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SALT LAKE CITY — Gearing up for a fifth anniversary show this fall, Salt Lake Comic Con revealed its first wave of celebrity guests at a costume-packed announcement event Wednesday.
The initial guest lineup includes "Doctor Who" star Catherine Tate; Christopher Lloyd and Tom Wilson, who came together in the "Back to the Future" films; Sean Gunn, whose roles range from "Guardians of the Galaxy" to "Gilmore Girls"; and "Star Trek" teen star Wil Wheaton, who also plays a fictional version of himself on "The Big Bang Theory."
Those are in addition to three celebrities Salt Lake Comic Con took delight in leaking over the past few weeks: Michael Rooker, a hero-villain in the box office favorite "Guardians of the Galaxy" films; Val Kilmer, whose credits include "Batman Forever," "Top Gun" and "Tombstone"; and Michael Rosenbaum, best known for playing Lex Luthor in "Smallville" as well as a role in "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2."
Salt Lake Comic Con, which consistently attracts more than 120,000 attendees to its headline event, returns to the Salt Palace Convention Center Sept. 21-23.
In honor of the homegrown convention's fifth year, co-founders Dan Farr and Bryan Brandenburg said organizers are pushing to expand the event in a number of ways.
"It's going to be a much bigger event than we've ever had before. It will be the largest attended, but I also think we're going to be introducing a lot of new things to make it exciting and fun for everybody," Farr said.
Among other attractions, the founders said September's event could include a Guinness World Record attempt. In 2015, Salt Lake Comic Con set a record for gathering the most people dressed as comic book characters in one place.
Brandenburg called the crowd of costumed fans filling the rotunda of the state Capitol Wednesday the most impressive group he has seen turn out for comic con's celebrity announcement events.
"It's amazing," Brandenburg said. "We work for the fans, I mean, they're our bosses."
Brandenburg said the long list of celebrity guests currently in the works look to cover "the fundamental" geek franchises, including Harry Potter, Star Wars and Doctor Who, as well as "major stars from the DC and Marvel movies."
"If the stars align," Brandenburg said, winking at his own pun, "it's going to be amazing."
Through midnight Thursday, comic con's Loyalty Launch tickets will reward early buyers with a 30 percent discount. Even before the promotion's final day, Brandenburg said ticket sales for the event are "way ahead of any year," putting comic con in a strong position to book big-name celebrities.
The comic and pop culture convention became an overnight hit following its first event. Farr said Wednesday that he and Brandenburg were "a little bit naive" going into that event, crediting their success to support from state and county leaders, others who selflessly reached out offering help and advice, and droves of faithful fans.
A handful of authors, artists and convention floor attractions were also announced Wednesday, including a pavilion dedicated entirely to "Magic: The Gathering," the ironically geeky fantasy trading card game.
POP Life Entertainment, now in partnership with Salt Lake Comic Con, will also return with a large display of its collectible vinyl figurines to the event.
Other celebrities coming to comic con include Will Friedle, a star from the ’90s hit "Boy Meets World," who has since taken up voice acting in a number of animated superhero stories; John Barrowman, who has appeared in "Doctor Who," "Torchwood," "Arrow" and a number of Broadway plays; Jewel Staite, of "Firefly" and "Serenity"; and Corbin Bernsen, who starred in the "Major League" films and and TV's "Psych" and "L.A. Law."
