Hey there one and all, it’s time for our weekly roundup of news from a galaxy far, far away.

A New Narrator for A New Hope

Solo: A Star Wars Story Director Ron Howard has had as storied a career as an actor as he has behind the camera. One of his best known roles was the narrator of the cult comedy hit Arrested Development, where his pithy commentary serves to underscore the hilarity of the Bluth family’s misadventures. Last week, the Skywalker family was given similar treatment as Howard lent his voice to a humorous, albeit truncated, version of Star Wars:  A New Hope complete with a shameless plug for Solo.

The Immaculate Cape Closet and So Much More

The world got a tour of the Solo: A Star Wars Story version of the saga’s beloved Millennium Falcon, hosted by the caped charmer himself, Donald Glover. Glover takes fans in an intimate tour of his shiny spacecraft, complete with a visit to the Captain’s quarters and a walk inside the cape armoire.

Becoming Solo

In yet another video tease leading up to Solo: A Star Wars Story‘s release on the 25th, the featurette Becoming Solo also debuted this week. Take a look inside the creative process behind bringing this iteration of the galaxy’s favorite scoundrel to fruition at the link above.

Return of the X-Wing

Fantasy Flight Games announced a new edition of the X-Wing miniatures game this week. X-Wing Second Edition expands on the success of the original game including the added ability to use the Force in ship-to-ship combat. The core set comes with everything a would-be flight leader needs for a thrilling two-player adventure.

Forces of Destiny

This week we saw the debut of new episodes of Star Wars: Forces of Destiny. New content includes a long-anticipated episode featuring young Queen Amidala, a Luke and Leia team up on Endor, and a meeting between Ezra and Ahsoka. All of the new Forces of Destiny episodes are currently available on YouTube and will air on May 25th on the Disney Channel.

Han Solo Season

The folks at EA Games have a very good feeling about this week’s announcement– and frankly, so do we. The Han Solo Season (a cryptic yet thrilling moniker) is coming to Battlefront II this month.

Run to the Light!

Or to the Dark Side, if that’s your thing. runDisney announced this week the 2019 Star Wars Rival Run Weekend. The race weekend will be hosted by Walt Disney World on April 4-7, 2019 and will allow participants to choose which side of the Force they’re running for. The Star Wars Rival Run weekend will have new features highlighting famous Star Wars rivalries as well as traditional favorite challenges including the Rival Run Challenge (running both the 10k and the half marathon over the weekend) and the Kessel Run Challenge (running both the in-person and at-home/virtual half marathons).

Donald Glover on SNL

The Galaxy’s smoothest cape wearer was well-represented by fan favorite Donald Glover, who hosted this week’s Saturday Night Live. While not all the jokes were about Star Wars, Glover represented himself and the brand well, raising hype for Solo and reminding us all what it takes to be that cool.

The Falcon has Landed

This week saw the first volley of fans invited aboard the Millennium Falcon as it tours the country. A perfect replica of both the cockpit and the crew lounge as seen Solo: A Star Wars Story opened to the public this week in Atlanta. The exhibit is housed at The Battery, adjacent to Sun Trust Park (where the Braves play baseball), and free to tour. If the photos we’re seeing are any indication, it’s glorious.

And that’s it for this week! As always, send Star Wars news tips (and pictures of yourselves visiting the Millennium Falcon Experience!) to us here at Tosche Station. And May the Fourth Be in our hearts all the year through!

Hello and welcome to our weekly round up of news from and of interest to the Galaxy Far, Far Away. The news this week was a little lean, but excellent nonetheless. Have at it, folks!

D23 2019 Announced!

This week, Disney announced dates for 2019’s D23 Expo. Disney’s next magical fan convention is officially scheduled to occur on August 23-25, 2019 at the Anaheim Convention Center with tickets on sale as soon as this August. Details on programming (including the annual Mousequerade and Design Challenge) are yet to be revealed, but if the 2017 convention is any indication, it’s sure to be a delight.

Looking for Leia on Seed & Spark

Our friends with the Looking for Leia Documentary have launched a campaign on Seed & Spark to help them turn what was originally a feature-length documentary into a six-episode docuseries. The series, which has been called “a joyous gender justice project” highlights the experiences and contributions of women in the Star Wars fandom. Some of us here at Tosche Station have contributed our own fandom stories to the project and we hope to see it come to fruition. Learn more about the project on LookingForLeia.com and by following @LookingForLeia on Twitter.

That’s it for the week, stay tuned to us here at Tosche Station for more news and information from a Galaxy Far Far Away. As always, send Star Wars news tips our way when you see them.

Welcome back to the Holonet Blast: our weekly look at the news from a Galaxy Far, Far Away.

Solo Toys debut– and they are glorious!

Hasbro debuted the 6” Black series figures featuring the characters from Solo: A Star Wars Story this week at New York Toy Fair. Figures of Han Solo featuring Alden Ehrenreich’s likeness, the Imperial Range Trooper, and Emilia Clarke’s Qi’ra have all been met with enthusiasm, but it’s Donald Glover’s likeness as Lando Calrissian—complete with billowing cape and raised eyebrow—that seems to be stealing the show. The toys are set to hit the market in advance of the film’s May 25^th release date.

Ron Howard once again tweets hints to Solo

Once again, news from the making of Solo: A Star Wars Story comes to us in the form of a tweet from director Ron Howard. This week it was the news that Jon Favreau is joining the cast as the voice of “a very cool & important alien character”. It remains to be seen who the character is and what they add to the story, but Favreau’s addition to the cast is surely an exciting development.

More new Star Wars toys to include comic book and animated favorites

In additional news from New York Toy Fair, the Star Wars toy line is getting more than just the few Solo: A Star Wars Story figures previously unveiled.  Other characters from Solo, including Woody Harrelson’s Tobias Beckett and the Mimban Stormtrooper, are coming to the Black Series line as well as Princess Leia in her Hoth kit from The Empire Strikes Back, Admiral Holdo from The Last Jedi, and other familiar characters including Commander Wolffe from both The Clone Wars and Rebels.

The 3.75” Vintage Collection is getting additions from Solo, The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, and Rogue One, as well as a figure of Dr. Aphra from Marvel’s Star Wars Comic Books (a favorite of ours here at Tosche Station!).

A “lights and sound” Millennium Falcon (in its Solo: a Star Wars Story trim), new blasters, the “Ultimate Co-Pilot” interactive plush Chewbacca, and several toys compatible with Force Link 2.0 were also announced.

Solo tie-in books announced

For those of us who enjoy the added lore and fleshed-out backstories provided by Star Wars books, this week’s Solo: A Star Wars Story announcements were nothing short of giddy-making. In addition to the usual offerings of creative non-fiction, this week’s announcements included some buzz-worthy novels and comics. D.J. Older’s adult fiction novel Last Shot will take readers on an adventure spanning decades and will take us adventuring with Han and Lando both as the young scoundrels we will see in Solo and the old friends we know from  The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Rae Carson’s YA novel Most Wanted will take us deeper into Han Solo’s youth, his relationship with shadowy Qi’ra, and his hardscrabble life on the streets of Corellia. Joining the novels is the Lando: Double or Nothing comic mini series, a middle reader book featuring Chewbacca, a series of stories in the Star Wars Adventures comics, and the Little Golden Book I am a Wookiee.

Keep your eyes on Tosche Station for release dates and reviews of all the Solo tie-in reading.

Hello again and welcome to our weekly round up of News from a Galaxy Far, Far Away. Here are some tidbits from this past week:

Composer John Williams Could Make Even More Oscar History in 2018

Star Wars’ iconic composer, John Williams, currently has a total of 50 Academy Award nominations. Williams is the most nominated composer in the history of the Academy Awards and the most nominated living individual (coming second in overall nominations to Walt Disney’s 29). With two scored films under consideration for the 2018 Oscars (The Post, as well as Star Wars, The Last Jedi), Williams is posed to add to his own record with a possible 51^st and 52^nd nomination. If either of these scores comes out on top in 2018, it will be Williams first win since Schindler’s List (1993) although he has had 19 nominations in the interim. We’re definitely cheering for him from over here at Tosche Station.

Solo Trailer Incoming. Sometime.

Practically everything we know about Solo: A Star Wars Story we have learned from pinch-hitting director Ron Howard’s enthusiastic use of Twitter. His excitement for this project has heartened the fanbase—some of whom were initially lukewarm at the prospect of the film. Taking to Twitter in his signature fashion, Howard has let the fans know that with The Last Jedi now comfortable in theatres, a trailer for the Solo solo is in our future. But as with all of Howard’s 140-character communiques, this message was light on the details. There will be a trailer for Solo; Ron Howard says so. But we’re going to have to wait and see just when and where that trailer might be released.

New Mobile Game Celebrating Rivalries in a Galaxy Far, Far Away.

This week, Disney and Lucasfilm announced a new real-time competitive-action shooter game designed for mobile devices. The game allows PvP action in the persona of some of the most iconic characters from the Star Wars franchise—and their equally iconic rivals (Han Solo vs Boba Fett, anyone?). Star Wars: Rivals is currently available for pre-registration on Google Play.

THRAWN: ALLIANCES Release Date Changes

Those of us waiting patiently for the release of Timothy Zahn’s upcoming release, Thrawn: Alliances are going to have to wait a little bit longer. Readers who had pre-ordered the book, set for release on June 26^th of this year, received notification this week that the book’s launch has been pushed back to July 24^th.  

That’s all from this week!

Well hello again! Welcome to our Monday roundup of news from a galaxy far, far away.

In our final Holonet Blast before The Last Jedi opens worldwide, here are a few delicious tidbits to tide us all over:

Bibbidi, Bobbidi, Pew-Pew!

Disney’s Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique locations have long been the go-to stop for kids who want to transform into their favorite Disney characters while visiting the parks. The folks aboard the Disney Fantasy  have decided to take the makeover action to the next level by offering Star Wars themed makeovers in their onboard Boutique location during Star Wars Days at Sea. Kids ages 3-12 will be able to choose from Rey, Poe Dameron, Kylo Ren, or Princess Leia (my favorite) for their Bibbidi Bobbidi makeover. This service is currently only available aboard the Disney Fantasy and only during Star Wars Days at Sea, so if you’re interested, be sure to reserve space in advance. More information can be found on disneycruise.com

So You Wanna Be A Stormtrooper

Weta Workshop now has you covered if you’re across the Pacific. Their new line of Star Wars costume pieces can help you transform into your favorite armor-suited villain. Offerings include both helmets and full suits and range in price from $250 (for a standard Stormtrooper helmet) to $2750 (for a full Vader suit) and are available on their website.

Louboutin Star Wars Shoes Revealed

When top-end footwear designer Christian Louboutin announced earlier this year that he was collaborating with Lucasfilm on a line of shoes to celebrate The Last Jedi, I remember distinctly squealing with excitement. This week, the shoes were unveiled– and they do not disappoint. There are four Star Wars styles altogether: The Rose, The Amilyn Holdo, The Captain Phasma, and The Rey– each named for and styled in homage to one of the film’s stars.  A fifth design, “The Spaceship” was revealed at the premiere. It was also announced this week that the shoes won’t be going into regular production. Instead, each pair is a one-of-a-kind piece of wearable art. Each pair will be sold at auction to benefit Force For Change.

Battlefront 2 Takes us to The Last Jedi

The folks at EA have once again teased us with exquisite game content. This newest trailer, taking us into the worlds of The Last Jedi. The trailer takes us to Crait and beyond and features such familiar characters as Finn and Captain Phasma. It makes me want to get better at video games….

Columbia Launches Star Wars Collection- and Immediately Sells Out

Friday saw the launch of the Columbia Sportswear Echo Base collection. The Coats, which come in Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, and Princess Leia varieties, were available online beginning at midnight, EST and were sold out in minutes. The Luke jacket was out first (5 minutes, 22 seconds), followed by Han (6 minutes 23 seconds) and finally Leia (7 minutes 22 seconds). Friday morning, the brand’s thirteen retail locations opened to throngs of people hoping to get their hands on one of each store’s 160 in-stock coats. You can read about my experience at the Seattle store on the blog later today.

The Last Jedi!

And finally, in news that we all knew about but couldn’t exactly fail to mention, The Last Jedi had its red carpet premiere on Saturday night. The red carpet featured appearances by the entire principal TLJ cast as well as Star Wars veterans such as Frank Oz and Warwick Davis and included a touching tribute to the late, great Carrie Fisher. Early reactions have been enthusiastically positive, and I’m sure I speak for all of us here at Tosche Station when I say we’re excited to see it for ourselves later this week.

Send Star Wars news tips to @ Tosche_Station, Send Kleenex to @MandaTheGinger. It’s going to be one heck of a week!

Happy Fall-Back Monday, everyone! I trust you’re all well rested? Well, sit back, relax, and get ready for this week’s news from a galaxy far, far away.

Mark Hamill Gets Candid With the New York Times

Our favorite classic farmboy-turned-Joker sat down with NYT’s Dave Itzkoff to talk Star Wars, fandom, and nostalgia. And I thought I couldn’t love him more….

AWAKE

A new television spot for “The Last Jedi” debuted this week. The 45-second commercial spot, titled “Awake” is the first television-only trailer created in advance of the December release and features a shot that has brought me to tears every time I’ve watched it. I won’t spoil the content here for those who have yet to watch, but drop me a message in the comments or in the Tosche Station Patreon Slack channel if you have a guess.

International Last Jedi Trailer

This week also saw the debut of an international trailer for The Last Jedi. Although the footage used in this version is much the same as what we’ve seen in the US trailer that debuted last month, the edit differs just enough to make this one a very interesting data point for those who wish to speculate about the events coming to theatres in December.

Send your Star Wars news tips to us here at Tosche Station, and send porg memes to me: @MandaTheGinger .