Tag Archives: Star Wars

Disney’s Bob Iger Confirms Standalone Films in the Works

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So here’s what we know now. First and foremost, Star Wars spinoff movies are in the works and that is indeed why Kinberg and Kasdan were brought into the fold. Furthermore, these films are not going to center around characters involved in The Saga.

Episode VII is still slated for 2015 and hasn’t been officially pushed back a year or moved up as the AP erroneously reported a few weeks back. Iger also mentioned “concurrent” releases, which may mean that there will be films released between major episodes.

There are some other details in the interview with CNBC that may interest you, but the confirmation above was the big bit of news.

Update: StarWars.com adds that Kinberg and Kasdan will be working on separate movies.

One of the standalone films will be written by Lawrence Kasdan, screenwriter of The Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and co-writer ofReturn of the Jedi while the other will be penned by Simon Kinberg, writer of Sherlock Holmes and Mr. and Mrs. Smith. The movies will be separate from the upcoming Episodes VII, VIII, and IX, on which Kasdan and Kinberg are also consulting, and are expected to be released sometime after Episode VII. Each standalone film will focus on a specific character, and two spinoff films are currently confirmed.

In a call to investors, Bob Iger, chairman and CEO of The Walt Disney Company, revealed while the original focus was on the highly-anticipated sequel trilogy, the idea of spinoff films was bandied about early and the additional films are now becoming a reality. “We are in development of a few standalone films,” he said, “that are not part of the Star Wars saga…there are now creative entities working on developing scripts for what would be those standalone films.”

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EU Retrospective: Rogue Squadron

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I’ve finally reached the first batch of X-Wing books and there was much rejoicing!  Obviously we here at Tosche Station are very pro-X-Wing books and I always enjoy getting to read them again.  So sit back and enjoy me gushing about the first four books focused on the flyboys and flygirls of Rogue Squadron as they do the impossible which is absolutely what they do best.

Rogue Squadron
I love these books.  I really do.  But WOW IS CORRAN HORN AN ARROGANT PAIN IN THE BUTT in this book.  I do like him as a character especially with some of the character development he’s gotten over the years but he is infuriating to read about in this book.  The arrogance and the monologing do get a bit old after awhile.  At least I know he gets better.  Corran will always have some of that arrogance because that’s just who he is and I appreciate that but it’s at an all time high here.

I do enjoy reading this book though because it’s a solid read that offers both a good story and some great characters.  It simultaneously tells the story of the squadron’s reassembly and also sets up the overarching plot for the next three books.

With the exception of certain arrogant Corellian and a certain Bacta Queen-who-was-clearly-a-traitor-the-whole-time-in-retrospect, the characters are rather enjoyable!  (Okay, maybe I was a little harsh grouping Corran with Erisi there.  That was mean, I’m sorry, Corran.)  I always love getting a chance to look into Wedge Antilles’s head and Stackpole does such a good job of it.  I also enjoyed getting to meet such great characters like Tycho Celchu, Mirax Terrik, and Gavin Darklighter.  Poor Tycho though.  Like his backstory wasn’t already tragic enough without adding in the ‘he might be a traitor’ thing.  At least Mirax gets to balance it out by being sassy.

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Rumor: First Star Wars Standalone a Yoda Film

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Yes as per usual, this is a rumor. Take it with the biggest grain of salt humanly imaginable. Ain’t it Cool News is reporting that the first standalone film in the new Disney-owned Star Wars era will be a Yoda feature.

The first Stand Alone film is going to center upon YODA. At this stage specifics are sparse, but Kathleen Kennedy is putting together a STAR WARS slate… I’m wildly curious for more details on the YODA film – would this be a young or old YODA tale?

I’m rather hesitant on posting this, but a number of other (and larger) fansites have picked up on this rumor. If I’m being honest, I highly doubt that this film ever gets made, if for no other reason than two hours of Yoda-speak wouldn’t be the easiest thing to sit through. Don’t get me wrong, Yoda is an interesting character! But he’s interesting because he’s a character shrouded in mystery. Whenever the backstory of a character like this is explained, fans are rarely happy with the result.

Cosplay Monday: Gamorrean Warrior

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We’re back with another edition of Cosplay Monday: the weekly post where we try and awe you with an awesome costume and distract you from your case of the Mondays.  This week, we’re spotlighting an incredible looking Gamorrean costume spotted at Dragon*Con 2010 by photographer Insane-Pencil.  (If you know who the costumer is, please let us know and we’ll add in credit!)  Everything about this costume looks great and super impressive.  Well done!  (Who thinks this costumer should tackle a certain Wraith Squadron pilot next?)

Gamorrean_by_insane_pencil

Billy Dee Williams Attending Dragon*Con 2013

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Going to be attending Dragon*Con this year? If you’re a Star Wars fan, you may be happy to hear that Billy Dee Williams will be in attendance again.

Bring along your copy of Scoundrels to pose with him for photo opportunities.

Tosche Station Radio #43: Heist

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The hosts are joined by Bria and Emily this week  to discuss the latest Episode VII news and have a spoiler-filled discussion of Timothy Zahn’s Scoundrels!

Kicking off the show, Nanci highlights what’s new on the blog. Emily talked about why J.J. Abrams will be good for Star Wars. Meanwhile, Bria continued on with the Waru Express with two post-Endor books.

In Fixer’s Flash, Nanci has kept herself busy by reading through I’ve Got Your Number and starting Old Man’s War by John Scalzi. Brian FINALLY finished reading Scoundrels and found the time to read through the latest issues ofAvengers Assemble, Captain Marvel, and Hawkeye. Bria, meanwhile, has been reading all of the Mageworlds novels and working on costuming for Katsucon. Somehow she’s also found time to do work for her geek fashion blog White Hot Room. Emily has also joined the Mageworlds circle and read through the first three books. She also found the time to read Batgirl #16.

Fandom appeared to explode and this week’s Deak’s Dirt attempts to make sense of it. Her Universe released a new set of quote tees just in time for Valentine’s Day. Book of the Sith by Dan Wallace is getting the trade paperback treatment on May 4th.The surprise Star Wars novel? Darth Maul: Lockdown by Joe Schreiber. Over on the film side, the 3D treatments for the remaining Prequel Trilogy have been indefinitely postponed. The big news, however, is that Episode VII finally has a director. Lucasfilm announced late last week that Star Trek andSuper 8 director J.J. Abrams will be taking the lead for the first installment of the Sequel Trilogy. The hosts, Bria, and Emily break down their thoughts on Abrams and what this means for Star Wars.

Camie’s Concerns this week is a roundtable discussion looking at Timothy Zahn’s Scoundrels. Did the somewhat radical departure from typical Expanded Universe conventions and tropes work? Listen in to see what everyone thought of Zahn’s latest addition to the world of Star Wars literature.

Finally, the hosts wrap up the show with their Ask Us Anything segment.

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 Xbox Music Store. 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 Discussing Scoundrels and J.J. Abrams Tonight, Send us your Questions!

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What are you up to tonight at 5PM Pacific? Nothing? Great! You should join us in the Livestream chat for an all-new episode of Tosche Station Radio.

Joining the usual hosting duo today are staff writers Bria and Emily as part of a Scoundrels roundtable discussion. We’ll also be discussing the Prequel Trilogy 3D postponement as wel as the J.J. Abrams news and what it could mean for Episode VII and Star Wars as a whole.

As always, we would love to take your questions! If you have questions specific to the topics we’ll be discussing, send them our way and we’ll work them into our roundtable. Any other questions relating to Star Wars or geek culture you can also submit and we’ll answer them at the end of the show.

New Quote Tees from Her Universe

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As someone who was looking for a neat Valentine’s Day gift, I’m glad to see that Her Universe has a new set of Valentine’s Day themed quote shirts for the Star Wars, Star Trek, and Doctor Who fandoms.

The Star Wars shirt’s quote can be seen on the left and features a bevy of lovely in-universe references.

The new shirts are available in the store right now so head on over to Her Universe to pick one up for the geek in your life.

THR Profiles Kathleen Kennedy

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kennedylucas

The new guard and old guard.

When Lucasfilm was sold to Disney, long-time film industry veteran Kathleen Kennedy was given the reigns of the company and one of the most valuable intellectual properties in Hollywood. Today, The Hollywood Reporter sat down with Kennedy to talk about how she got J.J. Abrams to sign on, how she met her husband, and her relationship with some of the biggest names in the film business.

On getting J.J. Abrams to work on a different Star franchise:

Abrams agreed to meet with Kennedy on Dec. 14 at his Bad Robot offices in Santa Monica. Famously plain-spoken, she summarizes her pitch like this: “Please do Star Wars.” And she had cards to play. Not only was Oscar winnerMichael Arndt (Little Miss Sunshine, Toy Story 3) writing the script, but Lawrence Kasdan, who wrote 1980’s The Empire Strikes Back and 1983’s Return of the Jedi, was on board to consult. Abrams “was flipping out when he found out that Michael and Larry were on the movie already,” says Kennedy.

Abrams tells THR, “I learned firsthand how incredible and persuasive she is.” Some — but not all — of his reservations were dispelled. “The thing about any pre-existing franchise — I’d sort of done that,” he says. “But when I met with Kathy, it was suddenly very tantalizing.”

For more, read THR’s full profile of Kathleen Kennedy.