Highlights From Star Wars Celebration Europe

San Diego ComicCon got a lot of attention last week, but there was a big celebration happening elsewhere this week. In Essen, Germany, over 20,000 fans attended Star Wars Celebration Europe. During July 26-July 28, fans and families met their favorite stars from the films, gained exclusive access to the Saga’s creators, and learned first-hand exciting new developments in a galaxy far, far away. Here’s a few things that made SWCE special.

• Warwick Davis, the actor best known for playing the Ewok Wicket, hosted the celebration.
• Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy showed up to officially announce that legendary composer John Williams (who scored the original movies) will return to score Star Wars: Episode VII
• Lucasfilm countered rumors that J.J. Abrams is leaving Star Wars due to a dispute over the filming location.
• The original cast and crew that filmed Jabba’s palace scene from Return of the Jedi reunited to talk about the shoot. I’m a huge fan of Jabba, so I’m most bummed about not attending that panel.
• A screening of Star Warriors, a documentary about the legendary 2007 Rose Parade that featured over 200 costumed fans from the 501st and Rebel Legions marching. Star Warriors features the story of these marching fans, focusing on their selection, training, and participation in the 2007 Rose Parade.
• One of the Executive Producers from the new animated series Star Wars Rebels, Dave Filoni, was on hand to guide fans through the genesis of the upcoming animated series, revealing designs heavily influenced by original Star Wars concept artist Ralph McQuarrie. Here’s some samples:

• Star Wars Rebels executive Producers Simon Kinberg and Greg Weisman shared their excitement for the series in a video message recorded exclusively for Celebration attendees. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the video, but I know they gave the airdate. Star Wars Rebels will begin airing on Disney XD starting in fall of 2014.
• The series Star Wars: The Clone Wars is going away, but has not been forgotten. Lucasfilm featured the series with a first look at The Complete Season Five Blu-ray and DVD boxed sets, and the massive Seasons 1-5 Collector’s Edition, both scheduled for an October 15 release.
• Lucasfilm announced that its next fan fest – Star Wars Celebration VII – will be timed to the theatrical release of Episode VII, and will be held in Anaheim, California from April 16-18, 2015.
• Here’s a video with an overview of the celebration this year and previous years:

What do you think of the celebration? Would you have been there? Would you go next year?

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