Comic Con 2013's Most Buzzed About Panels

Comic Con kicks off Thursday officially in San Diego, and the convention is home to so many stellar panels and events, it could keep you busy for a lifetime. We went through the jam-packed Comic Con schedule so you don't have to. Here is a list of 10 of the most buzz-worthy panels taking place in San Diego this weekend.

1) The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is coming to Comic Con this Saturday, and word is fans can expect surprise appearances by the film's director, Francis Lawrence (I Am Legend) and members of the series' all star cast, including Jennifer Lawrence (Katniss), Josh Hutcherson (Peeta), Liam Hemsworth (Gale), Lenny Kravitz (Cinna) and more.

2) Marvel Studios is gearing up for a panel on Saturday. Fans are hoping that the mega-studio will show some sneak peeks at the upcoming superhero blockbuster-sequels, Thor: The Dark World and Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier. The studio already teased fans with a new image of concept art from the Captain America sequel last week in preperation for Comic Con and has announced the premiere a short film, Marvel One-Shot: Agent Carter, about Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell), the Captain's love interest from the first film, will take place on Friday. No word on what big-name guests fans can expect at Saturday's event, but Chris Evans, Sebastian Stan and Emily VanCamp (all from Captain America) would not be completely unexpected, nor would Chris Hemsworth, Tim Hiddleston, or Thor: The Dark World director (and occasional Game of Thrones director) Alan Taylor.

(NOTE: in other Marvel news, Joss Whedon will be the subject of his own, personal panel, in addition to his appearance on Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. panel on Friday – see number four.)

3) Veronica Mars is taking over Comic Con – and with good reason. Veronica Mars made history earlier this year when it became the most successful Kickstarter project ever (it raised over $5 million – almost double its goal – and counted over 90,000 donors) and the Veronica Mars movie is currently in production. Original cast members Kristen Bell, Enrico Colantoni, Francis Capra, Percy Daggs II, Jason Dohring, Ryan Hansen, Chris Lowell, Tina Majorino and Krysten Ritter are all set to attend, accompanied by director Rob Thomas.

4) Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D will no doubt attract a large audience, including people who don't even like the recent surge of Marvel superhero movies. Why? Two words: Joss Whedon. The brains behind Comic Con's beloved Firefly and Buffy the Vampire Slayer (two shows that have been off the air for a decade and still inspire multiple panels and events every year at Comic Cons across the world) will be on deck with Jeph Loeb, Marvel's TV head, to spill details on the new television series. Here's hoping fan favorite (and Iron Man/Captain America/Thor/Avengers alum) Clark Gregg, who plays the incomparable Agent Coulson in the current Marvel universe will make a surprise appearance!

5) NBC's recently revived comedy, Community is scheduled to host a panel on Sunday – called Community: Celebrating the Fans. The panel will, presumably, act as a sweet tribute to those die-hard fans who bullied NBC into picking the struggling show up for a fifth season. Expect pranks, hilarity, and ridiculousness courtesy of cast members Danny Pudi, Yvette Nicole Brown, Alison Brie, Jim Rash and Ken Jeong, who are all confirmed for the event.

6) The X-Files 20th Anniversary pannel on Thursday will surely be the talk of the town. The panel reunites Agents Scully and Mulder twenty years after the first episode aired in 1993. Stars David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson will be there with series creator, Chris Carter, writer Vince Gilligan, and producer, Howard Gordon (though rumors state that they will be joined by other members of The X-Files family).

7) Divergent, the upcoming sci-fi series adapted from the bestselling young adult books, may release the first footage from the film at the panel on Thursday. Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Maggie Q and Miles Teller are all set to appear and, hopefully, the cast will share some behind-the-scenes secrets and give fans a first hand look at the love triangle brewing in the movie.

8) Entertainment Weekly's Brave New Warriors panel is sure to have fangirls everywhere losing their minds with joy on Thursday. The panel, comprised of science fiction television's most fan-obsessed heartthrobs, will bring together Matt Smith (Doctor Who), Kit Harington (Game of Thrones), Steven Yeun (The Walking Dead), Tyler Posey (Teen Wolf) and David Gluntoli (Grimm).

9) Dexter, in celebration of its final season, is set to conduct what could be their very last discussion panel at Comic-Con on Thursday with stars Michael C. Hall, Jennifer Carpenter, David Zayas, and James Remar. Fans, be prepared to say goodbye to your 'dark passenger.'

10) Amazing Spider-Man 2 is set to be featured as part of the Sony/Screen Gems panel on Friday. None of the cast has officially signed on to appear alongside their director, Marc Webb. But, given Andrew Garfield's surprise performace at Comic-Con just two years ago, odds are some members of the cast (which includes new badie Jamie Foxx) are bound to show up.

Honorable Mentions:

– The Originals, The CW's The Vampire Diaries, spinoff panel is on Friday.

– The cast of CBS' How I Met Your Mother will make their first Comic Con visit (as a group) to celebrate the final season of their hit sitcom.

– Ender's Game will also be featured as part of the same panel as Divergent, and comic-Con devotees will most likely show up just for a chance to sneak a peek at Harrison Ford.