Star Wars with occasional sarcasm
The Rise of Skywalker clip that debuted in Fortnite yesterday is basically what leads up to the “Jedi Mind Trick” bit from the commercials. This version is a little dark but you get the idea.
Also in this post: Victoria Mahoney writes on how she nabbed the second-unit directing gig, new TV spots, some interesting interviews and one question with the Late Show folks. Read on!
Continue reading “A new Rise of Skywalker clip and other news”
Co-writer Chris Terrio is Rolling Stone‘s latest The Rise of Skywalker interview.
He talks about developing the films, how to go about writing Star Wars “for real” and more. He also talks about going beyond the movies, and not just the cartoons – Chuck Wendig’s Aftermath books get a shoutout.
Continue reading “Chris Terrio speaks on The Rise of Skywalker and other news”
A new clip – our first with Kylo Ren – is up on the Star Wars Facebook page. If you’re spoiler-sensitive, maybe skip out on this. If you’re not, it’s nothing that’ll shock you too much!
It’s under the cut just in case.
Continue reading “Kylo goes visiting in new Rise of Skywalker clip (and other news)”
Jimmy Kimmel’s traditional pre-Star Wars episode is getting the prime-time treatment for this round. Jimmy Kimmel Live After Darth: A Star Wars Special will air Monday, December 16 at 10:00 p.m. EST and feature J.J. Abrams and cast members Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Billy Dee Williams, Anthony Daniels, Naomi Ackie, Kelly Marie Tran and Keri Russell.
Here’s what Disney wants awards voters to consider for The Rise of Skywalker.
SPOILER WARNING: Also up is John Williams’ score. While the link has no track titles, they were in the metadata and have been named elsewhere. There’s nothing quite on the level of ‘Qui-Gon’s Noble End’, but if you’re particularly spoiler-averse, please avoid all the usual suspects. (And I wouldn’t listen to the audio, either.) If you’re not, you probably don’t need me to say they’re on Reddit, but… They’re on Reddit. Thus endth anything that could be considered a spoiler.
Continue reading “Kimmel’s Rise of Skywalker show set for Monday, the score (and titles) are out, and other news”
Writer Charles Soule and artist Will Sliney are discussing The Rise of Kylo Ren comic at StarWars.com. Plenty of interesting things here – and since #1 will be out next week, we can probably expect a preview to drop on Wednesday. In the meantime, Soule dropped one of Sliney’s early sketches.
Continue reading “Kylo prequel comic hints and more Rise of Skywalker news”
The Rise of Skywalker will address Finn’s origins, J.J. Abrams tells Vanity Fair‘s Anthony Breznican. “I’m not saying we get full, exhaustive downloads on all of their childhoods and every major step that got them to where they are,” Abrams said. “But there are a lot of questions about Finn’s past, about Poe’s past, obviously Rey and Kylo, and then some of the new characters we meet.”
Continue reading “We’ll learn about Finn’s origins in Rise of Skywalker (and other news)”
Thanks to the New York Times, we finally have a decent copy of one of the first stills from The Rise of Skywalker that was originally revealed at Celebration Chicago.
There’s also a new image of Finn from USA Today’s holiday movie preview. John Boyega says that he aimed for Finn to “to eventually find his place and to have a team that he’s fighting for” without losing his strong personality along the way. “I wanted to show him in a light that shows growth and more of an understanding of his world and of the people in it.”
Continue reading “New Rise of Skywalker stills, interviews”
John Boyega got his hands dirty – and a little bloody – on the set of Episode IX today. He shared on Instagram: “Great working day on set!! The whole team pushed themselves today to achieve something visually crazy! I’ve had many moments of shock on set but not like today and I can’t wait until you know why. #FN2187”
In non-Star Wars news, he’s executive producing and overseeing the soundtrack for God Is Good, a South African crime thriller.
→ Naomi Ackie nabbed a role in the upcoming Game of Thrones prequel series.
→ Adam Driver has been doing a lot of press for BlacKkKlansman during awards season, and in a recent Q&A he briefly addressed signing on for Star Wars and having “one piece of information of where it was all going.”
→ Dominic Monaghan shared his Episode IX jacket, as well as attending a Manchester United game with Kelly Marie Tran and Billie Lourd.
→ In the realm of possible spoilers, another Making Star Wars set report.
→ And for those who want to avoid the (possible) spoilers, there have been a few reports that a trailer has been cut, but little on the timing. No one is ruling out one appearing early (by which I mean, before Celebration in April) but it seems more likely to me that we’ll get a title as (maybe) production officially finishes, which is how things went down for The Force Awakens. (And that’s likely soon, given all the cast and crew gifts we’ve seen lately.) Could we get a teaser of some sort then? Never say never, but I’m not counting on it. Of course, I’ve been wrong before.
Kelly Marie Tran speaking out for the first time since she deleted all her posts on Instagram earlier this year, in an essay for The New York Times. The move was widely believed to be about the harassment she’s received, something she confirms here, but it’s also part of a larger picture, part of growing up “as a person of color in a white-dominated world.”
I won’t quote much more, as the piece needs to be read in its entirety. I know, it’s the internet, we don’t click links anymore, it’s the NYT and they have a paywall. Open up a different browser. Read it on another computer/device. But it’s important to read it.
Harassment is never okay. Harassing someone over their race, their gender, or because you don’t find them attractive is not the exception. Saying mean things about someone because you didn’t like a movie isn’t either. I don’t know why people seem to need a reminder that just because you can be an ass on the internet doesn’t mean you should. And just because you haven’t experienced something doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened to someone else.
Here’s a quick lesson in how to properly pronounce her real name, Loan:
Vietnamese lesson #1 – Kelly Marie Tran’s real name is Loan. Loan is pronounced “low on” but said really fast with emphasis on the “on” part. Just a friendly FYI since I know you’re all out there saying Loan like car loan.
— Kim Iversen (@KimOnTheLeft) August 21, 2018
J.J. Abrams’ Episode IX will begin filming on August 1 at London’s Pinewood Studios, StarWars.com has announced, confirming that Billy Dee Williams, Mark Hamill, and Carrie Fisher (via unused The Force Awakens footage) will be returning.
Interestingly, the release calls IX “the final installment of the Skywalker saga.”
As expected, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Domhnall Gleeson, Kelly Marie Tran, Anthony Daniels, Joonas Suotamo, and Billie Lourd are also returning. They’re being joined by new (to Star Wars) faces, Naomi Ackie and Richard E. Grant.
A late addition to the release was Keri Russell, the only new-to-Star-Wars actor rumored for this round.
More details on the Fisher footage:
The role of Leia Organa will once again be played by Carrie Fisher, using previously unreleased footage shot for Star Wars: The Force Awakens. “We desperately loved Carrie Fisher,” says Abrams. “Finding a truly satisfying conclusion to the Skywalker saga without her eluded us. We were never going to recast, or use a CG character. With the support and blessing from her daughter, Billie, we have found a way to honor Carrie’s legacy and role as Leia in Episode IX by using unseen footage we shot together in Episode VII.”
Composer John Williams and Director of Photography Dan Mindel are also returning.