Last night, after the announcement that Rebels S3 would debut at Celebration Europe, Dave Filoni tweeted “I’m looking forward to seeing you all at #SWCE 2016! And remember, there’s always a bit of truth in legends.” He included the above picture, the spine of a Star Wars novel, which Pete on Twitter believes to be Heir to the Empire.
This could line up with a rumor that sent a lot of excitement through fandom… (And yes, I do hope it’s that character, not another candidate.) I guess we’ll find out for sure in July! (Or earlier, if there are toy leaks.)
If it is indeed a character, this could turn out to be the biggest port from Legends to the new canon yet.
Director Rian Johnson today confirmed reports that Episode VIII is through filming in Ireland. Mark Hamill also marked the occasion, though more irreverently.
Key art for this summer’s Celebration Europe was revealed on today’s new episode of The Star Wars Show. It features several characters from The Force Awakens as well as a lot of Rogue One folks, and StarWars.com has given us terminology for some of them.
They’re not confirming the names we heard of from the leak last week, save for the black-armored stormtroopers, which are indeed death troopers. The film’s other new stormtroopers are shoretroopers, and the new class of AT-AT is an AT-ACT, aka All Terrain Armored Cargo Transport.
Remember that while regular tickets for the forthcoming Celebration Europe have sold out more quickly than usual, we’re still not quite at SDCC levels yet. The server is having some issues (of course) but if you wait a day or so (or even a few weeks) chances are there will still be plenty.
This will be the eighth domestic Celebration, and the third at Orlando’s Orange County Convention Center. 2015’s Celebration Anaheim saw a record 60K fans attend.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences (via) have dug up the first trailer for Return of the Jedi – back when it was still Revenge of the Jedi. It’s so early on it doesn’t even use any footage! Teaser trailers, you’ve come a long way.
Happy 39th birthday, Star Wars! To celebrate, we’ve got a new episode of Unboxing Star Wars! Yowie the skunk, Baby Jawa, and I review some of the latest crop of Star Wars Little Golden Books: I Am a Droid, I Am a Pilot, and I Am a Jedi, as well as I give my recap on the James Clyne and Iain McCaig presentation and The Force Awakens concept art exhibition at Gnomon in Hollywood. For more info on the presentations by Art Director James Clyne and Concept Artist Iain McCaig, check out my article on starwars.com: Designing The Force Awakens. Also, check out photos from the concept art exhibition and the artists’ presentation. Plus random fun with Ponda Baba, and then some Baby Jawa fun time!
Quick reviews
→ I Am a Droid – Thumbs up! Written by Christopher Nicholas and illustrated by Chris Kennett, this Little Golden Book focuses on different aspects and roles of droids in Star Wars. My favorite of the bunch, though possibly could have done without a page showing a droid being tortured.
→ I Am a Jedi – Just OK. This Little Golden Book by Christopher Nicholas and illustrated by Ron Cohee talks about the basics of what a Jedi is and what a Jedi can do, and a little about the Force and the Sith. Nothing from The Force Awakens, but it does reveal the identity of Darth Vader, just in case you want to save that revelation for later in your child’s life.
→ I Am a Pilot – Just OK. By Christopher Nicholas and illustrated by Alan Batson, this Little Golden Book showcases a bunch of different pilot characteristics in Star Wars and some of the more famous pilots. Sadly, none of the pilots in the book are women.
→ Episode VII: The Art of James Clyne & Iain McCaig at Gnomon Gallery, Hollywood – Go see it if you’re in the area! There’s almost fifty pieces on display, pretty evenly split between Clyne and McCaig. I *think* all of the displayed artwork can be found in The Art of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but here’s a chance to see it in a larger format. The exhibition runs until July 20, 2016.
The original Star Wars was released on this day in 1977, making both the franchise and the film 39 years old today. Nowadays we call it A New Hope, but it didn’t receive the subtitle until a 1981 re-release.
Return of the Jedi also came out on May 25, in 1983, making it 33 today.
Other Star Wars movie birthdays this month were Attack of the Clones on the 16th (14 years); The Phantom Menace (17 years) and Revenge of the Sith (11 years) on May 19; and The Empire Strikes Back (36 years) on May 21.
Happy real Star Wars Day! Whatever else happens today… Well, we’ll see.
