Back to the Future Dispatches from the 2026 Montreal Comiccon

More than 67,000 pop culture mavens can’t be wrong. That was the record number of people of all ages who gathered at the Palais de Congrès this past weekend for the 16th edition of Montreal Comiccon. Here are some of the highlights.

Whether you preferred science fiction, fantasy, comic books, super heroes, movies, Japanese animation, exotic candy, TV or cosplay, Montreal Comiccon had something for everyone within the 200,000 square feet of exhibition space at the Palais.

Robert Englund cutting the ribbon to kick off Montreal Comiccon 2026, photo by Stuart Nulman

And that was proven from the beginning, with Montreal Comiccon’s inaugural opening ceremonies. Long time spokesperson Jason Rockman emceed the public event as the audience was treated to a live sneak preview of what was to be expected. It all began with two impressive performances by the legendary Cirque de Soleil troupe from their latest show Echo, which is currently playing under the big top at the Old Port. It was then followed by programming highlights, cosplay preview and an in person preview of some of the celebrity special guests who were appearing throughout the weekend for autograph signings and photo ops, which included Giancarlo Esposito, Chris Noth, Robert Patrick and Freddie Krueger himself, Robert Englund. In fact, it was Englund who had the honour of doing the ribbon cutting to officially kick off Comiccon.

The Fist Bump Guy

For me, Montreal Comiccon is not complete without a visit to mainstay Colin Atterbury, aka “The Fist Bump Guy.” Wearing his elf best and sporting his customary foam rubber fist, the jovial Atterbury was there to offer visitors a moment of good cheer, one fist bump at a time. And this year, he was not alone; he was accompanied by a Fist Bump Team of two fellow costumed fist-bumpers to spread the fist-bump love.

Cosplay Abounds

And it’s not Montreal Comiccon without the cosplay. No matter where you were, there were plenty of attendees who dressed up as their favourite characters, ranging from Star Wars to Star Trek, Batman to Spider-Man, Japanese animation to K-pop. And there was no shortage of eye-catching cosplay. Personal favorites included Marty McFly (hoverboard included), the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland, and the ancient Gaul superduo of Asterix and Obelix.

Back To The Future Stories from the Source

Jason Rockman chatting with Christopher Lloyd and Lea Thompson

More than 1,200 people filled the main Comiccon conference hall on the afternoon of July 5, as spokesperson Jason Rockman conducted a highly entertaining Q&A session with two of the stars from the Back to the Future movie franchise: Christopher Lloyd (Doc Brown) and Lea Thompson (Marty McFly’s mother).

Lloyd and Thompson vividly displayed the strong friendship and sense of camaraderie that evolved from doing those three movies together (yet they were seen together in only a single scene throughout the trilogy). They shared a great deal of behind-the-scenes stories from Back to the Future that held the audience spellbound. Two memorable anecdotes came from Lloyd. The first was when he, Michael J. Fox, and Huey Lewis were doing some late-night shooting for the video to the latter’s soon-to-be #1 hit song The Power of Love in San Francisco. “Huey came up to me during the shoot and asked me, ‘Is this going to be anything?’ Well looked what happened!,” said Lloyd.

The other story dealt with the first six weeks of shooting as Doc Brown with the actor who was originally selected to portray Marty McFly, Eric Stoltz. “I was struggling with the role of Doc. When I was beginning to get it, (executive producer) Steven Spielberg gathered the cast together early one morning and announced that Eric was being replaced by Michael J. Fox. It was a stunner,” he said. “Yet Michael brought a lot of energy and humour to the role of Marty, and the chemistry between us was immediate.”

Lea Thompson from Humble Beginnings

Thompson recalled how she began her acting career at age 12 as a ballet dancer in her native Minneapolis. She believed her start in the movies during the early 80s came at the right time for her. “Back then, Hollywood needed young stars. It was an interesting time to be a movie star because the studios wanted to take chances with us. I brought with me a sense of discipline, courage…and a set of dimples, too,” she said. “What I liked about working with Back to the Future was that the entire cast brought their own style to their respective roles. It also helped to spark an interest in science with its young viewers; they all wanted to be like Doc.”

Wallace Shawn: Inconceivable Q & A

Another fascinating celebrity guest Q&A session was with Wallace Shawn, the veteran platwright/actor best known for his performances in My Dinner with Andre and The Princess Bride, and as the voice of the toy dinosaur Rex in the Toy Story movies.

Shawn told the audience that he never aspired to be an actor. He began as a playwright in his 20s (writing ran in his family, as his father was the editor of The New Yorker from 1952 to 1987). “I fell into acting. I made my screen debut as Diane Keaton’s ex-husband in Woody Allen’s classic 1979 comedy Manhattan,” he said.

One of his best-known screen performances was in Rob Reiner’s 1987 fantasy movie The Princess Bride, where he co-starred with the late wrestling legend Andre the Giant. Shawn has fond memories working alongside Andre, especially when they worked together on a scene where they had to climb a group of massive cliffs. “We were tied together with ropes in a 35-foot-high soundstage. I was terrified, because I could not tolerate anything higher than five feet,” he said. “While working on that scene, Andre kept offering me brandy that he had in a flask he hid in his costume. He loved being in the movie. He was a wonderful spirit, as well as an adorable, sweet and funny person.”

Shawn had no problem returning to the role of Rex for Toy Story 5. “It was kind of fascinating; in fact, Rex’s voice suddenly leaped in when I resumed the role for the fifth movie,” he said.

When asked by an audience member what his favourite line as Rex was, Shawn replied simply, “ROAR!”.

A Musical Broke Out

Make It A Musical, one of the hits of the 2025 Montreal Fringe Festival, made a successful return for the second year in a row as part of the Montreal Comiccon programming schedule. Brad Kane and his troupe of improv performers once again staged an original 45-minute movie musical based on audience suggestions, which had to follow four major guidelines: it couldn’t be a movie already adapted into a musical, and the material had to be family-friendly. The end result was a combination of Star Wars and Spaceballs called “Star Balls: The Musical”, in which the characters’ names also combined the Star Wars and Spaceballs universes (including personal favorite C3P Dot Matrix).

And for Star Trek fans, there was a session where they could learn and sing the Klingon Drinking Song. They boldly sang where no one has sung before.