Armageddon returns to Auckland with first international line-up in ...

New Zealand’s biggest pop culture expo is returning to Auckland this King’s Birthday weekend after four years of contending with border restrictions and concerns over the future of their venue.

Armageddon Expo will take place at the ASB Showgrounds over the next three days, with an international lineup of guests for the first time since 2019. Alongside a new talent competition and a Spookers Zombie Hall, the wide range of guests includes stars from Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, Wellington Paranormal, Harry Potter movies and Once Upon a Time.

And, in a special treat for fans of Doctor Who, stars Michelle Gomez and Sacha Dhawan - the two most recent actors to portray long-time enemy The Master - are uniting for the first time.

In fact, despite Dhawan having succeeded Gomez in the role, they only met for the first time to sit down with the Herald.

“We’re just getting our heads round the fact that we’re both The Master, and the current Master and the old previous Master - we’re just getting to know each other,” Gomez said.

“During my time I would get messaged constantly about whose Master came first in the whole timeline, and obviously it’s such big shoes to fill,” Dhawan said of Gomez. “I know the fans are gonna be absolutely crazy, because I never thought we’d ever cross paths.

“We to go down under, we had to go full Antipodean, to meet the Masters, bring them together on the other side of the world. It seems right and proper,” Gomez added.

It is the first time either of them has attended a convention in New Zealand, and Dhawan said it highlights the global reach of these types of shows.

“One of the great things obviously about doing is you’ve got such a huge fun base unlike any other. I’ve been to some great places and being here in New Zealand, you just get reminded of how the show translates to so many people, so many generations.

The two make a fitting headline for Armageddon’s big return, with the convention having originally started off as a purely Doctor Who convention that has now expanded to cover a wide range of shows.

For founder and owner Bill Geradts, the growth of the convention is beyond what he had ever expected, and it has been helped by how mainstream fantasy and sci-fi shows have become.

“The level of geek we celebrate is a lot more mainstream,” he said. “We started as a niche event, and now people go out and celebrate Marvel movies, superheroes are the flavour of the month, and we epitomise that better than any show.”

He said the level of guests they have this year, including Dhawan and Gomez, make this one of the best line-ups ever, and hopes to match it with the Labour weekend event later this year.

A big part of Armageddon’s future in Auckland remains up in the air. The ASB Showgrounds were closed last year as the owners, the Cornwall Park Trust Board, looked at alternative uses for the site. While they are able to open this year, the closure forced the cancellation of the Labour weekend event in 2022 and Geradts said there still isn’t the stability they’d like to see.

Armageddon can only carry on in Auckland if the ASB Showgrounds remain open, he said, calling the other venue options “second-rate”. “There are options. They are all terrible options.”

For fans this weekend, though, the behind-the-scenes concern will be secondary to the chance to once again get up close with their favourite actors - who are just as excited as the fans.

“It’s wonderful to get the chance to come out and not only travel, but connect with all these people that have actually made a difference in my life, right?” Gomez said. “I was out in the cold for a while, and so just to be able to be embraced with such generosity of spirit - I mean, people are genuinely moved when they meet you, which then moves you.

“I’ve never seen my face tattooed on so much flesh - I’ve never seen so much flesh! - so it’s a very beautiful connection.”