Star Wars Celebration Chicago – The Place to be for Star Wars Cosplay

When I attended the 2013 and 2017 D23 Expo’s in California, I was surprised by a number of Disney-related cosplays I saw, most notably some that were incredibly creative, and would surely never be seen outside of a Disney-related fan event.

Going to Star Wars Celebration Chicago, I was pretty sure I’d see plenty of the same when it came to a galaxy far far away, and I was not disappointed. Here are some cosplays I managed to snap pictures of, many of them characters you probably won’t see outside of a Star Wars convention setting.

__________

Sometimes it doesn’t take much to make an entertaining costume. This person dressed up as the island of Ahch-to from The Last Jedi, complete with multiple Porgs.

__________

I had a feeling I might see some characters from the film Spaceballs, and I was right! There were quite a few people who came dressed as Barf like this fellow here (though didn’t see a single Lone Star!).

__________

Seeing minor characters is always surprising, and when I saw Larma D’Acy from The Last Jedi walk over to a booth, I had to snap a quick picture (she addresses the Resistance members of Leia’s ship after much of the command has been destroyed by the First Order).

__________

A real “old-man Skywalker,” if ever there was one. You don’t want to know what he was wagging his finger at me about!

 

__________

There were a number of Boba Fett cosplays, but this guy was going all-out to resemble the Kenner action figure from the 80’s (right down to the paint-scheme). He would even pose his arms as if he had no elbow joints!

__________

There were a number of ‘men-in-suits-with-stormtrooper-helmets’ walking about, but this Hamilton-related mash-up was quite eye-catching.

__________

This fellow didn’t speak English, but he did an amazing job on his battle-damaged Darth Vader cosplay, from the video game, The Force Unleashed.

__________

Many know that Frank Oz is the voice of both Yoda and Grover, but this was the first time I had seen a mash-up of the two characters (would that make this fellow Yover, or Groda?)!

__________

My first D23 Expo had me surprised how it wasn’t just youngsters dressing up, and the same held true at Celebration. This woman was dressed as an Imperial Technician.

__________

I decided to have some fun, and dress up as George Lucas. Imagine my surprise, when I met another George (on the left!) who seemed to have also done his homework! Of the different George’s I saw this weekend, he gets my vote as the best representation of The Maker!

__________

One character I enjoyed from Episode I, was Captain Panaka of Naboo. I was pleasantly surprised to see this fellow had dressed in his red-and-blue uniform.

__________

There were a number of Emperor Palpatine’s to be seen, but I liked this guy’s yellowed teeth and demeanor. He even told me how he had sent one Vader to fetch him something…and Vader had complied!

__________

Given we were dealing with Lucasfilm Ltd productions, I expected to see some Indiana Jones cosplays, but was very surprised when I encountered Dr Jones AND Willie Scott, from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom!

__________

I was just as surprised to also encounter Short Round from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom! He even showed me one of the Sankara stones from Dr Jones’ knapsack!

__________

Did you know Daft Punk were part of the Empire Strikes Back’s Norwegian filming unit? Well, they got the jackets, so it must be true!

__________

I was hoping to see some more Rose Tico’s at this year’s convention. Out of all of them, I felt this girl pulled off the look very well.

__________

One of the highlights of Solo, was Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian. This young man definitely looked the part, right down to that “trust me” smile on his face.

__________

Aside from Lucas, one of the other recognizable behind-the-scenes people to the SW fandom, is Dave Filoni, who helped create the Clone Wars and Rebels TV shows. This guy had a Filoni-style black hat, and he even fooled a few people into thinking he was the real-deal.

__________

These two are wearing original cosplay garments, inspired by the elitists on Canto Bight in The Last Jedi. Seems they’re checking out the upcoming Galaxy’s Edge Droid Depot, looking for some tech to weaponize and sell across the galaxy.

__________

Word is this person won the Celebration‘s costume contest. This is a similar type of droid that was seen in The Force Awakens, walking outside Maz Kanata’s place.

__________

It was exciting seeing how well some people resembled certain characters. This guy’s Count Dooku was spot-on!

__________

A most unexpected mash-up, was this Tron-style Jedi, complete with neon lightsaber!

__________

Another character that has rarely been brought to life, is the Dianoga from the Death Star’s trash compactor. It’s eye-stalk had the ability to swivel around.

__________

A most unconventional cosplay, are these blue-milk men I encountered. The one on the right is also wearing a Blue Harvest patch (which was the codename for Return of the Jedi during it’s production!).

__________

There were a number of great dresses based on Padme’s attire from the prequels, but I decided to post this woman’s version of her picnic dress from Attack of the Clones. I do like the airy, Shakespearean quality of the design.

__________

There were a number of Rey’s on the convention floor, but this little girl trying to administer a Force-push had me quickly snap a pic!

__________

This woman was one of several people dressed as a Canto Bight Police Officer from The Last Jedi. Her helmet even had the light-up designation over the visor!

__________

I originally just wanted a picture with just the elder Leia, but she insisted I photograph her friends too (she even sounded a little like Carrie Fisher!).

__________

This fellow is probably the closest many of us will get to meeting Alec Guinness. His uncanny resemblance had me quickly rush over and utter “hello there,” to get his attention and a picture!

__________

I save my favorite cosplay for last, and for this show, it was this guy who was spot-on as Chirrut Imwe, from Rogue One! He had his eyes closed when I approached, but when he opened them, and I saw the cloudy blue circles, I felt I had chanced upon a really dedicated cosplayer. I’ve seen a number of other people online also be bowled over by his resemblance to Donnie Yen. Excellent work!

__________

There were plenty more cosplays I wanted to post, but I’ve made it a rule to limit the picture count to 30. There was some wonderful dress-work regarding Amidala’s dresses, and even some great family cosplay groupings I saw. It’s often exciting to see when a whole family gets in on the fun.

If any of you readers are the cosplayers I snapped pics of, please leave a comment! Any tidbits about making your costumes, or stories about their creation, are always welcome!