Star Wars with occasional sarcasm
Preview pages from an upcoming Rogue One book have a name for the tropical planet teased in the recent Entertainment Weekly feature. Since this is unverified information and things may still change, head under the cut for the details.
Continue reading “Report: Rogue One’s tropical planet gets a name”
Star Wars Story Talk (AKA the show formerly known as Unboxing Star Wars) gets in one more episode before Star Wars Celebration Europe! This time, Baby Jawa, Yowie the Skunk, and I try some snacks and review two books: LEGO Star Wars: The Chronicles of the Force, by Adam Bray, David Fentiman, and Cole Horton; and the junior novelization of The Force Awakens by Michael Kogge. Plus a little update on where I’ll be in the coming weeks —Star Wars Celebration Europe and San Diego Comic-Con. Hamburger Helper, Cheez-It crackers, and of course some Baby Jawa fun time!
Quick reviews
→ LEGO Star Wars: Chronicles of the Force – A fun and fact-filled guide to both Star Wars and LEGO Star Wars in particular. Lots of focus on LEGO minifigures and sets with plenty of call outs about the story of Star Wars. Plus the exclusive Unkar Plutt’s thug minifigure.
→ Star Wars: The Force Awakens junior novel – Thumbs up! Michael Kogge pens the adaptation of the film for the younger audiences. Quite a few scenes in it that weren’t in the film, and we see a few scenes a bit differently as well. Plus an insert of color photos from the movie.
→ Cheez-It Star Wars crackers – The cheesy square crackers have Star Wars shapes stamped into them! A Star Wars food tie-in done right.
→ Ultimate Hamburger Helper – Star Wars – Barely a tie-in. The food’s the same. Just an offer for $5 of movie concessions if you submit a photo of a receipt showing the purchase of 3 or more boxes. A Star Wars food tie-in done pretty sad.
Where to see jawajames at Star Wars Celebration Europe:
→ Friday: STEM Heroes and Heroines of Star Wars, 12:00p to 1:00p, Star Wars Fan & Collector’s Stage, with Tricia Barr, Cole Horton, Kevin Beentjes, and Hannah Gillis.
→ Saturday: International Star Wars Fandom, 10:30a to 11:30a, Star Wars Fan & Collector’s Stage, with Mark Newbold (UK), Tim Veekhoven (Belgium), Johanna Nybelius (Sweden), and Kevin Beentjes (Netherlands).
Get more info on Wear Star Wars Every Day or make a donation at GoFundMe or sign up to make a per-day pledge.
Note: DK Publishing provided a copy of LEGO Star Wars: Chronicles of the Force for review.
As first revealed on today’s Star Wars Show, we have the cover for the last book in Chuck Wendig’s Aftermath trilogy. Due in January, Empire’s End has been long-expected to deal with the Battle of Jakku – thus the flaming Star Destroyer, no doubt.
A bit closer (next Tuesday) is the second book, Life Debt. And if one buys the special edition from Barnes & Noble, it comes with a pair of posters featuring the Millennium Falcon and breakout character Mr. Bones.
We learned today that next weekend’s Celebration Europe will indeed be streamed live. Great news for those of us playing along at home! (Yes, I will be blogging. From home. Go figure.) The news was revealed on today’s Star Wars Show:
Also, on the show, the cover for Aftermath: Empire’s End.
In comic shops this Wednesday we’ll have Poe Dameron #4, Han Solo #2, and a hardcover Darth Vader, collecting #1-12 of the soon-to-end series.
And coming up next week is Chuck Wendig’s Aftermath: Life Debt.
This week was a great deal quieter than the last, likely because we’re barreling towards Celebration Europe, which begins on the 15th. We got two panel announcements for the con, the ‘Future Filmmakers’ with directors Rian Johnson, Chris Miller and Phil Lord, and ‘Ahsoka’s Untold Tales’ with Dave Filoni and Ashley Eckstein. (Pablo is moderating both, of course. Because Pablo.)
→ #PutDrewinStarWars is gaining steam! Nearly 8000 signatures as of Friday evening!
→ Of course Star Wars’ biggest secret keeper, aka Mark Hamill, isn’t running around spoiling Episode VIII.
→ Unboxing Star Wars is now Star Wars Story Talk!
→ Our themes on Tumblr were The Force Awakens, behind the scenes, and the Skywalkers.
What we didn’t get to
→ Samuel L. Jackson thinks Mace Windu survived Revenge of the Sith, and George Lucas is okay with it, apparently.
→ DK’s Star Wars Year By Year and Star Wars: Complete Locations are getting updated versions this fall.
→ Hasbro reveals two new 6-inch convention figures at Entertainment Weekly: A helmetless Kylo Ren (with melted Vader helmet) for Celebratiopn Europe, and A New Hope Obi-Wan Kenobi (with hologram Leia) for San Diego Comic-Con.
Chatting Rogue One and Aftermath with Tosche Station. Dunc joined Coop from Eleven-ThirtyEight on the latest episode of Tosche Station. Last week’s Rogue One news drop and Aftermath: Life Debt expectations were discussed.
The hunt for a new name for my video series is over! Since we mostly focus on the latest in new Star Wars storytelling in TV, films, books, comics, and events, Unboxing Star Wars is now Star Wars Story Talk! Yowie the skunk, Baby Jawa, and I review the latest book for the kid set: Star Wars: ABC-3PO, by Calliope Glass and Caitlin Kennedy, with illustrations by Katie Cook. We also flash back to LEGO Star Wars Days held earlier this month at LEGOLAND California and discuss the new LEGO Star Wars TV series, The Freemaker Adventures. For more details on the LEGOLAND event, check out my article on starwars.com: LEGO Star Wars Days. Plus random fun with a Jawa buddy, and then some Baby Jawa fun time!
Quick reviews
→ Star Wars: ABC-3PO – Two thumbs up! Love the Katie Cook illustrations and fun rhymes by Calliope Glass and Caitlin Kennedy. Great for fans whether kids or parents! (For ages 3-5)
→ LEGOLAND California: LEGO Star Wars Days 2016 – A lot of fun! In a year without any new permanent Star Wars additions to Miniland, the park still knows how to make a great Star Wars event with plenty of unique activities including photo ops with costumers from the 501st Legion, Rebel Legion, and Mandalorian Mercs; the really awesome Fan Gallery, showcasing amazing Star Wars-themed builds from LEGO fans; family build, trivia and costume contests; and a bunch of scavenger hunts. Plus sneak preview screenings of the first episode of LEGO Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures.
→ LEGO Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures. Thumbs up! If you’re a fan of the previous LEGO Star Wars series, this new show on Disney XD will delight! Maybe a little more kid-focused than some of the previous series, it still contains the great mix of Star Wars stories with LEGO humor, and introduces a new set of heroes!
Get more info on Wear Star Wars Every Day or make a donation at GoFundMe or sign up to make a per-day pledge.
Note: Disney-Lucasfilm Press provided a copy of Star Wars: ABC-3PO for review.
Tuesday brings Alexander Freed’s Battlefront: Twilight Company in paperback. Back when the hardcover came out, James called it “a good, solid novel for the military sci-fi reader” in his review. The paperback also contains the short story ‘Inbrief’ by Janine K. Spendlove, which originally appeared in the Star Wars Insider.
Comic fans have Darth Vader #22 to look forward to on Wednesday.
It’s been a busy one, so let’s recap! The big news this week was Entertainment Weekly’s cover story on
Our other big item was the second excerpt from Aftermath: Life Debt, which shows us Leia using the Force and sensing baby Ben.
Also this week: James reached the halfway point on #WearStarWarsEveryDay | Disney’s Bob Iger on the future of Indiana Jones | Here’s one thing from the live-action show we’re grateful didn’t make it to The Clone Wars | Don’t ever talk to George Lucas or his art museum ever again, Chicago.
And finally, here are a few other items we didn’t get to.
→ Ewan McGregor is (understandably!) sick of about being asked if he’d be in another Star Wars movie. (The answer is still yes, though.)
→ The Force Awakens won eight Saturn Awards, including best science fiction film and nods for Harrison Ford and Adam Driver.
→ Chuck Wendig on adapting The Force Awakens for Marvel.