âStar Trekâ star George Takei to appear at pop culture convention in Alabama
George Takei, a legendary figure in the “Star Trek” universe, is on the lineup for the 2024 Huntsville Comic & Pop Culture Expo.
The actor, who portrayed helms officer Sulu on the original “Star Trek” series, was the first celebrity guest announced for the expo this week. He follows “Star Trek” legend William Shatner, forever known as Capt. Kirk, who appeared at the expo in 2023.
The 2024 event is set for April 12-14 at the Von Braun Center’s South Hall. Organizers also confirmed appearances by Paige O’Hara, the voice of Belle in Disney’s 1991 movie “Beauty and the Beast”; David McCormack, voice actor for Bandit in the children’s series “Bluey”; and Steve Downes and Jen Taylor, voice actors for the Halo video game series.
More celebrity guests will be announced soon, the expo’s website says. Early bird tickets are on sale now via the website, priced at $50 for a weekend pass, $150 VIP, $250 Ultra VIP. (There’s also a “Lifetime VIP” ticket for $1,500.)
Takei, 86, also appeared in several “Star Trek” films in the 1970s and ‘80s. The actor earned his greatest fame as Sulu, but he’s also a celebrity on social media, with 9.1 million followers on Facebook, 3.3 million followers on X (formerly known as Twitter) and 1.4 million followers on Instagram.
His social media posts — written by Takei and others on his team — include humor, social commentary, political satire and advocacy for the LGBTQ+ community. Takei also has a presence on Threads, the Twitter-like app from Meta.
Members of the “Star Trek” crew, from left, James Doohan, DeForest Kelley, Walter Koenig, William Shatner, George Takei, Leonard Nimoy and Nichelle Nichols, toast a “Star Trek” film during a news conference at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles, Dec. 28, 1988. (AP Photo/Bob Galbraith, File)
The Huntsville Comic & Pop Culture Expo, founded in 2016, has grown significantly over the years, and drew more than 18,000 fans in 2023, according to organizers.
Along with Shatner, this year’s lineup included Brent Spiner, Gates McFadden and John de Lancie of “Star Trek: The Next Generation”; Chandler Riggs and Ryan Hurst of “The Walking Dead”; Barry Bostwick of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show”; Brian O’Halloran of “Clerks”; Dean Cain of “Superman”; Omid Abtahi of “The Mandalorian”; wrestlers Mick Foley and Kevin Nash; Ming Chen of “Comic Book Men”; and more.
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