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Wear Star Wars Every Day: Weeks 31 & 32


Wear Star Wars Every Day moves into August with some summer Star Wars fashions! Week 31 wraps up July and kicks off the 8th month, then Week 32 is all about BB-8, since the 8th day of the 8th month falls during this week! We’ve got shirts, shirts, shirts, and a belt!

Due to the August prize drawings, we’ve had a nice uptick in donations in this two-week period, so huge thanks to Kismet, Nancy, Fen, Mark, and Anonymous! That’s over $300 in just two weeks, including one person who paid their entire year’s daily pledge at once! Big thanks to Scott and Brian for donating shirts. And thanks to everyone who has lent me apparel that I’ve worn in these weeks: Danielle, Caitlin, Anastasia, Paul, Christian, Lori, and Mark! Remember, every day i keep the streak of wearing a different Star Wars apparel item going, that’s another $4.65 pledged from my donors!

Looking at this week, we’ve got stuff from the 501st Legion at Celebration Japan, Chewbacca on a fixie, Admiral Ackbar’s Fish & Chips, and a whole lot of BB-8. This review for Weeks 31 and 32 covers July 29 to August 11 of my wearathon, and an update on fundraising for Collateral Repair Project, a non-profit organization that provides emergency assistance, education, and community support to urban refugees.

Thanks to everyone who has supported Wear Star Wars Every Day so far, both our one-time donors and our per-day pledgemakers. Each day I continue my project is another $4.65 donated by our pledge makers. I’d love to get that total up to $5.00 even (or higher!) for the second half of 2016. If you’d like to chip in at a dime a day or a quarter per day (or more), make your pledge at the per-day pledge form and you can choose whether to support the project for the entire year, or just start at the beginning of July. Or you can just make a one-time or monthly donation at GoFundMe.com/WearStarWars2016. Remember, if you donate in August, you might be eligible to win the prize drawings for an ARC of the upcmoing Ahsoka novel, a Star Wars Celebration Europe Crew shirt, and more!

Get more info on what Wear Star Wars Every Day is all about, or make a donation or a per-day pledge!

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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.

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The Force Awakens out on Blu-Ray 3D (plus Abrams commentary) in the fall

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A second The Force Awakens Blu-Ray set is on tap for fall, this time in 3D. The Force Awakens 3D Collector’s Edition features a few new extras, most notably an audio commentary from director J.J. Abrams.

The release, which contains a Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray, Digital HD, and DVD, will begin rolling out on October 31 and arrive in the U.S. and Canada on November 15.

No word yet on that rumored prequel 3D set, though.

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