Hey there folks! Welcome to another busy week of Star Wars news!
Celebration’s Author Slate Just Keeps Getting Better!
This week the lovely folks behind Star Wars Celebration Chicago added three new authors to their slate of guests we can expect to see at the convention in April. Authors E.K. Johnston (Ahsoka, Queen’s Shadow), Justina Ireland (Lando’s Luck), and Zoraida Cordova (From a Certain Point of View) will be joining the show for panels and signings. Tickets for Celebration are still available on a limited basis and can be found on the Celebration Website.
Last year, Columbia Sportswear debuted their Echo Base Collection—a line of coats inspired by the wardrobe worn by Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, and Carrie Fisher in The Empire Strikes Back. The coats were a near-instant sell-out. This week, in a repeat performance, Columbia has returned to the Galaxy Far, Far, Away with the Empire Crew Parka. The coat, an homage to the ones worn by cast and crew on the set of The Empire Strikes Back, sold out online within minutes, and in stores within hours. These coats are made with unisex styling and sizing and, like all Columbia Sportswear winter gear, are Tested Tough and guaranteed “to keep you warm as a Wookiee”.
A limited number of coats were signed by Mark Hamill and were available for purchase at select Columbia Stores. These autographed pieces sold for $1980 with all proceeds going to charity.
This week our friends at Del Rey announced the next installment from Timothy Zahn and his artful Chiss Grand Admiral. Thrawn: Treason, available for pre-order beginning next week, will bring us along with the Grand Admiral as the Emperor cuts his TIE Defender program in favor of Krennic’s Death Star, and his struggle with conflicting allegiances. The book is set to be released in summer of 2019.
A new comic series was also announced this week. Vader: Dark Visions is a limited series that is said to “shed a new light on the many sides of the galaxy’s greatest villain”. It’s set to be written by Dennis Hopeless with art by Paolo Villanelli & Brian Level and should hit comic stores in March 2019.
Star Wars earns Grammy Nominations
The Grammys didn’t forget Star Wars with their list of nominees this week. John Williams received a nomination for “Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media” for his work on The Last Jedi and both he and John Powell received a nomination for “Best Instrumental Composition” for “Mine Mission” from the Solo: A Star Wars Story soundtrack.
In this week’s episode of Fox’s Family Guy, the character of Peter Griffin’s boss, Angela, will be laid to rest. The character, who was voiced by the late Carrie Fisher, has been used sparingly since the actress’s untimely passing in 2016, as the series chose not to re-cast the role. Now that Fisher’s last episode has aired, the producers have planned “a respectful goodbye” to both the character and the iconic actress that played her.
And yes, I cried when I watched it.
Fans of the MCU and all things Avengers got a treat this week when Disney/Marvel released the first trailer for Avengers 4. Tweeted onto the official Disney account with the logline “Part of the journey is the end” and the Hashtag #AvengersEndgame the trailer is the first official look fans have had at the final installment of the Avengers franchise. The film is set for an April 2019 release.
What a week! As always, send Star Wars news tips to Tosche Station and Carrie Fisher feels to @MandaTheGinger
Can we have a minute for Oscar Isaac?