Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo, better known as C2E2, rolled into McCormick Place April 11-13th, and packed some big names on the schedule. The convention reports this year brought record attendance, topping 100,000 attendees for the first time ever.

Each day kicked off with a major draw on the main stage, with fans power walking to fill the available seating and the overflow quickly after gates opened. Friday brought six cast members of Lord of The Rings together to share stories of filming and it’s resounding impact since. Saturday’s opener made headlines, as all main cast members of The Breakfasy Club, including Emilio Estevez, appeared together for the first time in 40 years. Sunday’s opening panel featured the full cast of Critical Role. Other notable panels included a reunion of Starship Troopers cast members, Baldersgate III voice actors, and Star Wars‘s John Boyega.

A separately-ticketed event brought a slightly different crowd to C2E2: an evening with Sam Heughan. The Outlander star offered a Saturday night panel during late night hours, where attendees could ask questions of Sam, with some getting the chance to act out scenes from the beloved show with Sam, and others winning signed whiskey bottles. Ticket prices to the panel were on the outrageous side, with the top tier surpassing $1,000 a seat, including a photo with Sam and autograph.

On the literary side of things, 2025’s headliners included TJ Klune, John Scalzi, and Tomi Adeyemi. Panel attendance was not at the levels normally seen for the convention’s biggest author guests. Veronica Roth was also in attendance, as usual, as she lives in Chicago. Roth had announced plans to giveaway Advanced Reader Copies of her upcoming book, To Clutch A Razor, but those plans fell through due to a lost shipment.

The C2E2 Book Club featured Julie Clark and her upcoming thriller The Ghostwriter. Julie discussed the book and answered questions from readers on Saturday, with the event drawing a larger group of readers than the previous two years.

Overall, the vibe felt pretty on par with past years, which is a mixed bag. There were many complaints and many people who had the time of their life. It all depends on if they were getting what they wanted in that moment.

C2E2 will return March 27-29, 2026.