Star Wars Celebration is taking place in Japan this year, and IGN is attending all the exciting panels! Follow along below for live updates from The Mandalorian & Grogu panel:
Ahsoka Season 2 Filming Begins After Star Wars Celebration
The Lucasfilm panel kicked off with the company’s president Kathleen Kennedy and chief creative officer Dave Filoni taking the stage alongside the iconic droids C-3P0 and R2-D2. Filoni told the crowd that they’ll start shooting Ahsoka Season 2 as soon as he gets off the plane from Celebration.
Kennedy and Filoni also confirmed that Star Wars films by James Mangold, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, Taika Waititi and a new trilogy by Simon Kinberg remain in ongoing development.
Star Wars: Starfighter Announced, Ryan Gosling to Star
Deadpool & Wolverine director Shawn Levy then took the stage to announce that his Star Wars film begins shooting this fall. The director said it’s a standalone adventure film that takes a few years after Star Wars, Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker.
Levy also said most of the rumors about the film swirling around online are very inaccurate but that one is true: Ryan Gosling stars in the movie. The Fall Guy star then took the stage to surprise the fans in the audience.
Gosling recalled how his mom sent him an old photo of his childhood Star Wars bedsheets when he landed the role.
The Levy-Gosling film will be neither a prequel nor a sequel and will explore a period of time not chronicled in other Star Wars projects. It will feature a whole new cast of characters.
The movie will be titled Star Wars: Starfighter and will hit theaters May 28, 2027.
The Mandalorian & Grogu Coming to IMAX
Director Jon Favreau joined Lucasfilm’s Kathleen Kennedy and Dave Filoni onstage at Star Wars Celebration in Tokyo to tout their upcoming film, The Mandalorian & Grogu.
Favreau confirmed that the movie will be in IMAX, which is notable since its origins are on the small screen. He said that sets had to be adjusted accordingly to scale.
The movie will feature some familiar faces from Star Wars lore, including Zeb Orrelios from Rebels and the explorer droid BD-1 from the games Fallen Order and Jedi Survivor.
Sigourney Weaver Says “Grogu Stole My Heart”
Pedro Pascal took the stage along with Sigourney Weaver. Weaver, the sci-fi icon from the Alien and Avatar franchises, told fans of her Star Wars casting: “I got real lucky.”
Weaver admitted she hadn’t watched The Mandalorian before being cast in the movie but when she finally did she fell in love with Pascal’s title character and added, “Of course, Grogu stole my heart.”
The Mandalorian & Grogu Footage Revealed for Attendees
Favreau then brought Grogu out onstage before screening footage from the film for attendees, but with the caveat that it’s still too early for a proper trailer.
The footage includes shots of Imperial in a ship prepared to engage, Mando battling Flame Troopers, AT-AT walkers collapsing in the snow, and then our first look at Weavers character, who appears to be someone contracting Mando for a job.
Weaver’s character is seen at a table with Grogu. She says “very messy” and “You work for us, We need you.”
Grogu is seen swimming and later making items, including a droid, levitate.
Much of the action in the footage appears to take place on a snowy planet. That was the end of the footage.
The Mandalorian & Grogu opens in theaters May 22, 2026.
For everything else Star Wars Celebration, make sure to check out details of the newly announced film, Star Wars: Starfighter, and so much more this week as more reveals are announced, right here on IGN!
