Star Wars Celebration 2023: Lucasfilm Showcase Live Recap

Star Wars Celebration kicked off its Friday festivities with a Lucasfilm Showcase, previewing the films and TV shows coming from the studio. The panel, hosted by Ali Plumb, took place in the United Kingdom with 4,500 fans in attendance. Opening the panel, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy took the stage. She opened the presentation by thanking the people who work with and support Lucasfilm and sharing her excitement to be back in London for Star Wars Celebration.

The first title in the showcase is Andor. The cast and creators take the stage, including B-2. Gilroy says the last Celebration was “baffling” but this one is “Tremendously exciting,” and he feels like “part of the community in a big way.” He is asked how the world has changed for him. “We’re just keep on going,” he said. “We’re going as quickly as we can to come back with the second half and make you proud of us.”

The attention turns to Diego Luna. “I feel like part of this community,” he said. “We are really happy to be here because it means we are still doing Andor.” They reflect on Season 1. As it turns out, “the jump out of prison,” was the last thing filmed in Season 1. 

“There are plenty of memes with me with a rubber ring around me,” Andy Serkis adds. “The whole build up to the rebellion and the jumping out was incredible…It was really kind of an emotional moment because it was the end of the shoot, too.”

Gilroy updates Season 2. “We started shooting in November. We’re about half way. We’re gonna shoot through August. We’re on the exact schedule we were on the previous time…We will spend another year on the post-production and the music…and I suppose we’ll come out the following August!” He also adds that knowing the ending plays a big part in telling a good story. “It was a decision born of survival but it’s turned out to be really creatively potent for us,” he said of having only two seasons. “It’s good to know there’s and ending coming up.”

Luna introduces a clip from Season 2 of Andor. It showcases all of the characters and some new faces, with one stating, “Everyone has their own rebellion, right?” Ultimately, Cassian Andor is seen sitting at a bar dressed very suave and grinning past the camera. It concludes the Andor portion of the panel. 

The Acolyte is next. Leslye Headland is walked to the stage by a wookie. Headland says Star Wars “completely saved my life,” when she got interested in it. “I got to watch the prequels as I went into college,” Headland said. The new trilogy “felt like an opportunity” to work in the franchise. When is it set? “When I pitched Kathleen the show, I really wanted to delve into the Star Wars universe and tell the story of this world from the perspective…of the villains, of the bad guys. What I pitched to Kathy ws Frozen meets Kill Bill. Shockingly, she didn’t kick me out of the building she was intrigued…it became apparent, we were going to have to set this between the High Republic and the prequels…this is when the bad guys are outnumbered. They are the underdog.”

“This is the furthest back we’ve been in live-action,” Headland said, which is an opportunity to have “lots of Jedi.” Kal Nakka will be a major character and the actor will soon be revealed.

“I went back to George’s inspirations of martial arts films,” Headland said. As there is no war at this point in the timeline, Headland says there are “personal wars,” in relationships between the characters. The cast takes the stage. 

The first question goes to Amandla Stenberg. “What drew me to this project is I’m really in love with Leslye’s work,” Stenberg said. Lee Jung-jae reveals he is playing a Jedi Master and it was the first time he ever touched a lightsaber. Joonas Suatamo is playing a new, original wookie in the series. Jodie Turner-Smith is playing an original character, though she still felt like she, “was stepping into really big shoes.” Manny Jacinto shares the excitement he has on set, constantly proclaiming, “We’re doing Star Wars, baby!” 

Headland introduces footage. In it, younglings are instructed by the Jedi master. “Close your eyes. Your eyes can deceive you. We must not trust them.” The scenes cut to a bar, where Carrie Anne-Moss is sitting at a table hooded before fighting an assassin who has two knives. She is swift and uses the force. A yellow lightsaber is wielded by Jacinto’s character. Gritty fight sequences preceded a shot of eight Jedi taking lightsabers out while overlooking something mysterious. 

Next up is The Mandalorian. Jon Favreau, Rick Famuyiwa, and Dave Filoni take the stage. Pedro Pascal sent a message on video. “Star Wars fans are the best fans in the world,” he declares. “I hope you’re all enjoying this third season of The Mandalorian and are having as much fun watching it as we did making it.” The final two episodes of The Mandalorian Season 3 are directed by Famuyiwa.

“Things have been building over two seasons of the show and book of Boba Fett,” Famuyiwa points out. “When we get to seven and eight, a lot of interesting things have been planted that we will see some resolution on.” Favreau tees up footage from the next episode which plays before Giancarlo Esposito, Katee Sackhoff, Carl Weathers, and Emily Swallow join the panel on stage.

Next up is Skeleton Crew. The show is now in post-production. “It’s a story about a group of kids, I think we can all relate to that as Star Wars fans,” Filoni said. “Out in the wide galaxy, it’s more dangerous than you think.” 

The idea for the series spawned on Spider-Man: Far From Home‘s set. “We’ve had a lot of fun collaborating with other directors,” Favreau said. “There was an idea and Kathy’s background, of course, with the Amblin films and Goonies, that was very much an inspiration for Jon…We had a call with Dave from location, sounded it to us, we brought it to Kathy…it all felt like it was meant to be.”

Kennedy promises Amblin vibes for Skeleton Crew. Favreau talks about the directors. Jon Watts, David Lowery, the Daniels, Jake Schreier, Bryce Dallas Howard, and Lee Isaac Chung will be directing the show’s episodes. A video message from Watts on the set introduces Jude Law to the stage. He spends time discussing how he fell in love with Star Wars at the age of six before introducing the rest of the cast, his kid co-stars, to the stage. The first footage introduces the characters and teases the tone of the show which seems to be an ambitious adventure with the children who encounter Jude Law’s character, revealed to be a Jedi at the end of the trailer. Their parents are trying to find them and they are traversing the galaxy in various ways with pirates and other creatures seeming to hunt them down.

Next up is Ahsoka. Kennedy and Favreau sing praises of Filoni’s efforts, dedication, and knowledge. Rosario Dawson takes the stage and a poster is revealed, giving the show an August of 2023 release date. “If this does well, maybe we’ll get a second season,” Dawson declares. The two will be looking for someone when the show starts, much like the last time we saw them together. Mary Elizabeth-Winstead takes the stage to reveal she is playing Hera.

Next is movies. “We’re exploring a lot of different storylines,” Kennedy said. “Now we’re looking to broaden that timeline.” She brings directors of the upcoming films to the stage: James Mangold, Dave Filoni, and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy. “I’ve alweays been attracted to the hero’s journey,” Obaid-Chinoy said. She has spent much of her life following real life heroes overcoming oppressive situations. There will be a “Jedi Academy,” and a “powerful Jedi master.” Daisy Ridley will return as Rey for the film set 15 years after the sequel trilogy. Mangold’s film is called Dawn of the Jedi and will focus on the first Jedi to master the Force. Filoni’s film is set between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. 

Mangold stays on stage for a pivot to Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. Mads Mikkelson and Phoebe Waller-Bridge take the stage. They can’t share too much about their characters. The film’s new trailer concludes the panel!