Karen Gillan comes to New Zealand

Karen Gillan comes to  New Zealand

Doctor Who Star Karen Gillan Headlines Huge Lineup for Wellington Armageddon and Comic Con

Lookout Wellington, this show just got serious, with the lineup of visiting stars and guests for Wellington Armageddon Expo (July 17th to 19^th) and Comic Con Festival growing to epic proportions.

Organisers today announced that Doctor Who companion Karen Gillan will headline the Wellington edition of New Zealand’s favourite pulp-culture showcase, flanked by a strong line-up of television and movie stars, plus anime, comic and fantasy guests.

Event founder William Geradts says he is delighted to be able to bring such a popular and contemporary guest to appear exclusively in Wellington.

“Doctor Who is one of the most important Sci Fi genres and being such a recent character on the show, we know that Karen is going to be hugely popular with Wellington fans,” Geradts said.

Gillan performed alongside Matt Smith as a sassy, funny and passionate Amy Pond in a role that spanned two and a half seasons as the Doctor’s companion.

Gillan’s resume doesn’t just end with Doctor Who, however, she also appeared in the terrifying horror hit, Oculus and more recently in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, as the nefarious Nebula – a role she is set to reprise in the upcoming sequel.

The line-up of stars of this edition of Armageddon continues with: Robert Maschio, Scrubs, Cougartown; Ty Olsson, Supernatural;  Jim Beaver, Supernatural, Deadwood; Sebastian Roché The Vampire Diaries, The Originals; Dean Haglund, The X-Files, Bones; Rick Mora, Twilight; Rick Worthy, Supernatural, Star Trek, Stargate SG-1, Battlestar Galactica, Heroes; and Corin Nemec, Supernatural, Stargate SG1 and Parker Lewis Can't Lose.

Local actors also get a showing with Jed Brophy, William Kircher and Graham McTavish from The Hobbit doing panels and signings.

Animation and comic artist guests appearing in Wellington include Joshua Seth, Digimon; Courtenay Taylor, Regular Show; Matthew Mercer, Attack on Titan; Veronica Taylor, Pokémon; and DC Comics artist Stephen Bissette.

Wresting fans will get a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet WWE hall-of-famer, the Million Dollar Man, Ted Dibiase.

And showing that Sci Fi fans can laugh at themselves, Australian comedian Rob Lloyd, best known for his hilarious routines based on the characters and Time Lords of Doctor Who, joins the Wellington Armageddon cast.

The growing sub-culture of Cosplay where fans dress in the style of their favorite anime and fantasy characters, gets special treatment in Wellington with three international guests attending Riddle, Riddle’s Messy Wardrobe) and Monika Lee, both from the USA and Kamui, a European Cosplay guest.

And in a completely new category for Armageddon, two of the world’s best know Native Americans Saginaw Grant and Rick Mora will present a ) thought provoking, educational and inspiring session on the true History of the Native American people.

All guests attending will take part in panels, signings and photos, so fans can hear their stories, get photos and autographs and meet them in person –  fans are advised to go to the website and check for times and venues.

And in addition to the big names, events such as Cosplay contests, Fear Factor Challenge, gaming demonstrations, exhibitors and the nation’s biggest display of costumed cult-fans will keep the entertainment flowing throughout the weekend.

Armageddon has already outgrown two venues in Wellington and this year Armageddon is bursting out of the Westpac Arena and takes on the entire Wellington City with the first Comic Con Festival. Comic Con sees $5 Grand Scavenger Hunt, Craft Beer Bar Crawls (with Celebrity Guests), Cosplay Photo Shoots, Geek Comedy show, Horror House, Weta Workshop special tours, Mentalist/Hypnosis Theatre show, Sci-fi film festival, Celebrity parties, Game of Thrones Art Display and more!

“Wellington is the movie capital of New Zealand, so it is fitting that it is the first place in the country to feature a city-wide festival,” says Geradts.

“We’re confident that with the big line-up of stars, quirky features and special events, that for one big weekend, we’re going to take over Wellington - prepare for Awesomenessness,” he said.

To see a full list of stars and events happening at the expos go to www.armageddonexpo.com/nz

To see a full list of activities and events happening as part of Comic Con, see: http://comiccon.co.nz/

Tickets for all events now on-sale now from iticket.co.nz  

#awesomenessness