Valentine’s Day mush besets Star Wars

Well. Valentine’s Day. If you’re like me, you’re going to spend a lot of time rolling your eyes at everything and anything today. (Speaking of! Going to be live on the Tosche Station podcast tonight! Talking about Marvel romance novels! Ranting is almost guaranteed!) Anyway, onto business:

See Wedge and Iella full size at SuvuduAt the Star Wars Blog, Jennifer Heddle writes a tribute to the original Star Wars couple, Han and Leia. Who isn’t pro Han and Leia these days? (We don’t want to know.)

Over at Suvudu, Tricia Barr takes a look at Star Wars power couples. Includes refreshingly not-overboard artwork of Wedge Antilles and Iella Wessiri from Chris Trevas!

And for those looking for a little less kissing, io9 presents the 7 greatest bromances in space. Obi-Wan and Anakin are repping for the Wars, which… Okay.

In a video for StarWars.com, Bonnie Burton looks at romance in a galaxy far far away, while Amy Ratcliffe has a look at fans who found love through the franchise.

Calamari wishes and Carbonite dreams: Best #StarWars, #EpisodeVII and #SWEU tweets for Feb. 4-10

@wonderella: Disney's filling in the gaps in the Star Wars saga! Finally we'll see Han's adventures between Empire and Return of the Jedi.

Last week, we learned that Star Wars solo films are a real thing that’s actually happening, although no one has confirmed who they’ll actually feature…. But naturally Han Solo was trending for a while because, well, the internet. (Suck it, Boba Fett!) All that and the usual below the cut.

Continue reading “Calamari wishes and Carbonite dreams: Best #StarWars, #EpisodeVII and #SWEU tweets for Feb. 4-10”

Rumor: Spin-off films focus on Han Solo, Boba Fett

Boba Fett, Han. Entertainment Weekly’s ‘sources close to the projects’ claim that the two Star Wars standalone films annouced yesterday will feature a young Han Solo and an original-trilogy era Boba Fett.

The Han film will take place sometime between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, while the Fett film will be set in-between the OT films, they claim.

Han is generally believed to be about 10 at the time of Revenge, and there was, if I recall the concept art book correctly, some early talk of him actually showing up on Kashyyyk in the film. UPDATE: Slashfilm dug it up.

UPDATE #2: Meanwhile, Deadline claims that Lucasfilm is still “kicking around” spin-off ideas, and nothing is set in stone yet.

Roundup: J.J. Abrams and Jon Favreau excited for Episode VII – Quentin Tarantino, not so much

Directors. Hollywood Life talks to Star Trek’s J.J. Abrams and Iron Man’s Jon Favreau about Episode VII. “I am looking forward more then anyone to the next iterations of Star Wars, but I believe I will be going as a paying moviegoer,” Abrams said.

“I am just giddy, first and foremost as a fan, to see what happens with it. I think there is a lot of question marks of how they are going to do it, and who they are going to do it with, and what the story is going to be about; but to say that I am not excited about it is definitely an understatement. We’ll see,” Favreau said. (Lest we forget, Favreau voiced a character on The Clone Wars back in 2010.)

On the other side of the spectrum, Quentin Tarantino said the other day that he couldn’t care less about Star Wars and isn’t interested in the job. But then, did anyone actually expect he would be?

History. Huffpo’s Mike Ryan takes a look at the Making of books and interviews to document Harrison Ford’s history with Han Solo, and all the comments he’s made about the character over the years.

Release date. ComicBook.com’s Scott Johnson and his sources theorize that Disney could make Episode VII the first Star Wars movie not come out in May, since Avengers 2 is currently slated for May 1, 2015. I am beyond skeptical.

Hasbro and Disney. MSN Money takes a detailed look at the rumor that Disney is in talks to buy the toymaker, while CNBC analyst David Faber said that Hasbro is denying it.

On a lark… Entertainment Weekly takes inspiration from other franchises.

Report: Harrison Ford “open to” and “upbeat” about returning as Han Solo?

Entertainment Weekly’s Geoff Boucher has a ‘highly placed source’ claiming that “Harrison is open to the idea of doing the movie and he’s upbeat about it…” But he also theorizes – on the force of Ford’s history with the role – that he may require a ‘a mandatory death scene’ for the character.

Ford hasn’t been particularly enthusiastic about Solo in recent years (Boucher runs through the quotes) but there are a few things – like Kathleen Kennedy – that might lure Ford back as well. Either way, I’m not sure we can expect to see anything on the record from Ford until he’s promoting his next movie!

Free Comic Book Day – go get your comics!

May the Fifth be with you! May the Thors be with you? Or something.. But get out to your local comics book shop to get your free comics for this annual celebration of sequential art. As previously mentioned, Dark Horse has a few different offerings, including a Han Solo and Chewbacca Star Wars story, ‘The Art of the Bad Deal’, in a flip-cover comic that also has a Zack Whedon-penned Serenity comic. Both stories have a common theme – a man and his ship. Dark Horse’s second freebie is a flip cover for Buffy the Vampire Slayer and The Guild. Combine both free comics together, and you will also have a two part story of Caitlin R. Kiernan’s Alabaster.

From other publishers for Free Comic Book Day: The Avengers, The New 52, Yo Gabba Gabba!, Simpsons, Mouse Guard, Transformers, Peanuts, and a whole lot more!

To find a comic shop near you, call 1-888-comicbook or visit ComicShopLocator.com.

Meet the Scoundrels: Zahn’s Han Solo novel revealed

AND LO, THERE WAS NEWS AND IT BROKE… The announcement we were expecting is here, and it’s the title and cover art for Timothy Zahn’s Han Solo novel. Here’s the blurb:

The Death Star has been destroyed. The Rebellion has had its first big victory. And Han Solo, newly conscripted to the Rebel cause, is on the run from the Empire and the bounty hunters eager to turn him in for the huge reward being offered by Jabba the Hutt. Now a mysterious stranger offers Han the resources to execute a daring robbery from a major crime lord. The mission is impossible, but the prize will make Han a free man. With no choice but to accept, Han Solo and his Wookiee partner, Chewbacca, set out to assemble a cast of rogues, knaves, and cons with the right combination of wits, skills, and derring-do to pull off an operation of this complexity and scale—the best scoundrels the galaxy has to offer. And then the game is on: a rip-roaring, intergalactic, Ocean’s Eleven-style heist adventure starring Han Solo, Chewie, and Lando Calrissian, written by #1 New York Times bestselling Star Wars author Timothy Zahn!

Of course, the other 8 scoundrels are still a mystery, but we need something to debate until December 26! (A Wednesday? Well, I’ll take it.) For the record, Zahn himself says “…While there may be a name or two you recognize, most of the rest of the group will be new characters.”