Pop culture and comic book aficionados in Dubai will have the chance to meet one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's newest superheroes, a top Turkish star and more.
Taking place next Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Skydive Dubai, the latest iteration of Pop Con ME will feature a wide range of activities including a cosplay competition and creative workshops. In addition to the trademark feature of many a convention: celebrity appearances.
Here is a list of the celebrities due to appear next weekend.
Alaqua Cox
The Native American actress first appeared in Disney+ series Hawkeye portraying Maya Lopez, a deaf character with strong fighting abilities.
She was given her own show on the streaming service titled Echo, which was released earlier this year and received positive reviews from fans and critics.
The young actress is deaf herself and has previously told D23 magazine that her Hawkeye co-stars Jeremy Renner and Hailee Steinfeld learnt American Sign Language to communicate better with her.
Nurettin Sonmez
The Turkish actor has been active in his country’s television industry since the early 2000s but became a recognisable face after his appearance in the show Resurrection: Ertugrul.
Sonmez portrays the character of Bamsi Beyrek, who appeared in 150 episodes of the series as well 60 episodes of the sequel series titled Establishment: Osman.
Peter Gadiot
British actor Peter Gadiot has appeared in many popular television shows including Yellowjackets and Queen of the South.
More recently he appeared in the Netflix adaptation of the anime show One Piece playing the part of Shanks.
His character on the show is one of the most popular among fans of both the anime and live-action remake, with many options to cosplay as him due to the simplicity and distinctiveness of his look.
Manu Bennett
The New Zealand actor has appeared in action films such The Marine starring John Cena, as well as television shows such as Spartacus and Arrow.
Bennett also appeared in The Hobbit trilogy as Azog the Defiler, a large orc that threatens the journey of Bilbo Baggins and his crew.
Other attractions
The convention will also feature Japanese voice actors, such as Romi Park from Attack on Titan and Fullmetal Alchemist, Ayaka Komatsu from Sailor Moon and Chisa Yokoyama, voice of Chun Li from Street Fighter.
Gamers can look forward to a gaming zone that will feature competitions and playing sessions. Card games will include Dungeons and Dragons and Pokemon.
There will also be famous comic book illustrators at the convention who will be available to autograph some of their works. These include Adam Pollina, Mike Krome, Eranga D, Mostafa Moussa, Christian Duce and Jesse Simon.
PopConMe will be held at Skydive Dubai, Dubai Marina, from February 2
