JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Hurricane Florence has grounded the Falcon.

Anthony Mackie, the actor who has played the superhero in Marvel movies, canceled a scheduled appearance at Comic Con Africa in South Africa because of the storm making landfall on the U.S. east coast.

"I'm so sorry I couldn't make it," Mackie says in a video message to fans attending the three-day comic book and pop culture convention that starts Friday. Organizers say it is sold out.

"With all the weather, traveling across the Atlantic — it kind of pushed my plans back a little bit," Mackie says.

Event organizers say fans who bought autograph sessions and photo ops with the actor can get refunds or swap tickets for another celebrity guest.