Fan Expo Canada 2024 is upon us.
The country’s biggest pop culture event returns to the Metro Toronto Convention Centre from August 22nd to 25th, bringing with it some of the biggest guests in nerd culture. Some of this year’s highlights include Mississauga, Ontario’s Simu Liu (Shang-Chi), John Rhys-Davies (The Lord of the Rings), Marisa Tomei (My Cousin Vinny), Bryce Dallas Howard (Jurassic World) and Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad). That’s to say nothing of comic creators, artists, vendors, activations and other things to see and do.
But of course, we cover tech on MobileSyrup, so with that in mind, we’ve put together a round-up of the highlights of the video game and streaming attractions at this year’s Fan Expo.
Gaming
Actors
Gear up for the gaming experience of a lifetime at FAN EXPO Canada where you can meet incredible voice actors behind characters like Astarion & Mario, dive into tabletop gaming, snap pics with cosplayers, and more. Add tickets to your inventory today. https://t.co/MAHOnQ5tbL pic.twitter.com/zhh9VViUH1
— FANEXPO Canada (@FANEXPOCANADA) August 16, 2024
While Roger Craig Smith (Sonic the Hedgehog) and Keith David (Halo) have sadly cancelled, there are still a few notable big-name video game stars, including:
- Jennifer Hale (Mass Effect) [Canadian]
- Charles Martinet (Mario)
- Cameron Monaghan (Star Wars: Jedi series)
- Neil Newbon (Baldur’s Gate 3)
- Tara Strong (Harley Quinn in various DC games) [Canadian]
- Patricia Summersett (The Legend of Zelda)
They will all be offering paid autographs and photos on top of panels.
Concerts
If you’re interested in learning more about upcoming video game (and anime) concerts in Canada, Kashamara Productions (Stardew Valley: Festival of Seasons) will host a panel on Sunday at 12pm. There, CEO Prakasha Amarasooriya will discuss next month’s Final Fantasy VII Rebirth concert in Toronto, as well as other future shows.
Game makers
Canada’s Rod Fergusson, who famously worked on Gears of War and the BioShock Infinite series, will be in attendance. He currently works at Blizzard as the GM of the Diablo series. He has a panel to talk about Diablo IV on Sunday at 10:45am.
Additionally, members of Ubisoft Toronto, which is co-developing the highly anticipated Star Wars Outlaws, will hold a panel at 11:45am to talk about the making of the game.
It’s also worth noting that Canadian Electric Playground creator Victor Lucas will be moderating both of these panels, as well as his own EP-focused panel on Saturday at 1pm alongside hosts Marissa Roberto and Shaun Hatton.
PlayStation
While PlayStation doesn’t have a booth this year, you can snap photos of hidden banners for the upcoming PS5 game Astro Bot and post them on social media for a chance to win a special prize pack.
More details can be found here here.
Xbox
Xbox will have a ‘PC Game Pass Arena’ wherein you can play various games with professional gamers. Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle photo ops are also available. Further, a claw machine will be present to give you a chance to win Star Wars Outlaws plushies.
On top of that, Toronto-based Brazilian artist Christiano De Araujo will be on-site to paint a Black Ops 6-themed Xbox Series S throughout the show.
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2
Focus Entertainment and Saber Interactive are bringing a demo of the upcoming Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 to Fan Expo Canada.
Streaming
Actors
Some of the biggest streaming guests include:
- Rosario Dawson (Ahsoka)
- Giancarlo Esposito (The Mandalorian)
- Mike Flanagan and Kate Siegel (The Haunting of Hill House, Midnight Mass)
- Letterkenny stars — Nathan Dales, Andrew Herr, Tyler Johnston, Michelle Mylett, Dylan Playfair, Evan Stern and K. Trevor Wilson [Canadians]
- Temuera Morrison (The Book of Boba Fett)
- Trailer Park Boys stars — John Paul Tremblay, Robb Wells and Mike Smith [Canadians]
Agatha All Along
View this post on Instagram
Stars Kathryn Hahn and Joe Locke will join creator and showrunner Jac Scaeffer in a special panel to promote Marvel’s upcoming WandaVision spin-off, Agatha All Along. The panel will be held on Friday at 4:30pm. It’s important to note that unlike most other guests, these three will not be offering photo ops or autographs.
AMD
AMD has partnered with Princess Margaret on a special arcade experience. Every game credit you buy for the claw machines, VR experiences, boxing sims and more goes towards cancer research.
Bell
Bell is once again hosting different esports tournaments that you can watch live. This year, there will be 4v4 Call of Duty, 5v5 Valorant and 5v5 Overwatch 2 matches offering a total of $30,000 in prizes.
Paramount+
The streamer is bringing back its lodge-themed booth to offer different themed photo-ops. This time, there will be the ‘Star Trek Menagerie,’ Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ lair and SpongeBob SquarePants mini-golf.
Prime Video
The Rings of Power will be coming to @FanExpo – come visit our booth to visit Middle Earth and forge your own Ring of Power! https://t.co/lz80EIFXgV@primevideoca #primevideoca #TheRingsOfPower pic.twitter.com/v3h0INVDHd
— FANEXPO Canada (@FANEXPOCANADA) August 19, 2024
An activation for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 will be at the show. Here, you’ll be able to meet orcs and forge your own Ring of Power. (At the time of writing, the calendar booking system to build your own ring is full.)
Note that guests are appearing on different days and their schedules may vary depending on photo op and panel timing. Check out the full list of guests and the official schedule for more details.
For more on Fan Expo Canada, check out our interviews with VP Andrew Moyes and John Rhys-Davies.
You can buy Fan Expo tickets here, with single-day admission starting at $39.
Image credit: Larian/Disney/Crave
MobileSyrup may earn a commission from purchases made via our links, which helps fund the journalism we provide free on our website. These links do not influence our editorial content. Support us here.
