Your weekend edition of The Week in Star Wars features a lot of new footage from Star Wars: The Last Jedi and its runtime, a possible first look at Alden Ehrenreich as Han Solo, all the controversy from Star Wars Battlefront II and more…
Back in September it was rumoured that Star Wars: The Last Jedi would be the longest adventure in a galaxy far, far away at 150 minutes, and according to writer/editor of StarWarsNet John Hoey, Rian Johnson has confirmed this runtime. This will make it eight minutes longer that Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones…
…I hope you’re looking for some new footage from The Last Jedi, as we have five TV spots for the movie right here. Here’s the first 3 released this week, here’s one with new dialogue between Rey and Luke Skywalker and here’s some new footage from a spot titled ‘Heroes’. We also got a new IMAX poster and illustrated poster which you can check out here and here…
…In a new interview with Esquire, Oscar Isaac has revealed that he and Rian Johnson have been working together to make sure Poe Dameron is a character unto himself and not just a ‘new Han Solo’. “Well, there could be [an opening for a Han-like character], but I think what Rian did was make it less about filling a slot and more about what the story needs,” he said. “The fact is now that the Resistance has been whittled to just a handful of people, they’re running for their lives, and Leia is grooming me — him — to be a leader of the Resistance, as opposed to a dashing, rogue hero…”
…LEGO has revealed its Rey and Kylo Ren Star Wars: The Last Jedi Brickheadz collectors pack, which you can check out here…
…Speaking of Han Solo and although the spin-off film is out in May, we’ve yet to see any form of advertising or marketing from it. Which would make sense if the rumours of an 80% reshoot are to be believed. However thanks to a piece of leaked promo art, we have have got our first look at Alden Ehrenreich as Han Solo. Check it out here…
…A couple of months ago, an image surfaced online which showed the startling similarities between Sebastian Stan and a young Mark Hamill. And during a panel at the Rhode Island Comic Con, the Avengers: Infinity War actor revealed he would jump at the chance to play a young Luke Skywalker. “I just want to say here that anytime anyone would like to call me and ask me about Luke Skywalker I’d be very happy,” he said…
…Hasbro has announced that it is extending its range of Star Wars products this December with a brand new series of Micro Force blind bag figurines (check those out here), and Hot Toys revealed its upcoming 1/6th scale Praetorian Guard figures from the upcoming blockbuster sequel Star Wars: The Last Jedi (which you can check out here)…
…Right, so let’s talk about the micro transaction controvery surrounding Star Wars Battlefront II. For any non-gamers, I highly recommend checking out Jim Sterling’s breakdown of the Loot Box craze in gaming, and his thoughts on EA’s micro transaction usage in Battlefront II. In short, EA and DICE have heavily stacked the options to get Hero Characters like Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, Yoda, Boba Fett, etc. in favour of players spending real-world money rather than playing the game to gain enough experience and unlock them. For example, it would take around 4500 hours to unlock Skywalker and Vader, or you can just pony up the extra cash and pay for them outright in (in a game that already cost $60) order to stand a chance during online play against those who have purchased them. This news caused so much backlash from fans, that EA and DICE announced this week that they were temporarily removing micro transactions from Star Wars Battlefront II – which means they will be back at some point. “We hear you loud and clear, so we’re turning off all in-game purchases,” they wrote in a press release. “We will now spend more time listening, adjusting, balancing and tuning. This means that the option to purchase crystals in the game is now offline, and all progression will be earned through gameplay. The ability to purchase crystals in-game will become available at a later date, only after we’ve made changes to the game. We’ll share more details as we work through this.” The game is out now, if you’re interested, and here’s a new trailer for it…
…And finally, here’s the Rebels Recon for Star Wars Rebels‘ mid-season finale.
That’s all for this week – may the Force be with you.
Luke Owen is the Deputy Editor of Flickering Myth, a presenter for WrestleTalk, and the author of Lights, Camera, GAME OVER!: How Video Game Movies Get Made. You can follow him on Twitter @ThisisLukeOwen.
