Cast members from James Cameron’s Aliens will reunite at Supanova’s Adelaide and Brisbane events as the film marks its 40th anniversary, alongside a lineup spanning The Lord of the Rings, Highlander, television, animation and gaming.
The program brings actors from established screen franchises together with performers associated with X-Men ’97, Baldur’s Gate 3, Genshin Impact and The Amazing Digital Circus.
The lineup has also shifted as the events approach. On September 23rd, Supanova announced that previously confirmed guest Elijah Wood will no longer appear in Adelaide or Brisbane because of newly confirmed production obligations.
The lineup reflects how film and television franchises continue reaching audiences through streaming, games and new adaptations, connecting viewers who grew up with the original releases with those discovering the characters now.
The ‘Aliens’ Marines Are Back 40 Years Later
Jenette Goldstein, who played Private Vasquez, will appear alongside Mark Rolston (Private Drake), Daniel Kash (Private Spunkmeyer), Cynthia Dale Scott (Corporal Dietrich) and Carl Toop, who performed as an Alien Warrior.
The guests are scheduled to appear at both Supanova Adelaide and Brisbane, subject to health and other commitments.
James Cameron’s 1986 sequel has remained a reference point across science fiction, action movies and gaming, while the wider Alien franchise has repeatedly found new audiences.
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Its Colonial Marines helped establish a familiar science-fiction action framework: an armed squad, industrial corridors, motion trackers and an enemy that leaves the soldiers outmatched.
That means the Supanova reunion isn’t only aimed at people who watched Aliens in cinemas in 1986. The film has had 40 years to be discovered and rediscovered.
Christopher Lambert is appearing in Adelaide and Brisbane as Highlander also celebrates its 40th anniversary. His Connor MacLeod went on to anchor a larger franchise, while Lambert later became another familiar face to gaming audiences through his role as Lord Raiden in 1995’s Mortal Kombat, a role he later revisited for Mortal Kombat 11.
Middle-earth Across Generations
Sean Astin, who played Samwise Gamgee in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy, is scheduled to appear across both Adelaide and Brisbane. Bruce Hopkins, Jed Brophy and Stephen Hunter are also on the lineup, while Graham McTavish will appear in Brisbane.
Adelaide, meanwhile, has a Sunday-only appearance from Karl Urban, who played Éomer in The Lord of the Rings films before going on to roles across Star Trek, Dredd, the Marvel Cinematic Universe and The Boys.
More than two decades after Jackson’s trilogy became one of the defining film series of the early 2000s, its cast members remain major convention drawcards.
Jackson’s films have remained available to audiences alongside games, merchandise and new screen adaptations of Tolkien’s work.
That is one reason a convention like Supanova can place The Lord of the Rings alongside Baldur’s Gate 3 or Genshin Impact: fans move between those worlds, regardless of when each one began.
New Audiences, Familiar Characters
Alan Tudyk’s career connects film, television and voice performance.
Tudyk’s roles include Hoban “Wash” Washburne in Firefly and Serenity and K-2SO in Rogue One. His voice work extends across animation and games.
Tudyk is confirmed for both Adelaide and Brisbane.
Lenore Zann originally voiced Rogue in X-Men: The Animated Series, which debuted in 1992. More than 30 years later, she returned to the character for X-Men ’97.
The revival continued the original cartoon’s story for a streaming audience that included returning viewers and those encountering that version of the X-Men for the first time.
Zann is also heading to both Supanova events.
Elsewhere on the lineup is Star Trek: Strange New Worlds star Anson Mount, who is scheduled to appear in Adelaide on Saturday only, then on Saturday and Sunday in Brisbane.
Gaming Changed the Convention Floor
Film and television stars have been central to comic conventions for years, alongside the artists and writers who give those events their name.
Film, television, comics and gaming increasingly share characters, performers and audiences.
A fan can first encounter a fictional world through a game, follow it to a screen adaptation or comic, and continue discussing it online. Others discover the same world in a different order.
It helps explain how a contemporary convention lineup can comfortably accommodate performers associated with Baldur’s Gate 3, Overwatch, Apex Legends, Genshin Impact and The Amazing Digital Circus alongside actors whose best-known roles predate the original PlayStation.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles co-creator Kevin Eastman is among Supanova Brisbane’s guests. The property began as an independent comic in the 1980s before expanding into animation, films, toys and games.
Fandom Beyond the Screen
That continuing audience also helps explain the convention business.
Conventions turn that screen-based connection into an in-person event.
Streaming keeps older work accessible and social media sustains fan communities between events, while conventions give audiences the chance to meet performers and creators associated with those stories.
Supanova’s 2026 lineup is what happens when all of those generations turn up in the same room.
Supanova Adelaide runs from October 30th to November 1st at Adelaide Showground, followed by Supanova Brisbane from November 6th to 8th at Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre. Tickets are on sale now, with guest appearances subject to health and other commitments.