WonderCon Day One: Every Fandom Under One Roof

by James Herrera

​A Galaxy of Fandoms: My Day at WonderCon

​Walking through the doors of WonderCon, I immediately knew this was going to be a good time. This wasn't your typical one-fandom event — this was a full-on celebration of nerd culture in every form. Within the first few minutes I spotted Ghostbusters, X-Men, The Mummy movie franchise cosplay, court jesters, and more anime cosplays than I could count. The vibes were good, the energy was high, and everyone there was genuinely excited to be in a room full of people who get it. Oh, and someone was walking around as Fred Flintstone, which was unexpected and awesome. Only to be rivaled by The Dude from The Big Lebowski, complete with a bowling ball bag and White Russian in his hand. 

One thing my friend and co-host of the Star Wars Stuff Podcast, Mari pointed out to me — was just how many Mandalorian cosplayers were there. And remember, this is not a Star Wars convention. This is an all-fandoms event. Yet Mandalorians were everywhere, and I think that says everything about where the fandom is right now. People love this show, they love the lore, and with The Mandalorian & Grogu movie dropping May 22nd, the hype is real. Safe to say the Star Wars community is alive and well! 

The highlight of my day was easily the Star Wars: Inside the Creatures, Droids and Puppetry panel — which, by the way, should have been in a much bigger room. They told us it was full just minutes before it started, and honestly that tracks because this panel was packed with incredible talent. Christine Galey, the first woman to ever play R2-D2, shared that she had no idea who or what she was auditioning for and was told to wait for Favreau and Filoni — that's when it clicked it was a big deal and that's when she saw the robot she would be operating. She also revealed that R2-D2 is one of Favreau's favorite Star Wars character. Chris Bartlett, who plays over 20 characters in Star Wars including C-3PO, even cracked a joke about the Book of Boba Fett speeder chase that got a good laugh from the crowd — and honestly, the way he said it, you could tell even he knew that sequence wasn't the best. TaMara Carlson Woodard revealed that the whiskers on the Loth-cat — her favorite puppet she's ever made — came from her actual cat, who, for the record, wanted nothing to do with Grogu she brought home. Dawn Dininger, who puppeteered Grogu at the Academy Awards, shared that they only found out a few weeks before the Oscars that Grogu would be there — and the puppet didn't have his arm rods. Conan noticed in rehearsal that Grogu couldn't clap, and that's literally why he made the joke on live TV. 
​Two more panelists that really added to the conversation were Jacob Roanhaus and Jasper J. Anderson. Jacob does creature work and special effects makeup, and he's also worked on Marvel films handling superhero suits — but what really came through was his love for Jabba's Palace. He grew up fascinated by those creatures, and now he actually gets to play one in the new Star Wars shows. Jasper, who also came up through Legacy Effects, landed on Star Wars almost by accident — the team was stretched thin across multiple productions and needed a second crew, and that opening is what got him in the door. He also dropped an interesting tidbit for Skeleton Crew fans — apparently a lot of pirate content was filmed that never made it into the show. As someone who loved that series, I need those scenes released immediately. Both Jacob and Jasper, along with the rest of the panel, also touched on the fact that on set they weren't just doing creature work and effects — they were puppeteering their own droids at the same time. They all agreed this made some of the production days a little challenging. 

​What really stuck with me leaving that panel was the conversation about AI. These incredibly skilled performers — puppeteers, creature performers, suit specialists — were not scared. They pointed out that they went through this same fear when CGI was taking over, and they came out the other side just fine. Their belief? Audiences want practical effects. There's something real and tangible about a puppet or a creature suit that CGI just can't replicate, and the fact that Grogu — one of the most beloved characters in modern Star Wars — is a practical puppet operated by five people is proof of that. It was a great reminder that the craft is alive, the passion is there, and May 22nd can't come soon enough. Day one of WonderCon did not disappoint — and I cannot wait to see what day two has in store.