The First Order comes to Kashyyyk in October’s Star Wars Adventures

The Lucasfilm publishing panel – our best hope for fresh Star Wars news – is Friday afternoon at SDCC, but there’s already one publishing announcement related to The Rise of Skywalker. IDW will begin a three-part post-The Last Jedi Chewbacca storyline beginning in October’s Star Wars Adventures #27.

The storyline, written by John Barber with art from Derek Charm, has Chewbacca and his fellow Wookiees fighting the First Order on Kashyyyk. The backup take, from writer Michael Moreci and artist Tony Fleecs, has Threepio, Artoo and BB-8 recruiting for the Resistance.

As for what’s coming, all we know is that the Lucasfilm Publishing panel features Lou Anders (Pirate’s Price), Katie Cook (Creatures Big & Small), Zorida Córdova (A Crash of Fate), Delilah Dawson (Black Spire), E. K. Johnston (Queen’s Shadow), George Mann (Myths & Fables), Brian Rood (The Skywalker Saga), Cavan Scott (Dooku: Jedi Lost), Kevin Shinick (Force Collector), Charles Soule (Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith), Timothy Zahn (Thrawn: Treason), and Rebecca Roanhorse (Resistance Reborn), plus Lucasfilm’s Michael Siglain and Jennifer Heddle.

It seems likely we might get some additional information on the Journey to The Rise of Skywalker program, the bulk of which was announced in May. There’s also the movie novelization author – Jason Fry (The Last Jedi) was announced at SDCC in 2017 and that he wasn’t actually there, which means the list of possible contenders isn’t restricted to the panelists.

Peter Mayhew has passed away

Peter Mayhew has died, his family announced today. The original Chewbacca actor passed away April 30 at his Texas home, they said in a statement tweeted from his Twitter account:

He’s survived by his wife Angie and three children. The family asks that, instead of gifts, fans consider donations to the Peter Mayhew Foundation.

Mayhew originated the role of Chewbacca in the original Star Wars trilogy. He returned in Revenge of the Sith and in some scenes of The Force Awakens, where he taught and passed the role to Joonas Suotamo.

https://twitter.com/JoonasSuotamo/status/1124095635332853760

More remembrances from George Lucas, Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, and Kathleen Kennedy.

An open memorial service is being planned for December in Los Angeles.

Star Wars out this week: Hondo meets Han and Chewie (allegedly)

For Star Wars fans, one young reader book, three new comics and a trade collection are coming to stores this week. On Tuesday, January 8, the Flight of the Falcon series concludes with Pirate’s Price from Lou Anders and Annie Wu. Han and Chewbacca meet up with the notorious Hondo Ohnaka – or so claims Hondo. There’s an excerpt up at StarWars.com.

Meanwhile, Wednesday, January 9 brings Star Wars #58, Age of Republic: Jango Fett, Destroyer Down #3 and Doctor Aphra volume 4 to the comic stores.

Continue reading “Star Wars out this week: Hondo meets Han and Chewie (allegedly)”

New featurette highlights Solo’s scoundrels

Today, upon the occasion of the movie’s release, a new Solo featurette puts the spotlight on the scoundrels – aka most of the cast, really.

I’ll have a discussion post up this evening for anyone who wants to char or give their first impressions in a spoiler-safe place.

New Flight of the Falcon series coming in the fall

A new middle-grade series based around the Millennium Falcon is coming, just in time for October’s Star Wars Reads day. The Flight of the Falcon series will begin with Lando’s Luck, a middle grade novel written by Justina Ireland with illustrations by Annie Wu. Further installments will feature Leia Organa, Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Chewbacca and James’ boy Hondo Ohnaka.

Landing at a docking bay or bookseller near you in time for Star Wars Reads in October, the series of books and comics about the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy will help connect different eras of Star Wars storytelling through the adventures aboard the beloved ship. Each fiction title will include a map to trace the literal flight path and help readers understand the time and place where each story is set.

Bazine Natel, the spy seen on Takodana in The Force Awakens, is on the hunt for the Falcon, and her intel leads her across the galaxy to Batuu, a remote outpost on the galaxy’s edge. In order to find the Falcon, Bazine must learn all she can about the infamous YT-1300 freighter—the ship that countless bounty hunters and Imperials have almost caught over the years.

“These tales take us from a time just before Solo: A Star Wars Story, when Lando and L3 had the Falcon, through the original trilogy, and into the new trilogy, ending on the incredible world of Batuu,” says Michael Siglain, Creative Director, Lucasfilm Publishing.

The series will continue with the choose-you-own-adventure A Luke and Leia Adventure, written by Cavan Scott with art by Elsa Charretier and Pirate’s Price, written by Lou Anders with art by Annie Wu, starring Han Solo, Chewbacca and Hondo Ohnaka.