No Star Wars at SDCC.

SDDC Unofficial Blog reported yesterday that there will most likely NOT be a Rise of Skywalker panel at SDCC. This has not been corroborated by Lucasfilm at this time, but it certainly makes sense that Disney would want to save this for D23 Expo. I guess that is one less panel for me to worry about getting into Hall H for. I must admit that it is a little disappointing, being that it’s my first time attending The Big One.

While the convention schedule has not been released, we are in the midst of panel announcements almost daily lately, some more detailed than others. SDCC Unofficial Blog has a running list of announced panels here.

It seems safe to say that the next big Star Wars news should be at D23 Expo, which will take place from 23-25 August 2019.

Dawn of Skywalker.

So today, the official Star Wars Japan Twitter account posted that the title of Episode IX in Japan would be 『スター・ウォーズ／スカイウォーカーの夜明け』.  That would read, in Romaji: Sutaa Woozu Sukaiwookaa no Yoake. The title is not exactly the same as it is in English as it translates to Dawn of Skywalker rather than Rise of Skywalker. Naturally, this has a certain subset of nerds talking, just like there was fervent discussion over whether or not ‘Jedi’ in The Last Jedi was meant to be singular or plural.

I am by no means a native speaker of Japanese, but I did study it for two years in college while earning my Bachelor’s and I’ve tried to keep up my study since then by using several apps (more on that soon perhaps). The word 夜明け translates to ‘dawn’ , ‘breaking dawn’, or even ‘daybreak’; you get the idea. In this case, it would seem to indicate a new beginning. This makes sense, as this film is meant to serve as not only an end to the sequel trilogy, but to the Skywalker saga as well. Whether or not that also means that ‘Skywalker’ will become synonymous with Jedi (as another word to refer to a Force-user), I’m not sure, but that’s an idea that I have liked a lot and won’t be surprised if that is the case.