Say whatever you will about the iconic William Shatner, but it cannot be denied that asking an 11-year-old if he ever thinks about death during a Q&A panel is pretty metal as hell. From a weekend of Shatner to new and expanded things to do, to the deafening screams of excitement in the panel for hit series Hazbin Hotel, 2024 undeniably brought forth the biggest and baddest GalaxyCon to the Greater Richmond Convention Center yet.
In addition to convention staples such as the vendor hall and Q&A panels, GalaxyCon has never lacked in things to do, such as various workshops and contests. This year saw the addition of a video game hall, a tattoo and piercing area, along with the option to purchase special packages to get certain celebrity signatures tattooed on sight (admit it – you want Steve from Blue’s Clues’ signature on your forehead), along with even a film premiere.
Friday specifically saw the red carpet premiere of You Can Call Me Bill, the documentary of the life and career of William Shatner at The Byrd Theater. (ed. note: You can read our interview with William Shatner HERE) The premiere drew press from as far west as San Francisco and guests from as far away as Luxembourg, Germany just for a chance to meet Shatner in person. After the film, Shatner answered questions from a moderator while elaborating on various stories and memories from his life.
Cast members from Star Wars’ The Mandalorian (Katee Sackoff, Giancarlo Esposito, Emily Swallow, and Paul Sun-Hyung Lee) were on-site to talk about filming, the late Carl Weathers, and what it feels like to be forever immortalized as an action figure.
Ted Lasso’s Cristo Fernandez (aka Dani Rojas) was all smiles as he met fans and discussed his football background, working with the Lasso cast, and his production company amongst other things.
Cast members of various iconic Adult Swim series (Dana Snyder, Dave Willis, Carey Means, Dino Stamatopoulos, MC Chris, and Gary Anthony Williams) banded together to talk about their favorite characters, moments over twenty plus years of Adult Swim, and giving Snyder shit for being late to his own panel.
The Q&A panel for the hit series Hazbin Hotel won the award for the most excited fanbase at a panel I have ever seen in my life. Not a seat was to be found in the house as the cast (Kimiko Glenn, Amir Talai, Erika Henningsen, Joel Perez, Krystina Alabado, and Blake Roman) sang their favorite Broadway songs, answered various fan questions which included many, many questions about the character, Angel Dust.
Finally, Ron Perlman and Charlie Hunnam were happy to answer many questions about both Pacific Rim and Sons of Anarchy.
If you missed this year’s GalaxyCon, no worries, the event will not only return next year but has expanded to four dates from March 27 through 30, 2025. If you can’t wait that long, GalaxyCon’s Nightmare Weekend will return to the Greater Richmond Convention Center October 11 through 13, 2024. For more information, visit www.galaxycon.com.
