With the clock winding down on the release of Star Wars: The Last Jedi here's a look at the different planets we'll be visiting & their real-world counterparts. After seeing this, I think I'm most excited for Canto Night, the casino planet. It seems unlike any other atmosphere we've encountered so far in the Star Wars universe. These on-location spots are breathtakingly beautiful. Between Ahch-to & Crait, I can't tell you which one is a more amazing sight. Probably have to go with Ahch-To, but Crait is still a real visual treat. I've never seen salt flats in person, this makes me think I'll have t remedy that. Anyway, what world are you most excited to travel to in less than a week? Put it in the comments, like, & share.
"Droid School" With Anthony Daniels
I'm so excited this is a real thing. According to this featurette, Anthony Daniels, C-3PO himself, taught a droid school of sorts. He used his mastery of the craft of being the perfect droid to help other actors learn the ways for Star Wars: The Last Jedi. He's like a droid Yoda. The best thing about this is it sounds like something I would totally make up as a joke. Yet here it is on video, Droid School. Does anyone else find this as hilarious as I do? Put it in the comments, like, & share.
While You're Relaxing This Sunday, Check Out The Rigorous Training It Took To Bring Us "Star Wars: The Last Jedi"
Three things really stood out to me in this training video from Star Wars: The Last Jedi. First, Daisey Ridley (Rey) sure did have to train harder than I thought one would to fight a rock. Second, Captain Phasma is finally going to get some action. And third, did you see the intensity in Adam Driver (Kylo Ren)? He's a beast! Dude was made for this role, slingin' around that medieval looking lightsaber like he's been doing it for years. This training does look pretty intense though. Towards the end of the video I found myself getting tired. In fact, screw crossfit, "Star Wars Battle Training" should be the new big thing in workouts. Probably could even get me into a gym with that. Anyway, what do y'all think? About the training & my new gym idea? Put it in the comments, like, & share.
I Just Found A New Respect For The Crystal Foxes Of Star Wars: The Last Jedi
At first, obviously it was all about porgs, & the adorable space penguins that they are. Now however, it seems the animal attention of Star Wars: The Last Jedi has switched to the crystal foxes of Crait. They're called vulptices, or the singular vulptex. The crystals come from the evolution of eating the planet's surface. For me however, the total respect came with this video. It shows the crystal foxes throughout their development for the film. These are actual live action puppets mixed with CGI elements. Seeing the legit puppet just did something for me. I love actual puppetry, & think that this mix with CGI should be the norm. As opposed to full CGI characters with no real base, there's no comparison. I love realness you get from this mix even more so than just one or the other. This mix has created some amazing effects when used together. I can't wait to get a better look at these things in action now. What do y'all think though? Put it in the comments, like, & share.
Last Jedi Creature Creator Talk Porgs, Other Creatures Of Ahch-To & BB-8
Empire interviewed Neal Scanlon, Oscar-winning head of the Creature Workshop for Star Wars, & he talked about the creatures you've seen in the various previews for Star Wars: The Last Jedi. That being said, I'm obviously going to start this with some Porgs. Those adorable little space penguins that I already own so many versions of I can tell are marketing gold. His exact words involving the adorable inhabitants Achh-To, Luke's thinking place, was, "With Ahch-To, it felt like the only creatures that would ever exist on this island were those indigenous to it, where very few other species and DNA would have reached them." Going on describing their relation to the Caretakers, also shown below, "So they're an extrapolation from the porgs & have bird-like feet, but they're a further developed race." And ugly. Kinda strange something so cute just evolved into something so... not. Still staying on porgs he also mentions the porg shown with Chewie is actually a friend of the Wookie, & his color pattern is also very similar to the Mighty Chewbacca as well. So that little porg in the Falcon is not just there, he's Chewies new buddy, & I think that's amazing. I also might be a little jealous, I want a porg friend. It don't even have to match my color pattern. He talks a little about those totally sick Crystal Foxes mentioning that the do have crystalline fur, with theory that they've fed off the planet for so long they're taking on the characteristics of the planet's surface. The last part throws me a little off, & is becoming one of my only concerns on this film. With rumor BB-8 has a girlfriend, & we already know he has an evil counterpart, BB-9E, I'm a little worried how the awesome little droid is going to be used this time around. I guess I'm just worried it could come off a little silly, I'm talking Jar-Jar silly at that. Who knows it could work though. In regards to BB-8 he mentions a scene with him in disguise trying to evade being discovered by his new nemesis BB-9E. They've done these droid things in the comics & in the animated works. I think the biggest part that concerns me is even in the ones I've enjoyed, they're definitely not in a "favorites" category. That's my take, what's your thoughts on this revelation of creatures? Put it in the comments, like, & share.
Lucasfilm Drops "Directing The Last Jedi" Featurette, But I Like These New Posters Even More
There's something special about this featurette Lucasfilm released about Rian Johnson directing Star Wars: The Last Jedi. It was the main thing that resonated with me while watching it. Johnson, when it really comes down to it, is just a fan like us. That being said can you imagine how much will it takes to separate the fanboy from it being time to go to work & get your crap together. I like to think I'm good at managing things, but this? I couldn't dream of walking onto a set like this & trying my hand & furthering one of the greatest pieces of modern mythology. I liked hearing him talk about this experience though. Going back to his days playing with the figures, & taking moments to freak out was awesome little bits, but that was overshadowed by these awesome posters released later. I'm a sucker for these drawn posters, as much as I'm a sucker for porgs, & these posters have both. Can you tell that Lucasfilm has realized the merchandise power of the porg? They're everywhere. And I'm not complaining, I think they're friggin' adorable. Amazing posters though, I could definitely see these going up on my wall. What do y'all think though? Two things... One, these amazing posters, & two, do you think you'd be able to helm "insert your favorite franchise here"? Put it in the comments, like, & share.
"Star Wars: The Last Jedi Trailer" = Just Take My Money!
I expected this trailer to be awesome, but it was even better than I expected. From the time it started it commanded my attention, even more so than the teaser. Star Wars: The Last Jedi looks like it's going to take the foundation laid from The Force Awakens & dial it up to light speed. It seems as if The Force Awakens was the forward, & this is going to be the unfolding of the actual story. I wonder if this means that Episode IX will come off as an epilogue of sorts? What I gather from this Kylo has an extreme amount of Force power & so does Rey, Kylo has to now take out his mom, & Finn & Phasma are going to go at it for real finally. The ending though is where it was really at. Are we going to have a Kylo/Rey team up? Oh man, only time will tell, but I now can't wait for the December 14th to be here!! What do y'all think? Did this trailer blow you away like it did me? Put it in the comments, like, & share.
"The Last Jedi" To Be Longest Running Star Wars Film To Date
Heard on the John Campea Show that Star Wars: The Last Jedi will be clocking in at a little over two-&-a-half hours. This will make this instalment the longest of the whole series. Not that that fact really matters. Honestly, I've seen just as many bad long movies as I've seen l good movies. The same goes for short ones, so as Yoda says down there I won't judge this by it's size. I like the fact that even with the tragic death of Carrie Fisher, this film seems like it has gone so smoothly when compared to the rest of the in-development Star Wars films. Knowing that it made it through cuts still keeping it's size not only puts me at ease over the studio really liking everything they saw, but it also makes me think we're really going to dive into some of the unanswered questions from The Force Awakens. Anyway, what do y'all think of this news? Does the length matter in any way? Put it in the comments, like, & share.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi Offically Finished
And with this picture released on director Rian Johnson's Instagram, Star Wars: The Last Jedi is officially complete. Giving a shout out to the hardest working post production team in the galaxy, he has confirmed that Last Jedi has wrapped & is "in the can". This is exciting news for the one film besides Force Awakens since Disney bought Lucasfilm, to finish without a major hitch. Yes, we tragically lost Carrie Fisher, but her loss is seeming to effect Episode IX far more than it's effects were felt on the actual developments that take place in The Last Jedi. Looks like the only thing left now is the battle for tickets & the wait for December 15th, opening day. Thrilling news though, Last Jedi is officially done. What do y'all think? What's your level of excitement going in? Anything that must happen for your enjoyment? Put it in the comments, like, & share.
Details On Poe Dameron's X-Wing In New Empire Article
It's crunch time for Star Wars right now as we're in the home-stretch. Star Wars: The Last Jedi is right around the corner & with that new stuff will probably be coming at us left & right. Now Screenrant's talking about an upcoming issue of Empire magazine. The cover has Luke & Rey & say it features "The full story of Luke Skywalker's emotional return." Couldn't find any real details on that, but Screenrant did have some details from the article on Poe Dameron's new upgraded X-wing fighter codenamed Black One. Apparently, this new fighter has been retrofitted to include a "speed burst" of sorts. It doesn't last long but gives him enough speed to get the job done. There's a pic of the fighter & the issues cover below. This is just the first tease of apparently what will be a week filled of Star Wars from Empire. Not much, however, Luke still looks pissed & the fighter's upgrade sounds awesome. We'll have to wait & see how they pull it off. What do y'all think of this? Put it in the comments, like, & share.
Start Your Force Friday Off With A New BB Unit! It's The New Rage For The Whole Galaxy!
Yes, apparently a long time ago in a galaxy far, far, away you could walk into your local droid store & say whether you want a good or evil droid. I only say that because one look at this new BB unit & you can tell it's obviously a bad little bastard. BB-9E is what we'll be calling this new droid belonging to the First Order. It rolls around like BB-8, except it's got a black & grey finish, what resembles a mouse droid as a head, & a menacing red eye that seems to peer straight through your soul. Variety says Disney & Sphero, the designers of this toy version, describe the unit as a "rolling menace" saying it's part of the First Order's Astromech Unit, keeping starships & machinery operational. I guess it makes a lot of since that BB-8 is not the only one of it's kind, & if it's the current model of droid than it makes since the First Order would have a few. If this becomes a weird droid rivalry though, I don't know how on board I am. That could come all overtly silly, like beyond Jar-Jar silly. What do y'all think? One, on the make of the droid, but also if you think this is set up for a droid rivalry? Put it in the comments, like, & share.
Luke Looks Pissed
I could've just put the title on this & left it at that. Mark Hamill put this up on his Twitter. It's from a magazine in a language I can't understand. So we're going to go with it's called that & it's from a country that is not America. What I do understand however is looks. And the look on Luke Skywalker's face is not only pretty damn intense, it is also the look of anger. Someone pissed in Luke's cornflakes. He's dressed in what looks like a heavier version of his Return of the Jedi garb, & the dark outfit only helps the intensity in the eyes of the farm-boy turned last Jedi. I can't help but wonder what he's so angry at? Yoda warned us where emotions such as these lead. What do you think of this cover? Light on the character we'll see, or just an image? Starting to think Luke might be going a little darker than we thought? Put it in the comments, like, & share.
A Couple Of The "First Order" WMDs From Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Got a good look at the new First Order version AT-AT & Star Destroyer for the upcoming Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Star Wars put this up on Twitter & my first thought when seeing it was, damn, that AT-AT does look like a gorilla. The way this thing hunches over it probably has better balance than it's predecessors. It also has this look of an angry beast, extra cannon on the hunched back, red visor, you don't want to see these things coming through the trees. The AT-AT was coupled with this pic of what appears to be a First Order Star Destroyer. It's a little different than what we're used to seeing with the same triangle build from before. This time however, the tower of old is split in half & lowered across the whole of the back making for a smaller target head on. There's also a hole, or indention in the middle of the ship. Could be a hangar, maybe some sort of weapon? I'm curious to see if these modifications hold some sort of surprise or it's just ascetic to look cool. Won't know for sure until December. Until then, what do y'all think of these pics? Put it in the comments, like, & share.
New Details, Character Motivations, & Pictures Are Coming In As We Get Closer To "Star Wars: The Last Jedi"
We're getting more plot details to the upcoming Star Wars: The Last Jedi as we inch closer to December. First from Variety, where John Boyega (Finn) tells them the Resistance isn't in the best condition. The most telling tidbit came next though, with him going on to say, "It's a chance for each character to decide what side they're fighting for. It's an epic dark story. At the same time it's still fun. It's still Star Wars." I can only take this as everything we saw in The Force Awakens is suspect. There has to be a reason to say this. Therefore, someone or ones not exactly sure they are on the right side. This is intriguing as it backs up a lot of fan-theories going around the interweb. That however, brings us to Entertainment Weekly's 2-part cover story where they mention it might be John Boyega's Finn wanting out of the resistance. Not for any nefarious reasons. More because it's pretty dangerous being part of a militant resistance if you didn't know. However, when he meets Kelly Marie Tran's Rose, he's a hero now. In which, it seems to be the theme of this film is meeting rather disappointing heroes. This brings us to the main part of the EW cover story, because I save the best for last. Luke Skywalker. We get some teasing about whether or not Luke actually knows who Rey is. The most interesting part to me though comes in the form of what got Luke to be the morose hermit we saw in the previews calling for the Jedi's end. That's a far cry from the optimistic farmboy that overthrew the Empire. What happened between Return of the Jedi & The Force Awakens? A little insight to this is given with, “[Luke] made a huge mistake in thinking that his nephew was the chosen one, so he invested everything he had in Kylo, much like Obi-Wan did with my character,” Hamill says. “And he is betrayed, with tragic consequences. Luke feels responsible for that. That’s the primary obstacle he has to rejoining the world and his place in the Jedi hierarchy, you know? It’s that guilt, that feeling that it’s his fault, that he didn’t detect the darkness in him until it was too late.” The rest of this article paints out a Luke Skywalker that is filled with doubt, hoping to find deep down the hero of the rebellion. There's also two more parts to the cover story that feature the mo-capped Dark Side mentor Snoke's Praetorian Guards, that are similar to the Royal Guard of the Emperor. (Hopefully they'll get some action though.) As well as, a shot of Chewie with one of the adorable Porgs of Achc-to, the planet where Rey found Luke doing his hermit thing. I love penguins so obviously I'm crazy about these, & will probably own one in many forms. Those pics will be collaged at the bottom. My mind is racing with how this will all play out though. Is Luke gonna make it though, will he still be good if he does, will Rey continue to the light or fall to the dark, or for that matter will Kylo Ren redeem himself in some amazing way? So many questions, & not too long before we get some answers. What do y'all think about all this though? Any thoughts on who will be on what side come the end of this? Put 'em in the comments, like, & share.
If You Haven't Watched The Behind-The-Scenes Star Wars: The Last Jedi Trailer, Why Not?
This is even better than the teaser trailer, & that stops me in my tracks still whenever I see it playing. I'm usually one who likes to see behind-the-scenes things, just not as promotional material. This did it right though. They managed to make a behind-the-scenes feel like a trailer. With looks at all kinds of new species throughout the galaxy, some of the new characters with some of the old, & real sets that actually blow up. That's what it was that did it for me now that I really think about it. The use of practical sets & actual explosions. Digital Effects are awesome, but I feel they're even better when used as a "seasoning", just sprinkled over already created actual, physical effects to blend the illusion. I can't wait to see this movie. Check out this trailer,let me know what you think in the comments below, like & share.