Star Wars: The Last Jedi Won’t Be At The San Diego Comic Con.

Those of you who were expecting Star Wars to have a big panel at SDCC like it did in 2015 with The Force Awakens, prepare to be disappointed – there has been official confirmation that while Lucasfilm will be there, they won’t be hosting a panel dedicated to the new movie. The good news, however, is that this leaves more room for Lucasfilm to reveal The Last Jedi-related stuff at Disney D23.

 

The Unofficial San Diego Comic Con Blog is reporting that, as it had been previously rumored, Star Wars would not be getting a major panel from Lucasfilm:

As io9’s Germain Lussier reported on our podcast earlier this week, Star Wars: The Last Jedi won’t be getting a panel at San Diego this year. Just as with An Englishman in San Diego, we reached out to Lucasfilm Publicity, who confirmed that “our presence at SDCC 2017 will be focused on our booth on the convention floor, so there will be no press events or interview opportunities this year.”

By being focused on the booth and convention floor at the convention, there’s an obvious gap in what they won’t be bringing to the convention — panels and talent. While we’re sure that Friday will still be Star Wars Day at San Diego Comic-Con, with panels for Star Wars toys, books, and more, it appears that The Last Jedi won’t be part of that equation.

The initial plans that we heard about suggested that Disney was going to spend D23 talking about Han Solo, but ever since the Star Wars director apocalypse just happened, that became incredibly implausible and Lucasfilm has since shifted gears to talk about The Last Jedi (and maaaybe tell us a thing or two about the 2020 Star Wars Anthology – again, due to the director apocalypse, plans may have changed even though this was initially “a given”). If that classified trailer for The Last Jedi is of any indication, we could indeed be getting that at the D23 presentation as part of Lucasfilm’s back-up plan, even if it’s not likely that it will be a completely new teaser so much as a restructured version of the one we already saw with some new footage thrown in (like an international variant).

 

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Grant has been a fan of Star Wars for as long as he can remember, having seen every movie on the big screen. When he’s not hard at work with his college studies, he keeps himself busy by reporting on all kinds of Star Wars news for SWNN and general movie news on the sister site, Movie News Net. He served as a frequent commentator on SWNN’s The Resistance Broadcast.

Grant Davis (Pomojema)

Grant has been a fan of Star Wars for as long as he can remember, having seen every movie on the big screen. When he’s not hard at work with his college studies, he keeps himself busy by reporting on all kinds of Star Wars news for SWNN and general movie news on the sister site, Movie News Net. He served as a frequent commentator on SWNN’s The Resistance Broadcast.

34 thoughts on “Star Wars: The Last Jedi Won’t Be At The San Diego Comic Con.

  • July 1, 2017 at 10:44 pm
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    Not surprising – D23 is the week before SDCC. A week later = Old news…no point wandering into the s__tstorm that is Comic Con to simply blend in w/ a zillion other product / game / film / TV announcements…

  • July 1, 2017 at 11:44 pm
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    This means they can use SDCC to announce a Boba Fett movie starring Daniel Logan directed by Joe Johnston. Well,I can dream can’t I?

  • July 1, 2017 at 11:54 pm
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    What is going on with TLJ’s marketing campaign ? Until when will those successive blunders be dismissed as just the release date still being too far away ?

    Meanwhile, we keep hearing (in my opinion) negative buzz about RJ creating “new rules” for SW and expecting the audience to be able to “handle ambiguity”.

    Also, I don’t understand all the media distraction with the Han Solo movie (even on this site) when LucasFilm should be focusing on TLJ.

    • July 2, 2017 at 12:07 am
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      How is that negative buzz? Everything in that seems to be positive considering how people responded TFA. It was fun but people naturally want to see it go in a different direction now. Everything driver said sounds awesome

      • July 2, 2017 at 8:24 am
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        No kidding. Remember the OT? Lots of things weren’t explained, but we still loved them. Whatever you think of the PT, that trilogy stood alone, even though we didn’t know the origin of Palpatine or Yoda or Anakin’s exact backstory or any of that. The impulse toward completist worldbuilding at the expense of actual story quality is one of the worst things about geek fandom, and good filmmakers, novelists, etc. will always remember that worldbuilding is only important to the extent that it supports good stories and interesting characters.

    • July 2, 2017 at 12:16 am
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      But I agree with you that they really should be showing something at this point

    • July 2, 2017 at 3:49 am
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      Fans were saying the same kind of thing in the lead-up to TFA. We know what happened: TFA was the domestically highest grossing film in history. What makes for an effective marketing campaign manifestly isn’t the same as what will appease hardcore fans who will see the movie no matter what. Why would they need to have a major event at SDCC if they’re doing a major event at D23 a week earlier?

      • July 2, 2017 at 3:56 am
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        I seem to recall the buzz among fans for TFA was stronger. We kept watching the teaser repeatedly. (I know I did.)

        But the TLJ teaser… feels flat, which is disappointing and surprising compared to the TFA teaser. And in hindsight now, bogged with cheesy melodramatic dialogue (“It is time for the Jedi *dramatic pause* TO END.” Yeah…

        I’ll avoid quoting that overly used dialogue when a character in the movies expresses dread, but after what went down with the Solo movie, and now very little coming out about TLJ to excite the general public (and remind them that it’s coming)…

        • July 2, 2017 at 4:02 am
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          Well, I remember just these kinds of complaints being made over and over again. Plus, the TLJ teaser seems to have generated just as much excitement, but maybe this is because you and I are exposed to different fan forums and articles. There are multiple threads on the Cantina Forums with literally hundreds or even thousands of posts speculating about that final line of the teaser, with people spending months advocating on a daily basis for this or that interpretation. That’s a lot of excitement, to me…

    • July 2, 2017 at 8:01 am
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      Of course it’s too far away. There’s still 5 1/2 months, nearly half a year to go. How much promotion does a film that far out realistically need besides a spring teaser, a mid-summer trailer, a final fall trailer, and then a month of pre-release/post release heavy promotion?

    • July 3, 2017 at 12:01 am
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      I’m more struck by the comparative lack of spoily material w/ TLJ: By this time in 2015, we knew A LOT more about TFA, plotwise…(so I guess, kudos on keeping the lid tighter …?)

  • July 2, 2017 at 12:14 am
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    Just give us a bloody trailer. Unless you follow these feeds you may not even know the film is coming! It’s all very well the secrecy but then there’s secrecy and nothing? If the film blows us away we may say fair enough, however the hype could been setting up some disappointment. We don’t want spoilers just as the OT trailers gave us a lot without giving away any the plot but enough to make us excited! I’m concerned as a hard core fan of 40 years feeling this way.

    • July 2, 2017 at 12:25 pm
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      The “hype” for this film reminds me of how everyone thought AOTC would be the second coming of Empire and make us all forget about TPM…….then reality struck.

  • July 2, 2017 at 3:23 am
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    I am bantha. Hear me roar.

  • July 2, 2017 at 7:40 am
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    With the lack of new Star Wars content at SDCC, I have zero interest in this convention.

  • July 2, 2017 at 8:14 am
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    I cannot say I am shocked. It should be very evident that Disney clearly wants to reduce their presence in SDCC and focus on D23. It makes sense, as financially, they save a lot more money. Seriously, SDCC paying for space costs an arm and a leg. And given how they arguably have the two largest/popular tentpoles, LF and Marvel, they clearly want to drive those fans towards their convention. Personally, I welcome this as it introduces some competition.

    I used to love going to SDCC, but as of recent; it has become a chore. A lack of upgrading to a bigger convention space, plus pricy, limited tickets are big limiting factors for a lot of people. Plus, my hope is that they will move to say Vegas as that convention center is much bigger. Now, the one thing I will sympathize with fans is having to pick one more or the other. Personally, I’d go to D23 and would forgo SDCC.

  • July 2, 2017 at 12:18 pm
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    I been here since the OT days and I got to say there hasn’t been less excitement for an episode since the late 70’s when nearly every sequel sucked and everybody thought V would be a cheap ANH knockoff. Might be R1’s fault a little due to being better than expected and having another SW film so soon afterward.

    I don’t mean just on here either but other SW sites as well and there seems to be more a morbid curiosity and negative buzz feeling surrounding it. I think the teaser hurt the momentum of TLJ too.

    TFA was always going be a smash hit even if Lucas wrote/directed it and it was 100 percent CG just due to wanting to see the big three again and what happened after Jedi onscreen. The fact that Leia is essentially fridged after this one and Luke is an emo mangina is kinda a downer too. Adding to the fact that only Rey, BB-8, and Kylo have emerged as geninue breakout new characters from this trilogy so far.

    So not the best time for the franchise in light of the Han Solo dumpster fire which most fans were indifferent to from day 1. I think it can go either way personally at this point.

    • July 2, 2017 at 7:23 pm
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      They don’t need to market TLJ right now, they will wait all the summer blockbuster buzz to go away. Then the new trailer will be released, soon after that TV spots. There’s always that fear of showing too much, just look at Spider-man Homecoming marketing- too much trailers.

    • July 2, 2017 at 10:22 pm
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      I can see where you are coming from. I’m in the minority that loved TLJ’s teaser. It wasn’t dumb nostalgia baiting and was an actual teaser to where it showcased just a few bits, and to me had a cool quote at the end.

      But yeah. TFA was a success because it had been ten years since SWs had been on the big screen. I am a Legends fan(and still am, but I enjoy the NC), but no one could deny that SWs rightful place was the movies. Especially, after ROTS which was the last SWs film.

      And the original cast was coming back. But really, TFA was just a setup movie. That is it. Yeah, it had decent performances and didn’t do anything major like the PT. But to me, the film was a watered Fellowship of the Ring. TLJ could change my mind, but really the pendulum swung back so hard with this movie and for the most part has stayed.

      LF and Rian Johnson’s biggest test will be if TLJ unravels the mystery box and gives everyone some good, original content. Because, nostalgia is gone at this point with SWs. It is either sink or swim. And I do have hope that it will be the latter. Unless, KK pulls some BS on Rian Johnson.

      • July 5, 2017 at 2:50 am
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        The TLJ trailer was boredom personified. SHAMEFUL that the only look we got a Luke Skywalker was a few seconds in darkness at the end with him bitching. SHAMEFUL.

        • July 5, 2017 at 4:36 am
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          Funny, because I thought the exact same thing about TFA. It was SHAMEFULLY nostalgic and that shot with Han and Chewie was just really bad fan-fan service.

          So yeah, I strongly disagree with you. TLJ’s teaser to me was how you should do a teaser in that it managed to pique my interest more than TFA did.

  • July 2, 2017 at 12:35 pm
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    Lucasfilm marketing campaign timeline:

    Rogue One Teaser #1 – April 11
    The Last Jedi Teaser #1 – April 14

    Rogue One Behind the Scenes video – July 15 (SW Celebration)
    D23 – July 15/16

    I think we’ll be getting the Behind the Scenes video of The Last Jedi at D23.

    Rogue One Teaser #2 – August 11
    The Last Jedi Teaser #2 will drop around August 11

    • July 2, 2017 at 12:49 pm
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      “Saturday, July 15

      Disney, Marvel Studios & Lucasfilm – Live Action at The Walt Disney Studios (10 a.m., Hall D23)–– At this exclusive Hall D23 presentation featuring never-before-seen footage, surprise star appearances, and more, you’ll get a behind-the-scenes glimpse at an exciting array of spectacular films on the horizon from these world-class studios. Cell phones, cameras, and all recording devices will be checked for this presentation.”

  • July 2, 2017 at 5:00 pm
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    Good. I used to go to SDCC almost every year and I got to go last year and rogue ones presence was sad. So now I don’t feel so bad on missing out if there’s no TLJ. I live close to it and every year it gets bigger more crowded and expensive less fun. I don’t know what they are doing with this marketing of TLJ but they need to push it a little harder and get us excited again. Why is there no damn title for Han Solo yet?

    • July 5, 2017 at 2:57 am
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      Agreed – not promoting hard at SDCC is literally throwing away MILLIONS of dollars in TLJ revenue.

  • July 2, 2017 at 7:27 pm
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    I can’t believe people are getting themselves all worked up over the possibility that TLJ isn’t good. Guys. Rian Johnson is the most talented writer/director ever to get his hands on a Star Wars movie. Go watch Brick and Looper again and relax. This isn’t the movie we should be worried about.

    • July 2, 2017 at 8:15 pm
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      What worries me is that they are being overly secretive about TLJ, even more so than they were with TFA, but, at the same time, they keep dropping those hints that the movie is “creative”,”redifines the rules of Star Wars”, is filled with “ambiguity”, is something we’ve never seen before, etc. etc. Too much of that, without any actual factual information about the script or even a full trailer, becomes a negative buzz to me, but, as I said below, that is just my opinion.

      I know the comparison may be not accurate, but so far, the vibe I’m getting from TLJ looks similar to what we got from Batman v Superman, which was also supposed to be a “different kind of superhero movie”, with a complex plot and grey characters .Well, we all know how that turned out. “Creative” is good, but too much of it makes it “weird”. As much as hardcore fans may appreciate it, I don’t think the average, casual SW movie-goer wants a grey movie with an overly complex and ambiguous plot. The chances of the movie flopping increase exponentially under that scenario unless, as you say, the director is extremely talented/gifted, which. quite frankly, I don’t think is the case with RJ.

      • July 4, 2017 at 4:33 am
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        They’re really not being more secretive than they were with TFA. It just feels that way because this time in 2015 Ford had been injured and crew members had been laid off, leading to plot leaks that essentially allowed us to put together the entire movie. If that door hadn’t fallen on Ford’s leg, we would have known just as little about TFA as we do about TLJ right now.

      • July 5, 2017 at 2:48 am
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        “As much as hardcore fans may appreciate it, I don’t think the average,
        casual SW movie-goer wants a grey movie with an overly complex and
        ambiguous plot”. AMEN AMEN AMEN AMEN AMEN.

        If I want “ambiguity” I’ll go see the latest Marvel or DC flick.

    • July 2, 2017 at 10:17 pm
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      I can agree with you, as I am a big Rian Johnson fan. Those two movies are some of my favorite of all time. But really, I can see why people are nervous. Rian Johnson is hopefully doing what the franchise needed; going in a different direction and doing it well.

      Because, much as I enjoy the PT, I know they are not good movies, marred by horrible execution, despite good ideas. And while ROTS, I felt was the best executed of the PT(it is one of my personal favorite SWs movies), the PT is the reason why TFA existed. And really, those people who fear “creative” “redefines the mythos”, here’s the thing; Rian Johnson isn’t Zack Snyder. I say this as a Snyder fan(I hated BVS). He is a screenwriter and director. His ability to tell a story isn’t just pure visual, but on the page as well.

      Seriously, I urge everyone to check out his work. He made Bruce Willis, an actor who I felt has slumped so far, amazing once more.

      And as much as I disliked TFA, I know for a fact he wouldn’t have picked up this project unless it interested him. Case in point, he is good friends with Abrams. So, unless LF is trying to undermine him in some fashion(which would piss me off), TLJ will be fine.

      It has to be. TFA had nostalgia and SWs mania. TLJ will not have that luxury. Even most TFA fans want something different. And TLJ will do that. Whether or not it is good, remains to be seen. Hopefully, it is.

    • July 3, 2017 at 2:35 am
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      And the perfect emotional and narrative climax to one of the greatest network dramas of all time.

      – Pomojema

    • July 5, 2017 at 2:45 am
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      Look, we all know Rian Johnson is not giving us the Luke Skywalker that we want. We want a Luke that is a HERO — not an Ornithologist who wants to end the Jedi Order. TLJ looks TERRIBLE thus far, and it honestly HURTS me to say this.

      • July 5, 2017 at 9:35 am
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        Okay. I’m sorry that you feel you’ll be disappointed, but you don’t speak for everyone, and there’s always the old EU if you want a purely heroic Luke. I hope the movie ends up surprising you.

      • July 5, 2017 at 8:14 pm
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        I am starting to feel like you simply troll the forums for fun and it doesn’t reflect your opinion. There are no facts to back any of the claims you have made. And I find it highly unlikely you can determine the entire plot and character arcs of a yet to be released film from two minutes of footage that may or may not be in it. The only thing that is hurting you in typing is probably your gut from the laughs you get out of what you post. Your logic and claims are about as sound as a walkway with no railings.

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