Christina Ricci, Giancarlo Esposito, Carl Weathers Lead Next Wave of FAN EXPO New Orleans Celebs

2024-12-23 09:32:16 Art & Entertainment

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With less than one month to go before the return of FAN EXPO New Orleans, six celebrities from several iconic franchises have been added to the celebrity roster of the pop culture extravaganza set for January 6-8 at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. The exciting set of newcomers includes fan favorites Christina Ricci (?Addams Family,? ?Wednesday?), Giancarlo Esposito (?The Mandalorian,? ?Breaking Bad?), Carl Weathers (?The Mandalorian,? ?Predator?). Bonnie Wright (?Harry Potter?) and the ?Stranger Things? duo of Grace Van Dien and Eduardo Franco.

Ricci, who first caught attention as a child star as ?Wednesday Addams? in The Addams Family (1991) and Addams Family Values (1993), has nearly 100 acting credits, including as ?Marilyn Thornhill? in the current Netflix series ?Wednesday.? She moved from appearances as a teen in Casper and Now and Then to adult roles in Sleepy Hollow, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Speed Racer and more and had regular roles in TV series ?Ally McBeal,? ?Pan Am? and others.

The prolific veteran film, television and stage actor, director and producer Esposito, in addition to his role as ?Moff Gideon? on the Disney+ series ?The Mandalorian,? is well known by television audiences for his iconic portrayal of drug kingpin ?Gus Fring? in AMC?s critically acclaimed award-winning series ?Breaking Bad.? Some of Esposito?s most memorable performances can be seen in films such as Rabbit Hole, The Usual Suspects, Smoke, The Last Holiday and Spike Lee?s films Do the Right Thing, Mo? Better Blues, School Daze and Malcolm X.

Weathers, who portrays ?Greef Karga? in ?The Mandalorian,? first gained acclaim for his role as boxer ?Apollo Creed? in the first four Rocky films (1976?85). The former pro football player also has had memorable roles as ?George Dillon? in Predator (1987), the title role in Action Jackson (1988), and ?Combat Carl? in the Toy Story franchise. Weathers and Esposito will be joined at FAN EXPO New Orleans by fellow ?Mandalorian? standout Katee Sackhoff, announced last month in the first wave of guests.

Wright, whose portrayal of Ron Weasley's little sister ?Ginny? in 2001's Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone marked her first screen appearance, has since reprised the role in numerous iterations of the franchise, through Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows, Part 2 (2011). The London-born actress also earned numerous awards for her lead role in Sweat (2015) and starred in a contemporary retelling of A Christmas Carol in 2018. She will join fellow Potter standout Matthew Lewis (?Neville Longbottom?), who announced in November that he will be attending the event.

Van Dien built a resume that has included appearances as ?Brooke Osmond? in the Netflix teen drama series ?Greenhouse Academy? and ?Katie Campbell? in NBC drama series ?The Village? before landing a recurring spot as ?Chrissy Cunningham? in Season 4 of ?Stranger Things.? She is also a noted and popular streamer on Twitch.

Franco has the key ?Stranger Things? role of ?Argyle,? also in Season 4 of the Netflix series. He also appeared as ?Theo? in Booksmart and ?Spencer Diaz? in the Netflix mockumentary ?American Vandal.? He and Van Dien join fellow ?Stranger Things? cast member Joseph Quinn (?Eddie Munson?), who has previously been announced to the FAN EXPO New Orleans celebrity roster.

In addition to Sackhoff, Lewis, and Quinn, the new wave of celebrities will be part of a star-studded FAN EXPO New Orleans lineup that includes legendary filmmaker Sam Raimi (Spider-Man, The Evil Dead franchise), Anson Mount (?Star Trek: Discovery,? ?Star Trek: Strange New Worlds) and the stars of ?Trailer Park Boys? Mike Smith, John Paul Tremblay and Robb Wells. The event will boast a featured lineup of celebrities, voice actors, creators, cosplayers, authors, exhibitors, compelling programming, meet and greets, special events, family zones and more.

Tickets for FAN EXPO New Orleans are on sale at http://www.fanexponeworleans.com, with individual day, 3-day and Ultimate Fan Package available for adults, youths and families. VIP packages are also available now, with dozens of special benefits including priority entry, limited edition collectibles, exclusive items and much more.

Additional guests, exhibitors and programming for this major comics, sci-fi, horror, literary, anime and gaming convention will be announced closer to the event.

New Orleans is the first event on the 2023 FAN EXPO HQ calendar; the full schedule is available at fanexpohq.com/home/events/.

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