Largest-ever ‘X-Files’ reunion is happening in Denver
Linda Blair and Pauly Shore are among late additions to dizzying lineup of ‘LOTR’ and ‘Scream’ stars for Fan Expo Denver
More than 100,000 pop-culture fans will gather downtown over the next four days, and there’s so much excitement already about the “Lord of the Rings” cast reunion taking place on Sunday that other huge happenings at Fan Expo Denver might be overlooked.
It’s kind of crazy the breadth of pop-culture big shots who are scheduled to be at the Colorado Convention Center sometime between Thursday and Sunday. First, an overview:
• “The Lord of the Rings” 25th anniversary reunion: Orlando Bloom, Elijah Wood, Miranda Otto, Sean Astin, John Rhys-Davies, John Noble, Dominic Monaghan and Billy Boyd.
• The “X-Files” reunion: Gillian Anderson, David Duchovny and others will mark the 33rd anniversary of the series’ premiere.
• From “The Goonies”: Corey Feldman, Sean Astin (again), Joe Pantoliano and Kerri Green (Martha Plimpton has canceled; more on that below).
• From “Scream”: Matthew Lillard, Skeet Ulrich, Jamie Kennedy, and Lee Waddell.
• From “Doctor Who” and “Good Omens”: David Tennant.
• From “The Karate Kid”: Ralph Macchio.
• “The Boys” reunion: Karl Urban, Erin Moriarty, Karen Fukuhara, Tomer Capone, Cameron Crovetti and Valorie Curry.
• From “Lost”: Josh Holloway and Dominic Monaghan.
• From Marvel’s “Luke Cage”: Mike Colter.
• From “Rocky IV”: Dolph Lundgren.
• From “Deadpool & Wolverine”: Peggy the Dog (aka Dogpool).
• From “KPop Demon Hunters”: Ji-Young Yoo (voice of Zoe).
• From “Young Sheldon”: Lance Barber and Zoe Perry.
Newly added celebrities
And, this just in: Newly deemed Denver-bound celebrities include Linda Blair (“The Exorcist”), C. Thomas Howell (“The Outsiders”), Bryce Dallas Howard (“Jurassic World”), Pauly Shore (“Encino Man”), Christian Borle (“Something Rotten”), Jamison Newlander (“The Lost Boys”), Krystina Alabado (“Mean Girls”); Lilli Cooper (“Wicked”), Temuera Morrison (“The Book of Boba Fett”), Steven Ogg (“The Walking Dead”), David James Elliott (“Melrose Place”), Jonny Coyne (“Star Wars: The Mandalorian”), Felicia Day (“Supernatural”), Alessandro Juliani (“Battlestar Galactica”), Thomas Lennon (“Reno 911!”) and Cedric Yarbrough (“Reno 911!”).
The truth is out there
For the first time in almost a decade, Anderson and Duchovny are reuniting as Mulder and Scully (at 5:15 p.m. Friday), joined by “X-Files” cast members Robert Patrick, Mitch Pileggi, Annabeth Gish, Nicholas Lea and William B. Davis. That makes this the biggest “X-Files” reunion ever.
Of additional note: Duchovny is featured in the new film “See You When I See You,” written by Denver stand-up and actor Adam Cayton-Holland. It’s about a family learning to live again after a suicide. Duchovny plays the father, and it will be released this fall.
After all that “Lord of the Rings” stuff, actor and DJ Elijah Wood’s “Wooden Wisdom” vinyl project is coming to Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom for what is being called “a Middle-earth-themed rave.” If you already have a ticket, enjoy. If you don’t, you aren’t getting anywhere near Cervantes on Sunday.
But there is also this: From 8-10 a.m. on Sunday, you can join Elijah Wood, Astin, Boyd and Monaghan for a mass breakfast at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. It will be a celebration, organizers say, “that will rival Bilbo Baggins 111th birthday.”
Wait, wait, there’s more
• From “Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord”: Sam Witwer, Vanessa Marshall, Matthew Wood and David Collins.
• From “Stranger Things”: Cara Buono.
• From ‘Once Upon a Time”: Colin O’Donoghue.
• From “Harry Potter”: Bonnie Wright.
• From “Breaking Bad”: Dean Norris.
• From “My Name is Earl”: Jaime Pressly and Ethan Suplee.
• From “Stargate-SG1”: Christopher Judge.
• From “The Mandalorian”: Brendan Wayne.
• From “Good Witch”: Catherine Bell.
Canceled celebrities
Each year, a number of celebrities are announced who then have conflicts that force them to cancel. This year that list includes Alec Baldwin (“Beetlejuice”), Martha Plimpton (“The Goonies”), Cary Elwes (“The Princess Bride”), Joel Perez (Broadway’s “Fun Home”), Robert Davi (“License to Kill”), Frank Grillo (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Lewis Tan (“Mortal Kombat II”), William Zabka (“The Karate Kid”), Garrett Hedlund (“Tron: Legacy”), Henry Ian Cusick (“Lost”) and Laz Alonso (“The Boys”).
The updated roster of celebrities who are coming to Denver can be found at https://fanexpohq.com/fanexpodenver/celebrities
Information and tickets
In addition to celebrities, Fan Expo Denver features hundreds of exhibitors, creators and cosplayers, meet and greets, special events, children’s activities, contests and more. Info on single-day and four-day passes at fanexpohq.com/fanexpodenver/.
RTD plans to add rail cars to the D, E, H, N and W lines to accommodate increased ridership all weekend.
A selection of major events:
• Colin O’Donoghue (“Once Upon a Time”) VIP meet and greet: 12:30 p.m. Thursday (Room 604).
• “Behind the Screams,” a “Scream” cast reunion panel: 7:15 p.m. Thursday (mainstage).
• “X-Files” reunion: 5:15 p.m. Friday on the main stage.
• “Masters of Cosplay Rocky Mountain Qualifier”: The premier cosplay contest to determine who will represent Denver at Megacon Orlando: 6:15 p.m. Saturday.
• Orlando Bloom on the main stage, 1:30 p.m. Sunday.
• “The Lord of the Rings 25th Anniversary Reunion”: 5:30 p.m. on the main stage.
• To find out when your favorite celebrities will be in a scheduled booth or on a panel, go to https://fanexpohq.com/fanexpodenver/celebrities and click on the name of your choice.
John Moore is the Denver Gazette’s Senior Arts Journalist. Email him at [email protected].