Hundreds of overjoyed fans packed the Main Stage room of the Javits Center last Thursday for a panel on the world of Exandria at New York Comic Con 2025. I was there… and can confirm the energy was off the charts. Eight stars of the new animated fantasy action/adventure series The Mighty Nein (premiering Nov. 19 on Prime Video), who also headline The Legend of Vox Machina and production company Critical Role, previewed what to expect.

Travis Willingham credits the “amazing” team at Titmouse for creating the “exhilarating” look of Mighty Nein. He also emphasized the “tension and relationships” on the show: “Not a group of heroes. A collection of individuals on a path, slowly finding their way to each other, but with friction.” There will be “constant rug-pulling on these characters.” Another promise to the viewers: “We are gonna try to make you cry and then laugh in the same minute.”

Sam Riegel (who celebrated his birthday at NYCC) is excited that Mighty Nein consists of 44-minute episodes — twice as long as Vox Machina. And because both shows “take place in the same world”, Matthew Mercer really likes the special “winks and nods.” Guest stars include Anjelica Huston, Nathan Fillion, and Lucy Liu, revealed as The Bright Queen. A trailer was also unveiled. Everyone got to take home a nice poster.

One of the biggest surprises of the presentation was an appearance by Emmy-winning “Let’s Make a Deal” host Wayne Brady, who has lent his voice to a number of animated projects over the years, from “Sofia the First” to “The Cuphead Show!” He’ll be Taryon Darrington on the fourth season of Vox Machina (coming next year). An exclusive clip of Brady’s character was shown to the crowd. And after he walked out on stage, he declared, “How freakin’ cool is this?”

You can’t go wrong with that as a way to sum-up NYCC 2025. Later this week I’ll have some bonus highlights on Animation Scoop!