John Boyega fesses up: It was his Rise of Skywalker script on eBay (and more news)

On Good Morning America this morning, John Boyega admits it was his script that ended up on eBay.

Boyega is also joining co-star Daisy Ridley in picking Baby Yoda over the porgs. “So cute, man. I love baby Yoda,” he said to USA Today. “And you know what? I’m against everyone that wants to give that baby another name except for Baby Yoda. That is Baby Yoda.” He later talked about his stock modeling days and falling in love with acting.

Continue reading “John Boyega fesses up: It was his Rise of Skywalker script on eBay (and more news)”

Seeing red: Sith troopers reign over Star Wars at SDCC

The Rise of Skywalker’s new Sith trooper is on display at San Diego Comic-Con, and you can get a closer look at StarWars.com. There’s also a video playing at the booth, where J.J. Abrams talks about them:

Here’s the quote:

“The materials, the color, the lines, there was something about the aesthetic of it that just felt absolutely right,” said J.J. Abrams, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker co-writer/director, in the exhibit’s video. “I cannot wait for people to see the work that everyone’s done.” Indeed, the mini-documentary offers a tantalizing glimpse behind the scenes at the making of the armor, and the results are striking.

The trooper display is at the Lucasfilm pavilion (#2913) at SDCC.

The Last Jedi: Fresh First Order leaks

In rumor/spoiler territory, we have some new First Order-centric leaks this afternoon, courtesy of the Facebook group Templo Jedi Aztlan. There’s some sort of guard, a new stormtrooper look, and a new AT-AT. The first seems similar to the new figures reported by Making Star Wars, who debuted a sketch of one earlier this week. (via)

→ No, John Boyega’s tweet about playing a villain was not about Star Wars. Really, people? It did lead to a fun exchange with everyone’s dad Mark Hamill though.

The Last Jedi will come out slightly earlier in the U.K. (December 14) than in the U.S. (December 15,) just like Rogue One and The Force Awakens.

→ In the midst of some overplayed panic about the sequel trilogy not being ‘planned,’ Episode IX director Colin Trevorrow has a few words about collaboration with Screenrant.

Catching up with Episode VIII: New stormtrooper, Rey’s parentage (and speculation thereof)

fn-2199-cropMaking Star Wars has word of a new type of stormtrooper who’ll (reportedly) appear in Episode VIII, as well as some small changes on the standard troopers.

→ This Daisy Ridley interview with Vulture has been making the rounds, mainly because she says we’ll see the answer to Rey’s parentage question “in a year,” and, well, the internet.

→ Speaking of Rey’s parentage, there’s a bonkers but just crazy enough to maybe theory over at Force Material. It’s based on a “paranoid ‘70s conspiracy thriller” and hell, it still makes more sense than Snoke being Plagueis or any of the other bullshit we’ve had to put up with. But mostly, it amused me, and how often do fan theories manage that? (Not often.)

→ Your moment of zen: Mark Hamill and his VIII beard have a fashion gig.

Rogue One’s new stormtrooper types, AT-AT names revealed

Celebration Europe (2016) key art

Key art for this summer’s Celebration Europe was revealed on today’s new episode of The Star Wars Show. It features several characters from The Force Awakens as well as a lot of Rogue One folks, and StarWars.com has given us terminology for some of them.

They’re not confirming the names we heard of from the leak last week, save for the black-armored stormtroopers, which are indeed death troopers. The film’s other new stormtroopers are shoretroopers, and the new class of AT-AT is an AT-ACT, aka All Terrain Armored Cargo Transport.

The truth about TR-8R, the internet’s favorite Force Awakens meme

tfa-tr8r-fn2199

StarWars.com has the details today on the baton-spinning First Order stormtrooper that the internet has adopted as one of The Force Awakensmost prevalent memes.

Though he’s been dubbed TR-8R, his real name (‘name’) is FN-2199, aka Nines. As often speculated, he’s one of Finn’s former squadmates, and we first met him in Greg Rucka’s Before the Awakening, which details some of Finn’s pre-Jakku life and training.

The character was voiced by Skywalker Sound’s David Acord, and played by stunt performer Liang Yang.

Today in The Force Awakens: New Noto, interviews with Kasdan and Kaplan

tfa-noto-30dTo celebrate the 30 day marker, Phil Noto cooked up a new The Force Awakens piece.

→ Wired has an interview with Lawrence Kasdan and, in the U.K. version for some reason, costume designer Michael Kaplan with a straight from the set armor gallery.

→ George Lucas tells Vanity Fair why he’s done directing mainstream movies.

Daisy Ridley and Lupita Nyong’o aren’t the only new cast members fashion magazining it up: Domhnall Gleeson is chilling with model Gigi Hadid in Portugal for Vogue.

First spy pictures from Rogue One?

We haven’t had any official updates on Rogue One lately – even though they presumably started filming last week – but fandom is pretty sure that The Mirror has pics from the filming. They think it’s The Force Awakens, but those are pretty clearly original trilogy stormtroopers…