Another Star Wars Celebration is in the can, and once again, I’ve missed it. But that’s cool, I’m cool. Thanks to the internet, a fan is literally able to see things in Chicago as it happens. The Star Wars Show live broadcasts, various sites telling you the best things, etc. Yes, I watched the Running of the Wilrow Hoods and saw images of all the merchandise you’ll be able to buy at Galaxy’s Edge. Looking back at that weekend, here are some of the highlights that stayed with me…
1. Star Wars Episode 9: The Rise of Skywalker:
The shot of Rey back flipping over the TIE fighter is the highlight of the trailer for me! She repaired Excalibur, AKA the Skywalker family lightsaber! “Every Generation has a Legend,” harkening back to The Phantom Menace trailer (which, of course, had its anniversary panel that weekend). Kylo Ren going medieval on some poor guy in a burning forest, unfamiliar hands fixing his helmet, POE AND FINN!! BB-8, a new LEGO-spare-parts-looking droid D-0 and LANDO (cosplaying as Donald Glover in Solo) in the Falcon! Stormtroopers with jetpacks and Poe flying a ship under fire – a ship that functions like an Earth sail-and-rudder ship. General Leia returns! And of course, the great hero shot of the cast next to the (presumed) rubble of the Death Star! The familiar cackling of the Emperor at the end sent shivers down the spine of anybody who heard it! I think I’ll bring this up in another article, but how is Palpatine involved 30 years after his death? See what kind of questions this trailer brings up? I can’t wait! Did I mention the awesome title? The Rise of Skywalker? What does that mean? Can’t wait until December!
2. The Mandalorian:
I’ve been looking forward to this one for a while. I was a huge fan of Karen Traviss’ Republic Commando book series and was sad to see its warriors and culture erased from the canon. The leaked trailer just feels like a Star Wars production: the environment, Jabba’s doorknocker, a Kowakian Monkey-Lizard roasting on a spit, and of course, Stormtroopers! Even the Doctor is dressed like Galen Erso from Rogue One! Perfect! The opening scene feels like the scummiest gambling parts of Solo. What kind of data is he looking for? 50 years ago? Before The Phantom Menace! Don’t forget the Beskar, which is what Mandalorian armor and weaponry was made of during the Legends time of the Star Wars EU! Great fighting against Gina Carano, Giancarlo Esposito as some sort of Imperial Special Forces pilot/officer and a super-Stormtrooper in red with a flamethrower! Armed Jawas! Bounty Hunters! The Not-IG-88 spinning around like crazy (I would have loved to hear Taika Waititi’s voice coming from him). And of course, punching through a Stormtrooper’s helmet like it was made of papier-mâché! An incredibly intense trailer! I hope to see a little bit of everything in this series!
3. Doctor Aphra and the new comics:
Anybody who knows me knows I love me some Doctor Aphra! She comes back for new adventures and really Indiana Jones-style art. I’m loving the covers for Galaxy’s Edge, they’re colorful and full of familiar characters. Boba Fett again riding an unknown mount like he stole it, full of portent of bounty hunter action! Janitor Finn should be a highlight of the Star Wars Age of Resistance series, as well as an action-filled shot of Captain Phasma in battle. Admiral Holdo also makes an appearance in the series, I’ve always anticipated an artistic version of her appearance in Vanity Fair. Should be neat to see an old Marvel holdout, bounty hunter Valance! Coming in to hunt Vader in Target: Vader. Grek Pak has also been named as the new showrunner for the flagship Star Wars title, leading the action to The Empire Strikes Back. Finally, I’m really liking the cover art for the Age of… series. If you’re a trade-waiter like me, you’ve got a lot to look forward to this year! Check out the panel for a great breakdown of all these titles.
4. Thrawn: Treason:
I’m a big fan of Timothy Zahn. I read Heir to the Empire in High School, which had me dig out my VHS copy of Return of the Jedi to see Mara Jade in Jabba’s palace. I bought Vision of the Future 7 years later at the airport on whim and read it the entire flight home. Then Thrawn and Mara Jade disappeared when the new canon was introduced. They brought back Thrawn and it wasn’t too much longer until Timothy Zahn was writing him again, thank the Force. Thrawn and Thrawn: Alliances were great novels that pulled our favorite Grand Admiral into this new universe.
Now, during Celebration, more details about Treason was released. We’re going to be introduced to “Assistant Director Ronan. He is one of the assistant directors on Stardust, extremely loyal to Director Krennic, not really liking Thrawn much at all.” I’m looking forward to seeing Thrawn vs Director Krennic (from Rogue One). Perhaps more Vader/Anakin moments and an insight into the Chiss Empire.
5. The awesome Star Wars Mural:
As always, Lucasfilm/Star Wars pulls out all the stops for their mural that defines Celebration. With art by Doug Chiang and Jason Palmer, they show characters and moments for all the movies and animated TV shows. They even waited until the Episode IX panel was finished before unveiling the final piece. You see characters and scenes from The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones, followed by realistic renderings of the characters from the animated Clone Wars. Ashoka, armored Obi-Wan and Ventress look great! The lava-filled lightsaber battle of Sith followed by Solo and Rebels. Did I mention that Grand Admiral Thrawn is the spitting profile image of one Pierce Brosnan from 007 fame? Rogue One and A New Hope (with a huge Death Star dominating both images) and Empire and Jedi. Darth Vader should have been a little more prominent, but that’s a small thing. Finally, we have the definite images from The Force Awakens (a strong image of the “new” cast) and The Last Jedi. The images from The Rise of Skywalker are generic enough to whet our appetites but still leaves a lot of room for anticipation of the movie. Too bad it didn’t have the Rey/TIE flip but I’m sure fans will fill in that hole.
What were your highlights?
