In this edition of Star Wars Bits:
A description of a new planet in Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
The new R2-D2 actor (that we already knew about) has been officially announced.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story star Felicity Jones will attend Star Wars Celebration.
John Williams just won his fifth Star Wars-related Grammy award.
Daisy Ridley won’t answer your Star Wars: The Last Jedi questions.
Some people still think Snoke is Mace Windu.
Marvel’s Star Wars comics are coming together for a new crossover event.
Details on upcoming episodes of Star Wars Rebels.
A rumor about the first trailer for Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
Doug Chiang answers a bunch of your Rogue One design questions.
And more!
Kenny Baker, the English actor who played R2-D2 in seven Star Wars movies, passed away last year at the age of 83. So, for the first time in the saga’s history, another person had to step inside that lovable droid and bring him to life for Rian Johnson’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi. That person was Scottish actor Jimmy Vee and his representation has officially confirmed his involvement:
We’re proud to officially announce that our client Mr Jimmy Vee has taken over the role of the Star Wars droid ‘R2-D2’, originally played by iconic actor, Mr. Kenny Baker.
Jimmy says, “It’s been an absolute pleasure to have worked alongside the legendary Kenny Baker. Kenny was a fantastic actor and taught me all the ‘tricks’ on how he brought R2-D2 to life which I will continue to portray in his honour. I’m so excited to be a part of the Star Wars universe and can’t wait for everyone to see what we’ve been working so hard on for the last year.”
Jimmy is no stranger to the world of Film and Television having previously starred in Doctor Who & the Harry Potter movies.
We’d like to specifically thank Disney and LucasFilm ltd. for providing Jimmy with this opportunity and look forward to working with the team in the near future.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi is currently set to be released December 15th, 2017.
Speaking of The Last Jedi, Making Star Wars has a description of a new planet seen in the upcoming film. As usual, you should take this with a grain of salt, but know that Making Star Wars has had a solid track record when it comes to bringing us news about the upcoming films. Feel free to scroll past this if you want to go in knowing as little as possible. If you want to hang around, here’s how they describe the planet, which certainly sounds like the kind of place the First Order would call home:
We heard about a new planet from Star Wars: Episode VIII last year during filming that appears to be really important to the story of the film, and that is the “Mars with snow on it” planet. The way I heard the set described, it was like Mars, a red ground, but covered with a light layer of snow, especially on the banks and rim of a hallway-sized trench. So imagine “Mars if it lightly snowed” is the mantra for this place. We heard the interiors were not unlike Starkiller Base in the sense that you can see the Death Star-style tech and architecture blending in with the rocks and natural environment.
Could this be the home base of Supreme Leader Snoke and the planet where Kylo Ren and General Hux fled following the destruction of Starkiller Base?
There are rumors that Luke will not be in the first #TheLastJedi teaser. We heard the contrary. Luke, Leia, Finn and Rey will be there…
— SWNN (@StarWarsNewsNet) February 13, 2017
While we’re talking about The Last Jedi stories, Star Wars News net is refuting the rumor that Luke will not be seen in the first trailer for the film.
Some people are still convinced that Supreme Leader Snoke, the secret leader of the First Order, could be Mace Windu, somehow still alive after the events of Revenge of the Sith. Sure. Okay. Fine. Go have fun.
Once a Star Wars actor, always a Star Wars actor: Rogue One star Felicity Jones has officially been confirmed as a guest at this year’s Star Wars Celebration, joining Ian McDiarmid (Emperor Palpatine) and Jeremy Bulloch (Boba Fett) in signing autographs for fans in a few months. The question now is whether or not Jones, an in-demand Oscar nominee, will embrace the Star Wars circuit or act as a tourist, occasionally popping in just to say hi (and make some quick money).
What's happening in the next Star Wars, #DaisyRidley?! #EEBAFTAs pic.twitter.com/j41Oei82qk
— EE (@EE) February 12, 2017
Did Daisy Ridley say anything of note about Star Wars: The Last Jedi when she was asked about the film on the BAFTA red carpet? Spoiler alert: no. But she sure is charming!
Speaking of Star Wars folks and award shows, the legendary John Williams took home a Grammy for the Star Wars: The Force Awakens soundtrack. This is the fifth Grammy he’s won for his work on Star Wars and his 23rd Grammy win overall.
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The post Star Wars Bits: ‘The Last Jedi’ Details, the Hardest ‘Rogue One’ Design, and Felicity Jones Heads to Star Wars Celebration appeared first on /Film.