I haven't been to the D23 Expo fan convention since 2013 so it was a real treat to be able to go again with my mom and sister. My mom introduced us to Disney, and eventually Star Wars, at an early age so this has been our thing for a long time. As much as I absolutely love all things Disney, I think it might be obvious that I was most excited to seek out all of the Star Wars content at the event.
My absolute favorite part was attending the Behind the Scenes with Walt Disney Studios panel where guests were treated with special announcements and sneak peeks of the next Disney, Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars titles. I fully expected that the Star Wars segment would be featured last but to my surprise they brought Kathleen Kennedy, JJ Abrams and many of the cast members (Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Issac, Anthony Daniels, Kelly Marie Tran, Joonas Suotamo, Keri Russell and Naomi Acki) out onto the stage almost as soon as the show started to talk a little bit about The Rise of Skywalker. R2 and BB-8 were there as well but from where I was sitting, I couldn't tell if D-O was also part of the droid lineup. While this extraordinary group didn't stay with us for very long, Kathleen did share that this film is an incredibly good time and JJ chimed in to say that Leia is really the heart of this story. The only new information we got was from newcomer Keri Russell who plays Zorri Bliss. She explained that her character is a criminal who's cool and shady and an old friend of Poe's. It was then that we got to see a beautifully edited montage that took us through the story of the Skywalker Saga and ended with brand new footage from The Rise of Skywalker.
I was literally on the edge of my seat watching the new footage. My heart was racing and my eyes were wide as I tried to process the magnificent visuals, the familiarities and the mind boggling moments. It all happened so fast! I screamed so loud when Dark Rey appeared on screen and I'm pretty sure I annoyed the family sitting in front of me. I can't describe to you just how excited I was after seeing this or how much I was shaking while I attempted to jot down some keyword notes to share directly on Twitter after the panel. I just wanted you all to see it and thankfully now we can all watch it as much as we want to! I've said it before, and I'll say it again, we are blessed that JJ has returned to finish this story off. I can't believe how incredible the film looks and I'm so eager to find out more about Dark Rey. My current theory is that she is a vision of some sort because I don't think there is enough time in the film for her to turn to the Dark Side.
I left the panel in complete awe and then I lost my mind again when I was handed this huge poster featuring the Emperor, Rey and Kylo Ren. It's such a non-traditional poster for Star Wars and I absolutely love it!
On the show floor was an incredible exhibit of the Evolution of the Star Wars Stromtrooper costumes ranging from the new Sith Trooper and Jet Trooper to one of everyone's favorites, the Death Trooper. Above the display was a large screen that played infamous Star Wars scenes throughout the day. On the opposite side there was a fun and interactive kids section with monitors playing the shorts from Galaxy of Adventures. Needless to say, this was a hot spot at the convention for Star Wars fans. It was great to see the new Trooper designs up close!
There was no shortage of Sith Troopers at the Uptown Disney booth. This section of the show floor featured various content from Disney, Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars. The Star Wars section was Sith Trooper themed. They had everything from a lifesize Sith Trooper made out of LEGOS to the cutest Funko Pop setup. I don't know about you, but I'm really feeling the red! I also couldn't help but photograph the unique lighting above the booth which was made up of several of Kylo Ren's lightsabers. Some of these items were said to be available to purchase ahead of Triple Force Friday (Oct. 4th) on Sunday, September 1st at select retailers. However, I've really own seen Sith Trooper merchandise become available recently at the Star Trader shop in Tomorrowland at Disneyland. You can see the full list of merchandise on the official Star Wars website.
Over at the Disney+ booth there was a great display of the new costumes from The Mandalorian featuring the infamous Bounty Hunter himself and the lovely Cara Dune. I love the color schemes of these looks and the amount of detail that's been put into them. While I was there, I took advantage of the special deal they were having and signed up for the Disney+ Founders Circle. I paid $140 and change for three years of Disney+ and got a commemorative pin for joining. What a deal! The Mandalorian comes to Disney+ on launch day, November 12th!
Speaking of The Mandalorian, there were four different items for purchase at the Disney Dream Store. One of them was the Funko Pop of the Mandalorian that was a pre-release meaning that if you missed out, you'll be able to get this figure at a later time (probably on Triple Force Friday, October 4th). Unfortunately it sold out by the time I got to the store so I didn't get to see it in person. However, they did have the Limited Release pin and it is absolutely gorgeous! The pin features the Mandalorian, Cara Dune and IG-11 along with a couple of TIE Fighters in the background. I couldn't resist picking this one up! There were also two t-shirts in unisex and youth sizes. I really liked the design on the grey t-shirt so that's the one that I purchased.
This time around, I didn't have much time to go out and photograph Star Wars cosplayers but I did see some while I was on the show floor. My friend McKenna and her boyfriend Matthew were dressed as Ahsoka Tano from the seventh season of The Clone Wars (coming February 2020 to Disney+) and Captain Rex. I also saw Alex and Griffin as Rey and Kylo. Each of these cosplayers always put an incredible amount of work into their costumes! And last but not least, I spotted this gorgeous Queen Amidala by Kelly in her Pre-Senate Address outfit.
I found this beautiful Ahsoka Tano/The Clone Wars art piece by James Silvani in the Emporium called Before the Dark Times. If you recognize it, that's because James was a featured artist at Star Wars Celebration Chicago. I was really happy to see this piece in person! You can view James' online shop here and see him next at New York Comic Con.
I discovered these adorable renditions of some of our favorite Star Wars characters riding various ships by Noah Elias. Aren't they cute? They remind me of little video game characters! You can purchase them for $50 each from Noah's website. Noah also creates several Disney art pieces that are sold on the shopDisney website.
I hope you enjoyed seeing the convention through my eyes! Were you able to attend? What was your favorite part? And if you didn't go, let me know what you thought of The Rise of Skywalker footage!
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