Photograph by Myrydd Wells Walljasper
Dragon Con celebrated its 40th anniversary this year with its usual mix of standout cosplay, charity fundraising, and hours of nerdy programming. More than 75,000 fans packed downtown Atlanta during Labor Day weekend to celebrate their fandoms, and convention goers raised more than $320,000 for Hope Atlanta, a nonprofit that helps the unhoused. Here’s our roundup of what we saw as we walked the convention floor.
The cosplay
Photograph by Myrydd Wells Walljasper
- Perhaps the most popular cosplay trend this year was Dungeon Crawler Carl, a literary RPG book series about a man and his ex-girlfriend’s cat making their way through a universally televised dungeon crawl after an alien invasion. While the first book was published in 2020, the series recently exploded in popularity, and the cosplay photoshoot for fandom was one of the largest we’ve ever seen. Author Matt Dinniman and Jeff Hays, the series’ audiobook narrator, were guests at Dragon Con, boosting the excitement.
Photograph by Myrydd Wells Walljasper
- Project Hail Mary, the sci-fi film based on Andy Weir’s novel about a science teacher and a rock-like alien trying to save their species from a sun-destroying substance, also had a strong cosplay showing, with several folks building their own versions of Rocky the alien. We saw Rocky as a marionette, an inflatable Rocky, even one Rocky holding his own little solo cup. Amaze, amaze, amaze!
Photograph by Myrydd Wells Walljasper
- Other popular cosplay trends included outfits inspired by The Amazing Digital Circus and Hazbin Hotel. Both animated shows are unique in that they started off as homegrown YouTube productions before gaining popularity and making the jump into mainstream as series on Netflix and Amazon respectively. Turnout was also boosted by the fact that several voice actors for The Amazing Digital Circus and Hazbin Hotel creator Vivienne Medrano were guests at the con.
- Ted Lasso also had a surprising cosplay resurgence this year, likely due to the show’s 4th season airing on Apple TV+. We mostly saw Coach Beards (yes, also wearing those pants) with a few Ted Lassos sprinkled in throughout, reminding us to “believe in believe.”
Photograph by Myrydd Wells Walljasper
- Dragon Con cosplay always brings in current pop culture memes, and this year was no exception. Seattle’s celebrity raccoon Jimothy was front and center on signs, ribbons, marionette puppets, and one cosplayer in a full-body costume who entertained guests by twerking in the Hyatt lobby. Folks dressed as the grass from Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl LX halftime show were a common sight Thursday night (due to Dragon Con’s Bunny Hutch event) but were also spotted throughout the weekend. And soccer fans still were riding the high from this summer’s World Cup: We spotted a few people dressed as Norwegian striker Erling Haaland and some traffic cone-wielding Scots ready to give the Marriott Marquis lion statues new headwear.
- We also saw a fair number of Dolly Parton cosplayers, paying tribute to the beloved singer, who died just a week before the convention. On Wednesday, as guests were arriving, Dragon Con held a children’s book drive in honor of Parton’s Imagination Library. More than 5,000 books were collected for the Fulton County Library System and the Georgia Public Library Service. Fans passed around ribbons to honor Parton and the late actor Tim Curry, and an impromptu memorial set up in the hallway connecting the Hyatt and the Marriott also paid tribute to actress Hayden Panettiere, YouTuber Adam the Woo, Optimus Prime voice actor Peter Cullen, and actor Sam Neill, among other celebrities lost this year.
Photograph by Myrydd Wells Walljasper
Photograph by Myrydd Wells Walljasper
Photograph by Myrydd Wells Walljasper
What else we saw
- A mix of technology issues and temperatures in the 90s made the lines for badge pickup on Thursday more miserable for convention goers, with some on social media reporting more than two-hour waits to pick up their passes. Some even posted that folks were passing out from standing outside in the intense heat. In a statement to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Dragon Con said the long waits were due to more fans picking up badges on Thursday than usual and “a technology issue that created a slow down in our ability to check in fans and give them their badges.” The issues were resolved, and badge pickup for the rest of the weekend went on as normal.
- If that wasn’t enough to irritate con goers this year, the Courtland Grand Hotel made enemies before the convention even started. Several months ago, according to an email sent to Courtland guests that was posted on social media, more than 250 reservations were cancelled due to ongoing renovations stemming from an October 2025 fire. Just two weeks ago, another round of cancellations went out, leaving more con goers without their planned accommodations. Problems continued during the convention: On Saturday evening, the HVAC system in the ballroom hosting the Dragon Con Burlesque Show was unable to keep up with demand, leading convention officials to cancel the event.
- As usual, Dragon Con brought a swath of celebrity guests, including most of the cast of cult sci-fi favorite Firefly: Nathan Fillion, Alan Tudyk, Gina Torres, Jewel Saite, and Summer Glau. Other big names included Lena Headey (Game of Thrones), Denise Richards (Starship Troopers), Sean Astin (Lord of the Rings, The Goonies), Edward James Olmos (Battlestar Galactica, Blade Runner), Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica, The Mandalorian), and Anson Mount (Star Trek: Discovery).
Photograph by Myrydd Wells Walljasper
- We noticed a lot more people hosting games and trinket giveaways along the walls of the host hotels. We earned prizes from at least two homemade gachapon machines and saw several cosplayers passing out candy, stickers, and other little prizes from various carts that matched their outfits. While interactive cosplay like this has always been a Dragon Con tradition (see: Trader Jawa’s and Ollivander’s Wands), there seemed to be more than usual, adding to the fun.
- For the first time in more than a decade, the Hyatt pool was open for hotel guests. We even spotted some folks swimming in cosplay wigs and helmets.
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