Author Archives: Nanci

Holonet Blast #97

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This week’s Holonet Blast is all about Star Wars Celebration, which is coming up way too fast. (Only three more weekends to prepare! This is totally fine!) While the full panel schedule isn’t out yet, and probably won’t be for another week or so judging by historical trends, certain awesome-sounding panels have already been announced.

To no surprise, there will be a Galaxy’s Edge panel on Saturday. According to the Official Site, it will include team members from Lucasfilm and Walt Disney Imagineering to discuss previously-announced news as well as some surprises. Galaxy’s Edge is set to open in Anaheim on May 31 and Orlando August 29. (No, I will not be there opening weekend in Walt Disney World. I’m not that crazy.)

Also to absolutely no surprise, the Star Wars Show announced an Episode IX panel set for Friday, featuring J.J. Abrams. No news on other guests, but if previous Celebrations are any indication, expect the main cast to make an appearance. This is for sure to be the most popular panel of the convention, so start lining up now. (I’m only slightly kidding.)

In addition to those panels, the Official Site announced a slew of guests, including: Forest Whitaker, Katee Sackhoff, Lee Towersey, Josh Lee, Matt Denton, Hugh Quarshie, Bobby Moynihan, Warwick Davis, Lorne Peterson, Annabelle Davis, and Penny McCarthy.

Stay tuned for more Celebration Chicago announcements, which are sure to happen on the regular from now until April 11.

Resistance Review: The Core Problem

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The First Order is jamming all communication off the Colossus, so Kaz  — aka Lone Wolf — is trying to built a transmitter to break through the jamming and contact Poe Dameron with updates about the First Order presence on the station. Kaz isn’t great at building things, but that’s okay, because Poe Dameron just so happens to show up in Yeager’s hangar at the same time. He needs to take BB-8 on a mission to Jakku. JAKKU. You know, the place where The Force Awakens starts off. He’ll leave CB-23, that cutie, with Kaz to help complete his mission on the Colossus. However, Poe can’t just leave and be done with it. Kaz has intelligence that the First Order is up to something in a sector of the Unknown Regions. Theoretically, the First Order wants the Colossus as a refueling station or base, as it’s the last stop before the Unknown Regions. Poe decides they need to check it out before he heads off to Jakku, because he’s an overachiever. Continue reading →

Holonet Blast #93

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The Star Wars Show returned this week, unfortunately not with an Episode IX title as some fans (myself included) have been expecting. Nothing new revealed on this week’s Bob Iger earnings call, either. This past week wasn’t completely devoid of news, however. Onward!

We’re all looking forward to Queen’s Shadow by E.K. Johnston (except for Bria, who’s already read it, hiss [Editor’s Note: IT’S SO GOOD AND I CRIED A LOT]). This week it was announced that audiobook fans have something very exciting to look forward to. Catherine Taber, the voice for Padme in The Clone Wars animated series, as well as numerous other Star Wars voice acting credits, will be narrating the audiobook. The long-awaited Padme story is scheduled for release on March 5. E.K. Johnston will be promoting the novel on tour along with Amy Ratcliffe and Cat Taber.

In other book news, writer and illustrator Jeffrey Brown has yet another Star Wars book for young readers, Rey and Pals. What would life had been like had the Sequel Trilogy characters grown up together? Jeffrey Brown’s novels are the cutest form of AU fanfiction and I’m excited to see what he comes up with next. The release date is yet to be announced.

Finally, for Fantasy Flight fans (and we have several on this blog), a new board game was announced. Outer Rim is described as “a game of bounty hunters, mercenaries, and smugglers for one to four players.” Of relevance to readers of this blog (and Bria), one of the cards is for Dr. Aphra. Outer Rim will release in the second quarter of 2019.

And that’s it for the news! Will we finally get an Episode IX title next week? Only time will tell.

Holonet Blast #88

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We’ve taken a few weeks off to celebrate the holiday season, but the Holonet Blast is back and better than ever! Well, at least we’re back. Let’s check up on the news for the past three weeks, shall we?

Last time, the official cast for The Mandalorian was finally announced. While Brian and I were on a cruise (because some news has to drop whenever we’re on a boat), it was announced that Black Panther composer Ludwig Goransson would score the limited series. This is a great announcement, as Black Panther was one of my favorite scores of 2018 and I can’t wait to hear what Gorannson brings to the Star Wars universe.

In Galaxy’s Edge news, Disney Parks added a landing page for the Star Wars themed expansion to their website. Explore everything we currently know about Galaxy’s Edge and keep up to date on all the latest news. Galaxy’s Edge will open in Disneyland in Summer of THIS YEAR, with the Walt Disney World section opening in the Fall. One of the things we’ll be able to consume in Galaxy’s Edge is Star Wars themed alcohol. WDWNT sacrificed one for the team by visiting Concrete Beach Brewery in Miami, which has produced some beers sold in Disney Parks. One of their current selections is “Galaxy’s Edge Ale.” It’s uncertain whether this is the final product that’ll be sold in the parks or not, but WDWNT reviewed the ale and enjoyed it!

One of the characters we’ll encounter in Galaxy’s Edge is our favorite space pirate, Hondo Ohnaka. Readers can get a peek at Hondo, along with the planet Batuu and Black Spire Outpost, in the new young reader novel Pirate’s Price, which is part of the Flight of the Falcon series. Star Wars dot com posted an excerpt of the novel, which is out Tuesday, written by Lou Anders and illustrated by Annie Wu.

Have you missed Star Wars: Resistance? Well, good news! The show is back this Sunday and there’s a new trailer to hype us up for the second half of the season. Resistance has been a high point for me, and I can’t wait to see more from Kaz and friends.

Getting hyped for Star Wars Celebration? Good news: Warwick Davis is back as the Celebration Stage host! There’s only three months until the Chicago convention, which seems REALLY soon, and I can’t wait to get more guest announcements.

Finally, Entertainment Weekly kindly put together a primer of all the Star Wars content being released in 2019. From the season finale of Resistance to the return of The Clone Wars, from Celebration to Galaxy’s Edge, from Queen’s Shadow to Thrawn: Treason, from The Mandalorian to Episode IX, there’s literally something for every Star Wars fan. I’m exhausted just reading about it all.

That’s all for this “catch up” week of the Holonet Blast. May the Force be with you!

Holonet Blast #82

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Hey everyone, it’s time for another Holonet Blast! Unlike last week, we actually have some news. BIG news, as a matter of fact.

First, ILM has launched a new venture called ILM TV, to focus on visual effects and animation projects beyond the Big Screen. This makes perfect sense, as the first live-action TV show, The Mandalorian, recently started production. ILM TV will be based out of London, with offices in Singapore, San Francisco, and Vancouver. Leading the ILM TV team are Visual Effects Supervisors Hayden Jones and Jonathan Privett, as well as Executive Producers, Louise Hussey and Stefan Drury. The first projects are The Mandalorian and Syfy’s Krypton.

But that’s not the only TV oriented news we got last week. On November 8, during an earnings call, Disney chief Bob Iger announced the second Star Wars live-action show, starring Diego Luna as Cassian Andor! The show will be a prequel to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (obviously), and will follow Cassian as he works as a spy in the Rebel Alliance. All those terrible things he did in the name of the Rebellion? The fight he’s been in since he was six years old? Yeah, we’re gonna get to see that! According to starwars dot com, “The rousing spy thriller will explore tales filled with espionage and daring missions to restore hope to a galaxy in the grip of a ruthless Empire.” Oh yeah, count me in, big time. No release date has been set, nor do we know about any other characters who may feature, although I’d say it’s a safe bet to assume we’ll eventually see K-2SO.

Personally, I’m thrilled to see a character like Cassian return for a live-action series, and hope there will be even more of these short-term series coming to Disney’s new streaming service, Disney +.

Resistance Review: The Triple Dark

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Resistance‘s second episode focuses on Kaz’s covert mission on the Colossus–being a mechanic. He’s not good at it. Actually, he’s pretty terrible at it. (He’s also terrible at keeping his cover by talking about his mission in public.) Which is bad because a ship has come in with a need for a rush job. Tam is unhappy with his abilities as a mechanic, Yeager is disappointed with Kaz’s lack of dedication to his job, the inhabitants of the platform are annoyed by his antics, and Neeku is…well, Neeku. Continue reading →

Holonet Blast #79

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After the glut of news from New York Comic Con, this week’s post was supposed to be relatively short and sweet. Then Chuck Wendig was fired by Marvel. So…yeah. Let’s jump right into that and get it over with.

Just last week we learned that Wendig was writing a new miniseries called Shadow of Vader. He can explain what exactly happened better than I can summarize it, both on his Twitter and his blog. Suffice it to say, an editor at Marvel was displeased with the negativity brought on by his Twitter feed and dropped him from the final two issues, as well as an unannounced project. Not necessary because of what he tweeted, but how he tweeted it (though that claim by Marvel seems a bit dubious). Because of this we at Tosche Station will no longer be covering Marvel comics on the blog; Brian posted a comment on that immediately after learning about Chuck’s firing.

This situation is very disappointing for a myriad of reasons. The emphasis on being “civil” no matter what the cost, the willingness to capitulate to Comics Gate, firing someone for social media when their persona was already well known upon hiring. While I am not a comics reader, I appreciated Chuck’s contributions to Star Wars and am saddened this may mark his last job in the universe.

In other, less disappointing news, Jedi Knight Revan joins the Galaxy of Heroes mobile game. This addition is to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Knights of the Old Republic game. (Side note: 15 years? Holy crap.) According to Star Wars dot com, the “Legend of the Old Republic” event begins October 18 with a series of six events loosely based on the Knights of the Old Republic storyline, plunging players deep into familiar locales like the sewers of Taris and the ancient Sith tomb on Korriban.

Lucasfilm announced its newest ILMxLAB offering, Project Porg. According to Star Wars dot com, it’s a mixed-reality immersive experiment in which you’ll need to gain the trust and affection of your porgs. How? You’ll feed them treats, play with them, and you’ll also teach them how to maneuver real-world environments with care instructions from C-3PO himself. So basically neopets but with porgs? Sounds brilliant! You can find Project Porg in December as a free download for the Magic Leap One.

That’s all for this week’s Holonet Blast. Hopefully next week’s won’t be as dramatic.

Holonet Blast #71

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It’s time for another weekly roundup of Star Wars news with the Holonet Blast! With Episode IX filming happening in earnest across the pond, expect a lot of tweets and updates from the set, accompanied by a rush of speculation about WHAT EVERYTHING MEANS. Last week, JJ Abrams showed us a picture of Finn in a vest? Maybe? This week, Brian Hezza tweeted about BB-8’s first day filming, while Mark Hamill teased followers with pictures of his dog, Millie, and himself in Prague.

Yes, I did spend a ridiculous amount of time wondering if Mark Hamill is filming scenes for IX in Prague, or if he was there for personal reasons before traveling to Pinewood. I have a brand, and I must stick to it.

While most of my attention is full-speed ahead of Episode IX, I’m also looking forward to Mur Lafferty’s novelization of Solo: A Star Wars Story, due in September. Barnes and Noble revealed their exclusive two-sided poster, featuring Han and crew on one side and Enfys Nest and her marauders on the other. There’s no guessing which side is my favorite.

That’s it for this week’s Holonet Blast. Here’s hoping we get more updates from the set next week. I need something to sustain me for the next year and a half.

Holonet Blast #65

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It’s a little late (thanks, site issues!) but it’s time for this week’s Holonet Blast! And boy, is this week relevant to my interests.

The official site posted a new excerpt from Thrawn Alliances by Timothy Zahn, out on July 25, featuring Commander Mitth’raw’nuruodo of the Chiss Expansionary Defense Force (call him Thrawn, please) with Jedi General Anakin Skywalker of the Republic. Not only that, but Del Rey announced that a convention exclusive version of the novel (autographed by Zahn!) will be offered at San Diego Comic Con, complete with a grand admiral insignia pin and tote bag. The exclusive cover shows Young (Hot) Thrawn with Anakin Skywalker in his Clone Wars era armor. I am a very big fan of this cover and will be posting a printout on my cubicle wall very shortly. Here it is on the right, in case you missed it (and because I want to look at it again).

Speaking of The Clone Wars and San Diego Comic Con, there will be a special 10th anniversary panel at San Diego Comic Con, hosted by Amy Ratcliffe. No details yet, but this will be one to attend for all fans of the animated series.

Star Wars won big at the Saturn Awards, with Rebels taking the prize for Best Animated TV Series and The Last Jedi winning Best Actor (Mark Hamill), Best Screenplay (Rian Johnson) and Best Editing (Bob Duscay). Congratulations to all the winners (especially Mark Hamill)!

In more news for Rebels fans, the fourth season will be released on Blu Ray July 31.

Want to learn some life and leadership lessons from Star Wars? DK Publishing has you covered. You can choose the light side and Be More Yoda or the dark side and Be More Vader, both by Christian Blauvelt.  Both books will be released on October 2.

Holonet Blast #60

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Solo, what a man! Last week saw the release of a BRAND NEW STAR WARS MOVIE! That never gets old, does it? Solo: A Star Wars Story opened Thursday night in the United States, and is tracking to make $101 million over the long Memorial Day weekend. Sadly, this is under projections, but word of mouth has been pretty solid, so hopefully it will experience less of a drop than The Last Jedi or Rogue One in its second weekend. (Regular reminder that The Force Awakens was a huge anomaly that will most likely not be repeated any time soon in Star Wars.)

In related news, don’t forget to check out Most Wanted, The Art of Solo, Solo: A Visual Guide, and the Solo soundtrack, all released on May 25. A new Forces of Destiny short was also released on Friday featuring Solo‘s Qi’ra. She was not voiced by Emilia Clarke, but rather Olivia Hack. A Beckett comic one-shot is also incoming.

Feel like watching a different Star Wars movie from your various streaming devices? You’re in luck! The Last Jedi will drop on Netflix on June 26.

Finally, we got a bunch of Galaxy’s Edge news over the past week, thanks in part to the Galactic Nights event held at Hollywood Studios. The Disney Parks blog announced that Galaxy’s Edge will open in Disneyland in Summer 2019 and in Walt Disney World in late Fall 2019. Start planning your vacations now! Or, probably, wait for firmer dates so you’re not disappointed. WDW News Today reported that a patent reveals the development of a virtual narrative system coming to Galaxy’s Edge. This tracks with previous reports and rumors regarding a reputation system that will be used in the land. The Galaxy’s Edge panel at Galactic Nights revealed that the name of the village guests will visit on Batuu is called “Black Spire Village.” (Keep an ear out for this name in Solo!) Black Spire Outpost will also feature LOTHCATS and awesome rides, while ligthsabers might coming to the Star Wars hotel. We simply cannot wait for all the Star Wars fun to come at Disney parks.

That’s it for the Holonet Blast this week. Now go catch another viewing of Solo!