Making Star Wars has yet another report on The Last Jedi. This one regards aother new planet, what happens there, and the solitary spy shot we have of a certain location. Said planet actually gets a mention in a very recent publication…
Todd Fisher: Leia will appear in Episode IX
Carrie Fisher may appear in Episode IX after all. Todd Fisher tells the New York Daily News that he and Carrie’s daughter Billie Lourd have given Lucasfilm permission to use “recent footage” of her for the trilogy’s finale:
“Both of us were like, ‘Yes, how do you take her out of it?’ And the answer is you don’t,” said Fisher, as he attended the opening night gala of the TCM Film Festival in Los Angeles, celebrating “In the Heat of the Night.”
“She’s as much a part of it as anything and I think her presence now is even more powerful than it was, like Obi Wan — when the saber cuts him down he becomes more powerful. I feel like that’s what’s happened with Carrie. I think the legacy should continue.”
Fisher had finished filming for The Last Jedi prior to her death in December. Lucasfilm said they had “no plans to digitally recreate” Fisher as Leia in January. In March, Disney CEO Bob Iger said that her death hadn’t changed Leia’s role in Episode VIII.
Episode IX, to be directed by Jurassic World’s Colin Trevorrow, is due out in 2019.
Del Rey’s 40th Anniversary offering is a new anthology
Del Rey will be celebrating the 40th Anniversary of A New Hope with From a Certain Point of View, a new anthology that will feature 40 stories from the viewpoints of the movie’s minor characters.
Coming in October in an oversized hardcover, the anthology will feature more than 40 authors, including both established Star Wars writers (Chuck Wendig, John Jackson Miller, Gary Whitta) and those new to the franchise (Meg Cabot, Ken Liu, Nnedi Okorafor.) All the authors are donating their proceeds to the charity First Book.
The book will be out in October and is available for preorder now.
Rumor: Benicio Del Toro’s look, ship in The Last Jedi
Making Star Wars has some possible details on Benicio Del Toro’s character, look and ship in The Last Jedi, as well as another detail about yesterday’s report.
Rumor: The Last Jedi’s “Dubrovnik planet” gets a name
Making Star Wars this morning has a possible name for the “Dubrovnik planet” in The Last Jedi. We had plenty of spy photos from when the exteriors were filmed in Dubrovnik in southern Croatia, but interiors were filmed at Pinewood.
And from last week, some sketches of altered outfits for Captain Phasma, Kylo Ren and a new kind of First Order stormtrooper.
Star Wars out this week: Rogue One on Blu-ray
If you’ve been holding out for a physical copy of Rogue One, Tuesday is your day for the Blu-ray/DVD/Digital combo pack and DVD. In the book aisle, there’s the latest Star Wars Visual Encyclopedia by Adam Bray, Cole Horton and Tricia Barr. You can get a preview (via our own James) at StarWars.com.
It’s a no-slouch week for comics as well, with Star Wars #30 and Marvel’s Rogue One #1 dropping on Wednesday. In reprints, there’s the A New Hope: Special Edition and a gigantic box set.
Hayden Christensen returning to Celebration for Star Wars’ 40th Anniversary
Hayden Christensen will be returning to Celebration for the first time since 2002 as part of the 40th Anniversary panel, joining Mark Hamill, Ian McDiarmid, Billy Dee Williams, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, Dave Filoni and Kathleen Kennedy. “Many galactic-sized surprises” are still being promised, but this is a fairly big one. (And yes, he’s signing.)
In other Celebration news, there’s now more previews up for the Store, mostly t-shirts.
Rumor: What’s tap for Star Wars in the future, maybe
Star Wars News Net has a new post up where they allege to know quite a bit of what Lucasfilm is planning for the next few spinoffs and scheduling of the saga films. The films themselves are, with a single exception, things that have already been heavily speculated on and wanted by some corners of fandom (Obi-wan, bounty hunters.) The “exception” seems to be a bit inspired by Lost Stars and “this is what fangirls want, right?”
The saga scheduling issue – which draws on another perpetual rumor – is somewhat plausible but fairly common sense.
In other words, there are a lot of parts here we’ve seen before, but I’m doubtful they all actually add up the way it’s presented. So naturally, I’m more skeptical than usual. It’s an interesting read, but I wouldn’t put too much faith in the overall.
Wacky merchandise: The BB-8 cake mold
Of course there’s a BB-8 cake mold, and of course Thinkgeek carries it as part of their wide variety of geeky kitchenware. My only question: Do you eat his head first?
Today in The Last Jedi: Force for Change merch, Cinemacon peek, and the latest rumors
A first look at some of the first products for The Last Jedi, which will support the Force for Change charitable initiative and launch at Celebration Orlando. Bonus: A new outfit for Rey!
→ There was some footage shown yesterday at CinemaCon as part of a Disney sizzle reel. They were brief shots of Rey on Ahch-To with the blue lightsaber. Unfortunately, there’s also some faked footage floating around that contains none of this. So don’t be fooled. (Seriously, other than a fairly well done photoshop of Adam Driver with a scar, it’s super fake.)
→ Now, rumors! Making Star Wars has two since we last checked in. The first is regarding a piece of scenery that hasn’t yet been officially revealed, and the second says that The Leftovers’ Justin Theroux has a role.