Fans look for any and every sign of an update about new Star Wars movies, or anything Star Wars for that matter. The movies tend to be so hush-hush, sometimes all we have to go on is rumor and hints. In a way, this becomes part of the mystique and the appeal to the franchise. It’s a mystery we are all waiting to uncover together. So that’s why when fun little bits like this happen, we take notice. What does it mean? Maybe nothing. Maybe everything. But it sure is fun to speculate, right? Is Mark Hamill coming back to ‘Star Wars: Episode IX’? All signs seem to point to a yes and the popular star may have even confirmed it himself recently in a tweet: Haven’t seen my chin since May ’15, so #FarewellFacialFur & #ByeByeBeard (at least til #EpisodeIX) @popculturequest pic.twitter.com/gaScz1okk6 — Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) August 30, 2016 You…
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Chicago Star Wars Museum Cancelled
In what would have given us another good reason to visit Chicago, we now have news that George Lucas has cancelled the plans to build a Star Wars museum. The Chicago Tribune recently reported that Lucas has halted his Windy City plans to build The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. It would seem that Lucas has spent the past two years arguing with the city of Chicago over the land the museum was to be built on. The story says that back in 2014, a group called Friends of the Parks filed a lawsuit that sought to stop the museum from being built on the Chicago lakefront. they say that anything build on the lakefront has to specifically benefit the citizens of Chicago since this land belongs to them. The Star Wars museum proposed by Lucas would not, in their opinion, specifically benefit the people of Chicago. It doesn’t make a lot of…
Star Wars Perfume: Has Merchandising Gone Too Far?
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that Star Wars is hot right now. The new films have created a surge in the franchise’s popularity and we’re seeing Star Wars everywhere. This can be a good thing for the Star Wars fan but can it go too far? While buying groceries this past week, I noticed all the Star Wars branded foods. This is typical of cereals and snack foods, more than anything else, at least here in the US. I saw Star Wars cereals, yogurt, Cambell’s soup cans, and even Cheez-Its with Yoda on the front. They’re on Pringles cans and ice cream, and even coffee creamers. But the Star Wars craze doesn’t end with food. Of course, there are toys and clothes. This is to be expected. However, there has also been Star Wars makeup and now, we have Star Wars perfume. Yes. Star Wars perfume….
Disney Brings in More Help to Rogue One
Fans are pumped up for Star Wars: Rogue One and sources say Disney will be bringing on more help for the reshooting. Simon Crane, who has worked as a Second Unit Director or stunt coordinator for such films as Jason Bourne, Edge of Tomorrow and Quantum of Solac, will be joining the Rogue One team. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the fact that Crane is on the scene probably indicates some of the reshoots will have retouching to the action sequences. You may have already read that Tony Gilroy was also brought on to help oversee the reshoots and provide additional material to the film. Hollywood Reporter says: Rogue One, being directed by Gareth Edwards, will undergo significant additional filming this summer, it was revealed earlier this week. Disney and Lucasfilm are hoping to accomplish several goals with the reshoots, including working on the tone of what has been described by sources as a “war movie.” The…
What is the Church of the Force?
The non-canon expert shows up to explain who and what the Church of the Force is as introduced in The Force Awakens, as well as remember some of his friends who are no longer part of the canon. Star Wars Reading Club is actually going to give you all of the run down so you’re up to speed on the Church of the Force. Basically, ,the Church of the Force was an underground faith of people loosely affiliated worshipers of the Jedi ideals. They believed that the Jedi Order would return one day and also that it’s return was essential to help bring the balance to the Force. This underground movement that started during the Age of the Empire, when the Jedi Knights were hunted nearly to their extinction. Jedi lore and history is very deeply rooted in the Church of the Force and one member in particular, Lor San Tekka played…
Star Wars: A New Hope as an Infographic (The entire movie in one image)
Infographics have been making their way across the Internet for some time now. While there was a boom a couple of years ago that seems to have died down now, we still see infographics on a regular basis. Sometimes they are just for fun or for a graphic designer to play with his or her skills a bit. Sometimes they are used to better illustrate a point than words alone. Sometimes they are used along with other elements to help show a bigger picture. In this case, we have something entirely unique. Illustrator Martin Panchaud recently transformed Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope into SWANH. It’s a very, very long infographic that tells us everything that happened in Star Wars: A New Hope. Seriously, everything. All of it. The entire movie in a graphic. Just scroll down. Now scroll some more. Yep, keep scrolling. It’s all there. He even…
Stormtroopers and R2D2 Visit the White House
On Friday, the White House had some special visitors and it would appear they had a very grand welcome also. Even the President has Star Wars fever with the release of the hot new film. Dark and Light Sides would come together in peace at a press briefing this past week. White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest was photographed with Stormtroopers and R2D2. President Obama gave his year-end press conference. Then, everyone went off to watch a very special movie premiere. The screening on Friday was for members of Gold Star families, an organization of family members who lost relatives in military combat. The family theater doubles as a cloak room when not is use and has showed screenings in the past such as “Lincoln” and “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom”. What a wonderful memory for those families and right during the holidays, which can be especially tough for those…
These Knock-Off Star Wars Toys are Hilarious
People love Star Wars. This is a fact as simple as the sky being blue. So it’s no surprise that you will find some unscrupulous (or perhaps just ignorant) companies trying to play on the Star Wars love. That’s exactly what we find in these “Star Wars” toys purchased by wholesale trader Karl Baxter, of Wholesale Clearance UK. But these discount toys that arrived just in time for the new film release weren’t exactly what he expected. These weren’t just knock-offs; these were fakes that seemed to have been designed by someone with no knowledge of the franchise and the results are hilarious (maybe not for Mr. Baxter). Most of the molds do not come close to properly resembling the characters intended but the names/titles are even funnier. Obi-Wan Kenobi was dubbed Toy-One and C-3PO is R2-3PO. A young Anakin Skywalker is simply called “little girl” and Qui-Gon Jinn is…
Happy Life Day! The Star Wars Holiday Special Anniversary
Today marks the anniversary of The Star Wars Holiday Special. I wasn’t alive back in 1978 but as a long-time Star Wars fan, I heard about it and of course, wanted to see it. While November 17, 1978 marked the first AND last time this two-hour musical variety show would be aired (thank you CBS), it is still possible to find it on the Internet if you’re so inclined. While the special was intended to capitalize on the success of the 1977 movie and hold fans over until the 1980 release of The Empire Strikes Back, things did not go as planned. It ended up being a terrible flop. I mean, really terrible. Reportedly, George Lucas was only tangentially involved in the production and he hated it so much, he tried to make it disappear. Leave it to the Internet to revive what should be left to die, but I digress. The basic premise of the…
The average Star Wars: The Force Awakens fan will be 34-year-old male
The new Star Wars: The Force Awakens movie has been predicted that it will be one of the highest grossing films ever, and some experts are suggesting that box-office revenues in excess of the current record, Avatar’s gross of $2.78 billon are within reach. Researchers have now showed us who exactly will be purchasing the tickets. According to cinema marketing data firm Movio Media, the average person to purchase a ticket in advance for Star Wars: The Force Awakens will be a United States 34 year old male. It’s predicted that 70% of ticket owners are men between the ages of 18 and 49. The average advance ticket purchaser is a typical movie theater goer and usually travels in order to see big-budget fantasies like Jurassic World or Avengers: Age of Ultron on opening night, according to Movio Media. Also, these in particular individuals spend 2.6 times more than the…
Force Friday Recap
If you missed Force Friday last week, don’t worry. That was just the big reveal but there’s still time to get all of the awesome new merchandise. Last week, Disney unveiled toys from the upcoming film in various store locations around the world to coincide with Force Friday, when consumers can purchase the items. We headed out to our local WalMart where we saw some fun items, including a Darth Vader bigger than my 3-year-old and we also picked up some posters for Droid Tales. Check out these goodies from LEGO: One of the most iconic starships of the Star Wars saga is back, and it’s leaner and meaner than ever before! Complete… Posted by LEGO on Thursday, September 3, 2015 There’s also some cool stuff from Hot Wheels: #HotWheelsForceFriday gets an early start with the reveal of Kylo Ren’s sleek, ominous race car and the lively & loyal hot rod of…
The New Star Wars Canon, Explained
When Disney took over LucasFilm and decided to make another Star Wars movie, all of the Expanded Universe works became “un-canon.” They would no longer be recognized in the official Star Wars universe. OuterPlaces has released an infographic that puts all of the canon works in an easy-to-read image. Check it out here, or view the original on OuterPlaces: With all of the books and comics between the Battle of Endor and The Force Awakens, it looks like we’re going to get a very clear picture of what happened after the destruction of the second Death Star before the new movie comes out. It’s also cool to see the two new Star Wars games coming out this year on the infographic as well, suggesting that we might actually learn more about the universe in those games. If you want to get up-to-speed on the Star Wars universe, you’re going to have a lot of…
Jar Jar Binks Inspired by Goofy, According to George Lucas
Jar Jar Binks just might be one of the most hated Star Wars characters ever. Honestly, I’m not sure why. I really didn’t think he was that bad. Unlike many who seem to have been annoyed greatly by the character, I found him a bit charming. (I know, I know… don’t shoot me.) When George Lucas was making Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (1999), he famously said, “Jar Jar’s the key to all this, if we get Jar Jar working. ‘Cause he’s a funnier character than we’ve ever had in the movies.” That really didn’t work out so well for him since Binks ended up becoming one of the most hated movie characters ever. That doesn’t seem to sway Lucas very much, as he still loves Jar Jar At the recent Disney D3 Expo, Lucas explained how he feels about Binks, why he loves the character and how he was inspired by…
President of Lucasfilm talks Han Solo Movie
Are you worried about the upcoming Han Solo spinoff that is planned as a standalone film? Many fans are concerned that they will ruin one of the best characters from Star Wars ever. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy talked a great deal about the spinoff (still untitled) and what we can expect. It’s written by Jon and Lawrence Kasdan, directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller, and scheduled for release May 25, 2018. So we have quite awhile to wait for it but that doesn’t stop people from being interested in it. A big question from the start is in regards to the timeline. How old will Solo be in this film? “He’ll definitely be probably in the high teens, low 20s,” Kennedy said to the magazine. “We’re not introducing you to a 10-year-old Han Solo.” That does make sense and we’ll have to wait awhile to know…
Cover Girl Star Wars Campaign
With the upcoming movie, we can expect to see a lot more Star Wars merchandise but one thing you probably don’t think about when you think Star Wars is makeup. Cover Girl is out to change all of that. They have a new, exclusive, limited-edition Star Wars collection that features shiny, metallic lipsticks, deep nail polishes and more. Allure tells us more about the special edition makeup that releases in early September: A long time ago, in a galaxy not so far, far away, a movie was made that inspired an epic hairstyle—the Princess Leia. Two trilogies and almost four decades later, we’re still getting beauty inspo from the women of Star Wars. In celebration of the new film The Force Awakens, out this December, CoverGirl is releasing a limited-edition collection of makeup that begs the question: Are you on the light side or the dark side? Check out the whole collection…
Michael Jackson Wanted to Play Jar Jar Binks in ‘Star Wars’
Michael Jackson wanted to play the Star Wars character Jar Jar Binks, however George Lucas denied him the part. His reason for denying the pop star was because he “wanted to do it in prosthetics and makeup like ‘Thriller’”. Michael Jackson was known as the “King of Pop” and he reportedly told George Lucas that he wanted to play the goofy Gungan Jar Jar Binks, which is one of the most despised characters in film history. The character appeared in the 1999 blockbuster hit, Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menance. Ahmed Best voiced and provided the motion capture for Jar Jar Binks’ character, explained the interest that Michael Jackson had during an interview with Vice. “Me, Natalie Portman and George [Lucas]’s kids – we were at Wembley arena at Michael Jackson’s concert,” Best said. “We were taken backstage, and we met Michael. There was Michael and Lisa Marie [Presley]….
Star Wars as 17th-century Japanese Prints
Maybe it’s because I am such a huge fan of art and Star Wars (of course) but I really love this project I came across from a Japanese crowdfunding site, Makuake. The project is for traditional woodblock prints of the original George Lucas Star Wars characters and the project far exceeded its goal. While they do not come cheap (a single print costs 54,000 yen/$434, with a set of three going for 162,000 yen/$1,303) they are worth every penny. The craftsmanship, art and patience that goes into each beautiful piece is amazing. Most Star Wars fans will know that George Lucas was influenced by the Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa and that Kurosawa’s 1958 period adventure The Hidden Fortress often cited as a direct inspiration for Lucas’ first Star Wars film so it makes sense that Star Wars could then be so easily and beautiful adapted to its Japanese roots. These are…
STAR WARS History & Lore – THE GREAT GALACTIC WAR (Part 1)
This is a Part 1 of a 3 episodes miniseries by Vulkk, explaining everything there is to know about The Great Galactic War, one of the most significant events in the Star Wars Expanded Universe. The war is seriously embedded also into Star Wars: The Old Republic (SWTOR). For the narrations Jason or as everyone knows him Teo from OotiniCast has made yet another appearance on a Lore video by Vulkk to do the narrations. Here’s the intro in a written form. The rest you can hear and see in the video, attached in the bottom. The Great Galactic War, known as the Great War during the conflict and in the years afterward, was a war between the Sith Empire and the Galactic Republic between 3681 BBY and 3653 BBY, lasting for a total of 28 years. Also known as the Republic–Sith War, the conflict was ultimately the culmination of a…
Star Wars: The Holiday Special Review
The Star Wars Holiday Special is a 1978 American television film set in the Star Wars galaxy. If you have never heard of it, don’t worry. You are not alone. This “holiday special” was (probably deliberately) buried after it aired back in ’78 and finding a copy of it today is no easy task. While some may call it a “Christmas special”, it was actually about the Wookiee holiday of Life Day. The premise was good but the actual execution… well, we will leave you to form your own opinions on it but since it’s not so easy to just see the film, I want to share with you a great review done by the Nostalgia Critic. If you’re not familiar with NC, well… that’s just an additional treat for you. Check out the video to see all you need to know about this holiday special and find some movie…
Star Wars is ‘Unbelievably Racist’, Says Hoaxer on BBC Radio
We’ve heard and reported on a lot of crazy things about Star Wars and funny enough, this isn’t the first time we’ve heard it called racist. However, this IS the funniest way we’ve ever heard it called racist, among other things. BBC World News explains: The BBC fell victim to a hoaxer in a phone-in discussion of the new Star Warsmovie, describing the films as “rooted in homophobia and casual racist stereotypes” in which “the only female ends up in a space bikini chained to a horny space slug”. The World Service item on its discussion show, World Have Your Say, took an unexpected turn after it invited Godfrey Elfwick to talk about Star Wars’ return after a producer spotted him talking about the film on Twitter. Godfrey tweets: I’ve never actually seen #StarWars but the fact that the bad guy was all black and ate watermelons was unbelievably racist…
Star Wars Movies Release on iTunes and other Digitial Platforms this Week
Great news for fans who have been waiting for the Star Wars movies to finally release on digital platforms. They’re coming to iTunes as well as Xbox and Playstation this Friday. There are also supposed to be some new special features for each movie with these new digital releases. For example, the theatrical cut of the podrace from The Phantom Menace is available. The first six movies will all be available on iTunes for $19.99 each starting on Friday, April 10th. You can only buy them, and they’re the same editions as on the Blu-ray versions of the movies. They are also coming to Xbox and the Playstation. CinemaBlend explains: Sony kept its Star Wars announcement brief, limited to a single tweet that simply reads: “All six Star Wars films are coming to PlayStation Video April 10! You’re overdue for a marathon anyway.” The folks over in the Xbox camp, however,…
Japanese Star Wars Toys: Darth Vader and Boba Fett Look Awesome
Square Enix, the Japanese video game publisher behind the Final Fantasy series, has developed a range of Star Wars toys. Darth Vader, Boba Fett, and the generic Imperial stormtrooper look amazing! They’ve been given a bit of a makeover and have been shrunk down to action figure size. We have to admit, they look pretty darn fierce! They’ve been released as “Variant Playarts” models and they look awesome. Realistic, detailed… they have everything you would want. They are quite impressive. The figures are retailing at around $108 which honestly is a good deal for the impressive amount of detail that has gone into them. TheVerge tells us more: Boba Fett and the stormtrooper are set to be released in July, but Vader comes earlier, hitting otaku shop shelves in May. The Variants might be called “Playarts,” but they’re not toys so much as expensive collector’s editions — the detailed figures are set to retail for 12,960…
New Star Wars comic is set to fill the gap between Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Return of the Jedi.
A new comic book series by Marvel is going to make Star Wars fans very happy. This fall Star Wars: Journey to the Force Awakens – Shattered Empire is set to release to fill the gap between Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Return of the Jedi. The news came not long ago on StarWars.com, however, there are not many more details for fans to read right now. The first image has been released and it was illustrated by Phil Noto. The image shows festive heroes in the Rebel Alliance during the Ewok celebration that closed off the original trilogy. We don’t know when more information will be released on Shattered Empire but you do need to know that the Star Wars Celebration is less than a month away. StarWars.com is calling Shattered Empire Marvel’s very first entry into Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Could this mean that…
Release Dates for Rogue One and Episode VIII Revealed
Disney CEO Bob Iger addressed a shareholder meeting this past Thursday and shared some interesting news with those invited. First, the news about the first standalone film (some of which we already knew): Titled Rogue One Planned release date: 16 December, 2016 Directed by Gareth Edwards (Monsters, Godzilla) Written by Chris Weitz (Cinderella, About a Boy, Antz) Includes Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything) Idea for the story from John Knoll, award-winning visual effects supervisor and chief creative officer at Industrial Light & Magic Knoll will also executive produce alongside Simon Emanuel (The Dark Knights Rises, Fast & Furious 6) Jason McGatlin (Tintin, War of the Worlds), Kathleen Kennedy, and Tony To (Band of Brothers, The Pacific) will produce John Swartz (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) will co-produce This is a lot of information, and some big names that are involved. Although the filming hasn’t even started—and won’t until this summer—there’s plenty to be excited…