D23 & Me (and Star Wars)
With D23 Expo returning this weekend, I look back at my previous experiences at the all Disney convention...
Back in 2015, before I left for my first D23 Expo, I joked that when the Disney fans found out how few “classic” Disney films I’d seen they would chase me out of the Anaheim Convention Center.
That didn’t happen, of course.
Despite not “growing up” on Disney films the way most of the other attendees did, I still found myself quite at home at this massive celebration of all things house-of-Mouse. I felt the usual kinship with the other attendees that I feel whenever I attend a convention. Everyone is there to indulge in their passions, to celebrate the stories they love in a way that they may not always feel comfortable doing in the “real world”. It’s why I love going to cons, and why I’ve made it a point to go to so many.
Still, D23 hadn’t really been on my radar prior to that year. Had The Walt Disney Company not purchased Lucasfilm and begun making new Star Wars films and TV shows, it likely would have stayed that way. I’d visited Disney World as a kid but, aside from a faint, lingering desire to one day return, the lure of Disney didn’t have much effect on me during my teenage years.
Then October 30th, 2012 happened. Disney bought Star Wars and announced new films. The rest, as they say, is history.
What drew me to D23 in 2015 was the promise of some sort of new preview for The Force Awakens. The Star Wars promotional machine had been flying high that summer, starting with the “Chewie we’re home” trailer drop at Star Wars Celebration in May, and continuing through the legendary San Diego Comic-Con live concert in July. It felt natural that the next stop on the ride would be D23. It was Disney’s first Star Wars movie, after all, why not put it center stage at their own event?
Armed with a media pass and the promise from a friend nearby that I could sleep on their floor, I set off for Anaheim. It’s probably the most whirlwind trip I’ve ever taken. I left work on Thursday night, took the bus to the airport, and flew to LA. Then, after splitting the weekend between the convention center and Disneyland, I took a redeye flight home Sunday night, arriving just in time for work on Monday morning. There was barely any time to catch my breath!
The actual Star Wars news at D23 Expo 2015 was a bit of a bait and switch, in a good way. Rather than a new preview for The Force Awakens, we were treated to the huge—but expected—news that a new “Star Wars-themed land” would be built at the two US-based Disney Parks. This, of course, would go on to become Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, now open in Florida and California. It was a historic moment for both Disney and Star Wars, doing more to link the two brands than anything else could.
The whole experience felt like a welcome party for Star Wars to the world of Disney. The message seemed to be that, although the sale had happened three years earlier, this was the official merger of the two, bringing together the best of each to kick off a new era for both. George Lucas was even inducted as a Disney Legend despite, as he took great pleasure in pointing out, never having worked for the company!
It was a grand time, everyone so laser-focused on immersing Star Wars in the larger Disney sphere that no one bothered to quiz me on which “classics” I had or hadn’t seen.
Two years later, I returned for the next D23 Expo (unlike most conventions, which are annual events, D23 is every other year). Star Wars was once again at the forefront, with anticipation running high for The Last Jedi. It may be difficult to remember given how divisive and vitriolic the discussion (at least online) around that film is now, but in the lead-up to it, everyone expected to love it. It was thought that The Last Jedi would be a unifying force, that it would blast Star Wars into the future with fresh new ideas from a visionary new filmmaker.
(For what it’s worth, I believe the film delivers on its promise to go in unexpected, but meaningful directions with most of its characters. While it’s by no means perfect, it largely did what people claimed they wanted. But audiences are fickle and while there’s lots of lip service paid to the concept of wanting fresh new ideas, people are more likely to show up for—and celebrate—a nostalgia trip than something that pushes off in new directions. And The Last Jedi suffered for that).
Regardless, the buzz was palpable. When Rian Johnson took the stage with the cast to debut a new behind-the-scenes look, the room was electric. And any opportunity to mention the film throughout the weekend was taken. Even then-CEO Bob Iger made a point of framing himself as one of the few people who knew what happened in the film. Iger called Mark Hamill back to the stage after accepting his Disney Legend Award so that he could wrap his arm around the star and be seen extolling The Last Jedi’s virtues while standing next to Luke Skywalker.
Elsewhere at the convention, a scale model of Galaxy’s Edge could be seen, our first real look at what the theme park expansion announced two years earlier would look like. If 2015 was a welcoming party, 2017 seemed to underscore that Disney and Star Wars were now linked for good.
The last D23 before the pandemic, held in 2019, represented a further evolution of the relationship between Star Wars and Disney. It had been a tumultuous two years at movie theaters for Star Wars, with the divisive response to The Last Jedi, and Solo: A Star Wars Story failing to make any waves at the box office or with mainstream viewers. As such, cinematically Star Wars was outshined during the event by the Avengers: End Game victory lap and anticipation for Frozen 2.
But it was also clear that Disney’s eyes were shifting to the small screen. Disney+, which launched a couple of months later, promotion was everywhere. And Star Wars was leading the charge. If the galaxy far, far away felt like an afterthought during the movie preview showcase, it returned to center stage when it came to streaming.
Naturally, The Mandalorian was front and center with the debut of a new trailer, but The Clone Wars also got a brief spotlight, and there was even a short tease for Andor (which still won’t have premiered until after next week’s D23 Expo 2022, over three years later) with Diego Luna and Alan Tudyk reuniting on stage for some banter. And, of course, there was the long-awaited announcement of the return of Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi for a limited series.
A Look Ahead
With D23 Expo finally returning this weekend, the temptation is there to begin speculating about what we might see announced or teased this time. But as tempting as it is, it’s also fraught with the possibility of setting expectations too high and then being disappointed when more isn’t revealed.
As such, I’m going to avoid going into too many specifics. I suspect that the powers that be at Lucasfilm know that they made quite the impression in 2019 with the reveal of McGregor’s return and likely want to recapture that sort of magic. They also know that they will be sharing the stage with Marvel and 20th Century Studios in a joint showcase panel. Marvel has shown time and again that they are more than capable of putting on a captivating show themselves (this year’s SDCC panel is proof of as much). The Lucasfilm decision makers will surely want to bring their A-game so that they don’t get overshadowed.
To be fair, Lucasfilm also showed at Star Wars Celebration earlier this year that they are more than capable of putting on a superb show for their fans. The “Lucasfilm Showcase” panel that kicked off Celebration opened with a live choir singing “Duel of the Fates” and ended with John Williams conducting a full orchestra with Harrison Ford standing next to him on stage. In between those two musical moments, there were multiple trailers debuted, celebrities aplenty, and the announcement of a new TV series.
If Lucasfilm can take the magic they created for their own 90-minute showcase, and present a 30-minute version—complete with its own set of surprises—then they can at least make sure the people in the room are buzzing when they leave.
I’ll leave the specifics of what the announcements might be to everyone’s imagination. But I will mention that I expect Lucasfilm’s portion of the showcase to include properties outside of Star Wars. Specifically, there’s a movie about a man with a hat and whip, as well as a Warwick Davis-led fantasy series, that I expect will be highlighted alongside whatever upcoming Star Wars projects there may be.
The “Ultimate” Disney Event
It’s a cliche when it comes to Star Wars to say that everything’s changed but nothing’s changed. In some ways, though, I feel that way about my excitement for D23 Expo over the years. (I’m even very nearly recreating my whirlwind 2015 trip this year—just without the sleeping on the floor and the going-to-work-after-a-red-eye-flight parts). That said, I no longer fear the hoards of Disney fans realizing that I’m not “one of them”. In the years since my first expo in 2015, I have been to Disneyland more times than I ever expected to in my lifetime. So even if my Disney movie cred is still lacking, my parks cred has grown exponentially.
And yet, I still find myself somewhat bemused by the way D23 merges different experiences into its own thing. On its surface, the Expo looks like a Disney-only version of San Diego Comic-Con. But having gone three times now, I can say with confidence that, while it bears many similarities, it’s very much its own thing.
If I had to break it down, I would describe D23 Expo as a cross between SDCC, a day at the Disney Parks, and an investors’ event. There truly is nothing else like it.
As I said above, D23 bears many surface-level comparisons to Comic-Con (San Diego and beyond). It takes place in a venue that hosts many Comic-Con-style events, and there are loads of cosplayers, heaps of panels, and lots of opportunities to buy exclusive merchandise.
But where the experience begins to feel less like Comic-Con and more like Disneyland is when it comes to lining up. Lines are a given at conventions, just like they are at theme parks. But Disney, more so than anyone else, has gone above and beyond to make the lining-up experience as painless as possible. This is not to say that the lines are fun per se, it’s just that the alternative is so much worse.
The best comparison that comes to mind for me is how Disney handled their overnight lines in 2017 versus how ReedPOP and Lucasfilm handled theirs at Star Wars Celebration that same year. At Celebration, fans were essentially locked in overnight, with very limited food and drink options (vending machines only) and no opportunity to step outside for fresh air.
Meanwhile, at D23, you could claim your space in line and then come and go as you pleased. Disney kept the snack bar open overnight, but you could also go to your hotel room to pick up a snack or to a nearby restaurant. They also lined the queueing area with TVs playing Disney movies on low volume for those who found it difficult to sleep on a concrete floor.
Where the atmosphere at Celebration was tense (a fact that wasn’t helped by the—true—rumors that a good portion of the people lining up would not get into the thing they were lining up for), the atmosphere at D23 was laid back and fun. Disney made sure that people knew how likely it was that they would get in and then ensured that those who stuck around didn’t have an unpleasant experience
(Mercifully, overnight lines have gone out of fashion in the years since 2017. Covid likely killed them for good, but they were already on their way out in 2019 with virtual lotteries taking their place).
I’m not saying there are no issues with the lines at D23, I’ve heard about things going sideways here and there. But compared to what I’ve seen and heard of other cons, it really is a much better experience.
Oh, and the other way D23 Expo brings the Disney Parks magic? There are freakin’ parades along the con floor! I know this sounds like a nightmare to anyone whose ever experienced the bottlenecks of a convention floor on a Saturday, but somehow they make it work.
And then there’s the final aspect of D23 that sets it apart, and that relates to what is actually on stage during the event. D23 is known for its reveals, and announcements about what’s to come at movie theaters, parks, stores, and beyond. While this is by no means unique to D23, San Diego Comic-Con has been a mecca for entertainment news for decades now, it’s how they dole out the info that’s distinctive.
The biggest panels at D23 are often hosted or moderated by Disney executives, giving the whole thing a distinctly “corporate” feel. You’d be forgiven for confusing some of the presentations at this fan event with an investors’ conference. Bob Iger, Alan Horne, Bob Chapek, and others from the Disney head offices were all over the last few D23s.
Other cons, like SDCC, will usually have a moderator for their big panels, a celebrity or entertainment writer. Their role, essentially, is to ask the questions that the fans in the audience would want to ask. D23 does away with this edifice, giving the feeling that you are getting the news direct from the source, unfiltered.
(Of course, it’s all massively choreographed and very filtered even if they take great pains to make it appear otherwise).
And there’s nothing inherently wrong with this approach. If you’re excited about a new Disney movie, you’re more likely to remember what the person who actually had a hand in making the movie has to say about it rather than the question posed to them by a moderator.
It does, however, lead to some laughable moments where you realize just how ridiculous our society can be. My friend and I couldn’t help but burst out laughing during the Disney Parks and Merchandise presentation in 2019 when the CEO of Target (yes, really) made a “surprise appearance” on stage with some other Disney executive, and used the phrase “Instagramable moments” in front of a room full of 7,000 people, most of whom had paid to be there! If you’re looking for a dictionary definition of “too much corporate synergy”, I think that’s it.
Ultimately, D23 is a lot like Disney itself. It can be easy to get cynical about it at times, the heavy presence of company executives does that for me. But it’s also easy to give yourself over to the magic of it. There are many great moments at every D23 Expo. Some are the big ones like trailer reveals or celebrity sightings. But there are also smaller moments, like the connections you can make with fellow fans or the chance to admire the hard work and craftsmanship that goes into the cosplays that are all over the convention center. And, of course, there’s always the chance for the unexpected to happen.
I’ll end with one of my favourite stories from my first D23. I call it “The time I bumped into Daisy Ridley with my backpack”. (Although, “bumped into” might be too strong a word, “lightly nudged” or “brushed” is probably more accurate).
I was walking the floor in 2015 after the big Studio Showcase presentation (the one where Galaxy’s Edge was announced) when I happened upon a booth that had some Star Wars stuff and stopped to look around. After a moment, I realized the whole area was suddenly a lot more crowded than before.
Then I looked to my left, and standing next to me was John Boyega.
For a moment I froze, unable to process the fact I was standing next to Finn. That I was standing next to someone who, barely an hour earlier, I had seen on stage after waiting all night to see them.
In hindsight, I wish I’d had the wherewithal to ask for an autograph or a selfie, or just to tell him how excited I was for the movie. Instead, I went into flight mode and decided I needed to get out of there. There were too many people around, and I was in the way. I took a step back.
And felt my backpack, which was unnecessarily large, lightly nudge something. I turned around in horror to find Daisy Ridley with her back to me.
I quickly put two and two together of what had just happened and knew I had to get out of there. “Sorry,” I yelped, disappearing into the crowd before security could grab me and throw me off the roof of the convention center.
To be honest, in all the chaos I don’t think Daisy or her security even noticed. There were so many people jockeying for position that my transgression likely went unremarked upon.
I eventually was able to circle back and snap a couple of pictures of Daisy and John amidst the crowd. I like to think Daisy is waving at me in her picture, as if to say, “it’s ok you lightly brushed me with your backpack, we’re all good.” But, again, I doubt she really noticed it and is almost certainly just waving to her fans. It was one of her first moments engaging with Star Wars fans in person. And I nearly ruined it.
Only at D23. I’m so excited to go back. See you this weekend!