Category Archives: Holonet Blast

Holonet Blast #19

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Welcome once again to our weekly round-up of Star Wars news from across the galaxy. This was an exciting week to be a Star Wars fan! Sit back, relax, and enjoy re-living some epic moments from the GFFA, or use this opportunity to catch up on anything you may have missed in the whirlwind of amazing things we got to enjoy this week. Let’s dive in, shall we?

Dawn of Rebellion:

The week kicked off with some exciting news for our Of Dice and Droids crew and fellow roleplayers worldwide when Fantasy Flight Games announced a new sourcebook for the Star Wars RPG. Dawn of Rebellion, scheduled for release later this year, is the first sourcebook of its kind, designed to be used alongside the existing SWRPG modules.

Primarily focusing on the years preceding the Battle of Yavin, Dawn of Rebellion features descriptions, context, and statistics for many of the iconic characters and vehicles appearing in the Star Wars: Rebels television show and in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story…..

Dawn of Rebellion will equip players and gamemasters with new options, guides, and insights for the Star Wars Roleplaying Game when it releases later this year. In the meantime, stay on alert for more previews for how this exciting new book will expand your games of Star Wars Roleplaying!

This book is set to deepen, rather than broaden, the already expansive Star Wars RPG universe. The artwork is beautifully done, and the information contained within is likely to be an invaluable resource to Game Masters the galaxy over. Continue reading →

Holonet Blast #18

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Hello again, friends! By the time you are reading this I will be playing a new video game. This has nothing to do with anything, I’m just really excited to start Zero Horizon Dawn. Ready to feel emotions now? On to the news!

This week we had a few confirmations regarding Operation: Blue Milk stories. On Wednesday, author Cavan Scott announced in his newsletter that his story in A Certain Point of View is from the point of view of Obi-Wan Kenobi. More specifically, it is called “Time of Death” and focus on Obi-Wan’s….time of death. “You know how they say your life flashes in front of your eyes when you die? Well, now imagine what would be like for a Jedi.” Yikes, my emotions.

It was also confirmed that Nnedi Okorafor’s story is about the Dianoga (why is this story not in my eyeballs right this moment, it will be so fantastic, Okorafor writing the Dianoga is everything I’ve ever needed in life) and Meg Cabot’s story will focus on Aunt Beru and oh, look, my emotions hurt again.

Speaking of emotions hurting, Dave Filoni. Oh, Dave Filoni. On Thursday he tweeted a piece of art and a snippet of dialogue of Ahsoka meeting the Bendu before the season 2 finale of Rebels. In the words of Darth Bria the Wise regarding this, “Not news news: Dave Filoni hates your emotions.”

And finally, in some clarification news, the Forces of Destiny episodes (which finished premiering this morning) will be a TV special in the fall. Lucasfilm’s Tracy Cannobbio also clarified earlier that the episodes will be airing on the Disney Channel two at a time starting yesterday through July 30th. So if you want to see them on TV, watch the Disney Channel during prime time on Sunday night.

Holonet Blast #17

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It was a much quieter week on the news front than last week but that’s uhhh good right? Right.

What’s really important right now is that we look at this beautiful SDCC Convention Exclusive version of Inferno Squad by Christie Golden. It’s the same book but with a pretty new cover, endpapers, and the squad logo stamped onto the cover. They’ll also all be signed by the author.

If anyone needs me, I’ll be making grabby hands in the convention’s general direction for the next few weeks. I have an Inferno Squad problem and I don’t care who knows it.

Oh and there were some other SDCC Star Wars exclusives announced including items from Her Universe, Bioworld, ANOVOS, and more. But this is the best one.

Speaking of SDCC, Star Wars won’t have a Hall H panel but they will be present at D23. Expect a behind-the-scenes sort of video instead of a full trailer. (Thanks TFA for giving us a great model to guess by!)

Starting today at 10am Pacific Time, you can watch the new Forces of Destiny series on YouTube. They’ll be releasing a new episode every day until they all air on DisneyXD on Sunday, July 10th. (One day will have double episodes.)

Star Wars also recently announced that Star Wars Rebels Season 3 will be available on Blu-Ray and DVD on August 29th. Our own Matthew Bowers has been doing the Dance of Joy ever since he read the features list and it included five episode commentaries.

And finally, we’d like to extend our congratulations to Rogue One and Star Wars Rebels for their wins at the Saturn Awards!

Holonet Blast #16

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It’s time for the weekly Holonet Blast! And, uh, I guess some stuff happened this week.

First, on Tuesday, it was announced that Phil Lord and Christopher Miller are no longer directing the untitled Han Solo film. Cue the Star Wars fandom giving a collective, “Huh?!” Especially since they’ve been attached to the project for so long, and there was only three weeks left of filming.

Of course, fandom immediately began speculating about the reason for the change. The official statements were rather vague, and cited creative differences.

Kathleen Kennedy said: “Phil Lord and Christopher Miller are talented filmmakers who have assembled an incredible cast and crew, but it’s become clear that we had different creative visions on this film, and we’ve decided to part ways. A new director will be announced soon.”

Lord and Miller said: “Unfortunately, our vision and process weren’t aligned with our partners on this project. We normally aren’t fans of the phrase ‘creative differences’ but for once this cliché is true. We are really proud of the amazing and world-class work of our cast and crew.”

The next item of speculation was, who takes on directing now? Several names were suggested, including Lawrence Kasdan (which would not have been possible due to Director’s Guild rules), Joe Johnston, and Ron Howard. Then, on Thursday, the official announcement came that Howard will assume directorial duties on the project.

Kathleen Kennedy said: “At Lucasfilm, we believe the highest goal of each film is to delight, carrying forward the spirit of the saga that George Lucas began forty years ago. With that in mind, we’re thrilled to announce that Ron Howard will step in to direct the untitled Han Solo film. We have a wonderful script, an incredible cast and crew, and the absolute commitment to make a great movie. Filming will resume the 10th of July.”

Howard is an accomplished actor and director, known for George Lucas’ American Graffiti, Apollo 13, and he won the Academy Award for A Beautiful Mind. And, as the internet reminded everyone this week, he was the narrator on Arrested Development.

Stay tuned for this week’s episode of Tosche Station Radio where Nanci and Brian will provide our very mild takes regarding this news.

In other news, USA Today released an excerpt for Inferno Squad. Poor Iden Versio has bad luck when it comes to watching Death Stars explode.

Rogue One will be coming to Netflix next month, so if you haven’t picked up a Blu Ray or digital copy, now’s your chance to relive the heartbreaking death scenes of the entire main cast!

Finally, have you been waiting for news regarding Star Wars Land at Disney parks? Good news: we’ll probably getting some info at D23, as an entire pavilion will be dedicated to the new lands. There will also be a panel about Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. D23 will take place at the Anaheim Convention Center on July 14-July 16.

Holonet Blast #15

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News this week kicks off with something in the “humanity is awful” vein. Over $200,000 in collectibles were stolen from Rancho Obi-Wan and re-sold on the market. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the suspected thief is Carl Cunningham. Folks on the convention circuit are familiar with Carl, as he is known for running tours of hard-to-get-to filming sites and has consulted with Lucasfilm for various projects.

Keysha Ramos over at Screencrush explores Hasbro’s Forces of Destiny line.

This has been the case for the last two releases, so Europe folks be gentle with the spoilers and everyone else, avoid the Internet for a couple days.

Star Wars and other memorabilia from the Fisher/Reynolds estate will be going up for auction.

Another awesome B&N book cover? I’ll take it.

And finally, some audiobook news

Holonet Blast #14

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Welcome back, gentle readers, to your weekly blast of Star Wars news!

On Wednesday, Michael Siglain of Lucasfilm Publishing announced via Twitter that September will see the release of Star Wars: The Prequel Trilogy Stories. Siglain elaborated that it is indeed a companion to The Original Trilogy Stories. Brian Rood, S.T. Bende, and Ivan Cohen are some of the creators involved with the project.

September is still a ways off, however, so here’s something to look forward to in the more immediate future: June 10 will see the first gameplay livestream of Battlefront II with the Assault on Theed. Check out the link for more details as well as for information on the sweepstakes for a trip to join in the assault.

Holonet Blast #13

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Whew! Last week was a pretty wild ride for three straight days. Not only did we get to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Star Wars but we got to freak out a lot over the latest in The Last Jedi news and speculation and there was a lot of both.

In keeping with the finest of Star Wars traditions, Vanity Fair debuted four new covers celebrating The Last Jedi; one with Luke and Rey, one with Kylo, Hux, and Phasma, one with Poe, Finn, and Rose, and one with Leia. They then proceeded to follow it up the next day with a full, in-depth article (and more gorgeous pictures by Annie Leibovitz!) about the film that is well worth your time along with several other shorter pieces. Clearly the most important thing we learned from that article is that Kelly Marie Tran’s character Rose now has a last name (she’s Rose Tico!) and she has a sister who’s also a part of the Resistance named Paige. Other Tosche Station staffers may try to tell you that the most important thing has to do with Luke Skywalker but nope. They are wrong. Everything’s coming up Rose.

Joining in on the 40th Anniversary fun, Del Rey announced more authors for their forthcoming anthology. Expect to see stories from the DeFractions, Greg Rucka, Pierce Brown, Charles Soule, Pablo Hidalgo, Beth Revis, and Ian Doescher in the ever expanding and ever more awesome sounding book this October.

Oh! And finally Finn has a shiny new blaster that, like basically everything else he has, looks like he got it from Poe. It lights up!

Holonet Blast #12

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Welcome to another installment of the Holonet Blast! I have returned to dry land to only two pieces of Star Wars news from Marvel – nothing nearly as major as J.J. Abrams being named director of Episode VII, but what will ever top that, truly?

First off, Mace Windu is the latest character to receive the miniseries treatment. Star Wars: Jedi of the Republic: Mace Windu is a new five-issue series coming in August, written by Matt Owens and illustrated by Denys Cowan. It’s set just after the start of the Clone Wars, so expect an action-packed miniseries where the Jedi have to learn to accept their new roles as soldiers.

For over a thousand generations, the Jedi have been the peacekeepers of the galaxy…but now, at the dawn of the Clone Wars, they find themselves in a new role: generals in the Army of the Republic. As Mace Windu, one of the Jedi’s greatest warriors, leads a small unit of Jedi into battle shortly after the war begins, the Jedi must make peace with their new role, or be lost to the violence around them!

The second bit of Marvel news jumps a bit farther ahead in the timeline. Star Wars: Rogue One — Cassian & K-2SO Special #1 is a 40-page short that tells the story of how – you guessed it – Cassian met K-2SO. Also released in August, it’s written by Duane Swierczynski with art by Fernando Blanco. Prepare to have your head-canons smashed!

A few other items on starwars.com caught my attention this week. First, James Floyd interviewed Greg Rucka, author of Guardians of the Whills, as well as Beth Revis, author of Rebel Rising. They’ve also got an interview with Pablo Hidalgo about how the real-life history of the atomic bomb inspired Rogue One. Finally, if you weren’t able to attend Celebration, the official YouTube channel recently published the full Animated Origins and Unexpected Fates panel.

Holonet Blast #11

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Not a whole lot to report in the Galaxy Far, Far Away this week, but here are a couple of exciting tidbits that might mean the fandom is heating up in your neighborhood:

Star Wars Film Concert Series coming to New York
Star Wars fans in the Big Apple will get to experience their favorite franchise in an all new way this fall. This September and October, the films will screen at David Geffen Hall accompanied by a live score performed by the New York Philharmonic under conductor David Newman. Tickets for the Star Wars Concert Film Series are on sale now.

Major League Fandom
This past May The Fourth, Major League Baseball teams kicked off a series of Star Wars celebrations around the league. Both the Seattle Mariners and Boston Red Sox hosted Star Wars nights in their parks, complete with creative Star Wars/baseball hybrid giveaways. This begins a full season of Star Wars nights at Major League parks around the nation. The full schedule is available here. Are you planning on attending Star Wars night with your hometown team?

Holonet Blast #10

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It was another mostly quiet week in the world of Star Wars news, but there were a few things that caught our attention.

Who’s excited about a queer female POC getting a Star Wars action figure? We’re excited about Doctor Aphra getting an action figure.

Meanwhile, are you a fan of Star Wars video content ala Rebels Recon and the Star Wars show? Well rejoice, because there’s more on the way. Star Wars in conjunction with Disney’s Maker talent will be rolling out a show dedicated to Star Wars and science hosted by Anthony Carboni.

It turns out that we are Adam Scott and Adam Scott is us. Watch him fanboy freak out over finally getting to meet his hero Mark Hamill.

From the “Huh, interesting” file, Rian Johnson made one request of J.J. Abrams. Alter the ending of TFA so Artoo made the journey to conclude the film with Rey instead of BB-8 as originally planned.

And we conclude on an adorable note. Mark Hamill surprising the ever loving daylights out of Star Wars fans.