking at this and addressing this but it will be a while before it is introduced.