Carmilla Movie & 7 Other Things We Learned at NYCC

We don’t often get to write about web series here at Den of Geek — frankly, in an age of peak content, it’s hard to find the time — but that doesn’t mean we haven’t been watching the web series phenomenon Carmilla. 

The transmedia vlog based on the 19th century Gothic novel has garnered more than 50 million views over the course of its two-plus seasons. It’s third and final season is currently racing towards its conclusion, and the “final episodes” were teased at a packed New York Comic Con panel on Thursday, but — as we just learned — the third season will not be the end for this beloved fictional universe. There is going to be a Carmillamovie.

Here is everything we learned from Natasha Negovanlis, Elise Bauman, Jordan Hall, and Steph Ouaknine about the upcoming film — and the final season — at NYCC…

There’s going to be a movie!

If you follow Carmilla on Twitter or Tumblr, than you have probably already heard this exciting news, but we’re going to talk about it anyway. The Carmillamovie will be released in the fall of 2017, but you can already pre-order it now by heading over to the official site.

According to Variety, the Carmillamovie will be set five years after the events of season three and Laura and Carmilla will have a “brand-new mystery to solve.” Speaking about the film, senior VP of Smokebomb Entertainment teased: “It’s about the band getting back together, and them going on a fun, cool, sexy Scooby-Doo adventure.”

Here’s the trailer they aired at NYCC — and that series stars Elise Bauman and Natasha Negovanlis watched for the first time (and got teary-eyed for).

The most difficult scenes for Natasha Negovanlis might surprise you…

Negovanlis shared that it’s not the emotional scenes that are the most challenging to film for her, but rather the physical comedy, saying: “People think that it is always the very dramatic scenes, but I’m blessed with amazing co-stars so those scenes always feel so natural and I feel so present. The most difficult scenes to shoot are the beats of physical comedy. All of the montages, or even moments where I just have to walk like a normal human being. The sort of things they don’t teach you in acting class.”

Negovanlis specifically pointed towards the moment when the Gates of Hell open and she has to drop the glasses and step on them as particularly difficult. Apparently, they had to film that particular moment eight times.

Who would Laura & Carmilla cosplay as…

Who would Laura and Carmilla cosplay as at Comic Con? Elise Bauman thinks they might go as characters from Orange is the New Black, while Natasha Negovanlis thinks Carmilla might go as someone like Joan Jett. As for Hall’s head canon on the subject? “You guys watch my head canon.”

On filming Carmilla’s string of curses.

If you were wondering how Elise Bauman kept a straight face during Carmilla’s string of curses during this past season’s premiere, she didn’t; you just don’t get to see those takes. Bauman said: “At one point, I texted [Natasha] at night or something and I was like, ‘Hey, what’s up?’ And she was like, ‘Just gotta go write this curse.’ And I was like, I don’t know what that means, but I’ve just learned to accept that.”

Negovanlis wrote out her own curses for that scene, and didn’t tell the cast, one of the few examples of the times she got to prank the cast a bit. Otherwise, she said, the cast and crew are so focused that there aren’t as many opportunities to goof off.

The Carmilla creators take the responsibility of writing about queer characters very seriously.

The Carmillafandom and series has been a safe, supportive space for many young LGBTQ fans, and the topic came up several times during the panel via fan questions. Writer Jordan Hall spoke about how seriously the writers room take the Bury Your Gays trope…

— Kayti Burt (@kaytiburt) October 6, 2016

Elisa Bauman talks about fandom and connection.

The Carmillafandom has meant a lot to a great deal of people, especially the LGBTQ fan community in a year that has seen a lot of queer characters unceremoniously killed off of TV shows. Speaking about what the LGBTQ representation of Carmillahas meant to her, Elise Bauman said…

— Kayti Burt (@kaytiburt) October 7, 2016

It sounds like there will be a bonus pack after season three.

When one fan asked if there would be a bonus pack after season three like there was after season two, Steph Ouaknine said “Stay tuned.” And, guys, here tone was very playful. It sounds like it will happen.

What the Carmilla cast will miss the most.

When asked what they would most miss about making Carmillaon the regular, the cast and creator all had different answers. Negovanlis said: “I can’t think of one thing because she’s so close to me and so near and dear to my heart that I’m just gonna miss everything about her. You know, I’m gonna miss her… pants. 

She added: “I’m gonna miss working with such amazing people. It’s such a gift and a treat … This experience was especially unique in that we’re all very close, so I think it’s something we’ll all always treasure.”

Bauman said: “I think the thing I’m gonna miss the most is playing off of Natasha. When we’re filming, magic happens and that doesn’t always happen with other actors. Sometimes, you just have built-in chemistry with your scene partner, and that’s amazing. That’s such a gift and something that I should never take for granted.” 

Finally, Hall said of these characters she’s created: “There’s a whole little crew of characters that, when you’re a writer, they live up in your head, and they chat about things and they fight about things. And it’s been a terrific world to visit and build and listen to, so yeah, I’m going to miss it.”