Star Wars with occasional sarcasm
A VERY iffy but extremely interesting Episode IX rumor has emerged this weekend, and it’s of particular interest to long-time readers of our site. This is SUPER SKETCHY information, from a Youtuber no less, but it’s also something I don’t feel I can ignore. Head under the cut for possible (or not, it’s that sketchy) spoilers, and some additional thoughts.
It’s been widely speculated in fan circles that Lucasfilm may launch the marketing campaign for Solo: A Star Wars Story with a Super Bowl spot, but now we have The Hollywood Reporter weighing in. They don’t seem to have any special sources and are going with “widely expected,” though, so they might just be working off the same logic the rest of us are.
Continue reading “The Big Question: Will we see Solo at the Super Bowl?”
It seems like half the fandom is (understandably!) chomping at the bit for the next trailer for The Last Jedi. But, if the past is anything to go on, we still likely have nearly a month to go.
Continue reading “When can we expect The Last Jedi’s next trailer?”
It took me a few days, but here are some thoughts on The Last Jedi behind-the-scenes reel we got at D23 Expo on Saturday.
Head below the cut and go to the gallery. Note, there are a few references and links to rumors/possible spoilers within! Also, irreverence. But if that bothers you, man are you at the wrong blog…
Continue reading “Analysis: The Last Jedi behind-the scenes reel”
John Boyega revealed a gift from Rian Johnson on his Instagram, and a The Last Jedi hint – of sorts. The illustration expresses Boyega’s “frustration with the most complex Star Wars lingo.” So what could a bio-hexacrypt be, and what does it have to do with Finn? Tumblr user Bripenguin13 has a degree in cell biology and one (possible) explaination.
Meanwhile, if you’re still poking at The Last Jedi title, Johnson has an answer. (And more.)
Jason Ward at Making Star Wars draws on the concept art that he’s seen to explore if there’s evidence there of the sand planet we saw in the trailer being GFFA/Skywalker mainstay Tatooine or not.
→ Some rumor-based speculation on the Empire in Episode VII from Making Star Wars.
→ The always controversial Devin Faraci on how what he’s heard about Episode VII has made him stop worrying and love Star Wars again. He also had some fairly sound things to say on the EU issue yesterday on Twitter.
→ And finally, Harrison Ford was spotted on a “2,500 foot mega-slide” in Wyoming this week, while actor Brendan Gleeson admitted he didn’t originally get the hype when son Domhnall was cast.
Rumors: More about John Boyega and Daisy Ridley’s characters? Making Star Wars discusses/speculates on what’s been floating around. Per usual, I don’t put too much stock in any of this but if you’re dying for something to unpack it’s interesting enough.
Speculation: When will we see a Episode VII trailer? /Film’s Peter Sciretta considers the rest of Disney’s slate.
Some Mara Jade speculation came up last week and I didn’t write about it, in part because it’s speculation and in part because from Star Wars 7 News, who have a history of wishful thinking ‘scoops’ – some of which feed into this piece. I’m not sure why Latino Review chose to highlight it, but they too say they’ve heard about a “disguised cast member” – And yes, I would trust Latino Review a smidge more than Star Wars 7 News – but only a smidge, particularly in this case.
Some of the other things they bring up don’t really hold much water for me: The whole Karen Gillan’s hair thing is for real but, IMO, neither here nor there. Nor do I think the Black Series figure means anything, as that’s been in the works since 2011 and came out much later than expected after the cancellation of the Droid Factory line.
As I’ve said before, I do hope Mara Jade makes the cut for Episode VII in one way or another. (Yesterday’s big plot rumor actually makes this slightly more probable to me, as it’s certainly something that could be used to reform Mara’s backstory in a few different ways.) If I was J.J. Abrams and I was using a major Expanded Universe character in my brand new Star Wars movie, she’d certainly be someone I’d lock in the mystery box. But y’know, that’s me. Of course there’s a case to be made here – who wouldn’t love to get their spackle knife out to save a favored character?
Do I hope there’s a 50/60-something actress in deep cover at Pinewood to play Mara Jade? Sure. Do I believe there’s a 50/60-something actress in deep cover at Pinewood? Not on these sources. The disguised person could be Lupita Nyong’o pre-announcement, or a familiar face such as Ewan MacGregor, Hayden Christenson or Ian McDiarmid set to make a Force ghost cameo. Hell, it could just be a random crew member or extra; Maybe J.J. is trolling again.
Basically: Yes, this is out there, but a lot of it seems to be grasping at straws. It is anything but solid, even for a ‘rumor.’ Don’t get your hopes up.