Heading to San Diego Comic-Con at the end of July? (Jealous!) The studios and publishers are starting to reveal their plans for the Con, and here's one that attendees will be particularly jazzed about.
First, let's get some bad news out of the way. "Star Wars: Episode VII" will have no presence at Comic-Con. It's a bummer, but an understandable one. The entire cast and crew are in the U.K. right now filming on a super tight schedule, so taking the time to fly some or all of them to Comic-Con for a special panel and then sending them right back could have a detrimental effect on production. Besides, there are plenty of events still to come before the movie's December 2015 release date. Maybe next year's Comic-Con, or Disney's D23 convention or Star Wars Celebration...
The good news is that Star Wars will still be at Comic-Con, and the new animated series, "Star Wars Rebels," will be leading the charge. On Thursday, July 24 from 6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m., Lucasfilm is hosting a panel called "The Heroes of Star Wars Rebels" in Room 6BCF. Featuring appearances by executive producers Dave Filoni and Simon Kinberg and stars Freddie Prinze Jr. (Kanan Jarrus), Vanessa Marshall (Hera Syndulla), Steve Blum (Zeb Orrelios), Tiya Sircar (Sabine Wren) and Taylor Gray (Ezra Bridger). Most tantalizingly, Lucasfilm says the panel will be the first place you'll find out several new details about the show. One assumes there will be new clips shown as well.
Lucasfilm has also unveiled a new Drew Struzan-style poster for the series, which you can view below. Though nothing's been formally announced, don't be surprised if this poster is handed out to attendees of the panel.
Half a dozen more events are planned for Friday, July 25, which is this Con's "Star Wars Day." Among the highlights is a panel devoted to storyboards from original trilogy, a panel introducing fans to the new continuity of forthcoming Star Wars novels, a Hasbro panel devoted to unveiling new Star Wars toys and even a panel that will teach fans how to make Star Wars origami figures.
"Star Wars Rebels" premieres this fall on Disney Channel with a one-hour pilot episode, followed by the weekly series, which will air on Disney XD. The adventure series follows the adventures of an all new ragtag cast of characters who form the crew of a ship called the Ghost. Set five years before the original film "Star Wars: A New Hope," it is expected to depict the formation of the rebellion against the evil Empire.
