Star Wars Celebration: Guests

A huge draw at Celebration, amongst the wall to wall Star Wars, are the guests. Lots of Comic Cons around the world attract actors and creators from the galaxy far far away, but not with the breadth and depth of Celebration.

London 2023 was my first Celebration, or Con of any sort for that matter, and the guests were an amazing highlight. I can’t wait to see the full list of who will make it to Tokyo 2025. Here’s five things you need to know about guests at Star Wars Celebration, and how to see and meet them.

Keeping track of announcements

The guests for Celebration are announced on the run up as part of the ever-building excitement. For London, which was also held in April, waves of guests started to be announced in January. These included the big stars from the most recent shows like Hayden Christensen, Ewan McGreggor and Rosario Dawson. There were also Orignal Trilogy favourites like Billy Dee Williamson and Ian McDiarmid, stars of the animated series, and a raft of guests associated with Return of the Jedi given it was an anniversary year, like Mike Quinn, Femi Taylor and Tim Rose.

Alongside actors announced from the shows and movies, there were authors like Adam Christopher, and other legendary figures like Dave Filoni, Jon Favreau and Doug Chang who weren’t announced as guests but were present, and surprises like Daisy Ridley who appeared for the Rey movie announcement.

For Tokyo we surprisingly already have two waves of announced guests, far earlier than usual. These also teased further guest announcements soon, so while I expect the main flurry to start from around January 2025 its worth keeping a look out now. The best way to hear as soon as anything is announced is to set notification alerts for the Celebration X account, which is where things drop first. This is also where the guests announced so far have come out:

Given it’s a Revenge of the Sith anniversary year in Tokyo (20 years), I am hoping for Ewan and Hayden again, and potentially some special and rare guests like Natalie Portman. We might also get further announcements of guests from recent big shows like Andor, Acolyte, Ahsoka and Skeleton Crew, and I’m crossing everything for Mark Hamill, who has been seen again on the Con circuit during 2024 after a long hiatus, which would be epic.

Getting photo’s & autos

The announced guests are available for photograph and autograph opportunities (both or either). Bookings for these work via the Celebration website where you can choose a guest, whether you want a photo or auto, and pick a day to purchase it for. Once you choose a day and purchase, you will receive a confirmation code, and for photo opps you receive a specific time slot to attend a queue on that day.

Day/time slots for photos and autos can usually be swapped for other available slots later, though this is harder for more popular guests, some guests wont be attending every day of Celebration either. So you have to be fairly tactical and plan who, what and when you book, and ensure you have adequate time to get between slots if you have multiple autos or photos booked on the same day.

In my experience, photo opp queues are far more regimented, with specific time slots you are guided through. It took me about 30 or 45 minutes end-to-end for each photo with Ewan and Hayden. You are granted a few seconds for pleasantries at best, though its still amazing. For autographs, there is a schedule of when each guest will be ‘at table’, and its up to you to get into the queue on your chosen day. This can be risky, as there may be long lines, signings of multiple items and small but longer interactions which take time. For Anthony Daniels we queued for three hours, and probably one or two hours for Ian McDiarmid.

For Tokyo it’s quite special to see Doug Chang as a first time signer, and Manny Jacinto who I loved in the Acolyte. I’m personally really excited to have the opportunity to get a signature from Temeura Morrison too as I love Boba Fett, but I also can’t wait to see who else I might be able to add to my multi-poster.

Get up close at the live Stage

While announced guests are usually available for autographs and photo opportunities, this isn’t the only way you can see them. As well as panels, where different combinations of guests appear to talk Star Wars topics, shows and behind the scenes, which I’ll cover separately, there is also the ‘Live Stage’. During London 2023 I have to say that the Live Stage gave me some of the most memorable moments.

Quite different to seated panels in closed stages, where entry is limited and usually controlled via raffled tickets, the Live Stage is right there on the show floor and accessible to anybody as far as crowds allow. Its usually a raised stage at the end of a walkway into the crowd, with heavy set design around it. Its looked after by an MC/host and used to carry out short interviews with guests which you can get right up close to if you play the crowds right and get there early.

These conversational interviews tend to be short, say 15 minutes, and alot of the guests have scheduled appearances on the Live Stage so you can plan when you might want to try and get there early to get right up close. Its worth saying these are often delayed as guests ca n run late between commitments like panels and photo opps. There are also unscheduled appearances which can be really exciting and down to luck of being there at the right place and time.

The Live Stage also has big screens used to play bits of content like trailers, and streaming the final panel announcing where and when the next Celebration will be. In London we were lucky to be loitering close to the Live Stage when Katee Sackhoff, Diego Luna, and Genevieve O’Reilly appeared, and when the Ahsoka trailer dropped. Having a beer in hand and being surrounded by fellow fans with a concert-like vibe was amazing. Can’t wait for this in Tokyo.

Keep your eyes peeled

Most stuff to do with guests is built around a tight schedule of their panel appearances, autograph and photo opportunity times, and Live Stage appearances. That said, you never know where you might bump into somebody at Celebration. The guests, announced or otherwise can sometimes be seen moving between appointments, or even roaming the show floor or Celebration Store themselves.

In London I saw pictures from VIP pass holders who were lucky enough to be in the Celebration store (the convention’s own merch store) at the same time as Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni. Others also saw them walking through the show floor just as the event opened one morning. Doug Chang was also seen browsing traders and exhibitions on the floor, taking photos with fans as he notoriously does.

My only real interaction like this was catching Dee Bradley Baker’s eye as he briefly emerged between corridors moving from a panel to an autograph slot. It was only enough for a quick wave, but fun nonetheless, and in Tokyo I’ll be keeping my eyes peeled even more! Its really worth keeping your wits about you and looking for unusual crowds or hubbub, it’s always worth carrying a pen and pad to capture autographs incase you catch somebody.

Etiquette

The last thing to remember is that the guests at Celebration, albeit they are paid to be there, are giving their time to share their passion and excitement with fans. It can’t be taken for granted that they should be there and give the opportunity for a quick hello, autograph or photo. Respecting their time and space is really important.

Be polite during interactions, particularly if they are just on the show floor and may not have time to be approached. Follow any event rules, or guest specific rules, around contact or items for autographs, and try to remember that the pace of things is all part of the busy schedules around any Celebration. Showing respect and enthusiasm makes it all the more likely that we’ll get many more chances to interact with guests in future.

Often guests will have a quick handshake and exchange a word, particularly at autograph tables, which can be really special. In London, before the photo opportunities for both Ewan and Hayden we were told no handshakes or hugs. Partly this was due to Covid-driven precautions for Ewan given his filming schedule. Despite this both of them extended their arm for a handshake and Hayden put a friendly arm round the shoulder, it was a great interaction.

With these five tips, hopefully you feel more prepared to make the most of potential interactions with the guests at Star Wars Celebration! See you there and join me on social media for anticipation and reaction to new guest announcements in the run up!

MTFBWY