An interview with Dark Empire writer Tom Veitch sheds some new light on the early ’90s Star Wars literature revival, including just how much input George Lucas had and how DE and Heir to the Empire somehow ended up in the same continuity.
→ The Lucasfilm Story Group’s Rayne Roberts recently appeared on the Black Nerd Girls podcast, where she talks about The Force Awakens, Star Wars lit, and even dodges a Rogue One question.
Daisy Ridley appeared on the comedy podcast My Dad Wrote a Porno and dropped a few vague comments about Episode VIII.
First of all, don’t expect the title for some time:
I heard a title, but I don’t know if it’s going to be that. I really don’t know much about anything. I heard it, but I heard it a long time ago, before we started filming. So I feel some things have tweaked slightly during production. It’s going to be a while before it’s released, I imagine.
Pablo Hidalgo told us back in July that the film doesn’t have a title yet, so it seems likely they have options to consider or some firm ideas, but nothing quite set in stone yet. The Force Awakens, as the first live-action film in a decade, was an outlier in a lot of things. VIII announcements aren’t – and don’t need to be – on the same schedule, particularly with Rogue One coming up.
Daisy also said that Rey “maybe” gets a new outfit. Romance also got a “maybe,” but she went as far as to say:
The thing is, I read this article the other day. It was talking about being in love with your friends and how like, that is the ultimate thing. So I think romance covers a lot of bases.”
The Star Wars stuff comes on at the end of the podcast, beginning at about the 25:00 mark. (If the site audio doesn’t work for you, it is on iTunes.)
We’ve got a jumbo episode of Star Wars Story Talk (AKA the show formerly known as Unboxing Star Wars) as Yowie the Skunk, Baby Jawa, and I cover a whole sandcrawler-load of the latest in Star Wars stories. Baby Jawa does her first reaction video, watching the Rogue One trailer, and Yowie and I talk a bit about Star Wars Celebration Europe, San Diego Comic-Con and review Aftermath: Life Debt, the new novel by Chuck Wendig! Plus a little update on Wear Star Wars Every Day, a visit from a Loth-cat, and of course some Baby Jawa fun time!
Quick reviews
→ Trailer for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story – I am really excited for this movie and this trailer just pushes it up another notch. But how will Baby Jawa react to her first movie trailer viewing?
→ Star Wars Celebration Europe – Big thumbs up! A whole ton of fun and a lot of work. Plus seeing old friends and making new ones while in London!
→ Star Wars at San Diego Comic-Con – Even though there wasn’t a big movie panel, Star Wars still brought a lot to San Diego, including the Rogue One costume display and the publishing panel.
→ Star Wars: Aftermath – Life Debt – Chuck Wendig increases the scale and brings in some favorite film characters into the post-ROTJ era as the heroes help track down Han Solo as he’s disappeared while trying to liberate Kashyyyk. Solid read!
→ Loth-Cat Plush from Star Wars Celebration Europe – A big hit! Mrowwwl! Help me come up with a name for this grinning feline!
Podcasts: Thanks to Coffee with Kenobi for having me on the podcast as a featured guest to talk Bloodline, Life Debt, and Wear Star Wars Every Day, and thanks to Skywalking through Neverland for bringing me on the show to discuss Wear Star Wars Every Day.
Salt Lake Comic Con: Check out my schedule at Salt Lake Comic Con (Sept 1 to Sept 3) or just view the general Star Wars-related programming, featuring Mark Hamill, Jeremy Bulloch, Lucasfilm Story Group members: Pablo Hidalgo, Leland Chee, and Matt Martin; also including Star Wars authors, artists, and voice actors, and the Full of Sith podcast crew: Bryan Young, Amy Ratcliffe, and Mike Pilot.
Want even more incentive to donate to Wear Star Wars Every Day this August! We’ve got another book prize added to this month’s prize drawings! Watch the video to see what it is! One copy of this mystery book will be given to a random person who donates to Collateral Repair Project via the GoFundMe in August. This is on top of the previously announced prize drawings, including the advance reader copy of Ahsoka, by E. K. Johnston, the Celebration Europe 2016 crew shirt, and the Celebration Europe 2016 Rusty Droid bottle opener.
Great big thanks to our sole GoFundMe donor this week, Dennis, who heard about Wear Star Wars Every Day from my guest appearance on episode 57 of the Coffee with Kenobi podcast (where I also talk about Bloodline and Aftermath: Life Debt). Additionally, Skywalking Through Neverland also had me on their recent podcast to give an update on this fundraising campaign, so big thanks to the fine folks at Coffee with Kenobi and Skywalking Through Neverland for their support in helping me spread the word about Collateral Repair Project and Wear Star Wars Every Day.
And thanks to everyone who has lent me apparel that I’ve worn for week 33 – all seven articles of clothing were lent from supporters: Donna, Anastasia, Paul, Margaret, James & 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! This week, we’ve got stuff from the Rebel Legion at Celebration VI, shirts from Japan and Malaysia, and a throwback to one of the first Star Wars museum exhibitions. This review for Week 33 covers August 12 to August 18 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 September. 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 upcoming Ahsoka novel, a Star Wars Celebration Europe Crew shirt, and more!
Kicking off the second half of the year with a random batch of shirts for #WearStarWarsEveryDay! But in better news, with three donations this past week, we have now raised more than $2,000 total for Collateral Repair Project, about $1,600 via the GoFundMe and the rest via check, cash, and employee match. Also, I met Greg Grunberg at a book signing and he approved of the campaign so much that he signed by shirt on the spot! Two shirts this week are mine, and thanks to Paul, Mike, Darren, and Margaret for lending me the rest! We’ve got some original art, plus Coffee with Kenobi and Skywalking Through Neverland podcasts, the 501st Legion, and the NY Line. This review for Week 27 covers July 1 to July 7 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.
Going to a convention this month? So am I! I’ll be at Star Wars Celebration Europe in London and San Diego Comic-Con, so if you have an article of clothing that you’d like to lend me or just donate, contact me and we can arrange a meetup!
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.
Time for a super-sized review of #WearStarWarsEveryDay for the start of summer! Since I was off at JadeCon last weekend, I didn’t get a chance to wrap up that week, so here’s Weeks 24 and 25. Big thanks to Russ of Empire City Garrison for my first donation of a 501st Legion shirt. Also, thanks to Fen, PG, Shannon, Todd, Margaret, Tony, Paul, and Mediocre Jedi for all their lending of different items of clothing I show off this week. Plenty of shirts – but also a Her Universe skirt! We cover a wide range of Star Wars interests from ILM to podcasts to a Fan Force chapter. This review for Week 24 and 25 covers June 10 to June 23 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.
I’ve very excited to be closing in on finishing the first half of 2016 with my project – that’s over 180 days of wearing a different Star Wars article of clothing each day – no repeats! And 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. Or you can just make a one-time or monthly donation at GoFundMe.com/WearStarWars2016.
Bobby Roberts returns to Full of Sith for a new Rumor Control on the recent Rogue One rumormongering. It is, ironically, spoiler-free and full of good sense.
→ Speaking of rumors, The Hollywood Reporter says stunt coordinator Simon Crane is on board for the reshoots.
→ Meanwhile, Making Star Wars has some (likely) code names, and that kyber crystals (which have been popping up in all sorts of things lately) may be involved.
→ For the spoiler-free: A Rogue One cake has been spotted!
Timothy Zahn was at Awesome Con 2016 in Washington D.C. this past weekend, and Tosche Station has the audio of the panel moderated by their own Bria LaVorgna.
Naturally, as the man who kick-started the modern Expanded Universe with Heir to the Empire, he was asked about Lucasfilm’s decision to to make the older books non-canon. Here’s that four-and-half-minute bit:
The Star Wars authors have always known how a sequel trilogy would effect the books, and it’s all fairly good sense. On the story group and folks like Pablo Hidalgo, Dave Filoni, and Kathleen Kennedy he says:
These are people who are not going to simply go and demolish stuff. If they have to destroy a part of it, overwrite it, it will be because its necessary to set up something else down the line. They’re not going to go with wanton destruction.
He points out that the gap between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens is still barely filled in, and:
In a way, it’s kind of sad that it’s all ‘Legends,’ and not ‘real,’ but it was never really ‘real’ in the first place. We always knew Lucas could override anything that we’d done. But I think the Expanded Universe – and Star Wars – are in good hands.
In the full audio, he also talks about the possibility of his characters ending up in Rebels or the other new canon (he’s for it,) his thoughts on Kylo Ren, and (of course) Rey’s parentage.
An interview with Dark Empire writer Tom Veitch sheds some new light on the early ’90s Star Wars literature revival, including just how much input George Lucas had and how DE and Heir to the Empire somehow ended up in the same continuity. 
