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The HBO Max and Cartoon Network Studios: Adventure Time: Distant Lands Comic-Con@Home panel featured Michaela Dietz (voice of Amethyst on Steven Universe) as the moderator, executive producer Adam Muto, Niki Yang (voice of BMO), Glory Corda (voice of Y5 on the BMO special), and Olivia Olsen (voice of Marceline).
The panel spent just under 16-minutes discussing the BMO episode of Distant Lands, which is now streaming on HBO Max. Muto mentioned that with these four Distant Lands specials they wanted to focus on different characters from the main show to offer a different perspective other than that of Finn and Jake. Yang gave her thoughts on some of her favorite BMO catch phrases including, “BMO always bounces back,” and “Easy like potato pie.”
There was also heavy discussion on the ending of the BMO special and how it relates to the series, which is a bit of a spoiler if you haven’t seen it. It seems like a last minute addition to connect the BMO special to the original series, but Muto explained that it was something they planned from the start. Corda broke down Y5, which is a new character for the franchise. She seemed really excited just to be a part of the Adventure Time franchise. Quick note: it’s kind of funny that all of the voice actors pretty much sound exactly like the characters they voice in real life.
The panel then discussed the next special for Adventure Time: Distant Lands, a Princess Bubblegum and Marceline special entitled Obsidian. It’s interesting that they chose Dietz to be the moderator for this panel since Obsidian was also a fusion on Steven Universe. When asked where the title came from, Adam Muto said that Obsidian is a metaphor for a lot of different things; it refers to the setting of the special, which is The Glass Kingdom. Obsidian is also a natural kind of glass that absorbs negativity, can be weaponized, and it is known to draw out stress while exposing things. These are elements the special dives into.
Obsidian explores the relationship between Princess Bubblegum and Marceline after the events of the Adventure Time season finale. The finale confirmed fan speculation that there was a romantic relationship between the two. Obsidian picks up a few years after that and explores what their bond has been like since then. It was mentioned rather quickly by Dietz, but a BMO Mixtape featuring music from the show and the BMO special is set to be released soon. They didn’t divulge what formats it will be available on though (CD, Vinyl, Digital, etc).
Music was a big part of Adventure Time, so naturally it was confirmed that there will at least be a few new Marceline songs. Obsidian will dive into Marceline’s evolution as a character while addressing issues she’s never confronted before. Olsen said that she made everyone in the studio cry during some of her recording sessions, so it’s sure to be an emotional journey. Two new characters will be featured in Obsidian, which Muto said had similarities to Finn and Jake. While one remained a bit of a mystery, the other is named Glassboy. His pushy presence is what makes Bubblegum and Marceline talk about their relationship in Obsidian. It was also revealed that Dietz will be doing the voice of Glassboy while doing a different voice compared to Amethyst.
Unfortunately, no release date for Obsidian was confirmed. Four specials make up the entirety of Adventure Time: Distant Lands. We’ve already received BMO and Obsidian is forthcoming, while the last two are Wizard City — likely to be about the magical city of the same name introduced in season four — and Together Again. This also means it’ll probably feature The Ice King in some capacity. Together Again is rumored to be about Finn and Jake reuniting after being a part for a lengthy amount of time.
I liked this panel a lot more in comparison to the Close Enough panel (which you can read all about right here), but Distant Lands does have more material set to release on the horizon; and not only the stuff already on HBO Max, but what is also soon to come. While a bummer that we didn’t get a proper release date or even a clip from Obsidian, the artwork and new song were nice little appetizers to tide us Adventure Time fans over. 4/5 Bouncing BMO Bibles.
-Chris Sawin