Among the reveals at today’s publishing panel: Expanded Universe vet James Luceno is writing Catalyst, the Rogue One companion novel. We also got the cover, which is pretty neat, but no more details than that. (Still a mystery: The adaptation.)
Most of the things at the panel were kids books, but we also learned about a few new Star Wars Insider short stories. There’ll be two new Blade Squadron stories, including one in September that ties into Aftermath: Life Debt. (The Insider also had their own panel.)
There’s a new Galactic Atlas that’s written from an in-universe perspective, featuring “600-700 individual illustrations.” A new Complete Locations will cover Starkiller Base, Maz’s castle and Rey’s AT-AT home. And Jason Fry’s Weapon of a Jedi is being adapted for younger readers as Luke and Lost Jedi Temple.
The first surprise at the Rogue One panel was Gwendoline Christie hosting. The second was the poster, and the third is the behind the scenes clip we see above.
John Knoll revealed that he first came up with the idea of a the story when he first heard rumblings of the live-action series, during the filming of Revenge of the Sith. He put it away when he learned more about George’s concept for the series, and pulled it out again when the spinoffs were announced. Check out the original concept art of the team.
Edwards also confirmed that the beach planet is named Scarif, and later cast revealed another planet, Jedha. Apparently people make Force-based pilgrimages there – Edwards compared it to Mecca. This appears to be the market planet, and where we meet Chirrut Imwe (Donnie Yen,) Baze Malbus (Jiang Wen) and Bodhi Rook (Riz Ahmed.) Edwards had more to say on Jedha in a post-panel interview – it’s certainly an intriguing addition to the galaxy.
We learned a bit more about several characters, including our first look at Mads Mikkelsen’ Galen Erso. He invented something “so fantastic it might change the universe.”
"The major difference between Jyn Erso and Rey & Luke is she knows where she's come from. She's just looking for her cause" – Felicity Jones
He also got quite a few zings in. On that note, Alan Tudyk also shared what Anthony Danials said when he told him his droid was CGI: “You shit.”
Ben Mendelson called Orson Krennic “smarter” than his Imperial predecessors, and “a little sexier than some of them, not quite as sexy as some of the others,” with a wink to Christie.
Rebels head honcho Dave Filoni invaded stopped by the latest Star Wars Show with the first clip from the show’s third season.
The episode also features an interview with Rogue One director Gareth Edwards and a lot of talk about the upcoming Star Wars Show from London. (We promptly got a full live-stream schedule for the weekend.)
Preview pages from an upcoming Rogue One book have a name for the tropical planet teased in the recent Entertainment Weekly feature. Since this is unverified information and things may still change, head under the cut for the details.
We learned today that next weekend’s Celebration Europe will indeed be streamed live. Great news for those of us playing along at home! (Yes, I will be blogging. From home. Go figure.) The news was revealed on today’s Star Wars Show:
A new Rogue One trailer will air in prime time on ABC a few hours after it (presumably) debuts at at Celebration Europe. The main Rogue One panel is at 16:00 BST in London, which is 11 a.m. EDT/8 a.m. PDT. The trailer will air during an ABC showing of Secrets of the Force Awakens (aka the Blu-ray documentary,) at 8:00 p.m. PDT/EDT as discovered by Making Star Wars.
The listing promises a “3 minute trailer for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story;” film’s previous trailer is only two minutes long.
It’s been a busy one, so let’s recap! The big news this week was Entertainment Weekly’s cover story on – the movie’s first. (The issue is in stores now.) Our most extensive coverage is still in the what we’ve learned post, which has been updated to cover both galleries. Additionally, EW covered Darth Vader and Mon Mothma‘s roles in the film. Rogue One also dominated the latest tweet roundup.