Collider Heads to Awesome Con With Star Trek and ‘Stranger Things’ Stars in Tow [Exclusive]

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Published Feb 18, 2026, 3:50 PM EST

A cinematic obsessive with the filmic palate of a starving raccoon, Rob London will watch pretty much anything once. With a mind like a steel trap, he's an endless fount of movie and TV trivia, borne from a misspent youth of watching monster movies on TV, perusing the sun-faded goods at the local video rental shop, and staining his fingers with ink from the Video Movie Guide. Areas of interest include science fiction, film noir, horror flicks, '70s disaster pictures, Bond movies, '90s action, giant robots, dinosaurs, super heroes, and the exuberantly schlocky output of Cannon Films. He also enjoys both Star Trek and Star Wars when they're good, and maybe even more when they're bad. As a Canadian, he also has a vested interest in Canadian movies and TV shows, especially the cheesier ones dubbed "Canuxploitation."

An expert on Marvel Comics, he has also written for the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, and is a member of the Marvel Research Team. He can frequently be found pontificating on comic-book continuity or bemoaning the misfortunes of the Toronto Maple Leafs on his Twitter account.

Awesome Con is returning to the nation's capital this spring, and Collider will be there to host a bevy of exciting panels. We'll be on site all three days of the convention for a variety of exciting events with some of the biggest names in TV, movies, and gaming, including a new Star Trek star's first-ever convention appearance. Awesome Con will be held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C., on March 13–15, 2026.

Collider's Maggie Lovitt is set to moderate a packed schedule of pop culture panels at Awesome Con. On Friday, she'll host Baldur's Gate 3 stars Neil Newbon and Devora Wilde, then move on to a panel discussion on Mike Flanagan's universe of horror; the latter will feature "Flanaverse" stars Carla Gugino, Henry Thomas, and Katie Parker. On Saturday, she hosts "Queen of the Indies" Parker Posey, who recently starred in The White Lotus, and then shifts gears for a Sons of Anarchy reunion with Ron Perlman and Theo Rossi. Later that day, she'll welcome newly minted Star Trek: Starfleet Academy arch-villain Paul Giamatti for his first-ever convention appearance, then moderate a panel with Mythbusters legend Adam Savage. On Sunday, she'll host the dungeon crawlers of Critical Role, including Sam Reigel, Taliesin Jaffe, Alexander Ward, Luis Carazo, and Whitney Moore. She'll close out the day, and the convention, with a spotlight on Stranger Things' Jamie Campbell Bower.

What Other Panels Can You See at AwesomeCon?

Between Lovitt's thrilling slate of panels, there's even more to see and do at Awesome Con. There's a full-fledged Firefly reunion, featuring Nathan Fillion, Sean Maher, Summer Glau, Gina Torres, Jewel Staite, and Alan Tudyk; Fillion and Tudyk will also host a live taping of their Once We Were Spacemen podcast. Supernatural's Jim Beaver and Misha Collins are in attendance, as are Star Trek's George Takei and The X-Files' Gillian Anderson. Fans of romantasy can also check out Romancing DC, a new area of the con devoted solely to the burgeoning genre. There are also numerous cosplay events, a book fair, a kids' dance party, and much, much more.

Founded in 2013, Awesome Con is Washington, DC's largest pop culture convention. It attracts 60,000 attendees to the Washington area each year. Awesome Con will be held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. on March 13–15, 2026. Tickets can be purchased at Awesome-Con.com. Stay tuned to Collider for future updates.