Star Wars Celebration 2017: Harrison Ford crashes 40th Anniversary tribute to drop some jokes
Thousands of fans flooded to Orlando, Florida for Star Wars Celebration and the 40th Anniversary tribute panel kicked off the 4-day event. Fans in attendance were treated with an all-star lineup which included creator/director George Lucas, stars Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Billy Dee Williams, Hayden Christensen and Peter Mayhew and then a spontaneous appearance by Harrison Ford.
“I can’t believe we managed to keep it a secret considering you landed your plane on I-4,” host Warwick Davis joked about Ford’s surprise appearance.
“Yeah, but it was a good landing!” Ford quipped before getting more laughs from the audience when Davis asked if the Star Wars films changed his life.
“Oh, it’s made no difference whatsoever” he joked. Daily Mail landed a great video (with a better view than yours truly.)
Hamill teases Lucas about writing dialogue which was difficult to deliver. Ford jumped in and said Lucas should try testing the words out loud.
Back in February, Ford mistakenly landed his single-engine plane on a taxiway instead of the runway at John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California. This prompted a brief FAA investigation, but Ford was not penalized.
During this special 40th anniversary panel the late Star Wars icon Carrie Fisher was honored at the event by 24-year-old daughter Billie Lourd.
Lourd took to the stage wearing a white dress version of Fisher’s Princess Leia costume as she made a touching speech.
Check out the tribute at the bottom.
There was even a quick glimpse of Rian Johnson and Carrie Fisher on the set of The Last Jedi. After the video concluded, John Williams gave a surprise concert, which kicked off with Princess Leia’s theme.
Liam Neeson (Qui Gon Jinn) appeared via video for a special announcement.
“We’re making a very unofficial movie about Jar Jar Binks and what happened to Jar Jar. Spoiler alert: He did go to the Dark Side,” the Phantom Menace star joked.
Then Sith lord and apprentice Ian McDiarmid and Christensen reunited onstage, where Christensen spoke about his epic volcano lightsaber battle in Episode III and the unexpected challenge it presented.
“I had been conditioned from a very young age to make the sound effect when I swing the lightsaber … it was a difficult habit to break,” said the actor of playing Anakin Skywalker.
Lucas would have to come tell him after takes, “I can see your mouth moving.”
“I was so focused I wasn’t aware I was doing it,” said Christensen.
Samuel L. Jackson, made a video appearance to pitch a return for his dearly departed Jedi Mace Windu, who died in Episode III. He noted Star Wars has a long history of Jedi returning for future installments beyond their deaths or returning with cybernetic limbs.
“I am not dead … Mace Windu is awaiting his return. Let’s make it happen. Kathy you’re sitting right there,” he joked, addressing Kennedy.
