Tag: the force awakens

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The Force Awakens: Kylo Ren isn’t a Sith, and the origins of the First Order

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Empire Magazine continues to dribble out information from their cover story on The Force Awakens. J.J. Abrams confirms the subtext that Kylo Ren is not a Sith, and that he serves Supreme Leader Snoke, “who is a powerful figure on the dark side of the Force.” (So likely also not a Sith.)

The most interesting part, however, is contextualizing the origins of the First Order:

“That all came out of conversations about what would have happened if the Nazis all went to Argentina but then started working together again?’” Abrams reveals. “What could be born of that? Could The First Order exist as a group that actually admired The Empire? Could the work of The Empire be seen as unfulfilled? And could Vader be a martyr? Could there be a need to see through what didn’t get done?”

The issue is supposedly on newsstands Thursday.

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Drew Struzan gushes about The Force Awakens

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Legendary poster artist Drew Struzan told Movie Weekly that The Force Awakens is “probably going to be the best Star Wars you’ve ever seen.” Pretty high praise, even from a guy being paid by Lucasfilm. He also talks about how J.J. Abrams called him up, how much of the film he’s seen, his process, and why the lightsaber colors on the Revenge of the Jedi poster were reversed.

→ Lucasfilm has trademarked new new names. They could be for The Force Awakens, Rogue One, or just about anything, really.

→ Yet more D23 video: Lupita Nyong’o on being a part of the franchise and her other Disney roles, Abrams on what fans can expect, Oscar Isaac’s favorite character, and Daisy Ridley hopes that her and John Boyega’s friendship comes through on screen.

→ Spoiler corner: A tiny bite-sized scoop of information about Poe Dameron’s squadron name.

→ On that note, a nice, if top-heavy, piece from newcomer The Star Wars Post on if Star Wars 7 News leaking the Luke Skywalker image crossed a spoiler line. I’ll just say that SW7N has never exactly been known for their sound judgement, which is why I tend to warn so profusly when linking them.

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Did we just learn part of The Force Awakens’ opening crawl?

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Amid the flood of The Force Awakens stuff being found on store shelves, a box was found that had a very specific kind of wording. Could it be movie’s opening crawl? The box images have been removed, but head over to Making Star Wars to read it.

→ Daisy Ridley revealed (via her brand-new Instagram) that she and John Boyega are featured in the September issue of Vogue. (Keep an eye out for the one with the Beyonce cover.)

→ It’s not really news, but it’s cute edition: Oscar Isaac was on Live with Kelly Jane Lynch and Michael the other day, and he talked a little about his family’s themed Star Wars parties. And J.J. Abrams talks to Entertainment Weekly about the first time he saw Star Wars.

→ Stop asking about Darth Plagueis already. It’s just embarrassing at this point.

→ John Boyega’s next step? He’s going to be in an adaption of Dave Eggers’ The Circle with Tom Hanks and Emma Watson.

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The Force Awakens news slim on the ground at D23 panel, but there Is a poster!

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The big Star Wars movie news out of D23 may be Colin Trevorrow and Rogue One, but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t anything about The Force Awakens There was an exclusive poster given out featuring Drew Struzan artwork – it’s not the final theatrical poster, but it’s certainly something.

I doubt they’d hire Struzan just for a con exclusive, though, so I expect this is only a portion – or a remix – of the real thing.

We also have the return of Daisy Ridley to social media – Instagram, this time.

Present on the D23 stage were Oscar Isaac, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Lupita Nyong’o and Harrison Ford. And J.J. Abrams may have said that The Force Awakens is currently 124 minutes long… D23 being D23, and Star Wars being only a small part of the panel, so we heard a bit more out of the press room.

Head under the cut to see the full poster, direct from Struzan himself!

Continue reading “The Force Awakens news slim on the ground at D23 panel, but there Is a poster!”

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Rumors: Benicio Del Toro isn’t playing coy, and are these more Knights of Ren?

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Benicio Del Toro, who’s reportedly in talks for an important role in Episode VIII, told Entertainment Tonight that “it looks like it’s gonna happen.” Let’s hope that Rian Johnson is more forgiving of information slips than J.J. Abrams…

→ Indie Revolver has a collection of concept art that could very well be more Knights of Ren, the group that (apparently) gave rise to our pal Kylo.

→ You want leaked action figures? Knock yourself out.

→ After dropping a big bombshell on fandom last night, Star Wars 7 News plays it a bit safer today, with… The film’s marketing plan. Their apparent willingness to leak images aside, I don’t find SW7N the most trustworthy site, but the bit about “a mandate from the absolute top down” rings fairly true.

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D23 Expo begins: George Lucas becomes a Disney Legend


Disney’s own convention, D23 Expo, began today in Anaheim, and George Lucas was inducted as an official Disney Legend. (Bonus: Be sure to check your Star Wars app for a George emoji.)

Of course, The Force Awakens has a sizable presence on the con floor, where the highlight may very well be Captain Phasma’s armor.

At least she is today: We can certainly expect something from the live-action panel tomorrow. Our own Mandy will be there! legend