So uhh… there was a Star War that came out last weekend. You may have heard of it. A little indie film called The Last Jedi. Needless to say, we’re all losing our minds over it still. Because of said film, there wasn’t actually much in terms of news this week as it was essentially press junket after press junket but hey! We found a few things that you might have missed.
To start, The Last Jedi is currently on target for a $220 million opening weekend which is second only to The Force Awakens. Apparently people like Star Wars!
Cobalt Squadron by Elizabeth Wein is now available for purchase but if you’d like a taste of it first, you can read an excerpt over on StarWars.com.
In the lead up to The Last Jedi, much of the world is interested in what the actors have to say about the movie and the characters they play. I, on the other hand, would rather watch these videos all day long. (No spoilers in any of them, FYI. And yes, I might be posting them all here so I have them in one place and can watch them over and over again.) While you go crazy waiting for VIII, please enjoy the cast being silly.
As you may notice on this episode, Tom is not in the GM’s seat. Unfortunately scheduling issues and Tom being completely awesome at his job have forced him to step away from GM duties for Of Dice and Droids, but don’t worry. He’ll still be around and we may even talk him into guest playing and GMing from time to time. Brian is sliding behind the GM’s screen in Tom’s place. We want to sincerely thank Tom for helping us launch this show and getting it off the ground.
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I’ve decided that all I want from Kieron Gillen’s Star Wars is more Skywalker twin interactions.
Queen Trios and the Empire continue their efforts to drill all of the kyber out of Jedha and the rebels continue to have somewhat strained relations with what’s left of the Partisans. However, things are slightly less than harmonious between even some of our heroes…
This week on Tosche Station Radio, we avoid social media and engage in one last round of wild mass guessing over what we’re going to see in The Last Jedi.
Tosche Station Radio is the official podcast of Tosche-Station.net. If you like what you hear, subscribe and leave a review on iTunes and Google Play. For more great shows from us, you can also subscribe to the Tosche Station Network mega feed on iTunes and Google Play. 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.
This podcast has been brought to you in part by your support on Patreon!
This episode we dive back into Horizon: Zero Dawn with the new DLC, The Frozen Wilds. We also enthuse about Fran Wilde’s Cloudbound, Destiny 2, and getting the wrong things out of Turtles All The Way Down.
Games:
Destiny 2
Curse of Osiris
Assassin’s Creed Origins
Reigns: Her Majesty
Books:
Canto Bight – John Jackson Miller, Mira Grant, Rae Carson, and Saladin Ahmed
We’re continuing our journey through FROM A CERTAIN POINT OF VIEW, a collection of 40 stories related to A New Hope, by reading “Not for Nothing” through “An Incident Report.” What do we learn about the galaxy’s most infamous hive of scum and villainy? What does the book teach us about the meaning of “canon” in the Star Wars universe? Will Kristen ever get her Hondo moment?! All this and more in this week’s episode!
This podcast is NOT spoiler-free!
Book Wars Pod explores the Star Wars universe through the franchise’s non-screen media: the canon novels, comics, and video games. Check out our guide to past episodes, and subscribe on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, and wherever else you cast your pods. You can also subscribe to the Tosche Station Radio Mega Feed on iTunes or Google Play for more great shows from our podcast network.
Canto Bight… where everyone goes with their shiny dreams of making their fortune and perhaps finding a little excitement along the way… and where so few actually find what they’re hoping for. Canto Bight offers four novellas by three new-to-Star Wars authors and one fan favorite, which explore the lives of those within the city from various walks of life, bringing a little depth to the backdrop we’ve seen in the behind the scenes videos of The Last Jedi.
Each story offers a different angle although all four have little connections to each other and take place on the same night. Saladin Ahmed tells the story of a naïve salesman who’s won a trip to the fabled city and who also gets himself into a spot of trouble that make the trip the opposite of a dream vacation. Mira Grant’s novella is about a sommelier whose quest for a unique bottle of wine becomes difficult when another buyer forces her way into the mix. Rae Carson’s tale is one of a father who gets unwillingly pulled into the politics of the city when it’s the only way he can save his daughter. John Jackson Miller anchors the compilation with the story of a down-on-his-luck gambler who has to come up with an absurd amount of money in one evening thanks to three brothers whose luck just doesn’t make sense. Continue reading →
Disney’s Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique locations have long been the go-to stop for kids who want to transform into their favorite Disney characters while visiting the parks. The folks aboard the Disney Fantasy have decided to take the makeover action to the next level by offering Star Wars themed makeovers in their onboard Boutique location during Star Wars Days at Sea. Kids ages 3-12 will be able to choose from Rey, Poe Dameron, Kylo Ren, or Princess Leia (my favorite) for their Bibbidi Bobbidi makeover. This service is currently only available aboard the Disney Fantasy and only during Star Wars Days at Sea, so if you’re interested, be sure to reserve space in advance. More information can be found on disneycruise.com
Weta Workshop now has you covered if you’re across the Pacific. Their new line of Star Wars costume pieces can help you transform into your favorite armor-suited villain. Offerings include both helmets and full suits and range in price from $250 (for a standard Stormtrooper helmet) to $2750 (for a full Vader suit) and are available on their website.
When top-end footwear designer Christian Louboutin announced earlier this year that he was collaborating with Lucasfilm on a line of shoes to celebrate The Last Jedi, I remember distinctly squealing with excitement. This week, the shoes were unveiled– and they do not disappoint. There are four Star Wars styles altogether: The Rose, The Amilyn Holdo, The Captain Phasma, and The Rey– each named for and styled in homage to one of the film’s stars. A fifth design, “The Spaceship” was revealed at the premiere. It was also announced this week that the shoes won’t be going into regular production. Instead, each pair is a one-of-a-kind piece of wearable art. Each pair will be sold at auction to benefit Force For Change.
Battlefront 2 Takes us to The Last Jedi
The folks at EA have once again teased us with exquisite game content. This newest trailer, taking us into the worlds of The Last Jedi. The trailer takes us to Crait and beyond and features such familiar characters as Finn and Captain Phasma. It makes me want to get better at video games….
Friday saw the launch of the Columbia Sportswear Echo Base collection. The Coats, which come in Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, and Princess Leia varieties, were available online beginning at midnight, EST and were sold out in minutes. The Luke jacket was out first (5 minutes, 22 seconds), followed by Han (6 minutes 23 seconds) and finally Leia (7 minutes 22 seconds). Friday morning, the brand’s thirteen retail locations opened to throngs of people hoping to get their hands on one of each store’s 160 in-stock coats. You can read about my experience at the Seattle store on the blog later today.
And finally, in news that we all knew about but couldn’t exactly fail to mention, The Last Jedi had its red carpet premiere on Saturday night. The red carpet featured appearances by the entire principal TLJ cast as well as Star Wars veterans such as Frank Oz and Warwick Davis and included a touching tribute to the late, great Carrie Fisher. Early reactions have been enthusiastically positive, and I’m sure I speak for all of us here at Tosche Station when I say we’re excited to see it for ourselves later this week.
Send Star Wars news tips to @ Tosche_Station, Send Kleenex to @MandaTheGinger. It’s going to be one heck of a week!
Perhaps she’s not a match for the Grand Inquisitor in a lightsaber duel but she knows how to hold her own. While the Jedi Order seems fine with letting their Knights have their own areas of specialty, they definitely make sure that everyone knows how to fight. In this case, that’s a very good thing. This particular story arc in the Darth Vader comic is doing wonders not just for Jocasta Nu’s characterization but also the Grand Inquisitor’s. He doesn’t seem to be entirely at ease with taking orders from Vader yet… especially when they’re contrary to what he wants to do.
But Jocasta… Listen, this arc should be required reading for anyone who wants to reduce her down to a snarky sentence about her scene in Attack of the Clones. Jocasta didn’t have to return to the Jedi Temple and neither did she have to dedicate herself to trying to ensure the knowledge of the Order endures. It’s incredibly brave of her to return. At the same time, the arc shows her weakness: she can’t stand to see the books and knowledge that she cares so deeply about read and mistreated by someone with no right to them.
Camuncoli’s art continues to be delightful. I will admit to giggling a fair bit at the first page in which Vader stands in the back of a speeder while two others drive it with his cape billowing in the wind. Could he possibly be any more dramatic? (The answer is likely yes: this is the man who was once Anakin Skywalker, after all.)
Are you reading this book yet? You should be.
Darth Vader #9: Charles Soule/Writer, Giuseppe Camuncoli/Pencils, Daniele Orlandini/Inks, David Curiel/Colorist, Joe Caramagna/Letterer, Heather Antos/Assistant Editor, Jordan D. White/Editor
