Mark Hamill Has Known About Episode VII Since August

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Pablo Hidalgo wasn’t the only person who’s been keeping this bombshell a secret. According to an interview at Entertianment Weekly, Mark Hamill says he and Carrie Fisher have known that a new trilogy was coming since August.

Of course, Entertainment Weekly tried to get more out of Hamill, but he doesn’t have much information to give up:

When you had lunch with George, did he get into any details with you about where the story would go in the next three films, or whether you would have a part in them?
Well, no, he was just talking about writers and the fact that he wouldn’t be directing. I guess he wanted us to know before everybody else knew. He said, “Now you can’t tell anybody!” [Laughs] Even now I’m nervous about saying anything. I just don’t know!

Let the fan speculation continue, I suppose.

George Lucas To Put Lucasfilm Sale Bounty into Education

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If you hadn’t heard, George Lucas made a little bit of money this week by selling something he’s owned for a while. Just what will he be doing with that $4.05 billion suddenly flooding his bank account? Funnel the bulk of it straight into education.

By the end of the year, the $4.05 billion sale of Lucasfilm to Disney should be finalized. And since George Lucas owns 100 percent of his company – which has little to no debt – all that money goes to him.

After that, Lucas plans to quickly put the bulk of the money into a foundation which will primarily focus on educational issues, a spokesperson for Lucasfilm tells THR.

“George Lucas has expressed his intention, in the event the deal closes, to donate the majority of the proceeds to his philanthropic endeavors.”

It’s worth noting that George Lucas was one of the first individuals to sign The Giving Pledge, which promises to give away at least half his wealth.

Thoughts on the Big Frakking News: Disney Flourishes and Just What Is Episode VII?

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“Oh man the Internet is going to explode when you sign this thing, George.”

Earlier today I posted a long and rambling mess of an article looking at my thoughts and gut feelings on what the Big News means for the Expanded Universe as a whole. Originally, this post was going to be part of that article but for the sake of readability, I had to break things up. In any case, here’s the second part of me trying to figure out just what the heck all this news means and how I feel about it all.

A new movie? New ownership? What in the world does this mean for publishing contracts? Is Disney going to put a flourish on Star Wars? Head over to the jump and watch me try to process all of this.

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Thoughts on the Big Frakking News: The Impact on the Expanded Universe

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Well that was a terrible day to schedule a work roadtrip.

To set the stage, I was sitting in a Taco Bell yesterday grabbing a quick bite to eat when I get a text from Nanci. Actually, several texts. Here’s a screencap of how the conversation went:

We are far less wholesome people than you think we are.

I drove home and recorded a podcast in which I didn’t say a whole lot because I was still working out just how I felt about all this. Well, the next day I’m still trying to figure it out, but I think I’m getting there. Originally this post was going to be a collection of thoughts on what I think this all could mean for the franchise and the fandom, but I wound up writing about a thousand words on just the impact on the Expanded Universe. So. Introducing Part 1! How this big frakking news impacts the EU. I’ll have a post up later with a scattering of thoughts on everything else. To the jump!

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Tosche Station Radio #35: Buyout

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It’s an emergency episode of Tosche Station Radio!

The notes are brief, because we’re only talking about one thing: Disney’s purchase of Lucasfilm and the announcement of new Star Wars films (our post/Club Jade’s post). Hosts Nanci and Brian are joined by Dunc from Club Jade to try and make sense of the big news and offer insight as to what this might mean for the future of the Galaxy Far, Far Away. What might the new films bring? What does this mean for the Expanded Universe? Will Disney parks get more of a Star Wars-y feel? One thing’s for sure, the future of Star Wars hasn’t been this exciting in a long time!

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 Zune Marketplace. 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.

Tosche Station Radio to Talk Disney’s Lucasfilm Purchase Tonight

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We’re throwing a changeup!

Instead of recording tomorrow, we’re going to livestream a podcast recording TONIGHT. Tentatively  we’re scheduled to start sometime from 5:30-6PM Pacific Time to discuss the big news that Disney has purchased Lucasfilm and will be producing new Star Wars films and other content.

Nanci and I will be joined by Dunc from Club Jade to sift through the key points of the announcement as well as offering our insight on what this could mean to the future of the franchise. Given that it’s us, we’ll likely spend a decent chunk of time discussing what this means for the Expanded Universe in particular.

Give us a follow on Facebook and Twitter (links on the sidebar) for more information and be sure to send us your questions. We’ll be livestreaming at Livestream.com/toschestationradio

Disney Acquires Lucasfilm

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Bob Iger has just announced that The Walt Disney Company will be acquiring Lucasfilm (including its operating businesses such as Industrial Light and Magic and Skywalker Sound) for $4.05 billion.

What does this mean for the Star Wars universe?  We really don’t know yet.  According to the official press release, Kathleen Kennedy will be staying on and become the President of Lucasfilm and George Lucas will be a creative consultant.

There is, however, this:

Star Wars Episode 7 is targeted for release in 2015, with more feature films expected to continue the Star Wars saga and grow the franchise well into the future.

The Disney blog says that after Episode 7, we can expect to see new Star Wars films every two to three years.

Obviously all of the details aren’t out there yet but we will bring them to you as soon as we learn something new.

Stormtrooper Katie!

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As if we needed more proof that the 501st Legion (and its counterparts) are completely awesome.

Remember Katie the Star Wars Girl, who was bullied for carrying a Star Wars water bottle back in November 2010? The fandom rallied around this little girl and offered tons of support. Well Katie’s back in the news, this time for a super awesome Halloween costume made by members of the 501st Legion. Katie had been upset by that ridiculous news slideshow of costumed fans at Celebration VI, and wanted to show her solidarity with the 501st by being a stormtrooper for Halloween. Instead of helping Katie and her mom augment a store-bought costume, the members of the local garrison made Katie her very own set of armor! After she grows out of it, it’ll be donated back to the 501st to use during Make-a-Wish events.

May the Force be with Katie!

(sniff…it’s a little dusty in here…)