My friend, Mike Messina, and I were talking on our Star Wars podcast, From a Certain Point of View, this past weekend, and we got into a discussion of what we think we can expect to see from Star Wars (namely Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Star Wars: Rogue One) at the D23 Expo this August 14-16th.
There are a lot of possibilities. A few things that we can confirm will be there are:
- The launch of an “exclusive collection” of Star Wars products by the Disney Store on August 14th.
Image via wearecinemaniax.com
From D23.com, “The collection will feature apparel, collectibles, and toys, including the Star Wars Elite Series, a new line of highly articulated and detailed die cast action figures, representing characters from Star Wars Episodes I-VI. The action figures will be sold individually at Disney Store locations beginning later this year; however, D23 EXPO attendees have the opportunity to purchase the full set of Star Wars Elite Series action figures, which includes D23 EXPO-exclusive versions of R2-D2 and C-3PO.”
- Some sort of footage or special look at Star Wars: The Force Awakens on August 15th in Hall D23.
- A look at Disney Infinity 3.0 (which will include Star Wars characters and worlds) and Star Wars: Battlefront on August 16th, which will be featured at Disney Interactive’s Hall D23 Presentation and in the Expo Pavilion.
That’s all that’s been confirmed by Disney, so far. There were also rumblings that Disney would unveil plans for Star Wars additions to the Disney parks, as well as, possibly, footage or some sort of new information on Star Wars: Rogue One, the first Star Wars Anthology film.
That leaves us with a lot of room for speculation, especially with regard to what will be shown at the Star Wars: The Force Awakens portion of the Hall D23 panel, and what may be shown of Rogue One. That’s where Mike and I’s discussion comes in.
Here is a list of things that we think could happen on August 15th during the live-action feature film portion of D23…
Next: 1. A Pirate, A Supreme Leader, & Other Special Effects
1. Maz Kanata, Supreme Commander Snoke, and any other CGI characters/ships/locations will be revealed.
At Star Wars Celebration, we got a look at all of the heroes from The Force Awakens. At San Diego Comic Con earlier this month, we were formally introduced to the three main villains of the film, Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), Captain Phasma (Gwendoline Christie), and General Hux (Domhnall Gleeson). It makes sense to follow that up by introducing another “group” of characters, which could very well be those which are being rendered through mo-cap. That could be followed by a glimpse into what kind of special effects ILM is cooking up for Episode VII.
Next: 2. First the Good, Then the Bad, Now the Ugly
2. The scum and villainy of the film will be officially introduced.
This follows the same principle of revealing the CGI characters. The scum and villainy of The Force Awakens, which may consist mainly of Maz Kanata and the motley group living in her castle, are yet another group of characters that we don’t have much background on or much idea of who is playing them. We’ve seen the Good and the Bad; now it’s time to see the Ugly, so to speak.
Next: 3. Another Star Wars: The Force Awakens Trailer
3. Another teaser or a full-length trailer for The Force Awakens could be premiered.
This one is a bit tricky to predict. JJ Abrams said at San Diego Comic Con that another trailer would debut this fall; but what does “fall” mean in terms of business? When does the fall season start, according to corporations like Disney and its marketers? Depending on what the answer is, there may be two possibilities: the first, that we may get a third teaser, followed by a full-length trailer later on in the months that are traditionally viewed as “fall” (September, October, and November); or the second, that Disney might see August as the beginning of their “fall” marketing season and start the campaign anew with the final The Force Awakens trailer.
Or we could see neither; there’s no telling at this point.
Next: 4. A Rogue One Trailer, Too?
Image from screencrush.com
4. A short teaser for Rogue One.
This could either be the teaser that Celebration-goers saw at the Conversation with Gareth Edwards panel in April, or it could be entirely new footage, rumored to have been shot with Felicity Jones a few weeks back.
SEE ALSO: REPORT: Star Wars: Rogue One Has Begun Filming
As to what we could see in the trailer: Mike really wants to see shots Felicity Jones’s character getting her Rebel gear on and her weaponry together, as if for war. I like that idea, as it would be a good introduction for Jones’s character as well as for the darker, more Star “Wars” aesthetic director Gareth Edwards seems to be going for with Rogue One.
Next: 5. A Rogue Cast Announcement
Image via indiewire.com
5. Guest appearances by Gareth Edwards and Felicity Jones, with a Rogue One casting announcement.
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If D23 is going to feature Rogue One somewhere in their lineup, I think it’s likely that Gareth Edwards will show up; and I wouldn’t be surprised if the star of Rogue One herself, Felicity Jones, made an appearance, as well. I think a casting announcement of some kind is likely, too. Though, I don’t know if the full cast showing up on stage is something we can expect, especially if Rogue One is at the tail-end of a long panel. Mike and I are also unsure if they would reveal so much (a trailer and the full cast) in one panel. But with the title conflict between Rogue One and Mission: Impossible 5: Rogue Nation out of the way, Disney may want to start pushing the marketing level of the first Star Wars Anthology film to the maximum as quickly as possible. Their biggest convention would be the perfect place to start doing that, in my opinion.
RELATED: Rogue One Promotion is Postponed Until After Rogue Nation
Of course, we don’t even know if Rogue One will join the live-action feature film panel at D23 at all, so that’s something to keep in mind, as well.
Whatever happens on the weekend of August 14-16th at D23, you can be sure that we here at Dork Side will be on it! Stay tuned to our website, our Twitter feed, and our Facebook page for the latest updates!
You can download Mike and I’s episode in which we talk about D23 on iTunes, at our page, From a Certain Point of View (Episode 10: D23 Speculation Rises).
Next: Dave Prowse Told By Lucasfilm, Return of the Jedi Not Profitable