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Star Wars News & Features

News and information from a Galaxy Far Far Away, and sometimes a little closer to home.

    26 May 2017 has been revealed as the release date for Star Wars Episode VIII, the follow-up to The Force Awakens.

    Disney chairman and CEO Bob Iger revealed the release date during a shareholders meeting in which he also announced the title of the first spin-off movie to be Star Wars: Rogue One.

    Little is known about the eighth episode of the Star Wars saga, but what we do know is that Rian Johnson has been confirmed as writer and director. Johnson has previously been responsible for directing sci-fi thriller Looper as well as Brick, along with several episodes of televisions critically-acclaimed show Breaking Bad.

    Lucasfilm's Kathleen Kennedy will produce Episode VIII with Ram Bergman, who also produced Looper, Brick, and Don Jon. The Force Awakens directer, JJ Abrams, will also act as executive producer.

    It is assumed that several key cast members from The Force Awakens will also return, while the crew have reportedly been preparing for the new movie by watching classic movies such as US airforce drama Twelve O'Clock High and soviet era drama Letter Never Sent.

    Disney and Lucasfilm have announced an ambitious new publishing plan headed 'Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens', to lead up to the release of Episode VII in December.

    Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens is a new series of over 20 publications, including books and comics in various formats, starting in fall 2015 and culminating with the release of the latest episode of the Star Wars movie saga on 18 December 2015.

    Andrew Sugerman, executive vice president of Disney Publishing Worldwide stated that the new publishing program has been designed to appeal to a variety of fans both young and old and will include young reader novels, ebooks, apps, comics, and more, and will feature characters that are familiar to us as well as brand new characters and perspectives on classic stories.

    Fans can expect to see hints and clues to the The Force Awakens story to keep fans speculating without giving anything away, and all publications under the 'Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens' banner will be part of the official canon introduced by the Lucasfilm Story Group.

    Some titles and authers have also been revealed on StarWars.com, which may give further hints into the world of The Force Awakens.

    Star Wars: Rogue One will be the title of the first spin-off movie, it has been revealed.

    Disney chairman and CEO Bob Iger revealed the news at a shareholders meeting in San Francisco this Thursday. Also announced was the release date of the next Star Wars big screen outing: 16th December 2017.

    Rogue One will be the first spin-off movie and will placate fans while they await Star Wars Episode VIII, and will be directed by Godzilla director Gareth Edwards and written by Chris Weitz (Cinderalla, About a Boy). Little is known about the movie at this point, although it has been confirmed that Felicity Jones has been cast. Jones, 31, is perhaps best known for her recent role in 2014 hit The Theory of Everything.

    It's fair to say that with the name Rogue One, the film is likely to feature Rogue Squadron, the rebel starfighter group first seen efending the rebel base on Hoth in The Empire Strikes Back. In the former expanded universe, Luke Skywalker lead Rogue Squadron after the events of A New Hope, and the fan favourite organization spawned it's own line of Star Wars novels, comics, and video games.

    Rogue One will reportedly start filming in the UK in summer 2015.

    The new Star Wars canon will have it's first gay character added with the release of Star Wars: Lords of the Sith this April.

    Upcoming novel, Lords of the Sith by Paul S Kemp will introduce the character of Moff Mors, Del Rey editor Shelly Shapiro has confirmed. Shapiro described the character as an Imperial who is an "extremely capable leader" and "also happens to be a lesbian".

    Previous instances of same-sex relationships in the Star Wars universe have had a degree of ambiguity, such as Karen Traviss's addition to the decanonized Legacy of the Force series of Goran Beviin and Medrit Vasur, two Mandalorian men who were in a committed same-sex relationship and intended to marry.The reference was felt to be very subtle and many readers missed it completely.

    Same-sex relationships have also been explored in Star Wars gaming: BioWare's Knights of the Old Republic series allowed players to form relationships regardless of gender. But the message has been inconsistent, too: When the game series' spiritual successor The Old Republic launched, only heterosexual relationships were allowed, with the words 'gay' and 'lesbian' being censored with BioWare reasoning that they did not exist in Star Wars universe. The MMO's expansion pack Rise of the Hutt Cartel​ reintroduced same-sex relationships, but wa criticized for seemingly segregating the galaxy's LGBT citizens to a single planet.

    During an interview with Big Shiny Robot Shapiro welcomed the introduction of further diversity in the Star Wars universe. She stated that the addition of the character wasn't about making a statement, explaining that more diversity "just makes sense". Author, Paul S Kemp, similarly praised the new-found inclusiveness of the Star Wars universe.

    Star Wars: Lords of the Sith, by Paul S Kemp, is available from 28th April 2015.

    Harrison Ford has been injured in a small aircraft crash in California.

    The 72 year old star was initially reported by the media to be in a critical condition, but it later emerged that he apparently walked away from the crash and went to hospital for treatment.

    Ford was piloting a vintage 1940s aircraft instead of his usual YT-1300 freighter, and reported engine trouble shortly after take off from Santa Monica Airport. He attempted to return to the airport, but crashed in the nearby Penmar Golf Course.

    Although initial reports described Ford as having serious head injuries, his son Ben, a Los Angeles chef, tweeted that he was "battered but OK", and fire department crew who attended the scene said he was in a fair to moderate condition after the crash.
    Sarah Michelle Geller has signed on for Star Wars Rebels season 2. The 37 year old actress, who is perhaps most well known for playing the titular role in 90s television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, joins her husband Freddie Prinze Jr who voices Kanan.

    It is not yet known what this new role will entail, but it is reported to be a recurring character for the second season of the popular Disney XD show.

    Season one of Rebels recently came to a close, with a major character death and the return of Ahsoka Tano, previously introduced in The Clone Wars, and the appearance of Darth Vader.

    Star Wars: Princess Leia, launching this month, is a five-issue Marvel comic series following the leading lady of the Star Wars trilogy.

    The new comic series is set immediately after A New Hope and sees Leia finally get the chance to deal with the aftermath of the destruction of Alderaan and being the last Organa.

    The comic, written by Mark Waid and pencilled by Terry Dodson, sees Leia recruit a female X-wing pilot names Evaan and head out in search citizens of Alderaan who managed to avoid the devastating attack by the Death Star.

    Waid has stated that even if he hadn't been offered the job of writing this comic it would have been his first choice, as he loved how the character of Leia was set up as in a classic damsel in distress scenario, only to take charge of the situation. "That was so unique at the time, and sadly, it's still a little unique", he said during an interview at San Diego ComicCon last year.

    You can find out more and see a preview of the comic over at USA Today.
    SalesOne International has announced a new line of licensed stainless steel Star Wars jewellery which will be available to purchase at Celebration Anaheim in April, including two exclusive pieces that you won't be able to get anywhere else.

    The company has also announced that it has another line in the works which will be based upon The Force Awakens.

    If you aren't attending Celebration this year, don't worry as these fantastic products are also available at norselegion.com, the online store where you can also find jewellery from other franchises such as Marvel and DC Comics.

    Head on over to Rebel Scum for more images of the line.
    Yahoo Movies has revealed a sneak peak of several images from the new Star Wars Art: A Poster Collection art book. The book is the sixth book in the Star Wars Art series and features 20 removable large format crease-free prints which you can remove for framing.

    15 prints are from the Lucasfilm vault, with a further five posters having been commissioned for the new book.

    The book will be released on 3rd March 2015, and you can see six of the included posters over at Yahoo Movies.

    Rebels season finale trailer

    By Andy, in Television,

    The first season of Disney XD animated series Star Wars Rebels comes to a close next week, and a special trailer has been created for the final episode.

    The final episode will conclude the current cliffhanger as we see whether the crew of The Ghost can rescue the Jedi Kanan from the Empire's Inquisitor; but are they walking right into a trap?


    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiJiE9sDedY

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