Thousands of fans are expected at Auckland Armageddon Expo this weekend. Photo / Beyond Reality Media.
Thousands of fans are expected at Auckland Armageddon Expo this weekend. Photo / Beyond Reality Media.
New Zealand’s biggest pop culture expo, Armageddon, returns to Auckland this Labour Weekend, with a line-up of guests that includes Aquaman himself, Jason Momoa.
Momoa will be headlining on Saturday at the convention at the Auckland Showgrounds, in a one-day appearance that is expected to draw the crowds out to the already popular convention.
Since attending Armageddon in 2013, fresh off his breakout role in Game of Thrones, Momoa’s career has blown up with roles as Aquaman in the DC Universe, and supporting roles in Fast X and Dune.
Armageddon Expo founder Bill Geradts described him as the “perfect Armageddon guest”.
“Whether it’s through his roles in Stargate, Game of Thrones or Aquaman, we have thousands of loyal fans who will know every line and every moment from shows and movies he’s starred in.”
Momoa is one of a number of superhero-related guests attending this year, including Australian Titans stars Brenton Thwaites and Joshua Orpin, Shazam co-star Grace Curry, and former Disney star turned The Flash regular Danielle Panabaker.
Danielle Panabaker starred as Caitlin Snow / Killer Frost in The Flash. Photo / Supplied
Panabaker is heading to Armageddon for this first time, though told the Herald that she and her husband celebrated their honeymoon in the South Island.
Before her nine seasons on The Flash, as Caitlin Snow aka Killer Frost, Panabaker said she went in blind to the world of comic books, superheroes and these conventions, but has learned a lot over the last decade.
“I really do enjoy them. I’m learning so much more and I learned so much more about the comic book world while I was on this show, and I had no idea that there are comic cons in so many different cities ... and it’s remarkable to me the community that there is.
“These events foster people with a deep love and passion for comic books that can connect online and other places and then get to meet and spend time together in person at the conventions.”
Panabaker, who has been acting since she was a teenager, said that the interest from audiences changes from place to place, though The Flash is the most common.
Recently, she’s seen a lot of interest in Sky High, a Disney movie about a school for superheroes that has grown a devoted following since it came out in 2005.
“The last convention I was at, we ran out of Sky High photos, which is always a challenge,” Panabaker said.
She recently appealed to Disney to make a sequel, and said that the post caught the studio’s attention and conversations are ongoing looking into if that’s an option.
Panabaker isn’t surprised that shows and movies that millennial audiences watched as kids are now being viewed nostalgically, and getting more attention at these conventions.
“It’s funny when someone watched Sky High, and now their kids are watching Flash or something like that. It’s, it’s flattering. But also Stuck in the Suburbs, Disney did such a great job with the movies they were making, and I feel like people responded to them and they made an impact on people. And it doesn’t matter that it’s been 10, 15, 20 years since we’ve made them.”
Kiwi actor Craig Parker will be among the stars at Armageddon. Photo / Supplied
Also attending this year is Craig Parker. Originally breaking out for his role as Guy Warner in the early seasons of Shortland Street, Parker has made a name for himself in homegrown fantasy productions, with roles that stretch across Xena, Hercules, Lord of the Rings, The Legend of the Seeker and Spartacus.
Parker said he has been doing these conventions for about 20 years now, since attending “Ring-con” in Germany when the Lord of the Rings movies first came out, and they have grown in number and popularity since then.
“It’s been a fantastic kind of side gig and a great way to travel the world and see just spectacularly weird and wonderful things.”
It’s something that Parker said he remains grateful for, having the ability to go to these conventions, and how it allows actors and creatives to directly interact with the fans and see their appreciation and love for a particular project.
“There is an enormous loyalty that builds, so people who find you in one thing will follow you into other things. So there are people that I met 20 years ago who still turn up and say hi at these things who have watched every single thing [I’m in], even things that I thought would disappear and never be seen again.
“Most people have a very good sense of play about it and a sense of humour about their involvement in fandom. And it’s really just celebrating geekness and celebrating nerdness.”
He credits New Zealand’s reputation for filming fantasy shows as establishing a lot of people’s careers, and creating a lot of opportunities into the industry.
“Back in the Xena-Herc days, you would do six or seven of those and you would be a different person every time, you just slap a different wig on.”
Parker said that many of the behind the scenes talent that came through those shows are now working on bigger Hollywood productions, and allowing the fantasy genre to continue to have a foothold in New Zealand.
“It’s also just really fun to play. It’s the same thing when you’re a kid and you play dress-ups, it’s, it has an element of that still.”
Alongside the celebrities, Armageddon will feature a number of video game and trading card events, including Nintendo, Just Dance and Disney Lorcana stands, alongside a cosplay parade.
Armageddon Expo takes place at Auckland Showgrounds every day over Labour weekend. Tickets are available online.
