And then there were 24. Three more celebrities cancelled their appearances at next month’s Edmonton Expo, the firm that puts on the annual convention that celebrates pop culture said in a social media post on Wednesday. Karl Urban, Emilie de Ravin and Terri Hawkes joined Rob Colletti, John Noble, Catherine Tate and David Wenham on the cancellations list for the event slated for the Edmonton Expo Centre Sept. 18-20. Urban is a New Zealand actor who’s appeared in several science-fiction, fantasy and comic-book-related roles over his career, most recently as main protagonist Billy Butcher in TV’s The Boys. The 52-year-old, who was one of the first celebrities announced for this year’s Edmonton show, has also enjoyed star turns as Dr. Leonard McCoy in the Star Trek film reboot and as Eomer in two of the three Lord of the Rings films, among others. Organizers said schedule changes forced Urban and de Ravin to bow out of their Edmonton appearances. Earlier this week, the expo aired its frustrations over relatively few direct flights between the city and Los Angeles, home to the majority of the celebrities who headline the annual event. John Cena (WWE, Suicide Squad), Dean Norris (Breaking Bad), Ron Perlman (Hellboy, Quest For Fire) and Christopher Judge (God of War, Stargate SG-1) are among the guests headlining this year’s Edmonton Expo. Andrew Moyes, vice-president of event organizer Fan Expo HQ, told CTV News Edmonton on Tuesday that the post sparked an encouraging conversation with the Edmonton International Airport (YEG) about the issue. “We’re really looking forward to continuing the conversation with other city partners (and) with YEG to see how we can make this easier and ultimately collaborate again,” Moyes said. Toronto-based Fan Expo HQ, which has staged the Edmonton comic expo since 2012, runs several such events geared to fans of genres including comic books, anime, science fiction, gaming and cosplay in Canada, North America and globally. The firm’s next event starts Thursday in Toronto.
