Solo book lineup features novels from Daniel José Older, Rae Carson

The Solo book lineup is here, and it’s extensive. All the usual suspects are here: Novels from Del Rey and Disney Lucasfilm Press, comics from Marvel and IDW, the standard non-fiction… And a whole lot of kids stuff, because Star Wars. It’s all over at Entertainment Weekly, but here are my highlights.

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Solo lowdown: New poster, Jon Favreau returns

Another one-sheet for Solo: A Star Wars Story has been officially revealed on The Star Wars Show, although it was actually spotted in theaters a few days ago.

Jon Favreau will be voicing “a very cool & important alien character” in Solo, per Ron Howard. This is his second time doing a GFFA voice – he previously played Pre Vizsla in The Clone Wars.

→ The official site has also posted all those new pictures from Entertainment Weekly – sans the annoying watermarks.

Head under the cut for a full look at that new poster.

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Solo and the evolution of the Millennium Falcon

Over at Entertainment Weekly, Solo‘s Jon Kasdan and Alden Ehrenreich discuss the movie’s Millennium Falcon and how it evolves with each owner, from Lando’s “party vessel” to the grimy version we meet in A New Hope. Also at EW, a look at the movie’s Hasbro toy line.

It must be merch reveal day, because we also have io9 with the 6″ figures of Han, Lando and Qi’ra, while The Hollywood Reporter has the LEGOs.

Rumor: Will The Last Jedi drop on digital March 14?

Multiple sightings (Reddit, SWNN) are showing that The Last Jedi digital release may be March 14, nearly two weeks ahead of the (still unannounced) release of the Blu-Ray copies on March 27. The digital and physical releases for both The Force Awakens and Rogue One were only a few days apart. Word is we’ll get an official announcement on the 20th.

→ Oscar Isaac on shooting both The Last Jedi and the upcoming Annihilation at the same studio, and sometimes on the same day. (To make it even weird, he was playing Natalie Portman’s husband. Filmmaking!)

→ Really want tio dig into the nitty-gritty of The Last Jedi sets and filming? Production designer Rick Heinrichs wrote an article for the Art Directors Guild’s official magazine, which anyone can download in PDF form.

→ Domhnall Gleeson on how Peter Rabbit’s Mr. McGregor is like General Hux, and figuring out The Last Jedi’s choking scene.

The Last Jedi was named AARP’s Best Film for Grownups. ::sad trombone::

Disney World’s Star Wars hotel will connect to Galaxy’s Edge

The Star Wars-themed hotel that’s coming to Disney World in Florida will connect directly to the Galaxy’s Edge expansion at Hollywood Studios, Disney announced today at D23 Expo Japan. The fully-immersive hotel sounds like… A lot.

From the moment guests arrive at the hotel, [Walt Disney Parks and Resorts chairman Bob] Chapek said, their journey through space will begin as everyone boards a starship and departs together for a multi-day Star Wars adventure. An opening date for the new hotel has not yet been announced. But it can’t come too soon — we’re ready to vacation in a galaxy far, far away.

Still, no ETA on the hotel, though.

Also revealed was a look at the “handcrafted toys” that will be offered at a Toydarian’s street market in Galaxy’s Edge.

Galaxy’s Edge parks at Disney World and Disneyland are expected to debut in 2019.

Episode IX begins filming in the summer

At D23 Expo Japan, Disney Marketing President Ricky Strauss revealed that J.J. Abrams will begin filming Episode IX this coming summer. A special greeting from Abrams and some behind-the-scenes footage from Solo: A Star Wars Story was also shown.

Episode IX is due out on December 20, 2019.

George Lucas helped direct a small part of Solo

No coverage of Solo: A Star Wars Story would be complete without asking on the film’s turmoulous director issues, and Entertainment Weekly does go there, with the usual vague and polite responses from Kathleen Kennedy and Ron Howard on the issue of original directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller.

But the story begins and ends with George Lucas and Ron Howard, from American Graffiti to the set of Solo where – on Howard’s very first day – Lucas came to visit.

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