Friday night, there were two panels that discussed Star Wars. The first panel, led by fans, debated the question of “What period is the Golden Age of Star Wars?” The panel, and the room, split between the original trilogy and the Disney era. To me, nothing will be as exciting as watching the original trilogy, especially A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back. However, George Lucas held tight reigns over the franchise and while there was an extended universe it was basically added piece by piece. Under Disney, there is a unified focus on creating the larger Star Wars universe. Books are created with this in mind. Look at Marvel during both ages. Marvel, during the original trilogy, was basically left alone and was given no guidance as what to do between movies. This allowed for some strange characters such as Jaxxon. Under Disney’s stewardship, the universe seems to be carefully plotted out with much involvement from all creators: movies, books, tv, and comics. Having a character from the Clone Wars be in Rogue One best illustrates this fact. If you are judging by movies, then yes the original three will be hard to beat. However, if you are judging by the entire universe, Disney has done a fantastic job so far.
The second panel discussed the psychology of Star Wars and was led by academics. They discussed Joseph Campbell and the myths behind Star Wars. They discussed the motivations behind some of the decisions of Luke, Anakin, and Kylo Ren. They provided the first satisfactory answer I’ve heard for why Luke never showed grief over his uncle and aunt (hint: PTSD is involved). They not only referenced movies but brought up The Clone Wars and Rebels. Dr. Travis Langely, who led the panel, has edited many books on the psychology of certain pop culture phenomenons including Star Wars. He and the members of this panel also provided panels that analyzed Doctor Who and Harry Potter.. If you see Dr. Langely will be at a comic con near you, I highly suggest you check out one of his panels and then go buy a book after.
Both men who have put on the Chewbacca suit in an official capacity were at Wizard World New Orleans. Both drew great crowds and were fantastic with their fans. Joonas Suotamo is one tall human being.
Carrie Fisher loomed large over Wizard World New Orleans. She was going to be it’s biggest star. She was the reason why people who might not normally attend a con would have went. Wizard World obviously refunded all who had bought an autograph, photo-ops, and VIPs with her. Peter Mayhew was still shaken by her death being her friend for forty years. In the lobby, the placed a giant poster of Ms. Fisher for fans to sign and state their farewells. It ended up being a loving tribute to the woman who inspired many of the fans that were in attendance at Wizard World.
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