Fans of Netflix's The Dragon Prince have been waiting a long time for Season 4, and with the animated fantasy series finally returning in November, hype is building at New York Comic Con. On Saturday, co-creators Aaron Ehasz and Justin Richmond joined writer Paige VanTassell, visual development artist Caleb Thomas, and the voice of Viren, Jason Simpson, for a panel titled "The Saga Strikes Back: What’s Next for The Dragon Prince." Secrets of the upcoming season were revealed and new footage debuted, and the audience had a chance to bring their questions to the panelists in a Q&A.

Justin Richmond introduced himself, Aaron Ehasz, Jason Simpson, Paige VanTassell and Caleb Thomas. Simpson narrated a recap of the first three seasons while the screen displayed the words "Two years have passed" with a graphic from the show. Simpson kept in character as Viren the whole time so that the story was told from the villains' point of view. Ehasz periodically interrupted to correct Viren's version of events, and VanTassell held up large paper signs at dramatic intervals to tell the audience when to cheer and when to say "Ooooh" and "Awww."

When Viren asked the crowd, "Who wants to be a lava monster??" VanTassell had a sign that said, "NOPE."

New images of the characters were displayed, beginning with Claudia, while the panel updated the audience on where each one was. "Claudia's been through a lot, but she's cheerful, and she loves a good fart joke," said VanTassell. "Who doesn't?"

Soren was next, looking older and decked out in fine armor. "He grew into himself more and I wanted to separate him from the other boys," said Thomas.

VanTassell talked about Amaya's "lovely...love" for Janai, who is now queen, as each one appeared on the screen. "They're a power couple, they'll be just fine."

Ezran's updated image got a major reaction from the audience, as he's visibly grown older and is now the king.

Zym, the Dragon Prince himself, was shown with Bait, which made his change in size since the first season clear.

"He's still the same Callum, a little childish," said Thomas when the character showed up. He also remarked on how Callum's new hairstyle had been drawn: "He thought it was cool, he might regret it later."

Viren's change in costume was dramatic, and Thomas noted, "It's been a tough two years." Simpson added, "Everyone's got kind of a glow-up, and this guy...is there a glow-down? A dull-down." He also noted, "For me as the actor, that was a very emotional moment. I'm looking forward to see where he goes from here. This is humbling for him, and I think it's a good fit."

Instead of a new image of Aaravos, a blank page was shown, and then the older image of him was brought back. "It's called the Mystery of Aaravos, so you have to wonder."

It was announced at that point that the entire first episode would be played for the panel attendees.

After the screening, the panel moved into a Q&A. The first question turned out to be Rayla's voice actor Paula Burrows, wearing a "disguise" with a hat and dark glasses. She asked, "You showed us that episode, and sure, we saw some stuff, but there's no Rayla! The writers suck!" The other panelists asked, "Did you have a question?" Burrows: "Why do the writers suck?"

Burrows was invited to join the panelists, and a full trailer for The Dragon Prince Season 4 was played. Rayla, who didn't appear at all in the season premiere, did show up in the trailer.

The release date for Season 4 was also announced in the trailer: November 3.

Rayla's updated character design was finally displayed, and Burrows said, "The first three seasons we really saw her struggling, and we can see a real development for her in Season 4."

Ehasz explained the pet that Rayla has in the new footage, saying: "Stella is a cuddle-monkey, and she's an orphan."

The Q&A continued after that point. One fan asked if Viren was redeemable at this point or if he had crossed a moral event horizon. "I can't judge the character, as the actor," said Simpson. "Fortunately the character is written so brilliantly, there's lots of seemingly irredeemable things, but I believe there's always room for redemption."

Another fan asked if they could learn more about Rayla's cuddle-monkey. Ehasz obliged, saying, "Juvenile cuddle-monkeys are just cute, and they grow up in different ways depending on whether they're connected to the sun, or the moon, or another primal. So you'll never guess which primal STELLA is connected to."

The next question was, "Considering Claudia just brought her dad back from the dead, how much of a toll should we expect this dark magic to take a toll on her?" Simpson replied, "You kind of answered your own question. She will do anything for her dad, no matter what the cost." Ehasz added, "She just raised her dad from the dead. You think you've seen Claudia, you ain't seen nothing."

Another fan asked, "Have the recent cuts to Netflix's animation department affected The Dragon Prince?" The team replied immediately, "No, not at all," and "The Dragon Prince is a hit show."

The next question was about how many dragons there were in the world. "I've never done a census," said Ehasz, but then broke it down saying, "Archmages, you could count on your hands. Dragons total, hundreds and hundreds."

One of the final questions was about how Burrows chose Rayla's Scottish-sounding accent, since she herself is Canadian. "My mom's accent," Burrows revealed.