Hey there folks! Welcome to another busy week of Star Wars news!

Celebration’s Author Slate Just Keeps Getting Better!

This week the lovely folks behind Star Wars Celebration Chicago added three new authors to their slate of guests we can expect to see at the convention in April. Authors E.K. Johnston (Ahsoka, Queen’s Shadow), Justina Ireland (Lando’s Luck), and Zoraida Cordova (From a Certain Point of View) will be joining the show for panels and signings. Tickets for Celebration are still available on a limited basis and can be found on the Celebration Website.

Columbia Sportswear Returns to Hoth for Another Winter

Last year, Columbia Sportswear debuted their Echo Base Collection—a line of coats inspired by the wardrobe worn by Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, and Carrie Fisher in The Empire Strikes Back. The coats were a near-instant sell-out. This week, in a repeat performance, Columbia has returned to the Galaxy Far, Far, Away with the Empire Crew Parka. The coat, an homage to the ones worn by cast and crew on the set of The Empire Strikes Back, sold out online within minutes, and in stores within hours. These coats are made with unisex styling and sizing and, like all Columbia Sportswear winter gear, are Tested Tough and guaranteed “to keep you warm as a Wookiee”.

A limited number of coats were signed by Mark Hamill and were available for purchase at select Columbia Stores. These autographed pieces sold for $1980 with all proceeds going to charity.

So It’s Treason, Then 

This week our friends at Del Rey announced the next installment from Timothy Zahn and his artful Chiss Grand Admiral. Thrawn: Treason, available for pre-order beginning next week, will bring us along with the Grand Admiral as the Emperor cuts his TIE Defender program in favor of Krennic’s Death Star, and his struggle with conflicting allegiances. The book is set to be released in summer of 2019.

Dark Visions

A new comic series was also announced this week. Vader: Dark Visions is a limited series that is said to “shed a new light on the many sides of the galaxy’s greatest villain”. It’s set to be written by Dennis Hopeless with art by Paolo Villanelli & Brian Level and should hit comic stores in March 2019.

Star Wars earns Grammy Nominations

The Grammys didn’t forget Star Wars with their list of nominees this week. John Williams received a nomination for “Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media” for his work on The Last Jedi and both he and John Powell received a nomination for “Best Instrumental Composition” for “Mine Mission” from the Solo: A Star Wars Story soundtrack. 

Family Guy Pays Tribute to Carrie Fisher

In this week’s episode of Fox’s Family Guy, the character of Peter Griffin’s boss, Angela, will be laid to rest. The character, who was voiced by the late Carrie Fisher, has been used sparingly since the actress’s untimely passing in 2016, as the series chose not to re-cast the role. Now that Fisher’s last episode has aired, the producers have planned “a respectful goodbye” to both the character and the iconic actress that played her.

And yes, I cried when I watched it.

And in a piece of non Star Wars news

Fans of the MCU and all things Avengers got a treat this week when Disney/Marvel released the first trailer for Avengers 4. Tweeted onto the official Disney account with the logline “Part of the journey is the end” and the Hashtag #AvengersEndgame the trailer is the first official look fans have had at the final installment of the Avengers franchise. The film is set for an April 2019 release.

What a week! As always, send Star Wars news tips to Tosche Station and Carrie Fisher feels to @MandaTheGinger

After last week’s bombshell of F$@*ed up news from Marvel et al. I am please to being you a relatively brief, largely positive check-in from the galaxy far, far away.

First: Battlefront II players and Clone Wars fans (the Venn diagram of which I understand has a great deal of overlap) got excited this week by news from EA Games that beloved voice actors from the soon-to-return animated series will be adding their talents to the popular video game. Beginning on October 30th, Battlefront gamers will be able to hear Matthew Wood (General Grievous), James Arnold Taylor (Obi-Wan Kenobi), Corey Burton (Count Dooku), and Matt Lanter (Anakin Skywalker) returning to their familiar Star Wars roles. The characters will be introduced over time: with Grievous coming first, followed by Kenobi (November 2018), Dooku (January 2019), and finally Anakin (February 2019).  Battlefront II gamers will have time to get reacquainted with their Clone Wars favorites before the series’ new episodes appear on Disney’s streaming service in late 2019.

And in other, completely-not-terrible-and-in-fact-pretty-cool news, this week we got additional behind the scenes photos from the upcoming Star Wars live action series, The Mandalorian including the deep-fandom Easter Egg ice cream maker (made famous by the legion of Willrow Hoods who take a spirited dash through each and every Star Wars Celebration). The photos are available on Jon Favreau’s personal Instagram to anyone who cares to look. Make sure to check out the set photos from when George Lucas himself surprised Favreau on his birthday!

And that’s it for this week. Yes, really! It’s been a cool and calm week for us in the galaxy far, far away. Enjoy it! Who knows what’s in our future. As always: send Star Wars news tips to ToscheStation.net and send obscure Clone Wars errata to @MandaTheGinger

Hello there! It’s time once again for our weekly roundup of news from a Galaxy Far, Far Away.

Han Solo comes home!

In the news likely to be most relevant to film fans, this week saw the release of Solo: A Star Wars Story in digital-only formats— including some services offering the film to home viewers in 4k resolution. The digital version has been released in advance of the September 25th premiere of Blu-ray and Ultra Blu-ray versions of the film.

But wait, there’s more!

In addition to the theatrical version of the film, many of the available digital versions of Solo also include much-anticipated bonus material including behind-the scenes documentary shorts and a roundtable discussion featuring director Ron Howard and several members of the Solo cast.

Deleted scenes are always a particular favorite of mine, and starwars.com treated us to a preview this week. THIS SCENE between Han and Chewbacca, featuring a snowball fight, has already worked its way onto the list of my heart’s favorite Han Solo moments. And THIS ONE showing a piece of how Han went from ace pilot wannabe to muddy Mimban foot soldier provides meaty and tension-filled context.

And that’s not all!

This week, starwars.com also gave us a special look behind the scenes of the creature department. THIS SHORT VIDEO lifts the veil over one of the most special and specialized departments responsible for making the Star Wars films what they are. The creature shop and the practical effects they provide do so much to add to the breadth and depth of the galaxy far, far away, and watching how they make that happen is a fascinating glimpse into what it’s like to be on a Star Wars film set.

Onward, to the Resistance!

With the premiere of Star Wars: Resistance less than a month away, audiences are being teased and titillated by fantastic tidbits of what’s to come. This week, USA TODAY reminds us that the show will primarily be focused on the comings and goings of a group of pilots “with a need for speed” (cue collective squeal from the crew here at Tosche Station) and takes its influences from films like Top Gun and The Right Stuff (another squeal from our end). Our staff is counting the days until the premiere– be sure to check in here for our initial reactions soon after the October 7 airing.

VIPs get first dibs on Cloud City

In a move that Lando himself would likely find fantastic, this week LEGO gave first access to the new Betrayal at Cloud City set to its VIP customers. The set, available widely on October 1, features several scenes from the famous floating mining colony featured in The Empire Strikes Back and comes in at more than 2800 pieces. If you’re a collector of Star Wars LEGO sets, or a LEGO fan in general, you’ll want to give this one serious consideration. Containing four new minifigs (Leia’s red dress!!) and two space vehicles (Slave I and a Cloud Car), there is plenty of fun and drama for all ages.

Celebration!

With Star Wars Celebration Chicago just seven short months away, ReedPop and Lucasfilm announced this week that two favorite hosting personalities will be returning to the stage for April’s convention. Both David Collins (Galaxy Stage) and Amy Ratcliffe (Behind The Scenes Stage) have confirmed their return to Star Wars‘ marquee fan event in 2019. Tickets to Star Wars Celebration Chicago are still available, but going fast. Be sure to purchase yours soon!

And in related, and also completely awesome news:

The incredible organizers of New York Comic Con have added a last minute panel to their schedule. A Celebration of Female Writers in a Galaxy Far, Far Away will be just that. Authors Mur Lafferty (Solo: A Star Wars Story) Delilah S. Dawson (The Perfect Weapon; Star Wars: Phasma), Katie Cook (Star Wars: Search Your Feelings), Justina Ireland (Star Wars: Lando’s Luck), and Amy Ratcliffe (Star Wars: Women of the Galaxy) will come together on Saturday, October 6th at 5:PM at Shop Studios to talk about all things Star Wars. Tickets to the panel are $20/person (not included with NYCC admission) and the price includes your choice of a book by one of these amazing authors (supplies are limited). A New York Comic Con badge is not required for attendance. Keep your eyes on the Tosche Station Twitter for your chance to get in for free!

That’s all the news we have for this week. Check in every Monday for the latest from the galaxy far, far away. As always, send news tips to Tosche Station and send happy Han Solo headcanons to @MandaTheGinger.

MTFBWY!!

Hello again, friends! It’s time for our weekly roundup of news from a galaxy far, far away (and beyond!)

Jim Rash Talks Resistance

Actor/writer Jim Rash sat down with ET this week to talk about his recently released film Bernard & Huey (June 8). During the interview, there is a little talk about his character in Star Wars, Resistance. For those of you, like me, who are hungry and excited for any information we can get regarding the show, the Star Wars stuff begins about 5:50 into the video!

First Look at San Diego Comic Con Hasbro Exclusives

Entertainment Weekly got a sneak peek this week at some of the Star Wars exclusives coming to San Diego Comic Con from our friends at Hasbro. The two previewed collectibles are both iconic scenes from the franchise’s history of cool face-offs. The first captured the epic lightsaber battle between Rey and Kylo Ren in the snowy forest of Starkiller Base in The Force Awakens; the second a showdown between Han Solo and a mynock, famously occurring in the belly of a space slug in The Empire Strikes Back. These collectibles and more will be available exclusively to attendees at San Diego Comic Con. More info can be found HERE.

A Guide to the Galaxy

This week the folks at Fantasy Flight Games released a preview of the Star Wars Sourcebook to be included in the Star Wars Roleplay Game 30^th Anniversary Edition. The Sourcebook, an update to the original 1987 release, goes in-depth on some of Star Wars’ most recognizable content including exacting detail on favorite starships and a guide to constructing accurate and believable alien characters. The Star Wars Roleplay Game 30^th Anniversary Edition is available for pre-order HERE.

Wonder Woman 1984 Photos Looking Cool on Twitter

In a non-Star Wars, but still awesome development this week, cast and crew of the upcoming feature Wonder Woman 1984 gave us a look into the world of the film. Both Gal Godot (Wonder Woman) and director Patty Jenkins have tweeted stills from the film. The visuals are everything one might hope for from a comic book jaunt into the fabulous 1980’s and I cannot wait to see more! Read the tweets and see the pictures for yourself HERE (Patty Jenkins) and HERE (Gal Godot)!

That’s all there is from us this week. As always, be sure to send Star Wars and geek culture news tips to us here at Tosche Station, and May The Force Be With You!