VOTD: 23 Things in ‘Star Wars’ That Aren’t Named in the Original Trilogy

Even though a big chunk of the Star Wars universe was turned into nothing more than glorified fan fiction when Disney bought Lucasfilm and turned the entire Expanded Universe into non-canon Legends, there is still quite a detailed mythology behind the sci-fi saga. What’s interesting is that some of the most iconic details of the Star Wars universe are never actually named in the films.
A new video runs through 23 things in Star Wars that were only seen but never expressly mentioned in the original trilogy. From any mention of Sith to the names of various starships, you just might be surprised to find out how many things you learned about Star Wars outside of the movies.

Here’s 23 Things You Didn’t Know Weren’t in Star Wars from Dorkly:

I don’t know why Jar Jar Binks appears in the teaser image for the video since he’s not mentioned or shown a single time. But let’s focus more on the terms from the Star Wars universe that are never mentioned in the movies.
The most abundant things seen but never named in the original Star Wars are the names of the ships that we all know so well today. X-Wings, TIE Fighters and Star Destroyers are never mentioned out loud, and we would only learn the names of those ships once they hit toy shelves. These are the kind of things you could swear you’ve heard out loud in the original movie before, but that’s only because they’ve been burned into our brains.
One of the other Star Wars terms that ended up referenced incessantly in the prequels but never in the original trilogy is the existence of the Sith. In the original trilogy, the Force-using villains only talk about the “dark side” of the Force (and the “light side” is never mentioned by name either).
The lack of Sith was something that was continued in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The only mention of the Sith is when Maz Kanata mentions them as one of the many forms of evil that have appeared in the galaxy. Plus, before the movie hit theaters, J.J. Abrams had already confirmed that the new villain, Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) was not a Sith.
Funnily enough, the tradition of having things in the movie to which we don’t know the name continues. As has become custom with Star Wars, there are plenty of extraneous characters who we see but don’t learn about until books, comic books, toys and more hit shelves.

Endor's End: How the 'Star Wars' Death Star Wiped Out the Ewoks After All

The "Star Wars" Death Star exploding over the surface of Endor would have rained down fiery fragments that would have meant certain death for anything still on the moon.

Credit: Disney/Lucasfilm

If you're a fan of the adorable Ewoks from the "Star Wars: Return of the Jedi" movie, you may want to sit down.
The "Star Wars" rebels may have destroyed the Death Star, but the sinister satellite still managed to destroy the rebel base — and the moon of Endor — in the end. The Ewoks wouldn't have survived the explosion, says one planetary scientist.
"The Ewoks are dead. All of them," said Dave Minton, a researcher at Purdue University. Minton, who studies impacts and planetary formation, is well versed in the mechanics of collisions in space and the damage they can do, and he set forth this bold claim in a white paper submitted to and published by Tech Insider. [10 Real Alien Worlds That Resemble 'Star Wars' Planets]
In the "Star Wars" film "Return of the Jedi," a Death Star under construction around the moon Endor is detonated over the surface. The result would have rained large chunks of material down on the moon.
"There's little doubt in my mind that a significant amount of the structure ended up on the surface of Endor, probably in a spectacular fashion," exoplanet hunter Stephen Kane told Space.com by email. Kane, who was not involved in the research, is an assistant professor of astronomy at San Francisco State University.

The end of the Ewoks
The Endor holocaust first exploded on the "Star Wars" fan site TheForce.net in 1997, when astrophysicist Curtis Saxton argued that both Endor and the Ewoks were doomed. But like most science fiction movies, details about the moon vary from scene to scene, making details difficult to nail down.
Responding to a call by Tech Insider, Minton used the hologram shown in the briefing scene of the movie to estimate the relative sizes of the moon and the Death Star. Using the diameter of Endor found on Wookieepedia (3,000 miles, or 4,900 kilometers), Minton calculated how large the destructive satellite was and how far it orbited from the moon. With rebels and storm troopers moving at relatively normal speeds, he assumed gravity pulled down on them about the same as it did on Earth and used this to determine the moon is only slightly more massive than Mars, though it boasts a smaller diameter. This means that the core of the moon is denser than iron, though less than uranium.
With the size of the Death Star firmly in hand, Minton sought to determine how quickly it spun. To keep one side permanently facing Endor, as the briefing scene shows, would require the moon to spin a little more than once every hour, making it what Minton called "an exceedingly fast rotator."
Kane explained that, from a physics perspective, such a rotation would never have allowed the moon to form. Physics, of course, has never really stopped movie makers.
"Since [director George] Lucas doesn't care that 'parsec' is a unit of distance, I suspect he doesn't give a damn about Newton's version of Kepler's third law," Kane said, taking a stab at Han Solo's boast that his ship — the Millennium Falcon — made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs.
Nor would that rotation match the onscreen cinematics.
"The rebels wouldn't have finished tying their shoelaces before they had lost their chance to attack the imperial bunker during the day," Kane said.
With such an impossible rotation, Minton concluded that the Death Star was instead held aloft by anti-gravity technology, which, he said, is widely available in the "Star Wars" universe.
Minton also concluded that the relatively gentle explosion of the second Death Star when compared to the first would lead to limited vaporization of its material, and that the fragments would not get much of a boost in velocity from the explosion.
"More or less what happens after the destruction is that the entire mass of the Death Star simply falls onto the location of the shield generator," Minton said.
Using his own crater-simulation program, Minton determined that a ball of fragments from the Death Star would leave behind a crater almost 4 times larger than the Chixculub crater in Mexico associated with the extinction of the dinosaurs. Such an impact would obliterate the surface of Endor, with every body of water on the moon flash-heating into steam and every forest igniting in a global firestorm.

Using the simulation of the Death Star made during the rebels' briefing, a planetary scientist calculated exactly what the destruction of the satellite would have meant for life on Endor — and it isn't good.

Kane agreed with this assessment, noting that it would be far more humane for the Ewoks to suffer a quick death.
"Would any of the Ewoks have survived the holocaust resulting from the destruction of the Death Star? God, I hope not!" he said.
Surviving Ewoks would suffer from a slow death by starvation.
"Given that 'Return of the Jedi' portrays the Ewoks as cannibals — yes, cannibals — they may possibly survive a small period of time by eating a few captured imperials and then starting on each other until they're down to the last Ewok, surrounded by the bones of its comrades and the charred remains of its home world," Kane said.

Star Wars Top Gun

             The force is strong with Calgary man building Star Wars themed fire pits to help ailing sister

http://bcove.me/15o51erh

Melody Eschete had no idea a fire-breathing Darth Vader was coming to her rescue until she read it on Etsy.
Her brother Ron Spragg hadn’t told her yet.
Spragg is a Calgary family man and volunteer baseball coach, and in his spare time he makes fire pits inspired by Star Wars characters to raise money to help offset Eschete’s Lyme disease medical bills in Louisiana.

She was browsing her brother’s Etsy shop (etsy.com/shop/CalgaryCreativeWork) recently and stumbled upon an area where he explains wanting to help her.
“I just started crying uncontrollably,” said Eschete, a registered nurse who moved to Louisiana from Calgary in 1993 during Alberta’s health care reform.
“I just fell to my knees, and I was just overwhelmed from the love.”
Spragg said he owes her.
“I’ve never really shown her how much she meant to me,” said Spragg, watching small fires in his R2D2, Darth Vader and storm trooper renditions. “She’s done everything for me since I was a little kid. My mom and dad separated early, and my mom was always sick, and she was just always there.”
Eschete was the hospice and inmate volunteer director at Angola, the Louisiana State Penitentiary, but health problems ultimately cost her that career.
She was diagnosed with Lyme disease in 2014 after a $300,000 year of testing and seeing numerous specialists.

“The Lyme’s gotten into my heart, my brain, my kidneys and my joints,” she said.
Her specialist theorizes she was infected by a tick while jogging through fields in Calgary’s Queensland area before she moved.
The last few years have been the most intense, with medical treatments costing almost almost $6,500 per month.
Her husband’s insurance helps, but it can’t cover everything.
It’s anyone’s guess how much of a dent Spragg’s fire pits will actually put in her extra bills, but Eschete is mostly excited about the awareness he’s bringing to the disease.
Spragg has plans for a bunch of character-themed fire pits, always with his sister in mind.
“She was my rock, really, and raised me, as far as she used to beat up boys for me before I grew,” he said.
“So I really owe her. It’s my turn to give back to her.”
laspinall@postmedia.com

‘Star Wars’: Why Has Harrison Ford Always Wanted Han Solo to Die?

Many believed Harrison Ford was tired of Han Solo, but the actor has a much more noble reason for wanting to see the iconic character die.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens will finally be available on VOD next weekend. And to celebrate, Harrison Ford has been making the press rounds. Most have seen the movie by now, but in case you are waiting for the home release, beware! There is a MAJOR SPOILER in the next sentence. As you probably know, even if you haven't watched this blockbuster sequel yet, the movie ends with the death of iconic character Han Solo. It's no secret that Harrison Ford has always wanted the space pirate to die. And now, he finally got his wish. But he didn't want the on-screen act to happen for the reason most people think.

EW held a Q&A with Harrison Ford, where fans were allowed to ask him pretty much anything under the sun. And of course, the topic of Han Solo's death at the hand of his own son Ben Solo, was a hot topic of discussion. Most believed that Harrison Ford wanted the character killed off because he was sick of playing him. The actor first petitioned the idea to George Lucas when he was shooting Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back. He then again lobbied for Han's death in Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi. But it wasn't until this past December, in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, that the man finally saw it happen. But the cause was much nobler than you might think. Says Harrison Ford about wanting Han Solo dead.

"I think it's a fitting use of the character. I've been arguing for Han Solo to die for about 30 years, not because I was tired of him or because he's boring, but his sacrifice for the other characters would lend gravitas and emotional weight."

That makes perfect sense. And I think we can all agree that we're glad the death came when it did. Because Star Wars: The Force Awakens would have been kind of a let down without the presence of Han Solo. We don't have to be too sad about his passing either, as Harrison Ford is also reprising two more iconic characters in the upcoming years with both Blade Runner 2 and Indiana Jones 5 on his plate. Will he kill off those characters as well? Only time will tell.
Director J.J. Abrams and Harrison Ford worked closely together to make Han Solo's death as emotional and effective as possible. The sacrifice was set up to help define the new characters and their struggles as the franchise continues. There have been some rumors that Han Solo might actually show back up in Star Wars: Episode VIII for a flashback cameo, but that's the type of surprise that won't be confirmed until the movie hits theaters in December 2017. And it's extremely unlikely that the character, who is not a Jedi, would ever come back as a Force Ghost.
During the Q&A, Harrison Ford admits that he wouldn't mind doing voice work, and that he's looking for the 'right fit'. Some have speculated that the actor could return to voice Han Solo in an animated project. But that seems very unlikely at this point. And while there were rumors that he might bookend the Star Wars Anthology: Han Solo movie, that also sounds unlikely. Even if Harrison Ford isn't coming back, the character isn't going anywhere. He'll not only be the main focus of the second spinoff, he's also getting his own Marvel comic book miniseries. And there are rumors that he'll show up in some of the other standalone movies.

STAR WARS FANS TO REMAKE BATTLEFRONT III

The force is stirring in the Star Wars universe. Star Wars fans are working to remake Battlefront III by themselves, reports Eddie Makuch in Game Spot. Technically, the finished product cannot be considered a remake in the true sense of the word. This is because “the controversial, ill-fated Star Wars shooter…was in development at Free Radical before being canceled.” This means that the Star Wars-based game never saw the light of day.

Battlefront III has always been ill-fated, but Star Wars fans hope to change all that. Hopefully, the so-called Dark Side will not cast its shadow on the new project, considering that it is not sanctioned by Disney, which currently holds all the patents and rights to the entire Star Wars franchise. The fan undertaking can be of heroic proportions, reminiscent of starfighters engaging stormtroopers in a full-blown resistance.
So far, credit for the biggest crowd-sourced funding for a film project belongs to the Sirius documentary, a movie about UFO research that calls on Washington to declassify all U.S. information about actual alien sightings. Proponents of the Battlefront remake haven’t asked for donations yet. Also, they don’t seem to be eyeing another Star Wars film about the subject. Still, these could be possible scenarios in the near future.
If Star Wars Battlefront III succeeds, one can only expect the proverbial cow to be milked for all its worth. In the meantime, Game Spot further reveals “that developers at Russia-based modding team Frontwire Studios are working to revive and remake the game as part of a project called ‘Galaxy in Turmoil.'”
“The remake will include maps set on Hoth and Tatooine, as well as test areas. It is also planned to support the X-Wing and Y-Wing flying vehicles, along with weapons such as the DC-15S Blaster Rifle, Republic Grenade Launcher, Republic Missile Launcher, Z6 Rotary Blaster Cannon, and A280C Blaster Rifle. Galaxy in Turmoil is being produced using Epic’s Unreal Engine 4, and developers at Frontwire said they do not plan to charge for anything. Still, because it uses the Star Wars license–presumably without permission–it’s possible Disney may get involved to shut it down.”

In other news, not all is well in the Star Wars universe as Inquisitr just learned that Star Wars Episode VIII director Rian Johnson is being sued for unpaid commissions by a former agent. According to Variety and the Hollywood Reporter, Brian Dreyfuss is demanding that Johnson pay up 10 percent for assistance in landing the lucrative deal with Lucasfilm. Johnson has barely started in his Star Wars directorial stint, but a legal dispute is in the offing already.

ff @vans_fks Star Wars VIII Director Rian Johnson Sued by Former Agent Over Star Wars Commissions: The… https://t.co/stJ9AWwPWo Mr vans

— Vans (@vans_fks) March 19, 2016

Variety writes, “The lawsuit states that Dreyfuss had arranged a meeting between Johnson and Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy back in 2012. The suit also states that Johnson wasn’t interested in taking on any project with the company at the time. Although Dreyfuss was fired by Johnson in 2014, a full year before he was signed on to direct Star Wars: Episode VIII, his former agent claims that he was cut out of contracts and negotiations. Dreyfuss also claims that Johnson owes him commissions on some of his previous films, like ‘Looper.'”
As a final footnote to this short roundup of what’s going on in the Star Wars universe, actor Miles Teller seems to be getting a lot of flack from social media lately for admitting that he never saw a single Star Wars flick before he auditioned for the role of the young Han Solo. The major argument, according to Facebook pundits, is that anyone playing such a role should have at least some form of intimate knowledge or at least a previous familiarity with the character he or she will be representing.


The odd thing is, actor Jesse Eisenberg didn’t know who Mark Zuckerberg was either prior to signing up for the movie The Social Network. Apparently, Eisenberg still managed to get comfy playing the role of the Facebook founder, and even earned some accolades for his performance in the flick. Only time will tell how well Miles Teller will do in his Star Wars role.

Star Wars: Miles Teller only watched original trilogy because he had Han Solo spin-off audition coming up

With Star Wars: The Force Awakens ving broken box office records around the world - having quickly become the third highest grossing film of all time - it seems like most of the world must have seen Star Wars at some stage in their lives.
However, one young actor hadn’t seen the original trilogy until just months before he was due to audition for the titular role in the upcoming Han Solo spin-off.
Speaking on the happysadconfused podcast, Miles Teller - best known for his roles in Fantastic Four and Whiplash - revealed he only watched the films because he thought “I should check this out” before auditioning to play the fan favourite.
“I had never even seen any of the original Star Wars movies until maybe a month or a couple weeks before my first audition because I was like, ‘I should check this out’” he said.
“It holds up. I just love Harrison Ford. I think that’s a great character. I love his brand, I mean so many guys would’ve played that part so wrong and he has humor at the right times.
“Harrison Ford is a very big actor, when you see the facial expressions and the things he does he goes big, but he’s just always the coolest guy in the room and he’s got all of those great qualities.”
Phil Lord and Chris Miller will be directing the upcoming Star Wars anthology film, which currently has three actors in talks to star as the titular rogue according to reports: Alden Ehrenreich, Taron Egerton and Jack Reynor. Perhaps Teller’s admission that he had never seen the films didn’t do him any favours with the directing pair who are self confessed massive Star Wars fans.

In the same interview, Teller also spoke about the failed Fantastic Four reboot: “People think that when you make something like a Fantastic Four that doesn’t do well, people think ‘Oh you phoned it in’ and it couldn’t be more untrue.
You work harder on the bad films, or the films that turn out maybe not the way you intended, because something’s not working. And I thought it was kind of unjustly critiqued that way; there are even bigger bombs if you’re looking at how much money went into the production and what they reaped back.
“But I think it’s unfortunate a movie like that becomes a scarlet letter on a resume when so many talented people worked really hard and maybe a handful of people took it in a negative direction. But so many people worked really hard on that that are so talented.”

Other cast members from the Marvel film have spoken out about the film’s production, wit Michael B Jordan previously describing the re-shoots as ‘tough’ and saying how many things were changed while filming.

¿Por qué JJ Abrams no dirigirá más películas de ‘Star Wars’?

Te contamos las principales razones por las que el cineasta no volverá a encargarse de otra entrega.

JJ Abrams, director de 'Star Wars: El despertar de la fuerza'

A pesar de que tiene mucho que aportar y guió la primera entrega de la nueva trilogía, JJ Abrams no dirigirá cualquiera de las entregas de 'Star Wars' programadas para los próximos años. Todavía no sabíamos el por qué de esta decisión, pero el propio cineasta se ha encargado de despejar cualquier duda en la revista Fortune.
"Fue una maravillosa forma de visitar un lugar que significaba mucho para mí. Sabía que si funcionaba, sería el momento perfecto para retirarme, y si no funcionaba nadie hubiese querido que yo hubiese hecho otra", afirma Abrams.
Aunque ha sido toda su vida un fan incondicional de la saga, lo cierto es que el director ha sabido dejar su huella en la space opera que George Lucas comenzó hace muchísimos años. Y es que JJ Abrams quiere que otros realizadores que aman la franquicia aporten también su granito de arena.
"Estoy muy feliz de estar donde estoy", continúa el creador de 'Perdidos'. "Rian Johnson [director de 'Star Wars VIII'] es brillante y no necesita que le ayude. Como productor ejecutivo, he colaborado, pero ellos están haciendo todo el trabajo y es muy emocionante ver lo que está sucediendo".
Aunque JJ Abrams no sea el principal responsable de las próximas entregas de 'Star Wars', ten por seguro que veras su nombre entre los créditos. Al fin y al cabo, su aportación siempre será esencial para el futuro de la saga galáctica.
 

Star Wars Battlefront - Primer juego con DirectX 12 en Xbox One

Star Wars Battlefront es el primer juego con soporte de DirectX 12 en Xbox One. Así lo ha confirmado Microsoft que ha hablado sobre cómo afectará la llegada de DX12 al título de DICE y Electronic Arts.

Microsoft ha hablado por fin del futuro de Windows 10 en Xbox One y de la llegada de DirectX 12 a la consola. Lo ha hecho a través de Jason Ronald, director de programación de la compañía, durante una conferencia en la GDC 2016 y, tal y como ha informado el portal DualShockers, allí ha asegurado que Star Wars Battlefront es el primer juego en dar soporte a DX12.



Además, según apunta el ya citado medio, Star Wars Battlefront ya estaría hacía uso de DirectX 12 en estos momentos ya que Jason Ronald usó en todo momento el tiempo presente durante su charla. Algo que puede generar dudas ya que Microsoft siempre había afirmado que el recientemente cancelado Fable Legends sería el primer título en hacer uso de DX12 en Xbox One.

Por otro lado, Microsoft también informó de que otros títulos de Xbox One como Gears of War Ultimate Edition, Rise of the Tomb Raider o Hitman también dan soporte a DirectX 12, pero el shooter de Electronic Arts desarrollado por DICE es el primer juego que lo ha hecho. Además, el próximo parche de Just Cause 3 hará que el título también aproveche las ventajas de DirectX 12.

Así pues, parece que DX12 ya está en pleno funcionamiento en Xbox One y es más que posible que la mayoría de los títulos que lleguen a partir de ahora a la consola de Microsoft lo hagan ya dando soporte a la API. Tendremos que estar muy atentos a la conferencia de Microsot en el E3 2016 porque parece que DirectX 12 ganará protagonismo allí.

       Ehrenreich, Reynor o Egerton serán el nuevo Han Solo en el spin-off

Parece que tenemos a los finalistas de una de las historias que traían más coba desde hace meses. Disney y Lucasfilm ya están más cerca de encontrar al joven Han Solo que protagonizará el spin-off sobre los orígenes del piloto del Halcón Milenario. La lista de nombres se ha reducido a tres actores, que el pasado fin de semanas realizaron una de las últimas pruebas en Londres.
Y dichos tres finalistas son Alden Ehrenreich (el descerebrado actor de ¡Ave, César! ‘Es… complicado’), Jack Reynor (al que vimos junto a Mark Wahlberg en ‘Transformers: La era de la extinción’ y con Michael Fassbender en Macbeth) y Taron Egerton (el joven protagonista de Kingsman. Servicio secreto que repetirá en su secuela), según revela The Hollywood Reporter.

Solo recordar que el inicio del casting para esta peli fue una auténtica locura con miles de actores dispuestos a dar vida a uno de los personajes más emblemáticos de la saga galáctica.
Aunque estos tres actores parten como favoritos para dar vida a la versión joven de Han Solo, no se descarta que el estudio esté barajando otras posibilidades. Otros de los que han sonado en los últimos meses son los de Miles Teller (Whiplash, La serie Divergente), Ansel Elgort (Bajo la misma estrella, La serie Divergente) y Emory Cohen (Brooklyn).
En diciembre los encargados del casting comenzaron a buscar a un joven actor que cumpliera ciertos requisitos. El elegido tendrá que parecerse a un joven Ford, que en la primera película tenía 35 años; ser gracioso y encantador, así como tener experiencia en escenas de acción.
Con poco que se sepa sobre el guión, Lawrence Kasdan, guionista de El despertar de la Fuerza y también de este spin-off, confirmó que la historia de la película protagonizada por Han Solo tendrá lugar antes de lo acontecido en ‘Una nueva esperanza’ y que contará con la presencia de Chewbacca.
La cinta tiene previsto su estreno el 25 de mayo de 2018.

First photo from Star Wars Episode 8 set emerges

Director Rian Johnson posted a single black and white image to Tumblr

The first picture - a single black and white image - has emerged from the early days of filming for Star Wars Episode 8.

New director Rian Johnson has posted the image to his Tumblr account (click to view), captioned "Cinematographer Steve Yedlin. Hard to believe we’re wrapping up week four already, it’s just flying by."

Yedlin is stood in a spaceship that looks notably similar to the Millennium Falcon.

Episode 8 will be Johnson's first Star Wars, and did have some shots produced alongside the previous movie, due to difficulties in gaining access to Irish monastic island Skellig Michael. Plot details for the new movie remain sparse.

Only this week, previous director J. J. Abrams has held his hands up to mistakes made in Star Wars episode VII, in particular in relation to one particular scene (Episode VII spoilers ahead).

The scene comes after Han Solo’s death. When the crew of resistance fighters return to Starkiller base to break the news to the others, Leia pushes past Chewbacca and hugs Rey. Fans have suggested that this was strange, as she had only recently got to know Rey yet has history with Chewbacca.

“That was probably one of the mistakes I made in that,” Abrams said. “My thinking at the time was that Chewbacca, despite the pain he was feeling, was focused on trying to save Finn and getting him taken care of. So I tried to have Chewbacca go off with him and focus on Rey, and then have Rey find Leia and Leia find Rey. The idea being that both of them being strong with the Force and never having met, would know about each other — that Leia would have been told about her beyond what we saw on-screen and Rey of course would have learned about Leia. And that reunion would be a meeting and a reunion all in one, and a sort of commiseration of their mutual loss.

“Had Chewbacca not been where he was,” Abrams added, “You probably wouldn’t have thought of it. But because he was right there, passed by Leia, it felt almost like a slight, which was definitely not the intention.”

The next in movie in the Star Wars franchise already has a release date, despite being in the early stages of production. It's expected to arrive in time for Christmas 2017, with a date of December 15, 2017 given.

A pre-production video was already produced, and can be watched below:

Speculation on Episode VIII Planet Name and Scene Being Filmed in Dubrovnik

As we’ve seen yesterday, many extras that are being seen in Dubrovnik shoot for Star Wars Episode VIII are clad in dark black robes. Recent information that has come to light suggests that these robes are not meant to conceal the character’s costumes, but that they are their costumes – and that, based on a bit of circumstantial evidence, it appears as though the extras could be attending a funeral alongside a major returning character.

Unmarked spoilers for The Force Awakens will follow.





A word of warning is that some of this stuff might come across as a bit of a stretch at times. Then again, we won’t be seeing this film for nearly two years, so there’s definitely room for this kind of weird speculation.

Anyway, let’s get the big spoiler out of the way right now: I’m presuming that the footage being shot will in part feature the funeral procession of Han Solo, who – as you know – was murdered by his mentally-unstable son at the end of the last movie. Since he fell into a burning-hot chasm that was subsequently destroyed by the implosion/explosion of Starkiller Base, there’s no body left to bury, but that doesn’t mean that there’s not time for the Resistance to mourn a fallen hero – based on the below image, it seems as though Leia temporarily ceases the war effort in order to mourn the death of her husband.



The image above was tweeted by Carrie Fisher herself, but was quickly deleted back in December 2015. The outfit itself does not seem particularly Leia-like, so I would imagine that she’s only wearing it for such a grave occasion. (Indeed, the site that I’ve linked to outright claims that it’s a funeral gown.) If I’m on the right track, then both this and the revealed footage of Luke and Rey on Ahch-To suggest that Episode VIII will be an immediate sequel to the previous film, which is unprecedented for a Star Wars movie.

But more importantly is the matter of where in the Galaxy the funeral is being held. I can imagine that the planet that is housing this funeral procession is one of two places – Han’s home planet of Corellia, or the New Republic’s former capitol, Chandrila. My reasoning for this really just boils down to a single letter, but bear with me. Take a look at these characters:



Aside from their resemblance to McQuarrie’s concept art for Imperial Guards (along with the Rebel soldiers from A New Hope), fans who are experts in understanding the Aurebesh alphabet suggest that the headpieces of their uniforms spell out CBPD – with the last two letters potentially standing for “Police Department”. So if the first letter is “C”, then that might just refer to the name of the planet. Either Corellia or Chandrila would be thematically-appropriate – the former was Han’s birthplace, and would serve as a fitting place to provide remembrance to one of the greatest heroes in the Galaxy, while the latter is the New Republic’s former capitol (as revealed in the Journey To The Force Awakens books) and would likely be sympathetic to the Resistance.

Imperial Guards by Ralph McQuarrie

Also interestingly costume designer Michael Kaplan (the person who is holding Leia’s costume in the image we’ve already discussed) was on set during the filming of the procession scene.



Again, keep in mind that this is just a speculation. I am pretty sure that we will be getting some answers in the next few days. What do you think? Is Dubrovnik a stand in for Corellia, or Chandrila? Could this be Han Solo’s funeral? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below.

JJ Abrams Explains Leia and Rey Hug in Star Wars: The Force Awakens

All major discussions of quality aside, fandom has been stuffed to the brim with nitpicks about the force awakens since its release.  Some have been explained by the filmmakers to various degrees of acceptance (like R2-D2’s miraculous awakening) and some have been neglected.  Well, JJ Abrams recently gave a mea culpa on one of these nitpicks in an interview with Slashfilm.


In this case, the nitpick in question is just why Leia hugs Rey after the death of her husband instead of their longtime mutual friend Chewbacca who walks by in the background seemingly ignored by the devastated princess.  JJ Abrams addressed this in the interview.

That was probably one of the mistakes I made in that. My thinking at the time was that Chewbacca, despite the pain he was feeling, was focused on trying to save Finn and getting him taken care of. So I tried to have Chewbacca go off with him and focus on Rey, and then have Rey find Leia and Leia find Rey. The idea being that both of them being strong with the Force and never having met, would know about each other — that Leia would have been told about her beyond what we saw onscreen and Rey of course would have learned about Leia. And that reunion would be a meeting and a reunion all in one, and a sort of commiseration of their mutual loss.

Abrams goes on to admit that it was likely in his blocking that the issue became so apparent, noting that Chewbacca walking by in the background of the scene calls attention to the fact that he is not involved in the solemn moment.  Had he run off to take Finn to get medical assistance without being seen in the background, complaints would likely be far fewer.  But in the end, it doesn’t really change the outcome.  Chewbacca did have other things on his mind, and I wouldn’t see it as out of character for the noble Wookie to put a priority on helping those heroes who could still be saved and waiting to mourn until his work was done.  Although, may it not be forgotten that this was not the first time a Star Wars film ended with Leia snubbing Chewbacca.  Perhaps Leia just has something against walking carpets.

Full Q&A Video with Mark Hamill with Small Tidbits About StarWars

Last week we showed you a video with Mark Hamill speaking to students at Cambridge University. Now the actor visited Oxford University and shared even more interesting stories with the audience, including the already reported slip up about Rey’s heritage. The Oxford Union Society posted the whole video with the Q&A, which you can check out after the jump.


Before we go to the actual video, here’s a very cool sketch that Mark did with the Cambridge Union Society last week:




During the 1 hour discussion Hamill revealed several tiny bits of information about the new movies:

• Domhnall Gleeson’s General Hux wears the same outfit in Episode VIII
• They still use robes to hide themselves from drones even at Pinewood Studios
• During the table read for TFA everyone was told where to sit (it was all part of JJ’s plan)
• The most interesting part is when he speaks about Rey’s heritage. You can watch this part from 35 min. When we reported this last week I really thought that people were reading too much into this. But now, after seeing the video with Hamill winking and playing with the audience, I am not so sure anymore.

Still, I will again leave Mark’s comment on the Rey quote:

Exactly-Talking about Daisy the person, not Rey the character! I have prior spoiler-protecting experience, btw #LOL https://t.co/JsixC2FzJC

— Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) March 3, 2016

Chewbacca to Appear in New Han Solo Movie, Confirms Disney’s Bob Iger

Due in 2018, the film will explore Han and Chewy’s origin story

Disney chief Bob Iger talked “Star Wars” during his time at the Deutsche Bank 2016 Media, Internet & Telecom Conference on Tuesday, confirming that Chewbacca would appear in the new Han Solo standalone movie being directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller.
Iger also revealed that Disney would be taking a writedown of about $75 million hit on Chris Pine‘s fact-based Coast Guard rescue movie “The Finest Hours,” which grossed just $27 million domestically since its release on January 29.
The next film in the “Star Wars” universe to hit theaters will be Gareth Edwards‘ “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” which is due on Dec. 18.
“‘Rogue One’ … is about a band of rebels plotting to steal the plans to the Death Star,” the Disney boss said. “It takes place right before what was George Lucas‘s first film, which came out in 1977 and is now called ‘A New Hope.'”

“We have others in the works, including one, which is an origin story about Han Solo and Chewy,” he continued. “And that’ll come after ‘Star Wars 8’ in 2018. And then there’ll be possibly be more thereafter.”
Many “Star Wars” fans had assumed that Chewbacca would play a major role in the young Han Solo movie, but it had never been confirmed until Tuesday. Disney is still in the midst of casting a star.
Chewbacca actor Peter Mayhew recently teased a special announcement that he has yet to make, and it’s possible that he was referring to Chewbacca’s return in the Han Solo film.
Iger told investors, media analysts and reporters listening in to today’s event that these “‘Star Wars': Stories” will be marketed “differently, but aggressively” — an effort to not divert fans from the ongoing saga, but still certainly draw their money.

Han Solo to Get A Solo Comic

Harrison Ford’s smuggling days in the GFFA may be done, but Disney has made it clear that Han Solo will live on in a myriad of formats. Why wouldn’t he? He’s an immensely popular character, one that many a young child pretends to be in their own adventures. In addition to getting a young Han Solo standalone film down the road, Marvel has announced via Entertaint Weekly that everyone’s favorite rogue will be getting his own comic mini-series. Read on after the jump for more …

Much like the other mini-series that Marvel has produced since taking the Star Wars comic book reigns, this one will have a 5 issue arc that takes place between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back. The limited series is set to debut in June and will feature Han and Chewie in a starship race. No, it’s not the Kessel Run, of course. That’s a smuggler’s route after all. The race is called the Dragon Void Run and apparently Han’s wanted to participate in it for a long time.
The story is said to highlight the confusion Han feels during his transition from being a me-first smuggler to perhaps becoming a full-fledged member of the Rebellion. Han’s involvement in the race is both personal and business, as Leia believes there are potential Rebel informants located on different planets along the race’s route. As they pick up these spies, Han ends up at odds with himself, trying to balance the desire to win with the mission at hand.
Disney is really mining the period between Episodes 4 and 5 for all it’s worth. While, the stories have been enjoyable, one has to wonder when the comic book storytelling will shift focus from this time period to another and how many stories can happen during this window. The stories post Return of the Jedi will probably come out in more frequency once the whole ST has been released.
The mini-series will be penned by Marjorie Liu of Astonishing X-Men fame. Here’s a brief snippet from EW’s exclusive interview with Liu:

Any particular inspirations that led you to the race idea?
I started thinking about this old movie from the ‘80s that I really enjoyed, which is Cannonball Run. I thought, okay, what if this is sort of like Han Solo in Cannonball Run in space? So, I played with that and it finally came together in the story where there’s this infamous starship race. It’s the pilot dream race. Everyone wants to be in it, everyone dreams of winning it. The race is sort of a cover that will allow him to go on this mission for [Leia], but at the same time, even though the race isn’t a priority, it’s a real struggle for him because he knows he needs to focus, but he’s on the race of a lifetime.

It’s kinda cool to be getting a Star Wars story focusing on a race. Star Wars is space fantasy at its core, yet we’ve seen different genres incorporated into the storytelling, including pirate stories and western elements (though that’s nothing new to the SW universe).
You can read EW’s full article, including the interview and a first look at some panels from the upcoming comic  here.
What do you think about this mini-series? Are you enjoying Marvel’s comics on the whole so far? Do you like the stories being told between Episodes 4 and 5? Sound off in the comments below.

Reminder: 2016 Kid’s Choice Awards: Vote for Daisy Ridley, John Boyega and The Force Awakens!

Today Nickelodeon announced the nominees for the 2016 Kids’ Choice Awards. The Force Awakens is nominated for best movie and John Boyega, and Daisy Ridley both got nominations for best male and female actors.


 You can cast your votes at Nick.com.

Star Wars Episode 8 has a couple of rumoured titles

It might be two years away, but the rumour mill is already in full swing

Star Wars: The Force Awakens has yet to make it onto DVD yet, but there’s already a host of rumours circulating about what its follow up - Star Wars Episode 8 could be called.

The next film to be released from the epic space saga will be Rogue One: A Star Wars Story in late 2016, it’ll be set between Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith and Episode IV: A New Hope.

However, the next numbered entry into the franchise is due in Christmas 2017. We’d already been treated to a mini-mini-trailer featuring new footage of Rey and Luke Skywalker on that remote island.

But now two sources have emerged suggesting different titles for Episode VIII, the first surfaced from Reddit, a pitched Star Wars: Tale of the Jedi Temple as the next film’s title - they suggest it will be confirmed on May The Fourth, the unofficial Star Wars day.

The other title came from a Croatian Star Wars fan site, they think it will be called Star Wars: The Order of the Dark Side.

Daisy Ridley recently spoke about working on Episode VIII saying the set is "lovely warm and friendly".

The first title could be making reference to Luke Skywalker’s search for the first ever Jedi temple - and it’s thought that’s the location where we find him at the end of The Force Awakens. The second seems a bit more plausible however, as it makes reference to Kylo Ren’s league of warriors The First Order.

The only other hint to the movie’s title was a tweet from Carrie Fisher, which showed her dog, Gary, sat on an official Star Wars 8 chair, which seemed to have a Panda bear designed into the logo. 

‘Star Wars: Rogue One’ Debuts New Footage to Disney

We’re now into March, which means that the first Star Wars: Rogue One trailer should be arriving any day now. Until then, however, we’ll have to rely on reports from inside sources within the Rogue One camp. It’s thanks to these anonymous heroes that we have news of a recent screening of Rogue One at the annual Disney shareholders meeting last week. While the final cut of the upcoming film is still a ways off, a glimpse of new footage was shown to the stock owners in attendance.
According to /FILM, Disney CEO Bob Iger showcased several new clips of the Star Wars spin-off during the meeting. The footage was packaged as a sizzle reel - essentially just highlights - designed to withhold key plot points or character details. A /FILM reader present at the gathering recounted the experience below:
Most of it was very quick. A shot of the black stormtrooper, possibly called Death Troopers as previously reported, another pic of that same style of helmet and armor but all chrome, reminiscent of Captain Phasma from The Force Awakens, an image showed two AT-ATs that had a slightly different look with the door panel on the side of the body painted a lighter beige color. And a couple cast photos were shown, one of Felicity & Diego Luna and another of Donnie Yen. The clip featured Felicity’s character on what looked like the inside of a ship or shuttle with her arm up holding on and the hatch/ramp open behind her. I wish I could remember what she said as part of the sizzle but it went by too fast.

The /FILM source also went on to praise the aesthetic of the Rogue One demo, claiming the clips had a look and feel of the movie that started it all, Star Wars: A New Hope. It’s likely that Rogue One director Gareth Edwards is following in the footsteps of The Force Awakens helmer, J.J. Abrams, who repeatedly stated his intentions to replicate the nostalgia of the classic Star Wars films.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story will transport audiences back to the period between Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and Episode IV: A New Hope. Maintaining a similar tone to the latter will be crucial to impressing eager Star Wars fans.
Hopefully the premiered clips are a sign that Disney is close to unveiling the first trailer for Star Wars: Rogue One. We’ll keep you updated here at iDigitalTimes as more information is made public.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story arrives in theaters on Dec. 16.

UPDATE! Photos from a Second Episode VIII Filming Location in Dubrovnik, Plus More Photos from the Main Street!

StarWarsDubrovnik managed to get some photos from the Rector’s Palace as the second filming location in Dubrovnik for Star Wars: Episode VIII. This time for an interior shoot…


So far we’ve seen photos from the main street of Dubrovnik being transformed for the Episode VIII filming, as well as some shots with a landspeeder on rails, backing up the rumors for a possible chase scene happening on the streets.

Now StarWarsDubrovnik have photos from the preparation of the filming in the Rector’s Palace, one of the most attractive landmarks in the city. The Palace has been already announced as a filming location but with no activities happening until now. According to StarWarsDubrovnik the renovation happening in the Palace has been halted and the interior re-done for an upcoming interior shoot.



According to previous reports there will be another test shoot tomorrow, so stay tuned…


UPDATE!

The guys from StarWarsDurovnik.com also updated their gallery with photos from the main street and discovered several smaller alleys that have been changed for the filming. Here are just some of the photos:



The next photos are taken from a smaller alleys with just slight fixtures that many people won’t even notice. The fact that they did a makeover on such long distance of streets and alleys could definitely mean that there will be some running around from the main characters during the filming.



If you want to see the full gallery make sure to go to StarWarsDurovnik.com. These guys are really doing some great reporting from the epicenter in Dubrovnik.

Length of Bonus Features and Details on the Deleted Scenes for The Force Awakens Blu-Ray!

Yesterday we finally got official word on the release dates for The Force Awakens on home video. Today we have some of the specifics around the contents of the additional features that will be available. Specifically the run-time for all additional features and names on the 6 deleted scenes that will be included in the release. This info comes from Disney Australia and is 100% legit.

– Secrets of The Force Awakens: A Cinematic Journey (69:14)
– The Story Awakens: The Table Read (4:01)
– Crafting Creatures (9:34)
– Building BB-8 (6:03)
– Blueprint Of A Battle: The Snow Fight (7:02)
– ILM: The Visual Magic Of The Force (7:54)
– John Williams: The Seventh Symphony (6:51)
– Deleted Scenes:
1. Finn And The Villager (0:31)
2. Jakku Message (0:47)
3. X-Wings Prepare For Lightspeed (0:22)
4. Kylo Searches The Falcon (0:50)
5. Snow Speeder Chase (0:48)
6. Finn Will Be Fine (0:23)
– Force For Change (3:22)

That gives us a total run-time on bonus features at 1:57:42.  This looks to be a pretty standard initial release.  The feature length making of documentary looks to be the highlight of the content.  70 minutes is a decent length for a making of doc.  The rest of the features look to be a bit on the brief side, so are unlikely to go into too much depth.  With a 3D release promised later in the year, it makes you wonder if additional features are being held back for a special edition release that we be used to tempt double dippers.  But considering the limited behind the scenes access during production, even these brief features are likely to be extremely illuminating for fans.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens releases on Blu-Ray and DVD on April 5th.  It will be available for download and streaming from digital services on April 1st.

C3PO, R2D2 and BB8 crashed the Oscars to praise Star Wars composer John Williams

'I don't look like him! He happens to look rather like me'

The Star Wars droids crash The Oscars Getty

Everyone who is anyone seemed to be at the Oscars last night, even those from a galaxy far, far away.
Midway through the ceremony, three droids from the Star Wars universe crashed the celebrations while attempting to find their seats, much to Jacob Tremblay’s enjoyment.
C3PO, R2D2 and BB-8 walked, drove and rolled onto the main stage to celebrate the work of John Williams, the man who has soundtracked countless classics including Star Wars, ET and Schindler’s List.

The five-time Oscar winner was up for best soundtrack for The Force Awakens, but lost out to Ennio Morricone and his score for The Hateful Eight.
While that may have definitely been Anthony Daniels’ voice coming from C3PO, the chances are it wasn’t actually him under the hood, instead probably being Chris F. Bartlett.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens was nominated for five awards, but failed to take any home, with Mad Max: Fury Road instead taking home six.