‘The Siege of Lothal’ aired tonight, and in Rebels Recon Pablo Hidalgo and Dave Filoni answer a couple of questions about the status of the Rebellion, Ezra’s birthday vs. Luke and Leia’s and stormtrooper armor. Plus, Filoni says a little about the rest of the season, including a preview. (Still just “fall,” though.)
Inside the Star Wars generation gap: Why we still care about Mara Jade
I had a lot of mixed feelings the other day watching the new video on Ahsoka Tano.
I’m not in The Clone Wars generation by any means – I’d been active in fandom for more than a decade when Ahsoka came around – hell, this blog was four years old in 2008.
But what Ahsoka is to that generation, Mara Jade was to mine. She was, back in the day – or at least to some of us – just as big a Star Wars figure as Leia. In fact, she was only the second female in the whole franchise to get anywhere near that much development. For nearly a decade – before the prequels – Mara Jade was the second-most important woman in Star Wars. But she’s not canon any more. And though I don’t really care about that, I have to admit it hurts to see her effect ignored. Oh, I know that to mention her in that video would just muddy the waters, but so much of what you see with Ahsoka and fandom right now mirrors what was happening with Mara and fandom back in the day.
Continue reading “Inside the Star Wars generation gap: Why we still care about Mara Jade”
Video: A look back at the character of Ahsoka Tano
With the season 2 premiere of Rebels not too far away, USA Today talks to Ashley Eckstein and Dave Filoni about Ahsoka.
Dave Filoni on the Rebels finale, returning characters and delayed gratification
Dave Filoni talks further about the Rebels finale, the return of Ahsoka and what’s up next with IGN. There’s an interesting bit on how there was a lot of interest in exploring hercontinuing story in other media, where Filoni argues in favor of, basically, delayed gratification:
I always feel strongly that while we can have everything at our fingertips right now, something that made Star Wars so powerful to me growing up was we would go through a long period of time where we wondered what happened to Han Solo. He was stuck in carbonite. Now, everything’s instant. But I think we built a deep love and connection to our characters because, for lack of a better term, we dreamed about what they were going through. We wondered and we anticipated, so when the payoffs came, I think it was a lot better, a lot stronger, so I thought making people wait to find out what happened to Ahsoka just built up her mystique a little bit more, a little bit better until we nailed her down.
He also addresses the challenge of Vader, including the (inevitable?) Ahsoka confrontation, the Inquisitor, the larger Rebel Alliance and more.
UPDATE: The third part of Filoni’s StarWars.com interview is up as well.
While we’re talking Rebels, there’s also a rumor making the rounds about a familiar voice actor returning to play an established (though not unexpected) character.
Dave Filoni: “Nothing could have prepared us for the outpouring of emotion and cheers”
In a Facebook note, Dave Filoni and the crew thank fans for the reaction to the Rebels finale and the return of Ahsoka.
Nothing could have prepared us for the outpouring of emotion and cheers when Ahsoka Tano appeared. As someone who has watched over her character from the beginning, I was overwhelmed by the reaction. Little Soka has come a long way, and I think many fans have grown up right alongside her. I look forward to your continuing journey with her, as she attempts to guide our Rebel heroes in these dark and dangerous times.
One of the remaining Clone Wars arcs features Plo Koon, mystery of Sifo-Dyas
Because of course it does. USA Today has the scoop – and a clip:
One of the arcs stars Jedi Master Plo Koon (voiced by James Arnold Taylor), who finds a lost lightsaber while on a mission on a sandstorm-laden planet with a platoon of clone troopers. It’s the beginning of a mystery, and one that will make the Jedi question their role in the Clone Wars and the universe itself, according to [Supervising director Dave] Filoni.
“The Jedi have been fighting a war with an army that was commissioned by one of their own, Jedi Master Syfo-Dias,” he says. “But who was Syfo-Dias, and what happened to him? The dark lord of the Sith has woven an intricate web to ensnare the Jedi, but it is not full-proof and sometimes a small clue, and a bit of chance, can lead to the unraveling of the best-laid plans.”
Filoni also discusses why Ahsoka did what she did in the finale, and his advice for J.J. Abrams. Still no word on where any of the ‘bonus content’ will air, though.
First look at Her Universe’s ‘Ashoka Lives’ tee
Ashley Eckstein shared this photo by Joel Aron of her and Dave Filoni. The ‘Ashoka Lives’ tee “will be available soon.”
Ashley Eckstein campaigns hard for Ahsoka for This Is Madness
With the light side vote in today’s StarWars.com This Is Madness game a choice between Chewbacca and Ahsoka Tano, Ashley Eckstein has hit the campaign trail to rally fans of Snips and The Clone Wars to stay in the game, and advance a character from The Clone Wars to the next round. Last weekend at WonderCon, she got some key endorsements, even from the original Chewbacca himself, Peter Mayhew. Plus she and her coach & husband David have made a second video, with some special guests to show why voting Ahsoka is the way to go!
We’ve already told you, via Team Hondo, to vote Ahsoka. So go do it, already. Or vote again.
More Expanded Universe designs are coming to Her Universe!
If you were wondering why The Clone Wars’ Ashley Eckstein was chatting on the Star Wars Books Facebook today, well here’s your answer: She announced that Her Universe has acquired the rights to make Expanded Universe products! (As you may recall, the Mara Jade shirt for Celebration VI was a one-off and limited availability due to not having the EU rights.) Here’s what Ashley had to say about what’s to come:
We are designing Several NEW Star Wars designs this year. Everything will be debuting in May. We are making shirts, dresses, jewelry…We have Rogue Sqaudron designs AND I am SO excited to announce that Lucasfilm has given us the rights to design shirts for the women in the EU, so expect more Mara Jade and Jaina Solo designs!
She later asked fans to be sure to speak up about what EU stuff you’d like to see.
Later, a (male) fan asked “Why do girls pretend to like Star Wars?” (Really people? Really?) Ashley handled that pretty well:
Girls definitely do not pretend to like Star Wars. It’s a fact that close to half of all Star Wars fans are girls. There may be some girls and boys that pretend to know more about Star Wars than they really do, but I would encourage you to talk about Star Wars with them and teach them more. Sometimes people may pretend to know more than they really do because they want to fit in. But even if there is a seed of interest in Star Wars, it’s our job as fans to welcome NEW fans into this Universe. Especially during this exciting time! We are about to get more movies!
Of course there was plenty asked about The Clone Wars:
I honestly don’t know Ahsoka’s eventual fate. I encourage you to watch the Season 5 finale on Saturday because there are some surprises. You will get some answers and then you will also probably have a lot more questions…You must tune in and bring some tissues…
There’s plenty more, so check out the chat!
Ashley Eckstein to chat with fans next week
Star Wars Books will be hosting an Ashley Eckstein chat Wednesday at 3:00 p.m. She’ll answer fan questions on Her Universe, The Clone Wars and, obviously, the books.