For quite a few years, Friday has traditionally been branded “Star Wars Day” at San Diego Comic-Con International, and since we are now officially two weeks out from that day at the 2023 event, the good folks at SDCC have released the schedule for all things from A Galaxy Far, Far Away– and they all happen to be in the same room at the con.
What’s happening:
- San Diego Comic-Con International has released its Friday schedule for the 2023 event, which includes an entire day’s worth of Star Wars-related content in Room 7AB of the San Diego Convention Center.
- Panels include “The Star Wars Musical Universe with Lucasfilm and EA Games,” “Lucasfilm Ltd.: High-End Star Wars Collectibles,” “Star Wars Memories,” “Lucasfilm Publishing: Stories from A Galaxy Far, Far Away,” “Hasbro Star Wars,” “Star Wars Trading Card Collecting,” “Star Wars: Past, Present, Future,” “Star Wars Fandom in the Immersive Frontier: Galaxy’s Edge, Galactic Starcruiser, and Beyond,” “The 501st Legion: Star Wars Villainous Costuming,” “Star Wars: Andor – Making a Rebel, Making a Rebellion,” and “Star Wars Trivia Challenge Strikes Back!“
- The “Star Wars Immersive” and “Star Wars Trivia” panels are being hosted by friends of Laughing Place: the talented folks behind the popular “Heroes of the Halcyon” and “Skywalking Through Neverland” podcasts, respectively.
Here is the complete schedule for Room 7AB during Star Wars Day at San Diego Comic-Con International 2023:
- 10:00 AM – The Star Wars Musical Universe with Lucasfilm and EA Games: “There is hardly a more iconic musical landscape than what the Star Wars franchise has brought to the world. This panel will explore the creative forces that went into making the original music heard within the recent video game release of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. From the sweeping score to the infectious beats of the in-world songs, the game utilizes music on a whole new level. Panelists include co-composers Gordy Haab and Stephen Barton, audio director at Respawn Entertainment Nick Laviers, and worldwide executive & president of Music at EA Games Steven Schnur. Moderated by Chandler Poling of White Bear PR.
- 11:00 AM – Lucasfilm Ltd: High-End Star Wars Collectibles: “Lucasfilm’s Brian Merten takes you into the worlds of Star Wars and Indiana Jones high-end collectibles.”
- 12:00 PM – Star Wars Memories: “Craig Miller, Lucasfilm's original director of fan relations, presents a slide show on the early days of Lucasfilm and marketing Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back to comics and science fiction fandom and the rest of the world. He’ll tell you all about 20th Century Fox's market research on making Star Wars, George Lucas's original explanation for the Millennium Falcon's 12-parsec Kessel Run, picking Leigh Brackett to write The Empire Strikes Back, the phone messages that shut down Illinois' phone system, Underwear That’s Fun To Wear, taking droids to Sesame Street, and more.”
- 1:00 PM – Lucasfilm Publishing: Stories from a Galaxy Far, Far Away: “From the days of the glorious High Republic to the Age of Rebellion to Rise of the First Order, some of Lucasfilm Publishing's all-star authors, including Delilah S. Dawson, Justina Ireland, E. K. Johnston, George Mann, Cavan Scott, Charles Soule, and man of a thousand voices Marc Thompson, discuss stories from throughout the entire Star Wars saga, offering publishing reveals, announcements, and sneak peeks for readers and fans of all ages. Moderated by Lucasfilm Publishing creative director Michael Siglain.”
- 2:00 PM – Hasbro Star Wars Panel: “Patrick and Jing from Hasbro marketing and Chris and Eric from Hasbro design discuss the popular Hasbro Star Wars line, including the Black Series and The Vintage Collection. Attendees will get an in-depth look at Hasbro’s latest action figure and premium roleplay offerings from throughout the saga. Word on the Holonet is there may also be a few surprises.
- 3:00 PM – Star Wars Trading Card Collecting: “David Neuhausel (Star Wars Card Collecting Alliance), Shawn Mullen (Star Wars vintage collector, Science Fiction Coalition founder), William O'Neill (Star Wars artist), and Tom Resendez (501st Legion trading card collector) discuss aspects of collecting vintage Star Wars trading cards. From master sets, sketch and chase cards to offshoot sets such as 501st trading cards, they'll explore this type of collecting that started back in 1977 when people discovered that galaxy far, far away. Plus, a lively discussion on the most famous Star Wars trading card, if not the most famous overall, the X-rated C3PO card!”
- 4:00 PM – Star Wars: Past, Present, Future: “Spencer Wilding (Darth Vader, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story; Gorg, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves), Leilani Shiu (Teeka the Jawa, Obi-Wan, Boba Fett, Mandalorian), Bruce Logan (SFX cinematographer, Star Wars: Episode IV, A New Hope; cinematographer, Tron), Gigi Edgley (Chiana, Farscape), Christian Ganiere (Ten, Stranger Things), Julie Dolan (Princess Leia, Star Wars: Rebels, Star Wars: Uprising, Star Tours: The Adventures Continue), and James Ganiere (Emmy Award–nominated director/producer) discuss favorite moments, storylines, characters, droids, games, merchandise, and what worked and what didn’t.”
- 5:00 PM – Star Wars Fandom in the Immersive Frontier: Galaxy’s Edge, Galactic Starcruiser, and Beyond: “For over four decades, Star Wars has existed across every established medium of storytelling, and with the opening of Galaxy’s Edge and Galactic Starcruiser, it has pioneered an entirely new one. These immersive and interactive adventures allow participants to take their fandom to the next level by living inside their favorite fictional universe, creating a canonical story within it. Kristine Smith, Martin Smith, and Drew Grgich (hosts of the Heroes of the Halcyon podcast) with fellow Starcruiser superfan Nick Tierce (immersive designer) go for an in-depth exploration of these groundbreaking projects and their implications for the future of fandom. Be sure to bring your questions—and your costumes! Don your galactic finest and join the crew for a group photo at the conclusion of the panel.”
- 6:00 PM – The 501st Legion: Star Wars Villainous Costuming: “An introduction to the creation of fan-made villain costumes from all Star Wars movies. Legion members Lindsay Cepak, Dean Amstutz, Kevin Weir, David Neth, David Ancheta, Joe Lara, and Todd Mullin from the Imperial Sands and Southern California Garrisons will provide an overview of the creative process that brings Stormtroopers, Tusken Raiders, Boba Fett, or Kylo Ren from the silver screen into reality. They will discuss membership, from initial interest through final approval, and talk about the process for working with armor parts, small prop and soft costume construction, and 3D modeling and printing.”
- 7:00 PM – Star Wars Andor: Making a Rebel, Making a Rebellion: “The Star Wars series Andor speaks powerfully to today’s audience about fighting oppression. Examining the first season of the Disney+ series, panelists will explore the motivations and actions of Cassian Andor, Mon Mothma, Luthen Rael, and other characters as they put it all on the line to resist and rebel against the Empire. What type of people are drawn to stand up to tyranny? How do individual dissenters start forming movements? When can you fight inside the system, and when do you have to fight from the outside? Why does this show resonate so well at this time? Panelists include Robert A. Dagnall (M.A. candidate in Rhetoric and Writing Studies; instructor, SDSU), J. Dianne Dotson (sci-fi and fantasy author, producer, science writer, biologist), Dr. Drea Letamendi (psychologist at UCLA, host of the Arkham Sessions podcast), Desmond Hassing (lecturer of American Indian Studies, SDSU), and Jake Rowlett (Ph.D. candidate, SDSU/UCSB). Moderated by James Floyd (STEAMpop Network, Star Warsologies podcast, Star Wars Insider contributor).”
- 8:00 PM – Star Wars Trivia Challenge Strikes Back!: “Teams compete in spirited rounds of Star Wars trivia from the movies and TV series to parody songs. You don’t have to be a trivia expert, and you may walk away with new Star Wars fun facts. Prizes! Hosted by Richard and Sarah Woloski (Skywalking Through Neverland podcast/YouTube).”
San Diego Comic-Con International 2023 begins with Preview Night on Wednesday, July 19th and runs through Sunday, July 23rd. Be sure to visit Comic-Con’s official website for more information and to see the full schedule for the event as it continues to be released over the weekend.