A fifth Indiana Jones? Frank Marshall points to “not happening”

Interviews with producer Frank Marshall seem to indicate that Indiana Jones 5 seemes unlikely to happen. Marshall is likely to be pretty close in the loop on such things, as one of the producers on all four films in the Indiana Jones series and husband to Kathleen Kennedy, fellow Indy producer and recently named to be George Lucas’ successor at Lucasfilm.

Talking with Collider, Marshall responded that there’s no MacGuffin for a fifth film, and that Lucas, who is retiring from the reins at Lucasfilm, isn’t that interested in another flick for the archaeologist:

“Yeah, no he isn’t [hungry to do another Indiana Jones]. And he’s obviously passing the baton to my wife, so.”

Earlier in the week, Marshall told Crave that Lucas wasn’t working on the screenplay to an Indiana Jones film, claiming that a “really good story” is “hard to do”. With Lucas not at the helm of the franchise, does this mean that that Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was Indy’s last hurrah? Marshall seems to think so:

“I say, for me, [Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is] the last hurrah.”

Meanwhile, the Blu-ray release of Indiana Jones: The Complete Adventures (there’s a fitting title if Marshall’s talk proves correct) comes out September 18.

Rancho Obi-Wan bringing mini-museum to Celebration VI

Your father wanted you to have this when you were old enough

Rancho Obi-Wan, the giant collection of all things Star Wars owned by Steve Sansweet, will be hitting the road for Celebration VI. The Rancho Obi-Wan Experience will have a mini-museum space on the main exhibit floor and will showcase all sorts of item, from props and prototypes to original art and fan-made wonders, all brought from the world’s largest private collection of Star Wars stuff.

Steve Sansweet will be on hand to chat with fans and answer questions. Steve and other managers and board members of Rancho Obi-Wan will be doing a panel on Rancho Obi-Wan as part of the Collectors’ Track. Additionally, there will be preview sales of the upcoming Star Wars: Ultimate Action Figure Collection book at the booth, with all four authors on hand to sign unique bookplates. Fans who sign up to be members of Rancho Obi-Wan at Celebration will receive an exclusive Celebration VI patch that matches the 2012 Rancho Obi-Wan membership patch, as well as a personalized membership kits.

SDCC video: Star Wars merchandise

Before we put the Comic Con files in the archives, I’ve got a few more videos to show from San Diego this past weekend. First up is a tour of some of the different licensees in the Lucasfilm area. We’ve already gotten a tour of the Her Universe booth with Ashley Eckstein, but now let’s take a look at:

  • Chairs and beanbags from Red5inc
  • Star Wars novels and guidebooks from Del Rey
  • Anovos Productions‘ costumes and props (Wait! those aren’t Star Wars!)
  • Purses, belts and other accessories from Rock Rebel
  • Museum Replicas’ line of customizable Jedi outfits, Star Wars logo lamps and lightsaber umbrellas

Running in Course of the Force

So yesterday was Day 4 of Course of the Force, the lightsaber relay from Santa Monica to Comic-Con in San Diego to raise money for Make-A-Wish Foundation, and I was super excited to be able to participate in this fantastic experience as it came through San Diego. When they put out a call for local Star Wars fans to get involved, Caitlin and I signed up and went out on Tuesday morning for our afternoon segments. I was joined by all sorts of great fans, some of which are highlighted in my video above. This was my chance for an Olympic geek dream!

Continue reading “Running in Course of the Force”

Video: Course of the Force at Oceanside Conival

The Course of the Force kicked off in San Diego County on Monday with an early morning filming trip to Legoland California in Carlsbad, then an afternoon conival at the Oceanside Pier, topped off with a concert by the Spazmatics. With Monday being the midpoint of the event, there was no lightsaber relay along the coast, but the crew geared up for the start of the final two legs of the lightsaber torch relay – Tuesday has the Course of the Force lightsaber traveling from Oceanside through the northern coastal cities of San Diego County to the neighborhood of Pacific Beach, while the final run on Wednesday will take the lightsaber from PB to downtown San Diego and Comic-Con.

SDCC: Lucasfilm brings out live snakes, Well of Lost Souls for Indiana Jones Blu-ray

COBRA!!!!!!Lucasfilm will be promoting the upcoming release of the Indiana Jones quadrilogy on Blu-ray by having a recreation of the Well of Lost Souls at Comic-Con, with live snakes. WITH LIVE SNAKES! Talk about a ubercool photo op for fans of the Harrison Ford adventures. or uberscary, if you are an ophidiophobe. Lucasfilm’s snake pit will be located at booth #2913. Those who pre-order the set will also get a $25 gift card to Sideshow Collectibles.

Check out the Indiana Jones Blu-ray trailer at the LA Times Hero Complex. They also report that, in time for the Blu-ray release on September 18, the Indiana Jones and the Adventures of Archeology museum exhibition will be finally hitting the States, starting off in Orange County’s Discovery Science Center (which just recently finished the Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination exhibition).

No telling whether your photos will also have the tell-tale glass between you and the cobra, but at least you’ll get to say “Snakes? Why did it have to be snakes?”

Course of the Force kicks off in Santa Monica

Saturday was the first day of the inaugural Course of the Force lightsaber relay, helping to raise funds for the Make-A-Wish Foundation while celebrating geekery on its way from Santa Monica to San Diego and Comic-Con. Ready for your “Awww..” moment? Skip to 11:45 in the video above to see the last runner of the day – the king of fast, in his adorable Artoo costume!

The kick-off conival had its moments of fun, with Peter Mayhew and members of the 501st Legion and Rebel Legion helping to provide atmosphere at the Santa Monica Pier. Leading off the relay was host Chris Hardwick and a group of Make-A-Wish kids. Check out more costumed fun in the Southern California gray, thanks to Lesley Farquhar / Equinox Photography for sharing her photos.

Sunday will continue the relay from Redondo Beach to Huntington Beach, where there will be another Course of the Force conival at the HB pier (4pm to 9pm), including free performances by The Spazmatics at 6pm, and Dan Finnerty & The Dan Band at 8pm. The relay journey continues on Tuesday and Wednesday, going from Oceanside to Pacific Beach to downtown San Diego and Comic-Con!

Video: Nerdist’s journey to Course of the Force

Chris Hardwick’s ‘epic journey’ to bring the Course of the Force lightsaber from San Francisco to the Santa Monica Pier. Watch out for Ewoks.

With the Course of the Force lightsaber torch relay starting on Saturday in Santa Monica, there’s going to be a Endor-class celebration to kick it off at the Santa Monica Pier from 10 am to 2 pm. Enjoy live music by the Spazmatics, appearances and autographs by Star Wars characters including actor Peter Mayhew who played Chewbacca. At 1:00 p.m. Chris Hardwick and a crew of kids from Make-A-Wish will run the first segment of the inaugural Course of the Force from the Santa Monica Pier. Get the full Course of the Force schedule for both the relays and conivals at the Course of the Force site.

Here’s the rundown on more Course of the Force news:

  • Leading the way for Course of the Force will be a mobile re-creation of Jabba’s Sail Barge, where crimelord Jabba the Hutt relay hosts Chris Hardwick, Ashley Eckstein, and Alison Haislip will be following the action. Being custom built at twenty-five feet long, it’s still being assembled, but I’m sure that it will be fully operational once the hostly trio arrives!
  • Course of the Force has brought on some new sponsors, including frozen treat maker Otter Pops and SHOEBACCA.com. The online shoe store will be bringing Peter Mayhew to sign autographs at the Saturday and Sunday “conival” events in Santa Monica and Huntington Beach. They will also be having a Galactic Giveaway sweepstakes from July 7 to August 31 on www.shoebacca.com.
  • Capping off the relay will be a concert by The Dan Band at the San Diego’s Balboa Theatre on Wednesday, July 11 live at 12:30 p.m. Tickets are available online at sandiegotheatres.org. “Truthfully, our first choice to conclude Course of the Force was Sy Snootles and the Max Rebo Band, but they’re not currently touring in this system,” Course of the Force host Chris Hardwick admitted, “But I sincerely can’t think of a better SECOND choice than The Dan Band! Everything is automatically more awesome when you add The Dan Band. True Story.”
  • For those who want to help Make-a-Wish, but aren’t in Southern California, Course of the Force will have some ebay auctions for some unique prizes and swag.
  • Celebrities who will be participating in Course of the Force include: Drew Carey, Zachary Levi, Paul Scheer, Vanessa Lengies, Neil Everett, Kal Penn, Team Unicorn (Rileah, Clare, Milynn and Michele), Adrianne Curry, and more.

Look for more special Course of the Force updates next week!

SDCC panels announced: The Clone Wars and Firefly’s 10th anniversary

Cartoon Network released their schedule of panels at Comic-Con, coming up in a few weeks in San Diego. For Star Wars fans, they confirmed the Lucasfilm panel on Star Wars: The Clone Wars coming on Saturday, July 14.

From the press release:

Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Onto Season Five
The aftermath of Season Four has left the Star Wars galaxy a very dangerous place: Darth Maul is alive, Asajj Ventress is a bounty hunter, and the Mandalorian Death Watch is deadlier than ever. How will these threads continue in Season Five of Star Wars: The Clone Wars? Find out in this behind-the-scenes panel, which will feature new clips, new insights and more. Join the discussion with Supervising Director Dave Filoni and head writer Matt Michnovetz (who wrote Season Four’s powerful Umbara arc). Moderated by Star Wars author Pablo Hidalgo. Room 6DE

Also from Cartoon Network’s announcement: panels for Adventure Time, Regular Show, DC Nation,Ben 10, and Mad and two new shows based on existing properties: Annoying Orange, and Dragons: Riders of Berk (from How to Train Your Dragon). The Adult Swim programming block will have a single panel on Friday to highlight seven of its shows, including Robot Chicken (and their upcoming DC Comics Special) and The Venture Bros.

Meanwhile, there’s been some confirmation from Tim Minear that Comic Con will also have a 10th Anniversary panel for Joss Whedon’s Firefly. That’s gonna be a mighty fine shindig. Will Nathan Fillion be there? Probably so, even if there’s no Castle panel. Who needs Castle when there’s a (Dan Harmon-less) Community panel?

See you in San Diego!

Ashley Eckstein joins Chris Hardwick to host Course of the Force

This summer’s inaugural Course of the Force, the five-day lightsaber relay from Santa Monica to Comic-Con to raise money for Make-a-Wish, just announced that The Clone Wars star and Her Universe founder Ashley Eckstein will be joining as co-host, joining veteran TV nerd Chris Hardwick. Not only will she be co-hosting the event, she’ll also be running one leg of the relay.

Hardwick says of Eckstein:

“Ashley is a glorious addition to the Course of the Force. She is not just an important character on Star Wars: The Clone Wars, she is also a true follower of the Saga. I am but a mere Padawan in comparison to her Jedi mastery,” states Nerdist Industries founder and Course of the Force host Chris Hardwick.

Now there are two of them! There is still room to register for a quarter-mile leg of the lightsaber torch relay, as it winds its way down the coast from Santa Monica to downtown San Diego, with nightly parties in cities along the route from July 7 to July 11.