“A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away….“
Yes, those words are how the universe and fandom of Star Wars began. Star Wars is forever some say and a vast subject nonetheless. With the new Star Wars movies coming, there is going to be a lot of breaking information, not just for those, but there are great disturbances in the Force as the power of Star Wars marketing and entertainment moves about the geek world. So, right now in this KOOL, KOOL site… I am starting this new periodic segment where I look for all the internet has to offer and try to find all the answers to the question “Star Wars… Where Are You?“
Each article will focus on Star Wars, with probably a lot of media news, but there will also be reviews and event reporting when possible. I will stay away from spoilers as I do not want them myself, and I will be pretty conservative with the things I post as I am not wanting to destroy my or anyone else’s sense of mystery when it comes to any project. However, I will share what I find interesting and potentially enticing for fans of this 36 year old franchise. I will also talk about Star Wars in general, its philosophy, and its influence on pop culture and all of us.
But most importantly, I will bring you news. I will probably not cover every detail of everything that happens between the times I post, so feel free to post news of your own in the comments. Just, again, no spoilers please. And if you speak out of turn I’ll probably just say you could use a good kiss.
So, lock in the coordinates, grab a blaster, and let’s talk about Star Wars! Punch it!
On October 30th, 2012, the Walt Disney Company purchased Lucasfilm and its properties from George Lucas for $4.05 billion.
Ok, yeah, that news is old, but it is pretty much why I am here writing and you are here reading. Disney buying the rights to Star Wars is what has opened the door to new movies and all kinds of stirrings involving the brand. Since then there have been great things happen like the confirmed announcement J.J. Abrams will direct the first of the next Star Wars films, with a release date as early as 2015, and then there have been some bad news like the unfortunate canceling of the Cartoon Network’s The Clone Wars as well as the 3D theatrical versions of Episodes II-VI. Star Wars is becoming very, very KOOL again! And for some of us, it never wasn’t. I hope everyone who has ever enjoyed any aspect of Star Wars joins me in the information I have to share. I’ve been there from the first movie through The Clone Wars, and hope to be around to see everything that comes next.
So, speaking of The Clone Wars, on Friday, June 14th, 2013, Star Wars: The Clone Wars won two awards at the 40th Annual Daytime Entertainment Creative Arts Emmy Awards. The show won in the category of Outstanding Special Class Animated Program and is the first time the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences has presented an award to the series. David Tennant of Doctor Who fame, who voiced Jedi training droid “Huyang” in a season five story arc, won for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program.
The Clone Wars was also nominated in three other categories not won by the series – Outstanding Directing in and Animated Program, Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing, and Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction and Composition. These awards came on the foot heels of the Disney’s recent acquisition of Lucasfilm and the show’s cancellation at the end of season five, most likely due to the conflict between the Cartoon Network’s children’s programming and that of Disney.
George Lucas, the creator and former owner of the Star Wars property, attended Sunday’s presentation ceremony of the award. Handing off the award to the winner was none other than Carrie Fisher, who we all know as Princess Leia.
Not to depress anyone too much along the lines of Star Wars animated offerings, Lucasfilm did announce an all-new animated television series titled Star Wars Rebels. Scheduled to premiere in fall of 2014, on, you guessed it, the Disney Channel, it will then settle into a slot onto, yes, guessed again, Disney XD.
Lucasfilm describes the series as action-filled and will take place between Episodes III and IV, focusing on the creation of the Rebellion forming resistance against the Empire. Insiders have claimed the program will have a teenage cast of characters, although this has not been confirmed by Lucasfilm. Even if it is true, that is not necessarily a bad thing since Luke and Leia were still teenagers in A New Hope, and, even in our world, many soldiers are only of that age. Probably the best part of the news is that The Clone Wars show-runner Dave Filoni will be an integral part of the production of the series, hopefully ensuring the same attention to character and detail as of the Star Wars universe and a fluidity from the previous series is maintained as much as possible.
The Walt Disney Company announced their plan to further build out the merchandising and consumer products empire around the Star Wars franchise. In a “you don’t say?” moment, Lucasfilm informed the masses in a press release during Licensing Expo 2013 in Las Vagas on June 18th. This following quote is from Lucasfilm’s Howard Roffman.
“We’re excited to be part of The Walt Disney Company and to be able to marshal all the resources we’ve never dreamt of before. There’s only one place where it made sense for Star Wars to reside and that is Disney, it is the only entertainment company that understands long term: long term brand affinity and franchise planning, plus the power of storytelling and compelling characters – this is what our fans expect from Star Wars.”
There was a leaked casting call for the new film we only know now as Episode 7. The leak is probably good but I do not see any reason to share it as I think the story is very much in flux right now and the casting info could change. If you want to know anything it does seem like, spoiler! (highlight to reveal), there may be a strong female lead character, more equivalent to Luke’s character in A New Hope than Leia’s.
Also, shooting for the film has been confirmed to be taking place in the United Kingdom where the original Star Wars trilogy was mostly filmed. Kathleen Kennedy, the president of Lucasfilm, mentions the ambition to revisit the origins of Star Wars. Episodes I-III departed from this tradition and were mainly filmed in Australia. This is great news as it ensures most of the Empire’s commanding officers will be speaking in a British accent just like they did in the original movies. Tally-ho!
If you would like to see how much even the original Star Wars changed in 1977 from the earlier versions of Lucas’s script drafts, pick up the new “The Star Wars” series by Dark Horse Comics. This is a Lucas-informed comic book interpretation of his first completed script dubbed “The Star Wars” which Lucas passed around throughout Hollywood trying to gain backing for film production. The story revolves around Jedi Annakin Starkiller and General Luke Skywalker and should be coming out in September 2013.
In the meantime, Dark Horse currently has a traditional take on Star Wars with their newest title simply of the same name. “Star Wars“ takes place after the events of A New Hope and stars all the traditional characters, but Dark Horse has several other titles which take place in the same galaxy far, far away. I would advise anyone not picking up these comics do so as they are very well done. Dark Horse may not be able to keep the comic publishing rights forever since Disney also owns Marvel, but it seems like they are not sitting back, and are instead coming up with some of their best content.
Star Wars: Celebration Europe is ramping up for July 26th-28th, 2013 in Messe Essen, Germany. If you are planning on going, have a great European Vacation! If you’re just finding out and are now scrambling to go, then you will probably be scrambling until it’s over at this point, but go..go have fun if you can. Personally, I will just sit back and watch the news feeds supply my fandom, and I will be right here passing on as much news as I feel needs to be passed along. I just wish someone would get me one of those Hasbro Boba Fett and Han and Carbonite 6″ 2-packs. I’ll take the San Diego Comic Con version too if anyone will be packing an extra. 
What is old is new again as the ten year-old computer game Knights of the Old Republic comes to the iPad. Nothing seems to be new to see here, but reliving the experience is enough to hook you back into replaying one of the best Star Wars games ever to be produced. The game also allows those who missed it in its glory days to have a new Star Wars experience. The legendary game looks great on the iPad, is only $9.99, and can be downloaded by following this link.
What IS new, and seems to have arisen from the ashes of LucasArts, is the Star Wars game announcement from Entertainment Arts at this year’s E3, the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo. To the surprise of gamers who have been waiting years for a new first person shooter based in the Star Wars universe, EA confirmed Star Wars Battlefront III is in the works, and even provided a video preview, although it really didn’t offer much to see. We will have to stay tuned to find out if this turns out to be the game fans have been yearning for, but the teaser is enough to get some very excited. Check it out here!
All Star Wars fans should grab this month’s Geek Magazine, on newsstands now. In the 7th issue of this revamped periodical, Luke and Leia from the 1977 film are featured on the cover, promoting a nice article inside on why Star Wars still matters, featuring commentary from Ashley Eckstein, Steve Melching and Kyle Newman.
For those into cosplay and real-life Star Wars characters, the Star Wars Blog has posted an article giving a brief history of the 501st Legion, the world-wide fan organization dedication to the construction and wearing of screen-accurate replicas of Star Wars costumed characters, particularly Imperial Stormtroopers. For anyone not familiar with the group it is a definite read, so make the jump!
Whew! Ok, I think I have caught up everyone on the past six months of Star Wars news so hopefully the next one will not be so crammed. A long time ago is when I feel like I started this article. Please let me know if you liked it by leaving comments below. I hope to be back very soon for another installment of “Star Wars… Where Are You?”