Star Wars with occasional sarcasm
Per usual, the Vanity Fair story on the upcoming Star Wars film – The Rise of Skywalker, the final episode of “the Skywalker saga,” the grand finale of all three trilogies, etc. – was chock full of information. Granted, most of it’s peicemeal, but that’s where we tiny fan blogs live, isn’t it? Let’s dig in.
Continue reading “What we learned about The Rise of Skywalker from Vanity Fair”
Three comics and two trades are coming our way on Wednesday, May 15. Brand new are Star Wars #66, Age of Rebellion: Lando Calrissian and TIE Fighter #2. The trade reprints collect Age of Republic: Heroes and Han Solo: Imperial Cadet.
The TIE comics are a tie-in/prequel to our next book, Alexander M. Freed’s Alphabet Squadron, which is out June 4. More upcoming books in our schedule.
Entertainment Tonight’s Ash “Porg Queen” Crossan managed to snag a few moments with Episode IX director J.J. Abrams at the 14th Annual Oscar Wilde Awards on Thursday. Naturally, he’s low on specifics, but they are his first comments since wrap, so have at it:
Transcription under the cut.
Continue reading “J.J. Abrams on Episode IX, Billy Dee Williams, and the art of the dodge”
Last night, a poster on Reddit shared a set of small, blurry photos that claim to be costumes and concept art for Episode IX. I usually don’t post about Reddit leaks, but this one is big enough and looks like it could be possibly legit – they collaborate several other rumors, including another set of spy photos. I’m not posting the pictures, but basic details (without any descriptions or spoilers) and the link are below the cut.
Continue reading “Rumor: Big Episode IX costume leak”
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.
Lando Calrissian is coming back – again. The Hollywood Reporter, backing up a Fantha Tracks report from last month, is now saying that Billy Dee Williams will reprise the role in Episode IX.
A younger version of Lando, played by Donald Glover, appeared in May’s Solo, but Billy Dee hasn’t been on screen since Return of the Jedi, though he did do some voice work as the character on Rebels.
IX is due to begin filming at the end of the month, so if this rumor does pan out, we’ll likely hear soon.
With Episode IX production gearing up, Fantha Tracks has a new rumor regarding a character who may make their first sequel trilogy appearance.
Continue reading “Rumor: A familiar face coming back for Episode IX?”
Today, upon the occasion of the movie’s release, a new Solo featurette puts the spotlight on the scoundrels – aka most of the cast, really.
I’ll have a discussion post up this evening for anyone who wants to char or give their first impressions in a spoiler-safe place.
Lando is up for anything, writer Jon Kasdan said last week, officially declaring that the character is pansexual.
Many fans welcomed the news, but are wary – this is hardly the first time we’ve seen a LGBTQ label assigned to a character but not shown onscreen.
Donald Glover’s reaction is a lot more straightforward: “How can you not be pansexual in space?” he said during an Entertainment Weekly Radio interview. “There are so many things to have sex with. Yeah, he’s coming on to everybody. I didn’t think that was that weird.”
Continue reading “Donald Glover: “How can you not be pansexual in space?””
The Star Wars newsosphere was rocked this morning when Premiere France published a story where Kathleen Kennedy seemingly said that a Lando Calrissian spinoff was in the works. It all turned out to be a translation error though, and the story has since been corrected. While Kennedy isn’t ruling such a film out – and with all the love for Solo’s Donald Glover out there she’d be crazy to – but she definitely isn’t saying it’s next up after Episode IX.
In the meantime, there’s still that Obi-wan rumor to chew on. If that does end up happening for 2020, expect Lando to be the next perennial rumor.