Cosplayers Host An Event During X-Men Days of Future Past

Ana Cedeno
North Bureau Chief

    During the premiere of “Days of Future Past,” fans flooded the theaters to watch the newest movie of the X-Men franchise. With all the hype that followed this release, fans were ecstatic, and they demonstrated it at the Sawgrass Mills theaters, where fans had a chance to take pictures alongside the X-men characters they loved—cosplayers of them, that is.

    Cosplaying, short for costume playing, is a hobby in which fans dress up as fictional characters from a myriad of series, cartoons, games and graphic novels. Starting out as a subculture, cosplaying has developed as an art form with fans often creating or designing their own costumes and showing their admiration for a particular character or franchise. Florida has a huge cosplaying community with several events in locations that vary from Miami to Tampa, overlapping each other every other week.

    One such event was set during the premiere of “Days of Future Past,” where local cosplayers dressed up as X-Men characters and surprised movie-goers and theater staff alike with their appearances.

    The event was set up by Mini Con, a small Florida convention founded by Damian Marchione, and consisted of a photo-shoot where movie goers were given the chance to take picture with cosplayers of their favorite X-Men. This was followed by video games as well as a midnight viewing of the movie.

    Mini Con is a small comic and art convention set in Plantation; although small, as its name might indicate, the convention has garnered attention due to its easy accessibility. The fact that it's small also gives it a more personal feel.

    “There's a real focus on community,” cosplayer Kerri Carter said. “They encourage the next generation. There's a real focus on family friendly programming and a lot of different things for kids to do.”

    This event was no exception, as fans of all ages were able to take part in the photo-shoot and the video game that later followed.

    The photo-shoot was set up at the entrance of the movie theater where kids and adults, cosplayers and non-cosplayers alike, got the chance to take a picture with the X-Men character of their choosing.

    “People don't expect us to be there, and get really excited when they turn the corner after buying their popcorn and there's a bunch of superheroes,” Kerri said when asked about the reception of the event. Kerri has been cosplaying for nearly nine years and was dressed as Shadowcat during the opening day.

    “It was great,” Kerri says. “I had personally really looked forward to the movie as I'm a huge X-Men fangirl, and it was awesome that I got to share the experience with others because of Mini Con.”

    Mini Con also did a similar photo-shoot for the premiere of “The Amazing Spiderman.” Future events of this nature have been announced and include the movie premieres of “How To Train Your Dragon 2” and “Transformers Age of Extinction.” 

    The pictures of the movie-goers who participated in the photo shoot are accessible at the Mini Con Facebook page. For more information on Mini Con and future events, visit  its Facebook page or Mini Con webpage at flminicons.com.