Several weeks in advance of Comic-Con 2009, the annual mega-event where (among other things) Lost masterminds Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse end their self-imposed radio silence post-season finale, the powerhouse duo participated in a Q&A for fans in London over the weekend at the Curzon Cinema. A blogger named McLeron attended the event and has provided a complete transcript of all that was revealed.

There’s a lot to digest in the transcript, but here are the comments this blogger believes to be the most telling, along with my thoughts:

• Damon Lindelof: “You are married to your destiny, you can try to avoid it, but it will catch up to you.” I’m thinking this is going to be hugely important in Season 6. Perhaps the hydrogen bomb’s detonation caused some changes to the timeline, but ultimately will not be able to alter the destinies of the main characters.
• Lindelof shut down any possibilities for spin-offs, comic books, or any other continuations of the show once Season 6 ends, saying, “We feel that if we hold anything back for the final season of the show, it will be bad. People have come along this far, and they need a conclusion.” Bravo, Mr. L. A very wise man, you are.
• Lindelof reveals that celebrated comic book writer Brian K. Vaughan, who’s been on the Lost writing staff since Season 3, has “left for greener pastures.” Say what?! I hadn’t heard that. Did we know this already? Somebody help me out here, I’m seriously bummed over this.
• Filming on Season 6 begins Monday, August 24th.
• Regarding where the show’s major characters find themselves, at the beginning of Season 6, Lindelof would only cryptically say, “…everybody gets back together in one form or another, and we feel that Season 6 is a lot like Season 1 with its [feeling of] community.” Sounds like the whole gang is getting back together!

IGN.com is reporting that the highly anticipated Lost panel at Comic-Con International 2009 has been set for Saturday, July 25th, at 11:AM in Hall H.

For those not in-the-know, the Lost panel at Comic-Con is the traditional time when executive producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse emerge from their self-imposed end-of-season media blackout, and speak publically for the very first time about the upcoming season. Since the upcoming season in question is Lost’s last one ever, saying that this year’s CCI Lost panel is going to be a big deal would be the understatement of the decade. Darlton always bring some surprises for CCI attendees, usually in the form of special videos, ARG-related stuff, and surprise guests. (Two years ago, Harold Perrineau appeared to promote his return for Season 4; last year, Matthew Fox showed up unexpectedly halfway through the panel.)

The fact that it’s taking place once again in Hall H is huge. Last year, Lost and Heroes became the first two TV shows to ever get to use the cavernous Hall H at Comic-Con, which holds up to 6,500 people, and the back-to-back panels for the two shows garnered standing-room-only crowds. Heroes won’t be holding a panel this year, but Lost’s crew has promised to bring “something special” to CCI.

If you’re planning to attend Comic-Con 2009 and hope to get into the Lost panel… As someone who’s been to Comic-Con the last four years in a row, take my advice and get there insanely early. Camping out the night before might even be worth considering. I’m not joking! Here’s a video shot by a friend of mine that shows just how ridiculously long the line was last year for those of us waiting to get in for the Heroes and Lost panels:

Image: Comic-Con logo Copyright 2009 ©Comic-Con International.

Bravo’s Top Chef Masters is airing an episode tomorrow night entitled “The Lost Supper” that features Lost masterminds Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse as guest judges. According to the show, Lindelof & Cuse are big Top Chef fans, so this week’s challenge for the show’s four remaining chef competitors is to create a meal “using ingredients such as fish, wild boar, fresh fruits and canned goods chosen by The Dharma Initiative, among other island specialties.”

Check out this early peek (and sadly no, there’s no Lindelof/Cuse in this clip):

Death Ray Magazine has a brand new interview with Lost masterminds Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse in which they discuss the coming final season of the show. Much of what’s said in the interview is reiterations of bits we’ve heard before (”negotiating the end date of the show was the smartest thing we ever did,” etc.), but the duo offer a few hints as to what will be addressed, thematically, in the show’s final season.

Carlton Cuse: “…we will answer the questions that we feel are important and central to the show, as well as basically trying to tell redemption stories.”

Death Ray: Is the end of the show about the characters discovering what the purpose of life is?
Carlton Cuse: “It certainly is about them discovering what the purpose of their lives is. Ultimately it doesn’t matter if you were a doctor, a musician, or a torturer, now here on the island is the opportunity to erase the sins of your past… What exactly is [their] destiny?… That’s what the last season of the show will explore.”

Add this to something Lindelof said earlier in the interview: “…this idea of a hero’s journey. Traditionally that journey is a protagonist going on an adventure… They have this call to fulfill their destiny. Well, we’re doing that 14 times, for each and every character.” Sounds to me like Season 6 is going to be a year heavy on redemption and solidifying the show’s main characters as the mythological archetypes we always knew they were.

Even though it’s been said many times before, it’s once again been affirmed by Lost executive producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse: actress Emilie de Ravin, who stars as Claire Littleton, is returning to Lost for its sixth and final season as a full-time cast member.

Speaking to EW’s Michael Ausiello, Cuse commented, “Damon and I are very excited to bring Claire back to the show, and even more excited for people to experience just how she will return.”

So what do you think? How will Claire return? Will the rest of the cast bump into her while she’s still a ghost hanging out in the jungle with Daddy dearest? Did Juliet change history in the Season 5 finale and prevent Claire from ever ending up on the island? Will she wake up next to Bob Newhart?

Theories: bring it!

I told you earlier this week about a possible new Alternate Reality Game called Who Is Simeon Hobbes? There was no evidence that it was legitimate, but it was done just smart and enigmatic enough to give the appearance of being real.

ABC has since confirmed that Simeon Hobbes is not a new Lost ARG, and there is as yet no indication that there will even be an ARG pre-Season 6. Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse have, however, promised something special and cool at Comic-Con International in late July, which they said in the final Season 5 Official Lost Podcast will be their last Comic-Con appearance ever for Lost.

According to an article in USA Today, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse have dropped the first hint at what’s to come in Season 6. (This comes despite their traditional “communication blackout” that begins at the season finale and ends at San Diego Comic-Con.)

The article talks about the University of Michigan’s name-drop in Lost and other TV shows, and ends with discussion of how and why Lost’s producers chose the famous college in Ann Arbor as the home base for the Dharma Initiative, which includes a tiny little tease about Season 6:

“There was an incredibly vital university academic community [at Ann Arbor], and we just felt like acknowledging that by making the [Dharma Initiative] from there was just kind of cool and very sort of appropriate for the time,” [Cuse] said.

Cuse and Lindelof say to expect the Dharma-Michigan connection to play a significant role as the show heads into next season, its sixth and final one.

So it sounds like whatever the outcome of Jughead’s detonation at the Swan site… we’re not done with the Dharma Initiative just yet.

Image: Robin Parrish.

For those of you still needing closure on the death of Daniel Faraday, Lost’s executive producers Damon Lindelof & Carlton Cuse wrap up the whole affair in an interview with TV Guide. The juiciest excerpt from the interview:

“It was an incredibly painful thing to kill this beloved character,” [Carlton] Cuse adds, “but we feel that’s what this show has to do. His death is kind of the culminating event in the entire season. It really ends one chapter and commences the start of the final chapter of the entire series.”

Take note: the final chapter of the entire series has officially begun.

In other news, this week’s Official Lost Audio Podcast offered some really interesting teases and clarifications for fans wondering about various things from this season — and things yet to come…

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This installment of TV Guide’s weekly web series “Getting Lost” is even juicier than usual. Herein, you’ll find out:

• which episode is showrunners Damon Lindelof & Carlton Cuse’s least favorite of all time (which hardcore fans can probably guess)
• whether or not we have been shown all of the smoke monster’s secrets (hint: no!)

Enjoy.

This one slipped under the radar last week, but here’s what’s to be gleaned from the latest Official Lost Audio Podcast featuring Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse:

• In what will be a surprise to no one, “things are coming to an end in Dharmaville” for the show’s castaways. Very soon. (I’m thinking by the season finale.)
• Fan speculation that the title of this week’s 100th episode, “The Variable,” could have a direct connection to last season’s “The Constant,” is not off the mark. They refer to the two eps as “sister episodes.”
• Sawyer is ambidextrous — able to write and skillfully manipulate things with both hands. This is not a goof that was written into the show, it was planned from the beginning, according to Lindelof. They believed that Sawyer would be a more believable con man if he could use both hands, since many con men are known to write with both hands in order to mask their signatures.
• When a fan asks if the show will ever address Faraday’s “memory issues” (aka, his trouble remembering things, as seen throughout Season 4), Carlton responds that the show has already addressed this in a number of ways. Namely, we know that Daniel was conducting experiments on himself in his lab at Oxford, we know that those same experiments on his girlfriend Theresa put her in a vegetative state. So it’s reasonable to conclude that those experiments are the reason for his memory problems. Cuse also adds that the real question is, “What is Daniel going to do about his memory problems?” He points out that we shouldn’t forget about the island’s healing powers, and that this could be the reason Dan came to the island. They also say that this week’s episode will very likely address all of this.

Image: American Broadcasting Company, Inc.