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In this edition of The Week in Star Wars, we’ve got news on The Force Awakens reaching $2 billion, a confirmation of a returning character for Episode VIII, an announcement for LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Kevin Smith talking his Stormtrooper cameo and more…
Our top story this week surrounds the ambiguous Captain Phasma, played by Gwendoline Christie in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. While the character was featured heavily in the marketing for the movie, the character didn’t end up doing a lot in the movie. Well, perhaps she’ll be given more to do in the Episode VIII, which the actor confirmed she would be appearing in this week. “I will be in the next Star Wars movie. I think that’s an exclusive, actually,” Christie said at the Screen Actors Guild Awards. She also talked about how pleased she was to get the role, noting that she campaigned for it. “I was very overexcited. I made no secret of the fact that I really campaigned for the part for a long time. And then I was delighted when J.J. Abrams wanted to have me in the film and then wanted to cast me in this role that had originally been designed for a man. I thought the costume was incredibly striking. I felt it encouraged diversity and it was doing something new and it was an interesting bit of casting for women, and I hope that in something that was such a mainstream success it would breed more of those kind of opportunities for other women”…
…And this topic of conversation was one of our lead stories on this week’s Flickering Myth podcast, which you can listen to below…
…Star Wars: The Force Awakens reached another milestone this week as it passed $900 million domestically – becoming the first movie in history to do so. We’ll know for sure by the end of play today, but with the movie sitting at $1.99 billion at the time of writing, it is highly likely that the movie will cross the $2 billion mark worldwide – making it the third movie in history to do so joining James Cameron’s Titanic and Avatar…
…Last week we reported on writer/director Kevin Smith’s cameo in Star Wars: The Force Awakens as a Stormtrooper, and the filmmaker talked about his experience on his Hollywood Babble-On Podcast. Turns out it all came from that infamous Comic-Con incident where J.J. Abrams took everyone from Hall H to a free Star Wars concert and left Smith doing his annual Q&A to a lot of empty seats. “So I talked about it on two shows after it happened,” Smith explains. “First show I did was Jay & Silent Bob Get Old down in San Diego and then Hollywood Babble-On. And by the time we got to Babble-On, I’d refined that fucking horrifying incident into a fun little anecdote, and I wrapped it up with, ‘Sith happens but fucking J.J had better cast me as a fat Stormtrooper in the next fucking Star Wars film’. It was a throwaway joke. The next fucking day I get an email from J.J. saying, ‘I just listened to Babble-On, we have to do that’. He said, ‘they’ve all got voices – come in and do a voice’. I wrote him back and said, ‘normally I would you don’t have to do that, but you have to fucking do that’. You don’t owe me anything, but I want that more than anything in life. Who’s cock do I have to suck? I went into Bad Robot, and he pulled four or five scenes and had me record a bunch of lines and they would pick one in post. But the most fucking exciting thing was that I got to see some of the scenes before the film was out…”
…If you like your LEGO video games and you love Star Wars, then you’re luck was in this week with the announcement trailer for LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens. “LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens marks the triumphant return of the No. 1 LEGO videogame franchise and immerses fans in the new Star Wars adventure like never before,” the press release reads. “Players can relive the epic action from the blockbuster film in a way that only LEGO can offer, featuring all of the storylines from Star Wars: The Force Awakens, retold through the clever and witty LEGO lens. The game will also feature exclusive playable content that takes players on adventures between Star Wars: Episode VI: Return of the Jedi and Star Wars: The Force Awakens, providing additional insight about the new movie and its characters.” Check out the trailer below:
…Hot Toys has released a batch of promotional images for its latest Star Wars: The Force Awakens product line, with two series of Cosbaby Bobble-Heads based on characters from the recent blockbuster…
…Moving over to Star Wars Rebels now, and you can watch a clip from last week’s episode “Legends of Lasat” here, the Rebels Recon featurette on the episode here, promo images for next week’s episode “The Call” here, and read Chris Cooper’s review of “The Protector of Concord Dawn” here…
…The cover for Star Wars: Bloodline the new novel from Star Wars: Lost Stars author Claudia Gray was revealed this week. Bloodline will take place prior to the events of Star Wars: The Force Awakens and focusses on Leia Organa, “who is professionally at a good place, as a senator and leader in a peaceful New Republic decades after the fall of Vader and the Emperor’s stranglehold on the galaxy. However, a new generation doesn’t remember the lessons of the Rebellion or recognize the wrongs of the Empire, and Leia begins to see the cracks in the foundation that could lead to a dangerous future for the galaxy…”
…And lastly, here’s your comic book previews for the week. First up is Star Wars: Darth Vader #16, out on February 10th: NEW STORY ARC! • The planet Shu-Torin (introduced in the Darth Vader Annual) is revolting. • Darth Vader is tasked with leading a military assault. • Has Vader’s rise to glory begun. And here’s the preview for Star Wars Special: C-3PO #1, set for release on March 30th. It’s just the cover for now, but a full preview will be available closer to the time.
That’s all for this week – may The Force be with you…
Luke Owen
Originally published February 7, 2016. Updated July 2, 2023.
