Since 1991, Universal Studios has placed guests at theme parks in some of the most iconic horror franchises, part of Halloween Horror Night. From leather to Jason Voorhees to Freddy Krueger, countless horror idols have occupied Halloween residences at Universal Theme Parks, but in the United States, Universal Studios brings a new genre to life for the first time: science fiction and fantasy.

Universal Fan Fest Nights started at Universal Studios Hollywood on April 25 and ran this weekend through May 18 to enjoy the after-hours recipe for Halloween Horror Nights and convert it into new franchises including “Dungeons & Dragons,” “Star Trek,” “Star Trek,” “One Pie,” “One Pie,” “One Pie,” and “Wicked.”

Stephen Siercks, director of entertainment production at Universal Studios Hollywood, told type The concept of Fans Day Night was developed out of a desire to give fans a chance to enter a world of horror.

"Fan's Day Night is really built on the legacy of Halloween Horror Night. Guests say they want more, so we started exploring the different genres that resonate the most with guests, and that's what brought us into sci-fi, fantasy, games and anime."

Siercks said that when narrowing down which title will best translate into interactive theme park attractions, the general team is looking for a fully realized world in an iconic environment. “We looked at the franchise and had a craze around the franchise. We looked at the environments that will allow guests to explore, and the characters we can showcase as a pillar of the brand, with two ultimate goals to be fan-first and real.”

Star Trek is an early draft pick for Star Trek joining the fan festival night roster, the car is in the 10 forward bars inspired by the Next Generation, Quark's Cafe, Quark's Cafe from Deep Space Nine, and an immersive walkthrough of Star Trek: Star Trek: Red Alert: Red Alert.

"The 'Red Alert' allows us to celebrate the latest and legacy of the Star Trek world," Siercks said. "We enter the experience with the latest iteration of 'Picard' and then through the Starfleet Museum's conceit, we are able to celebrate the legacy of the "Next Generation" and have our guests visit "Enterprise-D."

“When thinking represents science fiction on Fans Day night, 'Star Trek' quickly surfaced. It's a multi-generation brand; I remember watching Star Trek, and now I can share it with my kids (IT) with my kids. Star Trek was conceived as Star Trek around the world, and it was a year of appreciation, so it was a special year of year.

Another franchise on Fan Festival night celebrating the Great Anniversary is "Dungeon & Dragons," which comes with the first Roll Tavern and walkthrough experience "Dungeons & Dragons: The Secret of Waterdeep" at Universal Studios Hollywood.

“'Dungeons & Dragons' is 50 years old this year. It is still socially relevant and up-to-date and we are able to allow our guests to explore the world of 'Dungeons & Dragons' in ways never before, thus making some of these iconic environments and roles.”

After the adventure of the bard and gangsters traveling through the city of Watdeep, the drill brings guests face to face with the legendary founding Crime Lord Thieves Guild Xanathar.

"The biggest, worst bystander there is Xanathar, right in front of you - it's the backbone of the original development of the event. It's naturally going toward the 'Dungeons & Dragons' walkthrough', which is one of the main experiences."

“Earlier, we knew we needed to represent one of the bystanders, and we quickly committed to Xanathar being the right character. Working with Jim Henson Company, we were able to bring it to life and be filled with thoughtful figures in front of you and with attractive excitement in front of you, while also full of ‘Dungeons & Draggeons & Draggeons & Draggeons & Draggeons & Draggeons & Draggeons & Draggeons & Draggeons & Draggeons & Draggeons & Draggeons & Draggeons & Draggeons & Draggeons & Draggeons & Draggeons & Draggeons & Draggeons & Draggeons & Draggeons of.

According to Siercks, Xanathar is key to pinning a particular narrative that distiles the vast, drive-driven world of “dungeons and dragons” into a walkthrough attraction.

"Developing the 'Secret of Water Valley', we started with the extensive brushstrokes that wanted to represent the Sword Coast and the Waterfront town, and ultimately led to a conflict with Xanathar. We worked backwards from there and found the inflammatory events that brought us to the core of that Quest Style adventure, which was the core experience of storytelling."

Another iconic pair of characters brought to Fans Day night are the "evil" witches Grinda and El Faba, whose costumes, hair and makeup designs are inspired by Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande in the blockbuster movie by Jon M. Chu.

“We were lucky enough to celebrate 'Wicked' as part of Fans' Fest Night. Making Glinda and Elphaba a meeting and greeting role is uniquely universal, and in Hollywood we have a great team of actors that allow us to bring them directly from the screen into the park.”

It's not just a live-action character that comes to life on Fans Day night: the event also pays homage to the colorful characters of the Japanese manga "One Piece" and the 1999 animated series of the same name.

"One piece" is a fan zone concept, and we took over a street in the park with characters, photography opportunities and other experiences. The main part of it is characters, and one of the basic goals of Fan Festival Night is to fill the streets with these different characters and let our guests explore and interact with them. ”

“Guest interaction is crucial to the overall experience of the theme entertainment community, especially Universal Studios Hollywood. Being able to create a one-to-one connection with guests, being able to talk to characters and interact with them brings a story to life.”

As for what titles can be expected on future fan festival nights, Siercks said Universal is always exploring which franchise resonates with fans the most. “It’s an exciting thing to allow Fan Festival night to continue to grow. Our inaugural product certainly resonates with sci-fi, fantasy, gaming and anime fanatics, and we look forward to it as the basis for something that can continue to grow.”

This interview has been edited and condensed.