From August 6 to 9, the capital city will host the fifth edition of Comic Con Astana. The event will bring together enthusiasts of film, television series, comic books, video games, anime, and contemporary pop culture from around the world on a single platform, as reported by the official website of the city Akimat.
In 2026, Comic Con Astana will, as in the previous year, be held at two venues simultaneously. The festival's main stage and headliner meet-and-greet sessions will take place at Barys Arena.
Concurrently, the Alau Ice Palace will be transformed into a large-scale exhibition space, hosting thematic zones, corporate and partner exhibition stands, gaming areas, presentations, interactive installations, and a wide array of entertainment offerings for attendees.
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau has been announced as the first headliner of Comic Con Astana 2026. The Danish actor, widely recognized for his portrayal of Jaime Lannister in the acclaimed series “ Game of Thrones”, boasts a filmography that includes such notable projects as “ Black Hawk Down”, “ Kingdom of Heaven”, “ Oblivion”, “ Gods of Egypt”, “ Mama”, “Shot Caller” , as well as the television series“ The Last Thing He Told Me” and“ King and Conqueror”.
Another star set to appear at Comic Con Astana is Iñaki Godoy. The actor has been hailed as one of the most prominent young performers of his generation following the release of the series One Piece, which ranks among Netflix's most successful premieres to date. His portrayal of the irrepressible pirate captain Monkey D. Luffy has rapidly garnered the affection of millions of viewers worldwide. Beyond One Piece, the actor is also known for his roles in the series “ The Imperfects”, “ Who Killed Sara? ”, and others.
Iñaki Godoy is expected to take the main stage at the festival in Astana, where he will engage in a question-and-answer session with fans, as well as participate in autograph and photo sessions.
In addition to international film stars, Comic Con Astana 2026 will feature the participation of prominent bloggers, content creators, and representatives of the global cosplay industry.
Special guests of the festival include:
Kamui Cosplay — a world-renowned creative duo from Germany, recognized as one of the leading forces in the global cosplay industry, specializing in the creation of highly detailed costumes;
SuperCrastan (Danya Kraster) — one of the most well-known Russian-language YouTube bloggers, inventor and science popularizer, creator of large-scale DIY projects and unique engineering experiments;
- Jane Kravitz — a popular YouTube creator whose channel is dedicated to mysterious stories, investigations, and documentary-style video essays;
- Karrambaby — a prominent Russian video blogger with a multimillion-strong following on Instagram and YouTube, where she shares content on fashion, travel, and everyday life;
- Dobryak — one of the most celebrated animators on Russian-language YouTube, creator of viral animated shorts with millions of views;
- Dalbek — a popular Kazakhstani blogger and creator of entertainment content, known for his reviews of films, animated features, and animation.
A longstanding tradition of Comic Con Astana is the international cosplay competition, which annually brings together top participants from various countries. This year, the competition's prize fund will amount to 20 million tenge, establishing it as one of the largest cosplay tournaments in the region.
Over the years of its operation, Comic Con Astana has established itself as Central Asia's premier festival of contemporary pop culture. In previous editions, the festival's headliners have included Mads Mikkelsen, Andy Serkis, Pilou Asbæk, Scott Adkins, Esai Morales, Michael Rooker, Sean Gunn, Percy Hynes White, and Alexander Kuznetsov.
