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Star Wars Episode 9 trailer and title could be hitting April 12

J.J. Abrams is speaking at Star Wars Celebration in Chicago, and fans have hopes he'll reveal both preview and title.

Gael Cooper
CNET editor Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, a journalist and pop-culture junkie, is co-author of "Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? The Lost Toys, Tastes and Trends of the '70s and '80s," as well as "The Totally Sweet '90s." She's been a journalist since 1989, working at Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Sidewalk, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and NBC News Digital. She's Gen X in birthdate, word and deed. If Marathon candy bars ever come back, she'll be first in line.
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Gael Cooper
2 min read

The long-awaited Star Wars: Episode 9 isn't coming out until December, but a bit of news announced on Wednesday convinced some fans they know when its title and trailer will be revealed.

A tweet from the Star Wars Celebration event coming to Chicago in April announced that Episode 9 director J.J. Abrams will be appearing on a panel about the film on April 12. And since it's long been rumored that the Star Wars trailer (and likely the film's title) would debut at the event, it would seem likely April 12 is the trailer release date.

"This is the panel you've been waiting for!" the tweet read in part.

Disney did not respond to a request for comment, but fans didn't need the Death Star to fall on them to make the natural guess that the trailer and title are just a month away.

"I'm queuing up in line right now," one fan wrote. 

Some folks think they have a good guess for the title. Many people like Star Wars: A New Order, as a throwback to the original film, which was later dubbed Star Wars: A New Hope. (We tapped this as our favorite title rumor back in August 2018.)

There's some fan speculation that the movie's title will be released before the April 12 date, perhaps so merchandise with the title can be sold there. "They won't give up a whole day's worth of T-shirt sales on the Thursday!" wrote Steve Coleman.

The Star Wars Show revealed that Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy will appear with Abrams on the panel, and that they'll be joined by special guests. It will be held on the Celebration stage and streamed to overflow crowds in the Galaxy and Twin Sun stage areas.

The time for the April 12 panel isn't yet known, as one fan pointed out with a Cookie Monster GIF, writing, "This is cool and all, but this is everyone waiting for the schedule!"

Others were upset due to long lines at the last event, and hoped Disney would figure out a better way to handle them on April 12. (Disney did not respond to a request for comment on this either.)

"Sooooo has the line situation improved from last Celebration because that was awful?" wrote one fan.

Whether or not the trailer and title are coming April 12, Star Wars: Episode 9 premieres Dec. 19 in the UK and Dec. 20 in the US and Australia.

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