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SALT LAKE CITY — This is no Jedi mind trick: Star Wars icon Mark Hamill will make his only comic con appearance of the year in Salt Lake City next month.
Best known for his role of Luke Skywalker, a young rebel in a galaxy far, far away, Hamill is as renowned for his voice acting as he is for his roles in the original Star Wars trilogy and recent smash hit "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," Salt Lake Comic Con organizers said Tuesday.
"Star Wars is always one of our fans' favorites, and the fact that Mark is making his only U.S. comic con appearance in 2016 at our show is huge for us and for our fans," said Dan Farr, Salt Lake Comic Con co-founder and show producer.
In addition to his work as a Jedi Knight, Hamill has crossed over to the dark side as the voice of Darth Bane in the animated "Star Wars: Clone Wars" TV series. He has been the voice of Batman's nemesis The Joker in "Batman: The Animated Series" and "Batman: The Killing Joke," as well as a number of Batman video games.
Hamill will sign autographs and take photos with paying fans, and will speak in a panel for 4,500 attendees.
The announcement came within a week of Salt Lake Comic Con organizers revealing its upcoming guest list includes WWE superstar John Cena and promising a wave of high-profile guest announcements leading up to the convention.
Meet actor Mark Hamill at #SLCC16! Luke Skywalker from Star Wars, Joker from DC animation: https://t.co/Rg2Wx4cENjpic.twitter.com/AMC9wKEDNv
— Salt Lake Comic Con (@slcomiccon) August 9, 2016
Bryan Brandenburg, Salt Lake Comic Con co-founder and CEO, called Hamill's commitment to come to Utah's homegrown comic and pop culture convention "a tribute to how far we've come in a few short years."
"We promised our fans that there were more guests to come, and we're delivering on that promise in a big way," Brandenburg said. "It says a lot about our fans and the reputation we've built amongst celebrities that a star as big as Mark Hamill would make Salt Lake Comic Con his only United States comic con appearance in 2016."
An overnight success on the geek scene, Salt Lake Comic Con will return to the Salt Palace Convention Center on Labor Day weekend, Sept. 1-3. Organizers announced last week that 50,000 tickets have been sold for the event, which last fall topped 120,000 guests at its peak.
Guests announced so far include Salt Lake Comic Con alumni William Shatner, the original Captain Kirk in "Star Trek," and Lou Ferrigno, "The Incredible Hulk"; Michael Rooker, "Guardians of the Galaxy" and "The Walking Dead"; Ian Somerhalder, "The Vampire Diaries" and "Lost"; Ruth Connell, "Supernatural" and "Disney Infinity"; Billy Boyd, "The Lord of the Rings"; Manu Bennett of "Arrow" and The Hobbit trilogy; Ming Chen, Bryan Johnson and Michael Zapcic of "Comic Book Men"; and "The Dukes of Hazzard" trio John Schneider, Tom Wopat and Catherine Bach.
