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SALT LAKE CITY — Comic con fans, assemble! Captain America is coming to Salt Lake City.
Actor and director Chris Evans, who portrays the star-spangled leader of the Avengers in Marvel's blockbuster film franchise, was announced Friday as a headlining guest for this fall's Salt Lake Comic Con. Evans is arguably one of the biggest celebrity gets for Utah's young and successful comic and pop culture convention.
"The fans seem to be as excited as we were," organizer Dan Farr said Friday. "On a personal level, he just seems like a neat person and someone we'd like to meet. ... He's definitely one of the most iconic guests that we've had."
Evans is known for a number of geeky film roles, including "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World," "Fantastic 4," "Push," and "The Losers." Evans will appear for the convention's final day.
Since becoming an overnight hit with their first Salt Lake Comic Con event in September 2013, Farr and comic con co-founder Bryan Brandenburg have fought to assemble an increasingly star-studded guest lineup for each event, including its springtime FanX convention.
After just three years, Salt Lake Comic Con's list of alumni includes names like Marvel mastermind Stan Lee; Patrick Stewart, of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and "X-Men"; "Castle" and "Firefly" star Nathan Fillion; Matt Smith of the BBC's cult hit "Dr. Who"; and Carrie Fisher, Princess Leia of the original Star Wars trilogy.
The convention's meteoric rise and positive reputation have augmented organizers' opportunities to attract exciting guests, Farr said. He was meeting with Evans' agent at Comicpalooza in Houston when Star Trek star and Salt Lake Comic Con alumnae Marina Sirtis approached with an impromptu recommendation.
(Star Trek star Marina Sirtis) told (Chris Evans), 'You have to do their convention. They run the best convention, their fans are the best, you really have to go to Salt Lake. It was almost like I staged it, it was so perfect. It was really sweet of her to do that.
–Organizer Dan Farr
"She told him, 'You have to do their convention. They run the best convention, their fans are the best, you really have to go to Salt Lake,'" Farr recalled. "It was almost like I staged it, it was so perfect. It was really sweet of her to do that."
Evans' upcoming appearance at the convention has organizers daydreaming about who else they would like to see on the guest list. Farr wondered whether Evans' announcement will attract the attention of his "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" co-star, Robert Redford, though the founders haven't been in talks with him. Redford lives in Utah and is the founder of the Sundance Film Festival.
Farr promised that he and Brandenburg still have some surprises up their sleeves as they prepare for September.
Organizers hope to make the third installment of Salt Lake Comic Con, happening Sept. 24-26, their largest event so far. Ticket sales are "stronger than ever," Farr said, and attendance could top 130,000 guests, matching the average attendance of the longstanding San Diego Comic Con.
The veteran convention is currently in a trademark battle with Utah's upstart event over rights to the moniker "comic con," despite its use by events across the country.
Guests announced so far for September's convention include John Barrowman, "Arrow"; Felicia Day, "The Guild" and "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog"; Ian Somerhalder, "Vampire Diaries"; Sean Astin, "Lord of the Rings"; Christopher Gorham, "Once Upon a Time"; Anthony Daniels, "Star Wars"; and Scott Wilson, "The Walking Dead."
