Originally published April 17, 2017. Updated November 30, 2022.
…It wasn’t all just The Last Jedi at Star Wars Celebration, however, as there was also the fantastic 40th Anniversary panel featuring George Lucas, Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Harrison Ford (Han Solo), Billy Dee Williams (Lando Calrissian), Ian McDiarmid (Emperor Palpatine), Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca) and more. Check out interviews with them here…
…Hamill also spoke out about Star Wars: The Force Awakens, throwing some shade on the fact Luke and Leia were not present for the death of Han Solo (spoilers). Hamill said that by introducing Luke earlier, the character and Princess Leia could have been a part of Han Solo’s death sequence, stating that “We’re too late to save him, but (are) witnesses” and that it would “carry so much emotional resonance into the next film” if he and Leia were there alongside “two characters that have known him, what, 20 minutes?..”
…Get the tissues at the ready, because here is the Carrie Fisher tribute. Is someone cutting onions round here?..
…Disney and Lucasfilm also announced that they will be celebrating the iconic heroes of the galaxy far, far away with Star Wars: Forces of Destiny. The new micro-series of animated shorts will explore exciting, all new adventures of key characters including Rey, Jyn Erso, Sabine Wren, Princess Leia, Ahsoka Tano and others, and features the voice talents of Daisy Ridley (Rey), Felicity Jones (Jyn), Tiya Sircar (Sabine), Ashley Eckstein (Ahsoka Tano) and Lupita Nyong’o (Maz Kanata as narrator). Check out images from the show and the tie-in toyline here…
…Check out the trailer for the fourth and final season of Star Wars Rebels here, and the trailer for Star Wars Battlefront II here. Try to not get offended that the second trailer features a woman!..
…Looking ahead to Star Wars: Episode IX now, and Mark Hamill has been talking about whether or not he will be in the film, saying that is to be determined. “I think you’ll find some things that’ll surprise you,” he added. “They certainly surprised me. I said to Rian, I think I fundamentally disagree with everything you’ve decided for me. Now having said that, I have to accept it, get my mind around it and do my best to realize your vision. Once I got into it, a lot of my fears went away. That’s why I enjoy Rogue One so much… because I’m not in it. This is a little too high-profile for me…”
…Kathleen Kennedy also spoke about the future of Star Wars once Episode IX is done and dusted, saying, “I certainly foresee movies past [Episode IX]. Whether or not we carry on the Skywalker saga… you know, George always intended nine movies, and whether we continue that or not is something we’re talking about right now. If the story warrants it, we’ll absolutely do it. If it actually inspires new ideas, then we’ll probably head in that direction. We just don’t know yet…”
…Finally from Mark Hamill, and the actor reminisced about the negative reaction the trailer for Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope got when it was first released. “We went in and we watched it. It was so early they didn’t have John Williams’ score. They didn’t have very many special effects finished at all. A couple of shots of TIE Fighters, I think. It made a real impression on me because we hadn’t seen any of the footage. At the end of the trailer, it said, ‘A billion light years in the making. And it’s coming to your galaxy this summer.’ Big explosion. And somebody in the balcony yelled out, ‘Yeah, and it’s coming to the late show about two weeks after that’. Nobody enjoys a well-placed, snarky remark more than I do. So we both laughed, but after we laughed, we kind of went, ‘Uh oh.” How times change things eh?..
…Lucasfilm announced that Gwendoline Christie’s underused Star Wars: The Force Awakens villain Captain Phasma is set to take centre stage in her own comic book limited series and novel as part of the Journey to Star Wars: The Last Jedi publishing initiative. Read more here…
…We here at Flickering Myth are very excited about Star Wars themed lands at Disney parks, and Star Wars Celebration offered up some details in a video that was shown during the panel, which you can see here along with some new concept art…
…In the build up to Star Wars Celebration, Hasbro unveiled promotional images for two of its upcoming 6-inch The Black Series Star Wars figures in Rey and her speeder from Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Luke Skywalker and his X-34 Landspeeder from Star Wars: Episode IV – New Hope, And now we have a look at more upcoming figures revealed during Celebration, including the San Diego Comic-Con exclusive Grand Admiral Thrawn ($49.99), Jaina Solo Fan Figure Vote 2016 Winner ($19.99), Grand Moff Tarkin ($19.99), Toys ‘R’ Us exclusive Clone Commander Gree ($24.99) and Game Stop exclusive Inferno Squadron Pilot from Star Wars Battlefront II ($19.99). Take a look at the official promotional images here…
…And finally, IDW announced a deal with Disney and Lucasfilm to bring a new line of Star Wars comics designed for younger readers. “Lucasfilm is thrilled to expand our relationship with the talented and creative folks at IDW to bring Star Wars comics to kids,” said Michael Siglain, Creative Director of Lucasfilm Publishing. “IDW has an incredible pedigree of talent, and we look forward to working with them on the creation of these fun, action-packed adventures that span the entire Star Wars saga.” Read more here.
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.
