Tag: the phantom menace

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Darth Maul finally coming to Clone Wars; Phantom Menace 3-D trailer with The Three Musketeers

The Clone Wars will be cashing the check it wrote in season 3’s Savage Opress arc this spring: Darth Maul is back, and Entertainment Weekly has video.

UPDATE: USA Today has another image of Maul that shows more detail. They also reveal that we can expect a trailer for The Phantom Menace attached to Paul W.S. Anderson’s crazy steampunk-looking The Three Musketeers on Oct. 21. (via) Meanwhile, StarWars.com has a glimpse of the TPM 3-D poster.

It’s “an amazing storytelling opportunity,” they say. Personally, I find a resurrected Maul less facepalm-worthy than some of the other stuff they came up with last year, so, hey: Bring it on.

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Daniel Radcliffe: Potter created “appetite for reading”

Like Shatner before him, Daniel Radcliffe also has some words about Star Wars in this clip, but he’s pretty classy about it, focusing on how Potter has inspired kids to read. Here’s the quote:

“I always think that that’s one of the wonderful things about ‘Potter’ and the ‘Potter’ fan base,” he continues. “If you think about the other big costume-wearing [franchises] that go with it, things like ‘Star Wars’ and ‘Star Trek,’ with ‘Potter,’ because it started off as a literary thing, has created a generation of the same kind of mentality … with an appetite for reading and literature, which is kind of amazing.”

Sure, Star Wars and Star Trek have their share of successful tie-ins, but I doubt they’ve gotten as many kids reading as Potter, where books are the cornerstone.

UPDATE: Radcliffe tells Moviefone that the only Star Wars movie he’s seen is The Phantom Menace. Oh, Danrad. Someone is already getting him the Blu-rays. But then:

What ‘Star Wars’ and ‘Potter’ have in common is a huge devoted fan base. Where they differ, I think there is a — and this is my perception, I may be completely wrong — I think there is a slightly more balanced split between the sexes in the fan base of ‘Potter.’ I associate ‘Star Wars’ as being a predominantly male thing. And I think ‘Potter’ is split more evenly.

Sigh.

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CGI Yoda, as rumored to be on the Blu-rays

This is apparently the ‘new and improved’ CGI Yoda who has been rumored to be on The Phantom Menace blu-ray, replacing the traditional puppet. (I’m told this is different – or at least longer – than the clip on the Revenge of the Sith DVD.) Better? Worse? I was never a fan of the TPM puppet – he looked off – but I’m not sure this is any better. (via)

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Preview the Star Wars Blu-ray’s HD

The official Youtube account now has scenes from each movie in HD. I’m not embedding them because you have to go directly to Youtube to select the HD version (Example in the screenshout above.) Check them out: The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, Revenge of the Sith, A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.

There’s a new extra posted as well: A feature on the Acklay creature from Attack of the Clones. That’s available in HD as well, but there’s an embed under the cut. Continue reading “Preview the Star Wars Blu-ray’s HD”

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EUbits: Allie talks Qui-Gon comic, Del Rey to reissue novelization, Shadow Hunter for TPM 3-D

Comics. Writer Scott Allie talks about the Qui-Gon Jinn comic Jedi: The Dark Side with CBR. He reveals that the series will take place 20 years prior to The Phantom Menace, that the focus of Dark Side will be a personal story, and talks a bit about Xanatos. Yoda, Mace Windu and even Dooku will make appearances in the mini-series.

Releases. Del Rey will be reissuing The Phantom Menace novelization and Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter next year to tie-into the first 3-D release. Both books will feature new original short stories for the occasion.

Events. Authors John Jackson Miller and Paul S. Kemp and Del Rey’s Erich Schoeneweiss will talk about Star Wars books at a panel at Chicago’s C2E2. The schedule isn’t up yet, but the panel will be Friday, March 18. (Question: Is C2E2 worth a vacation day and a 4-hour drive in the days of social media? I’ll have to think about it.)

History lesson. Tor.com’s Emily Asher-Perrin takes a slightly snarky (yay!) look back at the evolution of Star Wars galaxy maps. In retrospect, that first one was probably the only reason at all to be excited about Vector Prime. I must admit I do still like the old-timey calligraphy look it has.

The blogside. Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff reveals that one of the locations for Shadow Games (née Holostar) is Bannistar Station.

Kids. The folks behind The Strange Case of Origami Yoda will be back with Darth Paper Strikes Back in the fall.

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Liam Neeson to voice Qui-Gon on The Clone Wars

Liam Neeson returns to the GFFA to voice Qui-Gon Jinn on upcoming episodes of The Clone Wars. The Jedi Master will appear in visions to Obi-Wan.

Neeson tells EW he wanted to return to Star Wars because he felt that “these characters resonate…even after all these years.” He adds, “Growing up, my heroes were cowboys; they were strong and mysterious, and it seemed like they always rode off into the sunset. For kids today, Star Wars has that same kind of magic. I really wanted to be a part of that.”

The episodes featuring Qui-Gon will air Jan. 28 and Feb. 11.

UPDATE 1/22: Dave Filoni has posted a note on Facebook about this development:

I understand that Qui-Gon’s appearance in The Clone Wars has many implications, and that some of you are asking “how can this be ” especially in light of the scene between Obi Wan and Yoda at the end of Revenge of the Sith where they speak about Qui-Gon. These upcoming episodes, more than any other to date, will spark curiosity and discussion. I only ask that you be patient and watch them. I look forward to hearing from you after they air. For now trust me when I say Christian Taylor (writer) and I, along with George Lucas, are very aware of the continuity surrounding Qui-Gon Jinn. George in particular, is especially conscious of it.