I think back to my time in Japan almost every day. A 14.5 hour flight, a numb backside and a bumpy landing. I was the furthest away from home I’d ever been but I had my girlfriend and twin brother by my side and we were all incredibly excited.

For the first few days in Tokyo, we explored as much as we could. Heading to the Warner Brothers Studio Tour of Harry Potter, accompanied by my good friend Torbis and a few others from the USA before watching the Chiba Lotte Marines face off against the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters in a 3-0 victory. The following day we visited a couple of Pokemon centres (Tokyo DX & Train Station) and the Imperial Palace. Later that day, Star Wars Celebration Japan 2025 officially begun.

Having been fortunate enough, sorry bank account, to acquire VIP tickets, Thursday night saw us queuing for 2 hours to get early access to the official Star Wars Celebration store and so commenced our spending, sorry again bank. Another 90 minute queue then saw us paying for our goodies and we were out of there. Back to the hotel with a buzz in the air for the following 3 days to come.

SWCJ – Day 1

Day 1, an early wake up, not a lot of sleep, a few breakfast bars down the hatch and we were off feeling “SO READY”. The hotel was a very short walk to the convention centre and we hit the queue in good time. As a VIP, our queue was much shorter and we gained entry to the show floor 15 minutes earlier than everyone else which can only mean one thing…inva-more spending!! My most expensive purchase by far was the duelling effects Darth Vader Hot Toys figure.

With early purchases made however, we were eager to hit our first panel – The Mandalorian & Grogu. Not only did we get our first look at the new film releasing in just over a month from now (WHAT!?), but before that, Kathleen Kennedy (KK) introduced us to Shawn Levy (Stranger Things, Deadpool & Wolverine) who then announced the title of his film, Star Wars: Starfighter, set 5 years after The Rise of Skywalker. He also confirmed the rumours of Ryan Gosling (Project Hail Mary, Barbie), who then came to the stage to discuss his excitement for the film and his Star Wars bedsheets! Star Wars: Starfighter wrapped production back in December 2025 and is scheduled to release on May 28th 2027, almost 2 months following Star Wars Celebration LA.

Back to The Mandalorian & Grogu. With KK & Dave Filoni already on stage out came Jon Favreau, Pedro Pascal and the legendary Sigourney Weaver to talk about our first Star Wars film since 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker. Whilst I don’t remember much about what was said, we did get to see Sigourney in a rebel flight suit as she takes on the role of Colonel Ward of the New Republic. We were then shown a scene from the film which featured a brand new look at Imperial Remanent Snowtroopers, they’re the same but often don’t have the neck guard, and they look awesome!! and some additional trailer-esque footage to finish. A great start to Celebration 2025!

We then met up with long time friend of the channel The Twisted Jedi, an Australian creator who I’ve known since February 2018. It was our first time meeting in person which was pretty surreal. We then went to the Meta booth to play Star Wars Beyond Victory, a recently announced Mixed Reality game, which released back in October 2025. After queuing for about an hour, I finally had my turn. Having played Vader Immortal and Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge, I was eager to finally play a new VR/AR/MR game. I found the MR racing challenging as a result of the view distance, but it felt as though it had promise and I was keen to hear more…plus I wanted the comic, which was a free gift to players in the booth and a Celebration exclusive!!

With that done and dusted, it was time to walk around the show floor for a bit before heading to the Lucasfilm Publishing panel, eager to learn more about the upcoming books and comics. We left slightly early though as it was time for the Lucasfilm Animation 20th Anniversary panel.

The panel discussed all things animation, reflecting on the Clone Wars, Rebels, The Bad Batch and more, whilst also looking at what is ahead. A few short weeks after SWCJ, Tales from the Underworld was set to release, so we got to see Episode 1 of the series in this panel, which concluded with strong applause after seeing Asajj Ventress flee from the Empire post Bad Batch S3 with a former padawan of the Jedi Order.

In typical Dave Filoni fashion he joked about ending the panel there, but panel host, the Star Wars legend of David Collins pushed and so the lights went dark and down the ramp came Maul. Crimson saber ignition, swirling streaks as Maul dashed, a dark gritty city, police droids, Rook Kast and a pink/red Twi’lek…Darth Talon!? Thunderous applause sounded the room as the title card appeared: Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord. Out of the shadows came Lord Maul himself, Sam Witwer, to “Play it again”.

As a huge fan of Maul, I could not be more pleased by what I’d just witnessed and the incredible quality of it too. Slated for a 2026 release, we have now seen 4 episodes. I’ve written a spoiler free review of the first 4 episodes here.

Following the end of the panel, Day 1 was close to ending but the carnage was not over yet because it was time to meet up with the boys. Meeting back up with The Twisted Jedi and for the first time ever, SammyBoiii, another Australian creator whom I’ve known since ~April 2018. After hours of Call of Duty Warzone trios, the boys were standing just feet apart, a moment I will never forget and look forward to replicating in years to come. I also got to see Sage from Star Wars Uplink once more as well as UI/UX legend, Jordan DeVries of Respawn Entertainment, who I had the fortune of meeting in London 2 years prior. And thus concluded Day 1 of SWCJ.

Pictured L-R: Sage, Me, SammyBoiii, Twisted Jedi

SWCJ – Day 2

With my first proper good nights sleep and off the back of all the excitement with Day 1 of Star Wars Celebration, it was time for Day 2, starting with an Andor Season 2 panel.

Andor Season 2 was slated for release just 2 days after SWCJ ended, so marketing was in full swing and with just a few days to go we had the lead cast on stage in front of our very eyes. I still remember Celebration London in 2023, Season 1 had released 5 months prior and Season 2 had begun filming to which we got to see an exclusive trailer, now though, it was finally here.

We got to hear from each member of the cast about their journeys with their respective characters and within 20 minutes it was done…huh, that was quick? Oh, it’s because we got to see the whole of Season 2 Episode 1 on a giant screen with thousands of fans…what an experience that was. Reminiscent of London where we got to see Mando S3 Ep7 at the end of Day 1.

With Andor checked off the list, we grabbed an early lunch to fuel us for the rest of the day filled with even more incredible panels. Ahsoka was first. Labelled as a look back at Season 1, we got to see some behind the scenes of the first season, hear from Dave Filoni and Rosario Dawson about their journeys with the titular character. As a Star Wars enthusiast and creative industries worker, this type of content is always super engaging. With that wrapped in 30 minutes though, we still had half the allocated time left, so Dave Filoni gave us a look at what’s to come in Season 2 of the show.

Whilst I don’t remember absolutely everything, with the show yet to commence production, we were treated to some concept art of Loth Kittens, models of New Republic hangers and more, but not before the one and only Hayden Christensen…Anakin freaking Skywalker was brought on stage to confirm his continued role in the show. With everyone on stage, it was time to pay respects to Ray Stevenson, whose impecible portrayal of Baylan Skoll was a highlight of the show for me. Ray sadly passed away in May 2023, just a few months before the release of Ahsoka Season 1. With Baylan having such a huge role in the first season and ending it upon the pointing hand of The Father, a force god of Mortis, it was clear his story would be key in a second season.

Taking on the role in Season 2 is Rory McCann, known by many as ‘The Hound’ in HBO’s Game of Thrones. Rory was close friends with Ray with from the first look of Rory in costume, he looks fantastic. I can’t wait to see him continue the characters journey and build on Ray Stevenson’s portrayal.

The panel ended with an exclusive first look trailer that Dave Filoni put together. This was cut using all kinds of concept art and a 1970s/80s voiceover to give us an overview of what’s to come, including an epic battle between Admiral Ackbar and Grand Admiral Thrawn. This is something that George Lucas did for Empire Strikes Back too, so it was a fun nod without revealing too much. Hopefully May 4th gives us an exciting update about the show!

Day 2 so far has been very heavy with TV shows, but to close the day off we had the Star Wars: Zero Company panel. Star Wars: Zero Company was announced as an untitled strategy game by Bit Reactor and Respawn back in January 2022, with it’s name and cover art revealed whilst I was on my plane journey over to Japan, much to my surprise when I finally gained internet access in the Tokyo Haneda Airport Security queue.

I sat with Torbis, SammyBoiii and Twisted Jedi for this panel, apologies to my brother and partner for ditching them :P. The panel started with a trailer which very quickly set the scene for the game. A new story within the Clone Wars, a war beneath the war. Zero Company sees us take on the role of Hawks, a former Republic Officer fired for an incident that wasn’t his fault, in a strategy game built by industry veterans who made the XCOM games, Marvel Midnight Suns and much more. Hawks leads Zero Company, a group of mercenaries built with characters from all areas, Republic, Separatist and those unaligned. Not only that but we can create our own characters. With permadeath enabled for all except Hawks this game will truly be unique to us all. A few weeks ago we got a huge info dump on Star Wars: Zero Company from PC Gamer.

Game Director and CEO of Bit Reactor, Greg Foertsch, came to the stage with senior members of the Bit Reactor team alongside Lucasfilm Games Executive Producer, Orion Kellogg. All of whom spoke about their roles on the game and what we can expect to see from it. Immense customisation, custom characters, the biggest galaxy map ever seen in a Star Wars game including new and familiar locations (Ring of Kafrene, Anaxes, Mapuzo, etc).

It’s safe to say that my excitement for this game couldn’t be much higher at the time, but the Zero Company fun didn’t stop there…more on that in a moment. But with the panel at an end, it was time to draw SWCJ Day 2 to a close and what a day it was.

SWCJ – Day 3

Celebration Day 3 was a little different for me and in fact early, as I had to be at the convention centre for ~8am for an exciting opportunity. A huge thanks has to go to Electronic Arts who gave me this opportunity. Alongside Sammyboiii, The Twisted Jedi, Bombastic and Star Wars Explained, I got to be part of an interview panel and speak directly to Greg Foertsch and Orion Kellogg about Star Wars: Zero Company. This is one of the coolest things I’ve been able to do as a creator and I can’t thank everyone who’s supported me over the years enough. And yes, I promise SammyBoiii and Twisted aren’t brothers.

Following the interview, it was time to meet up with the girlfriend and twin. Where, for most of the day we sat at the Live Stage as Visions Season 3 didn’t interest us enough to head to the panel. What we did get to see at the live stage though was Ahmed Best (Jar Jar Binks, Kelleran Beq) come out to introduce Fortnite: Galactic Battle. A Fortnite mini-season starting in May 2025 until mid-June 2025, featuring Jar Jar, Darth Jar Jar!? and so many other new Star Wars characters, Star Wars blasters and locations.

Having played the Fortnite season, it was a ton of fun and I’m so glad to see those items return via the officially licensed UEFN assets, which I’m building my own game. Check out the details here.

Not too long later and it was time for the closing ceremony, where we had the announcement of Star Wars Celebration LA on April 1st-4th 2027 to celebrate 50 years of Star Wars, it’s going to be mental and my hotel is officially booked!

Star Wars Celebration Japan was the perfect experience for me. I got to experience the best of Star Wars with two of the most important people in my life, a franchise we all hold very dear. As well as meet old friends for the first time, hang out with other friends for a second time, buy a ton of merch and of course get tons of very exciting Star Wars announcements. To reiterate the start, I think about SWCJ every day and I equally look ahead to what Celebration LA could be like in April 2027. My hotel is booked and plans are being made, now we wait for tickets to go on sale!

My final day in Japan was spent with my girlfriend, brother and Torbis as we spent the day at Disney Sea, where we actually spotted Temuera Morrison!! It was a fun filled day of rollercoasters, relaxing rides, good food and oh, the Tower of Terror, which I will never be doing again…ever!

The week in Japan was over and to top it all off, as our plane taxied to the runway I spotted the C-3PO Star Wars plane which ended its service earlier this year on January 9th.

I vlogged my trip to Japan which you can check out below. I hope you enjoyed this look back at Star Wars Celebration Japan. I’ll be covering Celebration LA as we build up to it next year so stay tuned!