Total Drama Action

Total Drama Action is the second season to Total Drama Island.

Characters
Not all campers are returning. It is confirmed Chris Mclean and Chef Hatchet are returning.

Returning campers are:
 * Gwen
 * Owen
 * DJ
 * Harold
 * Duncan
 * Lindsay
 * Izzy
 * Geoff
 * Bridgette
 * Leshawna
 * Trent
 * Beth
 * Justin
 * Heather

The campers NOT returning are: According to Todd Kauffman, there are no new characters being added to Total Drama Action, just fourteen campers from season one. Also, the campers NOT returning will have a talk show-like segment.
 * Eva
 * Ezekiel
 * Katie
 * Noah
 * Sadie
 * Tyler
 * Cody
 * Courtney

The returning characters were the ones who, technically, got the closest to winning the million dollars in the special. In other words, the ones who landed in the water when the shark ate the case containing the million dollars.

In the trailer for Total Drama Action, they showed clips of Courtney from the special to make it seem like she was somehow in the competition...but although there is a possibility of her being in the show (fans would miss the Courtney/Duncan relationship), the clips shown in the trailer are not from TDA.

Trailer
An official trailer for the season was released on the Total Drama Island Blog on November 14, 2008. The trailer opens with Chris saying "Welcome to Total Drama Action" (followed by scene snapper snapping), it then shows an expanded movie lot that greatly looks like scenery from the island. Chris also refers to everyone as "cast" instead of "campers" (possibly since this is an action movie shoot). Chris says that the people who are returning are the fourteen people who were closest to winning. However according to a list, there are really fifteen people returning, and Justin actually was not one of the closest to winning as he was the fourth person kicked off the island (in reality his place should be filled by Cody who was actually eliminated right before Beth who actually is returning). The trailer reveals that the contest will take place over forty two days (which actually is about two weeks shorter than the eight weeks on the island), which may imply that campers will be eliminated in even less time than they were on the island. Another scene shows Chris giving the campers Oscars (that have him as the figure). This is probably an elimination ceremony, except instead of earning marshmallows, the cast members will earn Oscars. It is also shown at this ceremony that Justin actually gets an Oscar (he is also seen in a large amount of scenes), which may mean that he will be around much longer than he was on the island (he may also have more dialogue). Additionally, he and Beth are seen together in almost every scene in which they are present, implying that they may end up in a relationship. Also, while Justin and Beth are getting their Oscars, Lindsay is shown passed out behind Justin (and not catching an oscar). This could mean that she is one of the first campers to be eliminated. At the end of the trailer,Chef is shown closing the door to a limo before it drives off, it is speculated that this limo is the replacement for the Boat of Losers and is what takes the campers away from the lot (possibly to a place similar to Playa De Losers). Courtney is also seen getting hurt in large number of scenes (in one she slams into a glass wall and in another she gets a microphone dropped on her head), implying that she might be a source of slapstick in the new season. It's also shown that though none of the returning "cast members" have any wardrobe changes (sadly), there are however some small changes done to them. It is shown that Beth now has her braces off, and her teeth are clean enough that Justin can use them like a mirror. It is not quite clear whether or not Heather will have any change. In some scenes of the trailer, she is seen wearing the wig she wore in the final episode of Total Drama Island (and when she is in front of the action studio she doesn't have it on and has her bald head exposed). However in the scene where the campers are on a film reel and when they are getting off the movie trolley, she is seen with her normal hair grown back (although if you look closely at the scene when the camera is zoomed out she is wearing her wig before it goes to a close up). It is unknown if this is part of the show or just for promotional reasons. Another scene shows Izzy beating her chest like Tarzan, which may imply that she will return even crazier than before. Other scenes show Chef using special advanced technology to make moving monster challenges and other such action based challenges. A few other scenes make some suggestion that this season will involve couples trying to stay together, where as they were starting up in Total Drama island. This is supported by a scene that shows LeShawna getting mad at Harold when he is clinging to an umbrella. In addition, Harold and LeShawna are seen in a large number of scenes togehter (meaning that their couple status will be played out much more in this season than the last season). Another scene shows Heather snarling at someone, implying that she will be an antagonist once more. It is also confirmed in the trailer that the bear will be returning to further torment the "cast members" (which might explain why Cody is not returning, seeing as he was eliminated after being mauled by a bear in the previous season). Finally the old theme song is playing throughout the trailer, greatly implying that the original theme music will be kept (though may have a different opening movie).

Animation
The trailer also shows that the show will have some slightly more advanced animation. As stated earlier this year, Chris will return with more facial expressions. Another sign of more advanced animation is a scene where Geoff removes his hat and spins it around (with the bottom exposed). There will possibly be many more new improved animation movements seen throughout the season.

The Deal with Courtney
The new trailer actually shows some interesting information about Courtney's role in Total Drama Action. Despite the fact that she is seen in the trailer and is listed as a returning camper, she is never seen with the other campers. She is also not seen on the film reel that reveals the returning campers (and the treasure chest they can win). Chris also mentions that there were fourteen people chosen to return, however according to a picture on the blog (and the list above) there are fifteen. There is however a scene where Courtney seems to be climbing over a wall that has a security camera pointing at her face (before getting a microphone dropped on her head), she also appears in another shot where she is running (with a determined look on her face) and slams into a glass like wall. This might mean that Courtney was not picked to return for Total Drama Action, but she refused to lose another chance to win the money (and tried to sneak in). It's also possible that maybe she showed up too late and Chris locked her out, so she tried to get in herself (with disastrous results). Whatever the reason, her role in Total Drama Action should be an interesting part of the show, though the former idea is more likely, due to her stubborn personality.

Challenges
Several shots with the cast running and screaming are shown, including some with a monster, implying that there could be a monster movie challenge.