Netflix will spotlight the fifth and final season of “Stranger Things” with a special event at Italy’s Lucca Comics and Games Festival, where stars Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Noah Schnapp and creators the Duffer Brothers will attend a fan gathering on Halloween.
No sneak peek “Stranger Things” footage is currently expected to be shown at the fan gathering, which is the first announced event of this type ahead of the mega hit show’s release in three parts: the first debuting Nov. 26, the second Dec. 25 and the series finale Dec. 31. There will also be an an immersive “Stranger Things” pavilion in the medieval town’s Piazza San Michele square and an exclusive store dedicated to the series.
Lucca Comics — which will run Oct. 29-Nov. 2 — is a unique geek meet attended by more than 200,000 fans each year and held within the walls of the Tuscan town of Lucca, surrounded by perfectly preserved 16th and 17th century ramparts.
Other highlights of this year’s edition include the presence of legendary Japanese game developer Hideo Kojima, who will attend what is being dubbed the “grand finale” of his “Death Stranding World Strand Tour 2” involving panels and screenings of his latest video game “Death Stranding 2: On the Beach.”
Lucca’s so-called Movie Area section will see Luc Besson on hand for the Italian launch of “Dracula: The Lost Love” featuring rising Italian star Matilda De Angelis (“The Undoing,” “Citadel: Diana”). Disney will celebrate the 20th anniversary of “Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith” with special screenings, plus previews of “Twisted Wonderland: The Animated Series,” which marks the latest push by Disney+ into Japanese animation, and another anime series “Cat’s Eye” focusing on three sisters who operate a café during the day and work as cat burglars at night.
Prime Video will promote the Italian adaptation of its reality competition series “The Traitors” and the cult adult animated comedy series “Hazbin Hotel” with the show’s Italian dubbing cast.
Comcast-owned pay-TV Sky will launch “It: Welcome to Derry,” the new eight-episode horror show which is the prequel series to Stephen King’s “It” film. The show, produced by HBO and Warner Bros. Television, will also feature a “terrifying” immersive “Derry Bus” experience at Lucca.
Sony’s Crunchyroll anime streaming service will be on hand with a series of anime screenings and panels with Kei Urana and Hideyoshi Andou, authors of the “Gachiakuta” anime series and Japanese voice actress and singer Rie Takahashi.
This unique event dedicated to fandom, cosplay, role-playing games and the entire cross-media universe of comics is increasingly becoming an integral part of the Hollywood studios’ promotional push in Europe, ever since the Movie Area strand started 15 years ago.
