It’s the post Life Day edition of The Week in Star Wars, and we’ve got some harsh words from George Lucas about the new Star Wars overlords, details for The Force Awakens Blu-Ray release, information on Episode VIII and more…
Happy 2016! Kicking things off the first The Week in Star Wars of 2016 with The Force Awakens‘ domination of the US and global box office, and after the announcement last week that it had become the fastest movie to reach $1 billion worldwide, it was also revealed that Star Wars: The Force Awakens is the biggest Star Wars movie ever released, and Disney’s biggest UK and US release of all-time. The movie is also now in the Top 10 Highest Grossing Movies of All-Time. Avatar can’t be too far off now…
…And speaking of the biggest movies of 2015, I wrote a couple of analysis pieces on The Highest Grossing Movies of 2015 and The Biggest Opening Weekends of 2015…
…As if that wasn’t enough, Star Wars earned $1 billion from video game sales in 2015. Speaking of which, Star Wars Battlefront was given an Honest Game Trailer…
…It was revealed this week that the original title for Star Wars: The Force Awakens was Star Wars: Shadow of the Empire, which gamers will remember as the title for the N64 game…
…Although the movie is still in cinemas, there has been some news released this week about its Blu-Ray release, which is set for April in the States. The Blu-ray will include a DVD, plus UV, iTunes and Google Play digital copies, but there’s no word on special features, nor a UK release date. You can pre-order Star Wars: The Force Awakens from Amazon UK or Amazon US…
…Just like last week, the movie got a new IMAX poster which focuses on Captain Phasma, while EW printed some official pictures of Supreme Leader Snoke…
…Perhaps the biggest story this week, however, hasn’t come from The Force Awakens creators and stars but from the Godfather of Star Wars himself. George Lucas had some choice words about Disney and J.J. Abrams’ “retro” take on the franchise, which didn’t sit well with too many people. “I love [the Star Wars movies], I created them, I’m very intimately involved in them, and I sold them to the white slavers that take these things and…” he said, before trailing off with a nervous laugh. “They wanted to do a retro movie,” he continued. “I don’t like that. I worked very hard to make them completely different, with different planets, with different spaceships – you know, to make it new. They weren’t that keen to have me involved anyway, but if I get in there, I’m just going to cause trouble, because they’re not going to do what I want them to do. And I don’t have the control to do that any more, and all I would do is muck everything up. And so I said, ‘OK, I will go my way, and I’ll let them go their way…’”
…Thankfully, he apologised for his comments: “I want to clarify my interview on the Charlie Rose Show. It was for the Kennedy Center Honors and conducted prior to the premiere of the film. I misspoke and used a very inappropriate analogy and for that I apologize. I have been working with Disney for 40 years and chose them as the custodians of Star Wars because of my great respect for the company and Bob Iger’s leadership. Disney is doing an incredible job of taking care of and expanding the franchise. I rarely go out with statements to clarify my feelings but I feel it is important to make it clear that I am thrilled that Disney has the franchise and is moving it in such exciting directions in film, television and the parks. Most of all I’m blown away with the record breaking blockbuster success of the new movie and am very proud of JJ and Kathy…”
…The Force Awakens star John Boyega has revealed this week that shooting for Episode VIII gets underway in the next couple of weeks. We’ve already had reports of filming getting started a few months ago when Mark Hamill was spotted on set, so this looks to now be official principal photography…
…Taking a step back in time briefly, and possible Oscar contender Leonado DiCaprio has revealed that he was up for the part of Anakin Skywalker for Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (which, I’ll remind you, is the worst of the entire Saga), but ultimately turned it down. “I did have a meeting with George Lucas about [the Star Wars prequels],” states DiCaprio. “[I] just didn’t feel ready to take that dive. At that point.” DiCaprio also admitted that he was up for the role of Robin in Batman Forever and Spider-Man in Sam Raimi’s movies, which you can read more about in The Week in Spandex…
…Anghus Houvouras wrote an excellent article this week, titled Mary Sues, Black Stormtroopers, & Poe Dameron’s Sexual Preference: The Social Subtext of Star Wars, which I highly recommend you all to read.He also wrote a rather controversial piece saying The Force Awakens is the new Kingdom of the Crystal Skull…
…And lastly, here’s your comic book previews for the week. First up is Star Wars #14, which is released on January 6th: VADER DOWN, PART FIVE! CHEWBACCA VERSUS BLACK KRRSANTAN! What else do you need? Marvel’s first Star Wars event continues! And here’s the preview for Star Wars: Obi-Wan and Anakin #1, also out January 6th: Before their military heroism in the Clone Wars, before their tragic battle on Mustafar, and many decades before their final confrontation on the Death Star…they were Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and his Padawan learner, Anakin Skywalker. It’s been a few years since Obi-Wan pledged to train the young “chosen one,” but even as they have grown closer through training, it has been a difficult road. Now, called to a remote planet for assistance, Master and Padawan may be pushed to the breaking point. Writer Charles Soule (Lando, She-Hulk, Daredevil) and artist Marco Checchetto (Star Wars: Shattered Empire, Avengers World, Punisher) bring us a tale of the Jedi at the height of their power…
That’s all for this week – may The Force be with you…
Luke Owen is the Deputy Editor of Flickering Myth and a contributor on The Flickering Myth Movie Show. You can follow him on Twitter @ThisisLukeOwen.
