For 25 years, Star Wars fans have longed to visit that galaxy far, far away -- and with good reason. Cool characters, nasty villains, sleek spaceships, funky robots -- the place has got it all. Now, at Celebration II, all those things have been bundled together under one roof, and with so much Star Wars in one place, it's easy to forget just where you are.

So, while some refer to the exhibit rooms by their mundane terrestrial names of "Hall F" or "201-204," Celebration II attendants know better, and call them by their code-names: Corellia, Naboo and elsewhere, Dagobah, Coruscant and Tatooine.

Coruscant (or the Sagamore ballroom) was the locale for the official opening ceremony of Celebration II, and Lucasfilm's Steve Sansweet welcomed the fans to the event. "More than a year in the making, this is an event planned by fans for fans. We just kept saying, ' wouldn't it be cool if...' and weeks or months later, it became a reality."

Sansweet listed the impressive amounts of events scheduled for the weekend, suggesting that the saga's theme of "choices" continues at Celebration II. "You may not be able to do it all -- unless you can clone yourself -- but you can do a lot."

Joked Sansweet, "For those of you who attended Celebration I during the monsoon season in Denver and would like to relive that time, we've got Jedi mud wrestling in the shower room."

There have never been so many Star Wars personalities under one roof, but the realities of international film careers meant that not everyone could make it. Via video, several of the saga's brightest stars sent warm messages of hello to the attending fans. The crowd cheered at missives sent by Sam Jackson, Pernilla August, John Williams, Natalie Portman, Christopher Lee, Ian McDiarmid, Ewan McGregor, and George Lucas.

"This time, I am kicking major butt," assured Jackson of his Episode II role. "I am the only person in the entire universe that has a purple lightsaber. People will be trying for years -- for centuries -- to figure out the deeper meaning of the purple light, but only Iknow," he joked, stating that even Lucas didn't know the significance of the "violet light."

"I'm sorry that I can't be there with you, but I send you my greetings and my affectionate thanks for all your enthusiasm and interest in the Star Wars films," said John Williams. "This is the fifth one that I have scored, and it's always so exciting working with George and doing these films and being able to produce music that finds its way through the unifying force of film around the world to audiences everywhere."

Natalie Portman's message was playful, delivered with a mischievous grin, and spoke rather effectively to a room of Star Wars fans. "I hope you all have a lot of fun. As you all know, I play Senator Padmé Amidala in Episode II. She's a little more sexed up this time, and I hope that's fun for you all."

Ian McDiarmid made mention of Palpatine's increasing age in Episode II in his video segment. "I once again surrended to the make-up department, and there will be even more wrinkles in Episode III, because as you know from Episode VI, you realize I have a lot of catching up to do," Shifting his voice the Palpatine's trademark oiliness, McDiarmid added, "But perhaps it's too early to begin thinking Imperial thoughts."

The loudest of the cheers elicited by Ewan McGregor's appearance on-screen where clearly from the female portion of the audience. He spoke highly of Episode II. "I just wanted to say hello and hope you have a good time there. I know you're going to love Attack of the Clones when you see it. It makes huge roads further into the Star Wars world with some crackin' -- crackin' -- sequences. We all had a pretty good time making it, and I think it's the best one."

Sansweet then handed the stage over to Jim Ward, Lucasfilm's Vice President of Marketing. Ward recapped the progress of Episode II's unveiling to the public, through the three previews of "Breathing," "Mystery" and "Forbidden Love," and the full trailer of "Clone War." Ward then showed the "Across the Stars" music video on the Sagamore's trio of giant screens, much like the screening of "Duel of the Fates" at the first Celebration.

"That brings us to this point in time. Two weeks from yesterday is the big day: May 16th. I guess you all know what's happening on that day. We're in the final stretch here," Ward said.

Ward recognized that the start of the summer blockbuster season launched today with the release of a certain movie featuring a certain wall-crawling superhero. "We have to take a look at the landscape of what kind of a marketplace [we are] launching the film into. We actually keep an eye on the competition, and we need your help. I really need your opinion on something."

Ward revealed that he had received a copy of the "most recent Spider-Man commercial" that he wasn't supposed to have. "I looked at it, and I'm a little worried because it's really, really good. I'd love to show it to you guys, and let me know what you think."

The lights dimmed. The techno-soundtrack began. The familiar typeface proclaimed the arrival of the summer's hottest action hero... but when the title cards ended that hero was revealed to be none other than Yoda, the Jedi Master.

The fans in attendance were the first to see snippets of Master Yoda's incredible lightsaber duel in Attack of the Clones. When the 30 seconds ended, the cheers and screams of the delighted audience drowned out everything else in the room.