Sunday roundup: Looking forward to 2015 and Celebration VII at Celebration Europe

@starwars: A most impressive gathering of @501stLegion members at #StarWarsCelebration! As one Celebration ends, another is announced… Celebration VII (which may not be the official name, but we’re going to call it that, damnit!) is set for Anaheim, California in April 2015. Star Wars Celebration Anaheim (the official name, apparently?) will be held at the Disneyland-adjacent Anaheim Convention Center from April 16-19, reverting us back to schedules of the original Celebrations. Does this guarantee us a May release date for Episode VII? Let’s hope so. Tickets will be on sale August 7th.

What else went on in Essen today? Well, Mark Hamill spoke, and while it didn’t make the official recap, apparently he did do a voice on The Clone Wars – a Darth. But he’s also open to voicing a villain on Rebels.

Speaking of… Here’s Dave Filoni and Warwick Davis.

Other panels today included ‘The Fett-Tastic Four’ (with surprise Temeura Morrison!) and the Jabba’s Palace reunion and, of course, the closing ceremonies.

This isn’t the end of coverage – we expect the usual flood of nightly additions as folks wind down, plus more as people return home and get a chance to think, upload pictures and etc – so check back!

Celebration VII is coming to Anaheim in 2015!

Just announced: Celebration VII will take place in Anaheim on April 16-19, 2015! Back to April, and back to California!

Tickets are going on sale August 7th. This August 7th. Better get ’em fast, because Anaheim’s convention center isn’t as big as Orlando and with Episode VII, this could be big!

More? Dan Brooks is liveblogging the Celebration Europe closing ceremonies.

Saturday roundup: Kathleen Kennedy, Dave Filoni and Carrie Fisher take the stage at Celebration Europe

Kathleen Kennedy and Warwick Davis (StarWars.com)Well, obviously two big bombs got dropped today: The return of composer John Williams is official and we got our first look at the new cartoon, Star Wars Rebels. Kathleen Kennedy also talked about chatting with J.J. Abrams and using “every tool in the toolboxā€¯ for Episode VII, implying that we’ll be seeing a mix of CGI and practical effects.

And yes, you can buy the Rebels logo t-shirt online.

StarWars.com also live-blogged the Carrie Fisher event, and highlighted some fan stories. They also shared a video from yesterday with Warwick Davis, Doug Chiang and Iain McCaig.

Newswatch! Sunday is by far the lightest day on the schedule, so those of us on this side of the pond may take the opportunity to sleep in, at least a little. There are still plenty of panels, but for our purposes I think we only need to keep an eye on two of them: Mark Hamill at 2:30 p.m. CEST (8:30 a.m. EDT) and the Closing Ceremonies at 4:00 p.m. CEST (10:00 a.m. EDT.) Will we learn the date and location of the next Celebration?

As for the hoped-for Big 3 confirmation… If neither Kennedy or Fisher said anything, I doubt Hamill will, either. Next milestone is in two weeks at Disney’s D23 Expo, and the rumors have already been churning. Patience!

Friday roundup: Celebration Europe begins!

David Collins has the ‘ground report’ from Essen, above, as Celebration Europe officially kicks into gear. Of course our news of the day was in regards to The Clone Wars S5 on Blu-ray. The panel itself was recapped by the folks over at Star Wars Underworld.

@starwars: The @501stLegion debuting their new Ralph McQuarrie concept Stormtroopers at #StarWarsCelebration. pic.twitter.com/jAAkxS3EStThe folks at StarWars.com recapped Doug Chiang and Iain McCaig. (No, no sequel art! Hey, it was a long shot.) They also live-blogged Anthony Daniels and International Fan Clubs. And the highlights of the Ian McDiarmid event.

Meanwhile, Bleeding Cool’s Craig Skinner was not particularly impressed with Attack of the Clones 3D – though apparently the room was less than optimal.

(You’re following @jamesjawa, right? Other Twitter fan MVPs include @TGP73 and @TheSWU. #StarWarsCelebration is the tag to watch!)

Newswatch! Saturday is the big one, with Lucasfilm president and Episode VII producer Kathleen Kennedy! Her panel begins at 10:30 a.m. CEST (4:30 a.m. EDT. Yes, I will try to be up. On a Saturday. We are born to suffer.) But if we’re going to get any movie news this weekend, it’s probably going to come from her first.

The rest of the day’s not so bad, either. At 12:30 p.m. CEST (6:30 p.m. EDT) Leland Chee will join Pablo Hidalgo for a look at the Holocron. It’s probably the closest Germany is going to get to an EU panel. Of course, it happens to be running against fan’s first look at Rebels – also 12:30 p.m. CEST – with Dave Filoni, our second most likely panel to produce big news. Which one will StarWars.com liveblog? MYSTERY.

There’s a Doug Chiang panel at 3:30 p.m. CEST (9 a.m. CEST,) a Master’s level trivia challenge with Filoni, Hidalgo and Chee at 5:30 p.m. (11 a.m. EDT) and then the night wraps up with Carrie Fisher at 6:00 p.m. CEST (Noon EDT.)

The Clone Wars S5, complete series box set coming to Blu-ray/DVD Oct. 15

The Clone Wars S5 box setAs predicted, The Clone Wars season 5 DVD and Blu-rays and a full-series box set were announced at Celebration Europe today. The S5 sets will have all 20 episodes, plus two as director’s cuts. Suggested retail is $59.97 for Blu-ray and $49.98 for DVD.

The complete S1-5 box set, dubbed a ‘Collector’s Edition,’ has a suggested retail of $149.99 for Blu-ray and $119.98 for DVD.

Both sets will be out October 15.

And for further details from the panel at Celebration, head to Star Wars Underworld.