Posts

Posted on

Writer Charles Soule on his Rise of Kylo Ren comic

Writer Charles Soule talked about The Rise of Kylo Ren – the four-issue comic that will give us some background on Kylo and the Knights of Ren – at Fan Expo Toronto, as documented by CBR.

“You know, Ben Solo is tragic,” Soule said. “The potential of him from the day he was born, everyone around him saw or thought they saw what he could be. So he was put in all these different paths, and we’ve kind of seen how that’s gone wrong in the films so far. This is a story about Ben Solo, understanding some of the choices he made.”

Soule also talks about getting some points of The Rise of Skywalker and working with the Lucasfilm Story Group. He also spoke more extensively with SWNN about all his Star Wars work so far.

But for those looking for more Kylo specifically, and of something a lot closer at hand, StarWars.com has a preview of Age Of Resistance: Kylo Ren, which involves Kylo… Negotiating? Uh-oh. It’s out next week, though Kylo also plays major parts in the Hux and Snoke issues, which are available now.

The first issue of The Rise of Kylo Ren will be out December 4 – the only issue expected before The Rise of Skywalker drops on December 20.

Posted on

Jon Favreau: “Tell Disney+” if you want a new Holiday Special

Jon Favreau is game to revive (and maybe redeem?) The Star Wars Holiday Special for a new generation. “Let Disney+ know,” he told ET’s Ash Crossan at the Saturn Awards (where he was honored for his MCU work, and where Resistance won Best Animated Television Series).

I still say, you gotta get hopping on this while the sequel trilogy gang is still under contract, guys:

Meanwhile, the complete list of movies and TV shows going up at Disney+ at launch is out, and there are few Star Wars surprises – all the films through The Last Jedi, and all the released animated shows since The Clone Wars – so no 2D Clone Wars, Ewoks, Droids, or the never-seen Detours. One surprise though – the 2004 documentary Empire of Dreams, which documents the making of the original trilogy.

And no classic Holiday Special either, which is probably more of a blessing than anything else – although it truly does have to be seen to be believed. (If you dare, and please feel free not to.)

Posted on

Get your drink on with cocktails from Batuu

SyFy has another preview of the upcoming Black Spire Outpost Cookbook, and this time they’re cocktails! Only the Photon Fizzle calls for alcohol, but I’m sure the enterprising drinker could think of something to punch up the Hyperdrive. And for the other way around, sure seems like the Fizzle would work with a strong ginger ale in place of the ginger beer…

But I’m no bartender. Check out the recipes for yourself:

The cookbook is out on November 5. You can find the last set of recipes over this way.

Posted on

Here we go again: Mara Jade, The Mandalorian, and some thoughts on canon

Entertainment Weekly is dropping the name “Mara Jade” again, this time in reference to The Mandalorian and Jon Favreau keeps things mostly diplomatic:

“I don’t want to talk about anything that might be fun for people to discover,” Favreau says. “We do have conversations. Part of what’s fun to see if we could merge the worlds of the original trilogy, the prequels, the sequels, The Clones [sic] Wars, and what’s been considered canon up to this point and what’s been considered part of Legends. I think this show offers an opportunity to bring in all those elements so no matter what your flavor of Star Wars ice cream you like there will be something to enjoy. But you’re asking the right questions.”

They also mention Thrawn, who of course has already been brought back, and while canon, currently resides in a plot limbo of Dave Filoni’s making. So him returning in The Mandalorian is somewhat possible – though, I suspect, unlikely. But never say never, particularly with Filoni involved in the show.

But Mara Jade, on the other hand… My own take on her coming to canon is only a little different than the last time something Mara-adjacent was unearthed – also involving Mandos, and at the hand of Dave Filoni, when her “Emperor’s Hand” title showed up on Rebels being used by… Some dude. (Sorry, Clone Wars fans. I can’t.) As I said then, she’s not a simple port, like Thrawn was.

Continue reading “Here we go again: Mara Jade, The Mandalorian, and some thoughts on canon”
Posted on

Twilight, Westworld actress Julia Jones confirmed for The Mandalorian

As the parade of articles we’ve been getting over the past few days indicates, The Mandalorian is the cover of Entertainment Weekly’s Fall TV preview.

Weirdly enough, the biggest news out of the cover story wasn’t even broken by EW themselves – it’s Deadline who ID’d the actress playing the character we see in the lead photo – Julia Jones, who may be most familiar to the general audience as Leah Clearwater from the Twilight films. (Hopefully her Star Wars character gets a better deal. She also had a brief role in Westworld S2. ) She can also be seen, briefly, in the D23 trailer. Maybe there’s another article coming with a detail or two on her character? Maybe?

And speaking of characters from the trailer, how about that Twi-lek who we only know is played by Natalia Tena because she tweeted about it? And Ming-Na Wen?!? We did get another photo of Gina Carano’s Cara Dune…

The Mandalorian (EW cover)
The Mandalorian
Mando Trando

Anyway, the cover story is low on new info for the die-hards, but we do get an indication of the personality of Taika Waititi’s IG-11:

The Kiwi, who also helmed the season 1 finale, labored on finding the perfect voice for the role before landing on a tone that he says is somewhere between Siri and HAL 9000. “[IG-11 is] very innocent and naive and direct and doesn’t know about sarcasm and doesn’t know how to lie,” Waititi says. “It’s like a child with a gun.”

And of course, another big question – will Pedro Pascal ever take off that mask?

Assisted by Pascal’s laconic line delivery and terse physicality, along with expressive choices in camera work and editing, [Jon] Favreau manages to infuse the character with a surprising amount of personality. “What’s remarkable is when you see the whole stretch of the first season how engaging the character is,” Favreau says. “It’s amazing how many Star Wars characters are emotionally engaging that aren’t even anthropomorphic. R2-D2 is my favorite character and he barely has an eye.”

Unanswered.