Mike Brooks
Audio By Carbonatix
Geek culture is as prominent in Dallas as anywhere else in the nation, and there’s no better yearly celebration of fandom than the Fan Expo Dallas, held at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center. Previously known as Dallas Comic Con, Fan Expo unites fans of properties such as Star Wars, Star Trek, Harry Potter, Doctor Who, Game of Thrones, The Lord of the Rings, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Marvel, DC, and many others under one massive roof.
Each year’s festivities include photo opportunities, comic book signings, workshops, panels, meetups and cosplay competitions. However, Fan Expo Dallas’ signature attraction is the celebrity guests who appear to sign merchandise and meet with guests. Although Fan Expo Dallas has a relatively impressive streak of landing more-than-fairly impressive guests, this year’s lineup may be the most stacked since the inaugural event in 2002.
Perhaps the most exciting star in attendance is the one dominating HBO’s Sunday nights right now: Walton Goggins. The former star of Justified and The Shield received acclaim for his leading role in the hit Amazon Prime series adaptation of the popular gaming franchise Fallout and can be seen every week on HBO’s tricky ensemble mystery The White Lotus and Danny McBride’s outrageous comedy The Righteous Gemstones. Considering that Goggins is set to soon be reprising his role as “The Ghoul” as Fallout‘s second season prepares for production, his appearance on Saturday’s event is no small deal.
Another highly in-demand actor making a rare convention appearance is John Boyega, best known for his role as the former stormtrooper Finn in the most recent Star Wars trilogy. Although Boyega gained fandom with his breakout performance in the cult classic science-fiction comedy Attack the Block, his post-Star Wars roles have sadly been relatively slow, which may be attributed to how outspoken he has been about the prevalence of racism within the film industry. While Boyega could not be blamed for wanting to avoid fan-centric gatherings, the environment curated by the Fan Expo Dallas should provide a positive opportunity.
While Boyega is a relatively younger star, Dallas Fan Expo welcomes an industry legend with Dolph Lundgren, the Swedish actor who ensured his role in cinematic history when he co-starred as the villainous Russian boxer Ivan Drago in Rocky IV. Although Lundgren has an advanced degree in chemical engineering and has organized many social outreach programs, he’s often associated with the type of “lunkhead” roles that he played in many classic action films, including Masters of the Universe, Universal Soldier, Men of War and The Expendables franchise. Lundgren is still actively involved in many direct-to-VOD action films, but he will likely earn significant attention from attendees who grew up with his work.
Another ’90s legend set to make a rare convention appearance at the Dallas Fan Expo is Alicia Silverstone, who is set to have a major comeback this year when she appears alongside Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons in the hotly anticipated science fiction comedy Bugonia from Academy Award-nominated director Yorgos Lanthimos. Although she did have the misfortune of playing Batgirl in the reviled Dallas-shot sequel Batman & Robin, Silverstone is most closely associated with her role as Cher in the teen comedy classic Clueless, one of the most quotable films ever made. Clueless alone would be enough to make Silverstone’s resume exciting, and she’s also coming off a series of recent hits with the twisty horror drama The Lodge, the A24 comedy Y2K and the Netflix crime thriller Reptile.
Who’s Who at Fan Expo Dallas
Silverstone isn’t the only ’90s heartthrob in attendance. Heather Graham of Boogie Nights and Drugstore Cowboy fame is set to be at all three days of the event. Graham’s breakout role in the second season of Twin Peaks turned her into a household name for fans of television dramas, but she would eventually find her niche within comedy. In addition to appearing in the cult classics Swingers and Six Degrees of Separation, Graham had significant roles in multiple installments of the Austin Powers and The Hangover franchises.
Loyalty to a franchise doesn’t get much more potent than that of Anthony Daniels, the British actor who has played C-3PO for almost 50 years. While many other Star Wars cast members have been cycled out, Daniels has voiced C-3PO in every film, animated series, video game, theme park attraction and promotional project within the series. Daniels was last in Dallas when he appeared as the host of the Star Wars In Concert event in 2009, and he certainly hasn’t slowed down in the slightest, given the sheer amount of Star Wars content that has been released since.
The Dallas Fan Expo also appears to be the site of a Smallville reunion as original cast members Tom Welling (Superman), Michael Rosenbaum (Lex Luthor), Kristin Kreuk (Lana Lang), Erica Durance (Lois Lane) and Laura Vandervoort (Kara Zor-El) are expected to be there for the entire weekend. It’s easy to forget that Smallville was among the first hugely successful superhero shows of all time and that it helped to introduce the DC mythology to an audience that wasn’t old enough to see Christopher Reeve’s iteration of the Man of Tomorrow on the big screen. Given the considerable hype surrounding the release of this summer’s Superman reboot, the wave of nostalgia for Smallville will be at an all-time high.
In addition to the legendary professional wrestler Mr. T, the Superbad scene-stealer Christopher Mintz-Plasse, High School Musical star Corbin Bleu and none other than Priscilla Presley, the Dallas Fan Expo also boasts one of the most impressive lineups of comic book artists and writers. Although trying to pack this many events into just one long weekend may be a lot for any fan to handle, Dallas’ loyal geeks are certainly up to the adventure.
Fan Expo Dallas runs from May 30–June 1 at Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, 650 S. Griffin St. Tickets and passes are available at fanexpohq.com.
