Remember the secret guest for Week 4 of Star Wars Weekends that I teased on a recent episode of Tosche Station Radio? No? Well, that’s okay, because the nexu’s out of the bag: it’s Dave Filoni! The supervising director of The Clone Wars animated series will take part in a live Q&A session on the Sorcerer’s Hat State at 2:30 pm on Saturday, hosted by Ashley Eckstein. He will also be signing the Disney Racers miniature cars at Darth’s Mall at 11 am on Saturday and Sunday.
A Memory of Light, the final volume of the Wheel of Time
The US release
I know, this isn’t exactly what we do here normally, but I figure that as long as we’re a blog that puts you, the readers, in the know about geek culture and the biggest and best of novels and other media there is to experience, I simply have to point this out.
The final book of the Wheel of Time, A Memory of Light, is dated for release on January 3rd, 2013. The cover art has been released, pictured here. The first section of the prologue is available to read at Dragonmount. If you’re interested, you can find it here.
More after the jump.
The Avengers Assemble…
The Avengers has just taken the spot of the third-highest grossing movie 
of all time.
The only movies ahead of it are Titanic and Avatar. Down with you, Cameron!
Origins Day Four Recap: Q&A With Mike Stackpole
The last day at Origins was a brief one, mostly due to the fact that the convention wraps up a little after mid-day. In all, the whole affair was an enjoyable experience (after I figured out how their bizarre event ticketing system worked). While it seems a little odd to attend a game convention to talk to notable Expanded Universe authors, Origins turned out to be a fantastic place to discuss Star Wars with both notable figures and fans.
But beyond the games and the panels, it was a great chance to hang out with some cool people. I had the chance to chat things up with Tracy and the rest of the Club Jade folks as well Rachael from Galactic Drift. Hanging out with two good friends of mine (and using that as an excuse to see The Avengers for a seventh time) was a blast. I’m pretty sure I’ll be back next year. We’ll see if we can get Shane, Emily, and Nanci up here as well.
But enough rambling. Before heading off to the airport, I sat in on a Q&A with Mike Stackpole. Highlights below the jump!
Origins Day Three Recap: More with Allston, Zahn, and Stackpole
Day three at the Origins Game Fair brings more discussions from Expanded Universe authors Timothy Zahn and Aaron Allston as well as a reading session from Mike Stackpole. No game recommendations today, but I’ll try and get back onto the dealer floor tomorrow to play test one more before heading home.
To the jump!
Origins Day Two Recap: Asking Tim Zahn and Aaron Allston Anything
The second half of the day brought more in the way of Expanded Universe fun with panels and readings by noted authors Timothy Zahn and Aaron Allston.
Don’t forget to see what happened earlier this morning here. To the jump!
Kathleen Kennedy Joins Lucasfilm as Co-Chair
All those stories about George Lucas retiring really are true.
Producer Kathleen Kennedy, a long-time partner of Steven Speilberg’s, will become co-chair of Lucasfilm. For now, Lucas will be staying on as co-chair and CEO of the company, but there’s no telling when he might step down completely.
I doubt we’ll ever have a Lucasfilm without any involvement from George, but it’s nice to see him taking the steps to some relaxing retirement years. If anyone deserves it (and can afford it!), we know it’s George.
Origins Day Two: Morning Update
Welcome to day two of the Origins Game Fair. We’ve got more Expanded Universe coverage on tap for later today, but let’s get things kicked off with a quick morning recap of the goings on at the convention.
To the jump!
X-Wing Retrospective Part 1: Rogue Squadron
If you listen to podcast here at Tosche Station, (and if you do, great, if you don’t, why not?) you’ve heard that in honor of the coming latest addition to the fantastic X-Wing series, Mercy Kill, we’re presenting you a retrospective of the series. It will provide a great opportunity for those of us who haven’t read the books in a very long time to refamiliarize ourselves with it. That is actually my own situation—I love these books but somehow I haven’t read them for what must have been a solid decade.
I imagine that there are plenty of you out there that are regulars here at the site that have read my prior material and you’re worrying. Why is the snarky, jaded guy reviewing the first part of this? Is he going to rip it apart? Will he ruin these books for me?
Yes. I mean no. Very no. I love these books and I have an even better perspective on them now. And by now, I mean, after I’ve been looking at some of the most poorly written books in the entire saga. I know what bad Star Wars looks like. This isn’t that. Praise the Force!
So, without further adieu, X-Wing: Rogue Squadron.
Star Wars: 1313 Is The New Game
Last night on Spike, Lucasfilm finally announced what that new game franchise they’ve been hinting at is. The answer, Star Wars 1313.
LucasArts is diving into the most dangerous depths of the Star Wars criminal underworld with their newly announced internally developed videogame franchise, Star Wars 1313. Players will take control of a lethal bounty hunter in the never-before-explored expanses of Level 1313, deep below the surface of Coruscant. Using an arsenal of exotic weaponry to hunt down marks, the player must also uncover the truth surrounding a criminal conspiracy in this third-person cinematic action adventure game. It’s a bold new take on the Star Wars galaxy, intended for mature audiences.
Admittedly, I was hoping beyond hope that this was going to be a flight simulator of some sort. Or anything else, really. I’ve got bounty hunter and sandbox shooter burnout. This sounds like it’s going to be a combination of both of those.
Expect actual gameplay footage to be revealed at E3.