Your weekend edition of The Week in Star Wars features the reveal of the new title for Star Wars: Episode VIII and the thoughts behind it, Rogue One box office news and more…
The biggest story of the week is, of course, the title reveal of Star Wars: Episode VIII – which will now only be refereed to as Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Pretty great title, right? Well there has been a lot of talk about it over the week. Is The Last Jedi in reference to Luke Skywalker, who returned at the end of The Force Awakens? Is Rey the new Last Jedi? Or, as some fans are speculating, is Anakin Skywalker the Last Jedi, seen as though Luke was never officially a Jedi? Lots to delve into. Our own Anghus Houvouras wasn’t overly impressed with the title in his article Breaking Down Star Wars: The Last Jedi, but its star Daisy Ridley seems to be having fun with it…
…Olaf from Frozen – aka Josh Gad – tried to get information about the title from Daisy Ridley while working together. Watch that here…
…Luke Skywalker himself Mark Hamill was being interviewed by the Associated Press just after the title reveal [watch that here], and Uproxx caught up with him at Sundance where he threw Leia’s name into the speculation mix. “I think it’s very ambiguous,” he said. “Is the last Jedi Leia? … Is it me? Is it someone we’ve never met before? Or is it Rey? Because she seems to have the force as well. So we’ll all wait and see…”
….Director Rian Johnson spoke with Empire about his inspiration for Star Wars: The Last Jedi saying, “Twelve O’Clock High was a big touchstone, for the feel and look of the aerial combat as well as the dynamic between the pilots. Three Outlaw Samurai for the feel of the sword-fighting, and the general sense of pulpy fun. And To Catch A Thief was a great film to rewatch, for the romantic scale and grandeur.” Sadly, there’s not a lot of information about the title there, but you can see a glimpse of the title in the edit bay here…
…Moving over to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story now, and the movie passed the hallowed $1 billion mark this week. The film is the 28th movie in history to do so and the third Star Wars movie to pass the landmark, joining Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. It’s also the fourth 2016 release from Disney to cross $1 billion, the others being Captain America: Civil War, Zootopia and Finding Dory…
..Check out some concept art from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story here…
…It was revealed this week that a prequel novel to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story would land this May and here’s what you can expect from Star Wars: Rebel Rising: When Jyn Erso was five years old, her mother was murdered and her father taken from her to serve the Empire. But despite the loss of her parents she is not completely alone—Saw Gerrera, a man willing to go to any extremes necessary in order to resist Imperial tyranny, takes her in as his own, and gives her not only a home but all the abilities and resources she needs to become a rebel herself. Jyn dedicates herself to the cause—and the man. But fighting alongside Saw and his people brings with it danger and the question of just how far Jyn is willing to go as one of Saw’s soldiers. When she faces an unthinkable betrayal that shatters her world, Jyn will have to pull the pieces of herself back together and figure out what she truly believes in…and who she can really trust…
…Speaking of books, and the synopsis for Star Wars: Thrawn was released this week, which you can read here…
…Woody Harrelson was officially confirmed to be starring in Han Solo: A Star Wars Story last week, and the actor has been talking about the role, hinting that he could be popular EU character Garris Shrike from 1997’s Star Wars: The Paradise Snare. However, Lucasfilm’s Pablo Hidalgo shot down that theory…
…Star Wars Rebels now, and you can watch the Rebels Recon for Episode 14 here, and read Chris Cooper’s review here…
…Hot Toys released a batch of promotional images for its upcoming 1:6 scale R2-D2 collectible figure from Star Wars: The Force Awakens; check it out the lovable astromech in all his glory here…
…And finally, here are your comic book reviews for the week. First up is Star Wars #28: Master Yoda finds himself overpowered and captured! Imprisoned within the caves, the master must become a student once more. Plus…Ben and Luke feel the ripples of the Jedi Master’s tale! And here’s Star Wars: Darth Maul #1: Bred on hate, fear, and anger…steeped in the ways of darkness…and trained to kill. Darth Maul’s time as apprentice to Darth Sidious has long been cloaked in shadows, but at last we will reveal his tale of revenge. From writer Cullen Bunn (DEADPOOL KILLS THE MARVEL UNIVERSE, WOLVERINE) and artist Luke Ross (STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS, HERCULES) comes a tale of rage unleashed as Darth Maul prepares for his first encounter with the Jedi.
That’s all for this week – may the Force be with you.
Luke Owen is the Deputy Editor of Flickering Myth, the co-host of The Flickering Myth Podcast and the author of Lights, Camera, GAME OVER!: How Video Game Movies Get Made (which you can pre-order from Amazon UK and Amazon US). You can follow him on Twitter @ThisisLukeOwen.
Originally published January 29, 2017. Updated November 30, 2022.
