Final month’s Star Wars Celebration Japan 2025 marked the sixteenth Celebration conference and the sixth held outdoors the US. A number of members of the FANgirl Weblog group have attended the earlier seven consecutive Celebrations, and 9 of ten from 2010, the weblog’s inaugural 12 months. Along with masking vital panels from this 12 months’s occasion, we famous a number of factors of comparability with earlier Celebrations price mentioning on the weblog.
Celebration is at its greatest when it lives as much as that moniker. Every now and then up to now, it has felt as if a good portion of a conference was looking forward to upcoming Star Wars that followers have been anticipating (or studying about for the primary time) quite than celebrating the present Star Wars that followers already knew and beloved. Too typically, the franchise has regretted that alternative on reflection; initiatives have been cancelled or by no means launched, or the tales we finally received didn’t reside as much as their potential or to fan expectations. Happily, Star Wars Celebration Japan 2025 leaned closely into celebrating the previous and current. Panels on the Andor and Ahsoka streaming sequence for Disney+ centered their discussions with the contributors on the beforehand launched first seasons, quite than the pending second seasons. The Lucasfilm Animation panel equally revisited the earlier twenty years of animated sequence, and solely briefly teased the following one, Maul: Shadow Lord, on the very finish. Even the panel devoted to a First Take a look at the third quantity of Star Wars: Visions animation was inextricably related to the 2 prior volumes that followers have already seen, together with continuations in Quantity 3 of acclaimed shorts from Quantity 1.
That general emphasis within the conference as a complete made the one notable exception, the opening panel promoted as that includes The Mandalorian & Grogu movie, appear all of the extra an outlier. Regardless of missing the Lucasfilm Showcase title used at Celebration Europe 2023, the panel however started with Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy referring to 5 film initiatives at present in growth earlier than confirming that one other Star Wars film – revealed to be Star Wars: Starfighter, at present slated for launch on Could 28, 2027 – has formally moved from growth into preproduction. Director Shawn Levy and star Ryan Gosling naturally averted saying a lot about this movie, although Gosling effusively praised the script, notably its mixture of “coronary heart and journey.” Levy clarified that the film is a “standalone journey” going down after Episode IX on the timeline, explaining that it’s “not prequel and never a sequel” to another Star Wars film and options “all new characters” in its story. Right here once more, the comparability to Celebration Europe 2023’s opening panel was hanging: simply as Levy and Gosling are using the coattails of their large successes with Deadpool & Wolverine and Barbie respectively, Jon Watts and Chris Ford have been coming off the super success of Spider-Man: No Means Residence and its predecessors after they revealed, and made comparable feedback about, their Skeleton Crew streaming sequence. Regardless of its high quality and favorable reactions from followers who watched it, Skeleton Crew was not in a position to attain the viewership numbers reached by Disney+ Star Wars sequence that includes well-known characters, persevering with a long-established development throughout Star Wars storytelling mediums. Solely the long run will inform whether or not Starfighter can break that development on the field workplace.
The rest of the panel for The Mandalorian & Grogu was uncommon in different methods. The 2 hosts for the panel solely got here on stage after the Starfighter reveal had concluded. Their mundane questions solely elicited solely acquainted solutions, with Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau evaluating making the film to taking part in with Star Wars actions figures and Pedro Pascal retelling the anecdote of being instantly captivated by the visuals and story within the idea artwork for The Mandalorian when he was supplied the lead position on the time of the primary season. Star Wars newcomer Sigourney Weaver, who absolutely may have linked her lengthy historical past in science fiction cinema to lastly becoming a member of this iconic franchise, as a substitute solely briefly described her videoconference with Favreau and Filoni when she was supplied the half, and falling in love with the characters and story whereas endeavor her “task” to observe the whole The Mandalorian sequence earlier than reaching a choice whether or not to just accept the position. Every member of the panel viewers had a light-up wristband on their seat – however they have been by no means even talked about as soon as the panel started, a lot much less utilized in any coordinated approach as a part of the panel presentation. The panel began nearly ten minutes late and ended almost twenty minutes early, leading to an occasion scheduled for an hour about The Mandalorian & Grogu that ended up spending barely fifteen minutes on the film. The Celebration-exclusive sizzle reel solely performed as soon as, quite than the standard twice. It’s arduous to imagine that the panel we truly received was the panel that had been meant to kick off Star Wars Celebration Japan 2025.
The distinction with the opposite outstanding panels deserves emphasizing. On the Andor panel, Tony Gilroy and Diego Luna spoke extensively about their ardour for the undertaking and their objectives in making it. Every of the opposite six panelists had the possibility to make significant remarks about their involvement within the sequence, maybe none so memorable as Denise Gough clarifying that Dedra’s position in Season Two is “not so woman boss” and “far more fascist” this time. After a full forty-five minute dialogue, they screened the whole first episode of Season Two for the panel viewers. Equally, each the Ahsoka and Lucasfilm Animation panels stuffed each minute of their allotted hour with insightful and attention-grabbing discussions. By the tip of the three days, the primary panel actually did stand out as the one significantly disappointing one of many conference.
In August 2012, Star Wars Celebration VI was the final of the George Lucas period at Lucasfilm, though followers didn’t realize it on the time. Trying again, although, the transitional nature of the conference, and of the Star Wars materials mentioned on the conference that did or didn’t finally get launched after being mentioned there, is way clearer in hindsight. Whereas the official announcement has but to be made, Star Wars Celebration Japan 2025 is probably going the final of the Kathleen Kennedy period at Lucasfilm. A number of the main initiatives mentioned on the conference – Starfighter, Andor, Visions, Gentle & Magic, and others – originate from her management. Different panels – notably The Mandalorian & Grogu, Ahsoka, and Lucasfilm Animation – are grounded in Dave Filoni’s contributions, which Filoni repeatedly emphasised have their basis in what he discovered from Lucas, in honoring what Lucas created, and in passing alongside what Filoni discovered from Lucas to the following technology of Star Wars storytellers. With Star Wars Celebration Los Angeles 2027 timed to coincide with commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the theatrical launch of A New Hope, it additionally might mark a brand new period for the Star Wars franchise in additional methods than one.
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B.J. has served as editor of FANgirl Weblog from its inception, in addition to contributing critiques and posts on a variety of matters. He edited Tricia’s novel Wynde, and is collaborating together with her on a number of future initiatives set in that authentic universe.
At present a tenured legislation professor in Florida, B.J. has been a working towards lawyer in Washington, D.C., a legislation clerk to a federal appeals court docket choose, and a legislation journal editor-in-chief. He’s additionally a proud geek dad whose son who’s a giant fan of Star Wars and The Clone Wars.
