FanX 2016 is coming soon. Ok, maybe soon is not the right word. It’s happening Easter weekend, 2016, which is the end of March. It seems like Salt Lake Comic Con just ended, and some of us are still recovering, but that’s the life in a geek community with two major conventions each year. Once one ends, we are all anxious to start hearing about who is coming to the next one and when it will be and all the details, even though, right now, there are relatively few details to have. Planning a huge convention like this takes time, and a lot of the details are not completely hammered down until right before the convention begins. That’s a big reason why we get guest announcements right up until the day of the convention, and sometimes it happens at the convention itself- like when Patrick Stewart was announced at the very first FanX in 2014.
One of the most entertaining things about these conventions is following the Salt Lake Comic Con page and seeing all the teases from co-founder Bryan Brandenburg. He takes a lot of satisfaction in teasing some of the big guest announcements, and we usually respond with all of our guesses, and it’s a lot of fun. It is also a great marketing strategy because it really gets everyone talking about the convention and speculating. For the most part, I enjoy it, but sometimes it drives me crazy. I am one of those people who just has to know. Just tell me, already!
If you like doing all the detective work, then this year’s FanX is already shaping up to be loads of fun for you. the folks at Salt Lake Comic Con have put together a gallery of images teasing a bunch of fandoms, and they are covering all of them. We also received an email about the press conference happening this week. In the email, it has nine different fandoms, and it states that on Tuesday, November 24, six guests will be announced from the nine fandoms, with the rest being announced over the next few weeks. The fandoms the email listed include: The Walking Dead, Doctor Who, Harry Potter, Supernatural, Firefly, Agents of SHIELD, The Lord of the Rings, The Matrix, Star Wars, Arrow, NASA, and Once Upon a Time. I am not a huge follower of some of the fandoms listed, so it would be hard for me to even know where to begin on guessing who is coming. I do have a few guesses though, so I thought I would share, and it will be fun to see how many, if any, I got correct. So, here are four guesses for guests that will be announced on Tuesday.
Doctor Who- Paul McGann
There is a part of me that really wants to guess David Tennant here, and I think there is one clue out there that could support that guess, but I’m not. The biggest reason why? They had people guess who it might be a while back on the Facebook feed or something, and they gave away a photo-op for this guest. The photo-op was advertised as a “classic Doctor” photo-op. I know it has been a few years since Ten was the Doctor, but I don’t think anyone considers him a “classic” doctor yet. Since we are lookin at only the classics, I figure we can reasonably narrow it down to 3: Paul McGann, Colin Baker or Sylvester McCoy. All of them have come to Salt Lake City before for a convention (Baker and McGann came to SLCC in 2014 and McCoy came for FantasyCon), and it is possible that any one of them could come back. What would be awesome is if all three came back, but it is unlikely that all three would be announced on Tuesday. I had to pick one, so I went with McGann.
On the other hand, just the other day, Bryan Brandenburg and co. snuck in a Jessica Jones image to their fandoms gallery, so maybe Tennant is coming as well. Fingers crossed. I know he is one of the more requested guests for them.
Firefly-Nathan Fillion
I am swinging for the fences on this guess. He’s been here before for FanX, so I don’t see why they couldn’t get him here again. I really have nothing else to support this. It is just my guess. A safer bet might be Morena Baccarin, who has been scheduled a couple of times for either Salt Lake Comic Con or FanX, and has had to cancel due to conflicts. It may be that they have her scheduled again, just don’t be surprised if another conflict comes up. Apparently, she is very in demand. Nathan would be awesome, though, and this could be the first major announcement for the con.
The Lord of the Rings- Sean Astin
Once Salt Lake Comic Con teased the Lord of the Rings as a fandom, they teased us even more with a picture of all the hobbitses. My guess here is Sean Astin. I think he probably had a great time when he came for SLCC 15, and I think he was a fan favorite. I went to his panel, and it was one of the best panels of the weekend. I think he should come for every convention. And this time, I am going for a photo-op with him. You know, if I’m right and they announce that he is coming. Obviously, this is a one in four shot here, but I feel good about this one. I guess we will see what happens.
Arrow-Stephen Amell
This is another big swing. He has been here before for SLCC 14, so it is possible that he could be coming again for FanX 16. He was a big hit when he came before, and I think he would be an even bigger deal if he came again. It is possible, though, that they might be killing two birds with one stone at the press conference and may be bringing in John Barrowman, who could represent both Arrow and Doctor Who, which would be very tricksy of them. John continues to be on that the fans want to see again and again, so it would not surprise me if he was announced. That being said, I am hoping for Stephen Amell, who I think would also count as a pretty major announcement.
Well, there you have it. Those are my four guesses for the press conference on Tuesday. What do you think? Are these all guests you would like to see announced for FanX 16? Who would be at the top of your list for guest announcements? Who do you think they will announce on Tuesday? Let me know in the comments, or you can email me directly at [email protected]. You can also buy tickets now for FanX 16. They are currently 30% off, but will go up tomorrow at noon, after the press conference.
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5 responses to “4 Guesses for the FanX 16 Press Conference”
A little bird told me there will be two “classic” doctors, and someone who will generate quite a buzz in the 1st round. I’m pretty stoked!
That hasn’t been the case in the past, but I know one of the major points of feedback has been that they don’t lead off with the major guests, and SLCC is always trying to give their fans what they want. I would love multiple classic doctors. That would be awesome. I can’t wait to see the first guest announcements tomorrow. Thanks for your input.
LOL – I didn’t say he was a major guest – he’s been out of the limelight for many decades, but I did literally jump out of my chair and cheer when I heard his name. He’s a perfect Fan X type guest 🙂
Now I am intrigued.
More fun, my sources say the LOTR representative is a dwarf and we will have a “Revenge of the Nerds” alumni that also shared the silver screen with Tom Cruise