These first two days of Star Wars Celebration have been great. Except for the rather odd decision to not be streaming the headline panels of each day. That was greatly missed for the headline panel of the entire Celebration, and it will be greatly missed over the next two days with The Mandalorian and Bad Batch panels.
It’s not so much seeing the trailers, it’s the excitement of the crowd for every little reveal. It’s the guests and their interactions with each other that you only get at such panels. And there’s so much more you get at the panels than just the trailers. The ending of the Lucasfilm Studios Showcase panel had John Williams conducting a band through the new Obi-Wan theme and others.
It’s not like we didn’t get to see anything from that panel, however. Almost as soon as Star Wars Celebration Live began, trailers for Andor and Willow, with the announcement of Skeleton Crew and concept art for Indiana Jones 5 were shared with all. Throughout the first day, guests were brought on stage to talk of those announcements, so it’s not like we missed out on all the banter that comes from the panels.
I’m most looking forward to seeing Andor, as Cassian’s history is something I’ve wanted more of since Rogue One, but the one I’m most interested in is Willow. Having never seen the original movie from back in the 80s, the new TV series has already got me interested with its fantasy vibe. From the talk of Warwick Davis, and the excitement of those who had seen that movie, this new series I’m sure will be something special. And that original movie is on Disney+, so time for a watch.
With the Summer of LEGO Star Wars panel, they started with the game. Nothing new, but there was some talk of how they felt about the success of it, and of the history of the games. For the sets, there was two large ones. I love that BD-1 set. I want it. The one for Andor was a speeder bike and a shuttle in a battle, but that was all they could share. They also shared a LEGO Beach Party Vader that’ll be a part of this year’s advent calendar.
For animation, they shared a great short to celebrate 45 years of the franchise, bringing together all parts of the franchise for a special screening of the original film. And Darth Maul is still a massive show off here, which I love. A new special also got announced. The LEGO Star Wars Summer Vacation. The same as the other two, while it’s set after Rise of Skywalker, it features the entire saga. It will be an absolute blast to watch, I’m sure.
Oh, hey. BD-1 on the Celebration Live stage. I guess EA Games are here, after all. Jedi Survivor has an interesting trailer that sets up the fall of Cal and the crew of the Mantis, with the ship having crashed on a planet and being in ruins. And who is in that bacta tank at the end? And there’s so many other questions the trailer brought.
The 20th anniversary of Attack of the Clones panel was a very fun one. Well, it had to be with Anthony Daniels around. And Ashley Eckstein – who was hosting – loved every minute of it. After all, it’s a dream for her to talk of this movie – the one that practically began the start of The Clone Wars and her start as Ahsoka Tano. There were great stories here, proving to be a great celebration of this middle of the prequel trilogy.
I think the one who stole the show was Temuera Morrison. He managed to get so many laughs from the crowd (and me) just from the comments he was making. He has such a way with words and his storytelling. Even Daniel Logan managed to get some laughs, both from interacting with Tem and from his own words. This pairing I would love to see more of.
While the Light and Magic panel wasn’t referenced during Day 2, numerous people from ILM joined the Star Wars Show stage to talk of their own experiences being a part of that company and Lucasfilm as a whole. All of these tales are great to listen to, and I’m sure there’ll be a lot more within that six-part documentary series that debuts on Disney+ July 27th.
Knights of the Old Republic II is coming to the Switch, as announced on the Celebration Live stage. With the restored content coming as DLC at a later date. Star Wars Hunters had a bit of preview on the first day, and I have to say, it is looking good. I’m sure the panel will reveal a lot more on it during Day 3 of Star Wars Celebration. So I’ll save my thoughts on that one for part 2 of the afterthoughts.
The history of Star Wars at Disney parks was an enjoyable ride, seeing all of the old rides and their own history, leading up to Galaxy’s Edge and how that came together. Including the building of the entire life-size Millennium Falcon. There was even a video from Galaxy’s Edge of a marriage proposal surrounded by Star Wars fans with lightsabers. It’s simply amazing how Galaxy’s Edge has become this hub for Star Wars fans to celebrate their own life events.
And while Galaxy’s Edge is recreating the rougher end of the Star Wars galaxy, the Galactic Starcruiser experience is bringing the glamourous end of the galaxy to life. A two-night experience where you are taking part within a story during the sequel trilogy era, you make the decisions of who you help and align with when you uncover the battle unfolding within the cruiser. It sounds an absolutely great time, and is crafted with the same sort of attention to detail as Galaxy’s Edge was.
These first two days have been great, with a lot of great stuff from the show floor and Celebration Live stage. The actors, as I’ve said before, absolutely love playing up their characters for the fans. Ian McDiarmid during his panel was casually talking, then instantly noted the words he had said. Going into his Palpatine voice he then added “do it” which brought a great amount of cheers from the crowd.
Even on the Celebration Live stage, he was ready to quote a few lines when coming on. As for Hayden Christensen, his closing words during his visit to the Celebration Live stage were “this is where the fun begins.” Those behind other aspects of the films had great stories to tell on the Celebration Live stage, with some reveals happening on the stage for a range of collectables, and even a kids’ TV series.
With two more days remaining of Star Wars Celebration, I’m hoping for more great surprise reveals, more great guest interactions, and plenty of great stories from across the world of Star Wars. And the new Bad Batch trailer on Sunday.
Images Taken From:
Star Wars Celebration LIVE! – DAY 1
Star Wars Celebration LIVE! – DAY 2
