Posted in: Conventions, Movies, Star Wars | Tagged: film, star wars, star wars celebration, star wars celebration orlando, star wars: the last jedi

A Mixed Bag Of Expectations For A First Timer At 'Star Wars Celebration Orlando'

This post was written by freelance photographer and blogger Denzel Eslinger who is covering Star Wars Celebration Orlando for Bleeding Cool. Follow him on twitter.

Star Wars Celebration is just about here and my expectations are a mixed bag.

Late last year a friend and I were talking about going to Star Wars Celebration this year; we have both been to comic conventions from coast to coast but with new Star Wars movies and a friendly location, her parents live in Orlando, it seemed like a good idea. So we started talking about it more and more, fast forward to today, and with just days before the kick off of the event at the Orange County Convention Center I am on a plane asking myself; what should I expect?

I like Star Wars, I saw the original back in "the day" at the drive-in during the summer of 1977, I have seen all the movies in the theater and have owned all of them in some format. I have some collectibles from Funko, Lego and others, but I have never considered myself anything more than a fan of the series. There aren't a lot of franchises that are as relevant on the day they hit 40 years old as they were when they launch. So as I looked at the list of panels, guests, exclusives and such it is clear that this convention can swing with the big boys.
Let's start with the panels, the big 2 are as huge as anything at any con out there and I expect both to not only deliver but impress. First is the opening session the "40 Years of Star Wars" panel, and the list of folks schedule for that one would by itself put most cons over the top. Mark Hamil, Hayden Christensen, Kathleen Kennedy, and plenty of others, I expect a big part of this will be remembering Carrie, but you could also get a glimpse into the future of the Star Wars universe, Han Solo anyone?

As big as that panel will be and could be, we can all be honest this event is all about "The Last Jedi" and it is time for a trailer, it is time for some interviews, it is time for footage, it is time to crank the volume to 11. I expect you will find the panel full of the cast and lots of surprises in the form of video from the movie, some of which will be shared online but I expect a good amount will only be available to those in attendance.
When it comes to merchandise, this event is one of just 4 events that Funko rolls out the booth for, along with SDCC, NYCC and their hometown con ECCC, so yeah it is that big and while the rumors are that every single announced Funko exclusive will be available via one of their many retail partners it is still a huge event. Lego, Hasbro, Gentle Giant, Hot Wheels, Hallmark, Sideshow and others will round the major vendors, but groups like Fugitive Toys, Barnes & Noble, Del Ray publishing and the Celebration Store (event store run by ReedPop) will be offering all kinds of cool items to buy.

A couple things I am excited to see will be their version of an Artist Alley, it is funny that to get one of these spots there actually was a competition and you had to have either created art for Lucasfilm or have a Lucasfilm license, so only the very best are going to be there. Then there is the Tattoo Pavilion a spot where 30 plus artist will be applying ink to human skin in the form of Star Wars tattoos, I know this trend has been becoming popular at conventions lately but not to the level of this both in quantity and quality of artists.

So my great adventure will be to see how this franchise holds up in convention format, I don't think I have really high expectations but I expect any shortcoming on what would normally make a con special will be made up for with the amazing passion and dedication of the Star Wars fanbase, this is going to be fun.

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