The Best of Star Wars Celebration 2019

From Friday the 13th to Monday the 15th, a new edition of Star Wars Celebration arrived with more news than ever. Besides being a very important year for the franchise with the release of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, many interesting projects were announced. At Neo Teo we tell you everything about it.

Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker

We start with the most significant news, not only because it's a canonical film, but because it represents the end of a nine-film saga. Star Wars Episode IX finally has a name, "The Rise of Skywalker", and it was announced alongside the trailer on the first day of Star Wars Celebration 2019.

In this first look at the film arriving in December, we can point out three moments that have played with our feelings and nostalgia:

Lando's Return!

Billy Dee Williams will finally return for the end of the saga. With the absence of the late Han Solo in The Force Awakens and Leia's departure in this film, Lando Calrissian was one of those we expected in this trilogy. As it could not be otherwise, we see him with his conventional look and piloting the Millennium Falcon, as he did in Episode VI.

Remains of the Death Star

It was shocking to see this image, because they are remains of the Death Star, though we don't know which of the two it is. The first we saw in "A New Hope" (Episode IV) in the final battle at Yavin, and the second in "The Return of the Jedi" (Episode VI) which took place on Endor. Well, it's a detail that for now we can't figure out, but we believe that being the last film of this trilogy, it could be the one destroyed at the home of the Ewoks.

Leia's Final Moments

Everything is emotion when we talk about Carrie Fisher and her most important character. Leia Organa will have her final moments in Episode IX, and prior to this preview there were many doubts about how they would include her, since rumors were that there was no filmed record after "The Last Jedi". The truth, confirmed by J.J. Abrams, is that they used unreleased footage from Episode VII and managed to assemble her into the film.

December 19th will be the end of a saga that marked many generations.

More info about the Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker trailer

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order

It's one of the big releases of this Star Wars Celebration. "Jedi: Fallen Order" will be developed by Respawn Entertainment and will have the backing of Electronic Arts. Unlike its predecessors, this new title will be an action adventure without the stealth characteristic and with no multiplayer.

The story centers on Cal Kestis, a padawan survivor of the Jedi Order after the purge of Order 66, an event that happened in Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.

One of the controversies surrounding EA was the choice of microtransactions, something this game won't have. Without multiplayer, without microtransactions and also without season passes, Jedi: Fallen Order arrives as an "oldschool" game and what we saw in the trailer promises. EA seems to have learned the lesson and will only be there to give the green light to the project developed by Respawn, the studio behind Titanfall and Apex Legends.

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order will be released on November 15th of this year on Xbox One, PS4 and PC.

The Mandalorian

Following the announcement of Disney Plus, the new platform from the mouse company arriving in November, it will have among its main attractions the first Star Wars series, based on the character of Boba Fett, the bounty hunter.

The production, directed by Jon Favreau (Iron Man), promises to expand the Star Wars universe with a first live-action season, which is new for this franchise. Each episode will have its own director and they've all been revealed:

• Chapter 1 - Dave Filoni
• Chapter 2 - Rick Famuyiwa
• Chapter 3 - Deborah Chow
• Chapter 4 - Bryce Dallas Howard
• Chapter 5 - Dave Filoni
• Chapter 6 - Rick Famuyiwa
• Chapter 7 - Deborah Chow
• Chapter 8 - Taika Waititi

The Mandalorian will be played by Pedro Pascal (Narcos and Game of Thrones) and will have as co-stars: Carl Weathers (the very Apollo Creed), Gina Carano (Deadpool), Nick Nolte (The Prince of Tides), Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad), Emily Swallow (The Mentalist), Omid Abtahi (The Hunger Games) and Werner Herzog (Fitzcarraldo).

The premiere of The Mandalorian will be on November 12th and will be exclusive, at least initially, to Disney Plus.

The Return of Clone Wars

Seven years after its end, Clone Wars returns! The series that tells the adventures of Ahsoka Tano will have its revival after the incomplete ending caused by Disney's acquisition of Lucasfilm.

Season 7 will have 12 episodes, with a similar length to previous seasons. With this new installment, this part of the story that takes place between Episode II and Episode III of the canon will finally be properly closed.

The icing on the cake will be the work done with the character of Darth Maul. For that, they called on Ray Park, the actor who played the villain of Episode I, who has worked to make Darth Maul look just like the one we saw in The Phantom Menace.

It doesn't have an official date yet, but it will probably be before 2020 and will be exclusive to the new Disney platform.

Vader Immortal VR

Industrial Light and Magic's Experience Lab (ILMxLAB) and Oculus are in charge of this project that puts us in the shoes of a Jedi who must escape Vader's red lightsaber.

It's a very ambitious project that ILMxLAB has been developing for years. They already have several games released for home use, such as repairing droids in "Droid Repair Bay" (Oculus, Gear VR) or something similar with "Trials on Tatooine" (Steam, Viveport). Although the priority was on theme parks, this release serves to bring the Star Wars world to a more popular audience.

BONUS

Galaxy's Edge to Life at Disney Parks

The announcement of these two theme parks at Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort are more than interesting attractions. We didn't put it in the 5 highlights because it's an expensive activity and difficult to access for the vast majority of mortals. However, the work they've shown us at the last Star Wars Celebration is fascinating. From being able to board the Millennium Falcon and find secret passages with an app, to experiencing impressive virtual realities like Rise of the Resistance, where we can live the battle against the First Order as if we were there.

Star Wars Celebration 2019 - Full Days

Below we leave you the four full days, where you'll find panels for each day, with those involved in each project we summarized, as well as others like comics, merchandising and panels about Star Wars Resistance and Rebels (animated series). You'll also be able to see the celebration of 20 years of The Phantom Menace, with several figures like Ian McDiarmid (Palpatine) and Ray Park (Darth Maul):

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4