Don Shanahan
Since its rebranding from Wizard World, the Fan Expo Chicago convention has become the city’s top pop culture celebration while also being its longest-running, now in its 52nd year. This year’s event runs from August 15 to August 17 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois. Show hours are Friday 4PM to 9PM., Saturday 10AM to 7PM, and Sunday 10AM to 5PM. Tickets start at $48 from August 1 through the end of the show. 3-day passes and VIP packages also available at FanExpo’s ticketing hub.
Many favorite fandom stars are making their way to Fan Expo Chicago. The “main events,” as they are called, are a prime chance to meet them up close and personal at their Q&A sessions, where they’ll answer fan questions and dive into behind the scenes stories. Celebrity guests, from movie stars to voice actors and comic creators, will be at the show all weekend signing autographs and doing photo-ops for long-lasting keepsakes. Of course, there’s an entire convention floor of activities, comic creators, and memorabilia vendors offering their swag an selling their wares for gathering guets and a host of cosplayers. The fun doesn’t end when the show floor closes. Fan Expo is hosting several after parties and events expand their guests’ schedules.
The 2025 Fan Expo Chicago lineup of guest across various mediums of entertainment is sizable and prestigious. Several special groups and “team-ups” are available for photo ops and autograph opportunities, beginning with the Star Wars prequel duo of Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christiansen and the Guardians of the Galaxy quartet of Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, and Sean Gunn. In a rare combination, the cast of 1999’s The Mummy, including Brendan Fraser, Oded Fehr, Patricia Velasquez, and John Hannah will grace the convention stage together. Another cast reunion for an older generation is the Griswold family of the Vacation franchise with Chevy Chase, Beverly D’Angelo, Anthony Michael Hall, Juliette Lewis, Randy Quaid, and Dana Barron appearing across the three convention days. Also, film favorite Orlando Bloom and current WWE champion and budding actor John Cena also have special experience packages connected to their Fan Expo Q&As. Below is a photo gallery of the celebrity guests set for the 2025 edition of Fan Expo Chicago:
