Ian McDiarmid, Elijah Wood and William Shatner among headliners at Montreal Comiccon in July
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Star Wars actor Ian McDiarmid has been added to Montreal Comiccon's star-studded guest list, which also includes Elijah Wood, William Shatner and Peter Weller.
McDiarmid is best known for playing Emperor Sheev Palpatine in the Star Wars franchise — a character who has appeared under various titles across the films and TV series, including Chancellor Palpatine, Darth Sidious and The Emperor.
Montreal Comiccon will take place from July 4 to 6 at the Palais des congrès. Since its launch in 2009, the convention has attracted tens of thousands of comic-book and video-game fans, many of them in costume, each year. This year's Comiccon will feature an exhibit hall, artists' alley, guest panels, film screenings, celebrity autographs and photo sessions, a costume contest and a masquerade.
Other guests of honour include Andy Serkis, Billy Boyd and Sean Astin from The Lord of the Rings. Featured guests also include Brent Spiner of Star Trek fame and Elizabeth Maxwell, known for her work in the Dragon Ball series.
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Toronto Sun
14 hours ago
- Toronto Sun
George Lucas tells Comic-Con crowd his new museum will be 'a temple to the people's art'
Published Jul 27, 2025 • 3 minute read Filmmaker George Lucas speaks during the Sneak Peek of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art panel in Hall H of the convention center during Comic-Con International in San Diego, Calif. on July 27, 2025. Photo by CHRIS DELMAS / AFP via Getty Images Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page. SAN DIEGO — George Lucas finally came to the stage at Comic-Con Sunday to an ovation from thousands, some holding light sabers in the air, with soaring 'Star Wars' music filling the room. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account The 81-year-old, appearing for the first time at San Diego's pop cultural extravaganza, looked decidedly earthbound in his jeans and flannel shirt, and a bit embarrassed by the attention. The quiet, thoughtful discussion that followed about the art museum he's building stood in contrast to the sci-fi and superhero bombast that came from Comic-Con's huge Hall H in the previous three days of the convention. He's quietly passionate, though, about the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, co-founded with his wife, businesswoman Mellody Hobson. Long in the works, the project was first announced in 2017 and is set to open its doors in Los Angeles' Exposition Park next year. 'This is sort of a temple to the people's art,' Lucas told the crowd. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The museum designed by Ma Yansong resembles a giant space cruiser, and at 300,000 square feet it's about the size of an average IKEA store. 'Star Wars' art and artifacts will be well-represented as shown in an introductory video narrated by Samuel L. Jackson. But Lucas' focus on the comic art and populist paintings are just as central to its aims. He's is one of the main collectors of the paintings of Norman Rockwell and Maxfield Parrish, and Hobson has made a specialty of collecting the work of Black painters including Norman Lewis and Kara Walker. The panel discussion also included director Guillermo del Toro and production designer Doug Chiang, who has worked on Star Wars films since the Lucas-directed 'Star Wars' prequels in the 1990s. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Rapper, singer and actor Queen Latifah, a friend of Lucas and Hobson who called herself a 'sci-fi nerd,' served as moderator and chief energizer of the panel. 'Are y'all pumped up for this museum now or what?' she shouted to the crowd at the end. The project began in part just to have a place for everything Lucas has collected since he was in college in the 1960s, when he learned original drawings from comic books and comic strips were surprisingly affordable. 'I could get an 'Alley-Oop' for $30,' Lucas said. 'I've been collecting narrative art ever since.' He owns the first drawing of Flash Gordon, original panels of 'Peanuts' comic strips complete with notes from artist Charles Schulz, and early drawings of Iron Man and Black Panther, along with original artwork for political cartoons and alternative comics. He would later move on to paintings and art from films, after the 'Star Wars' money began pouring in. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'What am I going to do with it all?' Lucas said. 'I refuse to sell it. I could never do that.' Del Toro, himself a famous hoarder of pop culture artifacts and a museum board member, said the Los Angeles wildfires earlier this year came 'frighteningly close' to the collection he keeps at home. 'Now that the museum exists, a lot of it may go there,' Del Toro said. He emphasized throughout the panel the political importance of comics since their beginnings. 'Comics were the first one to punch Nazis,' Del Toro said. 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Toronto Star
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George Lucas finally comes to Comic-Con to give a preview of his new museum
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Winnipeg Free Press
14 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
George Lucas finally comes to Comic-Con to give a preview of his new museum
SAN DIEGO (AP) — George Lucas is finally coming to the stage at Comic-Con. And while 'Star Wars' is sure to get a mention, the 81-year-old is making his debut appearance at the San Diego pop cultural extravaganza for a more earthbound reason: a preview of his long-in-the-works Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles. The Sunday panel discussion in Comic-Con's vaunted Hall H will act as a relatively quiet closing act to the four-day festival that brought its usual series of big, bombastic looks at upcoming sci-fi and superhero projects. The museum-centered session is also meant to be a broader discussion of the new institution's subject matter: the histories and traditions of narrative art across time and cultures. Lucas will be joined by fellow filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro and art director Doug Chiang, who has worked on a steady series of 'Star Wars' films starting with the Lucas-directed prequels in 1999. Queen Latifah will act as moderator. Lucas is easily on the Mount Rushmore of figures whose work has had the greatest inspiration on the kind of films and other pop cultural celebrated annually in Hall H at Comic-Con. But the convention wasn't a common showcase for blockbuster films when he was directing them himself. He sold 'Star Wars' and Lucasfilm to The Walt Disney Co. in 2012, and Disney has used different venues to make big splashy presentations about its properties. Weekly A weekly look at what's happening in Winnipeg's arts and entertainment scene. The museum founded by Lucas and his wife, businesswoman Mellody Hobson, is set to open next year in Exposition Park, near the Los Angeles Coliseum, several of the city's other museums, and the University of Southern California. The 11-acre campus and 300,000-square-foot building designed by architect Ma Yansong includes galleries, two theaters and related spaces.
