Star Wars Celebration Chicago Continues to Grow!

Miss a week, and…

You are left catching up on so many exciting announcements about Star Wars Celebrations. From more celebrity guests being invited to some panels beginning to be announced, it has been an action-packed week. We would have loved to post everything the day they were published, but the Mr. had to have surgery, which meant the Mrs. had to play single parent to our little one and me. Meanwhile, Star Wars Celebration Chicago continues to grow!

(We will feature the artists in a separate blog soon, but you can see them here!)

Celebrity Announcements

Here are the names Celebration has announced in the last two weeks:

Amhed Best
Erin Kellyman
Paul Bettany
Ray Park
Riz Ahmed
Tiya Sircar
Hermione Corfield
Matt Lanter

We have already purchased tickets for Mr. Bettany, Mr. Ahmed, and multiples for Mr. Lanter. Furthermore, we will be standing by the computer when Mr. Best goes on sale on Monday. We have met a lot of these guests before (it comes with going to as many cons as we do), and they are all a pleasure to meet. Ray Park is brilliant with fans. Tiya Sircar is the complete opposite of her character on The Good Place (which if you aren’t watching, watch it!)

We highly recommend these books to keep your autographs and photo-ops safe and sound!

Stage Hosts

Warwick Davis, who is such a huge part of Star Wars, will host the Celebration Stage. This stage will have many of the celebrity guests and larger panels. Having worked in Star Wars and with many of the guests, Mr. Davis brings a unique perspective to his panels. Plus, he is an entertainer and knows how to keep a crowd interested. Amy Ratcliffe will be hosting the Behind The Scenes Stage every day at Celebration. She is by far one of my favorite moderators. She knows how to move panels along and interject without ever making it about herself.

David W. Collins, who has done sound work for Star Wars, will be the main host for the Galaxy Stage. He knows a lot about how Star Wars is made and is a great interviewer. Gus Lopez is one of the worlds most renowned collectors of Star Wars items, so it makes sense he will host the Collecting Track each day of the convention. Over at the Podcast Stage, Mark Newbold will perform the hosting duties. He is the editor for Fantha Tracks and writes for Star Wars and Star Trek websites.

Celebration will also have some warm-up hosts and DJs on some stages:

Amanda Wirtz (Galaxy Stage Warm-up Host)
Cameron Matthews (Warm-up Host on StarWars.com Stage)
Dave Griffiths (DJ on Galaxy Stage)
Eliot Hansen (DJ on Celebration Stage)
Mark Daniel (Celebration Stage Warm-up Host)

Three Animation Panels!

LucasFilm will put a panel for each of their animated series. On Saturday of Celebration, Dave Filoni will be joined by Vanessa Marshall, Tiya Sircar, and Taylor Gray to discuss Star Wars Rebels at the Galaxy Stage. Filoni will be on the Celebration Stage on Sunday with special guests to discuss The Clone Wars. We don’t know who the special guests will be, but a large part of the cast will be at the con that day so we hoping plenty of them join. This is especially true since this is in the largest stage room. And Sunday, Star Wars REsistance will have a panel featuring Christopher Sean, Suzie McGrath, Donald Faison, Scott Lawrence, Myrna Velasco, the producers and more.

Pin Trading

At last celebration, Mrs. Nola Nerd Couple spent a lot of time at the pin trading station. To say she had fun would be an understatement. Chrissie Zullo designs this year’s pins.

You can start buying pins now if you are a badge holder here.

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order

On Saturday, EA and Respawn will preview their latest game, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. The premise of the game is that a young Padawan escapes Order 66 and explores the galaxy.

About Star Wars Celebration

Star Wars Celebration will occur April 11-15, 2019 at the McCormick Place in Chicago, Illinois. Star Wars Celebration is the ultimate Star Wars fandom event. Celebrity guests, authors, and crew members from the saga will be interacting with guests through panels, photo ops, or autograph opportunities. There will be Q&A sessions with various members of the saga. Also, plenty of fan lead discussions and cosplay contests will take place. Also, there will be tons of rare Star Wars merchandise available.

Hope to see you there and may the force be with you!

You can read all of our Star Wars Celebration coverage here.