Celebration of Kindness: My Star Wars Celebration Japan Experience
Three days of excitement, thrills, and kindhearted people...
It’s been less than a week since Star Wars Celebration Japan 2025 ended, and I’m struggling to put into words just how much I miss it.
It’s a familiar feeling for me, which, in a weird way, makes me lucky. This past Celebration was my tenth. I’ve been to every one since 2010. And every time one wraps up, the infamous post-Celebration blues hit me like a podracer.
Of course, I miss the obvious things. I miss being around my fellow fans, seeing the friends I’ve made from all over the world and only get to see at Celebration. I miss the reveals of new trailers, shows and movies. And, I miss wandering the showfloor and seeing all the wonderful sights like official and fan-made displays, as well as cosplays of all types. But, I also miss the little things like wearing a lanyard with a cool badge on it, or seeing the signage directing you to the nearby stage.
I even miss waiting in line!
Sure, like every Celebration attendee, I dream of one day having the Jedi Master VIP pass, which guarantees access to every major panel. But since the odds of getting one of those are Solo so low, I don’t spend too much time dwelling on it. Instead, I try to make the most of my time in line. Sometimes this means checking social media to see what hidden gems there may be to check out later at the convention. But usually, this means engaging with the fans around me. We’re all there for the same thing, so we can all share in the excitement together. It makes the time spent waiting very enjoyable.
What always stands out to me about every Celebration is how kind everyone is. This shouldn’t be a surprise, we’re all there to celebrate stories that emphasize the importance of seeing the humanity within everyone. But given how tense everyone seems these days, it’s so refreshing to find yourself somewhere where the opposite is true.
And that’s what I’ll take away most from this Celebration: the kindness of friends and strangers. Everywhere I turned, I found kind people who were looking not just to have a good time but to make sure everyone else was having a good time too. And, I did my best to make sure I was doing the same. All of my favourite memories from Celebration Japan come with the memory of at least one person going out of their way to elevate the experience for everyone else. In a line, in the seats for a panel, walking the showfloor, and at the unofficial after-hours events. Everyone was looking out for each other in the best way.
It’s an attitude we should all strive to carry forward as we slip back into our real lives.
Day One: Stay On Target
My plan heading into the first day of Celebration had been to get to the convention centre as early as possible to get the best possible place in a standby line to see the first panel of the weekend: a preview for the upcoming movie, The Mandalorian & Grogu. I had missed out on getting a panel reservation, but I knew I had a pretty good chance of seeing it if I got there early enough. Maybe not on the Celebration Stage, but at one of the other stages where the panel would be live-streamed.
That plan changed the night before when I ran into an old friend while having dinner at a nearby hotel. I was explaining this plan to that friend when they told me they had a Galaxy Stage ticket (where I could watch the livestream) that they could give me. They work in the media and had been granted special access to the Celebration Stage so they could cover the big panels from the room where they happen. As such, they no longer needed the Twin Suns Stage ticket they got from the panel reservation system, and could pass it on to me. It was one of the first acts of kindness that set the tone for the entire weekend.
(I’m being coy with their identity since this is, strictly speaking, not allowed. Though it’s one of those things the organizers seem okay with looking the other way about. Even still, I’m going to protect their identity, just in case.)
With my newly acquired Twin Suns Stage ticket now in hand, my plan for the morning changed. I now felt I could sleep in a little bit and start Celebration marginally more rested than I thought I would (having spent the last two weeks travelling all around Japan, this was more important than it usually would be on day one). As long as I got there before 9:30 am, the time the ticket said you needed to arrive by, I figured I would be fine.
This was a mistake.
Here’s the thing: I know better. Like I said, this was my tenth Celebration. I know the lines to get in are always long, and they are especially long and slow-moving on the first day. When I arrived at 9:15 am, I was met with the longest line of the weekend! And, I had no choice but to get in and hope for the best.
All things considered, it moved pretty quickly. I got to the security checkpoint at around 9:50 (the panel started at 10), but there was still more line to go. By the time I got to the fork in the line where one path took you to the showfloor and the other took you to the stages, it was 10:01. I was officially late.
There were only a few other people around; all of us with panel tickets, all of us late. We had the same thought: if we were going to make it on time, there was only one thing to do:
Run.
As a general rule, running at events like Celebration is frowned upon. But there were so few people around, it felt safe to do. So I started running, making the same joke to every person I passed, “We’re nerds, we’re not supposed to run!”
Naturally, the Galaxy Stage was about as far away from where I started running as possible. Knowing that my friend’s act of kindness would all be for not if I didn’t make it, I kept going. Keeping pace with me was a German fellow. Together, we reached the Galaxy Stage and could hear the panel starting with a sizzle reel celebrating the Star Wars saga. The woman in charge of line management saw us coming.
“I’m cutting off the line,” she said. “You guys are the last ones going in.”
It was another act of kindness. She could have told us we were too late, that we had missed the window and would miss the panel. But, she understood what these panels meant to the people at Celebration and let us in.
I had made it. I breathed a sigh of relief and found a seat just in time to catch the end of the sizzle reel. I then got to kick back and enjoy the panel, which began with Dave Filoni and Kathleen Kennedy inviting director Shawn Levy to the stage to announce his new movie: Star Wars: Starfighters. They were soon joined by the film’s star, Ryan Gosling and confirmed they would start filming in the fall for a May 2027 release.
After Levy and Gosling left, Jon Favreau, Pedro Pascal, Sigourney Weaver, and the “real” Grogu joined Filoni and Kennedy to tease The Mandalorian & Grogu. They wrapped up the panel with a Celebration exclusive trailer for the film.
All in all, it was well worth running for!
When the panel let out, I headed over to the Star Wars Celebration LIVE! Stage with my friend Chris “Starrapter” Abbott and his girlfriend Neomi, where we got to see Gosling, Levy, Filoni, and Pascal be interviewed live. These interviews were all part of the official Celebration livestream, but it was fun to see all these Star Wars icons in the flesh after only seeing the panel on a (big) screen.
After the experience of nearly missing out on the panel I was most excited for, I wasn’t about to take any chances with the other things I wanted to see that day. I connected with another friend and headed over to the Celebration Stage. We wanted to see the Lucasfilm Animation 20th Anniversary panel together at the Celebration Stage and were prepared to spend several hours in line to make it happen.
When we got to the Celebration Stage, through a bit of luck, we found the guys who were in charge of crowd control and line management for the stage. They were very generous with their time (another act of kindness), answering all our questions about their plans for the line. Plus, they were fun to chat with in the meantime (there was plenty of joking around as they helped us). In the end, we learned that they wouldn’t be clearing the room after the current panel. If we went in right away and watched the end of that panel, we could stay and be guaranteed seats in the animation panel.
So that’s what we did. We went in and caught the end of the Light & Magic Season Two preview, which was excellent! The panel was moderated by Darth Maul voice actor Sam Witwer and featured Jar Jar Binks actor Ahmed Best alongside Industrial Light and Magic luminaries like John Knoll, Rob Coleman, and Doug Chiang. They had great stories about making the prequels, including how Ahmed helped choreograph the fight between Yoda and Count Dooku in Attack of the Clones.
There was a long gap between the two panels, but it allowed us to change seats and ensure an excellent view for the Animation panel. That panel, which featured Filoni and longtime Lucasfilm Animation producer Athena Portillo, was worth the wait. The history of Lucasfilm animation is something I am fascinated by, and I could listen to Filoni and Portillo talk about the making of The Clone Wars, Rebels, Bad Batch, and beyond for hours—even without the reveals.
The reveals were great, though. Starting with a new, unfinished clip from a never-released Clone Wars episode featuring Anakin Skywalker chasing Boba Fett through a city. It was from the often-referenced, but never produced, Cad Bane/Boba Fett arc that would have been part of the original seventh season of The Clone Wars before its cancellation in 2013. The history between Bane and Boba was a big factor in the finale to The Book of Boba Fett, so it’s actually kind of crazy this story hasn’t been told yet. Maybe one day…
This was followed by the premiere of the first Assajj Ventress episode from the upcoming series of shorts, Tales of the Underworld. I won’t go into it too much since I don’t want to spoil anything (it premieres next weekend on May the 4th). I’ll just say, fans of the novel Dark Disciple will be thrilled, and there are some fun hints at connections to other projects. This era in Ventress’ life is going to be fascinating to explore.
And to close out the panel, Filoni and Portillo revealed the next animated Star Wars series: Maul: Shadow Lord. The trailer, only seen at Celebration, teased Maul’s evolution as a criminal lord in the post-Revenge of the Sith, post-Siege of Mandalore galaxy. The animation style is an evolution of the Clone Wars/Bad Batch style, with a grittier, rougher edge to it. When the trailer ended, Witwer was on stage, bathed in red light, and, in Maul’s voice, commanded that the trailer be played again.
Day one wound down from there with some more fun exploring the showfloor, checking out some of the exhibitors and vendors. I even caught the end of my friend Ash’s panel about Mon Mothma on the Fan Stage. In the evening, I joined my podcasting pals from Star Wars Spelt Out and That Geek Pod for some post-day one drinks and good cheer. It was a delightful conclusion to an amazing first day.
Day Two: Only Different In Your Mind
After the near miss with the Mandalorian & Grogu panel, I had learned my lesson for day two. The second day was to be kicked off with the Andor season two preview panel. Once again, I had a ticket for the Galaxy Stage (I acquired this one myself, the old-fashioned way). I arrived at the Makuhari Messe at 8 am, expecting to find the same long lines as the day before. Of course, the line was much, much shorter when I got there.
Still, I made my way through security and the line quickly and got my seat in the Galaxy Stage without any need to run. I was soon joined by my friend and SWU Podcast co-host Hannah Raeside, and we kicked back, relaxed, and enjoyed the show.
Since Andor was days away from premiering its second season, many cast members were in attendance. Diego Luna, Adria Arjona, Genevieve O’Rielly, Denise Gough, Kyle Soler, and Alan Tudyk all took the stage, along with showrunner Tony Gilroy. They each shared a little about their experience making the new season and teased their characters’ arcs. Then Luna announced that the audience would get to see the first episode of the new season right then and there, several days before its official launch.
It wound up being a unique way to watch an episode of Andor season two. Since the series is releasing three episodes a week, this was the only time anyone got to see one episode, by itself, several days before the next episode’s release.
It actually worked really well on its own. A criticism of season one was that, sometimes, the episodes felt odd when removed from the context of the three-part arc. That wasn’t the case with “One Year Later.” There was plenty of intrigue in the Cassian, Mon, and Dedra storylines that the pace never sagged. And the cliffhanger with the galaxy’s most incompetent rebel cell starting to shoot at each other was excellent. I really liked the gimmick of the episode ending with a blaster shot going straight at the camera.
After the episode was over, it was time to line up again. This time, for the Ahsoka panel. While Hannah headed to the Celebration Stage, I got back in the standby line for the Galaxy Stage (I didn’t have a ticket for this one). The mood in the line was jovial. Many had just done what I did and come straight from the Andor panel, so there was lots of excitement about what we just saw. At the same time, one woman was happily reassuring everyone that she had been at the same point in the standby line for Andor and got in.
As she predicted, we all got in no problem and were treated to another excellent hour of Star Wars fun. This time, Filoni and Favreau were joined on stage by Rosario Dawson and Hayden Christensen. It’s always great to hear from Christensen, and it was especially fun to hear about how he and Filoni bonded over working closely with George Lucas.
I have to admit something here. Even though I have enjoyed Dawson’s performance as Ahsoka over the last few years, I had never really heard her interviewed in a long-form setting. Generally, I’m more interested in hearing from writers and directors than actors, so I hadn’t sought out any interviews with her outside of the promotional featurettes for Ahsoka season one. This was a mistake. Hearing her talk about Ahsoka on this panel, and then again the next day on the Celebration Live! Stage, her insight and passion for Star Wars shine through. It was fascinating to hear her, and I will be seeking out more long-form interviews with her in the future.
Another memorable moment was Filoni discussing the passing of Ray Stevenson and the future of his character, Baylan Skoll. Stevenson’s passing was sudden in 2023. He had been at Celebration London in April and seemed perfectly healthy, but he passed just months later. It was clear from the way Filoni spoke of him that he was loved by all who knew him and that they all dearly miss him. It’s also clear that they took the challenge of protecting his Star Wars legacy seriously, and that the character would be treated with great care and reverence in season two, with Rory McCann taking over the role.
Filming hadn’t begun on the new season of Ahsoka, which made having teasers difficult. Filoni did reveal that Admiral Ackbar will have a big role in the new season, taking on Thrawn in an epic battle of the commanders. In the original Thrawn trilogy novels by Timothy Zahn, Ackbar was kept out of a lot of the action, so it’s exciting to finally see these two great warriors going toe-to-fin in Ahsoka season two.
The 1980s-style teaser that debuted at the panel, featuring voice-over and concept art hyping up the next season, was the perfect conclusion to the panel. It had enough teases, while also being wonderfully tongue-in-cheek, that everyone left the panel, which had already been excellent, feeling great.
After the Ahsoka panel, I decided to head over to the Celebration stage for the “Siege of Mandalore” screening. I had skipped the screening at Celebration Anaheim in 2022 and always regretted not going, so I decided to check it out this time.
Filoni and Witwer introduced the four Clone Wars episodes on stage, and then the lights went down and the episodes began. But there was a twist. Even though the majority of Celebration had been in English (and probably the majority of folks at the screening were English speakers), the Japanese version of the episodes began playing. I had a moment of cognitive dissonance right when the narrator began speaking at the start of the episode. “Why are the subtitles in English?” I briefly wondered before realizing I didn’t understand a word that was being said out loud.
There was an audible reaction in the crowd as people realized this. While a small handful of folks made their way to the exit, the rest of us stayed. We had come all this way to celebrate Star Wars in Japan, so it just made sense to watch some Star Wars in Japanese. And “The Siege of Mandalore” is so good it transcends language.
After the screening, I went back to the showfloor and did a little shopping. A Skeleton Crew sweater caught my eye, so I picked it up. And that more or less wrapped up day two.
Day Three: Visions of the Future
Day three was supposed to begin the same way as the two previous, with me at the Galaxy Stage, watching a panel—this time the preview for Star Wars: Visions Volume 3. And like day two, I made a point to get there nice and early so that I didn’t almost miss the panel as I did on day one. But Celebration has a magic to it, and you never know what twists and turns there may be.
While I was in line for the Galaxy Stage, a woman approached the queue and asked if anyone wanted to go see the panel at the Celebration Stage (where it was actually happening). At first, I didn’t react. I’ve been to lots of Celebrations and seen many huge panels on the Celebration Stage over the years, including the Animation panel earlier that weekend. I wanted to give this opportunity to someone else. But no one else was able to take advantage since she only had one ticket. When she was going through the line a second time, I decided to speak up.
It was another wonderful act of kindness, compounded by the fact that another attendee had to help me work out AirDrop on my phone (I’ve been an iPhone user for over a decade, but so rarely use AirDrop that I can never remember how to do it). And with that, I was off to the Celebration Stage.
The Visions panel was fun because, unlike the other big panels, most of it was in Japanese. The creators of the Visions episodes for Volume Three are all Japanese, and they took the stage to tease their upcoming stories. There were closed captions that translated what they said into English, but there was such a delay that I gave up on trying to follow along and just enjoyed the art that was on screen. (It did make me feel for the Japanese fans who had been following along with the closed captions for other panels throughout the weekend. I hope the English to Japanese translations were better and faster.)
I loved the reveal that “The Ninth Jedi,” my favourite of the Visions tales from Volume One, would not only be getting a sequel in Volume Three, but also getting a full series next year under the Star Wars Visions Presents banner. No, it won’t be “canon” the way Ahsoka or Starfighters will be, but that doesn’t matter to me. I love great stories, regardless of whether they “count” or not. And “The Ninth Jedi” was an amazing story with so much potential for more.
I spent the rest of the day wandering the floor, stopping by the Live! Stage to see Rosario Dawson and Diego Luna be interviewed, and floating in and out of panels on other stages. Before I knew it, and before I was ready, it was time for the Closing Ceremonies, where we would learn the location of the next Star Wars Celebration.
I decided to watch the Closing Ceremonies from the Live! Stage, and as I was on my way there, I was stopped by a listener to the Star Wars Underworld Podcast named Kazuki. I had been stopped by a few listeners over the weekend, which is always a treat for me, and I cherish all of these interactions from this weekend. I love hearing from people who listen to the show and getting a chance to engage with them face-to-face. Plus, it’s always fun to pretend I’m famous for a minute!
What made this one extra special, however, was when Kazuki told me he had something for me. I was expecting to be handed some Celebration swag that he had been handing out to everyone all weekend (which, I should mention, I love getting). Instead, he handed me a Japanese edition of a Vladimir Guerrero Jr. baseball card. The thought behind this gift truly touched me and is my favourite thing I got during my whole trip to Japan (not just at Celebration).
The Closing Ceremonies followed a familiar script, with an emotional video looking back on the weekend, and stage hosts sharing their favourite moments from their stages. And then, they made the reveal we all had been waiting for: Star Wars Celebration will return in 2027, the 50th anniversary of Star Wars, in Los Angeles.
After the convention closed, I reconnected with Chris Abbott and Neomi. We decided to get a drink to toast to another successful Celebration. We headed over to the nearby pub, only to find that it was closed for a private party. “What if it’s the Lucasfilm party?” we joked as we went into the establishment next door.
Well, turns out our joke was 100% correct. When we realized the private party would be over, we moved over to the place we originally wanted and were shocked to find Lucasfilm staff milling about outside the pub. I spotted the one Lucasfilm person I know among the crowd, and she confirmed our suspicion. After a nice chat with her, we went in, laughing about how our little joke about the Lucasfilm party had been right.
We were then approached by two other guys, Matt and Ian, who had told us they had accidentally crashed the Lucasfilm party! They had just walked in, not knowing the pub was closed and were very confused when the bartender told them they didn’t have to pay for their drinks. To the Lucasfilm staff’s credit, they didn’t seem to mind the fact that they were there. It was Star Wars Celebration Live! host Anthony Carboni, who discovered the party crashers. His reaction? He introduced them to ILM president Rob Bredow and made a fun video with them for his social media.
We all had a lovely time together at the pub, looking back on the weekend and revelling in our shared love of Star Wars. As the night went on, more Celebration attendees joined our group of strangers who became best friends for the night. It was the sort of joy and kindness that has kept me coming back to Celebration for fifteen years now.
Pass On What You Have Learned
Coming home after Celebration is always tough, even when you don’t have a fourteen-hour flight. Having spent three days surrounded by Star Wars fans can make going back to “real life” seem so very disappointing. The challenge for all of us is to keep the spirit of Celebration going, even if there aren’t crazy reveals and amazing cosplays around every corner.
As I said at the start, the kindness of the people at Celebration is always such a breath of fresh air. People want to help each other out, whether that’s gifting panel seats or making each other laugh while in line, or bringing together strangers in a pub at an unofficial and impromptu afterparty. Everybody wants to help those around them have a good time. A friend of mine even told me about how people in the crowd at the Live! Stage helped them get up to the front row when they heard they had a gift for one of the stars. Those people went to great lengths to get their primo spot at the stage, but they gave it up to help someone else live their Celebration dream.
In these divided times, it was so uplifting to see people brought together to celebrate what they love, not fight about what they hate. Kindness is the first step to saving ourselves from the crises we find ourselves in. Call me silly or idealistic if you will, but I truly believe that if the rest of life were more like Star Wars Celebration, we would all be better off. It’s up to us to make that happen. I believe we can.
The Force is with us.
Wiuh. That must've been a good time with lots of memories into lifestream 🙂