A-list celebrities (from left) Daniel Logan, Joonas Suotamo, Tom Sturridge, Misha Collins, Michael Rooker, Millie Bobby Brown and Mads Mikkelsen officially open the Osaka Comic Con. Image: INQUIRER.net/ARMIN P. ADINA
OSAKA, Japan—The organizers of Osaka Comic Con 2023 invited A-list celebrities to greet avid comicbook and movie fans to the three-day convention at the sprawling Intex Osaka complex this weekend.
“Fantastic Beasts” star Mads Mikkelsen, Emmy-nominated actress Millie Bobby Brown, and Tom Sturridge, who played Dream in the “The Sandman” series, lead the stellar lineup of stars featured in the convention. Also in the lineup are Misha Collins from the series “Supernatural” and “Gotham Knights,” Joonas Suotamo who took over the role of Chewbacca in the “Star Wars” franchise, Daniel Logan who played Bobba Fett in “Star Wars,” and Michael Rooker who played Yondu in the “Guardians of the Galaxy” films.
The seven actors greeted a massive crowd gathered at Hall 5 of Intex Osaka, who all queued up for hours just to see them in person. Orlando Bloom missed the opening ceremony and is scheduled to make an appearance on the second day of the convention. He was in the 2019 Tokyo Comic Con.
Both Mikkelsen and Rooker have also been to the Tokyo Comic Con, in the 2017 staging of the convention. Logan, meanwhile, joined the 2016 convention.
“We’re so happy. We’re gonna take some photos, write some autographs, visit the booths. And I can’t wait, we’re gonna have three days of work,” Mikkelsen told the fans. For his part, Rooker threw the very few Japanese words he knows, to the delight of the fans. He sneaked on the ground near the crowd before the official start of the opening ceremony, and also streaked through the stage, his antics eliciting laughter from the Japanese fans waiting inside the hall.
Logan and his fellow “Star Wars” actor Suotamo spoke in straight Japanese, which impressed the fans and members of the media gathered to cover the event. In his turn on stage, Sturridge greeted “konnichiwa,” and said, “it’s a pleasure to be here. I hope we all have a wonderful time.”
Brown, who earned Emmy nominations for her portrayal of Eleven in “Stranger Things,” and now takes the title role in the “Enola Holmes” films, was ravishing in her sparkly red ensemble, composed of short shorts, a crop top and a jacket. But she kept the audience hanging as she only said “konnichiwa” when she was introduced.
Osaka Comic Con 2023 is the first staging of the convention in Osaka. It is organized by the same team that mounts the annual Tokyo Comic Con in the Japanese capital. Bloom is expected to join the actors in the convention’s closing ceremony on May 7. /ra