Cover Story - Top 10 Darth Vader Covers

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This Friday marks a rather auspicious occasion- the premiere of Rogue One, A Star Wars Story.  Despite the mouthful of a name this promises to be a pretty big deal all around.  Rogue One is the first of an entire prospective franchise of Star Wars spin-offs and side-quels Disney would like to start releasing in between (and presumably after) the main series films.  What’s more, Rogue One is a unique entity as it’ll be the first time this decade we’ll see Darth Vader on screen.  

Much like A Force Awakens, Vader’s return is punctuated with some significant uncertainty after a decade’s worth of “NOOO!” jokes and cameos in Night at the Museum.  That makes his return here a major stepping stone for Disney, a point to prove that not only is Star Wars back but it's redeemed its more troubled elements.  Of course, for comic fans Darth Vader has been “back” since last year when he got a hot new comic series from Marvel.  Given his return to the big screen, I’ve elected to honor man and series here today. 

Rogue One 2nd Trailer Analysis

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It’s amazing how quickly the cultural landscape can be almost completely redefined.  Go back just 2 years and the idea of Star Wars, as a continual geek media presence, would’ve seemed far-fetched at best.  Oh to be sure, Star Wars has always been AROUND but for the most part that’s been in the form of a handful of cartoons and a rampant expanded universe brand mainly propped up by the paperback genre fiction machine and the brand’s universal appeal in the world of video and board games. 

Now, however, Star Wars is set to have a new film come out every year like clockwork till at least the end of the decade, basically making the question of “what’s going on with Star Wars?” a perpetual one.  There’s always going to be the next episode or the next spin-off or the next TV series at least till the end of the new trilogy and probably beyond.  In just a year it’s become the equal of the Marvel Cinematic Universe; a constant force of culture that must always be addressed at any time.  With that in mind, let’s take a look at the latest Rogue One trailer.

John Boyega Joining Pacific Rim 2 Changes Everything

Edited by Robert Beach 

John Boyega, a talented actor who finally broke into the mainstream in last year’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens, has finally landed his first major post-Star Wars gig with Pacific Rim 2. The shaky sequel to 2013’s international hit has cast Boyega as the son of Idris Elba’s Stacker Pentecost from the first movie. This is a major announcement and a major stroke of good fortune for Pacific Rim 2. 

Since the announcement, the film's production has been on unstable footing after the Pacific Rim animated series dissolved on top of creator/director Guillermo Del Toro announced he wasn’t returning to direct the sequel, leading Legendary to drop any concrete premiere date for the film. Speaking of premiere dates, it was Godzilla 2 that slipped into Pacific Rim 2’s place on the schedule, forming an interesting rivalry. Additionally, Godzilla 2 is also facing down trouble as director Gareth Edwards won’t be returning for the sequel to his 2014 kaiju blockbuster. 

Film Land - 7 Star Wars Spin-Offs They Should Make

Edited by Robert Beach 

Happy Star Wars Day, presumptive audience! May the force be with us all. This Star Wars Day, however, feels decidedly special as it’s the first time in nearly a decade when celebrating Star Wars felt like a celebration of tomorrow, of looking forward, rather than a nostalgic look back at the triumphs of the past. A lot of that has to do with the massive success enjoyed by The Force Awakens last year and the gathering hype for this December’s Rogue One. 

For the first time in forever, Star Wars is back as a culture force in our society as a name that’s said with pride and an eye towards the future. With that in mind, this article is going to be about the future. I mentioned Rogue One a moment ago because it is a big deal. The first ever theatrical Star Wars spin-off film to be released, and it’s got me thinking about what other spin-offs they could make. Let's jump right in then. 

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Trailer

Edited by Robert Beach

By now, you’ve probably heard the Disney/Star Wars experiment isn’t going to be limited to the new trilogy of films kicked off by The Force Awakens. In case you didn’t know, the plan is every other year (i.e. 2016, 2018, 2020, and so on) instead of an episodic movie. They’ll release a spin-off flick as part of a new series entitled A Star Wars Story because the original name of Star Wars Anthology wasn’t enough of a mouthful I suppose. 

A lot of folks, including yours truly, are cautious about this plan as it smacks of corporate milking and risk of overexposure for a brand that only just found its way back to credibility after nearly a decade of being a joke in the mainstream; however, all those anxieties were washed away in an instant with the release of the first trailer for the first of these films entitled: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens Poster Speculation, Rogue One Photo Implications, & New Episode IX Director

Edited by Robert Beach

D23 happened over the weekend. If you don’t know, that’s a major Disney expo where they start setting up the hype for their new crop of films. A lot of interesting news came out of D23 this year, but most of it was either in the realm of logo posters for Pixar or trailers that haven’t been released to the public from Marvel. 

The big, flashy, reveals so far have come from Star Wars as Disney and J.J. Abrams continue the slow drip of advertising leading up to this winter’s The Force Awakens. D23 saw the first official poster for Force Awakens revealed, the first set and character photos from next year’s Star Wars Anthology: Rogue One, and the announcement of who will direct Star Wars Episode IX.