Episode IX: Costume rumors, Daisy Ridley sighting

→ Another fruitless few days of official Episode IX stuff (though Rey and Kylo are getting Galaxy of Adventures figures) but at least Making Star Wars has a something something, this time about costumes. And a brief on what role Billy Dee Williams’ Lando plays in the film. But, more importantly – what is he wearing? What will Rey really do with her hair? What… Threepio is wearing? And some more Black Park pictures.

→ But back to Rey, John Boyega did share a photo of Daisy Ridley the other day. Obviously, she’s not in costume, but it does point to her still being filming.

Richard E. Grant was on Jimmy Kimmel Live last night, and of course Episode IX came up.

→ And as an added bonus, Claudia Gary’s Bloodline, which is still really the only original novel to get fairly close to the new films, is on sale for $1.99 in Kindle today.

→ Meanwhile, Kiri Hart, who established the Lucasfilm Story Group, now has a new gig as as creative advisor for the Rideback TV Incubator, a program to help boost TV writers from diverse backgrounds. She’s still a consultant for Lucasfilm.

Today in The Last Jedi: Everyone gets a stormtrooper cameo!

Are there any stormtroopers in The Last Jedi that won’t be played by famous (yet unseen) faces? John Boyega apparently confirmed the persistent rumors that Prince William, Prince Harry, and Tom Hardy donned the white stuff for cameos in the same scene. Daniel Craig, what have you wrought?


Another new commercial has a few new snippets of Finn footage, plus some new dialogue from him. (And a bit of new blink-and-you’ll-miss-it Rey as well.) There’s also a new international trailer in Spanish, but it doesn’t feature any new footage.

There’s a whole slew of new stuff in the latest SciFiNow , and Tumblr MVP up. Sleemo has been tying them up. The main story, plus interviews with Mark Hamill, John Boyega and Daisy Ridley. Plus, from SFX, Kelly Marie Tran and producer Ram Bergman

Continue reading “Today in The Last Jedi: Everyone gets a stormtrooper cameo!”

Star Wars out this week: Bloodline in PB

Tuesday brings Claudia Gray’s Bloodline in paperback. The book gives us some insight into the state of the galaxy not so long before The Force Awakens and was one of the best-reviewed Star Wars novels in years. (I gave it an A-.) Wel worth reading, if you haven’t already.

On Wednesday the comic shops will have Star Wars #28 and Darth Maul #1, the start of Marvel’s latest mini-series.

Our next novel is Chuck Wendig’s Aftermath: Empire’s End, out on February 21. Star Wars Books has recently been sharing images of the jacket and finished hardcover. Check out the full schedule on our book release calendar.

(Some) Bloodline questions answered; Pablo dishes on the book’s origins

bloodline-crop

Bloodline has been out for nearly a week now, and we’ve had interviews with author Claudia Gray from Entertainment Weekly and StarWars.com (by our own James!) Questions answered include how she incorporated that one Leia meme, what part of ANH got retconed, and how you pronounce ‘Casterfo.’

On Twitter today, Pablo Hidalgo treated us to a bit of background on the origins of the book… Including where Episode VIII director Rian Johnson contributed:

And finally, here’s a selection of Bloodline reviews: Big Shiny Robot, Cinelinx, Comicbook.com, Fangirl Blog, Far Far Away Radio, GeekDad, Tor.com, Tosche Station. (Plus mine.)

Video: Unboxing Star Wars: Bloodline, C-3PO comic & Jello!

Unboxing-Star-Wars-title-card-05-04-2016

Happy Star Wars Day! We’ve got a special episode of Unboxing Star Wars for May the 4th! First, Baby Jawa, Yowie and I check out the fun at “The Dome Awakens”, the Star Wars Day celebration at the downtown San Diego Public Library held on May 1, 2016. Then it’s time to review the recent C-3PO one shot comic by James Robinson and Tony Harris, and get excited for the new Star Wars novel, Bloodline, by Claudia Gray. We finish up with the results of our first try at making Star Wars Jell-o Jigglers, and then some Baby Jawa fun time!

Quick reviews
C-3PO #1 – A fun (and long-awaited) tale that does indeed explain the origins of Threepio’s red arm. Read this comic then watch the LEGO Star Wars short “The Resistance Rises: Poe to the Rescue” for an interesting crossover of canon and LEGO Star Wars.
Bloodline – Strongly recommend! I had high expectations for this novel because of Gray’s first Star Wars novel, Lost Stars, and she surpassed them. I really enjoyed this tale – it’s a top-notch story with some great characters, and Gray nails Leia’s character.
Star Wars JELL-O Jigglers Mold Set – Comes with two 6-character mold trays and 4 boxes of Jello! All the characters look great, except Yoda, who is in some sort of action pose which doesn’t quite work right. Be sure to use the special mold instructions on the big box instead of the regular Jiggler instructions on the inside boxes of gelatin.

Get more info on Wear Star Wars Every Day or make a donation at GoFundMe or sign up to make a per-day pledge.

Note: Del Rey provided a copy of Star Wars: Bloodline for review.

Review: Claudia Gray’s Bloodline is required reading for Star Wars fans, but you won’t mind

BloodlineIt’s rather refreshing to finally be getting some of the gaps filled in.

Claudia Gray’s Star Wars: Bloodline, out today, isn’t the first to give us a look at the galaxy beyond Return of the Jedi in the new canon. (It isn’t even Gray’s first, technically.) But it the closest to The Force Awakens so far, set less than a decade before the film. It’s also the first to feature a major character in anything beyond a glorified cameo. This is, by far, the canon novel with the most mass appeal to Expanded Universe fans new and old.

And yes, it’s good. I admit, I am worried that those of us who got and talked (vaguely) about the book early may be overselling the novel. After all, that’s what happened to me with Gray’s previous Star Wars book, Lost Stars. There was no early copy for me there, and it was the last of the Journey to The Force Awakens books I read. And it was fine! But I suspect the unrelenting hype damaged it a bit for me. (I may also be extremely a tiny bit burnt out on YA-style romance.)

Bloodline, on the other hand, was a blistering fast read for me. The minute I got it, I couldn’t put it down. As anyone who was following me on Twitter may have noticed, I read it in three hours. I honestly can’t recall the last time I read a Star Wars novel at that speed. It might have been back in the ’90s?

Some minor spoilers beyond the cut.

Continue reading “Review: Claudia Gray’s Bloodline is required reading for Star Wars fans, but you won’t mind”