Category: conventions and events

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Galaxy’s Edge has a John Williams theme and other new Disney park tidbits

The Galaxy’s Edge parks at Disneyland and Disney World are inching towards completion in Anaheim and Orlando. New music for the parks from John Williams was unveiled today, and we have names for the two rides. (First reported by EW.)

The new theme, recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra, as well as a look at construction progress at both lands:

The first ride will be Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run:

And the second is Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance:


There are also a new detail on the Star Wars resort (still no name, although a floor plan has been spotted.) Guests will enter the hotel via a “launch pod” – and the plans linked above show that the illusion is likely to be maintained with a shuttle from the hotel to Galaxy’s Edge.

Galaxy’s Edge will open at Disneyland next summer and Disney World’s Hollywood Studios next fall. The resort, which will be adjacent to Hollywood Studios, doesn’t have an ETA yet.

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Galaxy’s Edge cantina will feature return of original Star Tours droid Rex

Oga’s Cantina will be coming to the Star Wars parks at Disneyland and Disney World when they open next year, Disney says today.

Oga’s Cantina is the kind of establishment that attracts some of the most interesting and disreputable characters in the galaxy. And you never know when a stormtrooper or a familiar face will show up. Patrons of the cantina come from across the galaxy to sample the famous concoctions created with exotic ingredients using “otherworldly” methods, served in unique vessels. With choices for kids and libations for adults, the cantina will make for a great stop!

The big news here is that the cantina will serve alcohol, which is still a rarity at Disneyland. (Disney World, not so much.)

But for Star Wars fans, the headliner may be RX-24, the droid who piloted the original Star Tours, who will make his return as the cantina’s DJ. He was replaced by Artoo and Threepio when the ride was redone in 2011, but was last spotted on Rebels in 2014.

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The Clone Wars returning for one last run

The Clone Wars is coming back for a twelve episode final run, Dave Filoni announced this afternoon at San Diego Comic-Con. The new episodes will air on Disney’s upcoming streaming service.

“I honestly didn’t think we would ever have the opportunity to return to The Clone Wars,” says Filoni in a statement. “Thanks to the relentless fan support and the team behind Disney’s direct-to-consumer streaming service, we will now get to tell more of those stories. We feel a tremendous responsibility to make something that lives up to the legacy that George Lucas created with the original series and I think our team, many of whom worked on the show from the beginning, has risen to the challenge.”

Continue reading “The Clone Wars returning for one last run”

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Out this week: Star Wars, Vader Annual

We’ve got three new comics and an old (very old) trade collection coming on Wednesday, July 18. They’re Star Wars #51, Darth Vader Annual #2, Poe Dameron #29 and the Legends collection The Original Marvel Years Volume 3.

Fans attending San Diego Comic Con later this week have a shot at getting two exclusive editions of Timothy Zahn’s Thrawn: Alliances a few days early. The standard edition will be out on July 24. (We’re also expecting book news out of the con on Friday.)

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How to get the (two!) SDCC exclusive versions of Thrawn: Alliances

Del Rey’s Unbound Worlds blog has the details on how you can score the two exclusive versions of Timothy Zahn’s Thrawn: Alliances that they’ll be bringing to San Diego Comic Con next month. The first is a signed hardcover version that comes with a new cover, a pin and a tote bag. The second is the audiobook version, which features an exclusive conversation between Zahn and narrator Marc Thompson, as well a collector’s tin, numbered and signed card, and the same pin as the hardcover.

Either version will cost you $45. Del Rey will be using a wristband system again, with separate wristbands for each edition.

Fans at the con will also be getting the book slightly early: SDCC is held July 19-22, while the standard editions go on sale July 24.

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Celebrating The Clone Wars’ 10th birthday at SDCC

Dave Filoni and “special guests” will celebrate the ten-year anniversary of Lucasfilm Animation’s The Clone Wars with a panel at San Diego Comic-Con on Thursday, July 19th. Star Wars isn’t expected to have a huge panel presence at the con this year – at least not in the Hall H sense – but this is our first announcement re: SDCC so far. Writer Amy Ratcliffe (Women of the Galaxy) will be moderating the panel.

With Episode IX more than a year out, will there be a panel on this fall’s Resistance – Lucasfilm Animation’s third show – as well? Per usual, we wait and see.

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5-day passes for Celebration Chicago sold out

Passes for Celebration Chicago went on sale Tuesday, and it doesn’t seem like the price increase has had any effect on demand. 5-day passes were sold out by Thursday morning, and 1-day passes for Saturday are 60% sold out..

Despite fan speculation, the amount of whole con passes hasn’t been limited since Orlando in 2017; The official Celebration account says they’re seeing “much higher demand” this time around. (It’s worth noting that there hasn’t been a Celebration in the Midwest since Celebration III in 2005, which was held in Indianapolis a month ahead of the release of Revenge of the Sith.)

It took months for those to sell out for Orlando in 2017; 4-days for Anaheim in 2015 sold out just before the con began. At this rate, the Celebration after this one is going to be like SDCC. (AKA: Utterly ridiculous.)

Hotel rooms have also been an issue, but keep checking back. I didn’t get anything Tuesday, but I managed to nab one Wednesday. Good luck!

The con is being held April 11-15, 2019 at Chicago’s McCormick Place.