Here’s the Star Wars: The Force Awakens Cast Assembled
The cast of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, old and new, assembled on stage at Star Wars Celebration today. Take a look at Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac and Daisy Ridley, plus director J.J. Abrams and producer Kathleen Kennedy. And also some new-style Stormtroopers!
Harrison Ford couldn't make it due to his recent accident, but hey -- we did get to see him in the new teaser trailer at least!
Talk to Senior Editor Scott Collura on Twitter at @ScottIGN, on IGN at scottcollura and on Facebook.
Everything You Might Have Missed From The Force Awakens Panel
Star Wars Celebration debuted in full force today, with Star Wars: The Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams and Lucasfilm's Kathleen Kennedy kicking things off with an exciting and revealing panel.
The duo discussed their history of Star Wars, a model of BB-8 took the stage, learned more about the new characters, and we saw some new images of Chewbacca and the Millennium Falcon -- but the highlight was, of course, the reveal of Star Wars: The Force Awakens' second teaser.
Here's all the biggest news from Celebration's huge morning.
Watch the New Star Wars: The Force Awakens Teaser
The new Star Wars: The Force Awakens teaser debuted during J.J. Abrams' panel at Star Wars Celebration this morning.
In it, we get a shot of the desert planet Jakku eluded to during the panel, followed by appearances from several cast members, including Solo and Chewie. Check it out above.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens is coming this Christmas.
We'll have all the breaking news from Star Wars Celebration, including trailers, images, and more this weekend. In the meantime, catch up on everything you might have missed from The Force Awakens panel this morning.
J.J. Abrams Provides Update on Harrison Ford
Star Wars: The Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams has spoken with Harrison Ford, and provided an update on how he's doing following his recent accident.
"I was texting with him yesterday and I was gonna go over and see him but he didn’t have time for me," Abrams said during the opening panel for Star Wars Celebration.
"He sends his best and he’s doing great and working hard," Abrams continued. "I’ve never had more respect for a guy than to see how he landed that plane. He’s more of a hero with that move than he is in any of the movies he's been in."
J.J. Abrams on Star Wars 7 Fan Expectations
During today’s Star Wars Celebration, Director J.J. Abrams talked about expectations for the new film, and whether he’s afraid of disappointing fans.
“Well, we just will,” Abrams admitted. “There are moments where the pressure of what we’re doing, honoring the legacy, it’s the most important thing that we’re all working on.”
“There are moments of sheer horror, the reality is, I’ve never had more fun in my life working on anything.”
BB-8 Takes the Stage at Star Wars Celebration
During today’s Star Wars Celebration, BB-8, the new ball droid for Star Wars: The Force Awakens took to the stage along with R2-D2.
Director J.J. Abrams welcomed the droid onto the stage. “This could get ugly. SO BB-8 was a creature that was performed...we talked about how to do this...how to best have BB-8 in the film, how a CG BB-8 would be easier,” he said. “It was better for the actors and better for the film itself.”
The First Planet from Star Wars 7 Has a Name
J.J. Abrams has revealed the name of the desert-like planet from the next installment of the Star Wars series, Star Wars 7: The Force Awakens.
Originally glimpsed in production photos and thought to be Tatooine, the arid planet was confirmed to be Jakku. The shooting location for the planet was Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.
Though Abrams declined to provide any more information on the planet when asked, he assured us more information is coming soon.
"I promise you you’ll see more today," Abrams said. Star Wars: Episode VII, helmed by J.J. Abrams, is due for a Dec. 18, 2015 release.
Why Star Wars 7 Uses Practical Effects
During today’s Star Wars Celebration, Director J.J. Abrams spoke about the importance of practical effects to the new film, and how it impacted the original Star Wars films as a whole.
“The thing that struck me, that wouldn’t get out of my head, is just how real you knew and felt Star Wars was when you first saw A New Hope. You couldn’t deny it,” Abrams said. “It’s Star Wars. There will be an endless number of effects. We needed a standard. You want it to be legitimate and authentic.”
Tweet Star Wars Hashtags, Get Exclusive Emojis
Star Wars Celebration is in full swing, and during the event's first panel, it has been revealed that if you tweet certain hashtags, you'll be able to score some exclusive emojis themed after Disney's upcoming film Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Those who tweet using the hashtags #stormtrooper, #c3po, or #bb8 will get each of the following emojis, pictured below.
Watch the Star Wars Celebration Stream Right Now
Star Wars Celebration is kicking off in Anaheim now with a panel on Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Watch the stream below.
We'll be bringing you all the breaking news from this panel and the rest of the Star Wars Celebration throughout the weekend, so stay tuned!
You can expand the slideshow above to view images in higher resolution. You can also view much larger images in the Star Wars Screenshot Gallery.