Jump to content
Show all categories

Star Wars News & Features

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

    The Force Awakens at Oscars 2016

    By Andy, in The Movies,

    Star Wars: The Force Awakens has been nominated for five Oscars at this year's 88th Academy Awards.
    Although as expected The Force Awakens failed to make the cut for some of the top awards it was nominated in five of the more technical categories that honor the high production values of the film industry, and it faces some stiff competition from some of 2015's big hits.
    You can find a list of the awards The Force Awakens is in the running for along with its fellow nominees below:
    Best editing
    The Big Short Mad Max: Fury Road The Revenant Spotlight Star Wars: The Force Awakens Best original score
    Bridge of Spies Carol The Hateful Eight Sicario Star Wars: The Force Awakens Best sound editing
    Mad Max: Fury Road The Martian The Revenant Sicario Star Wars: The Force Awakens Best sound mixing
    Bridge of Spies Mad Max: Fury Road The Martian The Revenant Star Wars: The Force Awakens Best visual effects
    Ex Machina Mad Max: Fury Road The Martian The Revenant Star Wars: The Force Awakens The awards ceremony will take place at Hollywood's Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on 28th February 2016.

    Rogue One rumors surface

    By Andy, in The Movies,

    New pictures from Pinewood apparently show X-Wing starfighters that will appear in upcoming spin-off movie, Rogue One. The pictures from TMZ show classic Star Wars trilogy style X-wing's with individually distinct engines, unlike the updated versions that appear in The Force Awakens. This fits in the known time period for Rogue One, which is said to include the mission to retrieve the plans to the Empire's first Death Star prior to the original Star Wars movie, A New Hope.
    Making Star Wars has also reported on some leaked character details, including a character named Galen played by Mads Mikkelsen who may be the Imperial scientist in charge of the Death Star project.
    Meanwhile, rumors have surfaced that a young Han Solo cameo could happen in the movie, as Disney and Lucasfilm reportedly come close to selecting the actor who will play the smuggler in the later Han Solo movie which is scheduled to release between episodes VIII and IX. According to Variety, producers have a shortlist of actors aged between 17 and 34, including Miles Teller (Divergent), Ansel Elgort (The Fault in our Stars), Scott Eastwood (Gran Torino), Emory Cohen (Smash), and Blake Jenner (Glee) amongst others.
    A trailer for Rogue One: A Star Wars story is also rumored to be attached to the release of Captain America: Civil War later this year, while the film itself is scheduled for release on 16 December 2016.
    A Star Wars fan has created an online petition to bring George Lucas back to the Star Wars movies as the director of Episode IX. Lucas, who created Star Wars has had no involvement with the franchise, including The Force Awakens, since selling LucasFilm to The Walt Disney Company in 2012.
    The petition calls for Lucas to return as he is "the father of the franchise" and states that this would be a perfect way to end the sequel trilogy, and so far people seem to agree, with the petition gaining almost the 5,000 signatures requested within a week of publishing.
    George Lucas recently criticised The Force Awakens, saying that Disney had made a "retro" movie that he doesn't like, but later clarified that he still believe Star Wars is in safe hands with Disney who has previously worked with overthe past 40 years. In contrast to Lucas's views, critics have widley praised the latest instalment of the saga which has gone on to smash numerous box office records worldwide.
    Currently Jurassic World director Colin Trevorrow is signed on as director for Episode IX, which is scheduled for release in 2019.
    Hasbro have announced that they will reissue the latest version of Star Wars Monopoly after complaints that the board game featured no female characters.
    The game, which was released in September 2015, currently features player tokens for Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker from the classic Star Wars trilogy, along with Kylo Ren and Finn from The Force Awakens. This lead to online outrage over the ommission of the main protogonist of the latest movie, Rey.
    Hasbro initially stated that as the game was released several months before the release of The Force Awakens that the inclusion of Rey would have been a potential spoiler that they wished to avoid, although this doesn't explain the inclusion of Finn as a character fighting for the Resistance which is an equal spoiler in its own right.
    Further to this, other Hasbro offerings have failed to include Rey, including a Millennium Falcon set that includes Chewbacca, Finn and BB-8 figurines. This lead to the hashtag #WheresRey trending worldwide, tracking Rey's absence from Star Wars merchandise in leading chain stores.
    A new version of Star Wars Monopoly which includes Rey will be available later in 2016, although no release date has been confirmed so far.

    Episode VIII is looking great

    By Andy, in The Movies,

    Actress Daisy Ridley has told interviewers that the script she has seen for Star Wars Episode VIII looks "very good", as preparation begins for the start of principle photography.

    When asked by Variety.com if she had read the script for the sequel to The Force Awakens, Ridley, who portrays Rey in the movie, responded with "I have. It’s very good; very good" but refused to give any further clues as to what may happen in the movie. 
    Some scenes have allegedly already been filmed for Episode VIII; notably on the Irish island Skellig Michael which we see at the end of The Force Awakens, and main filming is due to begin in January 2016 in order to meet the May 2017 release date Lucasfilm/Disney have set. Pinewood Studio has already revealed that they plan on shooting down any drones that are sent to spy on filming of the new movie, so we can expect a similar level of secrecy for the sequel.
    Rian Johnson is the director for Episode VIII and is also involved with the script for Episode IX. Johnson's recent work includes the gritty time-travel-ish film Looper, and it is reasonable to expect VII to be darker than it's predecessor in the same way that The Empire Strikes Back was darker than A New Hope.
    Returning for the next instalment are a host of familiar faces from The Force Awakens; Oscar Isaac (Poe Dameron), Gwendoline Christie (Captain Phasma), John Boyega (Finn), and Daisy Ridley (Rey) have all been confirmed, along with Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker). It is also expected that Adam Driver (Kylo Ren), Andy Serkis (Supreme Leader Snoke), Domhnall Gleeson’s (General Hux), will all be making a reappearance and actor Benicio Del Toro has already been confirmed as being newly cast for the sequel, although it is currently unknown what role this is.
    Let us know your Star Wars Episode VIII predictions in the comments below!

    The Force has finally awakened, and the seventh episode of the Star Wars trilogy has hit movie theatres across the world. But does Star Wars: The Force Awakens live up to the hype and recapture the spirit of Star Wars?

    Firstly, a word of warning: While this article intends to be free of spoilers, please be aware that any external links or related articles may not be.
    The Force Awakens was viewed with caution by many fans who wanted a return to the spirit of the classic Star Wars trilogy which many felt was missing from the prequel trilogy, released 15 years previously. As reactions sink in the general feeling seems to be that it has for the most part lived up to the hype, and that director JJ Abrams and his team at Lucasfilm and Disney have delivered on their promise to make Star Wars great again.
    According to reports, The Force Awakens has already destroyed the UK opening day box office record, with a £9.6 million (US$14.3m) take that smashes the previous record set by Spectre only two months ago. A quarter of these sales where from the midnight release alone, and gives Episode VII of the Star Wars saga a boost to breaking further records as it continues it's run on the big screen.
    The film itself is holding up well in reviews too, with film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes scoring The Force Awakens an admirable 95% fresh and user reviews showing that 93% of viewers enjoyed the film (at time of writing).
    While some reviewers have criticised the film for playing fan-service and reusing old ideas, others have praised it for bringing back the feelings of joy they experienced the first time they watched the original trilogy, and carrying with it a sense not only of nostalgia but also of hope for the future.
    Even the good reviews cast light on the moments where dialogue gets a little cheesy, but for every negative there are more positives; and one of these positives is the casting. Rey (Daisy Ridley), and Finn (John Boyega) work great together on screen and have us rooting for them throughout the action, and Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) was not just another copy-and-paste villain as we saw all too often in the prequel trilogy, but a complex character with his own ambitions that occasionally seemed to set him at odds with his superior, Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis) and other members of the First Order. General Hux (Domhnall Gleeson) is menacing as one of the officers of the First Order and parallels can certainly be drawn between him and figures from real world history. BB-8 and Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) are sure to be new fan favourites, as they both brings familiar humor and general badass-ness to the film.
    Familiar faces also make a return, and we discover what Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Leia (Carrie Fisher) have been up to while we were away. Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) is central to the plot of The Force Awakens, but his role is clearly going to be more prominent in future films. Overall the film delivers much but ultimately leaves us wanting more, and with future films and spin-offs already on the way it is only a matter of time before we return to a galaxy far far away once more.
    The Force truly is strong with this one.

    The official Star Wars: The Force Awakens has been revealed, further teasing the upcoming movie.

    The official Star Wars website has revealed the official poster for Star Wars: The Force Awakens by legendary movie poster artist Drew Struzan.
    The poster features new and returning characters from the upcoming film, with a notable absence from the poster being Luke Skywalker, and is in the classic style we have grown to love through all of the official posters of the previous episodes of the Star Wars saga.
    The main focus of the poster appears to be newcomers Rey and Finn, along with the villian Kylo Renn.

    According to the US Social Security Administration, the name "Anakin" has joined the top 1000 baby names.

    The official list of most popular baby names in the United States has been revealed, and according to the SSA "Anakin" has joined the top 1000 names. Last year, 218 newborns were recorded with the name Anakin, making this the 957th most popular boys name for 2014 in the US. 
    Hopefully these little Anakins won't follow in the footsteps of their namesake and turn to the dark side of the Force and terrorise the galaxy.
    Leia also appears on the list, as the 509th most popular girls name, and while not unique to Star Wars, Luke has remained a popular name for boys with over 10,000 entries putting it near to the top of the list at 28th place.

    Rumors have surfaced that suggest Peter Cushing's likeness is to be digitally recreated for Star Wars: Rogue One.

    Peter Cushing, the acclaimed British actor who died in 1994, was cemented into Star Wars fandom when he portrayed Grand Moff Tarkin in the original 1977 Star Wars movie. 
    Tarkin was the commander of the first Death Star whose stern gaze and authoritative barks even seemed to have control over even Darth Vader. As if this didn't make him fearsome enough, he destroyed Alderaan along with it's billions of inhabitants just to prove a point.
    According to British tabloid, the Daily Mail, Cushing is set to make a comeback to Star Wars more than twenty years after his death in order to reprise his role as the Imperial governor thanks to digital visual effects. 
    A source told the Daily Mail that they were trawling through hours of old footage of the late actor so that they can accurately capture his likeness, right down to the way he walked.

    Disney have officially confirmed that plans are under way to create Star Wars themed lands at their theme parks.

    CEO Bob Iger has finally put an end to months of rumor and speculation regarding Disney's plans for Star Wars theme parks by announcing that both Hollywood Studios in Orlando, and Disneyland in Anaheim will be host to fully themed Star Wars lands.
    The announcement was made at Disney's D23 Expo and details ambitious plans for the two new areas, which would each be over 14-acres in size. Iger explained that they aim to push the boundaries of what is possible and that these new parks will take that aim to a new level, giving fans a whole galaxy to explore.
    There will be two signature attractions, including a Millennium Falcon flight simulator and an epic adventure that promises to put guests in the midst of a climactic battle.
    While fans wait for Star Wars land to become a reality, Disney will continue to update it's attractions, with a The Force Awakens update coming to the Star Tours ride later this year, and a new attraction called the Launch Bay which will allow fans to see Star Wars props and costumes and artwork.
    Also, next year will see the first 'Season of the Force' at the Orlando and Anaheim parks with exclusive events, with Space Mountain becoming Hyperspace Mountain with Star Wars music, visual effects, and more.
    It has yet to be announced whether these additions will also be replicated at Disney's international locations.

  • We would be honored if you would join us...

    Join in

×

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.

  I accept