Photos by Kayley Luftig.
With a few last minute cancellations and some impressive additions to fill those gaps, Fan Expo pulled out another amazing weekend with a star-studded line up. This year had a nostalgic feel to it, with cast members from Back to the Future, Xena: Warrior Princess, The Princess Bride, Degrassi, and Titanic. Joining them were some newer favourites from hit shows Gotham, The Gifted, The Vampire Diaries, Star Trek; Discovery, Killjoys, and many more.
With the cast of Degrassi Junior High reuniting at Comicon this March, the reunion of cast members of Degrassi: The Next Generation seemed very fitting for this year’s Fan Expo. After fielding the inevitable Drake questions with poise and a good sense of humour, the cast shared their experiences as teens in Toronto acting on a show like Degrassi. They explained that they experienced a lot of their firsts on the show, and when it was over it truly felt like they were graduating from high school. The show often had the actors shedding light on important topics that would resonate not only with their teen audience, but gave them a better understanding of some of the difficult situations a lot of teens experience.
“I think every generation needs their version of Degrassi”. Pat Mastroianni (Joey Jeremiah) wrapped the panel up with sharing his passion to keep the show alive for as long as possible, as the lessons the show drives home are needed now more than ever.
According to attendees, the appearance of the Back to the Future cast was a huge highlight of the weekend. With countless mini Marty Mcflys running around, there’s no doubting that kids are still being raised on the classic film series.
On Friday evening Michael J. Fox joined his cast mates for an exclusive panel, but the chance to see Doc and Biff during their Sunday panel still warranted a line that spanned the inner perimeter of the North building. Fans were happy with their decision to wait it out when Tom Wilson serenaded the crowd with a song that answered his most commonly asked questions. The lyrics had the entire room laughing, and Tom’s voice and skill on the ukulele served as a perfect wrap up to a very memorable weekend.
“What’s exciting is that Back to the Future is something we grew up on, and to get to see that in person is awesome.” Coming from a smaller town, attendees Zack and Connor expressed that visiting Toronto for an event like this is a unique and fun experience for them, with the attendance of the event sometimes doubling their town’s population. For the pair, it was Back to the Future that drew them in, but they say it’s the community feel of Fan Expo that keeps them coming back.
