Your weekend edition of The Week in Star Wars sees LOADS of promotional images from toys being released from Force Friday, a returning actor from the original trilogy, more Star Wars films on the way and more…
Let’s kick things off with the latest updates from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and thanks to the folks over at MakingStarWars, we’ve got some new character descriptions featuring two of the film’s alien supporting characters, along with a couple of Imperial Stormtrooper classes [which you can read here], and it’s been confirmed that Valene Kane (The Fall) is set to portray Lyra Erso – the mother of Jyn Erso – in December’s Anthology movie. “I grew up watching Stars Wars and I didn’t believe it was happening until I was filming in Iceland,” she said.. “[The film] has a really edgy independent vibe…”
…It’s also been revealed that the final trailer for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story will be attached to Marvel’s Doctor Strange, and in celebration of Force Friday, Topps’ Star Wars Card Trader app shared some new promotional artwork from the film, which features Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) and her band of Rebels, alongside Darth Vader and his Imperial forces; check them out here…
…Speaking of Force Friday, and Lucasfilm released the fourth and final part of its ‘Go Rogue’ stop-motion animated series to celebrate it [watch that here] and you can see eight new sets from LEGO here…
…More from Force Friday now, and Hot Toys released information on a whole bunch of new collectables, including 1/6th Darth Vader, 1/6th scale Shoretrooper, 1/6th scale TIE Fighter Pilot and 1/6th scale Jedha Patrol Stormtrooper from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story as well as 1/6th scale Luke Skywalker from Star Wars: The Force Awakens and the latest additions to its Cosbaby Bobble-Heads line in the holographic and glow in the dark versions of Darth Vader. That’s a lot of toys…
…And there’s more, because Funko have revealed another wave of its New York Comic Con exclusives including a Bistan vinyl figure from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and a Qui Gon Jinn vinyl figure from Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace [which you can see here]…
…Inspired by the Empire’s most destructive weapon, The Fowndry is set to launch the Star Wars Death Star Levitating Bluetooth Speaker, a gravity defying orb suspended by magnetic levitation which floats and spins 360 degrees in the air whilst pumping out some great sounds [check it out here]…
…Back to the films now, and Warwick Davis (who has featured in Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi, Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace and Star Wars: The Force Awakens) has confirmed an appearance in the upcoming Star Wars: Episode VIII. You can read more about that here, along with his thoughts on the future of the franchise…
…Speaking of the future of the franchise, and Disney CEO Bob Iger told investors on a conference call that we can expect more Star Wars movies beyond the sequel trilogy and the expanded universe spin-offs. “We have movies in development for Star Wars ’til [2020], and we started talking about what we’re going to do in 2021 and beyond,” he said. “So, [Lucasfilm chief Kathleen Kennedy] is not just making a Star Wars movie, she’s making a Star Wars universe, of sorts.” Neil Calloway wrote an article on this,
…Looking at ‘more Star Wars movies’ and it has been revealed that Bradford Young is set to shoot Han Solo: A Star Wars Story, which is slated to go into production in early 2017. Young has recently shot Denis Villenueve’s Arrival, while his previous work includes Middle of Nowhere, Ain’t Them Bodies Saints, Selma and A Most Violent Year…
…Darth Maul returned to Star Wars Rebels this weekend, and you can see images of that here and a clip here, and you can watch the Rebels Recon featurette for episode three ‘The Holocrons of Fate’ here. Funko also released images of their upcoming wave of Star Wars Rebels Pop! Vinyl figures which includes Ezra, Kanan, Sabine, Hera, Zeb and Chopper along with exclusives Ashoka (Hot Topic) and masked Sabine (Walgreens); check them out here…
…And finally, here’s your comic book previews for the week. First up we’ve also got a look at artist John Tyler Christopher’s upcoming Action Figure variant for Marvel’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens #5: Rey has been captured by the evil First Order! Meanwhile, Finn plans a mission with the Resistance in order to save Rey and destroy Starkiller Base! Only the vicious Kylo Ren stands in their way. And here’s the preview of Star Wars #23: The rebels have pulled off the impossible…they’ve stolen a Star Destroyer. But why? To what end? Can they hold her together? And who’s in charge of this madness, anyway – Han or Leia?
That’s all for this week – may the Force be with you.
Luke Owen is the Deputy Editor of Flickering Myth and the co-host of The Flickering Myth Podcast and Scooperhero News. You can follow him on Twitter @ThisisLukeOwen and read his weekly feature The Week in Star Wars.
Originally published October 2, 2016. Updated November 30, 2022.
