The Middle East Film and Comic Con opened its doors to the public for its first full day on Friday with the revelation that Shazam star Zachary Levi has set himself the challenge of appearing in every major movie and TV franchise out there.
Prior to his starring role in DC's latest outing as the titular Shazam, Levi also appeared as Fandral, the Viking warrior in Marvel's Thor franchise, and he says he won't be stopping there: "I won't be stopping there. I want to try and get myself in every single one of the universes," he told the audience at the con's opening panel discussion. "It's going to be like Star Wars, Star Trek, Harry Potter. I'd love to be the guy that one day I'll die people will think: 'oh yeah – that's the guy that's in everybody's movies'."
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Competitors in the Nintendo dance competition. Victor Besa/The National -
Harley DXB strikes a pose. Victor Besa/The National. -
The Comic Con staple, storm troopers. Victor Besa/The National -
Abdul Majid Malky as Sweet Tooth from Twisted Metal. Victor Besa/The National. -
Sana Khan as Bowsette of Mario Bros. and Mariam Khan as 2B from Neir. Victor Besa / The National -
Comic Con goers arrive on day two. Victor Besa/The National. -
There were selfies aplenty among the crowds. Victor Besa/The National. -
Comic Con goers in full swing on day two. Victor Besa/The National. -
Comic Con fans line up at the entrance. Victor Besa / The National -
The Joker from the movie Suicide Squad. -
Cosplay selfie-mania. -
A limited edition "Genos" anime figurine. -
The first fans to enter MEFCC. -
Asad Mudeer in his Loki get-up. -
Left to right: The Devil - Shamsa Hohammed, and Black Canary- Maria al Faouri. -
Bashar Nizam as The Wizard. -
Ali El Habti as Spiderman. -
Saif Bindhabooi in his "Walking Dead" Zombie get-up. -
Harley Quinn of the movie Suicide Squad. -
Geek Nation Funko Pop's for sale. -
Kitty Beale as Xion and her husband Chris as Lee. -
Captain America - Graeme Sullivan and his sons, Thomas as Tanos and Alfie as Iron Man. -
Guardians of the Galaxy cosplayers. -
The Purge characters action jump. -
Emma Ghanam in a unicorn themed costume. -
(L-R) Guminarti Hamiidah, Marie Agonias and Francyne Ocubilo cosplay as the Little Witch Academia. -
Jeremy Grange as Obi-Wan Kenobi. -
(L-R) Maha Mansour as Pikachu, Alya Ali as Sans from Undertale and Maitha Alnuaimi as Chloe from Life is Strange. -
A fan greets Makenzie Landeros, who is dressed as the charachter, Elsa. -
Noob Saibot as Just Yeliz -
Comic Con goers at full swing on day 2. -
Katie Cassidy, actress. -
Artist, Simon Bisley. -
Kevin Lim as Spiderman.
The star further noted his disappointment to have seemingly missed his opportunity to join the Game of Thrones franchise – the final season of the fantasy drama premieres on Sunday night in the US. Game of Thrones star Iwan Rheon, who was also on the panel however, was quick to remind Levi that "they're making a prequel," so Levi may yet get his chance.
Elsewhere during the opening panel, Dr Strange and Avengers star Benedict Wong revealed that he had never seen a full script for last year's Avengers: Infinity War. Security was so tight around the hotly anticipated film that each actor was only given their own scenes when the movie was shooting. Wong, who plays Dr Strange's sidekick Wong, revealed that he didn't know the full story until he watched the film with the rest of the cast at the premiere.
Panelists including Arrow's Katie Cassidy and The Walking Dead's Ross Marquand shared a mutual admiration for Dubai's airport, while voice actress Tara Strong, who has provided voices for My Little Pony, Teen Titans, and The Powerpuff Girls, among others, revealed a newfound love of Dubai sushi joint Play.
MEFCC is taking place at Dubai World Trade Centre until Saturday evening with celebrity panels and meet and greets, comic and merchandise shopping, workshops, artists, film screenings, and all things geeky for the UAE's pop culture-loving community. Tickets and information are available from Dh115 from www.mefcc.com
