Author: Dunc

The administrator of this facility. Not the only Club Jader, just the one who posts the most. Also tweets too much. Hates bios.
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Master & Apprentice, Queen’s Shadow to have special editions at Celebration

Among today’s batch of Celebration exclusive reveals is our first look at the con editions of E.K. Johnston’s Queen’s Shadow and Claudia Gray’s Master & Apprentice. Del Rey has some details how to get M&A – you’ll need wristbands and it comes with an enamel pin – but we’re still waiting to hear on Queen’s Shadow. (Though I suspect that one will just be on sale at a booth.)

The standard edition of Queen’s Shadow was released earlier this month, but Master & Apprentice won’t be out until April 16 – meaning fans who pick it up at Celebration (April 11-15) will get it at most few days early.

We’re also starting to see the author panels on the schedule fill out with more details, in addition to the three general publishing panels, there are four dedicated spotlights: Timothy Zahn, Claudia Gray’s So, You’re a Fanfic Writer Who Wants To Go Pro?, Delilah S. Dawson’s Worldbuilding 101 and Alexander Freed’s The Art and Craft of Video Game Writing.

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Werner Herzog’s part in The Mandalorian is “small” and (probably) “a real villain”

Werner Herzog has much more important things going on that his “real small” Star Wars role – he’s actually promoting his documentary Meeting Gorbachev – but he does drop us a big hint about his character in the upcoming TV show The Mandalorian.

Now this is not a secret anymore, a small part, real small part, in “The Mandalorian,” the Star Wars sequel or whatever you call it. I like to do it because I know I’m good on screen, but only if I have to play a real villain.

So there you have it: Werner Herzog is likely playing a Star Wars villain, and he’s not particularly concerned with what place his project has in the franchise – as is his right, because he’s Werner Herzog and we’re all mostly still amused that he’s here at all.

The Mandalorian, which stars Pedro Pascal in the title role, will debut on the streaming service Disney+, probably later this year.

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Dawson’s Black Spire is a not-so-stealthy Phasma sequel

Delilah S. Dawson’s next Star Wars novel, Galaxy’s Edge: Black Spire, isn’t just a theme-park tie-in – it’s also a follow-up to her first, Phasma. As widely hinted and speculated when the book was first revealed, the novel’s lead is Resistance spy Vi Moradi, who was an important part of the first book. Here’s the blurb:

After devastating losses at the hands of the First Order, General Leia Organa has dispatched her agents across the galaxy in search of allies, sanctuary, and firepower—and her top spy, Vi Moradi, may have just found all three, on a secluded world at the galaxy’s edge.

A planet of lush forests, precarious mountains, and towering, petrified trees, Batuu is on the furthest possible frontier of the galactic map, the last settled world before the mysterious expanse of Wild Space. The rogues, smugglers, and adventurers who eke out a living on the largest settlement on the planet, Black Spire Outpost, are here to avoid prying eyes and unnecessary complications. Vi, a Resistance spy on the run from the First Order, is hardly a welcome guest. And when a shuttle full of stormtroopers lands in her wake, determined to root her out, she has no idea where to find help.

To survive, Vi will have to seek out the good-hearted heroes hiding in a world that redefines scum and villainy. With the help of a traitorous trooper and her acerbic droid, she begins to gather a colorful band of outcasts and misfits, and embarks on a mission to spark the fire of resistance on Batuu—before the First Order snuffs it out entirely.

Vi was one of the Phasma characters featured on posters that came with the novel if you bought it at certain stores.

I wouldn’t expect Phasma herself, given the book’s time frame, but there is another character hinted at up there. (Ssh, it’s a spoiler for those who haven’t read Phasma.)

Galaxy’s Edge: Black Spire is due out on August 27 (up just a tad from the first annouced date, September 3) in hardcover and ebook, just in time for the Florida version of the Galaxy’s Edge theme park to open.

The full cover, with art from GFFA regular Darren Tan, is under the cut.

Continue reading “Dawson’s Black Spire is a not-so-stealthy Phasma sequel”
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The Clone Wars leaves Netflix next month

It’s for real this time. All of The Clone Wars – the movie, the first five seasons, and “The Lost Missions,” aka S6, is departing Netflix on April 7.

The series is all but certain to return to streaming when Disney+ launches – and though we still haven’t heard if the new episodes will be up there at launch, that seems like a pretty safe bet as well. Disney+ is expected to launch later this year.

As for the gap, well, that’s why they still make Blu-rays: Nothing on streaming is certain forever.

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Jon Favreau is dropping Mandalorian hints again

Oh, Jon Favreau. So, is Taika Waititi voicing IG-88? All we know for sure is that he is a confirmed director for the series. We don’t even know if that’s actually IG-88, although we have seen it – or a similar droid – before.

Or… Is the helmet the actual hint here? I leave it to you, Mandofans.

The Mandalorian, the first live-action Star Wars TV show, is expected later this year. It will be exclusive to the Disney+ streaming service.

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Here’s how we’ll get into the big panels at Celebration Chicago

After the lines at Celebration Orlando proved more than a little traumatic, Reed has introduced a whole new system for getting into panels: A reservation and virtual queue called Lightspeed. It includes an advance lottery for the big panels that will be on the three big stages, with fans assigned to seating sections. It all sounds totally simple and I’m sure no one will be confused at all! The first lotteries open next Thursday, March 28… If you have your badge. (Apparently, they’re in the mail?)

But seriously, the line for the prayer circle for the livestream’s return starts here.

In other Celebration news… The Mandalorian panel with Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni will be Sunday, and there are merchandise exclusives.