Secrecy reigned supreme at the Middle East Film & Comic Con on Friday morning, with a jam-packed press conference at the Dubai World Trade Centre. Thirteen celebrity guests took the stage, including Ezra Miller (Justice League), Karl Urban (Star Trek) and Kristian Nairn (Game of Thrones), all of whom have starred in projects shrouded in mystery.
But one might imagine it gets lonely to keep your life’s work under wraps. Are there any loved ones that they trust with their deepest, darkest set secrets?
“Officially we don’t talk to anyone about anything… But yes,” said a smiling Miller.
“I tell my dog everything,” Urban confessed.
“Yes, that’s what I meant,” Miller amended, before adding, “I don’t have a dog.”
Quizzed about whether his upcoming solo film The Flash, releasing in 2020, would be adapted from the comic books, Miller remained coy. “It probably won’t be panel for panel,” he said.
The actors were joined on stage by the cast of Netflix’s upcoming sci-fi epic Lost in Space, a heavily CGI’d reboot that required a heavy helping of green screens.
For Nairn, who plays Hodor on Game of Thrones, acting against inanimate objects is all in a day’s work.
According to him, GoT’s Dire wolves were initially portrayed by actual dogs, but in later seasons, were switched out for tennis balls on sticks or “a producer inside of a green sack, like an amoeba. It stretches your imagination.”
Miller, who starred as the fastest man alive in last year’s DC ensemble flick Justice League, recalled “enormous swathes of green cloth as far as you can see” on set.
“I find it very fun to project images with my imagination. But that’s just me,” he said.
The cast of Lost in Space, whose series will release on Netflix on April 13, were asked about the changing landscape of geek culture in the wake of the #MeToo movement, which aims to fight back against sexual harassment in Hollywood.
Mina Sundwall, who plays Penny Robinson, said it felt important to include organic moments of empowerment on their show that felt natural and normal, rather than forced.
Cosplayer Alodia and voice-over trio Robbie Daymond, Ray Chase and Max Mittleman also joined the panel, as well as Jason David Frank, known as the Green Power Ranger.
“It’s my first time in Dubai,” said Frank. “I’m a skydiver, I’ve got my 1,400 jumps, and this is the best place in the world to dive, and I don’t have my parachute.”
Toby Stephens, who plays Lost in Space patriarch John Robinson, had already done some sightseeing in the UAE. He was in town yesterday for an international Netflix junket, but planned on relaxing in the evening with a simple massage.
Don’t miss it!
The Middle East Film & Comic Con runs until April 7 at the DWTC’s Zabeel Halls 4, 5 and 6. Single-day passes are Dh140 at the door.
