By George & Josh Bate
Attending Star Wars Celebration has long been of the most parts about being a Star Wars fan. The massive conventions are a resounding celebration of a galaxy that transcends movies, television, and literature for so many. Each Celebration offers a chance for fans to meet fellow Star Wars diehards and purchase all sorts of exclusive merchandise, but they are also the platform for all sorts of exciting announcements and reveals. Now that the full panel schedule for Star Wars Celebration Japan has been unveiled, we are making some predictions about what will be revealed at the event from April 18-April 20, 2025.
Check out our Predictions for Star Wars Celebration Japan below….
Prediction 1: Trailer Reveal for The Mandalorian and Grogu
A panel centered around the next Star Wars feature film takes place on Friday April 18th from 10am-11am. The description of the panel alludes to a “sneak peak at what’s to come for the Mandalorian and Grogu on their biggest adventure yet.”
After early footage of the film was shown exclusively to the crowd present at D23 2024, we suspect Celebration Japan will bet be next place where footage from The Mandalorian and Grogu is shown. While it’s almost a guarantee that the crowd present for the panel will get to watch a new trailer or footage, we’re going out on a limb here and predicting that the first trailer (or at least a teaser) of The Mandalorian and Grogu will be officially released to the public following the panel.
Prediction 2: Announcement of a New Star Wars Animated Series
The Lucasfilm Animation panel at Star Wars Celebration Japan will be held on Friday April 18th from 3:30pm-4:30pm. The description of the panel also alludes to “a sneak peak at what’s to come,” which we take as confirmation that a new Star Wars animated series will be announced.
After the conclusion of The Bad Batch in 2024, there has been no official announcement indicating another Star Wars animated series is on the horizon, other than Visions: Volume 3. Seeing as how the Star Wars: Visions panel is on Sunday April 20 and this panel teases a sneak peak from Lucasfilm Animation, it’s almost certain the “sneak peak” referred to here is not a sneak peak at Visions (especially considering the shorts of Visions are made by a variety of different animation studios).
But, if a new Star Wars animated series is announced, what could it be about?
Dating back to The Bad Batch, rumors have circulated that a follow-up series centered are Rex and the clone rebellion is up next. This seems like a safe bet considering the glowing reception for The Bad Batch, the enduring love for Rex as a character, and the gap in canon to fill before we meet Rex again in Star Wars Rebels.
Another possible animated Star Wars show that could be announcement is an Asajj Ventress series. The fan favorite character from The Clone Wars was resurrected in The Bad Batch Season 3, posing all sorts of questions regarding how the character survived and what she will do next. As big fans of the novel Dark Disciple (and the fact that the novel was based on unfinished episodes of The Clone Wars), it seems as if some of the work for a Ventress series has already started…
Speaking of characters from The Bad Batch, another candidate for the next Star Wars animated series is a series about Omega. The series finale of the show saw a grown-up Omega say goodbye to her father Hunter as she left to join the Rebellion. This seems like a perfect teaser for an Omega solo series, should Lucasfilm Animation be interested in going this route.
Another candidate for the next Star Wars animated series is another season of Tales of… Tales of the Jedi told three stories each about Count Dooku and Ahsoka Tano, while Tales of the Empire told three stories each about Morgan Elsbeth and Barriss Offee. Another Tales of… series feels inevitable at some point, although it’s unclear whether this show would be a successor to Tales of the Jedi or Tales of the Empire or an entirely different Tales of… The possibilites are endless for what the latter could entail. Tales of the High Republic, Tales of Bounty Hunters, and Tales of the Sith are just some of the possibilities that come to mind.
Finally, we think an animated series set around the events of The Mandalorian and other series could be a possibility. For a while, many fans have clamored for an animated series about Luke Skywalker following Return of the Jedi, which could focus on Luke training the next generation of Jedi, including Ben Solo. Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau have shown great ambitions to expand on this period of canon, from The Book of Boba Fett to Ahsoka to Skeleton Crew. An animated series set during this time doesn’t seem out of the question.
Prediction 3: Andor Season 2 Early Screening or Red Carpet Premiere
At Star Wars Celebration Anaheim 2022, fans attending the incredible Lucasfilm Studio Showcase were invited back to the convention hall in the evening for the red-carpet premiere of Obi-Wan Kenobi. At Star Wars Celebration Europe 2023, fans attending the similarly incredible Lucasfilm Studio Showcase were invited back to the convention in the evening for an early screening of an episode of The Mandalorian. Given Andor Season 2‘s release date of April 22, just days after Star Wars Celebration Japan concludes, we think fans attending the Andor panel on Saturday April 19 will be treated to an early screening (or even a red carpet premiere) of the highly anticipated new Star Wars series.
Prediction 4: Hayden Christensen (and others?) Will Return in Ahsoka Season 2
The Ahsoka panel on Saturday April 19 is billed as a “look back at the first season of Ahsoka,” but there’s no way Season 2 will not be discussed. We predict that Hayden Christensen (who will be present at Celebration Japan and who celebrates a birthday on April 19) will be announced as reprising his role as Anakin Skywalker in Ahsoka Season 2. Not only that, we think Christensen may not be the only actor announced to return to the fold. Rumors circulated that Ewan McGregor will play Obi-Wan Kenobi in Ahsoka Season 2 (likely as a Force Ghost) and, if this is true, we could see this announcement also being made during the panel.
Prediction 5: Visions: Volume 3 Release Date Announcement + An Episode of Visions: Volume 3 Will Be Screened + Announcement That Volume 3 Will Include Sequels to Beloved Shorts
The Star Wars: Visions Volume 3 panel runs from 10am-11am on Sunday April 20, so we expect lots of tidbits about the new season.
For starters, we predict a release date for Visions: Volume 3 will be announced. Previously, it was revealed that the series will premiere in 2025. Every May the 4th since Disney+ launched, a new Star Wars project has released. So, we think it’s possible that Visions: Volume 3 may drop on May 4, 2025 on Disney+.
We also think that a new short from Visions: Volume 3 will screen to the crowd present at the panel on April 20.
Finally, we predict that Visions: Volume 3 will feature sequels to beloved shorts from Volume 1. Kamikaze Douga (the studio that made ‘The Duel’), Kinema citrus Co. (the studio that made The Village Bride), Production I.G. (the studio that made ‘The Ninth Jedi’), and TRIGGER (the studio that made ‘The Twins’ and ‘The Elder’) all return for Volume 3 will new shorts. Given how amazing some of their previous works were, these studios may have been commissioned to develop sequels. Who wouldn’t want to see another episode of the Ronin? Or a follow-up to ‘The Ninth Jedi’?
Prediction 6: The Next Star Wars Celebration Will Return to the U.S.
The last Star Wars Celebration to take place in the U.S. was in Anaheim in May 2022. With Celebration 2023 taking place in Europe and Celebration Japan taking place in Japan, we predict that the next Star Wars Celebration (hopefully in 2026) will return to the U.S. Traditionally, the closing ceremony of each Celebration has been where the announcement of the next Star Wars Celebration takes place. The closing ceremony of this year’s event unfolds from 3:30pm-4pm on Sunday April 20, during which we think a Celebration in Anaheim, Chicago, or Orlando could be revealed.