Tag: rebels (cartoon)

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Roundup: The Rebels movie is coming this summer

Again! Yup, there’ll be a Rebels movie on the Disney Channel. And a series of shorts. So what’s new? It’s coming “this summer,” says Disney. We’ve been hearing fall, so maybe that’s for the actual series on Disney XD? A summer date sure makes a lot of sense given all those book releases in July and August.

Lucas Cultural Arts Museum. The Presidio Trust turned down George Lucas’ museum plan yesterday – as well as the two other contenders. Apparently none of them were “right for this location.” Will Lucas take his plan elsewhere? “A lot of other people have asked us to dance, and we will start calling them
back,” said spokesman David Perry. Chicago, perhaps?

Randomly. I don’t know why people think C-3PO on a magazine cover is some kind of Episode VII confirmation, given that Star Wars Identities is rather obviously namedropped (and the 7 is probably photoshopped) but whatever. Here’s C-3PO on a French magazine cover. The Identities exhibit opens in Paris later this month.

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Rebels posters promote the Empire across the web

Rebels poster (Empire)Rebels poster (IGN)

Lucasfilm paired with six entertainment sites to release posters promoting Rebels. The six Imperial propaganda posters appear at Empire Online, IGN, Mashable, the Brazilian Omelete, TheForce.net and Entertainment Tonight. The posters are by Lucasfilm’s Amy Beth Christenson.

Card versions will be part of a special mailing that will go out to 2,500 individuals around the world – no word on how those people were chosen, but they’ll be in the mail tomorrow, apparently.

While it’s nice to see at least something official come out of Rebels after the recent LEGO-based leaks, I’m not sure how much these do to vent frustration. They’re nice, and they’re new, but they don’t really tell us anything we don’t already know about the show. Still, hopefully this is a sign that we’re getting closer to some real announcements.

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Roundup: Spin-off release date rumors, Phil Tippett and a closer look at the Rebels LEGOs

SPINOFF RUMORS: Take seriously at your own risk.Buzz. Could the first spinoff film be pushed back to 2017? That’s what Ali Arikan is claiming on Twitter today. Considering we know next to nothing about it, I find it hard to get too worked up if this proves true. And if it does mean more time between actual Episodes (like the traditional three years,) I’m all for it.

Alumni. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, effects guru Phil Tippett doesn’t totally write off the idea of coming back to Star Wars. Meanwhile, Billy Dee tells Blastr he still hasn’t heard anything about returning.

Rebels. Jedi News has some nice pictures of the LEGO minifigures that have been causing such a fuss.

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Roundup: Possible international release dates for Episode VII; Can we put the Cumberbatch rumor to bed?

Episode VII. Are these the international release dates? The Facebook page Star Wars Pictures says their source is the International Movie Database, whatever that is. (via)

Actors. Does the filming date of Benedict Cumberbatch’s latest movie put a nail in the Episode VII rumors? Variety says that Blood Mountain begins filming in Morocco this coming April, while J.J. Abrams said Star Wars is starting in May. I suppose it all depends on which rumors you chose to cling to. Meanwhile, add another name to the audition pile: Up-and-comer Miles Teller.

Rebels. Jedi News has heard that the four (at least) main characters of Rebels will be introduced via a “series of vignettes airing from August.” The debut movie is apparently only an hour long. But apparently we knew all this already?

TV. First look at Carrie Fisher and James Earl Jones on The Big Bang Theory.

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Meet Rebels’ resident astromech, Chopper

I don’t know why all this Star Wars TV stuff is coming out of Germany lately, but here you have it: Dave Filoni and crew introducing a grumpy new astromech droid from Rebels, Chopper.

Chopper

Meanwhile, there’s also some toy-based hints we might see Vader on Rebels. Yeah, it was more or less inevitable, but I admit I am a bit surprised that it may happen early enough to be in the first round of toys.

UPDATE: Chopper is now on StarWars.com, with a first look at (of course,) the Hasbro version.

Chopper action figure.

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Rumor: Mara Jade to be ‘introduced’ in Rebels as a bridge to Episode VII?

Imperial Mara Jade from TCG

Make sure your cynic caps are tightly in place, because this one is super sketchy.

Will Rebels introduce Mara Jade to the Star Wars screen? That’s what was yesterday labeled ‘speculation’ by Star Wars 7 News, who now say they’re received “tips” from “people close to the production” that this could indeed be the case. Here’s what was left as an anonymous comment on their site:

It can be said, that Rebels will introduce Mara Jade, into the film canon, sometimes appearing with the Inquisitor and she will be the living mother of Ben Skywalker.

Episode seven takes place, in 30 ABY. Jacen, and Jaina will be to Ben what Han, and Leia were to Luke. Ben is around the same age as his cousins. Chewie will be alive, and this is an all new timeline from 4 ABY forward.

Pablo Hidalgo, and Leland Chee have been consulting with Kathleen, and JJ, on EU elements, and characters from the database.

As of 2015 Books and comics will be part of the same canon, as Movies, TV and Netflix. Rebels has very strong connections to the ST, it will bring EU characters, ideas, and planets into the canon and it introduces two original characters for the ST, one Imperial, and one Jedi.

Is it plausible? Of course – it certainly doesn’t take a doctorate in EU-based speculation to come up with that theory. Is there really any truth to it? I haven’t the faintest idea – but it’s far too pat for me to buy it, particularly coming from a random anon. It’s exactly what “we’d” want, theoretically – of course I’m suspicious, and I urge you to be, too.

Star Wars 7 News also says that some of The Clone Wars bonus content will also include connections to Episode VII.

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Kinberg: Rebels takes cues from the Original Trilogy

McQarrie X-Wing

Executive producer Simon Kinberg talks Rebels with Entertainment Weekly today. He touches on quite a few things, but no real bombshells… Or are there?

Thematically and politically, it goes to some dark places. But for the tone of the show we took our cues from the original movies, which had fun and adventure and swashbuckling with emotion and grounded human characters. We took all our cues from the original films. Obviously there are slight tonal differences between New Hope, Empire and Jedi. But I think the closest intended voice of the show is A New Hope. So there are places where we get into darker backstories, there are places we see how cruel and malevolent the Empire can be, but for the most part it’s a fun and character-driven story.

On Vader or Palpatine appearing:

I don’t think I’m allowed to answer that. I can say that wherever possible we would want to use the original talent.

On the heroes:

There’s a lot of new characters in the show. The prequels were centered around the origin of familiar characters, there’s a lot of new characters in this show. The main characters are new characters.

On Pablo Hidalgo, “the resident Star Wars genius” and bringing in things from the Expanded Universe:

He will say there’s a cool cantina in this comic book from 1994, or a cool creature that not all of us know. He will bring that stuff to us. Or we’ll task him we’re trying to create a muscle for this villain with a cool backstory. Sometimes it will be a character or a planet we don’t know about. Instead of being just an Easter egg, sometimes it will turn into an a whole episode.

Begin your reading between the lines…

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It’s concept art week on the Club Jade Tumblr

Ghost concept art (from starwars on Tumblr)

I’ve been trying something new on our Tumblr lately: Themes! This week it’s Star Wars concept art. Above is an image from the official account: A concept of the Ghost from Rebels by Kilian Plunkett.

Last week we featured art from (and occasionally inspired by) the comics and comic artists. (Plunkett is also responsible for the covers from the Mara Jade: By the Emperor’s Hand mini-series back in the day.) In addition to reblogs we had a series on comic book characters and it’s where you’ll find my Dark Horse recs.)

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Rebels hints in LEGO 2014 lineup?

The LEGO Summer 2014 catalog has slipped out, and its Star Wars lineup offers a few hints for Rebels – and possibly more of The Yoda Chronicles? When the list of toy sets first started slipping out, Peter at Lightsaber Rattling explained what some of the set names might mean, while more recently Tomás at Groove Bricks got the list set descriptions, which puts most of the speculation to rest, and introduces some characters from Rebels.

The Ghost set, which is spotted in some online pictures of the catalog, is pretty clearly The Ghost, the new ship of Star Wars Rebels, revealed last year, and has a minifigure of a character named Zeb. The Phantom comes with a minifigure with a second character name: Ezra Bridger.

Join the Rebel resistance against the evil Empire in The Phantom attack shuttle, as seen in the exciting Star Wars: Rebels animated TV series! Place young Rebel hero Ezra Bridger in the detachable cockpit and store his cadet helmet and blaster in the carg
Fly The Phantom into battle against the evil Empire!

Jason Ward over at Making Star Wars pieces all the names (and ships) together.]

The other hard-to-decipher set name is what most sites are calling Jedi Hunter (or Jedi Hunter Frontier) while Groove Bricks also found a source calling it Jedi Scout Fighter. While Lightsaber Rattling originally speculated that it’s a Rebels-themed set, the minifigure list connects it to The Yoda Chronicles, with a new version of JEK-14. Unless JEK-14 (the Force-powered clone from The Yoda Chronicles) jumps from the LEGO Star Wars specials to Rebels, it seems that this set is a follow-up to 2013′s set based on The Yoda Chronicles. Does that mean that more adventures of JEK-14 are coming to the screen next year, since his fellow figures aren’t ones that I recognize from the three episodes of The Yoda Chronicles?

Also coming out this summer from LEGO: a new snowspeeder, AT-AT, Star Destroyer, B-Wing and Mos Eisley Cantina! Lots of love for original trilogy this summer.

So, we have a few more merchandise-related leaks for Rebels, and a sign that there might be more follow-up to The Yoda Chronicles?