Middle East Film and Comic Con is back in Abu Dhabi this April and here’s the scoop on the first celebrity guest

Your April plans just got hijacked by capes, comic panels and a very loud chorus of fandom joy. Middle East Film and Comic Con is back in Abu Dhabi from April 24 to 26 and it is already shaping up to be a big one.

Taking place at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, the region’s biggest pop culture festival has confirmed its first celebrity guest. Christopher Judge is heading to the capital for the Middle East Film and Comic Con. Judge is best known as Kratos in the God of War video game series. He has also voiced Black Panther in Marvel’s Avengers, Magneto in X-Men Evolution and starred as Teal’c in Stargate SG-1.

Comic Con

Image Middle East Film and Comic Con

Look out for more celebrity guest announcements in the coming weeks, following a record-breaking 2025 edition that drew more than 46,000 visitors. Middle East Film and Comic Con made its Abu Dhabi debut in 2022 and is now celebrating its fourteenth year.  Last year’s guest list included Andrew Garfield, Charlie Cox, Ian McDiarmid and Natalia Dyer.

Artist Alan Quah, whose work spans more than 400 comic covers including Wolverine, Star Wars and Green Lantern, is among the creators confirmed so far.

Cosplay fans, start planning now. Registrations are open for the Cosplay Competition, with the overall winner earning a chance to represent the UAE at the World Cosplay Summit finals in Nagoya, Japan. Filmmakers can also submit entries for the annual Short Film Competition themed “Dreams”, with submissions closing on February 6.

Tickets are on sale. Standard tickets start from Dh160, while VIP and Super VIP options offer perks like fast-track access and meet-the-star vouchers. You can grab yours on Platinumlist.

Consider this your official warning. Abu Dhabi is about to get wonderfully geeky.

The details:

Location: Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre [ADNEC]

Dates: April 24 to 26, 2026

Cost: From Dhs160

Contact: Middle East Film & Comic Con