The Sisters of the Force panel at Star Wars Celebration celebrated the many strong women and female characters in the fandom and canon of Star Wars.
The Sisters of the Force panel at Star Wars Celebration took place in the large ballroom that held the news-grabbing Episode IX and The Mandalorian panels and though not with the same measure of attendance proved to be one of the best panels of the event.
Ashley Eckstein, voice of Ahsoka Tano in fan favorite cartoon series The Clone Wars and Rebels, led a panel of women that included other voice actresses, producers and writers.
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Vanessa Marshall voice of Hera Syndulla, Catherine Taber voice of Padme Amidala and newcomer Suzie McGrath voice of Tam Ryvora on Star Wars: Resistance all took the stage with producer Athena Portillo and Starwars.com journalist and write Amy Ratcliffe.
The entire panel can be seen on Disneyland Experience Youtube channel.
Ashley Eckstein’s positive attitude and real love for her character Ahsoka and Star Wars fans in general did a wonderful job juggling the stories, struggles and victories of each of the women on stage. Her enthusiasm is infectious and makes her a joy at every panel in which she takes part.
Ashley and Catherine both took time to highlight fans who are various stages in fights against cancer and to whom Star Wars has played a part in giving them joy.
Vanessa highlighted a fan who has been the victim of bullying and brought her out on stage where her Star Wars family treated her to an excited round of cheers.
Suzie McGrath shared a story about her difficulty with a stuttering problem as a child. Amy Ratcliffe highlighted a female character Derla Pidys from the Star Wars anthology book Canto Bight.
Athena Portillo treated the audience to her own story being late to her LucasFilm internship interview all the way to becoming a producer on Star Wars’ most popular animated shows The Clone Wars and Rebels.
The panel ended with the women calling out cosplayers in the audience to come up yelling out names of the some of the most popular female Star Wars characters. The front of the stage filled with Ahsokas, Padmes, Heras, Sabines and general excitement and positivity that Star Wars fandom needed after the past couple of years of angry internet posts.
The Sisters of the Force reminded me why I love Star Wars and the Star Wars community.
We all pay attention to Star Wars Celebration for the movie and tv show news. Sisters of the Force was my favorite panel by far. What were some of your favorite non-featured panels? Let us know in the comments.