May the Fourth Be With You! After a week break to go to a wedding (not my own) and deciding to captalise on the May the Fourth gimmick, this edition of The Week in Star Wars is slightly late but brings news of Mads Mikkelsen’s role in Rogue One, Episode VII behind the scenes images, possible cameos, James Cameron on Avatar avoiding Star Wars and more…
Kicking things off this week with Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and although he was absent from the first trailer, Mads Mikkelsen has let slip on what his role will be in the movie. WARNING THERE ARE POTENTIAL SPOILERS HERE: “I read the script and it was very beautiful,” he told Sky News, when asked about the hotly-anticipated spinoff. “Felicity Jones is playing this lovely, strong woman. I play her… father.” Now it should be noted that several actors have admitted to Flickering Myth in the past that they often make up stories during interviews because they find the press coverage interesting. So take this with a pinch of salt for now, but it was something that had previously been rumoured…
…Moving over to Rian Johnson’s Star Wars Episode VIII, and the Pinewood Studios set got a very Royal visit last week when Princes Harry and Will took a trip to see the movie being filmed. If you don’t know who they are, they’re a big deal here in jolly ol’ England. This also sparked rumours from the notoriously terrible Daily Mail who said that Harry and Will will feature as cameos in the movie. The set visit was real, but I struggle to believe the rumour that followed…
…Speaking of Episode VIII, and Johnson shared a couple of behind the scenes images which you can check out here, and The Daily Mail caught some spy photos of the Millennium Falcon being constructed. Although they hilariously noted that “Star Wars 7” came out last summer. The blithering idiots…
…Lastly on Johnson, and the director has submitted “story ideas and elements” to Claudia Gray’s Star Wars: Bloodline, which is her second Star Wars novel. This of course suggests that the book could be sewing a few seeds for the next chapter of Disney’s Sequel Trilogy…
…Both Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Star Wars: Episode VIII will be hitting cinemas in the month of December, and that has forced James Cameron to change plans for his Avatar sequels. “My original plan was to release them a year apart, but we’re opening that up,” states Cameron. “If for no other reason than that I don’t want to land on the same date as one of the Star Wars sequels. That wouldn’t be fair to them. [Laughs] No, that’s just good business. I don’t want to go head-to-head with Star Wars. That would be stupid. And hopefully they won’t want to go head-to-head with us…”
…Oli and myself talked about all this Star Wars news on the latest Flickering Myth Podcast which you can listen to below…
…Quickly on Rogue One and its connections to Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and Lucasfilm’s Pablo Hidalgo has dispelled popular fan theory that Supereme Leader Snoke will feature in Gareth Edward’s spin-off movie. “Snoke is not in Rogue One,” he tweeted. “Like, in any way shape or form. This is a standalone movie.” Well, I guess that puts that theory to rest…
…Let’s move over now to some quick bite news, starting with Disney releasing promotional images for the the third wave of Star Wars Tsum Tsums featuring characters from Star Wars: The Force Awakens which include Rey, Kylo Ren, BB-8, Finn, Captain Phasma, Poe Dameron, and a First Order Stormtrooper. The Tsum Tsums are set to go on sale June 21st in the US and Europe…
…Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes got its biggest update ever with the addition of a whole host of new features from guilds and raids to socialising in real time chats – read more about that here…
…Electronic Arts are celebrating Star Wars Day today with a selection of bonuses across three of its video games in Star Wars: Battlefront, Star Wars: The Old Republic and the aforementioned Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes. Read more about them here…
…Couple of LEGO bits now, and the company announced they would be celebrating May 4th by offering a number of retail deals, including giving away free copies of the official LEGO version of the Star Wars: The Force Awakens theatrical movie poster with any LEGO Star Wars purchase. Read more about that here…
…Walmart announced three exclusive 3.75″ Black Series figures from Star Wars: The Force Awakens featuring Starkiller Base Han Solo, Captain Phasma and General Leia Organa…
…In celebration of Star Wars Day, Hot Toys has released a teaser image for its first 1/4th scale collectible figure from Star Wars: The Force Awakens…
…And Disney XD has announced that the latest chapter of the Star Wars saga, LEGO Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures, will premiere in June. Set between the events of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, the action comedy series follows the Freemakers, a family of sibling scavengers who operate a salvage and repair shop in space. The series will also feature familiar characters and locations from the filmed saga…
…And lastly, here’s some comic book previews for you – kicking off with Star Wars #18: With the Rebel base completely overtaken, our only hope is… …Leia…Sana…and APHRA?!? Can they save the Imperial prisoners? Do they want to? Next up is Star Wars: Poe Dameron #2: The first FORCE AWAKENS era comic series continues! Who is Captain Terrex of the First Order…and how did he find Poe’s squadron? Can Poe and company beat Terrex to their prize? And lastly, here’s Ricky Church’s review of Star Wars: C-3PO #1.
Order Star Wars: The Force Awakens via Amazon UK or Amazon US
That’s all for this week – may The Force be with you.
Luke Owen
