Star Wars with occasional sarcasm
Marvel’s next mini stars Mace Windu, and it’s got a very chunky, Dark Horse-style title: Jedi of the Republic — Mace Windu. (Most of Marvel’s titles have been very simple, and heavily dominated by character names, so this is something of a throwback.) Written by Matt Owens and illustrated by Denys Cowan, it’s set in the early Clone Wars period. The cover is by Jesus Saiz.
Look for the five-issue miniseries to begin in August.
A quick look at how things stand with the Jedi and the balance as we approack The Last Jedi from /Film. They also recently took a look at Snoke.
→ A new tie-in has been spotted, a juvenile novel called Bomber Command. It’s part of the Replica Journal series, which implies that said squadron will see some action (the fighters we see on Crait, perhaps?) in the film. (via)
→ An 8-bit version of the trailer.
→ I guess we’re paying attention to flyers in Japan now. Somehow I doubt there’s any special scoop here, but you do you, SWNN.
There were a lot of baby Kylos last year. The name jumped the popularity ranks from #3269 in 2015 to #901 in 2016, according to the U.S. Social Security Administration. So it’s not incredibly popular (to contrast, Ben was #704, and Benjamin is #6) but it is getting more popular. And note – it’s still less popular than Anakin, which is #778, up from #910.
At #175 Finn is the most popular sequel-trilogy related name associated with a major character – but it’s in been in wide use and gaining in popularity for more than a decade now, so we can’t peg that to Star Wars alone. Rey hasn’t shown any major growth, though it did jump from 904 to 868 (though as a male name – it’s not in the top 1000 for girls.)
As for the old standbys, Leia is #321, while Luke is #29. Poe, Han, Padme and Armitage (I had to look it up just for kicks) are all unranked.
We’ve got two new comics in the shops this week. There’s Star Wars #31, which is also the second part of The Screaming Citadel crossover, plus Poe Dameron #15.
Are you ready for a new round of fruitless speculation regarding locations? Than this supposed shot of the Han Solo set on location in Fuerteventura, Spain is for you!
The Last Jedi toy leaks have begun! We have our first look at Kylo Ren’s starfighter, a new TIE variation. There are also various signs of what toys we’ll be getting in the early waves, including what seems to be two versions of Snoke.
We only see half of it at the link, but John Burns did a painting based on MSW’s previous report of the fighter; Check it out under the cut.
Continue reading “First look at Kylo Ren’s starfighter in The Last Jedi”
On Wednesday, Marvel launches their second
There’s also a new Legends Epic Collection, Rebellion Vol. 2.
May the 4th is rarely a big day for anything but goofiness, and we did get that in spades. Below, Kristen Bell (guest hosting Jimmy Kimmel Live) surprised Adam Scott with Mark Hamill.
→ In addition to giving a few quotes to Entertainment Weekly, The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson did share a quick video with another Star Wars luminary:
A #MayThe4thBeWithYou message from @RianJohnson for #StarWarsDay. pic.twitter.com/JlnWRZyn4g
— Star Wars (@starwars) May 4, 2017
→ Meanwhile, Han Solo director Philip Lord teases something he can’t talk about just yet.
→ Marvel’s Doctor Aphra won the latest Hasbro fan figure poll. Expect a 3.75-inch action figure, the character’s first, sometime next year.
→ Also: Laura Dern still isn’t saying much, Star Wars character popularity by state, Padme’s outfits ranked, and a Force playlist.
→ And no, we didn’t get a new Vanity Fair spread, as many of us were assuming. But do expect one later this month. Let’s just not pin it on any specific dates this time.
Rian Johnson had (at least) one request for J.J. Abrams about The Force Awakens‘ ending – to have Artoo go with Rey instead of BB-8, so the classic droid could be reunited with Luke Skywalker. Luke, naturally, is central to The Last Jedi:
“Figuring out where his head was at was the very first thing I had to do when writing the movie. I had to crack this. And it had to be something for me that first and foremost made sense. Why did Luke Skywalker go off to this island?” Johnson says. “That was the starting point, and that’s what the entire movie explores.”
So Luke’s self-exile – and his reasoning – is a key factor in the film.
Making Star Wars today has a few details about the chase scene that was filmed on location in Debrovnik. Specifically, what the animal we saw was, and where the scene ends up.