This year'sComic Con Baltics 2025 sponsored by Samsung” festival – an exclusive guest landing from the “Grand Theft Auto V” universe. Two of the game’s main actors: Ned Luke (Michael De Santa) and Shawn Fonteno (Franklin Clinton) are coming to Vilnius. This is their first visit to Lithuania.
Ned Luke is an experienced Hollywood actor whose character Michael, an ex-con trying to live a peaceful suburban life, became one of the core characters in GTA V. Shawn Fonteno, the cousin of rapper Solo, hails from South Los Angeles and came to the video game industry from the world of street culture and hip-hop. His authentic voice and personal experiences helped create Franklin, a young man trying to break free from the clutches of the criminal world.
Since its release in 2013, Grand Theft Auto V has become not only a commercial sensation (over 210 million copies sold) but also a cultural phenomenon. Its characters, soundtracks and visual aesthetics have become established in films, TV series and meme culture. Online communities create mods that transform the game into role-playing games, simulations and even social platforms.
The entire gaming community is eagerly awaiting GTA VI, which is scheduled to be released later this year. The action will return to Vice City, a fictional city inspired by Miami. For the first time in the series, a female protagonist, Lucia, will appear.
The meetings with Ned Luke and Shawn Fonteno, which will take place during Comic Con Baltics 2025 sponsored by Samsung, are relevant not only for long-time fans of the series, but also for those interested in the future direction of the game.
"Ned and Shawn are more than voices. They embodied characters that have become an integral part of the cult game. A few years ago, Steven Ogg, who voiced Trevor Philips, also visited the festival - his visit attracted a lot of attention. This year's meeting with Ned Luke and Shawn Fonteno will give Grand Theft Auto V fans the opportunity to add autographs of all three main characters to their collection," says Tomas Vievesis, one of the organizers of Comic Con Baltics.
"Comic Con Baltics 2025 sponsored by Samsung" is a new generation entertainment festival organized for the seventh year, annually inviting creators and actors of cult films, series, comics and video games to Vilnius. On May 23-25, visitors will have the opportunity to try out the latest and already cult video games and play them together with the most popular opinion leaders in the "Baltics Gaming Expo" space. The "Meet Lithuanian Film Industry" program promises meetings with Lithuanian filmmakers and presentations of the latest films. Also, the festival will host the already traditional international Cosplay competition, as well as the first-ever K-Pop dance competition. These competitions are presented by "McDonald's". A separate "Family Area" will be set up for the youngest festival participants.
Currently, Ed Westwick, who created the legendary role of Chuck Bass in the series "Gossip Girl", Jack Gleeson, known for his role as Joffrey Baratheon in the series "Game of Thrones", Roger Clark and Rob Wiethoff from the cult game "Red Dead Redemption 2" and the actors of the rapidly popular game "Kingdom Come: Deliverance II" Tom McKay and Luke Dale have already confirmed their participation in the festival. Also, comic creators Valerie Minelli, best known for her series "Mrs. Frollein", Luis Coelho, known as "purr.in.ink" and Andrés J. Colmenares, creator of "Wawawiwa Comics" from Colombia.
