Hollywood headliners set to hit Abu Dhabi for Middle East Film and Comic Con 2023

Some of the silver screen’s biggest names in sci-fi are heading for the nation’s capital this March, for the latest edition of the Middle East Film And Comic Con (MEFCC).

Stranger Things and Black Widow star David Harbour will be at the event, which takes place from March 3rd to 5th, along with legendary Star Wars actor Anthony Daniels, and Andy Serkis of The Lord Of The Rings fame. What’s more, Dr Who and House Of the Dragon star Matt Smith will be in attendance, along with Hayden Christensen, who played Anakin Skywalker in the Star Wars prequel movies.

All five stars will be signing autographs at the three-day exhibition in ADNEC, that celebrates all things sci-fi, horror, anime and comic.

Smith has won plaudits for his recent role in the recent, aforementioned Game Of Thrones spin-off, and also starred in the 2022 Marvel movie Morbius. Daniels needs no introduction - he’s played the iconic fan favourite droid C-3PO in the Star War movies since the very first film in 1977. He is in fact the only actor to appear in all nine of the franchise’s main movies. Harbour, meanwhile, has become a cult icon for his role as police chief Jim Hopper in the hit show Stranger Things, and is also currently trending for his role in new Netflix movie We Have A Ghost. Christensen recently reprised his roles as Anakin, the Jedi who becomes evil Darth Vader, in the hit Disney+ TV show Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Serkis is often known more for his work bringing to life CGI characters in movies such as Gollum in TLOTR and King Kong, but he is another to have gained rave reviews for a recent role in Star Wars. He played prisoner Kino Loy in the well-received hit show Andor. He also excelled as Alfred’s 2022 movie The Batman.

The three big names will also be joined be some rising stars of the genre, including

Jamie Campbell B of Stranger Things fame (he played the evil Vecna in Series 4) and Moon Knight’s May Calamawy (she starred as Layla, the wife of Oscar Isaac’s Marc Spector).

This will be the eleventh Comic Con to take place in the region, and there’s plenty more geek chic to experience at the event including a cosplay competition, and appearances from legendary comic graphic novel artists such as Jock, Ryan Ottley, Greg Capullo and Patty Peraza. Serious gamers can register to take part in the event’s tournaments, while Cine Club is a series of panel discussions, one of which will be hosted by Matt Smith. Finally, wannabe film makers will have the change to learn from industry experts at the Creative Academy, with sessions covering everything from crafting comics to creating short movies.

Tickets for the event start at AED 135 for one day’s access and AED 299 for three days.

Visit www.mefcc.com for more information.