Club Jade

In this very short video clip posted by @StarWars, Dave Filoni shows off a vintage TIE fighter toy. It’s for research! We do know he’s been playing with TIEs lately..

Yakface offers up a theory:

@starwars Hmmm… What if the new @dave_filoni animated series was based of off the vintage toy sculpts/molds #headexplodes

— Yakface.com (@yak_face) May 15, 2013

Well, it’s better than Thunderbirds, anyway!

The president of Lucasfilm, Kathleen Kennedy, will be heading to Germany for her first Celebration in July, Reed revealed today.

“When I joined Lucasfilm, I immediately saw the true passion shared by Star Wars fans around the world,” Kennedy says. “I’m thrilled to attend my first Star Wars Celebration and see in person that energy that makes the Star Wars experience so special.”

Kennedy is executive producing Episode VII, so there’s a chance we might actually get some movie information…

Advice for the ages and other greatest hits of last week’s Star Wars tweets lurk below the cut.

[Read more →]

J.J. Abrams stopped by The Daily Show to chat Star Trek and Star Wars with master geek (and future Jedi?) Jon Stewart. The extended version of the interview begins above, with part 2 below the cut

[Read more →]

Her Universe has revealed yet more new items to debut at Star Wars Weekends. There are 5 new tees, 1 new tank, and four new costume hoodies, plus the long-awaited X-Wing dress and a limited edition necklace.

Above is out ‘official’ reveal of the A-line X-Wing dress. At right is the limited edition Return of the Jedi necklace. Only 1,250 have been made, but only 500 of them will be sold (first come, first serve) at Star Wars Weekends. The remaining 750 will be available “at select Her Universe events” – during summer convention season, perhaps?

Head below the cut to see the rest of the new offerings – including another limited edition – and as always, click on the photos to see larger versions.

[Read more →]

Street dates. We got the cover and now Empire and Rebellion: Razor’s Edge – the Leia novel by Martha Wells – has moved up from October 15 to October 1.

It’s been a while since we’ve heard anything about The Essential Characters, but it’s popped up in Random House’s Edelweiss catalog with a brand new far-off date of October 7, 2014. Will it stick? Probably not! (We’ll see.) Pencil it in.

Out now. Dawn of the Jedi: Into the Void came out almost a week ago, and author Tim Lebbon has been making the interview rounds with Suvudu, Jedi News, Star Wars Action News and Roqoo Depot. Meanwhile, there are reviews at Tosche Station, Fangirl, Jedi News, Knights Archive (x2) and Roqoo Depot.

The blogside. Tor’s Emily Asher-Perrin has a list of what Episode VII could life from the Expanded Universe. I haven’t covered a ton of these sorts of posts, but hey, it’s Tor and she made Mara #1, so. And speaking of… Bria has reached Legacy of the Force.

Audiobooks. Timothy Zahn’s Allegiance and the Hand of Thrawn duology (Specter of the Past and Vision of the Future) are coming as unabridged audiobooks.

Comic reviews.James reviews The Assassination of Darth Vader, Brian Wood’s Free Comic Book Day story, as well as Fire Carrier #4 and Star Wars #5.

Just one this time around: Head to the comic shop on Wednesday for Darth Vader and the Ninth Assassin #2.

In ‘Nightmare and Silver,’ the Doctor and Clara head for ‘the greatest theme park in the universe,’ only to find it closed and inhabited only by a shabby few, including Warwick Davis. Cybermen ensue, because of course they do. The episode is written by Neil Gaiman and is the last before next week’s season finale, ‘The Name of the Doctor.’

In other sci-fi TV news, it’s pilot season! ABC picked up Joss Whedon’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., bringing the Marvel synergy to live-action TV. (ABC will air a preview of the show on Sunday.) They also picked up Once Upon a Time spin-off Once Upon a Time in Wonderland and sci-fi mystery show Resurrection

Two J.J. Abrams pilots were picked up as well: Fox nabbed robot police drama Almost Human, while Fox picked up Believe, a collabration with Alfonso Cuarón about a telekinetic ten-year-old. It’s no big shock that The Vampire Diaries spinoff The Originals got picked up, but the CW also greenlit post-apocalyptic The 100, a remake of The Tomorrow People and the human/alien romance Star-Crossed.

Meanwhile, in the cable realm, both SyFy’s Defiance and BBC America’s Orphan Black are getting second seasons.

You can check out the full slate of pilots – picked up and passed over both – at The Hollywood Reporter.

And it’s the first trailer for the Ender’s Game adaption, which really wants you know that a bunch of these actors have been up for/won Oscars. (Ford was nominated for Witness in 1985, which I can’t blame anyone for forgetting) Book fans may want to check out io9′s spoiler-full screencap study of the trailers.

Below the cut, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost go pubbing, George Clooney and Sandra Bullock get lost in space, and… Alien folksingers, because why not?

[Read more →]

Surprising no one, Star Wars is returning to the United Kingdom, StarWars.com announces.

“We’ve devoted serious time and attention to revisiting the origins of Star Wars as inspiration for our process on the new movie, and I’m thrilled that returning to the UK for production and utilizing the incredible talent there can be a part of that,” said Kathleen Kennedy, President of Lucasfilm. “Speaking from my own longstanding connection to the UK with films like Raiders of the Lost Ark, Empire of the Sun and recently War Horse, it’s very exciting to be heading back.”

They aren’t saying exactly where in the country the film will be shot, though Pinewood does seem likely due to their deal with Disney. (And it could also be good news for Scotland, though it’s probably too early for anyone to say.)

The original trilogy and The Phantom Menace were all primarily filmed in the U.K., while Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith did most of their shooting at 20th Century Fox’s studio in Australia, though they returned to the U.K. for pickup shots.