Two living members of the original Star Trek television series, William Shatner and Walter Koenig lead a long list of celebrity guests headed to Dragon Con, Atlanta’s internationally known pop culture, fantasy, science fiction, and gaming convention, for Labor Day weekend.
Emmy-nominated actors Morena Baccarin and Tom Cavanagh, along with David Ramsey and Danielle Panabaker, will join Shatner and Koenig to meet fans, lead panel discussions, and sign autographs.
Other top guests from television and movies include Charmed’s Holly Marie Combs; Stargate Atlantis’ Joe Flanigan and Rachel Luttrell; Encanto’s Diane Guerrero, Mauro Castillo, and Adassa; Stargirl’s Brec Bassinger, Yvette Monreal, Trae Romano, and Anjelika Washington; and Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD’s Brett Dalton, Jason O’Mara, and Briana Venskus; as well as voice actors Kaitlyn Robrock (Disney’s Minnie Mouse), Jim Cummings (Disney’s Winnie the Pooh), and Nolan North (Superman).
Several television shows filmed in Georgia will be represented including Doom Patrol, Stargirl, The Walking Dead, and Fear the Walking Dead, which recently moved production to Georgia after several seasons in Texas. Other media guests will represent Titans, Supernatural, Star Trek Picard, Star Trek Discovery, Stargate SG-1, The Magicians, Locke & Key, and The Expanse, as well as the video game Red Dead Redemption.
An estimated 60,000 people are expected to attend Dragon Con over the five-day Labor Day Weekend – Sept. 1 to Sept. 5 – with events and activities across AmericasMart Buildings Two and Three and five host hotels – Hyatt Regency Atlanta, Marriott Marquis, Hilton Atlanta, Westin Peachtree, and Sheraton Atlanta.
Literary Guest of Honor Nnedi Okorafor, an award-winning science fiction novelist best known for Who Fears Death and the Binti trilogy, and Artist Guest of Honor Stephanie Law, an artist whose work explores mythology in next contexts, especially in the natural world.
For an older generation of fans, the convention also welcomes Sam J. Jones and Melody Anderson from the 1980 cult classic film, Flash Gordon.
Shatner is a cultural icon and is best remembered as Capt. James T. Kirk of the USS Enterprise in the Star Trek television series, the animated series, and seven motion pictures. He will only be at the convention on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
He will be joined by Koenig, who played Ensign Pavel Chekov, who brought teen idol good looks to the bridge of the USS Enterprise. Koenig also appeared in all seven motion pictures featuring the original cast. Later in his career, Koenig had a featured role in the science fiction television series Babylon 5.
Baccarin has a wide following in pop culture, having lead roles in television’s Gotham and The Flash, two Deadpool movies, television’s Firefly and its follow-up film Serenity, and the 2009 television reboot of V. Baccarin will be joined by Gotham castmate (and spouse) Ben McKenzie.
Cavanagh leads a strong showing of castmates from the Arrowverse, the CW franchise that includes several DC Comics-based shows including Arrow, The Flash, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, and several others. Cavanagh is an original cast member of The Flash, appearing as Dr. Harrison Wells and Reverse Flash, with appearances in Legends of Tomorrow, Arrow, Supergirl, and Batwoman. Cavanagh is also well known to television audiences for the shows Ed and Scrubs.
Ramsey plays the role of John Diggle (also known as Spartan or Green Arrow), initially on Arrow, which ran from 2012 to 2020, and continues in that role across the so-called Arrowverse programs, including The Flash, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Batwoman, Superman and Lois, and Supergirl.
Panabaker, another The Flash original actor, played Caitlyn Snow (also known as Killer Frost) across the Arrowverse, appearing in DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Supergirl, and Arrow.
Cavanagh, Ramsey, and Panabaker will be joined by Danielle Nicolet (The Flash), Olivia Swann (DC’s Legends of Tomorrow), and Arthur Darvill (DC’s Legends of Tomorrow). Darvill is also well known in fandom as companion Rory Williams from the Doctor Who franchise.
COVID-19 UPDATE
[From Dragon Con] In 2021, we committed to following CDC guidelines, and as a result, Dragon Con 2021 was a safe environment allowing our fans to come together for a much-needed celebration of all things fandom. CDC guidelines will continue to be our guidepost as they determine the safest way to gather. This includes:
- Well-fitting and appropriate masks are required indoors at all our convention venues, including all five host hotels and AmericasMart Buildings Two and Three. Last year our members did an incredible job with mask compliance and we expect no less this year.
- This year’s convention will have reduced capacity compared to 2019’s convention, though we will welcome more fans than in 2021 and will bring back a limited number of Saturday-only memberships. We expect memberships at all levels to sell out.
- Related to that, there will be no onsite membership sales to reduce congestion, increase social distance, and improve traffic at badge pickup in the Sheraton. If memberships are available for purchase, they will only be available online through Growtix.
- We have made other changes throughout the convention to reduce traffic flow and increase personal space.
- Proof of vaccination or a negative Covid test are not required this year. We highly encourage everyone to get vaccinated to help reduce the spread and severity of COVID 19. Additionally, we encourage every person to make informed decisions about attending our event in the best interest of their own health and that of their loved ones. If you are not feeling well or have been recently exposed to somebody with Covid, please plan to stay home.
- To help spread the joy that is Dragon Con to those who stay home, we continue to offer Dragon Con Goes Virtual, featuring overlapping coverage of the live convention and exclusive programming just for the platform from our amazing fan tracks, available to fans for the low price of $10. Additionally, we will again host the virtual marketplace from September 1 through September 9, allowing fans both at the event and at home to purchase from and support their favorite vendors and artists.
THE PEACH REVIEW® 