Star Wars Celebration is an annual event celebrating all things Star Wars. For three days Star Wars fans from around the world descend upon a chosen location (this year it's London's ExCeL Exhibition Centre) for all kinds of nerdy fan-driven experiences. Of course there's a ton of cosplay and a convention floor packed with exclusive Star Wars goodies (props, costumes, video games, toys, etc.), but what we're most excited about are the movie and TV panels.
We know, it sounds about as exciting as the food Rey was eating on Jakku, but this year's panels are stacked with Star Wars stars and filmmakers, past, present and future. What will we see and hear at what's being billed as the biggest and most anticipated Star Wars Celebration ever? Here are the five biggest reveals we hope to see in London later this week.
1. More details on Luke Skywalker's return
The first major panel at this year's Star Wars Celebration is called "An Hour with Mark Hamill," and this will be our best chance since the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens to hear from Luke Skywalker himself regarding his presence in The Force Awakens, not to mention what he'll be up to in Episode VIII.
Will Hamill spill the beans? We hope so! At the very least, we hope to learn more about how much of Skywalker we'll get in the new film, and whether we'll get an epic lightsaber duel between him and Kylo Ren. Realistically, though, we'd just be happy to hear Hamill tell behind-the-scenes Star Wars stories for an hour. After all, it's Luke Skywalker! The guy's got to have stories...
The second major panel on the first day of Star Wars Celebration will be centered on this December's Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, featuring director Gareth Edwards and Lucasfilm's Kathleen Kennedy.
The biggest reveal we hope to lay our galactic eyes on is a new trailer for the film, which is already rumored to be premiering during the panel. Here's the current trailer to refresh your memory of what we've seen of this film so far.
The other biggie: Darth Vader.
Vader has been confirmed to be appearing in Rogue One (voiced once again by James Earl Jones), but we haven't seen a live-action Vader since his birthing scene during 2005's Revenge of the Sith.
You remember this, right?
Needless to say, fans want more Vader -- and everyone at Celebration this year is hoping the Rogue One panel will give us our first taste of the old iconic villain.
3. The full title for Star Wars Episode VIII
With three days and a ton of convention space, there are multiple opportunities for Disney/Lucasfilm to reveal the full title for Star Wars Episode VIII, which is wrapping up production now. Many believe that announcement will be made during this year's Celebration, with it likely not coming till the final day.
Why the final day? Well that's when the "Future Filmmakers" panel is, featuring -- among others -- Episode VIII director Rian Johnson and the Han Solo directing duo of Chris Miller and Phil Lord.
Rumored titles for Episode VIII include Star Wars: Order of the Dark Side and Star Wars: Tale of the Jedi Temple. Considering Episode VII was The Force Awakens -- coupled with the fact that this second movie is said to be darker and more intense, like Empire Strikes Back -- we assume the title will allude to darker things to come, a la Order of the Dark Side or a title similar to that one.
4. Carrie Fisher's dog Gary nabs a role in the next Star Wars movie
One of the more delightful surprises of the Star Wars: The Force Awakens press tour was learning about Carrie Fisher's amazingly adorable dog Gary, whose cute, relaxed vibe and long tongue won the hearts of millions.
Fisher took the dog everywhere, too, and the pair became an amusingly eccentric duo. Gary even appeared alongside Fisher on Good Morning America (see above), and of course he joined her on the set of Star Wars Episode VIII, seen here in a pic that humorously reveals the title Space Bear.
However, we hope Celebration brings us an official announcement that Gary is in the movie, too! Considering his sudden fame, it only makes sense for him to appear... right?
If any announcement regarding Gary's involvement in the next Star Wars film is made, expect it to be during Carrie Fisher's solo panel at Celebration on Sunday.
5. Our first look at the new Han Solo
It's not due in theaters till May 25, 2018, but seeing as directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller will be on a panel discussing their movie this coming Sunday, we're hoping not only to get an official title for their Untitled Han Solo spin-off movie, but also official confirmation that Alden Ehrenreich is indeed playing Solo and maybe a first look at Ehrenreich in character.
Ehrenreich is rumored to be appearing as Han Solo in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which means we may get our first look at him as Solo long before his movie hits theaters two years from now. If that's the case, we expect to get a taste of the next iteration of Han Solo -- either through concept art or official images -- at some point during this year's Star Wars Celebration.
What did we miss? What else are you hoping to see come out of this year's Star Wars Celebration?