…From TFN’s Jovial Jay Shepard. (via)
EUbits: Quinlan Vos to appear in The Clone Wars?
Quinlan Vos making the jump to TV? Yakface spotted a Clone Wars action figure of the character, who was originally slated to appear (but didn’t) in the S1 episode ‘Bombad Jedi.’ Signs are good that Master Vos will finally get his day in the sun… Also curious? The character resembles Dave Filoni. Maybe we’ll see Vos play buddy cop with Plo Koon?
Speaking of comics… Techland has a two-part interview with Star Wars comic editors Randy Stradley and Dave Marshall. Part I covers Marvel and the early years of Dark Horse’s involvement with the franchise and what’s coming up; Part II goes into more detail with the process and challenges.
Upcoming. Dan Wallace and The Jedi Path are getting some buzz: He did a video tour of the book with EU and an interview with Techland.
Giveaway. Win Star Wars ABC and Millennium Falcon: A 3-D Owner’s Guide from The Detroit News’ Geek Watch blog.
The Clone Wars: What’s coming in season 3?
Lots of good information has come out at Celebration V on what Season 3 has in store for Star Wars: The Clone Wars. We’ve already touched on a few things previously, but here’s a little more in-depth view, opening up some questions for speculation.
- Delta Squad. Who didn’t get chills when the Republic Commando helmets popped up in the Thursday sneak peek clip showcasing rain effects (and also for a split second in the extended trailer shown on Saturday)? Dave Filoni has confirmed that it’s the Delts, and that there shouldn’t be any major continuity issues with their appearance on the show (avoiding Mandalorian-level changes.)
- Ahsoka Tano’s character development: Anakin’s padawan is going to start getting visions (similar to Anakin’s visions in Episode III) and this is going to make her life a bit more complicated. Ashley Eckstein has hinted that Season 3 will really bring a lot more to Ahsoka’s character.
- Kamino: In the Season 3 panel, Dave Filoni talked up the new technology in animation that will allow them to use Kamino – water and reflections and such. And from the clips, we learn that Kamino is a big deal: the clones will be fighting for the closest thing to a home they have… and for all their younger brothers. Expect some giant robo-tentacular action as Asajj Ventress and the Separatists launch an underwater assault.
- Baron Papanoida and family: In the Main Event, George Lucas previewed a clip showcasing a cantina firefight between some thugs and Baron Papanoida (as played by George Lucas in Episode III) and his fellow Pantoran family members. George remarked that his son, Jett, was jealous that Jett’s character only gets one blaster to George’s two. This episode and a few others were penned by Katie Lucas, who also wrote the season 1 episode ‘Jedi Crash.’ Does George return to voice his character?
- Aurra Sing: Someone asked if Aurra’s established background as a Jedi washout with mad lightsaber skills would eventually be shown in the show, but Dave Filoni explained that Aurra in the show would simply just be a butt-kicking bounty hunter – besides there’s already a bald pasty lightsaber-wielding villainess. Which bring us to:
- Asajj Ventress: She’s going to be getting some major storyline action as she somehow finally loses Dooku’s (and Sidious’) favor and is forced on the run. In clips, we’ve seen her arrive wounded on Dathomir, where she is challenged by Nightsisters, until Mother Talzin vouches that Ventress is no stranger. Filoni also pointed out that one of the Nightsister weapons, a kind of energy bow, is an homage to Hank’s bow from the 80’s Dungeons & Dragons cartoon. Expect Asajj’s story to go from bad to worse to ???, while someone else might take her place…
- Savage Opress: According to George, he’s Darth Maul’s brother – but that might just be from a certain point of view. He’s certainly fear-inspiring. While Maul had the lethal look of a martial artist, Savage Opress (who’s clearly trying to have a name even sillier than Kit Fisto) has the hulking horror of an Oakland Raiders fan – except that he’s in Steelers’ colors, thanks to Filoni’s hometown love. The Nightsisters of Dathomir are making a play by bringing Dooku this Zabrak version of Brock Samson as a new apprentice. But then again, they also turn invisible and attack Dooku in his pajamas, and the Count is no slouch when fighting in his Sitharoos.
- C-3PO: He’s getting droid-napped… and tortured (a la EV-9D9’s chamber in Jabba’s palace.) After Artoo getting some dangerous adventures in Season 2, it’s time for Goldenrod to get some action. Will Padme or Jar Jar be the one to rescue him?
- The future of the show: They’re already scripting season five, and with the advances in animation technology, the show’s look now to what the future holds was compared to an Atari video game with XBox 360.
- And in short: Shaak Ti. Saesee Tiin. more Cad Bane. and some sense made out of “There are heroes on both sides.”
Can’t wait for Season 3? Clone Wars Adventures online experience is now in beta, filled with lots of fun mini-games for the whole family. (Although if you want to play as a female character, you can only be a human or Twi’lek Jedi, while male characters also include clonetroopers.)
Celebration V video: James Arnold Taylor and Tom Kane
Amazing impressions from The Clone Wars ‘Behind the Microphone’ panel.
Celebration V: Everything Clone Wars
The Clone Wars was everywhere at the con, and with good reason: As we heard just before Celebration started, Season 3 will start September 17. So naturally we got a lot of bombshells at the con.
The most buzzworthy was the announcement of a new character, Savage Opress. Is he really Darth Maul’s brother? George Lucas said it outright (4:45 here) when talking about the cartoon at the Main Event, but Filoni hedged around it, so we’ll see what the series actually brings.
But! “There will be some connections to the original trilogy in Season 3,” Filoni said (on video!) Looks like I’m going to be increasing my TCW count.
Also making waves was the appearance of Kamino, Dathomir and even some Republic Commandos. But fan or not, I have to admit that just sitting around and watching Pablo and Dave talk was worth the price of admittance.
Interview: Ashley Eckstein talks Her Universe at CV
James and I were able to grab a quick interview on with Ashley Eckstein at the con! It would be hard not to be impressed by the strides that the company has made in so short a time. They had a great product that was literally all over the con, from all the t-shirts that were near-ubiquitous on female attendees to the limited edition Empire Strikes Back necklace, even down to the (reusable!) shopping bags. As I said in the video, it’s something we’ve been wanting for years, and I won’t lie: I got a little choked up. I can’t wait to see what’s coming: Thank you so much, Ashley!
Videos: Preview new Clone Wars, Star Tours
A few Celebration videos to tide you over through our travel/recovery period. First up, The Clone Wars S3 trailer, above. Below, a commercial played in the ‘Star Tours’ queue for the revamped ride. (I hope someone bought those Ewoks some beers.)
“It helps to be nuts:” George Lucas in Orlando
Gotta love the official site: They have a play by play of Saturday’s Main Event with George Lucas, Jon Stewart and a couple of special guest stars!
The big news? The Blu-Rays are scheduled for Fall 2011. I guess this means I need to buy a Blu-Ray player.
UPDATE: Watch the whole thing on Youtube before the copyright police attack, or check out StarWars.com’s highlights.
Celebration V: EU news – Fate of the Jedi #9 has a name, Knight Errant and season 3 of The Clone Wars…
While Dunc is off at fashion shows or handing out orange Death Star fans, I got a chance to attend a couple panels today, and here’s the top information:
- Apocalypse was announced as the title of the ninth book in the Fate of the Jedi series.
- Pablo Hidalgo is going to be writing an Essential Reader’s Companion, helping not only to sum up all the existing novels, but also provide some behind-the-scenes, and showcasing connections between stories. It will be illustrated, and Cal Omas will be pictured at last (and not hiding behind a potted plant)
- After Fate of the Jedi, Del Rey will be staying away from long series for a while, with just one-offs and duo/trilogies.
- Wedge Antilles is apparently the only SW character allowed to retire. He’s working on his memoirs, but Aaron Allston says not to count him out yet.
- Knight Errant: comics will be released in October, novel in January, and while you don’t need one to understand the other, hopefully the new storyline will pull you in with a young female Jedi, Kerra Holt, on her own in Sith warlord space a generation before Darth Bane. This is the first time that Dark Horse and Del Rey are working together on a SW project, with a single writer: John Jackson Miller.
- The Clone Wars – Season 3: going to rock! Dooku gets mad at Asajj, and gets a new Sith villain, raised by the Dathomir nightsisters: A Steelers-colored Maul kinsman. Invisible nightsisters attack Dooku in his pajamas! Shaak Ti is coming! Kamino is under attack (with cool water, smoke and explosion effects). Asajj’s background is revealed! Jawajames explodes from awesomeness of the trailer! Dave Filoni has trouble giving evasive answers to little kids!
Celebration V: George shows up early
Jawajames has been out and about in his Bounty Hunt duties, and caught George Lucas walking the con floor before it opened Friday morning. With the Big Event nearly upon us (reports are that it’s already “insane,”) we all have early call times so I’m trying to make this quick.
(Volunteering and blogging is not a good combo. Though if you stop by the StarWars.com booth and talk to one of the orange shirts there this weekend, there’s a good chance it’ll be Eliz or I, and we have bracelets. Or just come to Fandom in 140 on Sunday, hint hint.)
- StarWars.com has some day one stuff, including the 2010 Fan Movie Challenge Winners, Dark Horse (guess I need to believe the Crimson Empire 3 thing now,) Hasbro and the ever-popular video highlights. Their blog has some costume shots, with more coming in on Flickr.
- EU Cantina was at today’s Clone Wars and Old Republic panel, not to mention their own on the Atlas.
- Seth Green is Team Jacob. Thanks for that.
Good luck to everyone tomorrow! And remember: Twitter is the place to be for on-the-moment news!