The catchup: Rogue One bits, bobs and analysis

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There have been a number of minor reveals in the wake of last week’s Rogue One trailer, mostly via (of course) Entertainment Weekly. We learned that Alistair Petrie’s Rebel officer is General Draven. (And that there apparently was a fan theory that he was Rebels’ Agent Kallus turned turncoat, which is news to me.) We also got a bunch of minor characters via Topps cards, including a blonde X-wing pilot that folks think might be Evaan Verlaine from the comics.

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→ If you’re still poring over the trailer, here are breakdowns from EW, io9, and /Film. Plus the latest Full of Sith, which features EW’s Anthony Breznican

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→ Also out in recent days is a Hollywood Reporter profile of Felicity Jones, which is pretty informative if you know enough to roll your eyes at the line about anyone expecting Rogue One to match The Force Awakens box office. Meanwhile, Mads Mikkelsen talks to GQ.

→ And finally, here’s a new Rogue One-inspired Duracell commercial that’s getting some attention today:

Rogue One one-sheet is here, new trailer on GMA Thursday

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Announced this afternoon on The Star Wars Show: The Rogue One one-sheet and the news that the new trailer will debut Thursday morning on Good Morning America.

We also learn what Marvel’s next ongoing comic is although be warned, there are spoilers for Darth Vader #25. (And next time we mention it we’ll be much less coy.) But for now, check out that poster.

Continue reading “Rogue One one-sheet is here, new trailer on GMA Thursday”

NYCC: More Rogue One books revealed; 40th Anniversary publishing program coming

Details on the Rogue One book tie-ins and 40th Anniversary publishing program for 2017 were revealed at New York Comic Con Friday morning.

In addition to James Luceno’s Catalyst, the Rogue One fiction lineup will include a young adult novel about Jyn Erso from Star Wars newcomer Beth Revis (Across the Universe.) Greg Rucka (Before the Awakening) will return for a middle grade novel featuring Baze Malbus and Chirrut Îmwe. The preliminary versions of the covers above were spotted earlier by Jedi Bibliotek. They’ll both be out on May 2.

catalyst700Catalyst will be the first of the Rogue One books to hit the shelves, on November 15th. The second wave will drop with the film on December 16, and includes The Art of Rogue One, Pablo Hidalgo’s Rogue One Ultimate Visual Guide and ebook versions of the two novelizations: Alexander Freed’s from Del Rey and the junior version by Matt Forbeck from Disney-Lucasfilm Press. Freed’s will be in hardcover on January 3, while it looks like Forbeck’s won’t be in print until March 28.

We’ll learn more about the 40th Anniversary publishing plans in the coming months, although the official site says “legendary Star Wars talent such as Louise Simonson, Walter Simonson, and Tom Palmer would be reuniting” for an anniversary book from Disney-Lucasfilm Press. One component of the program would seem to be a new collection of the newspaper strips, also spotted by – you guessed it – Jedi Bibliotek.

Rumor: Next Rogue One trailer coming in October?

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There’s a report out that the next Rogue One trailer will be attached to Doctor Strange, which is out November 4. Of course, it comes from Star Wars News Net, who claims it’s from a Disney rep in Russia, neither a source I am willing to trust 100%. Still, mid-to-late October isn’t a horrible assumption for the online debut and October is Making Star Wars’ guess as well.

I’ve shied away from direct comparisons between the Rogue One and The Force Awakens marketing methods, but the final trailer is a likely place for them to converge. Last year, the final trailer for The Force Awakens debuted on October 19 – which was just as tickets were going on sale. So the real question is: Will it be Monday Night Football again?

In other recent(ish) Rogue One news, Valene Kane – who’s playing Lyra Erso – talked a bit about filming “in Iceland.”

Bob Iger doesn’t expect Rogue One to do TFA numbers; Third standalone has a writer

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Disney CEO Bob Iger doesn’t expect Rogue One to do quite as well at the box office as The Force Awakens, but he says the audience interest they’ve seen has been just as high for the new film. (Did anyone expect that? You don’t get a $2B film every year.) “We love what we’ve seen,” he told investors of the Rogue One rough cut.

He also revealed that they have a writer for the third Star Wars standalone due in 2020, and he recently met with Lucasfilm’s Kathleen Kennedy to plot out beyond that as well.

We’ve known since the Disney purchase that Lucasfilm plans to take the saga films beyond 2019’s Episode IX, but it remains to be seen if they’ll keep to the current schedule to leave only a year between the current and next trilogy.