Details of Joss Whedon’s New Marvel Deal

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Earlier this week, news broke that Joss Whedon would continue his role as writer/director of the Avengers 2 as well as contributing to a brand-new Marvel film-universe television series on ABC. Further details have come out since and by the looks of it, Marvel and Disney have handed Joss the keys to the city.

io9 reports that Whedon has signed an exclusive three-year contract with Marvel, locking him into their works during that duration. That’s mildly interesting, but there’s one key portion to the agreement that’s worth noting:

The three year contract, according to Marvel, means that Whedon will “contribute creatively to the next phase of Marvel’s Cinematic Universe.” You can assume that means Whedon will be involved, at some level, in the scriptwriting of the movies between now and Avengers 2 — especially the second Captain America film and Guardians of the Galaxy.

io9 goes on further to break down why Whedon’s involvement in all of the films moving forward is critical:

The main takeaway from Marvel’s announcement, though, is the notion that Whedon is joining a very small group of people who make the big decisions about the direction of the shared universe that includes Marvel’s movies and this new TV show. This comes at a crucial phase, when most of Marvel’s films are going to be sequels rather than origin stories, and at least half those films (Thor 2 and Guardians) are likely to be insanely “cosmic,” with the obvious risk of falling into the Green Lantern trap of excessive CG and flat characters.

So most of all, Marvel’s on-screen universe is going to have to stay grounded, something that Whedon excels at because he understands that the best stories are “about us.”

For long-time Whedon fans, this is all great news. Finally there’s a studio that’s going to stand behind Joss, his fans, and his process. For fans of the Avengers films, this is going to likely mean much tighter narrative control and cohesion from film to film.

Celebration VI Exhibitor Directory

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The Celebration VI Exhibitor Directory has been posted on the official Star Wars Celebration website. Take a peek to find out where all your favorite exhibitors, fan groups, etc. will be stationed at the con.

Knowing where certain exhibitors are located can make the rush for con exclusives much easier, not to mention knowing where to go for an author signing or just to get your picture taken with some scoundrels.

In news very relevant to my interests, Club Jade has already noted that the Del Rey and Her Universe booths are located near each other. My wallet weeps.

The panel schedule is already live on the mobile app, but it will become available on the regular site later today.

Edit: The Celebration store items have been posted on the official site. Start making your shopping lists now!

Contest: Replace The Catsuit

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Somebody give that poor woman some sleeves

We love Mara Jade. She’s smart, she’s snarky, she’s a BAMF to the highest degree.

There’s one thing about Mara we don’t like, however. Nanci and I have talked about this during the podcast before: we hate the wardrobe she’s constantly portrayed in. Specifically, the catsuit. By the Gods of Kobol, we hate the catsuit. It’s objectifying, it’s demeaning. Mara’s a character whose innate personality makes her engaging. She doesn’t need to wear a skintight outfit that’s woefully ill-suited to combat to get fans to like her.

Unfortunately, no one listens to us (which is probably a good thing). Mara will continue to wear that awful outfit in every piece of art and every action figure until the end of time. Unless, perhaps, you speak up.

That’s why Tosche Station is holding a contest to raise awareness for poor Mara Jade’s lousy wardrobe. All you have to do is replace the catsuit!

Here’s what we’re looking for: 

We want to see you, our reading and listening audience, portray Mara in something more appropriate. Bring on the Jedi robes! Bring on the flightsuits! Bring on the flight jackets and trousers! Bring on some kind of outfit that might actually make sense for Mara Jade to wear!

We’re looking to take everything from fanart to costumes and cosplay. If it shows Mara wearing something that isn’t the catsuit, send it our way.

Have fun with this, and remember, we want to see something that doesn’t objectify her like the catsuit does.

The Prize

Like we said, this is a contest! Which means there’s going to be a winner, a runner up, and some fabulous prizes given to the best costume and art submitted.

  • First Prize: A copy of Allegiance and Choices of One by Timothy Zahn
  • Runner-up: A paperback copy of Allegiance

Submit a picture of your costume or your fanart by August 15th via Twitter, Facebook, or the e-mail address on the sidebar. For the costumers in the crowd, consider this a tuneup for convention season this summer. Everyone who does submit something will have their work featured in their own post on the blog. 

Hop to it, Mara fans!

Entries:

Mercy Kill Review Roundup From Around the Blogosphere

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The reviews are in, and it looks like Mercy Kill is faring very well with readers around the blogosphere. We’ve gathered up some of the reviews and impressions from various Expanded Universe fansites and personalities. As always, venture into the reviews at your own risk if you haven’t read the book yet! If you’ve got a review you’d like us to add to this list, feel free to leave a comment in this post.

So. Have you picked up your copy of Mercy Kill yet?

What Celebration VI Events are you Looking Forward to?

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After the whirldwind that was fandom news yesterday, today has been a little more … dry. As is usually the case when there’s nothing else to talk about, we here at Tosche Station crowdsource the content to you! This week, we want your input on Celebration VI. Just what are you looking forward to? Leave a comment or reply to the tweet below and we’ll add your response to the list.

 

To the jump!

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Replace Mara’s Catsuit: Art Entry from Louis

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Time’s ticking down until the end of our Replace Mara’s Catsuit contest! Reader Louis sends in another art entry for consideration. His description:

Hey there, just sending along my entry for the Catsuit competition. You’ll find attached to this the entry image, with it I was going for something grounded in the real world to some extent. The main inspiration was the Mongol culture, whose renowned military history for a combination of abominable acts of destruction combined with tactical genius and efficiency seemed to be the same kind of ideals the Empire would instil in it’s top agents most of all. Not to mention that Mara Jade’s green eyes and red hair are a relative genetic regularity in the Steppe tribes, making the match seem even more perfect. With the costume then I looked at common modes of dress and armour from that culture’s history and interpreted that through Star Wars, giving Mara shoulder and leg armour plates and shoes she’s grabbed from Stormtrooper’s gear complimented with a Corellian-style jump suit and a nice cape, because you can’t be a Jedi or Sith without something long and flowing to catch the wind.

Thanks for submitting, Louis! Remember, you’ve got until the 15th to enter.

While we’re on the topic of Mara and the catsuit, be sure to check out Club Jade’s newest column that brilliantly articulates just why we have a problem with it.

Tosche Station Radio #26: Heavy Meta

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On this week’s Tosche Station Radio, we’re joined by author, filmmaker, and Star Wars fan Bryan Young!

Kicking off the show, we highlight new Replace Mara’s Catsuit entries from kataja, Ellen, Bria, and Robert. Brian looked back at Isard’s Revenge and Emily wrapped up our series of X-Wing retrospectives with a fond review of Starfighters of Adumar.

In Fixer’s Flash, both Brian and Nanci have been pretty wrapped up with the Olympics. Nanci did find some time to read The Gathering Flame, the prequel to the Mageworlds trilogy. She also finished her Mirax costume! Brian apologized for live-tweeting the US Women National Soccer Team’s match versus Canada. Over the weekend he jumped into Marvel’s Siege comic arc and started reading Mageworlds again. He also spent the latter part of the weekend nervously watching NASA’s seven minutes of terror.

Deak’s Dirt opens with news that Brian and Nanci are thrilled about. X-Wing: Mercy Kill, the long-awaited tenth novel in the series, has hit bookshelves!  In Celebration VI news, badges were revealed, Warwick Davis was confirmed, the We Love Prequels panel is returning, and the full schedule has finally been revealed. The Old Republic was recently confirmed as going free-to-play, but Brian’s unsure if this is good news for the game. Rounding out the news, Brian and Nanci are pumped that NASA successfully landed Curiosity.

This week’s Camie’s Concerns features author and Star Wars fan Bryan Young. The hosts and Bryan talk his writing and filmmaking career, his love of nerd culture, and all sorts of Star Wars related topics. Bryan dives in and discusses the previous Celebration conventions he’s been at and what you can expect from his Why We Love the Prequels panel. Be sure to check out his novels like Operation: Montauk and Lost at the Con! You can find Bryan at Big Shiny Robot, Bryan Young Fiction, The Huffington Post, and on Twitter.

This time around in Wormie’s Works, Nanci highlights Kate Blankenship’s brilliant Endor Leia costume and Brian cheats and highlights the great costume and art entries submitted to our Replace Mara’s Catsuit contest. Rounding out the show, Brian and Nanci take questions from listeners.

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 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.

X-Wing: Mercy Kill Review (No Spoilers)

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It’s been thirteen long years but Expanded Universe readers can finally get their hands on a brand new X-Wing novel and wow is this book worth the wait.  Mercy Kill helps put the fun back into the galaxy far far away and does so with a typical Allston flourish.

Mercy Kill is set after Fate of the Jedi in a galaxy where Wraith Squadron hasn’t existed for a few years.  But there’s a general who’s clearly been up to no good and that calls for Face Loran to reassemble the Wraiths to take care of business.

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Joss Whedon Returning for ‘Avengers 2’ and … A TV Series!?

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Sitting down? Good. Brace yourself. Marc Graser with Variety just dropped this bombshell from Disney:

First off, great news that Avengers 2 will keep on running with Joss at the helm. Second, Joss heading back to TV? Be still my beating fandom heart!

This sounds like it’s the TV show that was rumored to be in the works last week. While it wouldn’t feature any of the current Avengers (because wow that would be an expensive TV series), it looks like it’s going to feature Joss Whedon’s flair for episodic television. Perhaps S.H.I.E.L.D the television series? Given that this is Joss, I’m holding out hope for something featuring Carol Danvers.

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X-wing: Mercy Kill Review (Spoilers!)

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Me and my brand new shiny copy of Mercy Kill

I haven’t been to a bookstore after a Star Wars book on the day it was released in years.

Today, I was cursing myself for not knowing that the bookstore had new hours and was open an hour earlier than I thought originally, because I wanted Mercy Kill as soon as I could get it in my grubby little hands. If, for some reason, you have not gotten your copy yet…go get it. Right now. This is the best Star Wars book to come out in years.

And now, I’ve read it. This review is not so much a review as it is me squealing about various parts of the book. There are spoilers behind the jump, so fair warning.

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