Syfy has officially joined the comic book TV train as their new hit series Krypton tells the story of Superman’s grandfather and the society that our Man of Steel never got to live in. The first season is dealing directly with one of Superman’s greatest foes as Brainiac is coming to Krypton in the past to make sure the Man of Tomorrow is never born.
Nerd Repository joined a group of reporters to chat with the cast and creative team behind the show at this year’s WonderCon to get a deeper look into what is coming in the first season. We chatted with Wallis Day (Nyssa-Vex) she talked about Nyssa’s arc in the season and more.
Whether or not we will find out in the next couple of episodes if Nyssa is an ally or foe to Seg:
“I mean definitely the first episode, well actually the first few maybe you see a side to Nyssa as we go through the series, that’s really when you decide whether she is a friend or a foe. And I feel like it goes on for quite a long time, you can’t really know. But she is forced to make certain decisions that she’s definitely uncomfortable with which shows her true nature. And you would definitely that as the series goes on. But I think even at the end, some people wouldn’t have made up their minds.”
Whether we will see more of Nyssa’s own agency, given what she says to Seg in the first episode when it comes to her father:
“Yeah, I mean, I think she’s definitely forced to make her head down a different direction and whether it’s kind of her own agenda. She breaks away from that stereotype, for sure.”
What Wallis’ audition process was like and how Nyssa initially was very different from when she was first being developed for the series:
“I think they were actually looking for something very different. When I went to the audition I definitely played a completely different version of Nyssa. And even now they make a joke because when a few people saw me as Nyssa, this was totally different type of casting, they were not entirely sure, I think. And then after a few hours I think everyone was going ‘Oh, it wasn’t the Nyssa we had in mind, but actually that works.’ It was, I don’t want to say totally different, but she was very different. But it was just my natural instinct when I read the scripts and it was just something that I just wanted to jump for and I wanted to make here so much more interesting and go further. And actually I kind of worked alongside the writers to develop a slightly different storyline for her. I don’t think Nyssa is more like me, I think she’s actually maybe even more opposite to myself. But again when I read the script and, you know, the decisions she was making I just I thought obviously when you get a script, the character breakdown is there. And then the character breakdown didn’t serve who I thought Nyssa really was. And I wanted to explore and people did like it.”
What is Nyssa’s current relationship like with Lyta Zod:
“Okay, so, Nyssa definitely hates Lyta! [laughs] She is like how she doesn’t like Lyta at all, because obviously she’s chosen Seg to be bound with. She knows what Seg’s doing. She knows of Lyta and Lyta is kind of, in her eyes, right in the middle of them. But again they meet later on in the series. And actually their dynamic definitely change. I mean you know, everyone who is a woman on Krypton, definitely, definitely, you do stick together when we find ourselves in positions where we have no other choice. So the relationship massively develops throughout the series.”
Given that Nyssa isn’t from the DC Comics mythology, what other roles did she look at to draw inspiration from to build Nyssa:
“Yeah and it wasn’t even just female characters. There were a lot of male characters as well. Actually, being on the south with, you know, other great female characters helped me find out how Nyssa really was, what kind of traits and stuff that she would have. So yeah I mean a lot of characters but even some of the characters on this show, that is crazy.”
Whether Wallis watches Game of Thrones and if she thinks that Nyssa is the Marjorie or Cersei of Krypton:
“I don’t think she is. I think I honestly believe you haven’t even scratched the surface of her yet because you haven’t. And when we’re talking a few episodes down you’re going to see why.”
What episode Wallis thinks has Nyssa interacting with other female characters the most:
“I would say, I think episode 5 overall is just a massive game changer. So much happens in episode 5. And so many forces that join together, so much is revealed. I would say episode 5 is a pinnacle moment. But again the stakes get higher as the episodes go on. So again, 8, 9 and 10, that’s really when you see her bad-ass!”
Whether or not Nyssa will find out about Brainiac and if that conversation will come at all:
“Nyssa definitely comes into that conversation, a lot. Nyssa is fearless, I mean obviously everyone kind of has a limit. But Nyssa is definitely very, very fearless. And she’s not afraid to do something. She’s not afraid of Brainiac as the others. She’s very, very intelligent and she’s very highly skilled combat wise. Yeah. You have seen it. Nyssa gets very involved in that storyline.”
Does Nyssa at any point every find out about Adam Strange and why he is here:
“No. Not really. But yeah, there is more to come on that, just not yet.”
Whether Nyssa would rather fight more for love or for power:
“Great question! At the start, it was definitely power, there are definitely certain elements of Nyssa, having completed the whole 10 episode, that is fighting for power. However, I think, Nyssa is forced to prioritize love and love over power. There is definitely more of a fight for love instead of power. But again, when it comes to Nyssa, no one really knows why again, is she in it for the power or is she in it for the love? There’s a twist, there’s a lot of twists!”
Which actor is her favorite Superman from past movies and TV shows:
“My favorite Superman as a movie instead of a person, I would say is the original just because it really helped me understand Krypton. Obviously at the start, you know a lot of it. Actually, Man of Steel had a lot of it as well, I just remembered that. I would say the first movie, but also Henry Cavill, I think he is great, but yeah Christopher Reeve.”
Whether or not she was a big DC Comics fan before she booked the role of Nyssa:
“My brother was and obviously we’re very close, we grew up together. Yeah that definitely overlapped. It’s definitely something that we had in common and it definitely made being part of Krypton a lot easier for me having been brought up with DC characters in comics my whole life. But now I feel like I’m more of a nerd now. I feel like every time I see something I freak out and it’s now not just for research but because I enjoy it.”
Whether there was anything that intimidated Wallis about joining a DC TV show like Krypton:
“Definitely Kryptonian. That is like a whole new world to me! There are references to that on set and you know there is graffiti on some of the walls and Cameron Cuffe jokes like ‘You are going have to learn that’ and I actually didn’t even realize that until much later that we are actually speaking Kryptonian on the show. Obviously it has just been changed to English so that people understand. Actually we’re obviously on planet Krypton and that whole part absolutely baffles me. I think it’s very important and I love the fact that they’ve managed to keep in throughout the series I think it’s great.”
Krypton airs on Wednesday nights at 10/9c on Syfy.