Rian Johnson officially confirmed for Episode VIII, first standalone to be Rogue One

Posted on March 12, 2015 by admin

Pretty much the whole world has known for a while that Episode VIII’s director would be Rian Johnson, but Bob Iger and Disney made it official today.

Iger confirmed that Rian Johnson will write and direct Star Wars: Episode VIII. The film, which continues the saga after the events of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, is set for release on May 26, 2017 — forty years and a day after the release of Star Wars: A New Hope in 1977.

Of note is Star Wars returning to a traditional May release window. Looks like we’ll only be doing one holiday Star Wars episodic release. Believe it or not, though, this wasn’t the biggest announcement in this press release. We finally have the name of the first standalone film: Rogue One.

Rogue One is the title for the first film in a unique series of big-screen adventures that explores the characters and events beyond the core Star Wars saga. Rogue One will be directed by Gareth Edwards (Monsters, Godzilla) and written by Oscar nominee Chris Weitz (Cinderella, About a Boy, Antz). The first actress cast is Felicity Jones, who garnered an Academy Award nomination and critical acclaim for her performance in The Theory of Everything.

Be still my heart! I mean, we don’t really know what the film is about, but it’s hard to see that title and not think Rogue Squadron and military science fiction. And, hey, there’s a lot of great written material to draw inspiration from.

Review: Star Wars #3

Posted on March 12, 2015 by Bria

It’s an explosive conclusion this week to the first arc of the new Star Wars comic. Star Wars #3 by Jason Aaron and John Cassaday is out now and so far, they’ve lived up to the promise of their first issue. Luke, Leia, and Han’s mission to destroy the weapons factory hasn’t gone as planned and now, it’ll be tough enough to escape from Vader and the Empire with their lives let alone finish their mission.

As with the previous issues, it’s obvious that this is a labor of love for both Aaron and Cassaday. It’s difficult to say which Aaron does a better job with: the characters or the plot. That’s impressive. His Leia and Han have the perfect level of post-Yavin bickering (aka: not too heavy on the flirting subtext) while Luke is trying to live up to his mental expectations for himself. Or at least what he thinks Obi-Wan and his father would expect of him.

The plot line for this first arc was a great choice. Attacking a weapons factory is a high stakes mission without being involving entire fleets and large armies. It’s the right level of important and tense for a story such as this and, without any spoilers, I found it to have a very satisfying conclusion.

Cassaday’s art with Laura Martin’s colors continue to be a great fit for the book. His panels where he’s having fun with facial expressions are definitely my favorites. The joy on Luke’s face as he flies the speeder, even in the heat of battle, is positively tangible.

As I said in my review of the first issue, the true test of this book will be how the second arc plays out. However, if the last two pages are any indicator, I think it has potential to be just as great.

Star Wars #3 gets a 4/5 from me for both this issue and for the first arc. Go pick up the first three issues if you haven’t yet!

Tosche Station Radio #105: Rebel Cells

Posted on March 10, 2015 by admin

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On this episode of Tosche Station Radio, Tom from Del Rey joins us to discuss the inaugural season of Rebels!

Kicking off the show, the hosts highlight What’s New on the Blog. We reviewed Fire Across the Galaxy. Bria offered her Princess Leia #1 Review and discussed why Barriss Offee shouldn’t be an Inquisitor.

In Fixer’s Flash, Brian and Nanci adopted a new dog named Jade (to go along with Mara). Nanci also found time to read Princess Leia #1. Bria’s been costuming. Meanwhile, Tom went to PAX East.

Deak’s Dirt starts with awesome news on the Star Wars diversity front: Lords of the Sith will introduce the new canon’s first LGBT character. Meanwhile, starwars.com has a preview of Kanan: The Last Padawan. JOURNEY TO THE FORCE AWAKENS was announced. There’s also a ton of articles/interviews about the season finale of Rebels. Dave Filoni talked to IGN, USA Today, and the Official Site. USA Today also spoke to Ashley about reprising Ahsoka. Finally, Sarah Michelle Gellar will be voicing a character in Season 2 of Rebels

This week in Camie’s Concerns, we talk all about the first season of Rebels. What did we enjoy in the finale, who were our favorite characters, and what are we looking forward to next season? Tune in to find out!

You can find Tom on Twitter with the handle @DarthInternous.

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.

This podcast has been brought to you in part by Her Universe and Audible.com.

Barriss Offee Shouldn’t Be An Inquisitor

Posted on March 10, 2015 by Bria

The Star Wars fandom has a PhD in speculation and theories and we’ve certainly continued in that fine tradition with Rebels. One theory that’s come up a few times especially in the wake of the Season 1 finale is that it’d be interesting to see Barriss Offee resurface as an Inquisitor. Personally? I think that’s a bad idea.

I’ve said more than a few times that I strongly disagree with how Barriss was used in The Clone Wars Season Five finale. I don’t think it made sense for her character and didn’t have the intended impact since she’d rarely been in the show over the past few seasons. A different character could have better served the role of betraying Ahsoka. If you’re going to mess with a character to her very core than at least earn it through a well built arc.

However, this isn’t about The Clone Wars and what happened is canon. Although she fell to the dark side (I find this debatable) and blamed the Jedi for the war, we don’t actually know what happened to her. A good guess is that she was put in the Jedi’s prison basement which they (like the X-men and Avengers) totally have and after that, your guess is as good as mine. For all we know, Barriss was redeemed or maybe she was another casualty of Order 66. That said, I find it unlikely that she survived the Jedi Purge.

But for the sake of argument, let’s say she did survive.

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20 New Star Wars Books and Comics to Fill in Gap Between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens

Posted on March 10, 2015 by Shoshana

Those of you thirsty for some information of the state of the Galaxy Far Far Away leading up to The Force Awakens are in luck. According to an exclusive report at Entertainment Weekly, there are at least twenty new Star Wars books and comics to be released later this year fleshing out the thirty-two years between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens, ranging all different publishers and target age demographics in a series called Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Content under that title will be released by various Disney imprints as well as at least seven outside companies and is confirmed to include adult novels, young adult novels, sticker books, and comics.

Details on most of the books involved are still under wraps and many of the books are still being worked on, but we do know some about of the upcoming material:

A few titles we can confirm are Del Rey’s Star Wars: Aftermath, which sounds like it may serve as an epilogue to the original trilogy – and perhaps a prologue to the new one. Meanwhile, Marvel Comics will put out one prequel called Star Wars: Journey to the Force Awakens and another preview story told from C-3PO’s perspective. For vehicle enthusiasts, Studio Fun International will print Star Wars: Ships of the Galaxy.

The report also let’s us know some of the authors involved for a series of young adult novels focusing on the characters of original trilogy, to be released by Disney-Lucasfilm Press:

Cecil Castellucci (author of Tin Star) will write Moving Target, an adventure following Princess Leia; Jason Fry, who earlier wrote Darth Maul: Shadow Conspiracy, will be the author of The Weapon of a Jedi, about Luke Skywalker; Claudia Gray, author of the Evernight series of fantasy books, will write a book titled Lost Stars; and Greg Rucka, a comic book scribe and writer of the Atticus Kodiak novels, will pen Smuggler’s Run, a Han Solo tale.

There will also be a new series of novels retelling the original trilogy from various perspectives, though there’s no word yet on whose points of view we’ll see.

Star Wars canon to introduce first LGBT character

Posted on March 9, 2015 by admin

Bryan Young at Big Shiny Robot has the scoop: Paul S. Kemp’s Lords of the Sith will feature the first LGBT character of the new story group era.

Moff Mors is an Imperial who has made some very serious mistakes but she is an incredibly capable leader and spends much of the book working hard to prevent absolute failure. She also happens to be a lesbian.

Awesome. What’s more, Bryan sat down with Del Rey’s Editor-at-Large Shelly Shapiro to talk diversity in Star Wars and Star Wars literature in a recent Full of Sith episode.

This is certainly the first character in canon,” Shapiro says. “But there was a gay Mandalorian couple, so it’s not brand new. It’s not something I really think about, it just makes sense. There’s a lot of diversity–there should be diversity in “Star Wars.”

Emphasis added. Well put, Ms. Shapiro.

Be sure to head to the Big Shiny Robot link above for more information.

The Big Problem with Heir to the Jedi

Posted on March 6, 2015 by Nanci

I cannot talk about Heir to the Jedi without revealing spoilers. I’m too emotionally invested in Luke Skywalker’s life. If you’d like to read a non-spoiler opinion, let me direct you to Bria’s review over here. However, if you’ve already read the book, or just don’t care about being spoiled for the end, proceed at your own caution.

(I’m serious.

Major spoilers abound after the cut.

You’ve been warned.)

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Review – Star Wars Rebels: Fire Across the Galaxy

Posted on March 5, 2015 by Nanci

Season 1 of Star Wars Rebels has come to a close in a spectacular fashion. The three-part arc paid off in a huge way, with the return of some fan favorite characters and setting up high hopes for Season 2. Because it’s the season finale, all three reviewers are getting on the recap fun this week. Our spoiler-filled thoughts under the cut!

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Tosche Station Radio #104: ‘Sup Fifth Element?

Posted on March 4, 2015 by admin

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This week on Tosche Station Radio, we’re joined by Sabine: My Rebels Sketchbook artist Annie Stoll!

Kicking off the show, the hosts highlight what’s New on the Blog. Bria reviewed Heir to the Jedi and we also had a spoiler-free Go/No-Go. Bria reviewed Darth Vader #2. Bria also did a write-up of the cosplay she saw at Katsucon. Brian reviewed Rebels Resolve, the second to last episode of Rebels. Nanci started her Dark Force Rising retrospective. There’s also a Go/No-Go for Jupiter Ascending.

In Fixer’s Flash, both hosts enjoyed the ever-loving daylights out of Agent Carter. Rebels wrapped its first season, and the hosts also loved that. Nanci’s been working on her short story. Brian’s eagerly anticipating the return of soccer.

Deak’s Dirt starts with sad news, Leonard Nimoy passed away. Meanwhile in Star Wars, Sarah Michelle Gellar will be doing a voice on Season 2 of Rebels. A bunch of new names added to the Celebration guest list, including Ian McDiarmid! Finally, Mary Franklin is leaving Lucasfilm for ReedPOP

In Biggs’ Bull$&#@, perhaps a name for Maisie Richardson-Sellers character. Also, an Interview with Chris Weitz over at Slashfilm, the new screenwriter for the standalone, that reveals a whole lotta nothing except that they’re still using Gary Whitta’s draft.

We’re excited to have Sabine: My Rebels Sketchbook artist Annie Stoll joining us on this week’s Camie’s Concerns! The hosts and Bria discuss the book, Rebels, and art with Annie. Be sure to also check out her webcomic, Ode and follow her on 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.

This podcast has been brought to you in part by Her Universe and Audible.com.

Review: Princess Leia #1

Posted on March 4, 2015 by Bria

Remember back in August when I wrote about what I hoped for with a Mark Waid Leia comic? Yeah, he nailed it. I won’t beat around the bush here. I loved this issue. Go to your comic store right now and pick up Princess Leia #1 by Mark Waid with art by Terry Dodson, inks by Rachel Dodson, and colors by Jordie Bellaire. Need another reason why? Well read on for a mostly spoiler-free review.

The book picks up immediately after the Battle of Yavin with the medal ceremony and Leia giving a very brief speech commemorating the losses of all those who gave their lives fighting the Empire and especially Alderaan. There is no time for sorrows though as the Rebels must immediately dismantle the base and flee. Leia, however, wants to embark on a mission of her own: to find and protect all the remaining Alderaanians in the galaxy… with or without the Alliance’s approval.

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