'SOLO': 'THE CREW' STANDS READY!

On a far-off realm, smuggling legend-to-be Han Solo, his loyal wookiee compadre Chewbacca, the enigmatic criminal Qi'ra, and the man with his eyes always on the prize, Lando Calrissian, stand by the intergalactic hot rod, the Millennium Falcon, ready for their next big adventure. Great composition art which we assume was part of the film's marketing campaign somewhere in the world back in 2018.

The entertaining as ever Solo: A Star Wars Story celebrates its First Anniversary today. And if any film deserves a sequel, further developing our heroes whilst also bringing in the likes of notorious 'scum' like Jabba the Hutt and Boba Fett, it's this one!

CLASSIC ART: THE 'NEW HOPE' RISES!

The power of the Force, via the mystery and magic of the Jedi lightsaber, is used to striking effect in this great conceptual movie poster art by Tom Jung for Return of the Jedi, and a visual idea/motif that eventually came to fruition promoting the upcoming mystery of the film, and Luke Skywalker's ultimate destiny, come May 1983.

HAPPY THIRTY-SIXTH ANNIVERSARY TO 'RETURN OF THE JEDI'!

CLASSIC ART: THE ENDURING MYTHOS...

Forty-two years on, that 'Saturday matinee serial'-esque tribute movie', originally called Star Wars back in 1977, continues to thrive and endure brighter than the twin suns of Tatooine. Great stories and iconic characters never go out of fashion, as shown in this great fan art from Joshua Budich.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, 'STAR WARS'! 

George Lucas on the film's genesis:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mztK3s63_OM

https://www.biography.com/news/george-lucas-star-wars-facts

CLASSIC INDY: FAMILY MATTERS!

'Who's going to come save you, Junior?' The Jones boys - art by Drew Struzan.

'The dad thing was my idea. The grail doesn't offer a whole lot of special effects and doesn't promise a huge physical climax. I just thought that the Grail that everybody seeks could be a metaphor for a son seeking reconciliation with a father and a father seeking reconciliation with a son. It also gave me a chance to suggest Sean Connery. Who else but Bond could have been worthy enough to play Indiana Jones' dad?'

Steven Spielberg - EMPIRE film magazine - 2006

HAPPY THIRTIETH BIRTHDAY TO 'INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE'!

EPISODE IX: THE NEW 'BUCKET HEAD'!

Clearly a formidable opponent and lethal in close-quarters combat (note those handy thigh-strapped double blades she's ready to use), welcome to the Star Wars universe, Keri Russell's Zorri Bliss, as mysteriously revealed on the planet Kijimi, in the EPISODE IX coverage for the latest issue of Vanity Fair. Image by Annie Leibovitz.

https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2019/05/star-wars-keri-russell-is-the-roguish-zorri-bliss

EPISODE IX: DEADLY REUNION!

Image: Annie Leibovitz for Vanity Fair magazine.

POSSIBLE SPOILERS! Amidst hurricane-like weather conditions on an unknown world, atop the hull of a now near water drenched (or possibly even submerged) Millennium Falcon, a deadly confrontation takes place between Kylo Ren and Rey, in this stunning image from EPISODE IX captured by Annie Leibovitz for Vanity Fair. Presumably, the exciting sequence reuniting the opposite sides of the Force was filmed at the infamous water tank area of Pinewood Studios during 2018.

https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2019/05/the-truth-about-kylo-ren-and-reys-connection

EPISODE IX: THE NEW ISSUE OF 'VANITY FAIR'

The striking opening magazine coverage for IX goes to Vanity Fair, featuring an enjoyable phenomenon overview article for the most part, and surely Annie Leibovitz's best modern Star Wars film related photo shoot work. A gorgeous collectible issue, guaranteed.

https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2019/05/star-wars-cover-story?verso=true

https://www.starwars.com/news/vanity-fair-star-wars-the-rise-of-skywalker

CLASSIC ART: AN 'EMPIRE' OF GREATNESS!

The adapted Roger Kastel poster for Empire soon used in UK publicity on London's Underground network and in newspapers during 1980, incorporating the important characters of Lando Calrissian and Boba Fett. Image: via Matthew Shaw Collection.

'George (Lucas) had been given enormous license by the success of Star Wars. So when he started talking to me about The Empire Strikes Back script that didn't exist, he knew what had to happen in the story, and it was very dark stuff. I was delighted that it was not going to be a rehash of Star Wars, and that after having set the whole thing up, and gotten that rousing start, you launch into the second act where everything goes straight to hell. And that's usually the best act in a play.'

Lawrence Kasdan - 'Empire of Dreams' documentary, 2004

HAPPY THIRTY-NINTH BIRTHDAY TO 'THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK'!

HAPPY 20TH ANNIVERSARY TO 'EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE'!

'This one (the new Trilogy) deals basically with the issues of evil and the issues of how a good person turns bad. It's a tragedy. I'm not sure how commercial it's going to be. but I've got myself into the position where I can do whatever I want. So I can take risks with the films I make; I can tell stories that may not pan out to be popular but are the stories I want to tell. I worked pretty hard to get into this position and now I can take advantage of it.'

George Lucas - BBC Interview (1998)

EPISODE I - global box office (so far): $1.27 billion.

HAPPY TWENTIETH ANNIVERSARY - 'EPISODE I'!

Release trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bD7bpG-zDJQ

STAR WARS CELEBRATION 2019 honours EPISODE I:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhBGb8J9vsI

CLASSIC IMAGE: A TIME OF CONFLICT!

'The third film is very, very dark. It's not a happy film by any stretch of the imagination. It's a tragedy. People think of the Star Wars movies as happy movies. What they're going to do about a tragedy, I don't know. It will probably be the least successful of all the Star Wars movies - but I know that.'

George Lucas - Empire magazine - September 1999

'I'm proud of the second three moves. People may not like them, but I'm proud of them. I never in a  million years thought I could finish the whole story. In its course, I've done a lot of things I wanted to do, taking themes and stringing them in different tones through different times - recurring elements twisted in different ways. And I've managed to do something that I've always been fascinated with - doing something over twelve hours instead of two. What it really comes down to is, I am a happy man. What else can I tell you?'

George Lucas - Time magazine - May 9th, 2005

EPISODE III - global box office (so far): $848 million.

HAPPY FOURTEENTH ANNIVERSARY TO 'EPISODE III'!