Heroes and legends headline Dragon Con 2022

Paul talks to droids, event organizers at Dragon Con

Dragon Con is taking over Downtown Atlanta for five days, where people from around the world impress with unique cosplay. Paul also made a new friend.

ATLANTA - When it comes to having true pop culture influence, few cities rival the reach of Atlanta. After all, we’re the home of the biggest Marvel blockbusters, the Netflix hit "Stranger Things," and some of the best gamers in the world. So, it only makes sense that the world’s largest multi-genre pop culture convention would happen right here, right?!

We’re talking about Dragon Con, of course, which is back in downtown Atlanta through Monday, Sept,. 5. At this point, we probably don’t need to explain what Dragon Con is…it’s kind of hard to miss every year. But just in case you’re new in town, the five-day event is a celebration of science fiction & fantasy films and TV shows, gaming, comics, literature, and more. The event broke an attendance record back in 2019 with more than 80,000 fans showing up for festivities; after being paused in 2020 due to the pandemic, fans returned for an in-person Dragon Con last year.

Sam J. Jones, Flash Gordon himself, stops by Dragon Con

Celebrity guests often draw crowds at the Downtown Atlanta event. Paul catches up with the star of the 1980 cult TV classic.

Celebrity guests are always a top draw at Dragon Con, with stars like Laz Alonso ("The Boys"), Tom Cavanagh ("The Flash"), and Holly Marie Combs ("Charmed") among those scheduled for this year’s event. And this morning, we spent some time catching up with a legend who’s also on the schedule this year: Sam J. Jones, star of the 1980 cult classic Flash Gordon. Click the video player to check out our morning at Dragon Con — and click here for more information about this year’s event.