Star Wars, Geek Culture, and Power Converters
Hit it, John Jackson Miller!
And there should be news out about the Secret Project at last in the next week and a half, I am told. Not long now…
— John Jackson Miller (@jjmfaraway) April 27, 2012
Could this be the original trilogy project Dark Horse hinted at during C2E2? We’ll have to wait for the actual announcement to know for certain, but that won’t stop any of us from stooping to rampant speculation.
I, for one, am hoping we’ll finally get a book or comic filled with Bren Derlin Facts.
Toy maker Sideshow is introducing a new line of Star Wars figures they dub “Mythos.”
The Star Wars Universe is limitless with possibilities, its mythology ever-expanding. Our art team wanted to contribute to that expansion by telling new stories about some of the most compelling Star Wars characters. With the encouragement of Lucasfilm, we created the Mythos line of statues.
This line of collectibles will be populated by characters from new and existing story lines. We will bring history, unique details and personal choices to each in order to elaborate on who they are. Through the design and sculpt process our goal is to delve deeper into these established characters and offer our own interpretations of what they have done outside of the Star Wars canon.
They already have concepts and art for a Darth Maul and Obi Wan figurines. While these figurines look to be extremely well done, what really catches my eye are the interesting pieces of story that take place outside of the films. Obi Wan’s page includes a brief little first-person introspective that takes place just after he delivers Luke to Owen and Beru Lars.
While these figures are neat, I’ve got to agree with Dunc over at Club Jade …
Anyway, the “new” part of the equation? Psst, there are a few existing characters you guys haven’t done yet, in any form. I mean, we are still waiting for that Mara. Or even, hell, a Leia not wearing a metal bikini. Or a Padme. Have they ever done a Padme? An Ahsoka? What do the Gamorrean fans have that we don’t, Sideshow? TELL US.
I would buy these figures as well, Sideshow.
While no one’s sure just how deeply involved George Lucas is with Star Wars Books, there’s always reason for excitement/optimism/fear/loathing when word gets out that he’s personally approved something. Take it away, Lucasfilm executive editor and writer J.W. Rinzler:
George Lucas has just approved a book project that should thrill fans. Those who know are already stoked… Stay tuned…!!
— J. W. Rinzler (@jwrinzler) April 26, 2012
If I had to wager a guess, I would say it’s some kind of reference book ala the Essential Guide series.
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We’ve been promising it for a while and we’re finally giving it to you: our look back on Fate of the Jedi! Be warned, THIS EPISODE CONTAINS NUMEROUS SPOILERS FOR APOCALYPSE AND THE SERIES AS A WHOLE.
Brian and Nanci kick off the show by highlighting what’s new on the blog this week. We asked for your dream Star Wars EU novels on Twitter, and you delivered. Shane explained why Ewoks are nightmare fuel. Brian discussed the double standard between sports and geek fandom. We’ve also got a new review looking at the horror film Cabin in the Woods. Finally, we looked back at those awesome Micro Machines Action Fleet toys.
In Fixer’s Flash, Nanci’s been enjoying Once Upon a Time and has gotten knee-deep into a brand new book. She also finished Fate of the Jedi: Apocalypse and does she ever have thoughts about the book. Brian delves into a little more detail about Cabin in the Woods and gushed about it*.
*Which is saying something since he’s the world’s biggest horror movie wimp.
Yes. I love 80s TV shows. And mashups. I’ve mentioned that before.
Don’t deny it. We all know Han Solo, P.I. would be amazing.
Expanded Universe author and guru of all things Old Republic Drew Karpyshyn has to be thrilled with how his week is going. On Monday, he announced that his agent had closed a deal Del Rey to publish an original trilogy.
I can finally announce that my agent – Ginger Clark of Curtis Brown Ltd. – closed a deal with Del Rey to publish my original fantasy trilogy! Here’s the official announcement in Publisher’s Weekly, though I should clarify that this is a fantasy series, not sci-fi. I’m really excited about this, and I’m ecstatic to be working with Del Rey and Tricia again. (I worked with her on some of my Mass Effect novels.)
The plan is to publish the first two books of the trilogy (Children of Fire and The Scorched Earth) in 2014, with the final installment (Chaos Unleashed) coming 9-12 months later. Some of you may remember that I’ve mentioned this series before – I’ve been working on it sporadically over several years… basically squeezing in time to write between my work-for-hire novels (SW and ME) and my work at BioWare.
Karpyshyn notes that the first book in the trilogy is nearly finished but he’s waiting to publish it until he can get started on the second entry.
Originally well-known for his work at game developer Bioware, Karpyshyn has branched out to write numerous media tie-in novels both for the studio and for Lucasfilm Licensing. His novel Revan revisited the protagonist from the critically acclaimed videogame Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.
For more information, see the announcement post on his blog.
As I look out my window on this gloomy, wet Seattle afternoon, I find myself longing for August and Celebration VI.
Convention season needs to get here sooner.
I hate horror movies.
Loathe them. I am easily the world’s biggest wuss when it comes to watching scary movies. The last one I saw was The Ring, and after that I had a hard time sleeping for a week. Heck, I wouldn’t touch our TV for a few days just because I didn’t want some stringy-haired ghost girl to reach out of the set and suck the life force out of me. So yes, horror and I do not get along well, which is why I surprised myself by even considering seeing The Cabin in the Woods, a horror film from Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon.
While I hate horror films, I love the works of Joss Whedon. His brand of wit, awareness, and genre savvy has always resonated with me, be it Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Firefly. If you’ve spent even five minutes listening to the podcast, you’ve probably heard me gush about how well Whedon develops his characters and crafts dialog. You can see my dillema.
My trust in Whedon eventually won out and I finally went to see the film last night. Thankfully for horrorphobes like myself, Cabin in the Woods is one of the few films in the genre I can heartily recommend.
Rejoice, fans of Mandalorian culture. Jason Fry’s fourth batch of Essential Guide to Warfare endnotes dishes the Mando love.
War and the Mandalorians:Dan Wallace and I were almost finished with the Essential Atlas when we learned the Clone Wars TV show would shake up everything we thought we’d known about the spur-jangling warriors and nomads of the galaxy far, far away. Working quickly, I consulted with Pablo Hidalgo and Leland Chee at LFL to adapt the existing backstory to accommodate Satine and the New Mandalorians, and explain (at least for the most part) how swathes of the planet were turned into wastelands of fine white sand.
Dan and I wanted to do more: Originally, the Atlas was going to include a “Closer Look” at Mandalorian Space, with a local map and write-ups for its major systems. With Mandalorians taking center stage for a number of Lucasfilm projects, that idea was discarded — until Warfare gave me a chance to fill in a gap or two.
It’s understandable that with the uncertainty caused by The Clone Wars, Fry would want to avoid going into too much depth about Mandalorian culture and space. Now that things appear to be more settled, it’s quite a bit safer to flesh out more about them.
For more, head on over to Jason Fry’s Tumblr.
The slow news period continues, so we’re just going to outsource our content to you. We asked for your dream Star Wars Expanded Universe novels, and you delivered. It seemed like there were some common themes, and one that really stuck out was the desire to see some female characters take the lead of a narrative. Many people asked for Leia, Winter, Mirax, and Mara books.
There were also a lot of people dreaming about a Valin and Jysella Horn novel. And, well …
@Tosche_Station that would be a lot of fun to write, no doubt about it.
— Michael A Stackpole (@MikeStackpole) April 25, 2012
We’re updating the list throughout the day, all you have to do is reply to this tweet and tell us what you’d love to see from the EU.
To see what people are clamoring for, head to the jump!