Star Wars with occasional sarcasm
StarWars.com has officially annouced that Force Friday II is set for September 1, but more importantly (for our purposes) they’ve also given us our first look at Rey, Finn and Poe in The Last Jedi. Rey is not only front and center with a lightsaber, but she’s sporting a new hairstyle! Finn has a new shirt! Poe looks… Pretty much the same!
Head below the cut for the full packaging. Continue reading “Force Friday annoucement, reveal gives us our first look at Rey in The Last Jedi”
Turns out USA Today got a bit more from Episode VIII director Rian Johnson than what we heard yesterday. He wants it to “to be a blast and to be funny and to be a ride;” Luke Skywalker is the “emotional entry point” and… It does have a title. Or rather, Johnson’s had one from “the very first draft.” The rest of us will probably be waiting until spring.
Episode VIII director Rian Johnson actually said something new! For USA Today’s 2017 movie preview, he said that “a large part of the movie” will address why Luke is on Ahch-To and what he’ll do next, as well as Rey’s “realization that she has this power and this gift.” It’s not the most shocking of revelations, but it’s more than we’ve gotten in quite a while.
Want some (possible?) spoilers? Keep reading. Continue reading “Rian Johnson actually talks about Episode VIII”
There’s been a lot of great interviews and insight to come out of the Rogue One junket, but this is by far my favorite.
Daisy Ridley addresses the criticisms of Rey as a Mary Sue on MTV’s Happy Sad Confused podcast, saying the term itself is “sexist” and noting that Luke Skywalker had many of the same abilities.
She also said that Kelly Marie Tran’s role in VIII is “crucial” and discusses how it’s different working with Mark Hamill than it was Harrison Ford. Her interview starts at about 48 minutes in on the podcast.
Making Star Wars has word of a new type of stormtrooper who’ll (reportedly) appear in Episode VIII, as well as some small changes on the standard troopers.
→ This Daisy Ridley interview with Vulture has been making the rounds, mainly because she says we’ll see the answer to Rey’s parentage question “in a year,” and, well, the internet.
→ Speaking of Rey’s parentage, there’s a bonkers but just crazy enough to maybe theory over at Force Material. It’s based on a “paranoid ‘70s conspiracy thriller” and hell, it still makes more sense than Snoke being Plagueis or any of the other bullshit we’ve had to put up with. But mostly, it amused me, and how often do fan theories manage that? (Not often.)
→ Your moment of zen: Mark Hamill and his VIII beard have a fashion gig.
Her Universe’s The Force Awakens collection went on sale last week, but for those of us looking for something a bit more casual, they have several new tees debuting today. Check them out: Chewie, We’re Home (plus,) vintage muscle tank, Rey strong, a new lightsaber logo (plus,) visit Jakku and Rey fearless (plus.)
There was a brief panic Friday evening after J.J. Abrams, speaking at at the Tribeca Film Festival, said “Rey’s parents are not in Episode VII. So I can’t possibly say in this moment who they are. But I will say it is something that Rey thinks about, too.”
Ric Olie says: Neither of Rey’s parents being in The Force Awakens would scuttle the popular theory that she’s Luke Skywalker’s daughter.
The panic was short-lived, though, because Entertainment Weekly got Abrams to clarify: “What I meant was that she doesn’t discover them in Episode VII. Not that they may not already be in her world.”
The Rey Skywalker theory lives to fight another day. The only things we have that even resemble firm denials are that she’s not a Solo or related to Rogue One’s Jyn Erso. But until something actually shows up in a movie, it’s still really anyone’s game. (Although I certainly wouldn’t put any money on the Erso theory.)
Though seriously folks, it’s not worth sniping over. This is not Star Wars’ first go-around with unanswered questions, and it won’t be the last. We will find out eventually and, yes, some of those answers might (or might not) surprise you. Don’t stake your theory flags too deeply.
Talking to MTV Saturday, Daisy Ridley addressed those ‘Jyn is Rey’s mom’ theories and confirms she does know Rey’s real parentage – but says that she really doesn’t think it’s that big a deal. She also plays coy on if Rey is (becoming?) a Jedi, though, so… Business as usual.
P.S. Pablo has also flat-out denied the Rey = Jyn thing.
