Fan Expo Canada took over Toronto’s Metro Toronto Convention Centre last weekend for its 24th iteration. The annual horror, comics and gaming extravaganza celebrates the very best of pop culture (both past and present).
While Fan Expo Canada had some high-profile cancellations this year that included Jeff Goldblum (Jurassic Park), and Joe Keery (Stranger Things), the event was still able to successfully recover.
Stars that were able to make the trip north of the border included:
– Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Emma Thompson, and Tom Wilson (Back To The Future)
– Steven Ogg, Austin Amelio, and Tom Payne (The Walking Dead)
– Triple H, AJ Styles, Charlotte Flair and The Miz (WWE)
– Evangeline Lilly (Ant-Man & The Wasp)
– Emma Dumont (The Gifted)
– Jason Momoa (Aquaman)
– Ian Somerhalder & Paul Wesley (The Vampire Diaries)
– Rob Schneider (Saturday Night Live)
– Cassie Steele, Jake Epstein, Miriam McDonald, Stefan Brogan, Shane Kippel (Degrassi: The Next Generation)
– Lucy Lawless (Xena: Warrior Princess)
– Robin Lord Taylor (Gotham)
– Jessica Nigri (Cosplayer)
– Jennifer Morrison (Once Upon A Time)
After spending two days at the four-day convention, here are some of my highlights:
1. WWE Panel
My favourite event of the weekend happened on opening day. Securing four of the top professional wrestlers in the world was a big boon for Fan Expo and the open discussion fans featuring Triple H, AJ Styles, Charlotte Flair and The Miz, was a very entertaining start to the event. The wrestlers discussed the announcement that Summerslam would be headed to Toronto in 2019 and Triple H also talked about his upcoming final match ever with The Undertaker. Proceeds from the autograph signings, photo opps and panel went to the Conor’s Cure charity.
2. Back To The Future Reunion Panel
Another highlight of the event was the Back To The Future panel. I talked to a number of audience members this year and that event was the sole reason for their attendance. Hearing Michael J. Fox discuss his reaction to finding out that the time machine would be a DeLorean was priceless as was hearing the cast collectively complain about how small the car was. Tom Wilson shared a story about a man in a coma who says that he woke up because of his character’s “is anybody home?” line in the movie. The actors talked about how they joined the cast and also shared stories about working with director Robert Zemeckis.
3. Meeting Jessica Nigri
Last year, I shared the story of meeting cosplayer Jessica Nigri for the first time and she once again was a highlight this year. Despite her booth easily being the most popular at the convention, Jessica took time to speak to everyone who decided to visit sharing a smile and any advice for cosplayers who are new to the industry. She remains a breath of fresh air at these types of conventions and an asset for any event that invites her.
4. Meeting Michael J. Fox & Christopher Lloyd
I referenced the Back To The Future panel earlier but getting to meet Doc and Marty in real life was definitely a personal highlight for me. I grew up watching the Back to the Future trilogy and never thought that I would one day be able to meet the stars of the movie.
Here’s a photo gallery from the event.
