Author Archives: Matt

Star Wars Park Will Have Original music from John Williams

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Via TheVerge.com:

When Disney’s Star Wars land Galaxy’s Edge opens next year, it’ll come with a familiar soundtrack — Entertainment Weekly reports that John Williams will provide the score, and has a preview of what to expect, along with looks at two of the park’s big experiences.

The first of EW’s videos shows off a new behind-the-scenes look at the park’s construction, revealing an extensive array of buildings and landscapes, set to a music that is the “overarching theme” for Galaxy’s Edge. EW also previews a pair of videos that highlight the main rides for the parks — Smuggler’s Run, set aboard the Millennium Falcon, and Rise of the Resistance, set onboard a First Order ship.

The construction video shows off a sprawling world called Batuu — which we’ve seen a bit of already in Timothy Zahn’s recent novel Thrawn: Alliances — and in particular, a village called Black Spire, described as a “remote trading outpost” in the midst of a forest of petrified trees. The score is epic and sweeping, and it certainly feels like it belongs to the Star Wars universe. Hopefully, Disney will release a companion soundtrack for those of us unable to visit in person.

The two additional videos show off detailed and immersive experiences. For “Smugglers Run”, visitors will board the Millennium Falcon, and will pilot the ship away from Batuu, taking on one of three roles to ensure “the mission is a success.” The video for “Rise of the Resistance” shows off the finished interior of a First Order spaceship, complete with Stormtroopers and droids as a Resistance fleet drops out of hyperspace just outside. EWsays that the experience will show off “what it’s like to be caught in the crossfire of a deep-space battle between the First Order and the X-Wing dogfighters” and that visitors will be able to fight against Kylo Ren.

Marvel Reveals The Hidden Secret of Darth Vader’s Castle

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Via CBR.com:

Marvel’s Star Wars comics have been peeling the curtain back on so many aspects of Darth Vader, you’d never think this was the same character we saw on-screen in the ’70s and ’80s. We’re now seeing so much depth to him, forcing us to empathize with his selfish reasons for wanting to harness the Dark Side of the Force.

Come Darth Vader #22, Charles Soule and Giuseppe Camuncoli continue to unpack the backstory of his famous obsidian castle on Mustafar. However, after the last issue hinted Vader wanted to use this castle to increase his powers, we now discover an even bigger hidden secret regarding its existence…

Click here for the full story at CBR.com, the article contains major spoilers for Darth Vader #22 by Charles Soule, Daniele Orlandini, Giuseppe Camuncoli, Terry Pallot, David Curiel and VC’s Joe Caramagna, on sale now

Gary Kurtz Passes Away

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Via Floor8.com:

A prominent man in the Star Wars universe, Gary Kurtz, passed away on Sept. 23 following a year-long battle with cancer. He was 78.

Kurtz produced ​A New Hope (1977), and ​The Empire Strikes Back (1980), both major fan-favorites in the franchise. Besides his work in a galaxy far, far away, Kurtz also produced cult film The Dark Crystal (1982), and co-produced George Lucas’ American Graffiti (1973).

The producer’s death was confirmed today in a Facebook post.

Darth Maul’s Robot Legs Revealed

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Via Forbes.com:

With a $392 million worldwide gross, Solo: A Star Wars Story might have been a hit, had it not cost $275 million to make, with a mid-stream change in directors responsible for more cost overruns than most Star Wars features. However, the switch from Chris Miller and Phil Lord to Ron Howard did lead to at least one fan-favorite moment onscreen: the return of Ray Park’s Maul (no longer a “Darth,” per the animated series continuity) in a surprise cameo that may or may not set up future films. “I found out last June/July when we were in Guatemala,” he tells me, a time which, unbeknownst to him, coincided with Howard stepping into the director’s chair. “I got the phone call from Lynne Hale from Lucasfilm. And it was really nice of her, because she said to me ‘Ray, we’re just calling to see if you would like to do it.’ And I went [inhales slowly] ‘Yeah. Do you want me on the plane now?’” He ended up filming in October, towards the end of production.

Click here for the full story! 

 

New Vader Comic Offers Connections to Prequels

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Via ComicBook.com:

The current run of the Darth Vader comic has mostly featured the Sith Lord carrying out the brutal orders given to him by Emperor Palpatine, with the series leaning more into action than Vader’s emotional depths. In Darth Vader #20, Vader is given a present that clearly offers him a tragically emotional connection to his past and events that fans saw in the prequel films, with the character showing the slightest amount of sadness.

Click here or below for the full story at ComicBook.com (Spolier Warning Applies)

New Live-action Star Wars may cost upwards of $100 million!

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Via TheVerge.com:

Details on Disney’s forthcoming streaming platform are thin. We know it’ll have Star Wars and Marvel films and shows (although it appears that the original films won’t be exclusive to the service), it’s expected to launch in 2019, and it’ll be “substantially cheaper” than Netflix. A New York Times profile of the executive in charge of the platform sheds a bit more light, hinting that the company will put some incredible resources into its productions.

Former film marketing chief Ricky Strauss will lead the service as its president of content and marketing. He has long overseen Disney’s larger marketing efforts, promoting movies like Black Panther and The Force Awakens.

The profile also highlights the upcoming live-action Star Wars television show as an example. Written by Jon Favreau, who directed Iron Man and appeared in Solo: A Star Wars Story, the Times says that the show is expected to cost around $100 million for 10 episodes. Favreau says that the “new streaming service affords a wonderful opportunity to tell stories that stretch out over multiple chapters.”

ANAKIN ENCOUNTERS A FAMILIAR FACE IN THRAWN: ALLIANCES – EXCLUSIVE EXCERPT

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Via StarWars.com:

Author Timothy Zahn is back with the highly-anticipated follow-up to last year’s bestselling Thrawn novel. This time, Grand Admiral Thrawn and Darth Vader must join forces on a mission for the Empire. But it’s not the first time the two have crossed paths.

StarWars.com is proud to bring you the first look at and listen of the forthcoming novel, Thrawn: Alliances, with an audio clip once again narrated by Marc Thompson. Plus, we have a sneak peek at the Thrawn and Anakin art that will grace the cover of the convention exclusive edition of the book at San Diego Comic Con in a few weeks.

In this exclusive excerpt below, we find a young Anakin on a personal quest when he crosses paths with a mysterious commander from the Chiss Ascendancy…

Check out the exclusive excerpt at  StarWars.com 

Should Disney Start Making Mid-Budget Star Wars Movies?

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Via ScreenRant.com:

The Star Wars franchise needs to start exploring movies with lower budgets. Disney is currently reassessing their entire Star Wars business model following Solo: A Star Wars Story’s disappointing box office return, placing a hold on some future standalone anthology movies and taking less creative risks with directors. That said, their best bet may well involve making mid-budget movies if they want to improve their odds of turning a profit.

Star Wars may have started as a lower budget saga (even the prequels had comparatively moderate budgets), but having grown to the second most successful movie franchises of all time, according to Box Office Mojo, with a domestic box office total of over $4 billion (the MCU has it beaten by roughly $2 billion), it’s no wonder that Disney would equip the franchise with considerable funds for the new era. However, despite the fact that sizable budgets worked for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Solo’s failure has made this approach moot. Frequent complications during production set a negative course for Solo, Disney, and, by extension, the future of the entire Star Wars franchise.

Click here or below for the full story at ScreenRant.com

Obi-Wan Movie Reportedly Lost Director Before Solo Opened

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Via ScreenRant.com:

The latest Star Wars rumors indicate the Obi-Wan spinoff movie had already lost attached director Stephen Daldry well before Solo: A Star Wars Story underwhelmed at the box office. For several years, an anthology film revolving around the Jedi Master was rumored, with Ewan McGregor expressing multiple times he would be game to return. Though the project was never officially announced by Lucasfilm, it seemed to gain traction last year when Daldry was reportedly became Obi-Wan’s director.

More recently, however, Obi-Wan is less likely to happen. Lucasfilm is placing future movies in the Star Wars Story line on hold until further notice, which presumably also includes James Mangold’s alleged Boba Fett spinoff. While the timing of the announcement made it seem like this was a response to Solo bombing, it appears as if the studio was having second doubts about Obi-Wan prior to Solo premiering.

Click here for the full story at ScreenRant.com