Photo TR: Star Wars Celebration 2017

After five years, Star Wars Celebration returned to Orlando, FL (taking place in the interim in Anaheim and London) to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the original release of Star Wars (now known as Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope). As my username may indicate, I'm a lifelong Star Wars fan and having covered this event for Theme Park Review in 2010 and 2012, I was thrilled to be able to have the opportunity to cover its return. Taking place from Thursday, April 13th through Sunday, April 16th, the event included a series of major panels along with breakout sessions covering topics ranging from the films, comics, books, TV and Star Wars in the Disney Parks.

 

This was definitely a packed weekend filled with awesome presentations, a fun show floor and lots of incredible cosplays to be seen. The next Star Wars Celebration will take in 2019 but the dates and location have yet to be announced. I'm grateful that after five years Star Wars Celebration returned to Orlando. With such a significant Star Wars presence in Orlando due to the Disney Parks, this event perfectly complemented our normal year round offerings.

 

Special thanks to Star Wars Celebration for hosting me for this weekend--it was a great time to be had and for a lifelong Star Wars fan, it was a great opportunity to cover something I love so much!

If you wanted to get into the major presentations (like I did), you had to be ok with camping out overnight here... I arrived at my spot in the queue at 9:00 PM on Wednesday night (others had been there for hours before me to get an even better spot) and stayed in place until 5:30 AM on Thursday morning. At this time we were given the opportunity to get our wristbands for the 40th Anniversary presentation and then we would resume queuing until 10:30 AM when we entered the theater for the 11:00 AM presentation.

Samuel L. Jackson sent a video message reminding fans that Jedi have a history of falling from major heights (without limbs) and surviving... He insists that not only is Mace Windu not dead, but overdue for an onscreen reprise!

Despite my lengthy campout, I was seated towards the back of the main theater and others that arrived after me were seated in one of two overflow theaters where the live presentation was broadcast... All major presentations were available to watch via Youtube livestream for free from anywhere (no queuing required).

Warwick Davis served as the host for the 40th Anniversary presentation!

Kathleen Kennedy, President of Lucasfilm started the presentation by inviting George Lucas to the stage!

Despite George Lucas' diminished presence and influence since the sale of Lucasfilm, this presentation spent a good deal of time focusing on his contributions to Star Wars.

Warwick Davis shared a letter he wrote George Lucas as an eleven year old after working with the director on Return of the Jedi...

Sure enough, George sent Warwick his requested action figures, all of which he still has today.

In honor of the 40th Anniversary Celebration, Liam Neeson sent a video message to the audience.

Event guests for the 40th Anniversary presentation included Hayden Christiansen (Anakin Skywalker) and Ian McDiarmid (Emperor Palpatine).

Other event guests included Anthony Daniels (C-3PO), Billy Dee Williams (Lando Calrissian) and Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca).

It wouldn't be Star Wars without Mark Hamill!

And in a huge surprise, Harrison Ford made an appearance for the presentation!

The next portion of the presentation was a tribute to Carrie Fisher.

Billie Lourd, Carrie Fisher's daughter (and an actress in the Star Wars sequel trilogy) spoke about her mother and the love she had for Star Wars.

The presentation concluded with a live concert of notable Star Wars music by the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by John Williams.

All attendees were given this special poster to commemorate the presentation.

Next up was a panel regarding notable characters in Star Wars animation...

This included the confirmation of a previous rumor that the popular character Captain Rex from The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels is actually retconned to be a solider of the Rebel Alliance appearing during the attack on Endor in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.

It was also pointed out that Star Wars Rogue One was the first time in Star Wars history that a character from an animated series crossed over into live action. There were several more visual and audio connections between Star Wars Rebels and Rogue One to be found.

Out on the show floor there are impressive set pieces available for photo ops.

Disney had a booth on the show floor, much like they had in the past two Orlando-based Celebrations.

Star Wars Celebration's Disney booth featured event-exclusive merchandise including the return of the on-demand printing of Star Wars name tags in Aurebesh.

Thinkgeek returned to the Star Wars Celebration show floor with a photo op and lots of neat merchandise.

I might have purchased this entire tiki set before it sold out... I might have.

One of my favorite cosplays of the show!

Jedi Merida and Belle roaming the show floor!

Simple and effective!

While the Star Wars zombie stormtrooper storyline is no longer canon, it is still awesome to see it represented on the show floor.

Seriously impressive cosplay!

Awesome balloon art!

Oh look! Here's a nerdy jedimaster1227 spotted in the wild!

Knights of the Old Republic representation found!

Half way through Star Wars Celebration, Disney debuted new pieces for the Build-Your-Own-Lightsaber merchandise experience.

Disney's Jedi Training Academy experience for younglings returns to the Star Wars Celebration floor!

Still so much fun for the kids!

I love this!

You may wonder why I'm showing a picture of a shirt... But this is actually a reusable hospital gown for children designed by the Starlight Foundation in partnership with Lucasfilm. This and a few other awesome designs are a part of a large granted project in which these gowns are donated to children undergoing medical treatment. This, in addition to the Starlight VR initiative allow the Starlight Foundation and Lucasfilm to bring some extra magic to children in need!

Starlight VR is the Starlight Foundation's newest initiative in partnership with Lucasfilm and the ILMxLab where HTC Vive VR units are brought to hospitals treating children where they may be immersed in an exclusive Star Wars experience designed just for the Starlight Foundation. This 2-3 minute demo was a short version of the 15-20 minute experience that will be shared with sick children in the near future.

Using the Vive controller, you are able to interact with BB-8 in a really fun way. I really loved the experience myself and I can only imagine the joy this transportive experience will bring to children whose main environment is a hospital room. To learn more about this experience, visit: https://www.starlight.org/starlight-programs/starlight-vr/

It is Matt, the Death Star Radar Technician!

There were no shortage of R2 units at Star Wars Celebration...

Or lightsaber duels!

LEGO plays a big part in the Star Wars fandom and there was plenty of representation to be found!

Ana Airlines showed off several of the Star Wars designs a few of their planes are sporting!

More cosplay on the floor!

Summer Beach Party with the First Order!

Rogue Squadron?

There is also a large Tattoo Pavilion for those interested in expressing their love of Star Wars in the form of body art!

Beware the might of the Mandalorian Mercs!

The Mandalorian Mercs' Proving Grounds were awesome!

The Star Wars Rebels Season Four presentation confirmed that this new season would be the show's last but also provided a full preview of the first episode of the final season.

Next up was the "A Galaxy in the Making" panel focusing on the longstanding partnership between Lucasfilm and the Disney Parks. The first part of the presentation featured Anthony Daniels and Imagineer Tom Fitzgerald, both of whom were involved with the original Star Tours as well as the newest iteration of the attraction, Star Tours: The Adventures Continue.

Pictured here is the Death Star Trench Run set used for the filming of the original Star Tours.

It was announced during this presentation that Star Tours: The Adventures Continue will add a new destination when Crait from the upcoming Star Wars: The Last Jedi debuts later this year.

A panel comprised of Imagineering (Wendy Anderson, Asa Kamala, Scott Trowbridge and Chris Beatty) and Lucasfilm representatives (Doug Chiang and Pablo Hidalgo) guided us through a new look at the Star Wars land coming to Disney's Hollywood Studios and Disneyland Park in 2019.

The Star Wars land will provide "opportunities" to engage with locals, smugglers and the First Order in interactive experiences. Your actions throughout the land will influence your reputation and change the path of your personal story experience as you go along.

Newly designed Star Wars characters will roam the land adding to the immersive nature of the experience.

Aliens of all sizes will be found in this outpost on the edge of known space in the Star Wars universe.

Pablo Hidalgo, Head of the Lucasfilm Story Group confirmed that this outpost and world has existed for thousands of years and the architecture, sights, tastes and scents of this world will evidence the history and culture behind it.

In this photo we see a local eatery where a former podracer engine has been rigged for the grilling of aliens meats for guest consumption!

Areas of the Star Wars land will be intimate and immersive while others will be grander in scale...

Creatures may be found in unexpected places within this land.

Entertainment will include elements of the bustling streets including rooftops and live action happenings...

There will be no shortage of droids within the Star Wars land and they will be used to add character to the environment as they roam and interact with guests.

Here we see a stunt rehearsal for one of the happenings that will take place within the Star Wars land.

Back on the show floor, one Stormtrooper ran on a treadmill throughout the show to raise money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

This is why I love Star Wars!

Bello!

I'm not sure what's more impressive... The Chewbacca cosplay or the fully functioning BB-8!

Since Star Wars Celebration 2017 ended on Easter Sunday, many of the characters touched up their outfits to reflect the occasion.

Awesome report. I can't believe someone convinced Harrison Ford to attend. Your insight into the Star Wars lands was incredible. It looks like they are going to be fully immersive lands, transporting guests into a real life fantasy. Exciting times to come!

The Easter Storm Trooper rules.