It’s packed edition of The Week in Star Wars with a poster, images and first TV spot for The Force Awakens (not to mention some toy stuff), a first look image and cast details for Rogue One, details about Han Solo’s Anthology movie, Colin Trevorrow confirmed for Episode IX, George Lucas revealing his inspiration for Jar Jar Binks and more…
Ahead of yesterday’s D23 Expo, Entertainment Weekly unleashed a huge batch of images from Star Wars: The Force Awakens , which included now shots of General Hux, Finn, Rey, Han, Chewie, R2-D2, the newly red-armed C-3PO and the villain Kylo Ren…
…Speaking of Kylo Ren, director J.J. Abrams shared some information about him saying, “the movie explains the origins of the mask and where it’s from, but the design was meant to be a nod to the Vader mask. [Ren] is well aware of what’s come before, and that’s very much a part of the story of the film. The lightsaber is something that he built himself, and is as dangerous and as fierce and as ragged as the character. As you see in the best of storytelling, and no doubt the best of Star Wars, these are tales in which an everyperson has to step up. And I think that what makes Ren so unique is that he isn’t as fully formed as when we meet a character such as Darth Vader. And I think that there are two sides to the Force. Both sides, arguably, would see themselves as the hero of their story, and I think that applies here…”
…Along with that, we also got a view of some concept art for the Knights of Ren, an order who J.J. Abrams confirmed Adam Driver’s Kylo Ren is a part of…
…There’s also some more quotes and details about the movie from Abrams and Kathleen Kennedy in the Entertainment Weekly interview, where they also discuss how much we’ll see of Luke and Leia. Original Trilogy fans will be pleased to know that Harrison Ford’s Han Solo is a major player in the film though…
...While we didn’t get any new footage from The Force Awakens at D23, this week did bring the first TV spot, which offered up the briefest snippet of new footage, while fans attending the Disney Expo got to see some of the costumes from The Force Awakens on the convention floor, as well as an exclusive poster by Drew Struzan featuring Rey, Han, Kylo Ren and a lightsaber-weilding Finn, and interviews with J.J. Abrams, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac and Lupita Nyong’o..
…A couple of leaked images arrived online this week too, the first of which offered up our first look at Luke Skywalker (which has since been taken down) and The Force Awakens toyline – which gives away a potential spoiler for the movie…
…With The Force Awakens merchandise set to flood shelves next month, we’ve had our first official look at the LEGO sets for the movie including the First Order Snowspeeder, First Order Special Forces TIE Fighter, Rey’s Speeder, Poe’s X-Wing Fighter, First Order Transporter, Kylo Ren’s Command Shuttle and the Millennium Falcon…
Moving on to the spinoff films now and during the D23 presentation, Lucasfilm announced that Star Wars Anthology: Rogue One has undergone a title change to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, debuting an updated logo and first cast image for the film, which will star Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything), Diego Luna (Milk), Ben Mendelsohn (The Dark Knight Rises), Donnie Yen (Ip Man), Jiang Wen (Let the Bullets Fly), Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland), Alan Tudyk (Con Man) and Riz Ahmed (Nightcrawler). Meanwhile, the first set photos also arrived online, featuring the classic Stormtrooper design. Given that the plot of the movie surrounds a group of rebels stealing the plans for the Death Star, this should come as no surprise…
…Speaking of spin-off movies, and Kathleen Kennedy offered up some information on Star Wars Anthology: Han Solo, which will be directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller (The LEGO Movie). Kennedy said, “There’s got to be a reason for [the Han Solo film] to be. And obviously the thing that Star Wars has always done so well is it doesn’t spend a lot of time [explaining] the stories that have come before. We don’t want to do that either. We don’t want to spend time going back and answering a lot of questions that, quite frankly, I don’t think people want answered. I think the key here is that we are identifying an event or events in Han Solo’s life that gives you some idea of who he is and why he is the character we have all known to love….”
…Kennedy also talked about the Boba Fett movie that was going to be directed by Josh Trank before he was “fired”. Kennedy has said that the movie is still in development, for what it’s worth. For more information on Trank’s terrible week, check out this week’s The Week in Spandex…
…D23 also brought the shock news that El Mayimbe of Heroic Hollywood actually managed to bag a genuine scoop, with Lucasfilm confirming that Jurassic World director Colin Trevorrow will direct Star Wars: Episode IX. “This is not a job or an assignment,” said Trevorrow. “It is a seat at a campfire, surrounded by an extraordinary group of storytellers, filmmakers, artists and craftspeople. We’ve been charged with telling new stories for a younger generation because they deserve what we all had—a mythology to call their own. We will do this by channeling something George Lucas instilled in all of us: boundless creativity, pure invention and hope.” Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy added that, “Colin is someone I’ve been interested in working with ever since I saw Safety Not Guaranteed. The power of that film paired with the enormous success of Jurassic World speaks volumes about his abilities both as a storyteller and skilled filmmaker. We are thrilled to have such an incredible talent as Colin join our family and step into the Star Wars universe.”
…Just before we move away from the world of Star Wars movies, Benicio Del Toro has confirmed some earlier rumours that he was up for the villain role of Star Wars: Episode VIII saying by saying that talks with Disney have taken place. “I can’t tell you much about it but I think that it might happen,” Del Toro said. “It looks like it’s gonna happen so I’m very excited. I can’t talk too much about it. The script is hard to get. They told me they’d cut my finger if I talk about it. I saw the original [Star Wars] when it came out and it marked me. I was impressed by the film and by the characters and by the story and the message…”
…On the more random side of things, someone brilliant people have built this giant 10,000 brick LEGO Jawa Sandcrawler from Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope. Pretty cool, right..?
…Moving on to video games for the briefest of moments as we got a new promo image for Star Wars Battlefront, which features Darth Vader front and centre. Star Wars Battlefront launches on November 17th on PS4, Xbox One and PC…
…In some news that’s to be followed up on, former Doctor Who Tom Baker has said that he has recorded some voice work for a Star Wars project. But he doesn’t say which one…
…Following the image releases for Hot Toys’ Luke Skywalker (and Stormtrooper disguse), Princess Leia, Millennium Falcon, Sandtrooper and Obi Wan Kenobi, we’ve now got our first look at the 1/6th scale Boba Fett from Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi. The official description reads: “In Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi, Jabba the Hutt has sentenced Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Chewbacca to death by casting them into the Great Pit of Carkoon on Tatooine, but Luke Skywalker has saved themselves from the terrible fate by fending off the fearsome bounty hunter Boba Fett and Jabba’s minions! In a memorable moment in the film, Han Solo accidentally hits Boba Fett and knocked the Mandalorian down into the Sarlacc’s pit…”
…We’ve got a preview for Star Wars #8: “After discovering the journals of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luke Skywalker, more determined than ever continues his quest to learn about the history of the Jedi. A quest that will take him to the center of the galaxy – to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant! But what he and R2-D2 uncover on their journey to the massive city-planet may be more than he bargained for. Meanwhile, at the far end of the galaxy, Han Solo & Princess Leia are confronted by a most unexpected foe..!”
…The galaxy far, far away is coming to Disney Parks, with Bob Iger announcing at D23 that Disneyland in Anaheim, California and Walt Disney World Resort are set to receive Star Wars-themed lands. “I am thrilled to announce the next chapter in the long and exciting history between Disney Parks and Star Wars,” said Iger. “Through each new attraction and new land we create, we push the boundaries of what is possible. And as you can imagine, with Star Wars, we are taking that to a whole new level, with a whole galaxy to explore…”
…And finally, it looks like we can blame Disney for Jar Jar Binks, with Star Wars creator George Lucas revealing that one of the Mouse House’s most iconic characters served as the inspiration for the Gungan: “I can’t even begin to tell you how much of an influence Disney has had on me,” said Lucas at D23. “I will say one secret that nobody knows; not many people realize that Goofy was the inspiration for Jar Jar Binks. I know that you will look at him differently now. It’s pretty obvious, actually, but, um, I love Goofy and I love Jar Jar.” Well, at least someone loves him…
That’s all for this week – may the Force be with you.
Luke Owen is the Deputy Editor of Flickering Myth and the host of the Flickering Myth Podcast. You can follow him on Twitter @LukeWritesStuff.
