Adam Baldwin

SDCC: Chuck versus the Comic-Con crowd

When we last left our heroes on NBC’s spy romantic comedy Chuck, ... well, we weren’t sure they were coming back. But at the final hour, Chuck was saved. Fans started "Save Chuck" campaigns and wrote letters. The deal with Subway Restaurant went through. Chuck devotees everywhere went nuts, ... and most of them were in Ballroom 20 at San Diego Comic-Con this morning to cheer their favorite show.

After a video recap of last season, we were shown a little clip of the producers and Zachary Levi receiving the call about the renewal, while eating, what else, Subway sandwiches, and joking about the "I know kung fu" line at the end of last season being a bad idea. Then they said they had something that they were sure would work ...

"Jeffster" was flashed on the screen, and the cast walked out to screams, playing Queen’s "Fat Bottomed Girls." The cast appeared on the stage at the end of the song, Levi dancing while standing on his chair. They certainly know how to make an entrance, don’t they?

Alan Sepinwall introduced the series’ principals, co-creators Josh Schwartz and Chuck Fedak, Yvonne Strahovski, Zachary Levi, Joshua Gomez, Adam Baldwin, Sarah Lancaster, Ryan McPartlin, Vic Sahay, Scott Krinsky and Mark Christopher Lawrence. Sepinwall asked them if they expected to be back. Levi pointed to the crowd and said, "Look at them. We’re here because of you guys. I felt cautiously optimistic. ... We have the best fans in the world who will eat multiple 6-inch Subway sandwiches and start grassroots campaigns. ... I love you so much!" He talked about the people who started the campaigns and thanked them all.

Sepinwall asked, "Have any of you been fitted for a Subway uniform yet? How are you going to work Subway in the show next year?" "TBD," Schwartz said. "This year we could only afford for Adam Baldwin to grunt." When Schwartz asked Baldwin to grunt for the crowd, he said, "My inner monologue when I grunt is ’Joss Whedon.’"

Fedak pretended the mics weren’t working when asked what he could tell them about season three, but Schwartz revealed, "Something very emotional and dramatic will have happened between Chuck and Sarah. And it’s going to be very dramatic."

"I’ve been doing a lot of Virtual Fighter", Levi joked when he was asked if he’d done training for his newfound kung-fu powers. He can’t just know kung fu, he explained, or he doesn’t need his handlers. And millions of fans would rebel if Baldwin left the show. "The ’Chuck fu’ powers have a shelf life," he said, implying that they will disappear at some point.

Schwartz also revealed that, now that Awesome knows Chuck’s secret, he will "start to submerge into the spy world as well." McPartlin said, "I’m really excited to be in the spy world. That will be thrilling. They keep the storyline secret from me. ... Josh Schwartz told me on the train on the way down that my performance is much better when I don’t know anything."

"It could be sooner than it was announced," we were told after Sepinwall said they were going to be off the air for a while. They also announced ChuckMeOut.com, a new Web site launching today where people can keep up with announcements about the show.

When asked whether the cast of Chuck would ever have action figures. Baldwin joked, "Yeah, I need another one." The crowd went wild. Levi responded, "Oh, I was in Firefly. Everybody loves me!" "I just said four words," Baldwin said. "I hope we get action figures, for no other reason that I can throw it in his face," Levi said. He mimed slamming the Jayne action figure on the table.

Finally, they were asked about guest stars. After last season’s turn with Scott Bakula, Tricia Helfer and Chevy Chase, it was certainly valid, but no one admitted anything. Fedak did, however, confirm that the Buy More will be back in some capacity, and that Carina (Mini Anden) was definitely be making an appearance.

The cast left the stage to a standing ovation from the crowd.