Official news about the 2014 San Diego Comic-Con continues to roll out - and so far things are matching up pretty well with our "10 Things to See at SDCC2014" wish-list. We've gotten confirmation that we'll get a send-off for The Hobbit film franchise; and we just recently learned that new DC TV series like The Flash and Gotham will be featured as part of a massive DC Entertainment TV preview event. Not too shabby.

One of our biggest expectations was that Disney and Lucasfilm would be bringing Star Wars to Comic-Con 2014; now we know that it is indeed happening... just not the way that we (or many others) had hoped.

According to a press release, Disney/Lucas will be debut the upcoming Star Wars Rebels animated series at the 'Con - but the studio makes it very clear that Star Wars Episode VII will be nowhere in sight:

The Heroes of Star Wars Rebels: 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m., Room 6BCF

The Empire. The Rebellion. The Beginning. Star Wars Rebels, Lucasfilm’s highly anticipated animated series detailing the start of the fight against the evil Empire, is coming this fall — but fans can get a big sneak peek at San Diego Comic-Con.

Lucasfilm’s special panel, The Heroes of Star Wars Rebels, will feature executive producer Dave Filoni, as well as the first panel appearance by executive producer Simon Kinberg and stars Freddie Prinze, Jr., Vanessa Marshall, Steve Blum, Tiya Sircar, and Taylor Gray. They’ll discuss making the show and will reveal exclusive content from the upcoming series for fans in attendance.

...With Star Wars: Episode VII creators deep in production in anticipation of the film’s December 18, 2015, release, Lucasfilm will not be featuring the movie at SDCC.

Star Wars Rebels Poster
CLICK Image for Full-Size Poster.

In case you haven't been keeping up with what Star Wars Rebels is all about: the new animated series (from the makers of Clone Wars) is set in era between Episodes III - IV, and follows a team of unlikely heroes who band together to resist the tightening grip of the emerging Empire, only to end up igniting the embers of what will one day be the Galactic Rebellion.

For a better explanation, read this official synopsis:

Star Wars Rebels continues the epic tradition of the legendary Star Wars saga with all-new exciting, action-packed adventures. It is a dark time in the galaxy, as the evil Galactic Empire tightens its grip of power from world to world. As the series begins, Imperial forces have occupied a remote planet, ruling with an iron fist and ruining the lives of its people. The clever and motley crew of the starship Ghost is amongst a select few who are brave enough to stand against the Empire. Together, this ragtag group will face threatening new villains, encounter colorful adversaries, embark on thrilling adventures and become heroes with the power to ignite a rebellion.

TRAILER

What makes Rebels important is that like Clone Wars it represents the only official onscreen Star Wars canon other than the movie episodes. With Disney and Lucasfilm now molding Star Wars into one shared universe of continuity, the rippling effects of the new characters and storylines introduced by Rebels could reach all the way to the storyline for Episode VII.

The thing that is likely going to get a lot of fans' goat, however, is the realization that the day AFTER the Rebels Comic-Con panel (we're talking Friday, July 25th) is the official "Star Wars Day" at Comic-Con. In other words, LucasFilm is going to investing a lot of time, effort and money into keeping the brand relevant during the convention - without giving fans a look at Episode VII. That's rather weak-sauce, no?

Even with Rebels - and a new tie-in novel, A New Dawn - on hand to break fans into the new Star Wars universe, it's all just hors d'oeuvres until we get the main course of Episode VII. Stranger still is the fact that D23 - Disney's big annual convention - isn't even happening this year, so it's not like the studio is holding things back for that reason (as they have in the past).

Star Wars Comic Con 2014

In short: if The Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy casts can be flow-in last minute to make a huge Comic-Con impression, so can the Star Wars cast. Then again, J.J. Abrams threw a lot of shade and misdirection - and outright lies - at fans during the production of Star Trek Into Darkness - so who knows? Maybe Episode VII is angling itself for a big surprise to rival what DC Entertainment and Marvel may have in store. (At the very least, they could settle all debate and give us the frickin' official Episode VII subtitle...)

Guess we'll find out for sure at Comic-Con 2014.

_________________________________________

NEXT: Star Wars Day Events at SDCC 2014

_________________________________________

San Diego Comic-Con 2014 will take place from July 24 - 27th in San Diego, CA. Stay tuned for our coverage.

Star Wars Rebels will air on Disney XD with a one-hour special premiere sometime in Fall 2014.

Star Wars Episode VII will be in theaters on December 18, 2015.

-

Star Wars Day at Comic-Con 2014

Star Wars logo

Friday, July 25, Star Wars Day

Star Wars Origami: 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m., Room 7AB

Origami Master folder Chris Alexander (author of Star Wars Origami) demonstrates and teaches the master folding techniques to make Star Wars origami figures. Attendees will fold an exclusive Comic-Con model along with other art from the Star Wars universe. Materials included!

Star Wars Storyboards: The Original Trilogy: 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m., Room 7AB

For the first time, Lucasfilm has opened its Archives to present comprehensive storyboards for the original Star Wars trilogy — the world-changing A New Hope and its operatic sequels, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi — as well as never-before-published art from early conceptual and deleted scenes, in a new book from Abrams: Star Wars Storyboards: The Original Trilogy. Former ILM art director Joe Johnston will discuss the newest addition to the Abrams Star Wars library, and the singular experience of creating the iconic trilogy’s storyboards with his stellar art dept team. Johnston won an Academy Award for Best Visual effects for his work on Raiders of the Lost Ark, and has directed Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, The Rocketeer, Jumanji, Jurassic Park III, Hidalgo, and Captain America: The First Avenger. Moderated by Lucasfilm editor J.W. Rinzler.

Hasbro: Star Wars: 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m., Room 7AB

Join members of the Hasbro brand and design team including Jeff Labovitz (director, Global Brand Marketing, Hasbro), Bill Rawley (design manager, Hasbro), and more as they discuss the popular Hasbro Star Wars line. Attendees will also get a sneak peek of upcoming, never-before-seen action figures from the highly anticipated Star Wars Rebels animated series.

Star Wars: Collectibles Update: 1:00 p.m. – 2:00pm, Room 7AB

Join eFX, Gentle Giant Studios, Kotobukiya, and Sideshow Collectibles for product development insights and exclusive previews of the latest in Star Wars collectibles. Moderated by Anita Castellar of Lucas Licensing.

Star Wars a New Dawn Book Cover
CLICK Image to see full cover art.

Star Wars: A New Dawn: 2:00 p.m. – 3:00p.m., Room 7AB

STAR WARS: A NEW DAWN by John Jackson Miller

Our very first official canon novel set solidly in the legendary “Dark Times” between Episodes III and IV, A NEW DAWN will introduce readers to two main characters from the upcoming Star Wars: Rebels animated series—Kanan Jarrus and Hera Syndulla—and will feature jacket art by Doug Wheatley, as well as a foreword by Dave Filoni, one of the executive producers of ‘The Clone Wars’ and ‘Star Wars: Rebels.’ It goes on sale September 2, 2014.

Join New York Times bestselling author John Jackson Miller, Shelly Shapiro (editor, Del Rey), Frank Parisi (editor, Del Rey), Jennifer Heddle (senior editor, Lucasfilm), Pablo Hidalgo (Lucasfilm Story Group), Vanessa Marshall (Hera in Star Wars Rebels), along with Dave Filoni (executive producer, Star Wars Rebels), as they discuss the planning and process of Star Wars: A New Dawn, and present the list of upcoming Star Wars novels from Del Rey.

Star Wars Swarm War Art

Star Wars: The Adventures of Luke Skywalker, Jedi Knight: 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m., Room 7AB

Ralph McQuarrie’s art for the original Star Wars trilogy is introduced to a new generation of young readers in Star Wars: The Adventures of Luke Skywalker, Jedi Knight. Join New York Times bestselling author Tony DiTerlizzi as he talks about the conceptualization of this project and the process, challenges, and privileges of writing to the works of a legend. Moderated by J.W. Rinzler (executive editor, Lucasfilm).

Jeffrey Brown – Star Wars Insider: Booth #5537

The writer/artist of Vader’s Little Princess and other classic all-ages Star Wars books, Jeffrey Brown, will be signing copies of Star Wars Insider #151 for fans at the Titan Publishing booth. Brown created an original cover just for this issue!

Saturday, July 26:

Lucasfilm Portfolio Review: 10:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m., Room PR F

Troy Alders, now art director at Disney Consumer Products, is conducting portfolio reviews, providing critiques, and offering tips to graphic designers. Bring a portfolio selection of your best design work in and see if you have what it takes to create art for the ever-expanding Star Wars galaxy. Graphic Design degrees a plus.

________________________________

Next: Comic-Con: What We Want to See

________________________________

San Diego Comic-Con 2014 will take place from July 24 - 27th in San Diego, CA. Stay tuned for our coverage.

Star Wars Rebels will air on Disney XD with a one-hour special premiere sometime in Fall 2014.

Star Wars Episode VII will be in theaters on December 18, 2015.