Category: star wars

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Star Wars Story Talk: Rogue One trailer reaction video, SWCE, SDCC, & Aftermath: Life Debt

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We’ve got a jumbo episode of Star Wars Story Talk (AKA the show formerly known as Unboxing Star Wars) as Yowie the Skunk, Baby Jawa, and I cover a whole sandcrawler-load of the latest in Star Wars stories. Baby Jawa does her first reaction video, watching the Rogue One trailer, and Yowie and I talk a bit about Star Wars Celebration Europe, San Diego Comic-Con and review Aftermath: Life Debt, the new novel by Chuck Wendig! Plus a little update on Wear Star Wars Every Day, a visit from a Loth-cat, and of course some Baby Jawa fun time!


Quick reviews
→ Trailer for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story – I am really excited for this movie and this trailer just pushes it up another notch. But how will Baby Jawa react to her first movie trailer viewing?
→ Star Wars Celebration Europe – Big thumbs up! A whole ton of fun and a lot of work. Plus seeing old friends and making new ones while in London!
→ Star Wars at San Diego Comic-Con – Even though there wasn’t a big movie panel, Star Wars still brought a lot to San Diego, including the Rogue One costume display and the publishing panel.
→ Star Wars: Aftermath – Life Debt – Chuck Wendig increases the scale and brings in some favorite film characters into the post-ROTJ era as the heroes help track down Han Solo as he’s disappeared while trying to liberate Kashyyyk. Solid read!
→ Loth-Cat Plush from Star Wars Celebration Europe – A big hit! Mrowwwl! Help me come up with a name for this grinning feline!

Mentioned on Star Wars Story Talk
On StarWars.com: Recent interviews with Chuck Wendig on Aftermath: Life Debt from Del Rey and Jarrett J. Krosoczka on Jedi Academy: A New Class from Scholastic.

Podcasts: Thanks to Coffee with Kenobi for having me on the podcast as a featured guest to talk Bloodline, Life Debt, and Wear Star Wars Every Day, and thanks to Skywalking through Neverland for bringing me on the show to discuss Wear Star Wars Every Day.

Salt Lake Comic Con: Check out my schedule at Salt Lake Comic Con (Sept 1 to Sept 3) or just view the general Star Wars-related programming, featuring Mark Hamill, Jeremy Bulloch, Lucasfilm Story Group members: Pablo Hidalgo, Leland Chee, and Matt Martin; also including Star Wars authors, artists, and voice actors, and the Full of Sith podcast crew: Bryan Young, Amy Ratcliffe, and Mike Pilot.

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: Del Rey provided a copy of Life Debt: Aftermath (Star Wars) for review.

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This week in Rogue One: Empire covers, social buzz

→ Empire Magazine has revealed their first Rogue One covers – one featuring the heroes, the other the villains. A subscriber cover will debut Monday. Expect bits from their cover story to dribble out through the next few days – the issue will be on sale August 25.

→ Will Rogue One be Star Wars’ big breakthrough in China? Well… Maybe? Reaction to the trailer was mixed.

→ On the other hand, the film is holding its own in social buzz. Rogue One also debuted on Tumblr’s Fandomentrics movie list for the first time, at a respectable #5.

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John Williams to start work on Episode VIII soon? Not so much….

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It seems that John Williams didn’t tell a Boston crowd that he was beginning work soon on Episode VIII, as earlier reports have claimed. Star Wars News Net has a video of his remarks regarding VIII, and he only mentions signing on and seeing a rough cut of the film “in a few weeks.” The conspiracy theorists can stand down – per usual, actual scoring is generally one of the last things to be done on a film.

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Kenny Baker, who played R2-D2 for decades, has died

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Kenny Baker, the actor who played Artoo, has died at the age of 81. The 3 foot, 8 inch actor was the man inside the droid for the original and prequel trilogies. He also played Paploo the Ewok in Return of the Jedi, and appeared in Time Bandits and Flash Gordon

Baker has been ill for some time. “It was expected, but it’s sad nonetheless. He had a very long and fulfilled life,” his niece, Abigail Shield, told the Guardian. “He brought lots of happiness to people and we’ll be celebrating the fact that he was well loved throughout the world. We’re all very proud of what he achieved in his lifetime.”

Peter Mayhew posted “a final farewell to my little friend with the giant heart” on Chewbacca.com on Monday.

“Goodbye #KennyBaker,” Mark Hamill tweeted. “A lifelong loyal friend-I loved his optimism & determination. He WAS the droid I was looking for!” Fellow actors Ewan McGregor and Warwick Davis also posted remembrances on Twitter.

George Lucas and Kathleen Kennedy spoke about Baker on StarWars.com. Lucas calls him “a real gentleman” and “an incredible trooper,” while Kennedy says “There is no Star Wars without R2-D2, and Kenny defined who R2-D2 was and is. He will be greatly missed.”

Under the cut, tweets remembering Baker. Continue reading “Kenny Baker, who played R2-D2 for decades, has died”

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We’re gonna need another scoundrel: Young Han movie seeks a Lando?

Lando, Han and the Falcon in ROTJ

The young Han Solo movie is casting for a “Chance” – aka Lando Calrissian, The Wrap reports today. With Chewbacca and (probably) the Millennium Falcon on board, it seems likely that we could be getting the tale of how Han won the ship from Lando in the first place.

UPDATE: According to Birth Movies Death, Donald Glover (Community, The Martian) is the first choice for the role.

Like Han, these are gonna be tough shoes to fill. We first met Lando, as played by Billy Dee Williams, in The Empire Strikes Back. (Empire screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan penned the script to the new film with his son Jon.) Williams has reprised the role recently on Rebels.

In less rumory news, co-director Chris Miller shared on Twitter a picture of him and Philip Lord on the Falcon set. (Presumably Episode VIII’s.) We do know they auditioned Alden Ehrenreich and other finalists for the role of Han on the Falcon set.

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Rogue One: Saw Gerrera’s armor isn’t just for show (or a Dark Forces homage)

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This afternoon’s Rogue One item from Entertainment Weekly is a look at Forest Whitaker’s Saw Gerrera. Turns out he shares a couple traits with our old pal Darth Vader… That bulky armor isn’t just for show – or, as we joked back before we knew the character was from The Clone Wars, the modern take on Kyle Katarn’s oh-so-90’s shoulder pad. The armored suit is helping him repair “some of the many injuries he’s had,” says Whitaker. Also touched on: His relationship with Jyn, and his hair changes.

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Today in Rogue One: Alan Tudyk on K-2SO, Databank updates and more

ro-k-2so-cropAlan Tudyk drops some details on his Rogue One character, the droid K-2SO, over at Entertainment Weekly. He adresses Kaytoo’s past as an Imperial security droid, his accent, and his relationship with Diego Luna’s Cassian Andor, and even describes a scene – or part of one, anyway. EW this week has also covered the planet Jedha and spoke to Riz Ahmed about his character Bodhi Rook.

→ Speaking of Bodhi, Birth Movie Death’s Siddhant Adlakha looks at what the character and the casting bode for the new era of Star Wars being more inclusive.

→ A whole bunch of Rogue One stuff has shown up in the StarWars.com Databank. Most noteably, we learn that Jedha is “small desert moon frosted by a permanent winter” and “home to one of the first civilizations to explore the nature of the Force.” We also learn what Orson Krennic is director of, more about the death troopers and where Saw Gerrera has been hanging out. Also up: Jyn Erso, Cassian Andor, Chirrut Imwe, Baze Malbus, Bodhi Rook, K-2SO, shoretroopers, AT-ACTs and Scarif.

→ Donnie Yen talks to Extra about one reason why the Empire may be so interested in Jedha.

→ Rogue One has an official synopsis. It’s nothing we don’t know already.