Category: star wars on tv

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Disney Press gives some details for Rebels launch

rebels logoKnights Archive spotted some extra details about the timeline for the marketing and launch of Rebels in the Disney Press catalog. Listed among the key selling points for the Rebels read-along storybook and CD, scheduled for August 2014, are a few tidbits about how Rebels is going to be hyped:

TERRIFIC TEASERS: Four short-form interstitials will release in Summer 2014, introducing viewers to the characters of Star Wars Rebels. In Fall 2014, a one-hour debut special will air on Disney Channel and Disney XD, followed by the series roll-out on Disney XD.

And the depth of the merchandising:

SUPER SYNERGY: Star Wars Rebels will have A-level company-wide marketing in Summer/Fall 2014, as well as a huge push across consumer product divisions, including digital, electronics, toys, apparel, stationery, and home furnishings.

What, no mention of health and beauty products?

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Rumor: David Oyelowo, Freddie Prinze Jr. in talks for Rebels voice cast

rebels logoThe Hollywood Reporter this afternoon brings us what may be the cast of Rebels! David Oyelowo, Freddie Prinze Jr., Vanessa Marshall, Taylor Gray and Steven Jay Blum “are in the process of being cast as the voice leads for the series,” they say.

You’ll recognize Oyelowo from the other day’s Latino Review rumor, which had him auditioning for Episode VII. (Which he still could be!) Prinze will be familiar to anyone who grew up in the ’90s – he’s perhaps best known for starring in I Know What You Did Last Summer, She’s All That and 2002’s Scooby-Doo. Blum and Marshall are both voice acting vets who made their Star Wars debuts in The Old Republic. And it looks like Gray has some Nickelodeon cred.

We’ll be hearing more about Rebels at NYCC next month – can we expect some official casting news before that? Let’s hope so, for Pablo’s sake.

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Seth Green takes the long view on Detours

DetoursIn a Reddit AMA the other day, Seth Green talked a bit about Detours being held back, and why the show sitting on the shelf might not be a huge deal in the end:

So there’s actually been quite a bit of talk about this, but Detours is just on hold currently. We have 39 finished episodes and around 62 finished scripts. But that entire show was created before the decision to make more Star Wars movies, so our show (which was created by George Lucas) is an animated sitcom in the world of Star Wars, so we had a lot of conversations with Kathleen Kennedy about Star Wars in not just the next 3 years but the next 30 years, and when you’re in as privileged a position as we were to be able to work on Star Wars content with its creator, you get a great sense of responsibility to the whole. I was introduced to Star Wars as a child and it was without any ironic or comedic lens, so I saw Darth Vader as scary, and I saw all of those messages very very clearly. We didn’t think it made any sense, in anticipation of these new movies coming out, to spend the next 3 years with an animated sitcom as 3 generations’ of kids first introduction to the Star Wars universe.

I’ve had a lot of parents approach me in the last few years where they showed Robot Chicken or Family Guy Star Wars before they showed them regular Star Wars. The writers on Robot Chicken and I are seeing this a lot. The same way we were introduced to classic music through Bugs Bunny or Tom & Jerry, kids are taking our ironic interpretations of He-Man or other pop culture icons and never having the opportunity to meet them sincerely. It’s a really bizarre thing to wrap your head around, and because I’ve witnessed it firsthand, it made me more thoughtful about what we were putting it out.

I do feel that Detours is a timeless bit of entertainment. Media distribution is changing so quickly, so dramatically, that can you even imagine what distribution of content will look like in 5 years? In a day and age when Netflix series are nominated for the top accolades TV has to offer, what is to say what it will look like when the new Star Wars movie comes out? So Detours can sit on a shelf until the Star Wars movie comes out without losing any of its lustre, because what we’ve created is very funny, very smart and like I said before, timeless.

Once again, you have to keep in mind that Star Wars itself is also in a big period of flux right now, and that the vision of the franchise when Detours was conceived is not the one that’s playing out now. Patience isn’t just for Jedi: Fans have to calm their grabby hands as well.

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Pablo Hidalgo giving Rebels presentation at NYCC

Rebels: The GhostThere’s one major media con left for the year: New York Comic Con. And Lucasfilm’s Pablo Hidalgo will be there for a presentation on the upcoming cartoon Rebels, StarWars.com announced today. The panel, subtitled ‘Might of the Empire,’ will be held Saturday, October 12 at 2:45 p.m. Here’s the description:

What happens when the Galactic Empire takes over a planet? What if Imperials took interest in your world, and garrisoned Stormtroopers and TIE fighters to maintain order? Star Wars Rebels, the thrilling, all-new animated television series from Lucasfilm for Disney XD will ask those questions — and so will this panel hosted by Lucasfilm’s resident Star Wars expert, Pablo Hidalgo.

Details on the show are closely guarded, but fans at NYCC will get a first look at new art from the series, and learn new information about the formidable forces of the Galactic Empire. Star Wars Rebels is set between Episodes III and IV, and it is a dark time in the galaxy. In the spirit of the original trilogy, the Empire is once again the preeminent villain of the saga, and Star Wars Rebels puts the awesome might of Imperial forces in the spotlight.

The series is still a year away, so don’t miss this chance to get an early look at its development.

We got our most extensive look (so far) at Rebels from Dave Filoni at Celebration Europe in July. It’s expected to begin airing next fall.

There will also be panels on The Making of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi with J.W. Rinzler and Jason Fry, origami with Chris Alexander, “Blast-A-Trooper” with the 501st Legion and several licensees, including Del Rey and Dark Horse.

And before you ask…

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The Yoda Chronicles: Menace of the Sith airs tonight!

‘Menace of the Sith’, the second episode of LEGO Star Wars: The Yoda Chronicles, will broadcast tonight on Cartoon Network at 8 PM (ET/PT). In addition to our interview with writer Michael Price yesterday, you can get more behind-the-scenes info with another interview with Michael Price over at ToonBarn. Get caught up on the full story of The Yoda Chronicles so far with a rerun showing of the first episode, ‘The Phantom Clone’, at 7:30 PMTheYodaChronicles-MenaceOfTheSith_Dooku-boombox

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Interview: Michael Price on The Yoda Chronicles: Menace of the Sith

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With the second episode of LEGO Star Wars: The Yoda Chronicles coming up on Cartoon Network on Wednesday, I had a chance to chat with Michael Price, the writer of the fun LEGO Star Wars specials, and see what’s in store for the audience this time. Mike’s a great guy, always willing to talk Star Wars and comedy, and this time, we’ve got some secrets for latest installment of LEGO Star Wars: The Yoda Chronicles: “Menace of the Sith”. As announced in August, the new episode premieres on Cartoon Network on Wednesday, September 4 at 8 PM (ET/PT). Continue reading “Interview: Michael Price on The Yoda Chronicles: Menace of the Sith”

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Report: Distribution via Apple TV for cartoons, Episode VII production news?

apple tvJedi News has a doozie for us today: There’s an app in development that Disney and Lucasfilm for Apple TV devices… And that venue will be where they distribute the “the final Clone Wars episodes exclusively” – and it’s going to happen in the upcoming holiday season. But that’s not all, their source said:

“Distribution will only be on Apple TV devices capable of running iOS7 and there has been no confirmation if the same app will be available to other iOS devices such as iPad or iPhone.”

Now THAT is where I start to get excited… As much as I’d rather have set information coming in from less restrictive environment… Well, I am an Apple fan. (Please come to iOS. Just the Episode VII stuff.) Plus, Apple announced that they’re adding some Disney content to Apple TV today, so this concept is anything but far-fetched.

And… I have heard independently of this that there is a big multi-media/app project in the works which could fit right in the the same wheelhouse as what we’re hearing here. Certainly there are far, far more details to come if this ends up being true, but I am definitely leaning in the direction of ‘plausible’ here. At least for today.

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Plenty of Star Wars hints from Pablo at D23

d23-vaderThere may not have been big Star Wars movie news at the D23 Expo, but Pablo Hidalgo did drop some interesting hints regarding some other upcoming projects.

As Slashfilm points out, Pablo hinted that the Jedi legacy “casts a long shadow” and “you will feel that presence” on Rebels, and that (as the rumors claim) the Orange Harvest bounty may make it to Disneyland first.

He also said that there’s more Clone Wars bonus footage than we think, and “they’re close to pushing it out,” and “thinking out of the box” about distribution. We may not have seen the last of Detours, either. And for those who are particularly old school:

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Second episode of LEGO Star Wars: The Yoda Chronicles announced!

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The name and air date of Episode II of The Yoda Chronicles, the trilogy of LEGO Star Wars specials focusing on the comic adventures of Yoda and a special dark-side clone, has been released: ‘Menace of the Sith’ coming out on Wednesday, September 4 at 8:00 pm (ET/PT) on Cartoon Network.

From the official site synopsis of ‘Menace of the Sith’:

Darth Sidious shows off the new Sith clone, JEK 14, an extremely powerful weapon of the dark side. However, JEK has a mind of his own and wants to be his own master. It’s up to Yoda and the Jedi to stop the Sith — and to try and bring JEK 14 to the side of good.

Yoda-Chronicles-LogoThe first episode, ‘The Phantom Clone’, aired at the end of May, and we interviewed show writer Michael Price back then about the series. With Billy Dee Williams providing a special guest voice in the first episode, i wonder who might be doing a guest appearance this time around. If you missed the first episode, I’m sure that Cartoon Network will re-air it, as well as the other LEGO Star Wars specials, in the lead-up to ‘Menace of the Sith’.

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ABC “having conversations” about Star Wars TV series

IGN’s Eric Goldman asked ABC’s Paul Lee about seeing Star Wars make the jump to TV today. His answer was a bit roundabout, naturally:

“I certainly have a glint in my eye. They have a lot on their plate when you look at the features that they’re planning on rolling out for the next few years, but we’ve started conversations with them.”

He went on to say “It would be nice to use other strong Disney IP” and that “It’s an amazing world.” I wouldn’t count on seeing or hearing much soon, but at least we know a live-action option is still on their minds.