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12/14/08 I Love Dave Filoni!

There, I've said it! Is it because of the high-quality of Clone Wars episodes that he overseers? Is it the stellar writing he and his team employ? Is it his unabashed adoration of Plo Koon? While all those things are lovable in themselves, this is why I love Dave Filoni:

 

http://www.starwars.com/video/view/000738.html#rss

 

Watch the short interview. If you're a fan of the Expanded Universe, you'll understand. And why does he dare the wrath of the Maker? Four simple words that make Mr. Filoni a hero for every SW reader: "I respect the EU."

 

Thank you, Dave! And WE respect you too!

 

If you're not watching the Clone Wars, you're missing out on some great fun! Check it out 9:00 PM Eastern time on the Cartoon Network!

 

 

12/16/08 Death Comes to Star Wars

In the form of Joe Schreiber's upcoming novel Deathtroopers. Set shortly before A New Hope, it marks the first full-on horror novel set in the SW universe.

 

 

11/11/08 Apes are Coming!

Updated 11/23/08: Apes are Here!

Planet of the Apes Chronology

 To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Planet of the Apes film franchise, Hasslein Books will publish Timeline of the Planet of the Apes:

The Definitive Chronology, by Rich Handley.

NEW YORK, Oct. 16, 2008—"Take your stinking paws off me, you damned dirty ape!" This classic line, spoken by Charlton Heston in 1968's Planet of the Apes, ranks alongside "May the Force be with you," "Bond…James Bond" and "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn" as one of the most recognized bits of dialog in film history—and for good reason.

 Planet of the Apes, created by French writer Pierre Boulle in his novel La planète des singes ("The Monkey Planet"), was crafted for the big screen by Rod Serling, Michael Wilson, Paul Dehn and others. In the series' first outing, Heston's Col. George Taylor found himself stranded in a madhouse of a future in which an oppressive ape civilization had inherited the Earth in the wake of mankind's evolutionary and revolutionary downfall.

This classic post-apocalyptic sci-fi drama has riveted audiences with its stunning performances, brilliant make-up work, resonant soundtrack and powerful statements on humanity, science and religion, as well as the jaw-dropping revelation in its legendary final moments. But the 1968 film was just the beginning of the story.

 Four sequels, two television series, a 2001 film re-make, and more than a dozen novels and 120 comic books later, Planet of the Apes remains a living, breathing universe that celebrates its 40th anniversary (and Blu-Ray release) this year. To help commemorate this landmark event, Hasslein Books announces the upcoming publication of Timeline of the Planet of the Apes: The Definitive Chronology. This hefty volume will explore:

• How a small-scale simian rebellion grew, in so short a time, into a complete, planet-wide reversal of fates for humanity and apekind

 

• How the apes acquired the power of speech—while man was rendered mute

 

• Where the plague that ravaged the planet came from, and the effects it had not only on man and ape, but on other creatures as well

 

• The many unique ape and human cultures that spawned around the globe in the war's aftermath—and how the Statue of Liberty ended up in pieces on a desolate beach

 Timeline of the Planet of the Apes: The Definitive Chronology explores these and other questions, presenting every recorded event of the Planet of the Apes saga in its proper chronological context—from long before Caesar's birth to far beyond Earth's destruction. This book covers every film, television episode, cartoon, novel, comic, short story and audio-tale produced under the Planet of the Apes banner over the past four decades—including a number of rejected or unpublished tales unavailable to fans. No other reference book has covered the expanded Apes saga so completely.

 Along with a painstakingly detailed timeline spanning millennia, this volume features a gallery of more than 350 cover images, a recommended viewing/reading order, an examination of time travel in the Planet of the Apes mythos (both on screen and in print), and a title/creator index of published fiction—plus, insightful notes discussing preliminary and discarded story concepts, inconsistencies and discontinuities, unpublished lore and other fascinating trivia.

 Timeline of the Planet of the Apes: The Definitive Chronology will be published as a 322-page softcover volume, at a cost of $24.95. A release date will soon be announced. Timeline of the Planet of the Apes is an unauthorized, unlicensed publication, created as an academic source-work. Planet of the Apes and all related characters, concepts and titles are the sole property of 20th Century Fox, with no copyright infringement intended.

About the Author

Rich Handley has authored numerous fiction titles, articles, features and columns for Lucasfilm's licensed Star Wars universe. His work has appeared on starwars.com, as well as in publications such as Star Wars Insider, Star Wars Galaxy Collector, Star Wars Gamer, Star Wars Fact Files, Star Wars Adventure Journal and Dark Horse Comics' Star Wars Tales. Handley served as a columnist and reporter for Star Trek Communicator magazine for several years, and currently writes a weekly column for the Roddenberry Sci-Fi Network. His work has also appeared in a number of other genre magazines and on websites, including Cinefantastique, Cinescape.com, Dungeon/Polyhedron, Toons: The Animation Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, Sci-Fi Invasion! and Simian Scrolls, a British Planet of the Apes fanzine. In addition, he has edited and written for a variety of trade publications, and is currently a member of the editorial team at RFID Journal.

 

 

10/23/08 Fate of the Jedi Synopsis

Curious about the plot of the upcoming Traviss novel, No Prisoners and Fate of the Jedi series??

Be curious no more...  They sound mighty interesting!

 

10/21/08 KOTOR III? Sort of...

Fans of the Lucasarts video game Knights of the Old Republic (KOTOR) are divided on today's news of the sort of sequel to the KOTOR II. The new game is called The Old Republic.  The story is set three hundred years after KOTOR in an unexplored era of Star Wars history (smart move on Bioware's part -- the makers of TFU should've done the same and saved fans the headache of more continuity errors!) What's getting some fans' upset is the fact that it's an MMO. For the layman, that means Massively Multiplayer Online game where basically everyone can play together (or play apart), and the game is basically going on all the time. Star Wars Galaxies was an MMO, which some embraced and some deplored, so the latter group (and even some of the former) are probably annoyed at the perceived storytelling and gaming limitations of the format. (KOTOR, of course, was an RPG -- Role Playing Game). To combat this, Bioware is claiming they've made some pretty big leaps in technology for this MMO, and that fans can expect lots of character growth, action and versatility. Essentially, a true RPG in an MMO setting. We'll see, but storywise, it sounds pretty interesting (actually it sounds a little bit like the premise for the Legacy comics, but that's not a complaint). Not being remotely someone who has times for games (otherwise, you wouldn't be viewing this site), I'll be curious to hear what others have to say. Hopefully, they'll give us a few books that'll tell the canonical version of events. For more information on the game, setting, screen shots, etc., go here.

 

10/14/08 I'm Han Solo, Captain of the Millennium Falcon

Just a reminder that the new hardcover novel Millennium Falcon comes out next week (today, Han Solo's alter ego Indiana Jones is celebrating release on DVD). We also have a title on the upcoming digest due out in early '09: Star Wars Adventures: Han Solo and the Hollow Moon of Khorya. Sounds like fun!

 

10/03/08 The Clone Wars is Here...

At least in the U.S., and before you watch them tonight at 9:00 and 9:30 PM (Eastern), check out the official site's webcomics which lead right into each episode! Written by Pablo Hidalgo and illustrated in color by Tom Hodges, these are a really nice treat for fans!  Check them out here! 

 

And while you're at it, the new audio Holonet news is now available. This is pretty amazing as it mimics an actual news program with newscaster, guest experts debating the topic, "breaking news", HNN music, etc. The first episode is called "A Galaxy Divided" and takes place before the second episode tonight, Rising Malevolence. Check that out here!

 

9/28/08 At Long Last...

As per the quote from Leland Chee in the recent Luke Skywalker: Last Hope for the Galaxy hardcover comic-book collection (available now!), Dark Horse will be reprinting the long-lost Marvel UK stories, Pizzazz serials and possibly the 3D stories from Blackthorne in a "Lost" collection!  I know this is exciting news for me, and so too for anyone who visits this site!  Fans have been clamoring to see these great old stories for quite a long while!  We don't yet know if this is going to be an Omnibus reprinting, a standard trade paperback or what. Nor do we know yet if Dark Horse will be coloring the original b&w tales, such as World of Fire. Now it has been their pattern of late to color b&w Star Wars stories (Luke Skywalker's Walkabout, Day after the Death Star), so let's hope that's the case again here because these stories certainly deserve the royal treatment! Head over to Dark Horse and give them a hearty Thank You!  

 

9/25/08 Clone Wars DVD

In North America, a single and two-disc DVD of the Clone Wars is coming on November 11th. There's also an interesting Target and Best Buy exclusive. Head over the official site for pictures and details. And don't forget that next Friday debuts the Clone Wars series on TV (you can see a preview tomorrow on Cartoon Network).

 

9/16/08 Upcoming Books: Bane, Blood and More!

Lots of news regarding future Star Wars titles today, the day Republic Commando: Order 66 comes out! Aside from the 9-volume Fate of the Jedi series that's been announced, two more books will take place during the post-Legacy of the Force period. Elaine Cunningham's Blood Oath and a novel by Paul S. Kemp involving an as-yet undeveloped Jedi (who's only been mentioned by name a few times in the novels). Curious. And this last bit of news will thrill fans (and it sure as heck thrills me!). There will be a third Darth Bane novel!! Drew Karpyshyn currently only has a vague notion of events, but with a March deadline, he's ready to be start cracking! Will Darth Zannah kill Darth Bane and get her own apprentice? Will Bane kill her and replace her with another?  Will the Jedi come to see the Sith's new Rule of Two?

 

Update: The official site has posted even more news and titles of upcoming books in the new contract! Great to see new names join the SW family! And fans will be pleased to see there will be a novel set in the time of the ancient Jedi knights (Tales of the Jedi/KOTOR era possibly?) Check out the full story here!

 

Update: Joe Schreiber has been commissioned to write a Star Wars horror novel! Expanded Universe indeed! This is happy news! Welcome to the family, Joe!

 

9/12/08 Now Official

We kind of knew it anyway, but it's nice to have confirmation. Del Rey will be holding on to the Star Wars license till 2013! That is great news! Del Rey's been carrying the license since 1976 and I personally think they've done a bang-up job ever since!

 

As has been reported, a new nine-book, multi-author series is scheduled called Fate of the Jedi, which will pick up after the upcoming Millennium Falcon and after the bestselling Legacy of the Force series. Aaron Allston will start it off in April with Outcast. The two authors to follow will be Christie Golden and Troy Denning. Interestingly, each of these titles will be released in hardcover! I love that idea!

 

In addition to that series, Del Rey will release 26 more novels in the span of their five-year contract, averaging about 5 per year. Expect an additional 10 non-fiction titles in that span as well.

 

We'll also get to see a deluxe edition of The Making of The Empire Strikes Back in 2010 to celebrate that film's 30th anniversary!

 

Happy news all around! Congrats Del Rey!

 

9/11/08 Hamilton Collection Update

Looks like, as with the fate of the old Star Wars Bantam novels deluxe collection, Hamilton has cancelled production on this 10 volume series of hardcover graphic novels. As gorgeous as they would have been (judging by the picture), I personally thought they were extremely expensive at a time when a lot of people are pulling back a bit.

 

9/03/08 Set those Tivo's

If you're in the U.S., Friday, October 3d, will be the one-hour premier of the new Clone Wars TV show on Cartoon Network.  "Ambush" will debut at 9 PM (eastern) to be followed by "Malevolence" at 9:30.  The following week (October 10th) Cartoon Network will air a repeat at 8:30 PM (eastern) and a new episode at 9:00!

 

And if you haven't yet seen the trailer for the series: http://www.cartoonnetwork.com/clonewars/. Enjoy!

 

8/23/08 Hyperspace Unleashed

Two new short stories have debuted on Hyperspace, Deader than an Triton Moon, by Jason Fry (author of The Clone Wars Visual Guide; co-author of the upcoming Star Wars Atlas), and Crossroads by Chris Cerasi (former Lucas Licensing editor and author of the upcoming Star Wars Fandex). Additionally, a comic book tie-in to the SoulCalibur IV videogame (in which Darth Vader, Yoda and the Secret Apprentice of The Force Unleashed play a role) called Visions of the Blade is available at Starwars.com. Click on any of the titles to check them out!

 

8/19/08 Force Unleashed Finally Debuts

At least the novel and trade paperback portions... Head on over to your local bookstore. In the US, Borders has it discounted 40% for members (membership is free).

 

8/11/08 New Series!

It's not been announced officially yet, but it looks as though Aaron Allston, Troy Denning and new to the SW-Universe-author Christie Golden will be writing a nine-part series called Fate of the Jedi. LFL has confirmed Allston and Golden's participation, but cannot yet divulge details. A German fan site revealed that it will take place after the upcoming Millennium Falcon book (itself set after the Legacy of the Force series), the first book will be called Outcast and involve Luke and his son Ben going on a journey together.

 

8/06/08 Millennium Falcon Revealed

The cover and plot synopsis of the upcoming book Millennium Falcon has been revealed on the official site today. The book is due out in October by James Luceno, and takes place two years after the Legacy of the Force series. "The Solo family then finds itself at a new turning point, about to set out on an odyssey into uncertain territory, untold adventure, and unexpected rewards." Check out the rest of the details here. (Note: there are spoilers for the end of the Legacy series)

 

New Essential Guide

In other news, Karen Traviss will pen an as yet-untitled Essential Guide to ... military aspects of the SW universe, likely detailing aspects of the armies, navies and special forces of the Republic, Empire and Alliance. Should be interesting!

 

8/05/08 Live Action SW news...

The as-yet untitled Star Wars live action TV series will likely shoot in Sydney, Australia, says George Lucas at a recent press conference. Two Australian screenwriters have already been hired to write scripts, and are currently writing it, while Lucas continues to get the technology worked out for the series. Projections point to shooting in 2010. According to Lucas, "It has nothing to do with the Skywalker saga... It is about the lower levels of life, the lower depths. They hear about the fact it is no longer a Republic and now it's an Empire, but they're from a world where none of that really means too much to them."

 

8/03/08 Weekly Online Comic!

Here's some interesting news from from Comic-Con, the official site will be hosting a five-page weekly color comic, and here's the interesting part. Each story will tie-into (or at least be peripherally connected) to the Clone Wars episode that's airing that week!  Four artists will be rotating on it (including Tom Hodges from the Reversal of Fortune webstrips) and Pablo Hidalgo will be writing! No official word yet as to whether this will be available to all or just Hyperspace members.

 

Pretty damn cool if you ask me!

 

8/01/08 The New Clone Wars Timeline

For those of you wondering how the Clone Wars timeline *could* be rearranged with the new information that Anakin was knighted in the first year of the war (as opposed to the last), see my Website Updates page.

 

*Update: I've created an Original Clone Wars Timeline page to preserve the original conception of the timeline prior to the change as brought about the summer 2008 Clone Wars film and adaptations. This is solely for the sake of posterity so that in the future fans can see how things had been arranged. Both the History and Rise of the Empire pages will reflect the current timeline with the 'new' understanding that Anakin was knighted in the 1st year of the war.

 

7/30/08 Exclusive Shorts

Target online is featuring exclusive short Star Wars stories! The Clone Wars: Outfoxed is the first story available to be downloaded for free! Apparently, the way it works is that after a certain amount of clones are created (by you), content is unlocked. No idea if there are any future stories ahead, but there's quite a bit left to be unlocked, so get cracking! 

 

7/28/08 Future Series

In an interview with Karen Traviss on the Random House/Del Rey website here, the prolific author mentions that there are plans to continue the Republic Commando series past the upcoming Order 66 with Imperial Commando. She also mentions there will be a standalone book about Boba Fett! Might this be the Fett/Fenn Shysa story that seems to have been set up in LOTF: Revelation (which offers tantalizing hints as to what the two Mandalorians went through in the past)? Time will tell... Either way, it'll be great to have old-school Marvel veteran Fenn Shysa take a major role in a novel (though if the rumor mill is correct, he may have an active part in Stover's upcoming Shadows of Mindor novel).

 

7/26/08 Timeline Changes

It's just a start, but I've placed the new Clone Wars animated film on the timeline at 7 ABG (for the reasons for that specific month, see Website Updates). As with the other films, adaptations, novelizations, etc., I'll be breaking it down into sections in the days ahead.

 

* Update 7/29/08: The breakdown of the adaptations is done, and I've currently moved everything to month 6 ABY to allow room for potential sequel stories to take place in 22 BBY (if such is the case). I can always move it back if need be. I'll upload cover images tomorrow.

 

7/24/08 Got Your Checklist?

Rebelscum.com was kind enough to prepare a checklist of books for this Saturday, July 26th, which will see in the US, the release of the various new Clone Wars tie-in books. Print your copy here!

 

7/13/08 Calendar of events

Ok, I've finally updated the Upcoming page with a listing of all the relevant books coming up, in particular the plethora of Clone Wars titles serving to tie into the upcoming movie and TV series. I don't list the non-fiction sources as I don't think most of you guys care about the sticker books, coloring books, or activity books. I also don't list the single-issue comics as those dates are notoriously subject to change. Finally, I only list US dates and titles. Apologies to my non-US readers, but things start to get very cluttered very quickly when you start incorporating international dates and titles.

 

7/6/08 Patience!

With the revamp of Starwars.com and Hyperspace, expect some of the links on this timeline to short fiction and vignettes to misdirect for the time being until all the former fiction is back online. More word on this over the next few weeks.

 

7/5/08 Back to War!

The Clone Wars, that is.  July 26th marks the start of the new Clone Wars campaign with books, comics and games, all in anticipation of the upcoming Clone Wars animated movie on August 15th and the upcoming TV series to follow in September on the Cartoon Network and TNT (which will rebroadcast in HD). While you're waiting, head over to the newly revamped Starwars.com site, which has been completely overhauled from top to bottom and given a new add-on Clone Wars site.  To the left is the cover of the novelization of the August 15th film by fan-favorite Karen Traviss!

 

 

6/29/08 Expanding Encyclopedia

Turns out reports on the upcoming Star Wars Encyclopedia were a bit smaller than the reality. According to TFN, the release date, page count and price are not yet determined, AND, it will be a THREE-Volume set (as opposed to the two-volume formerly reported) "containing over 1000 pages of information covering the entire Star Wars timeline and featuring entries from all 6 feature films, comic entries from Marvel to Dark Horse and will also include entries from the forthcoming Clone Wars animated movie/television show!"

 

That is certainly happy news! More information as it's revealed...

 

** Update: The new page count is now 1408! That's a lot more than the original 800 pages noted. The cost, of course, has also gone up to a MSRP of $125.00. Of course, that will discounted on Amazon and other sites. The new release date is November 18th.

 

6/24/08 Twilight Time

Head out to your bookstores to pick up Michael Reaves' new potboiler: Coruscant Knights I: Jedi Twilight. In the aftermath of Order 66, former Jedi Jax Pavan roams the seamy underbelly of Coruscant eking out a living as a private investigator. But when reporter Den Dhur (Medstar duology) and the self-aware droid I-5YQ (Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter and Medstar duology) come with shocking news of his late father, Jax comes out of hiding to fulfill an old mission, and comes under the sights of the Emperor's new enforcer, Darth Vader!

 

6/17/08 Casting a Long Shadow

The highly anticipated Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor by Matt Stover has switched release dates with James Luceno's intriguing Millennium Falcon book (the latter now coming out in October, Shadows in December). To tide us over, the official blog has released the back cover, which is just as fantastic as the front! Illustrator Dave Seeley tells the interesting story of how it all came about here!

 

6/11/08 New Trailer!

There's a brand new Clone Wars trailer available here! It's a great trailer and a nice surprise!

 

New Book!

In other news, Randy Stradley of DH comics has listed the contents of the upcoming Luke Skywalker giant-size book (832 pages, 12-15 lbs!): Luke Skywalker: Last Hope for the Galaxy, here.  You can preorder it at Amazon.com for $62.97.

 

6/10/08 Dooku Lives!

Christopher Lee has lent his vocal talents to the voice of Count Dooku in the upcoming Clone Wars movie! This news was released by his personal website and comes on the heels of Sam Jackson's confirmation that he too will be reprising his role (via voice) as Mace Windu. No news yet as to what other actors might be returning to Star Wars this August, but Hayden Christianson has said he would love to do the voice of Anakin for the project, so who knows!?

 

5/22/08 Lando Sequel Debuts

I'm proud to announce that my friend Rich Handley's short story Lando Calrissian: Idiot's Array has after 13 years at last been published on Star Wars Hyperspace! Click on the link to check it out!  It's a great story, and an especially rewarding one for long-time readers of the EU (it also serves as a sequel to Tales #3's Lady Luck though you need not have read the latter to enjoy this). I've be waiting to see published since the first time I read it all those years ago. Congrats Rich!

 

On another note, the mainstream TV world makes another nod to the EU, this time out of the mouth of one of the doctors on the show Grey's Anatomy! A patient, locked in cement (a stunt he pulled to impress a girl who apparently could care less about him) jokes that he's like Han Solo in carbonite. The doctors don't respond until later when he begins to despair that he's going to die (a very real possibility considering his situation) and that he's a loser because of what he did. One of the doctors says that 'Han Solo is not a loser,' and goes on to recount Han's exploits and the fact that he helped save the universe, and then married Leia and had twins who also went on to save the universe!  It's not every day Jacen and Jaina get a reference on a mainstream TV show!  (Although it seems the doctor hasn't gotten to the Legacy of the Force series yet!) Kudos to the writers of Grey's Anatomy!

 

5/12/08 LA Times Top Ten of the Expanded Universe

Hey, finally the Expanded Universe gets some love and attention in a major media source. This 'essential' list of about eight works (odd choice; why not 10?) includes not only the standard clichés (Zahn's Thrawn Trilogy and KOTOR), but the oldies, like the Marvel series and Splinter of the Mind's Eye!  Anyone who knows me or this site knows how how strongly I feel those are essential stories. Kudos to authors Patrick Kevin Day and Geoff Boucher for remembering the expanded universe began in 1978 not 1991. Admittedly, the authors makes a small gaffe claiming that fans were outraged over the cloned Emperor in Dark Empire (which was hardly true across the board), but it's a minor point in an otherwise nice nod to Star Wars stories outside the movies. Check out the article here!

 

5/7/08 Clone Wars trailer tomorrow

Keep your eyes open tomorrow for the Clone Wars trailer, which should be debuting online (likely on the official site). Chances are the this is the same trailer that leaked a few weeks ago in Polish, but we'll see. To the left is the new Clone Wars poster. Not bad. It'll be nice to have a Star Wars movie back in theaters, and just a little over three months away (August 15)! And on July 26th, we can expect most of the tie-in material to the film to be released as well.  And for those who've seen the leaked trailer and were wondering, that is Sam Jackson's voice for Mace Windu! That was confirmed by an article in the recent LA Times.

 

5/6/08 Giant Falcon Spotted

I don't usually report on toys, but this is a particularly cool one. Come July 26, Hasbro will release a new giant-sized Millennium Falcon ship for your 3 3/4" figures. If this is your kind of thing, start saving your pennies. Interestingly, there will be a new hardcover novel by James Luceno called Millennium Falcon that will take place after the Legacy of the Force series. This likely confirms that Del Rey will continue as Lucas' book publishing partner.  December 30th is the release date.

 

I forgot to list the latest Hyperspace exclusive: "Precipice". This short story deals with Obi-Wan's emotional struggle while he's imprisoned on Geonosis. Check it out here.

 

5/3/08 Clone News

Dark Horse will be having a quarterly Clone Wars digest coming out in September, the first one, The Shipyards of Doom is written by Henry Gilroy (who's one of the writers on the upcoming Clone Wars TV series) and illustrated by the Fillbach Brothers (who illustrated the well-received Clone Wars Digests -- no word on whether they'll be updating their style to that of the movie and TV series), and a regular monthly Clone Wars series with back-up features by the writers of the series. Karen Traviss (Republic Commando series, Sacrifice) will be penning the novelization of the upcoming Clone Wars movie. As reported on 4/8, there should be some nice tie-ins. More on this as it develops.

 

4/24/08 It's Officially Official...

...as in the contracts are signed. Guillermo del Toro is moving to New Zealand for the next four years, from which will emerge a two-picture film adaptation of The Hobbit!  Happy news indeed! And in a bit of serendipity, April 25 is the day Gandalf knocked on Bilbo's front door, the very opening scene of the Hobbit! Check out www.theonering.net for more info.

 

Now, as regards the Tolkien's Estate's lawsuit against New Line Cinemas, word has it that they're in talks and are not preempting the making of these films during this period. Hopefully, a deal will be worked out, and everyone comes away a winner.

 

4/12/08 Hot New Trailer...

...for the upcoming Clone Wars film is up on Youtube!  It looks pretty amazing!!  August 15th can't come soon enough.  Check it out here! * Update: It appears LFL has had the trailer removed.  No doubt we'll see it again in the coming weeks, and in much nicer quality.

 

4/9/08 Exclusive Fiction

Hyperspace has published its first piece of exclusive Star Wars short fiction: "Labor Pains" is by John Jackson Miller and takes place in between Knights of the Old Republic #12 and 13. An additional treat is that it's illustrated by Pablo Hidalgo himself! If you're a Hyperspace member of the Official Site, you can check it out here.

 

Lucas Interviewed

Total Film's May 08 issue has a good interview with George Lucas talking about Indiana Jones, Clone Wars and the upcoming live-action series.

Highlights:

Lots of good stuff in this interview, including a refinement of his statement about the three pillars of Star Wars. Noting he'll likely get in trouble for saying it, he likens the three pillars to the Trinity, with him as the father, Howard Roffman (in charge of Lucas Licensing) as the Son, and the holy spirit as the nebulous world of fans inventing stories in their heads. He says that his world (the films and TV series) are consistent with themselves. Roffman tries to keep his world (the EU) consistent with his, but occasionally goes off on tangents. "They created this whole amazing universe that goes on for millions of years!" He does say there will be no Episodes VII-IX, and that the novels have gone there, although they aren't necessarily what he would have done (Luke getting married, the Emperor being cloned). He admits, however, that he never thought of any story for that period. "The Star Wars story is really the tragedy of Darth Vader." Of course, what's interesting about that statement is that the upcoming live-action Star Wars series "is not about the Skywalkers or any of that stuff... It's a completely different kind of idea." Check it out here!

 

4/8/08 Clone Wars Still Raging

With the upcoming Star Wars animated film in theaters on August 15th in the US and an animated series to follow on the Cartoon Network and TNT, there will be some interesting tie-in books for young and adult readers. Here's the scoop: Mark July 26th on your calendars for a trip to the bookstore. If you've got 'em, bring the younglings because there will be a more concerted effort to provide titles for them. Aside from movie tie-ins (such as from Grosset and Dunlap), there'll be sticker books, activity books, coloring books and read-along books.  But adults need not feel left out either. NY Times Bestselling author Karen Traviss will pen the film's novelization from Del Rey, along with some additional TV show adaptations from her and her friend and sci-fi/fantasy author Karen Miller. Dark Horse will produce a graphic novel tie-in. We may also see an Art of Star Wars saga book covering all six films.

 

Speaking of Dark Horse, keep your eyes on Amazon and other bookstores for the next Omnibus collection, called Early Victories. This will cover some never before collected mini-series and single-issues:

 

4/2/08 Sansweet at LA Wizard World Con

Head of fan relations, Steve Sansweet discusses plans for the upcoming Star Wars Saga box set. He says they've "always been looking at a deluxe box set with all six movies." He goes on to say that they look at the market, what fans are asking for, and he's sure that will be coming up at some point, but they have "no specific plans for that right now." When asked about a Blu-Ray release, he's far cagier, saying "we're always looking at all of our options." Click here to see the video.

 

2/26/08 Book of Revelation

In this case, the Star Wars book, Legacy of the Force: Revelation comes out today!  I'm off to grab mine!


2/13/08 The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia

Rumors of this book have been circulating for some time, but Amazon.com just listed this item for a November 4th release date. The original Star Wars Encyclopedia came out in 1998, 10 years ago when the Star Wars Universe was much smaller than it is today.  This new version is double in size, coming in at a whopping 800 pages!  Should be fun!

Update: Steve Sansweet confirmed that Pablo Hidalgo has been co-updating the book with him, and that Amazon's date might be off. 

 

2/04/08 New Star Wars film in Theaters!

The recent UK Toy Fair is lending further fuel to the fire of the theatrical debut of the Clone Wars series in theaters (see the 12/5/07 news). According to the latest information, the first three episodes will be presented as a theatrical feature in the US and UK in August/September, and will feature... (potential spoilers)... a story involving the kidnapping of Rotta the Hutt (Jabba's nephew or son). Head over to www.theforce.net for the full story.

 

**Update: It's confirmed: August 15th in the States will see the 7th Star Wars film to hit theaters. The 100 or so minute feature length presentation will be followed in the Fall by a half-hour series on the Cartoon Network. TNT will then rebroadcast them. And it really looks good!  Check out the web documentary on the Official Site for scenes from the upcoming Clone Wars animated theatrical film and subsequent TV series. And TV Guide has provided an article answering some questions as well.

 

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