If Star Wars Celebration was the main course of the news buffet for The Force Awakens, think of this weekend’s D23 Expo as the less substantial but no less satisfying dessert.
Disney’s flagship convention kicks off this Friday and runs through Sunday at the Anaheim Convention Center, the same place where fans were treated in April to a trailer that broke the Internet, an uneasy press conference with a noticeably absent Josh Trank, and of course, the greatest Star Wars costume of all time.
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While this event is more broadly targeted, with numerous panels on Disney’s various franchises, Star Wars is still set to have a significant presence throughout. No, we won’t be getting a new trailer for The Force Awakens, but there’s still going to be new information and footage revealed about a range of franchise properties, from J.J. Abrams’ movie to possible additions to theme parks.
The big announcements will be coming out of Hall D23, basically the equivalent of Comic-Con’s Hall H, but Star Wars will be popping up at plenty of other places throughout the convention as well.
Dork Side will be there on scene to feed you all the news in the moment, but for now, here’s a look at what kind of news you can expect coming out of a galaxy far, far away and an overview of the panels to watch out for.
Next: Disney Honors a Star Wars Legend
George Lucas is Honored as a Disney Legend
D23 will kick off with Disney bestowing one of its highest honors upon the father of Star Wars by naming him a Disney Legend. In a ceremony scheduled for 10 a.m. Friday morning in Hall D23, George Lucas will be recognized for his work incorporating the franchise, along with Indiana Jones, into the Disney theme parks.
The event will be hosted by Disney CEO Bob Iger and feature “special musical performances.” There will be seven other honorees at the event, including music composer Danny Elfman.
Despite the widespread vitriol directed Lucas’ way over matters such as the missed opportunities of the prequels or his dilly-dallying with the original trilogy, a lot of what makes Star Wars great is tied to Lucas’ vision and passion for his baby. This represents a nice gesture by Disney to honor the filmmaker’s work with the franchise over the years and give him a chance to publicly bestow his blessing upon the new caretakers of the universe.
Next: D23 Expo is a Star Wars Collector's Dream
New Toys Debuting at D23 Expo
Even though there’s no specific panel tied to Star Wars toys, that doesn’t mean there won’t be plenty of treats in store for the collector fans. The Disney Store will debut the Star Wars Elite Series at the con, a brand-new line of action figures depicting characters from all six films.
The toys will go on sale later this year at Disney Stores around the country (except for versions of R2-D2 and C-3PO which are only available at D23), but convention attendees will get first dibs at nabbing the products.
Also, Disney is planning on introducing the Star Wars Legion Helmet Series. The project employed hundreds of artists from around the company to put their own designs on vinyl collectible helmets. It’s a pretty cool project that offers 300 helmets with unique designs for Star Wars fans to collect.
Next: Disney Interactive Takes the Stage
Disney Infinity 3.0 and Star Wars Battlefront
The Mouse will be pulling out all the stops for its latest installment in the Disney Infinity series, the video game that incorporates real-life toys into the game as playable characters. The game is set for release on Aug. 28 this year and will feature characters from all three trilogies.
Along with a basic starter set of toys, there will be two expansion sets, with one focused on the prequel trilogy and the other on the original trilogy. Expect to see more gameplay and possibly more characters revealed.
Star Wars Battlefront, set for release this November, is also on the docket for the convention, although it’s unclear exactly what we can expect. EA and the game’s developer, DICE, have been slowly unveiling the various game modes the game will feature, and there will be playable demos of both this game and Disney Infinity on the show floor.
I would guess that we’ll see a new trailer showing a new gameplay mode, and possibly some new Heroes options soon. Currently, we only know that players can unlock Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader and Boba Fett as playable options.
The panel, It’s Game Time: Disney Interactive Takes the Stage, is set for Sunday at 11 a.m. in Hall D23. But there’s a chance for media to meet with developers of both games and play some demos Saturday night, so expect an update here before Sunday’s event.
Next: The Force Awakens, and Possibly More
The Force Awakens panel
Set for Hall D23 on Saturday at 10:30 a.m., this panel, called Worlds, Galaxies, and Universe: Live Action at the Walt Disney Studios, is without a doubt the most highly anticipated panel at the convention, although as I’ll explain later, there may be another panel that will offer juicier information.
As J.J. Abrams told Entertainment Weekly earlier this week, there will be no new trailer for The Force Awakens; that’s coming in the fall. It’s also unlikely that we’ll see any new footage, like the sizzle reel that premiered at Comic-Con, although I wouldn’t rule out some photos.
In fact, I think that’s what we can probably expect from this event. There are a few key cast members we haven’t heard from yet, such as Lupita Nyong’o, Andy Serkis and Max Von Sydow, and we haven’t even been given a glimpse of von Sydow’s character yet, although there are plenty of rumors.
There’s also the possibility that we’ll hear some more news about the spinoff films, particularly Rogue One. Some have speculated that we could be treated to a new teaser for Gareth Edward’s film, different from the brief clip shown at Star Wars Celebration. And I wonder if this wouldn’t be the perfect time to officially announce the heavily rumored Boba Fett film that’s reportedly being developed as the third spinoff.
But with Abrams and his crew attending the panel, most of the event will be focused on Episode VII, so don’t hold your breath waiting for Disney to shed more light on its plans for the Anthology series.
Next: Disney Parks Gear Up for a Star Wars Addition
Star Wars Land Coming to Disney Theme Parks?
My guess is that this may end up being the most important announcement for the Star Wars universe at the D23 Expo. There have been plenty of rumblings about Disney’s plans to incorporate Star Wars into its theme parks, but no official announcements yet for the parks, at least as far as the ones in the States.
The Mouse is planning for an area in its Shanghai Disneyland resort in China called the Star Wars Launch Bay, which will function as an interactive museum with props and models from The Force Awakens.
According to a recent report, Disney may be co-opting that idea for its Disneyland park as a preview section for something called Star Wars Land. That will reportedly be a themed area to the north of Disneyland to hold all of its upcoming Star Wars attractions. These same plans could also be implemented for Disney World in Orlando, which I think is more likely.
But it should also be noted that Disney CEO reportedly wants to make sure all the rides are associated with the sequel trilogy, instead of being focused on the released films. This makes plenty of sense if the park wants to stay fresh and appeal to the newest generation of Star Wars fans.