The 10 Best Star Wars Things We Saw And Learned At D23

Disney’s D23 Ultimate Fan Event has come to a close, having featured some very exciting Star Wars reveals and first looks. Taking place between two different convention centers in Anaheim, Lucasfilm and Star Wars had a major presence right alongside all of Disney’s biggest studios and franchises. While there were new reveals regarding new movies and upcoming shows, there was also so much to enjoy and experience on the show floor.

Having been in attendance at the major Disney convention, Screen Rant got the chance to visit D23’s Lucasfilm Pavilion, one of the biggest installations in the entire Anaheim Convention Center. We also had seats for all the biggest reveals and events at the Honda Center each night to experience and celebrate new projects, experiences, and some of the biggest stars from the galaxy far, far away. To that end, here are 10 of the biggest and best Star Wars things we saw and learned at D23.

10 Star Wars’ New Movie And Show Reveals

Mandalorian & Grogu, Andor Season 2, and Skeleton Crew

Friday, August 9th was D23’s big night at the Honda Center to reveal volumes regarding upcoming movies and shows, including Star Wars. First, Jude Law took the stage to reveal the very first trailer for SkeletonCrew right before it was released online. Diego Luna soon followed to reveal an exclusive first look at Andor season 2, featuring the growing Rebellion before the events of Rogue One and exciting character returns such as Forest Whitaker’s Saw Gerrera and Ben Mendelsohn’s Director Krennic.

Lucasfilm’s Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau also came on stage to talk about their work on The Mandalorian & Grogu movie that had just begun, while also showing an exclusive first look at new footage. Showing the return of a new Razor Crest following the first’s destruction in The Mandalorian season 2, Din Djarin and his adopted son Grogu are seen flying with the New Republic’s Zeb before fighting a platoon of former Imperial snow troopers. The duo are also seen riding what looks to be an old AT-RT before facing two Imperial AT-AT Walkers on a snowy planet that could very well be Hoth.

9 New Star Wars Addition Coming To Disneyland

The Mandalorian & Grogu Is Coming To Smuggler’s Run

Saturday, August 10th was D23’s Experiences Showcase, featuring an exciting new addition to Disneyland’s Galaxy’s Edge. Returning to the stage to talk about Disney’s experiences coming to Epic Games and Fortnite (which included Star Wars), Filoni also added that he and Favreau are consulting with Imagineers to add the Mandalorian and Grogu to Smugger’s Run, The Millennium Falcon-inspired ride at Galaxy’s Edge. New concept art was revealed, featuring Djarin and Grogu flying outside the Falcon’s cockpit alongside incoming TIE Fighters. As such, it will certainly be exciting to get new adventures beyond the Star Wars ride’s original narrative.

8 Harrison Ford, Frank Oz, and John Williams Inducted As Disney Legends

The Entire Night Ended With A Beautiful John Williams Medley

Sunday, August 11th was the night at the Honda Center to celebrate Disney’s 2024 class of Disney Legends inductees. This notably included Harrison Ford whose award was presented by Disney CEO Bob Iger, Frank Oz whose award was presented by Pixar’s Pete Docter, as well as John Williams with Ford and Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy presenting. While Williams was unable to attend and accept the award personally, the Pacific Symphony Orchestra performed a medley of his most iconic scores from Star Wars and Indiana Jones.

7 Lucasfilm Had One Of The Most Popular D23 Experiences: The Volume

The Same Stagecraft Technology Used To Film The Mandalorian

At the Anaheim Convention Center, guests at D23 could visit the Lucasfilm Pavilion, which held multiple showcases each day. Each presentation took place in front of The Volume, the large soundstage that’s part of Industrial Light and Magic’s groundbreaking StageCraft technology, the very same used in the filming of The Mandalorian and more Star Wars projects. Likewise, guests were told that the very same technicians working on The Volume at D23 would return to the set of The Mandalorian & Grogu once the fan event ended.

Not only was The Volume used during the various presentations, but guests could be filmed in front of classic Star Wars locales between shows. The 10-second clips were then e-mailed to each guest, effectively making The Volume one of the most expensive Disney Photopass venues in history. As such, it was naturally one of the most frequented installations at the entire convention where guests could be as close as actors get to visiting the galaxy far, far away.

6 The Acolyte’s Manny Jacinto and Rebels’ Vanessa Marshall Came To D23

Looking Back On Live-Action And Animated Shows

Some of these aforementioned Lucasfilm presentations included The Acolyte actor Manny Jacinto who played Qimir aka The Stranger. While speaking with StarWars.com’s Kristin Baver, Jacinto revealed concept art featuring alternate designs for The Stranger’s helmet. He also broke down all of his intensive training for the show’s stunts and fighting choreography, having been inspired by Anakin Skywalker actor Hayden Christensen and his similar dedication.

The Lucasfilm Pavilion also hosted a conversation between Lucasfilm Animation producer Athena Portillo and Hera Syndulla voice actor Vanessa Marshall. Looking back at the various animated Star Wars shows, Portrillo and Marshall chose some of their favorite moments from each project. They also shared their favorite Hera moments as a bonus/honorable mention. While there was a lack of any new Star Wars announcements at both events, either for a potential Acolyte season 2 or a new Star Wars animated project, both conversations still seemed to be entertaining for fans all the same.

5 Lucasfilm Showed Off Star Wars Droids & Creatures

Droids, Ugnaughts, and Loth-Cats (Oh My!)

Featuring all kinds of exciting replicas of both creatures and droids, the Lucasfilm Pavilion had life-size models of both Ahsoka’s Professor Huyang (David Tennant) and SM-33, co-pilot of The Onyx Cinder who will soon be featured in Skeleton Crew (voiced by Nick Frost). A life-size model of The Mandalorian’s Ugnaught named Kuiil was also featured near the pavilion’s entrance. However, one of the Lucasfilm presentations specifically showcased these models, including how Lucasfilm brought Star Wars Rebels’ Loth-cats to live-action through some impressive puppetry.

4 Galaxy’s Edge BDX Droids With Disney Imagineers

Incredibly Cute And Curious Droids From Black Spire Outpost

At the Imagineering: Behind the Dreams Pavilion, Screen Rant got to have an up-close and personal encounter with an impressive BDX unit, one of a few droids who were only recently seen walking around and interacting with park-goers at Galaxy’s Edge. Incredibly expressive, the trio of BDX droids created by Disney Imagineering are adorable and full of personality. According to Imagineers, they’re also capable of self-correcting their balance and walk, and could even be seen hopping and wiggling their heads with a wide range of various emotions as they greeted nearby D23 guests.

3 Disney Debuted The ‘Chosen One’ Lightsaber Box Set At D23

From Anakin Skywalker To Darth Vader

Shopping was just exclusive and exciting for guests at D23. This included the debut of Disney’s brand-new Chosen One Legacy Lightsaber Box Set, featuring three lightsabers belonging to Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader. Not only does the box play music when opened, but the inside of the lid features quotes from Attack of the Clones, Revenge of the Sith, and Obi-Wan Kenobi, coinciding with each of the impressive hilts. At D23, the box set was being sold for $550, though it’s unknown when and if the Chosen One set will ever be coming to ShopDisney.com at some point down the line.

2 Star Tours’ Starspeeder 3000 Playset

The Original Ride Visuals Play Inside The Model

Inspired by the original Star Tours ride at Disneyland, the limited edition Star Tours StarSpeeder 3000 Vehicle Play Set was another incredible exclusive at D23. Featuring both R2-D2 and Captain RX-24, the play set featured lights and sounds and even played the original attraction on the screen before the ride was updated to visit new worlds across the Star Wars galaxy. Sold at D23 for $300, the Star Tours StarSpeeder 3000 Vehicle Play Set was on sale on August 12th online (though it has since sold out).

1 There Were Some Amazing Star Wars Cosplays At D23

Some Incredible Work and Dedication

Some truly great cosplayers came to D23, including those who wanted to represent their love for Star Wars. Some costumes were incredibly accurate such as AndyJMeza’s Mandalorian armor or the duo Costumed_chameleon and LuciferBob who went as Asajj Ventress and Quinlan Vos. Others were more creative such as disneybunhead who created custom Mandalorian armor inspired by Raya and the Last Dragon, or the whole group of cosplayers who came to D23 as Sith versions of classic Disney characters like Snow White and The Little Mermaid. At any rate, the Star Wars cosplay presence was quite large, especially on that Friday’s scheduled meet-up outside the Anaheim Convention Center.