Category: star wars

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Hey, doubters: Let’s give the Han Solo movie a chance

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Well, of course the Han Solo movie is rumored to be about Han winning the Millennium Falcon from Lando Calrissian. Of course. It’s only the most iconic Han and Lando story, the bare outline direct from The Empire Strikes Back.

That said, the rumor does come from a tweet by The Hollywood Reporter’s Borys Kit, who claims to have heard it from “a couple of sources” – though not, apparently, enough for an actual story. Still, it would be bigger news if the film didn’t involve the Falcon.

Now, we’re all a little (a lot, truth be told) sick of people complaining about how this film is going to be “predictable” or “boring.” About how people would rather have an Obi-wan movie, or whatever. (No, you’re not the first person to say it. You’re not even the thousandth.) And this rumor isn’t going to help matters, I’m sure. But the film is in pre-production. It has two key roles cast – Han and Lando – with a third that probably isn’t far behind. (Not to mention Chewbacca is probably locked in, as we know Ehrenrich tested with either Peter Mayhew or Joonas Suotamo.)

han-lord-miller-falconMost importantly, It also has a pair of directors who are best known for taking “horrible” ideas and actually making great films out of them. If you somehow managed to miss Phil Lord and Christopher Miller’s The LEGO Movie or 21 Jump Street remake, please give them a try. And remember Lawrence Kasdan? He co-wrote the thing. These are not a bunch of random dudes off the street making a fan film. They, and everyone else at Lucasfilm, have a clear concept of the character and the film – check out those Celebration Europe clips again.

What do we, the audience, have? Hints and rumors and speculation – not the most solid ground for judgement.

I’m not going to discount the possibility that the movie could still turn out so-so. Hell, I’m still a little wary about the whole spinoff concept myself.

Fact is, this movie is happening. You don’t have to like it, but that’s not going to change at this point. But it’s far, far too soon to write it off. Give Han Solo a chance, just like you’re going to give Rogue One a chance. Hopefully, they both manage to surprise us.

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It’s official: Donald Glover is the new Lando Calrissian

donald-gloverLucasfilm has announced that Donald Glover will be playing the young Lando Calrissian in 2018’s Han Solo standalone. StarWars.com says the film will “depicts Lando in his formative years as a scoundrel on the rise in the galaxy’s underworld.” Glover joins Alden Ehrenreich as Han.

“We’re so lucky to have an artist as talented as Donald join us,” said directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. “These are big shoes to fill, and an even bigger cape, and this one fits him perfectly, which will save us money on alterations. Also, we’d like to publicly apologize to Donald for ruining Comic-Con for him forever.”

The Han movie, which is still untitled, is due out in 2018. Rumor has it that a third major role, a woman, has a shortlist.

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Link: Lucasfilm files lawsuit against “New York Jedi” operator

Lucasfilm files lawsuit against “New York Jedi” operator. According to the suit, Michael Brown and co. “willfully continued their infringing activities” despite receiving cease and desists letters and license requests being denied.

The copyright attorneys are real and, honestly, they have a pretty good case here. There’s a lot of fan activity out there – and has been for decades – but there are limits to what you can do with someone else’s’ intellectual property.

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The catchup: Rogue One bits, bobs and analysis

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There have been a number of minor reveals in the wake of last week’s Rogue One trailer, mostly via (of course) Entertainment Weekly. We learned that Alistair Petrie’s Rebel officer is General Draven. (And that there apparently was a fan theory that he was Rebels’ Agent Kallus turned turncoat, which is news to me.) We also got a bunch of minor characters via Topps cards, including a blonde X-wing pilot that folks think might be Evaan Verlaine from the comics.

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→ If you’re still poring over the trailer, here are breakdowns from EW, io9, and /Film. Plus the latest Full of Sith, which features EW’s Anthony Breznican

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→ Also out in recent days is a Hollywood Reporter profile of Felicity Jones, which is pretty informative if you know enough to roll your eyes at the line about anyone expecting Rogue One to match The Force Awakens box office. Meanwhile, Mads Mikkelsen talks to GQ.

→ And finally, here’s a new Rogue One-inspired Duracell commercial that’s getting some attention today: