THE CLONE WARS: AN HONOURABLE INSPECTION!

Back because you demanded it, The Clone Wars Season Seven, arriving later this year in the US, finally wraps up the exciting animated prequel adventures set between EPISODEs II and III, revealing the legacy of the fateful galactic conflict for our key heroes and villains.

CELEBRATION 2019 panel and trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0XlB2EJZuA&t=3252s

EPISODE IX: THE SERPENT RETURNS...

POTENTIAL SPOILER ALERT!

Last seen on live action screens defeating Yoda, seeing in the demise of the Jedi order and corrupting/manipulating Darth Vader into being, Ian McDiarmid's performance in EPISODE III, indeed the entire Prequel trilogy, was nothing short of excellent. And now Sidious returns, seemingly from death in his own unique way, for the upcoming The Rise of Skywalker? But how, after his pit thrown demise with EPISODE VI?

We can only imagine these possibilities. Firstly, a clone (a bit too much of an audience cheat). That the Sith somehow discovered a way to come back to our physical realms as some kind of ghost-being, not unlike Yoda or Obi-Wan. That the Palpatine of VI was a physical projection in the same way Luke appeared on Crait in EPISODE VIII. That he entered or fell through the doorway between times and universes seen in REBELS. Or, finally, that Palpatine/Sidious will be seen in flashbacks only - possibly with McDiarmid having replaced the rumoured presence of Matt Smith on the IX set, the former DOCTOR WHO star who was apparently to have played a young Palpatine/Sidious in sequences that were likely re-thought during principal photography.

One thing is certain, Darth Sidious has a key role in the new film- his return planned in advance some time back in the Kennedy/Abrams storyline masterplan for the sequel trilogy. And don't forget, before things changed in 1983's Return of the Jedi, he wasn't apparently to have been in the original nine film saga until the ninth, final episode as The Emperor (according to a magazine interview back in 1997 with Gary Kurtz), so this creative decision actually, and rather eerily, matches what had once been planned around 1979/80.

We can't wait to welcome the supreme super baddy back to the Star Wars saga one last (?) time...

Ian McDiarmid on The Emperor at the CELEBRATION 2019 event:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1-o47Y70lM

EPISODE IX: THE BONDS OF REBELLION!

On an unknown world of diverse geographical regions, our friends old and new in the Rebellion get their first sight of a deadly location, in this surely momentous scene from EPISODE IX, linked to the past (or future) of the saga's greatest machiavellian enemy.

A powerful legacy that must not fall into enemy hands.

CELEBRATION 2019 stage and interviews:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL148kCvXk8pDbF6fs3PUYRcVaqx7Z2Z3r

Latest EPISODE IX news: 

http://www.jedinews.co.uk/film-music-tv/articles/entertainment-tonight-interviews-daisy-ridley-oscar-isaac-kelly-marie-tran/

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/apr/12/star-wars-trailer-episode-ix-rise-of-skywalker-biggest-takeaways-review-

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-6916653/Star-Wars-Episode-IX-Rise-Skywalker-teaser-trailer-shared-showing-Rey.html

https://uk.ign.com/articles/2019/04/12/star-wars-jannah-lando-calrissian-daughter-episode-9

https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a26844875/star-wars-episode-9-oscar-isaac-leia-doesnt-fade-away-unused-footage/

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/star-wars-rise-skywalker-why-death-star-is-trailer-1201883?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social

Cast interviews: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaZpMI1-lHY

More on the trailer: SPOILERS! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08QR9DNYk50

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-04-12/star-wars-movies-will-take-a-break-after-episode-ix-disney-says

'EPISODE IX: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER': TEASER TRAILER DEBUT

The Skywalker saga comes to an end, as heralded in this slick and successful teaser. Enjoy!

First teaser: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adzYW5DZoWs

OUT THIS MONTH: 'INDUSTRIAL LIGHT & MAGIC PRESENTS: MAKING SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY'

Celebrating the on and off screen storytelling magic, charting the adventures of Han Solo and Chewbacca, within the all-new Industrial Light & Magic Presents: Making Solo: A Star Wars Story. Image: Rob Bredow.© & TM LUCASFILM LTD Used under authorization.

Giving us an unparalleled photo documentarian look into the top-secret, closed-set universe that is today's on-the-floor making of a modern Star Wars film (post-Disney takeover), in ways not seen or documented since 2005's The Making of Revenge of the Sith, albeit this time from the perspective not of a then rising star journalist (as in the esteemed J.W. Rinzler) but of a key member of the film's creative/production team, instead - top ILM veteran/coproducer Rob Bredow. Industrial Light & Magic Presents: Making Solo: A Star Wars Story, from Abrams is surely going to be the highlight coffee table book of the year, building on (yet going beyond in so many ways) 2018's 'Art of' book coverage for the film in uniquely charting the epic teamwork and dedication needed for one of the riskiest, most ambitious and challenging productions so far conceived within George Lucas's originally created universe, and a busily turbulent filmmaking time by late 2017 heightened with positivity and a fresh pair of eyes with the fortuitous arrival of popular blockbuster imagineer Ron Howard, a trusted veteran boldly taking the creative reins of Solo: A Star Wars Story and steering the once-troubled production to new heights of cinematic enjoyment, whilst recognising and respecting the vital talents aided to him by Bredow (whose striking colour and B/W photography is used here to maximum reference impact) and his essential teammates at ILM.

Rob Bredow at the controls of a familiar ship. Image: Lucasfilm/STARWARS.COM

Official book preview/interview:
https://www.starwars.com/news/rob-bredow-making-solo-book-interview

Available from April 16th, 2019, here's the full blurb on the book release:

Industrial Light & Magic Presents: Making Solo: A Star Wars Story is an eyewitness account of the film’s production from visual effects supervisor and coproducer Rob Bredow. The book gives readers an intimate glimpse into the journey that Solo took from pre-production, production, and post-production, fully documenting how this film came to the big screen.

Making Solo gives a chronological overview of how this multiple-Academy-Award-winning visual effects company created new worlds, aliens, droids, and vehicles for a galaxy far, far away, including insights into how the train heist on Vandor, L3-37, the Kessel Run, and the reimagined Millennium Falcon were brought to life. A must-have for Star Wars fans, this authorized, all-access book will be an indispensable work for all movie fans and devotees of popular culture.

States-side online sneak peek:
https://io9.gizmodo.com/a-look-inside-the-new-book-exploring-the-making-of-solo-1833757076

Get Industrial Light & Magic Presents: Making Solo: A Star Wars Story by Rob Bredow, foreword by Ron Howard. Abrams (£35):
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Industrial-Light-Magic-Presents-Making/dp/1419737538/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2ESQXXDQ99KNN&keywords=making+solo+a+star+wars+story&qid=1554729005&s=gateway&sprefix=making+solo+a+%2Caps%2C197&sr=8-1

THE CLONE WARS: TESTING TIMES!

Another exciting and dangerous The Clone Wars comic adventure awaits our troubled and persevering Jedi heroes, as The Starcrusher Trap is unleashed by the Separatists, and the respected and formidable Mace Windu gets an action showcase with that purple lightsaber of his!

Cover art for Dark Horse Comics by The Fillbach Brothers.

'STAR WARS REBELS': 'THE GHOST' OF 'GALACTICA'?

As the main focal point of the first season and beyond, life for the people of the planet Lothal is not so good under the thumb of the Empire. So thank the Force that the heroes of Star Wars Rebels are around to help out, breaking the Imperial-controlled space lanes to help where possible via their nimble vessel, The Ghost, as seen in this lovely production painting art for the series by Andre Kirk.

A similar design to The Ghost from 1978's Battlestar Galactica. Image: Universal.

I always thought that The Ghost looked familiar, however, before its Rebels debut. And then I remembered the works of Joe Johnston and Ralph McQuarrie in designing vehicles not just for Star Wars but also the original 1978/79 version of Battlestar Galactica. Sure enough, a similar ship design appears on a technical schematic during the opening episode, Saga of a Star World. It may also have been a prior design idea, perhaps, for the Millennium Falcon back in late 1975, before it became the familiar 'flying hamburger' we know and love.

If anyone has any more info on this, please get in touch...

CLASSIC INDY: AND HERE COMES DAD!

Originally conceived by George Lucas as more of a book-ish Yoda-like figure, the idea of casting the one and only James Bond 007 himself, Sean Connery, as Indy's father Henry Jones, Jr., was definitely an inspiring move by director Steven Spielberg, bringing extra character dimensions to Indy's character for emotional drama and humour most welcomed by Harrison Ford. Loving the part, Connery was himself an enthusiastic contributor to the storytelling, even bringing in some uncredited and successful comedy dialogue courtesy of UK talents Dick Clement and Ian Le Frenais.

Together at the Elstree Backlot with Steven Spielberg.

CLASSIC IMAGE: RESCUERS NEED NOT APPLY!

Image: © Lucasfilm/Disney.

Dare cross the formidable, weapons-trained Princess Leia Organa at your peril, as one Stormtrooper finds out the hard way whilst his patrol searches the Rebel Blockade Runner for any aboard members of the Alderaanian Royal family, during the memorable start to the original Star Wars.

Celebrate the personal genesis of rebellion and the spunky dedication of the fiery yet compassionate Princess who captured the attention and devotion of the pop culture universe via the all-new, high-quality Leia Organa - Rebel Leader box set book and attractive painted figurine from Chronicle Books, available in the UK from 9th April, 2019.

Here's the info:

Leia Organa is one of the galaxy’s fiercest rebels and greatest heroes—a powerful leader and a force against galactic evil, never to be underestimated. This one-of-a-kind, hand-painted statue comes with a display stand and a 48-page illustrated booklet featuring an illuminating look at Leia’s role in the Star Wars saga and insights on Carrie Fisher’s portrayal by Lucasfilm Executive Editor Jennifer Heddle, a celebration of the inspiration and symbol of strength the character has become for legions of fans. 

Box: 3 x 4¼ x 6½ in; paperback booklet: 4 x 57/8 in, 48 pp, full-color interior; painted figurine: approximately 4¾ in, full-color; display stand: 3 x 4 x 6 in. 

© and TM Lucasfilm Ltd. Used Under Authorization

Merchandise images: Chronicle Books.

Get hold of it here:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Leia-Organa-Rebel-Leader-Box/dp/1452167214/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=princess+leia+rebel+leader&qid=1554289874&s=gateway&sr=8-4

OUT THIS MONTH IN THE UK: 'MASTER & APPRENTICE'

'For over a thousand generations, the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic...'

Epic and evocative words from the Jedi Master in self-exile Obi-Wan Kenobi to the young and impressionable Luke Skywalker, then for the first time wielding the magical lightsaber of his father, from the original Star Wars. Words that made an impressionable impact on the minds of millions of worldwide cinema-going fans too, whose wish to see these extraordinary Samurai/monk-like heroes of old in their prime finally came to life twenty-two years later with the arrival of George Lucas's prequel saga, and in particular via the realisation of a younger more hot-headed version of Kenobi, brought to life with enthused zeal by Ewan McGregor, paired with an all-new character of noble yet maverick charisma, truly at one with the so far known nature of the Living Force- Master Qui-Gon Jinn, as played with distinction by Liam Neeson. On screen, Obi-Wan and Qui-Gonn made for a worthy pairing, especially in the dramatic scenes linked to the potential discovery of The Chosen One, and in their breathtaking final apocalyptic lightsaber duel against the emergent emissary of the Dark Side in Sith Assassin, Darth Maul.

But before the Invasion of Naboo, and before the entire events of the Prequel era launched with EPISODE I, popular author Claudia Gray returns to the franchise's book realms, charting an all-new 'past' adventure for the two Jedi, during the early testing days of what will become their unique friendship as servants of the Old Republic. Out this month in the UK (April 18th, 2019), the eagerly awaited Century hardback edition: Master & Apprentice:

Here's the book details:

A Jedi must be a fearless warrior, a guardian of justice, and a scholar in the ways of the Force. But perhaps a Jedi’s most essential duty is to pass on what they have learned. Master Yoda trained Dooku; Dooku trained Qui-Gon Jinn; and now Qui-Gon has a Padawan of his own. But while Qui-Gon has faced all manner of threats and danger as a Jedi, nothing has ever scared him like the thought of failing his apprentice.

Obi-Wan Kenobi has deep respect for his Master, but struggles to understand him. Why must Qui-Gon so often disregard the laws that bind the Jedi? Why is Qui-Gon drawn to ancient Jedi prophecies instead of more practical concerns? And why wasn’t Obi-Wan told that Qui-Gon is considering an invitation to join the Jedi Council―knowing it would mean the end of their partnership? The simple answer scares him: Obi-Wan has failed his Master.

When Jedi Rael Aveross, another former student of Dooku, requests their assistance with a political dispute, Jinn and Kenobi travel to the Royal Court of Pijal for what may be their final mission together. What should be a simple assignment quickly becomes clouded by deceit, and by visions of violent disaster that take hold in Qui-Gon’s mind. As Qui-Gon’s faith in prophecy grows, Obi-Wan’s faith in him is tested―just as a threat surfaces which will demand that Master and Apprentice come together as never before, or be divided forever.

Get the book here:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Master-Apprentice-Star-Wars-Claudia/dp/1780899882/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1VY27MUGAT0YN&keywords=master+and+apprentice+star+wars&qid=1554044871&s=gateway&sprefix=master+and+apprentice%2Caps%2C471&sr=8-1