Star Wars, Geek Culture, and Power Converters
Hooray! The Official Site has finally announced the premiere date of Star Wars Rebels. The one-hour movie, Spark of Rebellion, will air on October 3 at 9:00 p.m. on the Disney Channel. The regular series episodes will air Monday at 9:00 p.m. on Disney XD, beginning October 13.
Fans will also be able to purchase Spark of Rebellion via iTunes, Amazon Prime, Google Play, and Disney XD VOD on October 4, with the DVD available on October 14.
The Clone Wars composer Kevin Kiner recently told the Everything Geek Podcast that he is hard at work “compiling a CD of Clone Wars Seasons 1-6.” This is great news for fans of the series as well as fans of Star Wars music in general. Kiner also spoke about the differences between music in The Clone Wars and Rebels. (via)
I’m still waiting on the complete soundtracks for Episodes II and III, by the way. *taps foot*
Just as expected, the Marvel Cup O’Joe Panel at San Diego Comic-Con gave us our first real look at what Marvel will be doing once they take back the Star Wars license in January.
First up, (and to me, the most exciting!) we’ll be getting a miniseries titled Star Wars: Princess Leia with script by Mark Waid and with art by Terry Dodson. The first issue will be released in March.
We’re also getting two ongoings of which is the first is the expected ‘Star Wars‘. That will have Jason Aaron on script and John Cassaday on art. The first issue hits in January and will feature our usual suspects amongst the main cast.
And finally, there will also be a Star Wars: Darth Vader ongoing series written by Kieron Gillen with art by Salvador Larroca. (Note that the cover below is by Adi Granov.) The first issue will be released in February 2015.
The two ongoing series will take place concurrently as they will back up after the Battle of Yavin. Apparently the Vader series picks up right after Vader’s fighter goes spinning into space while Star Wars picks up two weeks later. Jordan White will be the editor for all three books.
One of the questions at the panel did ask whether we’d be seeing Expanded Universe characters in the comics and the answer is that it is up to the Lucasfilm Story Group. Apparently we will also see Boba Fett at some point but it’s a tricky time period.
The Official Site has interviews up with all three writers of the new books.
As for other questions from the panel, someone asked if characters from the old Marvel comics might show up. The answer was that Jason Aaron will try but Jordan White might stop him. The Marvel crew found Patton Oswalt’s Star Wars pitch hilarious but don’t think they have the rights to make that into a comic. Also apparently Axel Alonso is trying to make ‘The Punisher Kills The Star Wars Universe’ a thing that happens.
Two days down of San Diego Comic-Con and we’re already rolling in Star Wars news. Well sort of.
Last night was the Rebels panel that featured the main cast along with Dave Filoni. You can read StarWars.com’s liveblog of the event here. While we didn’t get the official release date for Rebels (groan!), we did learn a few things. The cast agrees that Vanessa Marshall is the biggest Star Wars fan out of all of them although apparently Freddie Prinze Jr. makes all the Force motions while recording. The show will definitely be embracing the idea of this crew as a family and bringing in some comedy; both concepts they’re taking from the Original Trilogy. Another point of note from the panel is that Filoni made mention of establishing a hierarchy of villains so if Darth Vader shows up, people should definitely be running. Also, Rebels will be much more of a contained story than the Clone Wars as they won’t be jumping from character to character and creating new locations each week.
In addition to showing several clips from the show, they also debuted a second brand new trailer which you can watch below.
The Star Wars Books panel just wrapped up and needless to say, the highlight was the new book announcement. Christie Golden will be penning a novel about Asajj Ventress and Quinlan Vos. The book is due out in Summer 2015 and is taken from a plot line for the intended Season 7 of The Clone Wars.
As for the rest of the panel, it was moderated by Vanessa Marshall and there was a lot of discussion about John Jackson Miller’s forthcoming A New Dawn. Vanessa has apparently read the book already and said it gave her a lot of insight into Hera. Tarkin will be, as expected, akin to James Luceno’s Darth Plagueis and will take place very close to Revenge of the Sith. Heir to the Jedi was described as a character study of Luke Skywalker and Lords of the Sith was dubbed “kind of a Vader/Palpatine road trip novel” by Jen Heddle. You can read the rest of the live blog of the panel by the main site here. I’d particularly suggest that readers take note of their comments about the newly minted Legends books.
If you’re looking for comic news though… well that’ll be dropping tomorrow during Marvel’s Cup of Joe Panel. You’ve been warned.
San Diego Comic Con has barely begun and we’re already getting news. Check out this picture that Dave Filoni tweeted of action figures of Sabine and Hera!
Hera and Sabine ACTION FIGURES at #SDCC!!!! #StarWarsRebels pic.twitter.com/jtgLgm6GvG
— Dave Filoni (@dave_filoni) July 24, 2014
So, our Intrepid Leaders are on their honeymoon, which means the B-team is subbing in this week (we’re sorry). Here’s what we’ve got:
J.J. posted another video for UNICEF’s Force for Change, and this time, he’s showing off an X-wing in the video. Take a look at Mashable.com. Personally, I’m thrilled at yet another look at practical effect props showing up here, and I’m looking forward to a comparison of this X-wing to those from the original trilogy.
Meanwhile, Badass Digest claims to have plot details for Episode VII. I don’t think I need to note how very, very, very unconfirmed that is, but if you’re wanting to stay unspoiled, you might want to avoid, just in case. (TOTALLY UNCONFIRMED, BY THE WAY. And some of it doesn’t make ANY sense. Like, at all.)
That’s the news for this morning. Naturally, since The Intrepid Leaders are on a boat, Bria and I are expecting some sort of exciting news to drop at some point this week. (You might remember that Brian and Nanci were on a cruise when Episode VII was announced.) We will be exacting revenge for this later.
Over on the official site, Lucasfilm has announced that Josh Trank will helm another Star Wars spinoff film.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Josh into the family,” says Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy. “He is such an incredible talent and has a great imagination and sense of innovation. That makes him perfectly suited to Star Wars, and for this new slate of movies that reach beyond the core characters and storylines of Episodes I through IX.”
Trank states, “The magic of the Star Wars Universe defined my entire childhood. The opportunity to expand on that experience for future generations is the most incredible dream of all time.”
Trank captured imaginations worldwide with his critically lauded directorial debut Chronicle, a fresh and engaging take on the superhero genre. Trank is currently at work on The Fantastic Four for 20th Century Fox.
While his resume is somewhat limited at this point, Chronicle was a surprisingly well done film. I generally don’t enjoy “lost footage” movies, but that particular film was a thoroughly enjoyable one for me. Suffice to say, I dig Lucasfilm bringing him on board to direct one of the standalones.
Edit: Apparently back in 2008, Trank made a bit of a Star Wars fan film
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqPiIMJLFP8
The official site finally put to bed all rumors and announced the cast of Episode VII.
“Actors John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, and Max von Sydow will join the original stars of the saga, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and Kenny Baker in the new film.”
HUZZAH. Fandom knows Andy Serkis from the Lord of the Rings films, playing Gollum, while Domhnall Gleeson played Bill Weasley in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Oscar Davis starred in the film Inside Llewyn Davis, while Adam Driver is best known for his role in the HBO series Girls.
Also: MAX VON FRICKIN SYDOW? Wow, okay. On a diversity note, we’ve got two POCs in the main cast…but only one girl. Oh well, at least it’s some progress!
Finally, a fangirl note from the author of this post: JEDI MASTER LUKE SKYWALKER RIDES AGAIN!
Now, let the speculation of who they’re all playing begin.
So, this is awesome. StarTrek.com just announced that Klingon Warnog – that is, Klingon BEER – is coming soon to the US and Canada. With hints of banana, clove, and caramel, this should be a warrior’s drink.
Coming from Tin Man Brewery in Evansville, Indiana, you can also check out federationofbeer.com to learn about Vulcan Ale, brewed at Harvest Moon brewery in the United States, but sadly, available only in Canada.
As for the Warnog, I have only one thing to say:
MARK HAMILL IS GOING TO BE AT STAR WARS WEEKENDS! OMGWTFBBQ!!!!!!!
THIS IS HIS FIRST APPEARANCE AT THE EVENT. HE WILL BE ATTENDING THE WEEKEND OF JUNE 6-8, 2014. HE WILL PARTICIPATE IN THE STAR WARS CELEBRITY MOTORCADE AND THE STARS OF THE SAGA TALK SHOW.
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.
(Note: Brian and I had this conversation prior to me writing this blog post:
Brian: Would you like to blog this? 😉
Me: I don’t know if you’d really want that?
Brian: Oh yes. Yes I would 😉
Me: Okay. You asked for it.
I’m really sorry, you guys.)