Listen to the episode on Spotify.

Listen to the episode on Spotify.

Mon: Hello and welcome to the final episode of Stereo Geeks Season 8. Today, we’re sharing our recap of Fan Expo Canada 2026. I’m one of your hosts, Mon, an entertainment writer with bylines in Bam Smack Pow and Huffpost, to name a few.

Ron: And I’m your other host, Ron, a pop culture critic and managing editor at Women Write About Comics, now on hiatus.

Mon: Before we start our episode, we would like to acknowledge that the land we are recording on is the traditional territory of many nations, including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples. It is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. We also acknowledge that Toronto is covered by Treaty 13 with the Mississaugas of the Credit.

Ron: While we are making this land acknowledgement, we understand that this is not enough and that positive action is required by the people of Canada to make substantive change for the Indigenous nations and communities whose lands we now reside on.

[Music]

Ron: Day 1 of Fan Expo Canada 2026 started off weirdly. Press had been invited by the PR team to visit the LEGO activation where Paul Sun-Hyung Lee would be in attendance. We dutifully went to pick up our press badges, only to be way too early. So we stood in line. 

Mon: We ended up being the first people in line for the press badge pickup. We’ve been doing this for years, so we know the drill. But then it got a bit strange. Badge pickup started at 1 but press could only enter the show floor at 2. Which is the show time for press and VIPs, but there was a lot of standing about instead of lining up. 

Ron: It was very odd. But we got a lot of reading done. However, things got stranger after that. We queued up for Paul at the LEGO activation. There was some other press in the line with us — we’ve all been covering the event for a while so we’re used to running into each other. 

Mon: Then, as we were getting closer, we were told that press would not be able to see Paul yet. That we had to come back after four once the VIPs had finished seeing him. 2-4pm was the VIP slot and since they had paid to attend, they got priority.

Ron: Look, I keep calm usually and I try to be understanding about changes in plans. But why make us stand for over a half hour and then tell us to come back two hours later? When we were explicitly told to come at 2pm? I understand giving VIPs precedence but why make us queue for so long? We had so many other activations that we were invited to that we had pushed to later for this. 

Mon: Anyway, in the end, they ran out of VIPs to cut in so the press got to meet Paul. They didn’t give us the option to get his autograph but we did get a lovely picture. And Paul was such a sweetheart. When I went up to him, he introduced himself by saying, “Hi, I’m Paul.” Which is adorable because, of course we know you’re Paul!

Ron: His Instagram handle is angryappa, but he’s the opposite.

Mon: We asked him whether he would ever join Star Trek, since he’s already in so many other fandoms, like Star Wars, and Avatar. He told us that he’d tried out for Star Trek some time ago but they wanted him to shave his iconic beard. So alas. 

Ron: And now there’s no more Star Trek on the horizon. Sigh. Here’s hoping we get something in the future.

Mon: Our main aim, as has been the case ever since X-Men ‘97 was announced, was to attend the X-Men: The Animated Series panel. The panel included Alison Sealey-Smith (Storm), producer Larry Huston, Chris Potter (original Gambit, and now Cable), Randall Carpenter (Mystique), Cal Dodd (Wolverine), Cedric Smith (Professor X) and George Buza (Beast). 

Ron: I thought we’d end up hearing familiar stories, since we’ve attended a few of these panels now, but we got a lot of new information. 

Mon: Yes, we did. Among the panellists, only Buza and Huston knew of the X-Men prior to the show. The others were utterly confused by these mutants. But their love for the characters was obvious. 

Ron: I know right? I loved how Sealy-Smith said she wouldn’t trade Storm for the world. As a person from the Caribbean, Barbados specifically, she thinks of all the hurricanes and devastation caused by the weather. Which Storm could stop if she were real. So Sealy-Smith connects to that aspect of Storm. 

Mon: A little wish fulfillment, one could say. I found Carpenter’s take on Mystique fascinating. She talked about Mystique’s maternal side. She’s a mother who has the best intentions but goes about things the wrong way. I think that humanized Mystique a lot to Carpenter. 

Ron: That was a very unusual take indeed. So Chris Potter talked about how he felt he didn’t take the show that seriously initially, because it was a lunch break job while he was usually doing shows that took 12-14 hours. 

Mon: TV sounds gruelling. X-Men is the only voice work that Potter has done. 

Ron: Barring Lotto ads apparently. 

Mon: Yes indeed. But Potter seems to have really understood Gambit despite it all. 

Ron: Again, these actors really get to the heart of the characters and that’s why the shows have made such a difference to people’s lives. He talked about Gambit wanting to love his past and the bad people in his past. And his terrible decision to fall for a woman he can’t touch. All the actors have a very wry sense of humour. 

Mon: They also tease each other mercilessly. I’m guessing they get along. Cedric Smith was hilarious. He kept talking about how Charles just knows everything and Smith wishes he had that power. He was very amusing. 

Ron: But the sweetest stories are always from George Buza. He always mentions how some fans were almost at the end of their rope when they found the show and the X-Men literally saved their lives. My heart. 

Mon: Beyond touching. Entertainment is so much more than just words and pictures. I will say, I was so surprised to hear that Cal Dodd didn’t have an X-Men connection prior to his audition. 

Ron: I was surprised too. He’s embodied Wolverine so incredibly well. 

Mon: He quotes entire episodes. He remembers episode titles and sequences. Relationships and dynamics. He joked nonstop about hating Cyclops and wanting to be with Jean. You’d think Logan runs through his veins. 

Ron: The X-Men panel was a lot of fun. I liked that we got to see the original voice of Gambit, and now Cable. And Mystique. Who I adore. I’ve really fallen in love with her since the Krakoa era. And the original voice of Professor Xavier. And George Buza once again got the crowd teary with his affection for the fans. 

Ron: My plan for Day 2 was getting to the Absolute DC panel. In preparation, I’d read both the volumes of Batman, Wonder Woman, Superman, and Flash. I’d also read the first volumes of Martian Manhunter and Green Lantern. The library didn’t have Absolute Catwoman or Absolute Green Arrow, which is unfortunate because their creators were on the panel. 

Ron: The panel included Jeff Lemire, writer of Absolute Flash, Pornsak Pichetshote and Rafael Albuquerque, writer and artist on Absolute Green Arrow, Bengal, artist on Absolute Catwoman. Writer Che Grayson couldn’t attend. And finally, Jahnoy Lindsay, artist on Absolute Green Lantern. 

Mon: Oh wow. Lindsay is on Absolute? He was my first ever comic creator interview. I went to chat with him about his Luke Cage comic. And it happened at Fan Expo.  

Ron: Oh yes! I was there with you when you spoke to him. The panel was interesting — there was a lot of discussion about the creative freedom the creators have been given for the Absolute universe. How it feels like they’re getting to create their own characters instead of writing IP. The panel also mentioned that usually writing for the big two means working within very proscribed lines but that’s not the case here. It feels almost like creator-owned work, in that sense. 

Ron: I have to say, I found the panel a little self-aggrandizing. 

Mon: Oh? What do you mean?

Ron: I understand the Absolute books have done extremely well — I’m not a fan of them, unfortunately. But there was a bit of gloating that rubbed me the wrong way. Probably because I’ve found the books to be too invested in gore and guts. I haven’t really felt the humanity of most of the characters, except in Wonder Woman, and the first Superman. 

Ron: I also think the panel desperately needed a non-male perspective. It’s too bad Grayson couldn’t be there. I would have liked to hear their approach to Catwoman. It’s also a bit annoying that in 2026, we’re not seeing more women and non-binary writers get to write characters like Batman and Superman. I was surprised Green Arrow was being written by a person of colour.

Ron: We did share some breaking news from the panel over on our Instagram — that Teen Titans will get the Absolute treatment soon. And that Justice League is something for the far future. 

Mon: I’m sorry the panel was grating. I know you’ve struggled with this Absolute series. I had hoped the panel would give you more perspective. 

Ron: I’m glad they’re enjoying it. But I certainly am not. 

Mon: Right after that we went to the Wacom booth for a much-delayed live demo of how their tool is used in creating comics. 

Ron: I was familiar with Wacom products, particularly Wacom Cintiq. A company I worked at had customers who used Wacom extensively. But it was great to see it live. 

Mon: Ah, that’s a whole other angle that I hadn’t even thought of. I thought this would be about the games. But Wacom is used by comic book artists. 

Ron: Wacom is used for a lot of different creative industries. 

Mon: We spoke to Sarajean, a comic creator who uses Wacom. We shared part of her tutorial on our Instagram page, but what she was saying is that the tool makes it very easy to draw and create a comic digitally. All you need is to change the pressure on the stylus to get a thin to thick line.

Ron: My favourite part of her demo was when she showed us the use of the watercolour function. I couldn’t believe how the colour can be blended so easily to produce that distinctive watercolour look. It’s so impressive, but more than that, it opens up the possibilities for creativity. 

Mon: Yeah. I know these tools aren’t cheap. But they’re an investment for human beings to create. I was delighted that we were invited to the Wacom booth. It was enlightening. 

Ron: We ended the day with the K-Pop Demon Hunters sing-a-long. We’d attended one during Toronto Comicon, but it was tepid. This time, they’d chosen a much smaller room; it was packed and the crowd was very enthusiastic. People were singing loudly and proudly. Some of the crowd even knew how to sing the Korean lyrics. It was a ton of fun!

Mon: I loved it! This is what it sounds like when fans come together!

Ron: Saturday of Fan Expo Canada 2026 was a panel-heavy day. We started the morning with the Huntrix voice actors panel. May Hong, who voiced Mira, and Ji-Young Yoo, the voice of Zoey, shared their journey to K-Pop Demon Hunters. I love hearing from voice actors. It’s such a fascinating profession and, in another life, with the right resources, I would have loved to be a voice actor. 

Mon: You’ve always been so interested in voice acting. There’s still time. 

Ron: Thanks, sis. We didn’t really know much about Yoo or Hong so it was interesting hearing from them. I was struck by the reason behind Hong’s desire to go into voice acting. She’s an actor and has a modeling career, but she didn’t want to be perceived that way. And voice acting was very freeing for her. It made me think of Lupita Nyong’o, who said something similar about voicing Maz Kanata.

Mon: It was interesting that the actors tried out for different roles because it’s quite obvious they were made for their characters. Hong tried out for all three leads, but even she realized Mira was her girl. She has a very dour way of speaking, a slight baritone. Perfect for Mira. And Yoo is quite bubbly and funny, with a higher voice, that fits Zoey’s personality. 

Ron: The casting choices are great. Directors Chris Appelhans and Maggie Kang are both voice actors themselves, so they had intimate knowledge of the art and process.

Mon: Talking about the success of the film, and the two Oscar wins, Yoo made an interesting observation — that it’s opened up opportunities for them that were unavailable earlier. The work has also set a standard for them that they’ll be holding other acting gigs to. 

Ron: I found it funny that Yoo didn’t get the entire script. She said she got the Tom Holland treatment. Hong was certain she’d read the whole script. But it’s been a really long process. They started auditioning in 2022; they got multiple callbacks, months apart. And they only really recorded their scenes in 2024. And there were still script changes at that time.

Mon: And yet, the voice cast was surprised when they saw the film and heard the songs. They didn’t know it was a musical until they watched it! 

Ron: That was a funny little tidbit. Also fascinating was that Ejae had written 30 songs for the film. And that there was a whole backstory about Rumi’s parents that was cut from the film. I wonder if they’ll make an appearance in the sequel. 

Mon: A sequel that is in the works but nobody knows anything about. According to Yoo, the script isn’t finished because Netflix and Sony didn’t predict the phenomenon this film would become.

Ron: Not many could. But we’re looking forward to more. 

Mon: Our next session was The Mandalorian one featuring the suit performer Brendan Wayne. I didn’t know what to expect from this session. But I was astounded by the experience. 

Ron: First up, Wayne is the grandson of John Wayne, which we did not know. There was a time when this Star Wars trivia would be top of mind but life gets in the way. I guess it tracks given the Western feel of The Mandalorian. Wayne also came to the session wearing a cowboy hat. And he had Mando and Grogu accessories on it. He’s dedicated to the bit.

Mon: Wayne’s story was really interesting. He was broke and trying to make money as a bartender. His oldest was headed to college. The man was desperate and then this job came to him. 

Ron: The whole thing was very hush hush but Wayne did the costume fitting and advised the Disney team on the holster and blaster. Et voila, he got the role. It’s obvious how desperate he was — you could see the emotion in him as he recalled it. He even signed a daily contract instead of something more stable. And kept his bartending gig on weekends.

Mon: How ridiculous is it that daily contracts are even an option for such a major project? But Wayne has got to be one of the most humble sounding people I’ve seen at conventions. He was so grateful for the opportunity, but mostly so grateful to the fans. 

Mon: He also has a cavalier attitude. He doesn’t care about Hollywood’s BS. I wanna say that comes from being a Wayne, but he kept saying he was too old for that. Work is work but his family and good experiences are paramount for him. 

Ron: Yes, he reiterated several times that his family is the priority. The work is to ensure he can provide a good life for them. He even refused to meet the entire Disney team because they’d scheduled it the day his daughter was going to college. They must have wanted him very much, because Jon Favreau brought the meeting date forward to accommodate Wayne.

Ron: Another big part of how well his Mando experience went was because of the late Carl Weathers. Weathers took him under his wing and was really kind to him. I didn’t know Wayne had nearly died in between seasons. And Weathers would call to check on him and tell him he’d get through it. Weathers sounds like he was a wonderful colleague and friend. 

Mon: Wayne also waxed eloquent about Lateef Crowder, the stunt performer for Mando. He’s apparently super fit and a martial artist and the two work well together. Wayne said they weave a quilt to create the character. 

Mon: There wasn’t much talk of Pedro Pascal, who most of us associate with Mando. When asked by a fan, Wayne said that Pedro was a nice, funny dude. Well aware of the world around him. Wayne and Pedro are essentially giving each other a great gift. Pedro gets to do a bunch of other projects while Wayne is in the suit. And Wayne has a full time job because Pedro isn’t taking that part on. 

Ron: How does that work now, though? Are we getting any more live-action Mando? 

Mon: Hmmm. I don’t know. 

Ron: We’ll wait to find out. I’m so glad we went for Brendan Wayne’s session. He was so gracious about the role and being part of Star Wars. It was a very emotional session. 

Mon: A reminder again of the impact of art. It changes the lives of the people making it and those enjoying it. Wayne was so grateful to fans for being there for the show and Star Wars. He ended the session by saying the fans, more than Disney or George Lucas, are the reason why fandoms thrive. What a lovely sentiment. 

Ron: Can the fans actually remember that when they’re interacting with each other online! 

Mon: Our next session was the Maul: Shadow Lord session with Sam Witwer, Gideon Adlon, and Vanessa Marshall, aka the voices of Darth Maul, Devon, and Rook. It started off with a presentation of a chocolate Maul. Beautifully painted. The cast were enamoured. 

Ron: Great chocolate work and the cast got some cookies, as well. I know we didn’t like the show all that much. You can listen to our review on our podcast. But I’m glad we went to the session. The cast clearly get along extremely well, and Adlon seems to see Witwer as a mentor. 

Mon: Witwer is like the Star Wars archives in a person. In other words, he’s a huge nerd. He’s got a deep understanding of the philosophy of the universe, not just its mythology, but what makes the characters tic. 

Ron: He and Marshall had an almost encyclopedic knowledge of the shows and lore. They were talking about stuff that I have no memory of.

Mon: Agreed. In a way, they made me admire the work that was put into Maul way more than the final product. I wish some of that philosophizing had been evident in the product. 

Mon: The session was really immersive, especially once the questions were directly about Star Wars. 

Ron: Yes. I don’t think these actors were remotely interested in talking about anything but the mythos and their characters. Which is great. It was like an extension of the show. I liked it. 

Mon: It was intense. But it was Star Wars intense so I enjoyed it too. 

Ron: So, we haven’t mentioned one of the biggest moments for us at Fan Expo Canada. The week of the con, they announced that Mark Hamill, aka Luke Skywalker, was going to be a guest. You somehow knew Hamill would be the big guest announcement.

Mon: I had a feeling. But the excitement of knowing Mark Hamill would be there, was doused by the fact that a ticket to see him cost $1000, plus taxes. 

Ron: They basically only had one package option that included the panel, autograph, and photograph. That put it completely out of reach for most fans. We would have to try our luck at general admission, which meant missing a lot of the con so we could queue up.

Mon: They also scheduled Hamill at the same time as the Death Note panel. We may never get the chance to see all those voice actors together again. 

Ron: I am so gutted about that. We also had to miss Oded Fehr because we were in the queue. We’ve been going to the Expo for years, and it still boggles the mind that people have to basically spend hours in lines. It’s such a waste.

Mon: We had to queue on the upper floor and then we made our way down. It was a long, anxious wait. Because the ticketed seats were limited to 300, but they were also seating VIPs before general admission. I didn’t know if we would even get in. 

Ron: I was weirdly calm. It was a very busy week in the run up to Fan Expo. Work was busy, and prep for the con kept us very busy. So I barely had time to think about how this session would pan out.

Mon: Shout out to the 501st Legion for keeping the crowd entertained. The stormtroopers high-fived people. There was a Jawa who was pretend-stealing your phone. 

Ron: That was so funny! I had no idea what was happening so I gave him my phone for a picture. And then he tried to make off with it. We were rolling about laughing. They really helped with the anxiety in that queue. 

Mon: As it turns out, we did get into the session. I’m pretty sure everyone did because there were empty seats on the far ends. 

Ron: The main stage hall is enormous. They can probably seat a couple thousand in there. So yes, we all got a seat. The session started late, probably to accommodate all the GAs. But then Mark Hamill came onto the stage, and all anxiety went away. We have been waiting to see this man since we were kids. Luke Skywalker and Star Wars are a big reason for us being, well, us! 

Mon: Yep. We wouldn’t be doing this podcast or anything pop culture-related if it wasn’t for Luke. Star Wars changed our lives.   

Ron: It did. The session began with some kids asking Mark questions. He gave really genuine-sounding, long answers. He spoke to them like they were adults. I was very impressed by that. He talked about becoming close to the crew on Star Wars, not just the actors. I love that. He also made a hilarious joke when an Ahsoka came on stage. He asked if she got the orange for her face paint from the White House. We were wheeze-laughing!

Mon: Oh my gawd! That comment came from nowhere. But oh so perfectly dropped. He apparently didn’t want to bring in politics in this session, but he couldn’t help it. Truly, we feel him. And really, that made the session all the better. 

Ron: I knew so much of Mark’s history for so long, and yet, since becoming adults, I’ve forgotten so much. It was interesting revisiting Mark’s early life, that he was the middle of seven siblings, they were a military family and he changed schools nine times. His last school was in Japan. I didn’t know that he was the family underachiever and had no support when joining the entertainment industry. 

Mon: He joked a lot about his height. Apparently his older brother is 6’2”, academic and athletic. So like Mark had nothing left. I guess when you’re freaking Luke Skywalker charging a grand to sign your name, you can make fun of your insecurities. He’s really funny. 

Ron: But he used that story to talk about the luck he had breaking into the industry. That in the year he moved to LA to be an actor, he just happened to meet the right people to get him an agent and start booking gigs. His advice was that actors — and this goes for everyone — can never know when those opportunities will appear. So, grab every chance and put yourself out there. Which was so different from Brendan Wayne’s attitude, which was, he’ll just do his own thing; he doesn’t want to play Hollywood’s networking game.

Mon: Oh I didn’t think of it like that. Wayne, I think is just over a lot of it because he’s older. And Mark was talking about younger actors breaking in. 

Ron: Mark mentioned how he booked the Bill Cosby show early on and it was not the best experience. Everyone else was nice, except Cosby, who wasn’t even polite. And Mark felt like he had to lie to his family who wanted to know if Cosby was just as friendly in life as his character was. Mark then made a joke about at least not being given alcohol by Cosby. Alluding to the court cases against Cosby. I appreciate that Mark’s jokes were punching up.

Mon: Yeah. He has a very wry sense of humour. The jokes come from left field. But he jokes on socials too, so I don’t know why I was surprised. 

Ron: I was very happy to hear about Mark’s early love for voice acting. It was his entry into the world of entertainment, not on-screen acting. 

Mon: Yes! I did not know animation and voice work made him fall in love with show business. I figured he just fell into it later in his career. But nope. 

Rob: I didn’t know that either. And he said something similar to what the KPDH actors also said, that voice acting gave him the freedom to play characters he wouldn’t be chosen for otherwise. Of course, he made jokes about not being able to play 6 foot 2 Italians with abs. He’s really funny!

Ron: He did take audience questions and someone asked him about Luke’s ending. At the time of The Last Jedi, Mark had shared that he wasn’t happy with the arc. He called Luke the “most optimistic” character, someone who gets up every time he gets pushed down. He couldn’t imagine Luke abandoning his loved ones and hiding away for years. 

Mon: Mark said he ended up creating an extremely elaborate backstory to explain why Luke would give up like that. It included Luke getting married and having a child, but the child dies from accidentally igniting a lightsaber. And then Luke’s wife kills herself. That’s so depressing that obviously none of it made it into the film. He then joked that maybe Luke just got brain damage. 

Ron: He’s clearly come around to Luke’s arc because he acknowledged that the writer-director had his own vision and wanted the shock value of showing what a changed man Luke had become. He’s more understanding than a lot of fans are. But I will say, Luke is the least of The Last Jedi’s problems. Never going to forgive them for what they did to Finn and Poe. 

Mon: Aye. And turning our new trio’s film into Luke’s journey. Ridiculous. I’d argue Mark hasn’t come around to it as much as he’s just trying to keep the peace. He said there’s a diversity of fans and so he’ll let the films do the talking. 

Mon: Mark ended the session thanking the fans. I loved that. I appreciate that some of these stars take the time to acknowledge how much the fans put into being fans. You and I spend so much time and money covering these events because we are fans too and we use our pop culture writing skills to get access to it. 

Ron: It’s a lot of work but then we get the occasional opportunity to see someone like Mark Hamill. Sometimes it pays off. 

Mon: Day four of Fan Expo Canada 2026 started with the X-Men ‘97 panel. The panel included Alison Sealey-Smith (Storm), Adrian Hough (Nightcrawler), Cal Dodd (Wolverine), Randall Carpenter (Mystique), Alyson Court (original Jubilee), and producer Larry Huston.

Ron: We’ve been attending the X-Men panels for a few years now, but I love how we get new stories every time. 

Mon: Yeah. That was unexpected. Even though Cal Dodd quoted Cold Vengeance again, the stories around that episode were new. I guess that was a really impactful episode! 

Ron: I found Alison Sealey-Smith’s story about returning for ‘97 so funny. She got a voicemail from someone saying Disney was looking for her and she deleted the message. And she kept getting emails about X-Men, which she’d delete, thinking it was all a scam. Until her agent called her in desperation and said, “please, just reply to the email!”

Mon: On the other hand, Adrian Hough was basically pitching his return as Nightcrawler, even though his agent was unconvinced. Well, thankfully it worked out. 

Ron: Goodness, yes. I can’t imagine ‘97 without Kurt. And apparently it was Kurt who was supposed to die in Season 1! But Disney liked Hough so much, they kept Kurt alive and gave him the memorable arc in Season 2. Now he is dead, though.

Mon: Yeah. And we’re sad again. Cal Dodd and some of the other cast members heard about the reboot and bugged Disney about it. Till they got to audition again. 

Ron: And they were ably supported by the fans, who kept emailing about bringing the show back. Randall Carpenter has only just returned to ‘97 as Mystique. We’ll see more of her in the next season. 

Mon: She mentioned something about Mystique and new relationships. Was that a hint about Destiny joining the show? 

Ron: Listen! We’re going to get Mystique back and that makes me happy. If we get Destiny and their relationship? I’m gonna lose my damn mind!

Mon: I didn’t know that Alyson Court had advocated for Jubilee to be recast. But she appears to be the glue for the cast. And has been getting these Fan Expo get togethers organized. That’s great that she’s still part of the whole thing even if she’s not actively part of the cast. 

Ron: That’s so wonderful to hear. Court was a teenager when she was cast and she didn’t know for quite a while that Jubilee was Asian-American. I’m very impressed that she advocated to be replaced. In a harsh industry where your next job is never guaranteed, that’s a huge risk to take. But she chose to be on the side of inclusivity instead. 

Mon: I was most interested to hear from Larry Huston. He’s still a producer on the show. And he said that he was surprised that Disney called him and wanted the original team to come back. He mentioned that reboots don’t usually do that. But here they did. Which is a great continuation from the original series. 

Mon: Hough mentioned that he was impressed by how Dodd basically acts out Wolverine‘s moves. At all the voice acting sessions we went to, the physicality of the job came up. Hong ran laps to make Mira sound out of breath. Voice acting is still acting and the effort these actors put into the roles makes the performances believable. 

Ron: We’ve got to talk about that absolutely heartbreaking story Cal Dodd shared. Content warning for bullying and attempted suicide. Please skip a minute to avoid this topic, if that is what you need to do. 

Mon: Ok. Did not expect to see the voice of Wolverine tearing up. And like having us all in absolute tears. These X-Men panels always get us. Man, this is so much more than just a show. 

Ron: So, Dodd was at his table at a convention and this gentleman walked up with his daughter. They were dressed in black and wearing claws. The man told Dodd that Wolverine saved his life. He talked about being bullied for his autism so relentlessly that he attempted suicide. He went up to his roof prepared to stop living but his friend found him and told him that Wolverine would never do this; that he wouldn’t give up. And that gave the man reason to continue. And he was very grateful to Wolverine and Dodd because he now had a daughter who he loved. And she has autism, as well. And then he took his glove off and shook Dodd’s hand. 

Ron: But the really heartwarming part of the story was that the man’s wife came up to Dodd after, in tears. She told him that her husband couldn’t shake hands with people because of his autism. But he did shake Dodd’s hand because he was Wolverine. Tears everywhere!

Mon: Whoof. That was a lot. Carpenter shared the story of a man who would only wake up on Saturday mornings to watch the show and that’s how he made it through his childhood. Entertainment, man. We need to keep the arts alive. Not destroy it with crappy AI machines. 

Ron: You said it! So many people have been saved by entertainment. I remember a teenager saying the same about DC’s Legends of Tomorrow a few Fan Expos ago. Do you recall that?

Mon: Yes I do. And they were so little too. Anyway, Huston is working on Season 3 and 4. And there’s been a lot of advocating for 26 episode seasons. If only it would happen. 

Mon: After that extremely emotional session, we did what we do best here in Toronto. We waited in line. 

Ron: Of course, we did. Which we were a bit sad about because we had wanted to watch the Star Trek 60th anniversary documentary.

Mon: We lined up for Brenton Thwaites, who played Dick Grayson, aka Nightwing, on Titans. The show was actually shot in Toronto. And the MTCC, where Fan Expo Canada is held, was one of the locations used. 

Ron: Thwaites was an interesting session. We’ve seen him play a lot of cocky, self-assured characters. But I was really surprised to hear that he had felt insecure in his early career, and suffered from low self-esteem. He was very measured and funny during the discussion, though. 

Mon: I know nothing about this man. I’ve seen a fair amount of his stuff. But I had no idea what to expect going into his session. 

Ron: He did talk about playing Dick Grayson at a very interesting point in his story. He’s not comfortable being Robin anymore, but what is he without Batman? He doesn’t believe in killing people — Thwaites was very clear about that. But because it was such a new journey for Dick, Thwaites was given the runway to explore more of the character. 

Mon: He mentioned that they intentionally wanted to create a story for Dick that hadn’t necessarily been explored before. 

Mon: Thwaites said something interesting—he felt acting came easily to him. He’s effortlessly talented at it. And the gigs came easy to him. Music is hard work and he has to work at it. He didn’t sound arrogant about it. And he’s really good as an actor. But that could have been perceived differently had he not talked about his self-esteem issues. 

Ron: Yes, he said he was naturally talented — which comes across as bragging — but he felt he didn’t deserve the big projects he got to work on at the start of his career. And that talent only gets you so far. You have to put in the work. Which I remember Aussie cricketer Brett Lee also saying a very long time ago.

Mon: Thwaites has also got into producing. Another way to make money, have work and have more control over his time. In response to a fan question he mentioned that some of his big blockbuster roles were offered to him. Pirates of the Caribbean and Gods of Egypt were filmed in Australia, so to get the tax credits, the productions needed to cast a certain percentage of local talent. And that’s how Thwaites got some of his big breaks. Again, not because he’s not talented. But he also lucked out. 

Ron: There’s that luck that Mark Hamill talked about.

Ron: It was interesting to hear about Thwaites’ journey to music. He called himself rubbish at it, in comparison to his friends. But he now has an album out. And has completed the second. He said that working on Titans gave him the financial freedom to work on indie projects and explore music. But he hasn’t been able to land something as financially viable as Titans since. Warner Brothers had a lot of money at the time and he was making millions, but his salaries have been dwindling since. He was very open about his financial struggles and the ups and downs of acting. After listening to Brendan Wayne, and Thwaites, it’s a miracle anybody survives the entertainment industry.

Mon: Jeez Luis. I couldn’t believe how open he was about it. He ran out of money? He was in debt! What? The choice of celebrities was super interesting this time around, because wow, they were candid about Hollywood and the veneer of stardom.

Ron: Considering he’s got five children, running out of money sounds like a nightmare. But it seems like he’s landed on his feet again.

Mon: Yeah. We were watching the clock the whole time because Alan Ritchson was programmed half an hour into Thwaites’ session. I don’t quite understand that decision. They were both on Titans. There’s overlap there. Anyway. We raced against the crowd to get to Ritchson’s session. 

Ron: Raced is right. We literally ran, not easy on the Sunday afternoon of a big con. But we reached the main stage and even got to sit during the session. But my gosh, it was packed. 

Mon: I don’t quite know how the session was set up but Ritchson had two moderators for his panel? So confused. First up though, I know nothing about this man. 

Ron: Wait, you said that already. 

Mon: No, that was about Thwaites. I also know nothing about Ritchson, barring his work. 

Ron: We know some of their work. But we’re interested in this industry. We’ve been covering it for most of our lives. It’s always fascinating to hear their stories and journeys.

Mon: Indeed. So Ritchson is freaking hilarious. His voice is higher than I expected. And he’s very funny. Almost goofy. But, and this was such a weird pattern between both the Titans actors—there’s a lack of confidence in their abilities. 

Ron: I cannot believe that these guys, who we’ve been watching for years, who seem to have things together; they’re struggling internally. Ritchson especially. Like, oh my goodness. More on that in a bit. But what I found interesting was Ritchson’s insights as a producer. 

Mon: Ritchson explained that he gets the data from streaming platforms and that he’s got “the largest footprint” of anybody in the business. And he’s doing it as a lead actor but also as a producer. I didn’t know he was so influential. And look, that’s fascinating as long as he’s going about it the right way, doing the right things and working with the right kind of people. He was very matter-of-fact about it. He did say he’s humbled by that knowledge. I just had no idea about his… reach. 

Ron: I see what you did there. Reach, because he plays Reacher. Yeah, I didn’t know about Ritchson’s production work. Reacher is crazy popular but we’ve clearly missed his recent career trajectory. More of which will be revealed soon, he says. 

Mon: Now, Ritchson said that apparently one particular streaming platform has a mandate that says to star in one of their 100 million dollar productions, you have to have led a 100 million dollar production at the box office. He was gobsmacked by this and scoffed at it. Ritchson was like, what does one have to do with the other?

Ron: Of course, he didn’t name the platform. I’m so curious which one it was. I’m guessing not Amazon or Netflix because he’s already working with them. 

Mon: I’ll say that considering the near-constant battle between streaming and theatrical releases and what’s worth what, I agree with Ritchson that that clause is a complete joke. So essentially the streamer is saying theatrical releases have more value. It’s ridiculous. 

Ron: Despite the fact that most streamers are actively trying to push the ‘nobody goes to theatres’ narrative. Ridiculous.

Mon: Anyway, the point of that comment was that Ritchson got to lead a big streaming production on a technicality. He had voiced a ninja turtle and that was a big budget film. But he wants to do one for real. And apparently he’s now attached to a 100mil production and can’t wait to share it with us. 

Ron: Very interesting! He said he had a chip on his shoulder about it and he’s worked years, networked very hard, and it’s happening.

Mon: Now, the whole session had an interesting vibe to it. We walked in to hear how Ritchson was a semi-finalist on American Idol. Did you know he was on American Idol?

Ron: I did not. I didn’t even know he could sing.

Mon: Me neither. He also grew up with a narcissistic parent or parents. Couldn’t gather the exact info. He was used to performing to get love. He ran away from home at 16. Lived in the projects as he grew older. And then after losing out on Idol, he decided to go to LA and become an actor. Crikey o’ Reilly. What? Did you know all this?

Ron: I had no idea. This man has been through it. Listening to him talk about trying to be the best at all times because he didn’t know how he could get his parents’ love? Absolutely shocking. And so sad.

Mon: Yeah, and content warning for suicide again. Please skip 30 seconds if you want to avoid this story. After all that, he ended the session by talking about how he’s a suicide survivor. In his 30s, his production partner turned on him and threatened to slander him. And he was so depressed, he wanted to kill himself. This despite having a wife and kids. But he thought it would be a gift to everyone not to cause this chaos. I don’t know what to say.

Ron: My heart broke hearing that. Like, good grief. Thinking that the world and his family would be better off without him. Now that just shows you the depth of depression he was suffering. Instead he’s come through the other side and he’s a major name now. 

Mon: He didn’t intend to be a downer but was saying that seeing the current state of the US administration was heartbreaking because other abuse victims like himself are just crying out against the injustice. This session went places I could never have fathomed. Holy moly. 

Ron: It was nothing like I had expected. Ritchson didn’t talk about Titans at all while we were in the session, but it’s no wonder he did such a fabulous job playing Hank on the show. 

Ron: I really wish I could give Ritchson the biggest hug. Because he was open about the fact that he still struggles. His internal thoughts are not quiet or kind. But he’s still trying. And so far, it looks like he’s doing a good job. Keep it up.

Ron: After all that, final thoughts on Fan Expo Canada 2026? 

Mon: This was the 30th year of Fan Expo, but it didn’t feel very celebratory. Sure Mark Hamill is a big name. But somehow the main hall wasn’t packed like it was for Alan Ritchson. I hope the Hobbits and John Cena’s rooms were packed because they’re popular too. There was at least one controversial guest choice that I can’t get my head around. 

Ron: Fan Expo has had controversial guests a few times now. What message are they sending? That certain groups of fans should feel othered? Unsafe?

Mon: Right? This was probably the most crowded edition yet. There were just so many people and we were all crammed in like sardines. But the programming clashed too much. We missed out on so many panels because we had to wait in line or they happened at the same time. I can’t get over how it just didn’t feel that special given that it’s a big anniversary year. 

Ron: They really need to look into three things. The overcrowding, the escalators, and all the AI vendors. On Thursday itself, the artist alley in the south building was impossible to navigate. It’s so tight, the moment people stop at vendors, there’s a huge jam. On Friday, it was so bad, I actively fled. It’s awful. Suffocating. Infuriating. It’s worse every year. They have to make more room for people to move. Especially people with mobility devices; it’s downright dangerous for them.

Mon: You can’t actually see anything this way. It’s not doing anyone any favours, especially not these independent vendors who need to recoup their money. 

Ron: The other issue is the escalators. How can there be such long queues to get on the escalators? Every day of every year? You need to add 45 minutes to your plan because you’re stuck in the line for the escalator. What a waste of time. And again, it becomes so dangerous. 

Mon: We couldn’t believe how many vendors were selling AI nonsense. This wasn’t just in the retail section, but also in the artist alley. It’s so obvious when you see the hideous AI against the varied art of local artists. People selling AI crap should not be allowed at conventions.

Ron: Absolutely. What is the vetting process for these things? Anyway. Enough of all that. 

Mon: I am glad we got the opportunity to go and cover this event again. As many issues as the convention has, it gives all of us, fans and press alike, the opportunity to hear and learn so many interesting things about the industry we are peripherally part of, and enjoy so much. I just wish they would do something about the overcrowding. It’s so bad. 

Ron: I hope you enjoyed our recap of Fan Expo Canada 2026. 

Mon: That’s a wrap on Season 8 of Stereo Geeks. We’ll be at the Toronto International Film Festival in September. Keep an eye out for bonus episode reviews and newsletters from the festival.

Ron: You can listen to Stereo Geeks on stereogeeks.ca, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Don’t forget to rate us, and leave us a review; it helps other listeners find us.

Mon: And, get more exclusive content when you subscribe to our newsletter on our website, and follow us on Instagram, @stereogeeks_podcast. Plus, we’re also on BlueSky, @stereogeekspodcast.bsky.social. 

Ron: The Stereo Geeks logo was created using Canva. Our music is courtesy Audionautix. 

Mon: See you next time.