The veil on NBC’s “Heroes Reborn” miniseries lifted a bit as the cast and creator Tim Kring took to the stage at the Television Critics’ Association’s summer press tour Thursday.

As had been rumored, Kring confirmed that Hayden Panettiere’s character, Claire, died a year before the events on the show. The new show takes place in the exact amount of time since the original “Heroes” went off the air, Kring also revealed.

While Claire is dead, her father Noah Bennet (Jack Coleman) is a series regular, and is the only character from the original series who will appear in every episode. Original characters, including Masi Oka’s time-traveling Hiro and Sendhil Ramamurthy’s Monhinder, will appear in a couple of episodes each.

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The world of “Heroes Reborn” is populated mostly by newcomers, including Zachary Levi’s villainous Luke, Ryan Guzman’s Carlos, army veteran at a crossroads, Robby Kay’s Tommy, who can make people disappear, and Kiki Sukezane’s Miko, who’s on a search for her mysterious father and whose character is described by King as “the most unique character we’ve ever had.”

Kring acknowledged that when “Heroes” was canceled after four seasons in 2010, it was not a planned series finale.

“The truth is when we went off the air, we didn’t know we were going off the air,” he said. “Looking back at it, we left at absolutely a fantastic moment that set into motion everything we’re doing here. Time has really changed it, for the better. We now have the benefit of five years later.”

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While the show is slated as a 13-episode miniseries, with a finite beginning, middle and end, Kring did not rule out the possibility of more.

“I’ve always spoken about how the brand is elastic enough that I feel confident we can find new stories to tell with new characters or current characters down the line,” Kring said.

“Heroes Reborn” will premiere Thursday, Sept. 24 on NBC.