Celebs Headline Philly’s Fan Fest
Fan Expo returned to Philadelphia this past weekend with the show’s traditional blend of celebrities, comics creators, and cosplay.
Television and movie actors are typically the biggest draw at Fan Expo events. Just over a week before the fan fest, FanExpo announced several of the biggest celebrities scheduled to appear — Zachary Levi, Jon Bernthal, and Christina Ricci — were unable to attend. Despite this, the show had a strong slate of pop culture figures for interview sessions, autograph signings, and photo ops.
The auditorium was filled to capacity for the session with Stranger Things stars Joseph Quinn and Grace Van Dien. Quinn nearly missed the show due to visa problems, but managed to arrive in time for his panel with Van Dien on Sunday and a day packed with photo ops.
Sunday’s The Back to the Future panel with Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, and Tom Wilson began with Wilson serenading the audience with a robust version of Elton John’s “Philadelphia Freedom.” As he arrived on stage, Fox briefly tripped (which, regrettably, became the headline for many media outlets). He landed safely on the sofa however, and adroitly rebounded with a flourish. At the panel’s close, the audience sang “Happy Birthday” to Fox three days in advance of his birthday.
A mere two days after the blockbuster opening of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, lead voice actor Shameik Moore (Miles Morales / Spider-Man) took the stage at Fan Expo. During the Q&A session a young fan came to the microphone to ask how Spider-Man shoots his webbing. Moore brought the young man to the stage where the two compared web-shooting poses.
The stars of Netflix’s 2015–2018 Daredevil series, Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio, appeared in advance of their planned return to the characters in the upcoming Disney+ series, Daredevil: Born Again.
Other celebrity presentations included:
Arrow actors Stephen Amell, Emily Bett Rickards, and David Ramsey.
Smallville cast members Michael Rosenbaum, Tom Welling, and Kristin Kreuk.
The Mandalorian, Breaking Bad, and Better Call Saul star Giancarlo Esposito.
iZombie’s Rose McIver.
The Lord of the Rings and Goonies actor Sean Astin.
The Flash’s Danielle Panabaker (Caitlin Snow / Killer Frost).
While the celebrity sessions steal the spotlight, Fan Expo’s Artist Alley included a number of noteworthy comics creators, including Dan Slott, Joe Quesada, and J. G. Jones.
There were plenty of vendors with comics and pop culture collectables on the show floor.
And, as with all comic cons, cosplay was prevalent throughout the three days of the event.
For the photo gallery from the event, see the Flickr album Fan Expo Philadelphia 2023:
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