Word on ‘Thor 2’: Marvel’s Phase 2 takes shape

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avengersWarning: the links in this post contain spoilers for the movie.

Now that we’ve all enjoyed The Avengers, it’s time for Phase Two of Marvel’s grand plan to take over the world comic book movie-verse, and Yahoo! weighed in this morning with news from the sequel to Thor. Rather than sticking with elite Shakespearean director Kenneth Branagh, who directed the first movie, Marvel has chosen to go with Game of Thrones director Alan Taylor.

Investigating the Yahoo post shows that this is old news, according to Collider’s official synopsis. Still, with an even more incredible cast than the previous incarnation and Taylor directing, Thor: The Dark World looks like it’s going to be an incredible movie.

Thor: The Dark World will be released November 8, 2013.

Cosplay Monday: Toph Bei Fong

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It’s time for another Costume Monday where we try to make easing back into the work week more bearable with some cool costumes.  We’re going back to a Tosche Station favorite this week and highlighting an amazing costume from Avatar: The Last Airbender.  Check out this great Toph Bei Fong costume by melonl0rd.  Not only does her costume look great but she definitely has the Toph attitude down pat.

Toph

A Trekkie on why J.J. Abrams Is Good for Star Wars

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220px-J.J._Abrams_by_David_ShankboneNow that the official confirmation has come down from on high, Bria and I have made an executive decision: Brian and Nanci are never allowed to go on vacation again. We are simply not equipped to deal with breaking news.

That said, this analysis probably would have been my responsibility anyway. Being one of the resident Trekkies on staff, I’m in the position to pick apart how J.J. Abrams performs when given an existing sci-fi franchise, and personally, I feel rather optimistic about this turn of events.

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J.J. Abrams Is Directing Episode VII

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JJ AbramsAfter a day of speculation, we finally have official confirmation that J.J. Abrams will be directing Star Wars: Episode VII.

From the official press release:

After a bevy of emails and phone calls, the formalities have been wrapped up, and at long last everyone can exhale and properly share the word with an excited Internet. Yes, J.J. Abrams will direct Star Wars: Episode VII, the first of a new series of Star Wars films to come from Lucasfilm under the leadership of Kathleen Kennedy. Abrams will be directing and Academy Award-winning writer Michael Arndt will write the screenplay.

“It’s very exciting to have J.J. aboard leading the charge as we set off to make a new Star Wars movie,” said Kennedy. “J.J. is the perfect director to helm this. Beyond having such great instincts as a filmmaker, he has an intuitive understanding of this franchise. He understands the essence of the Star Wars experience, and will bring that talent to create an unforgettable motion picture.”

George Lucas went on to say “I’ve consistently been impressed with J.J. as a filmmaker and storyteller.” He’s an ideal choice to direct the new Star Wars film and the legacy couldn’t be in better hands.”

“To be a part of the next chapter of the Star Wars saga, to collaborate with Kathy Kennedy and this remarkable group of people, is an absolute honor,” J.J. Abrams said. “I may be even more grateful to George Lucas now than I was as a kid.”

J.J., his longtime producing partner Bryan Burk, and Bad Robot are on board to produce along with Kathleen Kennedy under the Disney | Lucasfilm banner.”

 

 

Top Tips for Fansites and Other News

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While we continue to wait for confirmation one way or another on directorial news for Episode VII, something else was going on yesterday via Twitter: the first Star Wars Fansite Seminar, where Star Wars fansite creators, writers and readers came together to offer advice on running fansites. The official Star Wars blog put together a list of ten of the best tips here that you can check out. (Yes, I am totally and completely geeking out at the fact that one of them is from me. DUDES.)

Want to see more than just some of the tips? Fear not: Club Jade comes to the rescue with a Storify of the tweets made with the #SWFS hashtag yesterday here.

Club Jade has also reported that Drew Struzan has not been officially approached to do the poster artwork for Episode VII and that any chats to the contrary have simply been with friends at Disney and not with the company itself. Still, I think fans would love to see Struzan come out of retirement to work his magic once again.

Updated: JJ Abrams Rumored to be Directing Episode VII

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It’s time for another round of Episode VII director rumors.  The Wrap is reporting that JJ Abrams has been tapped to direct Episode VII despite saying last year that he would not be.  The source for this information has not been named although the source does say that Ben Affleck was in the running for the job/

The Hollywood Reporter is also saying that Abrams will be at the directing helm of the new film as is Variety.

As a reminder, nothing is confirmed UNTIL we hear it from the Official Star Wars website announces and therefore confirms the news.

Update 6pm EST: George Lucas’s son just tweeted saying that “J. J. Abrams will do wonders!”

Update 6:21pm EST: Entertainment Weekly and Yahoo also reporting this as are numerous other websites.  There is still no source for the news and EW cites the original Wrap article in their piece.

Update 8:51pm EST: Rolling Stone has also picked up the story but has also cited the Wrap article.  Still nothing from Lucasfilm.

The New Book Is “Maul: Lockdown” by Joe Schreiber

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Maul: Lockdown book coverLooks like the mystery of what the unannounced Star Wars project will be has been solved!  The official Del Ray Star Wars twitter account just tweeted a link to io9 announcing that Joe Schreiber will be turning his horror expertise to focus on Darth Maul.  The book is due out at the end of 2013.

The synopsis of the book, taken again from io9, is as follows:

From the mind of Joe Schreiber, New York Times bestselling author of Star Wars: Death Troopers, comes the delirious follow-up to last year’s Darth Plagueis. In a tale of retribution and survival set before the events of The Phantom Menace, Darth Plagueis and Darth Sidious dispatch Sith apprentice Darth Maul on a secret mission to infiltrate a criminal empire operating from inside Cog Hive Seven-a hidden prison teeming with the galaxy’s most savage criminals. There, he must contend against the scummiest and most villainous in gladiatorial death matches while carrying out his masters’ clandestine commands. Failure is not an option; success will ignite the revenge of the Sith against the Jedi Order.

I’m fairly sure that this never came up in speculation the other week.  Surprise.

Tosche Station Radio #42: Genre Savvy

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Brian and Nanci are coming to you from Seattle this week and are flying by the seat of their pants!

Kicking off the show, Nanci highlights what’s new on the blog. Bria’s Waru Express visited Return of the Jedi and is perhaps mercifully taking a week-long hiatus so she can read some non Star Wars tales. Meanwhile, Shane discussed the end of the Wheel of Time series.

In Fixer’s Flash, Nanci finished Scoundrels (while Brian is still reading at his glacially slow pace). She’s also working on her new original novel. Both the hosts went and saw Les Mis and X-Men First Class. Brian also attempted to get Nanci to read a comic by giving her copies of the first three volumes of Astonishing X-Men.

Deak’s Dirt starts with news of a Shakespearean Star Wars novel. Meanwhile, the live Action Series is not dead yet. In the Episode VII rumor mill, Zack Snyder is NOT working on a Star Wars movie! In Expanded Universe news,updates on Rebels and Kenobi hit the interwebs. Ashley Eckstein hinted that a Rogue Squadron product from Her Universe might be on the way. Finally, Dawn of the Jedi: Into the Void had its cover revealed!

On this week’s Camie’s Concerns, the hosts took issue with TOR’s article on what books new readers to the Expanded Universe should pick up. Brian and Nanci offer up their suggestions on what novels to pick up based on genre.

Wrapping up the show, the hosts answer questions from the livestream chat in our Ask Us Anything segment.

Tosche Station Radio is the official podcast of Tosche-Station.net and a part of the Solo Sound network. If you like what you hear, please leave a review on the iTunes Music Store or the Xbox Music Store. We can also be found on Facebook, Google+, 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.

Struzan Approached for Episode VII

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It’s already going to be weird enough seeing Episode VII without the Fox Fanfare. I’m not sure if I could handle a new Star Wars film if it were missing something else iconic. Something like Drew Struzan poster artwork.

For those that don’t know, Struzan has been retired for a number of years, which makes getting new art from him for the sequel trilogy potentially problematic. Thankfully, there might be a bit of hope. From a joint interview with Sam Witwer, Drew said…

I got a couple calls already this week on Star Wars from Disney. Oh my god, I’m trying to be retired! You know, I spent 35 years painting Star Wars. [laughs] I painted Star Wars before most of you were born! But I guess there is always a chance. There’s no intention. But I would love to have a day off every now and again, and I have to work a weekend and all through the night. If the opportunity arises, it will be a real temptation.

Here’s to hoping Struzan returns for at least one more Star Wars film.

(Via)

Cosplay Monday: Mandalorian Warrior

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We’re back with another edition of Cosplay Monday: the weekly post where we try and awe you with an awesome costume and distract you from your case of the Mondays.  This week, we’re highlighting a pretty cool costume by hydraness over on DeviantArt.  Check out her original Mandalorian character: Umi.  The armor looks pretty awesome and it’s always neat seeing someone create and costume as their very own character in the Star Wars universe.  Plus, anyone who’s willing to go outside and shoot in the snow for a photoshoot has my respect.  You can check out more pictures of the costume and more of hydraness’s work over at her DeviantArt page.

Umi hydraness