Fan Expo Canada returns this weekend with jam-packed programming slate

Fan Expo Canada is nearly here.

From August 21 to 24, the country’s largest pop-culture event will return to the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. A bunch of big-name celebrities will be in attendance for photos, autographs and panels, including Canada’s own Michael J. Fox (Back to the Future trilogy) and William Shatner (Star Trek series), Hailee Steinfeld (Sinners), Ewan McGregor (Star Wars franchise), and Tom Welling and several other cast members from Smallville. There will also be many voice actors, comic creators and other guests.

“The goal that we set ourselves is to deliver the very best in pop culture to our fans, and we strive every year to achieve that for them,” says Andrew Moyes, vice president of Fan Expo HQ. This year, that includes some of the above programming, as well as some big booths from the likes of Nintendo, Paramount and Netflix.

“A lot of people don’t realize that Fan Expo actually spans the North and South buildings of the convention centre, and this year, that South Building is not going to disappoint. We have all our regular retailers that you can get unique pop-culture merchandise from, and then, of course, our artists who have unique craft and art — things you won’t find anywhere else,” he said. “But the brand activations, too, are extraordinary. This year, Netflix, Paramount, AMD, Bell has a huge eSports stage… So it’s really going to be a huge feast for the pop-culture eyes down there in the South building.”

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Moyes also notes that Michael J. Fox’s appearance is a particularly special one, both because he’s Canadian and that he doesn’t do many cons nowadays given the progression of his Parkinson’s disease.

“He is such an icon — he just has icon status now, which is extraordinary. So to be able to get someone like that is a huge thrill and really an honour to be honest. He’s only appearing at three or maybe four conventions this year, and so he has chosen Toronto as one of those. Someone of that magnitude could appear everywhere,” he said. “So I really want the fans to understand what a privilege it is to be able to see him at Fan Expo.”

Other Canadians at Fan Expo include Star Trek‘s William Shatner, Smallville‘s Erica Durance, Kristin Kreuk and Laura Vandervoort, and WWE star Trish Stratus.

“There’s so much Canadian talent at Fan Expo, not only at the top of the bill in terms of some of the celebrities, but think about all those artists that spend their whole year crafting and creating and drawing. This is a huge part of their year to meet and come face to face with their customers,” says Moyes. “It’s really great to have those Canadian icons. And Canadians are great, so they find a way of getting to the top of their chosen career. So I think we’ll always see some Canadians on the bill, given that we like to present the biggest and the best.”

But of course, we’re all about tech on MobileSyrup, and so we’ve put together some highlights of Fan Expo Canada 2025’s video game and streaming attractions. The full list of Fan Expo programming can be found on the con’s website.

Gaming

Actors

This is perhaps one of the most stacked lineups of video game actors that Fan Expo has had in some time. It includes:

• Nick Apostolides (Resident Evil)
• Troy Baker (The Last of Us)
• Tim Downie (Baldur’s Gate 3)
• David Kaye (Ratchet & Clank) [Canadian]
• Yuri Lowenthal (Marvel’s Spider-Man)
• George Newbern (Final Fantasy)
• Neil Newbon (Baldur’s Gate 3)
• Nolan North (Uncharted)

The full list can be found on Fan Expo’s website.

Bell eSports Challenge

Bell hosts Valorant, Call of Duty and Rocket League tournaments offering a total of $60,000 in prizing.

More information on Bell’s website.

MobileSyrup panel on Canadian gaming industry

Please excuse the self-promo, but MobileSyrup will be hosting a panel about how to break into the Canadian gaming industry.

On Sunday, August 24 at 2 p.m. in Workshop 2 (Room 707), join me and developers from Ubisoft Toronto, Behaviour Interactive, Mighty Yell and Hilltop Studios as we unpack Canada’s massive gaming sector and provide advice for aspiring developers.

It’s also worth noting that there’s another gaming panel that we’re not affiliated with but sounds pretty neat: “Inside the Game: AAA Secrets,” is taking place that same day at 11 a.m. in Theatre 5 (709). This panel features developers who’ve worked at the likes of Rockstar Toronto and Ubisoft as they talk about their careers working on big games.

Nintendo

For the first time in years, the Japanese gaming giant will have a full dedicated booth at Fan Expo. Here, the company will feature a variety of Nintendo Switch 2 demos, including the recently released Donkey Kong Bananza and Mario Kart World and highly anticipated games like Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, Borderlands 4 and Elden Ring Tarnished Edition.

On top of that, Nintendo will be offering attendees special branded Switch 2 merch, while My Nintendo Account users who check into the event and complete a post-survey will receive an “exclusive digital background.”

Both PlayStation and Xbox have confirmed to MobileSyrup that they won’t be attending Fan Expo.

Streaming

Disney+

The streamer will have a “Disney+ Throwback Experience” featuring ’90s- and 2000s-themed elements, as well as those themed after Alien: Earth and Percy Jackson. Disney will also have a Tron: Ares-inspired Tron Lightcycle that you can take photos with.

Guests

Some of the attendees who are related to streaming shows include:

• Omid Abtahi (The Mandalorian)
• Cal Dodd (X-Men ’97)
• Richard Horvitz (Hazbin Hotel)
• Dafne Keen (The Acolyte)
• Erica Lindbeck (Helluva Boss)
• Alison Sealy-Smith (X-Men ’97)
• Hailee Steinfeld (Arcane)
• Hudson Thames (Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man)
• Lenore Zann (X-Men ’97)

Check out all of the guests on Fan Expo Canada’s website.

Netflix

The streamer will have an “Alone Zone” activation to promote Wednesday throughout the weekend, as well as a panel with stars Joy Sunday, Georgie Farmer, and Isaac Ordonez on Saturday, August 23 at 1 p.m. in Theatre 3 (701A).

Paramount+

Paramount will have a themed booth this year as it has in previous years, this time featuring an “immersive 4D experience” that includes SpongeBob, Yellowstone, Dexter and more.

RetroKid

While not streaming-related per se, we’d be remiss not to mention the fan-favourite nostalgia brand having a booth featuring The Big Comfy Couch and Polkaroo.

Tickets for Fan Expo are still available and start at $40.

Image credit: Fan Expo Canada