Starting on Wednesday, Star Wars fans (including myself) were lined up in order to get a seat in Thursday's panel with JJ Abrams and Kathleen Kennedy. While I didn't get in line until very late Wednesday night, some fans had been waiting outside since 8:00am. The queue line was moved inside the convention center around 6:00pm, which was nice to shelter people from the weather and dropping temperatures. JJ and Kathleen were kind enough to send pizzas out to all the people who were waiting in line late at night. I've waited overnight for many Star Wars events and this is the first time I've ever heard of the director sending dinner out to the die-hard fans.When Thursday morning rolled around, the queue line was slowly shifted into the main arena and the panel began. JJ and Kathleen were interviewed about their involvement with the new film and what the Star Wars saga meant to them on a personal level. I remember when I first heard that there would be a new Star Wars movie coming out, I was a little skeptical. I loved the prequels but I am also a fan of practical effects and felt like the CGI in Episodes I-III was a little overdone. JJ announced in the panel that practical effects and real costumes would be heavily used in "The Force Awakens". After hearing that bit of news and seeing his passion for this task, I have total faith in him to create an awesome Star Wars movie.
The main cast including Daisy Ridley who plays Rey, John Boyega who plays Finn, and Oscar Issac who stars as Poe Dameron also came out on stage to briefly talk about their work in TFA. Their joy and excitement was contagious. I've never seen a group of people smile as much as they did on stage. BB-8 made an appearance along with R2-D2 and their droid builders, Oliver Steeples and Lee Towersey. This rolling ball droid has completely blown my mind. I still can't figure out how they created BB-8 and I'm okay with it staying a mystery in my mind. He's so cute and lovable; I'm obsessed with BB-8 already and I can't wait to see more of him in December when the movie comes out.
At the end of the panel, a new trailer for "The Force Awakens" was shown. Check it out below if you haven't seen it yet, or if you want to watch it again for the ten thousandth time, like me. I couldn't keep my eyes dry when the trailer showed, especially in the last 5 seconds.
There was a costume exhibit for "The Force Awakens" on the second floor of the convention center. The line to get in was at least 3 hours long on most days but I was able to get in on Saturday and see all the costumes. The exhibit featured 8 different costumes total- Rey, Finn, Stormtroopers, Kylo Renn, 2 different nomads, a Flametrooper, and a Snowtrooper. A variety of props including BB-8, Kylo Renn's lightsaber, the Millennium Falcon, and an X-wing model were on display as well. Most of the costumes were in glass cases that you could walk around, which was nice to view every angle of the costume. The displays also featured plaques that told you what materials were used for each outfit, which is useful for cosplayers who want to recreate the costumes.
I didn't see very much TFA merchandise during the convention but I did see that Daisy Ridley and John Boyega explored the con floor on Sunday with a Trandoshan mask and clone trooper bucket to disguise themselves.
I'm so glad I had the opportunity to watch the trailer in a room with thousands of other passionate Star Wars fans and see some of the costumes up close. "The Force Awakens" will debut on December 18th, 2015 and I'm sure we'll be getting more content about the film soon. Stay tuned!
If you want to view more of my photos from the exhibit, check out The Dorky Diva on Facebook. Click HERE!
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