Brian and Nanci apologize for the lack of content the past few days. They were involved in an unfortunate trash compactor mishap. They’re fine now (how are you?), and will resume normal posting tomorrow.
Was the First Death Star attack an inside job?
I am totally stealing this from Gawker, I freely admit, but it’s a must see. It’s a tongue in cheek reference to some other less than reputable ‘documentary.’
Cosplay Monday: Admiral Daala
Welcome back to another edition of Cosplay Monday where we try to distract you from the start of another work week with some awesome costumes. When you walk into a convention, you’re never entirely sure what costumes you’re going to see especially when you’re at a still new and small one. So imagine my surprise when I looked up from a vendor’s table at Eastern Shore Fan Con the other weekend and spotted an Admiral Daala costume! Seriously: how much do we adore seeing some Expanded Universe characters getting some costuming love?
Reddit AMA with Drew Karpyshyn on March 19
If you’re a fan of Drew Karpyshyn’s Expanded Universe novels, you may want to sign up for a Reddit account and get your questions ready for an Ask Me Anything he’ll be conducting at /r/StarWarsEU. The announcement post is here, but all you need to know is that Karpyshyn will start answering questions around 8PM EDT.
Tosche Station Radio #49: Ended, The Clone Wars Have
On this episode of Tosche Station Radio, the hosts are joined friend of the show Grace to discuss The Clone Wars and fandom!
Kicking things off, Nanci highlights what’s New on the Blog. The Waru Express visits the Hand of Thrawn, Scourge, and Survivor’s Quest. Next stop, Young Jedi Knights! The staff posted their list of the 15 Best Things in the Expanded Universe. Meanwhile, Brian offered his thoughts on the (at the time) possible end of The Clone Wars.
In Fixer’s Flash, Nanci’s kept herself busy by writing and submitting a short story. Brian attempted (but failed) to take advantage of getting a bunch of Marvel #1 issues from ComiXology. When the promotion does come back, he thinks readers should take advantage of it to pick up Hawkeye and Captain Marvel. He’s also getting set to fly across the country to Orlando. Why? Both Brian and Nanci are going to be at MegaCon on Saturday! If you’re going to be there, flag down the hosts for some nifty Tosche Station swag.
Deak’s Dirt kicks off with the Lucasfilm sale being profiled in Bloomberg Businessweek. The takeaway? George Lucas blabbed and said Lucasfilm and Hamill, Fisher, and Ford were in final talks to reprise their roles in the Sequel Trilogy. Unfortunately, Disney’s Bob Iger says nothing is confirmed but talks have taken place. Joss Whedon’s Much Ado About Nothing trailer and both of the hosts are very excited for a new take on Shakespeare. In further Episode VII news, Billy Dee Williams is rumored to have been approached to reprise his role as Lando. Finally in less-than-happy news, it was announced that there would be a new direction for Lucasfilm Animation. This means that The Clone Wars would be winding down and Detours has been indefinitely postponed. On the significantly more positive side, Lucasfilm did confirm that there will be a new animated series in a new era.
This week on Camie’s Concerns, Brian and Nanci are joined by friend of the show Grace for a discussion covering Star Wars, fandom, and most importantly this week, The Clone Wars. The crew take a look back at Season Five and the series as a whole.
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.
This podcast has been brought to you in part by Her Universe and Audible.com.
Joss Whedon discusses what he’d like to see in new Star Wars films
I meant to blog this on Monday but, well, things happened.
Digital Spy sat down with Joss Whedon over the weekend to chat about, among other things, what he’d like to see in a standalone Star Wars film if he were hypothetically given the opportunity to direct one.* Long story short? He wouldn’t bring back the original characters for them and would move in a new and fresh direction.
*Could you imagine the fandom’s reaction to that?
Bob Iger says no Decision Made on Original Trilogy Actors Yet
Disney CEO Bob Iger sat down again with CNBC today to discuss the state of Disney. As these interviews seem to go, he was asked point blank about whether the Original Trilogy actors would be making a return to the new films.
But fans won’t know whether the old cast will make an appearance in the new movies. “George Lucas was quoted as saying they would, but we haven’t made an official announcement yet,” Iger said.
The takeaway from Iger in the video in the CNBC link is that there have been discussions with the actors, but everything is going to hinge on Michael Arndt’s script. Until that script is finished, no one will know for sure what the extent of the OT actors involvement with the new films will be.
Rumor: Billy Dee Williams Asked to Reprise Lando Role
Grain of salt, etc.
According to Film Buff, Billy Dee Williams has been asked to return to the Star Wars universe. As of Emerald City Comic Con a few weeks ago, Williams had not been asked to make an appearance in the new films. That may have changed right after that convention, however. Film Buff’s report indicates that Williams has been approached, but h has not a made a decision yet.
Well, friend of the site Henry R. had a chance to talk to Williams briefly at the Monster Mania convention in New Jersey this past weekend and asked him just that. He reports…
…Billy Dee said, he has been asked, but hasn’t decided if he is going to do it or not yet.
It wouldn’t surprise me if he had recently been approached by Lucasfilm, especially given that George Lucas seemed to confirm that they were in talks with Hamill, Fisher, and Ford. But, as always, it’s not official until Lucasfilm or Disney says it’s official.
EU Retrospective: Scourge and Survivor’s Quest
The two books for today’s post probably could not have been more different if they’d tried. On the one hand, we have the Luke/Mara go on an adventure in Chiss space book and on the other hand, we have a book about a Jedi trying to take down a Hutt spice ring. The good news is that they were both fun reads. The bad news is that I don’t get to be snarky in this post.
Scourge
I must admit that I wasn’t expecting much from Scourge mostly because I hadn’t heard much buzz about it. All I knew is that it involved Hutts. I was, however, very pleasantly surprised and that is always a good thing.
Overall, this was a solid book. Personally, I always enjoy getting to see other aspects of the galaxy besides the galaxy shaking problem of the week and the Solo/Skywalker clan regardless of how much I love them. It’s nice to see a new member of Luke’s Jedi Order especially one who doesn’t fall into the stereotypical Jedi mold. Mander Zuma is an archivist who is only a warrior when he absolutely has to be. He can also be a very surprising person who doesn’t fit neatly into the a box. Plus, he gets to go through a nice arc of character growth as the story progresses. Reen Irana and Eddey Be’ray are the other two people helping investigate the death of Toro Irana, a Jedi Knight, and they both prove to be interesting characters in their own rights as is Angela Krin. Heck, even the Hutts are all very distinctive characters who don’t all fall into the Jabba category. In all honesty, I would mind reading more about these characters. I don’t love them yet but they are certainly intriguing.
The plot itself was fairly expected for this sort of novel but that’s not a bad thing because if you’re expecting a book about a drug smuggling ring then you’d probably like to get one. The story felt timeless though and that’s another good thing. Although there were clearly references to the New Jedi Order and Yavin 4 and such that tied it to the post-RotJ era, the book could have easily been tweaked and set in the Old Republic era and I rather appreciated that. Like I said above, not every plot line or story needs to be galaxy shattering to be enjoyed.
Oh! And I actually love the series of twists at the end. In retrospect, I probably should’ve figured it out a lot sooner than I did but the storyline certainly kept me guessing which in turn definitely kept me reading.
Bottom line is that I recommend it. It should probably be distributed to certain characters in certain books to reinforce the message of Don’t Do Spice.
The End of Clone Wars, Delayed Detours, and A New Animated Series
Today, March 11, Lucasfilm announced “A New Direction for Lucasfilm Animation.”
What does this all mean? In simple terms:
- We’re getting a new animated show set in a previously unexplored (in TV or film) era.
- The Clone Wars is no longer producing new episodes for Cartoon Network.
- The Clone Wars will continue with new story arcs that will wind down the story and give a concrete end to the series. (No news yet on how that content will be released, but I’m guessing online or Blu-Ray/DVD releases.)
- Detours is postponed indefinitely (Personally, this is what I’m upset about. It looked hilarious.)
Who wants to bet their first-born child that the animated series takes place in the post-RotJ era?
Read the entire announcement and after the jump. You can also see a video from Dave Filoni over at the official site.