They had a big standee at my local theater. Like this:

So, this is a thing…

I know, right? Everyone knows air hockey is the real test.

It’s official!

WOODY HARRELSON SIGNS ON FOR YOUNG HAN SOLO FILM

Veteran film and television actor Woody Harrelson is stepping aboard the upcoming Han Solo movie set to arrive in theaters next year.

Harrelson, known for wide-ranging roles in film and TV such as The Hunger Games, No County For Old Men, True Detective, Cheers, and Zombieland, will join actors Alden Ehrenreich (Han Solo), Donald Glover (Lando Calrissian), and Emilia Clarke in the adventure. This Star Wars Story is the second in a series of films that live outside the Skywalker family saga, and is set during the early scoundrel days of the iconic characters, prior to A New Hope.

“We couldn’t be more excited to work with an artist with as much depth and range as Woody,” said the film’s directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. “His ability to find both humor and pathos, often in the same role, is truly unique. He is also very good at ping pong.”

The as-yet-untitled movie, which is being produced by Kathleen Kennedy, Allison Shearmur, and Simon Emanuel, is scheduled for release in 2018.

Source

Personally I’m hoping they’ll put the episodic Saga on hiatus for another 10 years and just do standalones for a while. Even a five year pause would be acceptable.

My favorite part of the mid-season premiere were the Jumptroopers:

Which are based on the flying troopers that were introduced in the new Star Tours:

First the RX-series pilot droid and now this! Someone over there loves Star Tours and I love that!

imperialscum said:

Not 30+ years of war-driven evolution.

And where is it ever stated that the galaxy has been in a perpetual war for the last 30 years?

Because the crawl indicates:

Luke Skywalker has vanished. In his absence, the sinister FIRST ORDER has risen from the ashes of the Empire and will not rest until Skywalker, the last Jedi, has been destroyed.

To contiue from there we have to look at the canon that was created alongside of the film.

The book Before the Awakening states the following about the First Order:

The First Order is a remnant born of a war thirty years gone. Yes, they persist, yes, they continue, but by all accounts they do so barely. They are, at best, an ill-organized, poorly equipped, and badly funded group of loyalists who use propaganda and fear to inflate their strength and their importance.

The fighting continued for a year after the Battle of Endor, coming to a head at the final battle at Jakku. After which:

In the month since the Battle of Jakku, the Empire has attempted no further large-scale offensives. Sources report all Imperial vessels within the Core and Inner Rim staying within the boundaries defined by the treaty. A few prominent members of the Provisional Senate have speculated that the New Republic’s war with the remnants of the Empire has finally come to an end and that a final surrender may be imminent.

The Empire formally surrendered and signed the Galactic Concordance peace treaty.

From there the New Republic and Empire were at peace for decades. It wasn’t until Kylo and the Knights of Ren destroyed the new Jedi Academy that the First Order rose to power.

Yeah, I can’t watch the movie without that line in it. It’s my favorite gag in the film.

It’s the best thing since Bantha surprise!

lol

imperialscum said:

DominicCobb said:

The X-wings and TIE fighters in TFA are newer models.

Cool story bro.

T-65
T-70

The truth will set you free.

Ronster said:

I still don’t believe that tie fighter on the gantry was ever a marketing shot. It was like that before they developed the Tie-Strikers no doubt. I don’t see the point in lying about it. It’s actually a fairly small thing although it was visually superior in the trailer. My gut feeling tells me Jyn had a mexican stand off with that Tie Fighter and shot the pilot through the glass with her blaster. That’s my speculation on it.

It’s been stated time and again from various sources that it was a test shot. The latest confirmation came in an interview with Clayton Sandell with RebelForceRadio where he recounts ILM’s explanation for the shot. There’s no conspiracy here.

^That is the best post yet that sums up everything that is actually known at this point. Well done!

Tyrphanax said:

https://twitter.com/garywhitta/status/817823887933128704

Gary Whitta makes an interesting point.

I think the most interesting part of that exchange is the revelation that he plays Star Wars RPG campaigns with Jett! I wonder if they run the original WEG d6 or the newer d20s…

Lord Haseo said:

It was Finn’s primary objective.

And only Finn’s primary objective, everyone else was there to stop the super weapon.

lovelikewinter said:

RRS-1980 said:

ray_afraid said:
I’m pretty impressed by the Tarkin in R1. […] I bought it! Not as Peter Cushing, but as the character of Tarkin.

It’s apparently true that most men are focused mainly on visuals and technical details. That’s what we read all over the net, “CGI this, CGI that”. For me the biggest deparature from original Tarkin/Cushing was the voice… oh, how I missed his rrr’s 😉 …a distinct accent from a person born 100 years ago.

Yes, the voice was a bit off. Stanton tried his best and it sounded better than he did for Tarkin in Rebels.

That’s not Stanton. It’s the physical performer, Guy Henry. Stanton would have knocked it out of the park had they tapped him for it.

Henry’s voice didn’t work for me for most of the film.

Wazzles said:

Tobar said:

I still get comment notifications from this three year old article where salty “fans” still go to whine about Disney and how they’ve ruined Star Wars.

Just because they don’t like what’s happening doesn’t mean they’re not fans.

They go farther than fan, they’re zealots.

Mithrandir said:

dahmage said:

Mithrandir said:

NeverarGreat said:
had the effect of freezing innovations on the Starkiller project, which kept the planetary shield tested with the Second Death Star but didn’t boast any other defenses of note.

As the Empire lost more and more ground, their ability to complete the project was impaired, so it took 30 more years and a change of management to finally finish Starkiller Base.

But then how is it that a planet-size shield wasn’t made into a big feature 40 years before TFA in Eadu, but then the suspiciously well funded First Order (whatever a first order is or means) fails to put one around its most cherished weapon?

They did have a shield did they not? That is why the Millennium Falcon jumped out of hyperspace literally in the atmosphere.

I don’t remember the movie much, but after that, didn’t the xwings come into the atmosphere as if there was nothing?

No, the plan was to infiltrate the base and then disable the shields from the ground. Which is what the whole Phasma kidnapping bit was about. Finding and rescuing Rey was secondary.

I still get comment notifications from this three year old article where salty “fans” still go to whine about Disney and how they’ve ruined Star Wars.

LOR SAN TEKKA: This will begin to make things right. I’ve traveled too far, and seen too much, to ignore the despair in the galaxy. Without the Jedi, there can be no balance in the Force.

Man, I really want that omnibus!

Jedit: Question, are the UK comics in black and white?

Lord Haseo said:

The exchange between the two is amazing and I would have loved to see Krennic try to bring Galen to his side of thinking in a couple of flashback scenes. This also could have given the film more time to develop Galen as a character so that his death would be more impactful.

Definitely recommend Catalyst, Krennic is the best part of the book.

Well this is looking grim:

Judge Throws Out Axanar’s Defense In Star Trek Copyright Case

Hey Thief, I’ve been wondering, and you’re the one to ask. Do you know if the AMPAS version of Thief might see a commercial release?