Orlando’s Orange County Convention Center was swarmed with nerds from a galaxy far, far away for the annual Star Wars Celebration. The convention took place from April 13 to 16, and housed fans of the Star Wars franchise from all walks of life. Big names such as Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), John Boyega (Finn), and Daisy Ridley (Rey) attended. Every day was full of Star Wars enthusiasts attending the many panels offered over the four day convention. This year held a record-breaking 70,000 attendees, the most attendance out of Celebration which started back in 1999.
If you weren’t in line at 5a.m. you weren’t getting into any of the panels. Only the die-hard fans got up early in full costume to attend the high attendance events. One of which was a tribute to Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia) during the opening ceremonies. John Williams, the composer who did the majority of the Star Wars soundtrack, was present at the tribute to perform Princess Leia’s theme with the orchestra. Anyone who was lucky enough to squeeze into the packed celebration stage admitted afterwards that everyone was crying.
Another panel that took place on Thursday of the convention was the “Animated Origins and Unexpected Fates” hosted by Dave Filoni (executive producer of Star Wars: The Clone Wars)and Pablo Hidalgo (Creative Executive in Story Development) This panel revealed a small scene from Star Wars: The Clone Wars that was in the canceled season seven. It showcased a western-like duel between Cad Bane and the teenage Boba Fett. It left the audience on a cliff hanger with both characters collapsing. Since Boba Fett does appear in the original movies, it is assumed that this is how Cad Bane dies. Fans went crazy a bit later in the panel when concept art for Endor Captain Rex was revealed. The theory of Captain Rex appearing in the original movies was proven to be true. It isn’t certain as to what the concept art was going to be used for, but it seals Captain Rex’s fate. There is no longer a possibility of Captain Rex dying during his last season of Star Wars Rebels.
The trailer for Episode 8: The Last Jedi was revealed to the convention on Friday, and around an hour later for those at home. The lucky con attendees that arrived in the early hours of the morning got to see it in person, while the not so lucky saw a stream of it in a separate panel room, and the grand majority all huddled around a life size TIE Fighter in the middle of the exhibit hall to watch it on the big screen. The thousands of fans attending all watched in amazement as they got the first look into the new movie debuting this December. The trailer featured very interesting scenes such as Kylo Ren’s smashed helmet, Finn healing in a bacta tank, a new character named Rose, and Luke’s jarring line: “It’s time for the Jedi to end.” Not only is this a little out of character for the normally heroic Luke Skywalker, but it’s very ominous and vague as to what it’s specifically referring to. No one will know until it’s released later this year. Those who were lucky enough to make it into the panel got a hold of the convention exclusive poster. The red and black poster depicts Rey, Kylo Ren, and Luke Skywalker. If you weren’t one of the lucky ones, it’s going for over $200 on ebay. Poster holders went the extra mile and waited countless hours to get one of the many celebrities’ signatures. If attendees thought the panel lines were rough, the autograph lines lasted hours and required a fee to even stand in it. Standing in line also didn’t guarantee a signature, and many fans were rejected from meeting their idols. It was go big or go home for lines, and the dedicated fans didn’t bat an eyelash to stand in them (or sleep, if they were there before 5 a.m.).
On Saturday, Star Wars Rebels season four’s trailer released, causing a bit of buzz due to the mention that this season is to be its last. It revealed the return of Bo-Katan Kryze from the television series Star Wars: The Clone Wars, a Mandalorian who is seen to be wielding the dark saber in one of the scenes. Fans of Kanan Jarrus and Hera Syndulla very much enjoyed the trailer as well, as it shows a tender moment between the two before a battle which earned many screams from the audience. The trailer carried a very dark and somber mood, narrated by Syndulla as she explains how her rebellion is coming to an end. Zeb Orrelios mentions, “At least we’ll go down fighting!” and Hera fearfully adds, “But we never imagined it would end like this.” Grand Admiral Thrawn, the antagonist introduced last season, is proving to put up quite the obstacle for the rebellion, and quite possibly also the reason for their demise. The original films do not feature these characters, so season four holds the answers as to what happens to them. The trailer ends with Hera stating the iconic line, “May the force be with you.” and a graphic showing that it will premiere this Fall.
The long awaited and anticipated “Battlefront 2” trailer was revealed at Celebration as well. The loyal fans of this neglected video game series were overjoyed. The first installment of “Battlefront” was released in 2004, a second game in 2005, and a remake in 2015. The version being released on Nov. 17 will include characters from Episode 7: The Force Awakens, and is rumored to include clones from Star Wars: The Clone Wars. An all new single player campaign option will be featured as well, which is a feature that many fans are very excited for.
As another year of Star Wars Celebration came to a close, all of the fans left the convention excited for the newly revealed content, with both arms full of convention exclusive merchandise, autographs, and an memories from the Star Wars experience of a lifetime. The celebration was like no other and it will be hard to top in future years. It truly was the ultimate fan experience, and all fans in attendance enjoyed all of the opportunities the celebration had to offer.
Hannah Makholm // Head of Graphics
