Matt Smith, star of House of the Dragon, has been announced for this year’s Middle East Film and Comic Con. The actor, who is also known for starring in Doctor Who, is the first celebrity headliner revealed for the event.
Smith played the 11th Doctor in the series from 2010 to 2014. He later played Prince Philip in the first two seasons of The Crown, earning his first Emmy nomination, before his current role as Daemon Targaryen in the hit show House of the Dragon.
He’ll be joined by American voice actor Christopher Sabat, who is best known for his work as Dragon Ball Z's anti-heroes Vegeta and Piccolo, as well as Disney artists Mike and Patty Peraza.
Sabat has also voiced anime characters in the hit series One Piece, YuYu Hakusho, Fairy Tail and My Hero Academia. Aside from voice acting, he is also the founder of OkraTron 5000, an audio production company.
Mike is an award-winning designer who has worked on films such as The Little Mermaid, DuckTales, The Fox and the Hound, Return of Oz, Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast. His wife Patty — the first female hire at The Walt Disney Studios — has also done animations for Mickey’s Christmas Carol and various Disney commercials.
Other talent announced include voice actors Paige O’Hara, who played Belle in Beauty and the Beast and Zach Aguilar, known for voicing Tanjiro Kamado or Demon Slayer and Aether of Genshin Impact.
The three-day pop culture festival will take place from March 3 to 5 at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, after moving from its long-time venue in Dubai World Trade Centre.
A celebration of pop culture and fandom, the event brings together fans and stars for a fun-filled weekend that features workshops, talks, meet-and-greets, concerts, competitions and more. Among the highlights is the annual cosplay competition, where fans dress up as their favourite characters and compete to see who is the best-dressed.
Scroll through the gallery below for pictures from the cosplay competition at MEFCC 2022
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A woman in cosplay poses with Batman at the Middle East Film & Comic Con 2022 in Abu Dhabi. All photos by Antonie Robertson / The National, unless specified otherwise -
The judging panel of the cosplay competition. -
A woman in cosplay performs on stage. -
A cosplayer with a horse head mask. -
The audience turned out in full force to watch the cosplay competition. -
A cosplayer as the Marvel superhero Iron Man. -
Symbiote x Chainsaw Man. -
A young girl participates in the cosplay competition. -
The event took place at the MEFCC Mainstage, which is outdoors. -
A girl cosplays as DC superhero Wonder Woman. -
The judging panel featured regional and international cosplayers. -
Even though not everyone entered the competition, there was still plenty of cosplay on display on day two of the Middle East Film & Comic Con. -
A cosplayer in a menacing outfit. -
The children who competed in the Kids Cosplay competition were all winners and received swag bags. -
Sylar Serag, as Bazelgeuse Armor from 'Monster Hunter', won first place in the Best Craftsmanship category. Photo: Middle East Film and Comic Con -
Ashwani Kapoor as Samurai Vegito Blue from 'Dragon Ball Z' took second place in Best Craftsmanship. Photo: Middle East Film and Comic Con -
Mohamed Farahat as Banbaro from 'Monster Hunter World' took third place in Best Craftsmanship. Photo: Middle East Film and Comic Con -
Sabie Cipriani as Nico Yazawa from 'Long Live! School Idol Project' was first in Best Performance on Stage. Photo: Middle East Film and Comic Con -
Mohammed Hasan, who goes by the cosplay name Themed Injection, won third place for Best Performance on Stage as Heath Ledger’s The Joker. Photo: Middle East Film and Comic Con
