Club Jade

Pirates 4 to go steampunk? Disney gave Johnny Depp a (anti?) hero’s welcome at D23 last week and announced the film’s name – On Stranger Tides – but the most interesting thing I’ve heard in connection with the movie is a rumor that the villian may be cribbing from Captain Nemo. On the one hand that could be kind of cool. On the other hand… It’s Pirates of the Caribbean 4. Not sick of steampunk yet? If there’s any truth to this, you will be.

• Just like old times. J.J. Abrams and Roberto Orci hint that the next Star Trek movie will deal with “modern-day issues.”

• It’s never too soon for a reboot! Or a prequel. Yes, X-Men: First Class may be next on the Marvel X-Movie slate. Of course, the Fantastic Four are actually getting a reboot, nevermind that they just made two movies. Nobody runs your iconic properties into the ground like Hollywood!
• Twilight. New Moon actually has enough of a plot for it to be given away entirely in the trailer? Kristen Stewart actually attempts to act? Dakota Fanning is in it! Wow, my standards are low for this one…
• Randomly. Nostalgia Chick takes on Armageddon.

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If the reports are anything to go on, there was no missing the many steampunk-themed costumes at Dragon*Con this weekend; No surprise that there were several Star Wars variations. Not surprisingly there were a lot of stormtroopers, bounty hunters and your other standards, but Cardinal Vader may be a new one. (Though one must admit it isn’t much of a logical leap.) Or we can just go straight for the crossdressers. Or the ever-popular Spaceballs. (Photo at right by Ryan James.)

And this adorable no-frills two-person AT-AT costume was a big hit with the #dragoncon tweeters. How about them boxes? But for sheer ‘ah, screw it’ daring, my vote goes to these guys.

And in conclusion, baby.

First off, the absolute most important thing you should know tonight is that the finale runs a whopping 11 minutes over, so set your DVRs accordingly. Reviews have been mixed – Los Angeles Times’ Mary McNamara says it’s “everything a fan.. could hope for,” while the Boston Herald’s Mark A. Perigard calls it “wildly uneven.” And over at the San Francisco Chronicle, Tim Goodman asks if the BSG void can be filled, equating it to The Clone Wars in the process. Uh-huh.

From the fannish side, io9 has 12 plotholes that must be filled tonight, and Sci Fi’s DVICE reveals the winners of their Steampunk Cylon contest.

Of course, this won’t be the last we’ll see of the old Galactica: in addition to the Caprica prequel, there’s a spinoff movie directed by Edward James Olmos, The Plan, coming in the fall.

Björn Hurri has a number of great steampunk Star Wars drawings he’s sharing over at Gorilla Artfare. I was pretty impressed with his Yoda (clickthrough for the whole thing) and Leia, but there’s plenty more and they’re all fantastic: C-3P0, a jawa, a speeder bike, Jabba the Hutt, Fett, a stormtrooper, Chewbacca, Yoda, Han and Luke.

The internet’s favorite action figure customizer is back with a steampunk Return of the Jedi.

The internet’s favorite action figure customizer is back with a steampunk take on Episode V, focusing on bounty hunters. Most impressive, particularly the strangely Hobbit-like Yoda. (via)

• T-shirts: The latest Steampunk Artoo… Now you see it, now you don’t.

• Fan sites: Wookieepedia is one of Wired’s eight best non-Wikipedia pedias.
• Craft: Fold yourself a Cubetrooper, Indiana Jones, Fetility Idol or any number of others.
• Lists: Topless Robot’s eight biggest reasons Indiana Jones is better than Han Solo, ten greatest spaceship chases ever, ten most blatant Star Wars toy rip-offs of the ’70s and Cracked’s eight classic movie robots that suck at their jobs. Hogwash!

Sillof, the man who brought us the Steampunk Justice League, tackles Star Wars with his latest batch of customs. (via)

Bonnie interviews Sammi Resendes about her Star Wars Amigurumi.

• The ‘carbonite’ (bronzed) Boba Fett Pez dispenser has been a big hit today.

• Old-time motor wheel recalls General Grievous’ Wheel Bike. You can even pick up a modern version for a mere $12,999.95.
• Bid on a Steampunk Vader helmet on eBay.
• Go early 90′s with Star Wars via Telnet.

The original Steampunk Star Wars master Eric Poulton returns with Lady Leia, Princess of Alderaan.