There are still 175 days until the 12th annual FanX comic convention returns to Salt Lake City, but Dan Farr, the convention’s founder and show producer, already has the engine running hot putting together a “really good” guest lineup for 2025.

“We always change things up...but the number one thing that changes for people is the guest lineup,” Farr told the Deseret News. “No matter how we stack it, it’s the number one draw for the convention.”

Attracting celebrity guests to FanX is the least of Farr’s concerns. The difficult part is sifting through hundreds of celebrities eager to be part of Utah’s growing comic convention.

“I would say 80% to 90% of the celebrity guests that we have really approached us about getting into the show,” Farr said. “We’d probably have 500 people at the show if we basically said ‘yes’ to everybody that wanted to get in.”

A couple guests confirmed for this year’s FanX include Michael Rooker (“Guardians of the Galaxy,” “The Walking Dead”), who is returning to the convention, and Thomas Lennon (“Reno 911,” “17 Again”), who has become one of the most requested guests, according to Farr.

“People are gonna love (Lennon). He’s just so dynamic and so funny,” Farr said. “They (will) just fall in love with him. So he’s gonna be really exciting.”

“To have both of them here in September is a big win and will add extra excitement for our fans.”

In addition to Rooker and Lennon, the guest list for FanX 2025 includes Jennifer Morrison (“Once Upon A Time,” “House”), Sarah Levy (“Schitt’s Creek”), Andrew McCarthy (“Pretty in Pink,” “St. Elmo’s Fire”), William Shatner (“Star Trek”) and Doug Jones (“What We Do In The Shadows,” “Hocus Pocus”).

Like in previous years, there are also several “M.A.S.H.” stars on the roster. Jamie Farr, Loretta Swit and Jeff Maxwell will all be at the convention.

But the list of stars is far from complete — “It’s definitely a long ways to go to have the full convention, and we like to build it up as we go,” Farr said. “We’ll probably end up around 90 to 100 people.”

As FanX fills remaining spots on the guest list, additional stars will “organically” be announced.

Themes or groups of stars from the same franchise — such as the “High School Musical” panel in 2024 — will also emerge as the lineup takes shape, Farr said.

“We’ll have groups that come together, but ... we don’t know what’s really going to build until we continue to get closer to the show and just build the lineup as we go.”

One of the most underrated features at FanX are the fans, Farr said.

“The fans themselves are a huge part of the attraction,” he said, noting that seeing the elaborate costumes fans dress up in for the convention is half the fun. “You can just spend all day people watching.”

People interested in cosplay — dressing up as TV or movie characters — and comics have been brought together by FanX, Farr said.

“I didn’t realize how much of a community event it would be,” Farr confessed. He anticipated the convention to be experienced more like a gun show or bridal show, but Farr has seen “so much community built up around it.”

“A lot of times, people have built friend circles around the event, where they didn’t necessarily have a very large circle of friends (and) when they’ve come to FanX, they’ve had a chance to meet people with similar interests, and their friend group expands a lot,” Farr said.

He still anticipates the convention will experience growth in the coming years. With that growth, Farr hopes to expand the convention and ultimately “create more of a festival type environment.”

FanX will be held from Thursday, Sept. 25, through Saturday, Sept. 27, at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Farr recommends people purchase their FanX tickets now, because some ticket packages sell out early and there are also more discount options available to early buyers.

Tickets for FanX 2025 are on sale now on the FanX website.