Lucca Comics & Games 2026 Guest Lineup: Full details Announced including Joe Manganiello and Tracy Hickman

While we weren’t in Milan for the press conference announcing the full guest lineup at Lucca Comics & Games 2026, the excitement still came through the screen as deputy director Emanuele Vietina talked us through a slate worthy of the show’s 60th anniversary. The theme for the event is “Legacy” – which feels fitting for a pop-culture convention celebrating such an important milestone.

Lucca Comics & Games 2026 Tabletop Gaming Guests

On the side of Legacy, we learned that actor and Dungeons & Dragons evangelist Joe Manganiello is coming to Lucca, tasked with overseeing that game’s lineup as the Honorary Curator of the D&D Programme for Lucca Legacy. And he’s bringing Dragonlance author Tracy Hickman with him! Tracy will also be joined by Laura Hickman, who co-created the iconic Ravenloft setting with him for D&D.

“It is I, Joe Mangienello, Chief Creative Officer of the Dungeons & Dragons Icons line, here to let you know that in lieu of Lucca Comics & Games’ 60 anniversary I have accepted the position of Honorary Curator of the Dungeons & Dragons programme for Lucca Legacy 2026. That’s right, I’ll be returning to restore order by bringing back the roots of Dungeons & Dragons classic settings and original lore and worlds to the forefront,” Joe said in a video filmed for the press conference.

“And as my first order of business – well Margaret was busy, so she can’t make it,” he added, panning across to Dragonlance author Margaret Weiss, before moving the camera across to another subject, “But this guy is available. I will be returning to Italia with my friend Tracy Hickman.”

Not to be outdone, Chris Perkins, former Senior Story Editor for D&D but now Creative Director for Darrington Press, will also be there showing off Daggerheart’s latest expansion, Daggerheart: Hope & Fear. As “Legacy” goes this is the start of a new one, as Matt Mercer and Marisha Ray were in attendance for Daggerheart’s Italian debut at Lucca 2025. “We’ll be at Lucca 2026 representing Daggerheart and Darrington Press and our newest release, Hope & Fear. I’ve never been to Italy before and I am so looking forward to going. Hope to see you at Lucca this fall,” Chris said in a video message, which was echoed by Elise Rezendes, Senior RPG Producer for Critical Role, who will also be at the event: “We cannot wait to join you, to celebrate, to play, to enjoy more of what is coming for Daggerheart. We’ll see you there”

Other Tabletop Gaming Highlights at Lucca Comics & Games 2026

While D&D and Daggerheart face off in a battle of the RPGs, there are plenty of other tabletop gaming highlights. They include:

• Hellbreak – the hot new trading card game (TCG) by Spinmaster – comes to Italy for the first time.
• The Naruto TCG will share an exclusive first look and offer a special Chakra promo card.
• MiniLima debuts its first ever game, Harry Potter: Defenders of Hogwarts, with Lucca the first event in the world where attendees can play it!
• dV Games has three premieres as it shows off Combo Creatures, Black Flag and Traditori a Bordo! One Piece.
• Asmodee creates a special Lucca edition of Toy Battle, which includes dedicated stickers, plus there’s a celebration of Luppi Mannari di Roccascura (The Werewolves of Miller’s Hollow) on its 25th anniversary.
• Hidden Games is creating Murder Over the Legacy, an exclusive murder mystery especially created for the event and presented by publisher MS Edizioni.
• Artists Lucas Graciano, Ryan Pancoast and Steve Prescott will celebrate the event with three original artworks created for Galactus, a prominent hobby and tabletop gaming store network in Italy.
• The Art of Fabula Ultima, an exhibition focusing on the tabletop roleplaying game, will feature work from Catthy Trinh, Edward Tsang Rui Maruyama and Yumo.
• There’s a major link up between the media company Factanza and the game publisher Giochi (a “Factanza con Giochi Uniti” in Italian) for The Social Contract board game – rebuilding society, one choice at a time.
• Clementoni presents Where Curiosity Becomes Play, including a dedicated Star Wars area featuring Star Wars: The Metamorphic Art Collection and an R2-D2 robot, as well as exciting new releases such as Geo Pop and Fingargh!
• Magic: The Gathering will host the launch of Star Trek Universes Beyond, in what is also the 60th anniversary year for that TV franchise, with artists Rebecca Guay and Scott Fisher at the show.
• Riftbound shows off its Secret Garden Limited Gift Box, which is a tie-in with the game’s Unleashed expansion.
• Boose and the Art of Cards (BooseMTG being a prominent TCG figure and vendor who organises artist booths and exclusive collaborations) will feature Evyn Fong, Alexis Ziritt, Domenico Cava, Justine Jones and Paolo Parente.
• Lisciani Giochi keeps it homegrown, showing off new Rainy Days titles Il Canto Delle Volur by Maria Chiara Bagli and Sabba by David Spada, which have been entirely made in Italy with Italian authors and illustrators.
• Hollow Press debuts new expansion sets for Kartomantik, Pozzo and Pilgrims of the Murkdome, as well as new gamebooks.
• Paolo Mori, who was was named Game Designer of the Year at the Italian ioGioco Awards in May 2026, will also be in attendance.
• Yu-Gi-Oh! and the Cyberpunk TCG will also have a presence.
• Ravensburger presents A World of Shared Play, highlighting the titles Horrified: Ravenloft, Tap 4, Carcassonne Labyrinth and 7 Lives.

Comics at Lucca Comics & Games 2026

With “Comics” in the show’s title, you can expect some heavy hitters to attend the event. Comic-book artist Claudio Castellini (Conan the Barbarian, Spider-Man, Silver Surfer) had already been confirmed and he’s joined a stellar lineup that includes Frank Miller (Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Sin City); Go Nagai (Devilman, Mazinger Z, Cutie Honey); Tillie Walden (Time Capsule); Jonathan Hickman (Marvel Secret Wars, East of West); Peach Momoko (Ultimate X-Men, Demon Days); Seth (Clyde Fans, Palookaville); Chang Seng; Boum (The Jellyfish, Boumeries); Paco Roca (Wrinkles, The House); Brian Michael Bendis (Ultimate Spider-Man, Jessica Jones); JH (The Sandman: Overture, Batwoman: Elegy); Toru Fujisawa (Great Teacher Onizuka, Tokkō).

Music at Lucca Comics & Games 2026

Music gets an expanded presence at Lucca, with the festival’s new Music Pavilion joined by concerts, club nights and events across the city. Japanese composer Yoko Kanno (Cowboy Bebop, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex) is among the biggest names, performing a concert dedicated to her soundtracks at the Teatro del Giglio Giacomo Puccini. The festival also welcomes Giorgio Vanni, known for his Italian anime theme songs. Other acts include Max Longhi; I Cavalieri del Re; rock band Karma; DJ Daniel Tek; as well as power-metal proponents Elettra Storm, Alterium and Germany’s Grailknights. Celtic and Irish music will also feature, with Gens d’Ys, I Santi Bevitori and Uncle Bard & The Dirty Bastards joining the programme. Plus, the festival’s most fandom-driven stage hosts the Anime Vocal Contest, with five finalists, and closes the festival with the 1990s-themed Giga Party.

Video Games at Lucca Comics & Games 2026

Video games are also a huge part of Lucca, with legendary creators and major publishers bringing plenty to the festival. Final Fantasy VII producer Yoshinori Kitase will be a guest of honour, while Hideki Kamiya (Devil May Cry, Ōkami, Bayonetta); Stephen Bliss (Rockstar Games, Grand Theft Auto); Daniel Dociu (Guild Wars); Charles Cecil (Broken Sword); and Noah Falstein (LucasArts) also bringing their genius to the show. Meanwhile, Plaion brings hands-on previews of Alien: Isolation 2, Stranger Than Heaven and Persona 4 Revival as CD Projekt RED showcases Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2 and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Songs of the Past, with Italian indies also taking centre stage.

Movie & TV at Lucca Comics & Games 2026

The screen programme at Lucca60 is packed with major guests, premieres and anniversary celebrations. Disney+ brings the three leads of Percy Jackson and the Olympians – Walker Scobell, Leah Jeffries and Aryan Simhadri – alongside showrunners Jonathan E. Steinberg and Dan Shotz, who will preview unseen clips from season three ahead of its November debut. Lucky Red celebrates 50 years of Aardman with founder Peter Lord and Shaun, Vita da pecora: Operazione Z.U.C.C.A., while Palm d’Or winner Hirokazu Kore-eda presents Look Back. Alessandro Carloni previews The Cat in the Hat, HBO Max brings the Harry Potter TV series to an immersive pavilion, and Netflix celebrates KPop Demon Hunters. Crunchyroll brings Shangri-La Frontier Season 3 and Link Click creator Li Haoling, while the Fast & Furious franchise marks 25 years. Also appearing are Martin Freeman with the fantasy movie Momo, Silenn Thomas with Frank Miller: American Genius (Frank himself being at the screening!), plus One Piece, Star Detective PreCure – The Movie! and Gintama the Movie 2026: Yoshiwara in Fiamme, with director Naoya Ando.

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