Fans packed the Indigo Ballroom at SDCC for the Steven Universe panel. Moderated by Zach Callison himself, the panel was an exciting hour for Steven Universe fans. The panel began with a musical montage of the previous SDCC panel back in 2016, and was then preceded with a beautiful live performance of “Here Comes a Thought”, sung by Estelle and AJ Michalka.

Photo Source: Cartoon Network

Wasting no time, Rebecca and the rest of the cast discussed what was in the future for Steve Universe. Fans were treated to a brilliant trailer of the new SU game, Save the Light. Footage from the trailer shows a new Peridot antagonist, Squaridot. You can see the trailer here. Another exciting piece of news is that a Steven Universe podcast will be released soon, discussing the process of creating and writing the show.

As for season 5, the new episode dates are still yet to be confirmed and Sugar was quick to avoid revealing any spoilers. However, teaser footage from the next run of episodes was shown and it looks amazing. The footage shows reveals that Lion has gone missing, the Diamonds are in full war-mode, and Lapis is doing her best to stay out of it all. Lars also takes control of a stolen ship and is chaotically zooming around space. Sugar confirmed that season 5 will have a murder-mystery tone, addressing the main question that is “Who killed Pink Diamond?” We will just have to tune in to find out!

The best part of the panel was the Q and A portion of the hour. Burning questions from fans were answered with patience and in detail: they did not disappoint! When asked the age of Lion and the extent of his powers, Rebecca responded that Lion would be about as old as Rose Quartz, and we definitely haven’t seen the full extent of Lion’s powers. Hopefully this will be reveled in season 5, which will lead us to understanding the powers that Lars now holds.

When asked if Fluorite was a representation of polyamorous relationships, she said “absolutely”. Rebecca was inspired to create Fluorite when she visited an LGBTQ center in California and many people expressed to her that was something they’d like to see on screen. Thus, Fluorite was born!

Perhaps the most interesting question asked was “Did you plan on Lars becoming a main character in the show all along?” The answer was no, but Rebecca felt that it came naturally and stand by her decision. Rebecca revealed that Lars and Sadie are characters older than Steven and the Gems, as she used to draw Lars&Sadie comic strips in college. Lars has always been close to her heart, and how can we forget Lars spewing insults at Steven in the pilot episode?

One of the most talked about episodes of season 5 was “Off Colors,” and fans were quick to ask Sugar which off-color gem she relates to the most. Without a moment of hesitation, Rebecca replied “Rhodanite” due to her neurotic behaviour. She revealed that she modeled Sapphires after Zelda, and Padparadscha is Peach!

A fan asked if Rainbow Quartz would make a second appearance. Rebecca was hesitant to answer, and stated that if there were to be a Rainbow Quartz 2.0 then she would be very different… She trailed off and then leaned in close to the mic and said “Uh, forget I said that.” This resulted in a lighthearted uproar from the audience wondering what exactly she meant. Hey- it wasn’t a spoiler, but it could be!

The Q&A also included some smaller questions, such as “is it difficult to write songs for the show?” The answer, says Sugar, is yes. Especially when Zach Callison was going through puberty and his voice was changing all the time! The music in the show is beautiful, and it’s no doubt that it helped Sugar snag an Emmy nom for all her hard work. One eager fan asked why Sugar chose to make gems into cartoon characters. Sugar simply responded with “it was purely aesthetic.” She just thought they looked cool! Once the show began to develop, Sugar admits to learning a lot about the traits of crystal gems and she takes them into consideration when creating new characters.

One hour flew by quickly, and it’s an unspoken fact that everyone in the room wished it could have lasted longer. The cast and crew were as caring, appreciative, and patient as ever. We just have to be patient to see what’s in store for season 5!

You can pre-order the Steven Universe vinyl collection here.