Category Archives: Star Wars

Williams Hopes to Score Sequel Trilogy

Posted on by

"Movies Rock" A Celebration Of Music In Film - ShowWhen it comes to familiar faces and talent returning to the Star Wars universe, I could take or leave Harrison Ford. There’s really only one person I think is a requirement to return, and that’s composer John Williams. I can’t imagine the universe without his distinctive scoring touches. Thankfully, there may be some hope based on comments Williams made at a recent concert:

We’re about to play Star Wars [audience interrupts with cheers] and each time we play it, I’m reminded of the first time we played it decades ago.  Neither I, nor George, nor anyone else involved thought this would go far or in a few years there would be a sequel and I’d have to revisit the themes…and years later another trilogy.  Now we’re hearing of a new set of movies coming in 2015, 2016…so I need to make sure I’m still ready to go in a few years for what I hope would be continued work with George…

If he’s willing and able, it would be absolutely foolish for Abrams and Kennedy to select someone else to score the films. Here’s hoping Williams returns for one more go at the Star Wars universe.

Via The Bearded Trio

Rumor: Harrison Ford in for Episode VII

Posted on by

han cookedUsual warning: there’s no grain of salt big enough for Episode VII rumors.

That out of the way, the Latino Review is reporting that Harrison Ford supposedly in agreement to don the Bloodstripes again and reprise his role as Han Solo. Perhaps a change of pace from the distancing Ford has put between himself on the character, but then again, we thought there would be no way he’d ever wear a fedora and answer to the name Indiana Jones again. It isn’t wildly out of the realm of possibility.

For what it’s worth, there were rumblings a little while back that Ford was at least interested in the idea of playing Han again.

Via Club Jade

Tosche Station Radio #45: Star Destroyer Bubbles

Posted on by

ToscheStationbig

Play in new window | Download

On this episode of Tosche Station Radio, the hosts are joined by Dunc from Club Jade to discuss Marvel’s new chick-lit initiative (this initiative featuring significantly less Nick Fury) and genre fiction in the Star Wars Expanded Universe!

Before diving into anything else, the hosts discuss a big change to the podcast. Tosche Station Radio is leaving the Solo Sound Network to join Majestic Giraffe productions. Don’t worry, very little will be changing! We’d like to thank Austin and the Solo Sound crew for being such a gracious home for the first year of the podcast and putting us in a position to succeed.

To kick off the festivities, Nanci highlights what’s new on the blog. Bria encountered Wraith Squadron and the Han and Leia love boat. Guess which one produced more feels, as the kids say. Brian reviewed Star Wars #2 by Brian Woods. Did he think it was an improvement?

In Fixer’s Flash, Nanci finished up John Scalzi’s Old Man’s War and started working on a pair of her own short stories. She’s also been busy outlining her next novel! Brian, on the other hand, read through a pair of comics, Star Wars #2 by Brian Woods and Avengers Assemble #12 by Kelly Sue DeConnick. He enjoyed one significantly more than the other.

This week’s Deak’s Dirt starts with news that Hasbro’s Mara Jade action figure is shifting to the black series. She’s also still wearing the catsuit. Lawrence Kasdan and Simon Kinberg discussed Episode VII and the standalone films. In literature, Harry Potter will be getting new paperback covers for the 15th anniversary. Finally, Hollywood.com gathered up a collection of Expanded Universe authors talk about the Sequel Trilogy.

For Camie’s Concerns this week, the hosts are joined by Dunc from Club Jade to discuss Marvel’s new and somewhat odd chick-lit initiative. Wise marketing, or condescending towards their female demographic? Riffing off that, the roundtable discusses genre fiction in the Expanded Universe. Would a romance book work in this universe? What about other genres?

Wrapping up the show, the hosts field questions in our Ask Us Anything segment.

Tosche Station Radio is the official podcast of Tosche-Station.net and a part of Majestic Giraffe Productions. If you like what you hear, please leave a review on the iTunes Music Store. We can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.

Nanci and Brian are the co-founders and writers of Tosche-Station.net. You can find Nanci on Twitter with the handle @Nancipants and you can find Brian with @LaneWinree.

Today on Tosche Station Radio: Marvel’s Weird Chick Lit, Expanded Universe Genre Fiction

Posted on by

We’re going to be recording a brand-new episode of Tosche Station Radio today at 5PM Pacific time! Dunc from Club Jade will be joining us this week to discuss Marvel’s bizarre new chick lit initiative as well as genre fiction in the Star Wars Expanded Universe. You can listen live and join the chat at our Livestream channel. Do be sure to tune in, because Dunc is missing a new episode of Community and will have my head if we’re talking into the void while it’s on.

Since there is a fair chance we’ve picked up some new listeners with yesterday’s move to Majestic Giraffe Productions, you may be interested in knowing that we run a segment called Ask Us Anything where you can fire off questions at Nanci and myself and we’ll answer them. Really, anything.

So if you have questions about Marvel’s chick-lit thing, Expanded Universe genre fiction, or any geeky or fandom related topic, send them our way in the comments of this post, on our Facebook page, or hit us on Twitter.

Expanded Universe Authors talk the Sequel Trilogy

Posted on by

Hollywood.com recently rounded up a collection of current Expanded Universe authors to ask them what they hope to see in the Sequel Trilogy, what EU characters they’d look to see make an appearance, and what the ultimate fate of the Big Three should be. Reading through, I was struck by Aaron Allston’s answers in particular:

What I Hope to See from Episodes VII-IX: Could I see “Screenplay by Aaron Allston”? No?

Well, barring that, I’d like to see the story move away from the Skywalkers, Solos, even the Jedi a bit, reminding us that there are other people doing important things in the galaxy. I’d like to see a greater proportion of female characters. I want to see more spectacle — Tatooine junkyards and bongo interiors aren’t exactly challenges for ILM’s skills. And I hope to see a return to the lightheartedness and humor of A New Hope, putting the fatalism of the prequels behind us.

What secondary or Expanded Universe character I’d Like to See Get the Spotlight: This kind of depends on exactly when in the timeline Episodes VII through IX take place. Timothy Zahn’s Mara Jade would always be a good choice. The next-generation Solos and Skywalkers, such as Jaina Solo and Ben Skywalker, would be welcome. If any sort of espionage is in the offing, some sort of nod to my ownWraith Squadron characters would be a thrill for me.

But what I really hope to see most is any sort of appearance by recognizable EU characters, which would be an acknowledgement that the EU is a significant part of what constitutes Star Wars.

How I Want to See Luke, Han, or Leia Die: You know, I actually don’t want to see them die in the movies, and it’s not just because of affection for the characters…

…Me, I’m all for having Luke, Leia, and Han be in a scene showing them knocking back shots of Corellian brandy while playing cards. Then the screen can go through a 1940s-style wipe and the camera can zoom in on their descendants saving the galaxy for a new generation.

Allston pretty much summed up exactly what I’d love to see in these new films as well as what I think should happen with Luke, Han, and Leia. So many people seem eager to see those characters killed off in epic fashion, but I’m a fan of the quiet retirement approach. They’ve earned their victory lap and fade to black.

His overall sentiments on the Expanded Universe I think are also important to consider. Many forget, but for a long time, that was it for Star Wars. The only new story material being produced. It attracted a passionate following and helped to rejuvenate the fandom from the doldrums of the 80s and early 90s and keep it alive during the long stretches when it seemed like Lucasfilm was done producing material. Including any EU characters is a gesture to fans, authors, and editors who helped to keep things alive.

For more from Allston as well as Christie Golden, Michael Reaves, Troy Denning, James Luceno, John Jackson Miller, Drew Karpyshyn, and Paul S. Kemp, head to the Hollywood.com interview.

Lucas not Cashing out Disney Stock

Posted on by

And here’s the return to the aforementioned fandom inanity.

Last week, George Lucas registered for the ability to cash out his Disney stock in order to build Scrooge McDuck’s Moneybin. Or use it for philanthropic efforts, one of the two. The Bearded Trio tracked down a Lucas representative to see if he was planning to cash out.

George Lucas has no intention of letting go of his Disney stock he acquired as part of the deal selling Lucasfilm to Disney. Now this is a clever move as the stock can only go up with another Avengers, Pirates Of The Caribbean and more Star Wars movies in the works. Disney’s shares are likely to rise quite dramatically. Good move!

Who needs stock in Lucasfilm when you can have stock in Disney and their various money-printing licenses? Probably a wise call by Lucas. Disney as a company seems to be heading nowhere but Up* these days so hanging onto that stock for a while seems like a sound move.

*Up! Get it? I’m sorry. 

There’s not a whole lot here to get excited about, mostly I just wanted to link to this story because of a fabulous photo of George Lucas The Bearded Trio dug up.

Lucas without beard 1987

Is that not incredibly unsettling?

The Bearded Trio via Club Jade

EU Retrospective: The Han and Leia Love Boat

Posted on by

Welcome aboard the Han and Leia Solo looooooooove boat.   We provide music and history lessons at the low low cost of only two books.  And possibly your sanity unless you just roll with the ridiculousness.  Someone cue up the Bollywood soundtrack because here we go!

The Courtship of Princess Leia
Why yes.  This book is the Star Wars equivalent of a Bollywood musical.  You’ve probably heard us at Tosche Station repeat Dunc’s declaration a time or two.  Honestly though.  This book comes complete with a musical break where Threepio serenades the group with “Han Solo! What a man, Solo!” complete with orchestration and a tap dance routine.  You only think I’m making this up.  Of course, we can’t forget the opening number where the Hapans enter the grand audience chamber and make an elaborate presentation of gifts with women singing “Hapes Hapes Hapes” over and over again in the background.  If they were to film this, I would expect it to end much like Mirror, Mirror with a giant wedding Bollywood number.  Bonus points if they managed to get Sean Bean to play some role and just look miserable in the back ground.  But anyways.  Let’s be clear: this book is indeed ridiculous but it’s still entertaining and somewhat endearing in its own strange way.

Not that any of this excuses the characterization of Han or Leia.  It’s all just… off.  Very off.  Han is crazed and obsessed and Leia is just… yeah.  It’s just all so very very very wrong.  Also, I’m pretty sure that at this point in the timeline?  Han still finds Threepio irritating and even if he didn’t, I’m fairly sure that he is the LAST person or droid you should go to for love life advice.

Aside from the ridiculous characterization and strange plot, there are some good things about this book.  First and foremost, we get the planets of Dathomir and Hapes which I shall always insist are wonderful additions to the Expanded Universe.  Are they somewhat strange societies?  Sure but they make for fascinating reads.  Not only that but this book lays the foundation for one excellent character in the Expanded Universe: Tenel Ka who shall forever be my favorite warrior princess/queen but more on that in a few weeks.  Honestly, I wish that we’d gotten a chance to see more of both worlds in canon.

Also, this book gives us the infamous “Kiss My Wookiee!” line.  Come on, how can you not find that in the least bit amusing?

I am honestly convinced that Winter must have been off on some sort of mission for Intelligence while this was happening.  When she got back and Han and Leia told her the whole story, she listened calmly without comment and then smacked them both over the head, confiscated all of their spice, and gave them a stern lecture about the dangers of drugs.

Continue reading →

EU Retrospective: Wraith Squadron

Posted on by

Only books I adore get sticky-noted like this

I love Wraith Squadron.  There are not enough words in any of the languages I know to properly express how much I love the Wraiths and these three books.  Reading these has never been anything less than a joy and I have strong emotional attachments to these characters.  Heads up, there’s going to be a lot of gushing in this post.  There are also going to be a lot of rambling emotions in this post.  If you want proper reviews of the X-Wing books, go read the retrospectives the rest of the staff wrote last year.  Yes, there will be more flailing and emotions than in the Shatterpoint and Revenge of the Sith reviews.  Brace yourselves.

Wraith Squadron
Rogue Squadron has officially rejoined the New Republic and Wedge Antilles, not content with the stack of medals and accolades he already has, is going to create a brand new squadron that will totally kick some Imperial behind but in their own distinctive way.

It’s actually Wedge himself who iterates why I love the Wraiths so much, even more than the Rogues.  Wedge assembles the Wraiths from the pilots in Starfighter Command who appear to be chronic screw-ups and are dangerously close to washing out.  He finds the men and women who are good to decent enough pilots and have skills to offer the New Republic but who’ve just had trouble making it.  In contrast, the Rogues were mostly from backgrounds that were quite the opposite.  Wedge specifically cites Corran’s CorSec and Bror’s Bacta Prince roots.  Not everyone can relate to something like that.  On the other hand, the Wraiths and their backgrounds make it a lot easier for the everyday person, including myself, to relate to them.  Allston lets us watch throughout these three books as these characters not only overcome their personal issues but also as they becomes heroes.

I enjoy both the plot and the characters development in Wraith Squadron equally.  It never feels like one is dragging the other along but rather that they go hand in hand which is absolutely how a novel should be.  It’s easy to become invested in how quickly this unit goes from not even being operational to capturing spaceships and doing some serious damage to Warlord Zsinj.  Plus, as Wedge and Wes both note, the Wraiths have a tendency to look at a problem and jump outside of the box that the main box is inside of and come at it from a completely different angle.  It’s what makes them dangerous and it’s why I love them.

Obviously, this is Kell Tainer’s book and wow does he have a lot of character development to go through.  In a lot of ways, he’s Corran Horn’s opposite.  Both of them are naturally gifted pilots with dead fathers but that’s where the comparisons stop.  Kell knows that he’s a good pilot, gifted with demolitions, and a more competent mechanic but he is plagued with the biggest case of self-doubt and fear of screwing up and letting others down.  It’s rather neat getting to watch him slowly get over both his fear of Janson and his fear of being a failure.  It doesn’t happen over night and it doesn’t happen without some encouragement from his friends but it happens.

The other thing that I really like about the Wraith books is that I feel that the readers actually get to know the entire squadron instead of just the leads and a few others.  Kell and Face may battle it out all the time for who’s my favorite Wraith but it just wouldn’t be the same if I didn’t finish the book feeling like I knew who each of the Wraiths was.  As a comparison, I can name every single member of Wraith Squadron in these three books but I don’t think I can say the same about all the Rogues in the X-Wing books.  (Peshk who?)

Okay, I think that’s enough emotions about the first book for now.  I have to save some for what’s coming next.  You know what’s about to happen.  And if you don’t, please go read these three books before reading the rest of this review.

Continue reading →