These celebrities will all be in Boston next weekend

The knives will be out for second breakfast in Boston next weekend, when stars like Chris Evans, Elijah Wood, and Mel Gibson pay a visit for Fan Expo Boston 2026, the yearly pop culture extravaganza.

Along with the annual PAX East and Anime Boston conventions, Fan Expo Boston has established itself as one of the biggest fan events in New England, filling the 516,000 square-foot Menino Convention & Exhibition Center (formerly known as the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center) with photo ops, Q&A panels, merch booths, interactive games, cosplay contests, and hundreds of other programs and activities centered around pop culture, movies, television, anime, comics, gaming, and more.

The biggest star in this year’s lineup is Evans, the Sudbury native best known for his role as Captain America in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Evans will be signing autographs and taking photos with fans during sessions on Saturday and Sunday, and will participate in a panel on Sunday at 2:15 p.m. about his time playing Captain America in the comic book franchise.

Though Evans stepped away from playing the all-American superhero after 2019’s “Avengers: Endgame,” he’ll be back as Steve Rogers (though probably not as Captain America) in “Avengers: Doomsday,” which hits theaters Dec. 18.

Among the other highlights at Fan Expo 2026 are a trio of panels featuring cast members from the “Lord of the Rings” film trilogy. The quartet of actors who played the Hobbits Frodo (Elijah Wood), Sam (Sean Astin), Merry (Dominic Monaghan), and Pippin (Billy Boyd) will celebrate the 25th anniversary of “The Fellowship of the Ring” with a Saturday evening panel at 7:30 p.m., then will reconvene Sunday morning for “second breakfast” at 8 a.m.

Earlier in the day on Saturday, fellow “LOTR” actor Orlando Bloom (Legolas) will host his own panel at 12:45 p.m., while his dwarf sidekick Gimli (Jonathan Rhys-Davies) will appear during all three days of Fan Expo Boston 2026 for autographs and photos ops. Also on hand is actor Karl Urban, who is now better known for “The Boys,” but also appeared in “The Two Towers” and “The Return of the King” as Éomer.

Other bold-faced names attending Fan Expo Boston 2026 include actors from “Lethal Weapon” (Mel Gibson, Danny Glover); “Star Trek” (William Shatner, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, Gates McFadden); “Lost” (Josh Holloway, Henry Ian Cusick, Monaghan); “Smallville” (Tom Welling, Michael Rosenbaum, Kristin Kreuk); “The Goonies” (Astin, Corey Feldman, Martha Plimpton, Kerri Green); “Hocus Pocus” (Omri Katz, Vinessa Shaw, Jason Marsden); and “The Boys” (Urban, Erin Moriarty, Karen Fukuhara, Valorie Curry, Cameron Crovetti, Colby Minifie, Laz Alonso), among many more.

Fan Expo Boston opens its doors Friday, Aug. 7 from 4-9 p.m., and will continue on Saturday (10-7 p.m.) and Sunday (10-5 p.m). Single-day general admission tickets start at $45, while three-day GA passes begin at $105. There are also deals for families and children, and all pricing tiers can be found on the Fan Expo Boston website. (Be warned: If you want to get autographs or photos with your favorite star, most of those cost extra.)

Full list of celebrities appearing at Fan Expo Boston 2026

Chris Evans (“The Avengers,” “Knives Out”)

Mel Gibson (“Lethal Weapon,” “Max Max”)

Orlando Bloom (“The Lord of the Rings,” “Pirates of the Caribbean”)

Karl Urban (“The Lord of the Rings,” “The Boys”)

Elijah Wood (“The Lord of the Rings”)

William Shatner (“Star Trek”)

Miranda Otto (“The Lord of the Rings”)

Sean Astin (“The Lord of the Rings,” “The Goonies”)

Dominic Monaghan (“The Lord of the Rings,” “Lost”)

Billy Boyd (“The Lord of the Rings”)

Josh Holloway (“Lost”)

John Noble (“The Lord of the Rings”)

John Rhys-Davies (“The Lord of the Rings”)

Dafne Keen (“Deadpool & Wolverine”)

Danny Glover (“Lethal Weapon”)

Jonathan Frakes (“Star Trek: The Next Generation”)

Brent Spiner (“Star Trek: The Next Generation”)

Ashley Greene (“Twilight”)

Tom Welling (“Smallville”)

Michael Rosenbaum (“Smallville”)

Erin Moriarty (“The Boys”)

Karen Fukuhara (“The Boys”)

Valorie Curry (“The Boys”)

Cameron Crovetti (“The Boys”)

Colby Minifie (“The Boys”)

Laz Alonso (“The Boys”)

Colin O’Donoghue (“Once Upon a Time”)

Frank Grillo (Marvel Cinemative Universe, DC Universe)

Jackson Rathbone (“Twilight”)

Kellan Lutz (“Twilight”)

Peter Facinelli (“Twilight”)

Dean Norris (“Breaking Bad”)

Henry Ian Cusick (“Lost”)

Mike Colter (“Luke Cage”)

Gates McFadden (“Star Trek”)

Corey Feldman (“The Goonies,” “The Lost Boys”)

Peggy the Dog (“Deadpool & Wolverine”)

Kristen Kreuk (“Smallville”)

Erica Durance (“Smallville”)

James Marsters (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer”)

Rob Colletti (“One Piece”)

Judith Hoag (“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”)

Jason Marsden (“Hocus Pocus”)

Vinessa Shaw (“Hocus Pocus”)

Omri Katz (“Hocus Pocus”)

Mara Wilson (“Matilda”)

Jamison Newlander (“The Lost Boys”)

Kerri Green (“The Goonies”)

Martha Plimpton (“The Goonies”)

Kenn Scott (“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”)

Robbie Rist (“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”)

Brian Tochi (“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”)

Ernie Reyes Jr. (“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”)

François Chau (“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”)