ABC To Provide Sneak Peek At 'Galaxy's Edge' On Christmas Day

By: Benjamin Hart

Let's face it; not having a new Star Wars film in theaters this Christmas sucks. While the next holiday season will bring back the "Star Wars Christmas" tradition with the release of Star Wars: Episode IX, we've still got year-long wait until the saga returns to theaters. Thankfully we've got many, many things to look forward to in the meantime.

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Video: How 'Solo' Fixes One Of Star Wars' Oldest Continuity Errors

By: Benjamin Hart

The only thing Star Wars fans love more than watching the films of the saga is picking them apart endlessly. Many of us are fascinated by the minutiae of our favorite films, and discovering new things in films that are nearly(or over) 40 years old is considered a challenge. Solo: A Star Wars Story, the newest addition to the saga, digs deep into the lore of Star Wars and answers tons of burning questions fans have had for years, as well as ones we didn't even know we wanted

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ABC Featurette Reveals How The Kessel Run Monster In 'Solo' Was Created

By: Benjamin Hart

Solo: A Star Wars Story is now finally out on home video! To celebrate the occasion, ABC News has released a short featurette focusing on one of the biggest elements in Solo's most anticipated action set piece: the Kessel Run.

Clayton Sandell from ABC visited Lucasfilm headquarters in San Francisco and spoke with various Industrial Light and Magic crew members, including visual effects supervisor Rob Bredow. Sandell specifically inquired about the summa-verminoth, the gigantic, tentacled space monster that attacks the Millennium Falcon during the Kessel Run sequence. They go into detail, revealing that the idea behind the inclusion of the creature came from director Ron Howard. They also touch on the beast's very graphic death inside the Maw. You can watch the full video below:

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'Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge' Sneak Peak Coming To Disney's 'Magical Holiday Celebration' TV Special

By: Dominic Jones

We're still years away from the opening of the Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge theme park expansion coming to Disneyland in California and Disney World in Florida, but construction is underway and Disney is using key moments to give fans a taste of what they can expect from it.  The next preview of Galaxy's Edge, according to The Disney Blog, will be during the "The Wonderful World of Disney: Magical Holiday Celebration" TV special, which airs November 30th at 9pm ET on ABC.

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Mark Hamill & Daisy Ridley To Appear On Good Morning America With 'Big Announcement'

By: Benjamin Hart

Just ahead of Star Wars Celebration Orlando, a "big announcement" is about to drop on the next edition of Good Morning America.

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New Behind The Scenes Videos Focus On The Ships & Aliens Of 'Rogue One'

By: Benjamin Hart

As Rogue One: A Star Wars Story begins to wrap up it's theatrical run, we've been getting a ton of new behind the scenes material from the film. Two new videos popped up online recently which gives us intriguing sneak peeks into the production, specifically the creation of various ships and aliens.

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Tonight's Nightline To Reveal Behind The Scenes Secrets Of Rogue One's VFX

By: Benjamin Hart

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story isn't just an amazing film, it also broke new ground in the visual effects field. Bringing Grand Moff Tarkin, and the long deceased actor who portrayed him, Peter Cushing, back to the big screen was an immense feat for the filmmakers that has been turning a lot of heads.

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ABC To Air Exclusive 'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story' Preview on November 24th

By: Dominic Jones

Fans looking for a new preview for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story will want to watch ABC's "The Wonderful World of Disney: Magical Holiday Celebration" TV special airing on November 24th, 2016 at 8pm ET.   ABC announced on Twitter today that the TV event would include "an exclusive look" at the first Star Wars stand alone film, hitting theaters next month.

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Report: Lucasfilm & ABC In Talks To Produce A Primetime Star Wars TV Series

By: Benjamin Hart

For over a decade now rumors have circulated about a possible live action Star Wars television series. "Star Wars: Underworld" was a series that was developed by George Lucas himself, and ultimately shelved, prior to the Star Wars creator selling Lucasfilm to Disney. Ever since Disney took over there has been talk that Underworld, or something like it, could be brought to the small screen. Now it appears we have our first bit of hard evidence that a new series is actually on the way!

Entertainment Weekly is reporting that at the Television Critics Association’s semi-annual press tour the ABC network's entertainment president Channing Dungey was quizzed about the possibility of a new primetime Star Wars television series. Dungey not only expressed interest in the proposition, but confirmed that negations are indeed happening regarding a new series. Here's what she had to say:

“Oh, as a fan, I would absolutely love to say ‘Yes’... The conversations with Lucas, we have had conversations with them and will continue to have conversations with them. I think it would be wonderful if we could find a way to extend that brand into our programming.”

Later she further confirms that talks between Lucasfilm and ABC are "ongoing" and that an official timeline has not yet been established. Dungey would not confirm if this proposed series will be live action, but that's something that seems like a given anyway.

After many years of hoping and speculating, it sounds like we're on the cusp of live action Star Wars storytelling finally making the jump to the small screen(no, the Holiday Special doesn't count). This is incredibly exciting news!

In what era would you like to see this new series set in? The Old Republic? Prequel, Original or Sequel trilogies? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

Source: EW

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New 'Rogue One' Trailer To Air July 15th On ABC

By: Benjamin Hart

For those anxiously awaiting the next trailer for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, it has been confirmed that we are mere days away from seeing it! Our friends at Making Star Wars have alerted us to the news that a number of TV schedules have added listings for a broadcast of the documentary Secrets Of The Force Awakens: A Cinematic Journey on ABC at 8:00pm ET on Friday, July 15th. While the  television debut of Episode VII's behind the scenes documentary is big news itself, it's the fine print that's really exciting.

The description on certain listings reveals that a three-minute long trailer for Rogue One will also be accompanying the documentary. Whether the trailer will air before, during or after the main presentation is unclear.

The most interesting thing about this is the fact that this trailer will be airing just hours after the Rogue One: A Star Wars Story panel takes place at Star Wars Celebration in London. Everyone has been expecting a trailer to premiere at the panel, which is happening at 4:00pm GMT(11:00am ET). It seems to me that the trailer will be officially unveiled at Celebration and will be presented to TV audiences later in the day on ABC. While it's possible the trailer could be exclusively shown at Celebration and held back from the rest of the world until it airs on ABC, that seems unlikely. Lucasfilm has been notorious for releasing their trailers online as soon as they're shown at live events. Nevertheless, the main point here is the confirmation that we are indeed getting a new trailer on the 15th, and it's three minutes long. That is incredibly exciting.

The Star Wars Underworld team will be on the ground in London next week to report back on all the big news that's revealed, so keep it here for the latest updates!

Source: ABC
Via: Making Star Wars

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Harrison Ford To Reveal New 'Star Wars Land' Details On Upcoming TV Special

By: Benjamin Hart

The long awaited "Star Wars Land" at Disney theme parks is finally becoming a reality and it looks as though we are about to learn more details about the upcoming attraction from none other than Han Solo himself. Entertainment Weekly is reporting that a Television special titled The Wonderful World of Disney is set to air on February 21st on ABC and Harrison Ford will appear to reveal at least some of Disney's plans for the 14-acre areas at both Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida and Disneyland in Anaheim, California. Other stars including Josh Gad, Witney Carson and Elton John will also be appearing in the special.

Could we be getting our first looks at some of the rides that will be included in the expansion? Let's hope so. Aside from some concept art that was released last year at D23(some of which you can see above) we know very little about "Star Wars Land", which is a title tentatively applied to the project by fans. The attraction is said to be a fully immersive Star Wars experience, transporting visitors to a new planet in the Galaxy far, far away that's filled with various characters and a real Cantina. It will certainly be interesting to see what surprises Disney will have for us on February 21st.

Source: Entertainment Weekly

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Report: No Current Plans For Live-Action Star Wars On TV

By: Benjamin Hart

For years we've heard about the "Star Wars: Underworld" live action television series and wondered if and when it would ever see the light of day. It was way back in 2005, prior to the release of Revenge Of The Sith, that George Lucas himself announced that he was overseeing the development of the series. Years have passed and the series was subsequently shelved, but Disney's acquisition of Lucasfilm in 2012 presented some hope that the series may still be made a reality. Unfortunately a new report has seemingly confirmed that, despite some recent positive comments by Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, the Underworld series, and any potential live action Star Wars TV series, will remain shelved for the time being. TV Line recently spoke with Paul Lee, president of the Disney owned ABC network. On Lucasfilm's overall strategy for storytelling he had this to say:

"They are focused on their movies, so we don’t have any plans at the moment.”

Additionally, TV Line contacted an anonymous Lucasfilm source who agreed:

“Our current focus for TV is on animation [Star Wars Rebels, etc.].”

I suppose it is commendable that Lucasfilm is trying to stay focused on their current projects rather than trying to produce as much Star Wars content as possible on all fronts. As we speculated in the latest SWU Podcast, it's plausible that when the time comes for a new live-action series to be put into production, Lucasfilm could cease production of feature films for a time in order to shift focus. While I am have the opinion that there is no such thing as too much Star Wars, overwhelming the general public with Star Wars content might be something they'll want to avoid. But all we can do is speculate for now until Underworld gets the greenlight sometime in the future.

In the meantime, there's absolutely no shortage of Star Wars with various books, comics, an animated series and a film every year. As Star Wars fans, we've got nothing to complain about.

Source: TV Line
Via: Comic Book Resources

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Daisy Ridley & John Boyega Talk Seeing 'The Force Awakens' For the First Time On GMA

By: Benjamin Hart

The cast and crew of The Force Awakens are currently making the rounds on various television, and even radio programs now to promote the film that's a matter of days away from release. After Harrison Ford made an appearance yesterday it was John Boyega(Finn) and Daisy Ridley(Rey)'s turn to appear on Good Morning America. The pair sat down with Robin Roberts to discuss various topics related to The Force Awakens, including the fact that they both recently saw the film for the first time.

John commented that Episode VII is "so good" and Daisy admitted that she was overwhelmed by the experience and cried after seeing the film. Additionally, Ridley discussed Rey's influence on young girls and creating more strong female characters, Boyega talked about his mentorship under Robert Downey Jr., and they both gushed about seeing themselves on billboards in Times Square. As an extra treated, we also get to hear John's previously teased impression of Pinocchio from Shrek. Be sure to check out the full interview below!



We can't wait to see all of Daisy & John's talents on the big screen when Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens hits theaters on December 18th!

Source: GMA

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Jimmy Kimmel Live To Host Special 'The Force Awakens' Show With J.J. Abrams & Cast

By: Benjamin Hart

It appears the cast of The Force Awakens will be making their first big late night outing this Monday on a special episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live. Our friends at Geeks Speak tipped us off that director J.J. Abrams will be a guest on the show alongside cast members Harison Ford(Han Solo), Carrie Fisher(Leia), Daisy Ridley(Rey), Adam Driver(Kylo Ren), and John Boyega(Finn).

Considering Kimmel and his crew dressed up as Star Wars characters for their annual Halloween episode, I think it's safe to say this will be an awesome show full of surprises.

The episode will air on Monday, November 23rd at 11:35pm ET on ABC!

Sources: Geeks Speak, Forbes

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New 60-Second 'The Force Awakens' TV Spot, With New Footage & Dialogue!

By: Dominic Jones

ABC followed through on their promise to release new footage from Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens during their #TGIT block of shows tonight.  They released a 45-second TV spot for the new film featuring lots of new footage and dialogue, mixed in with some stuff we've seen before.  Check it out below,

Wow!  That was awesome!  A definite highlight was seeing Han Solo shooting down a stormtrooper for the first time in 30 years (at the first time we've seen him do so in 30 years).  Plus some great shots from Jakku, Finn fighting a stormtrooper using the lightsaber, and General Leia leading a war meeting at the Resistence base.

What did you think of the trailer?  Let us know in the comments below!

Via: Furious Fanboys (YouTube)

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Special 'The Force Awakens' Preview to Air Thursday on ABC

By: Dominic Jones

ABC announced today that they will be airing an exclusive look at Star Wars: The Force Awakens during their #TGIT block of shows (beginning at 8pm EST).  The exclusive look will be hosted by TV producer Shonda Rhimes and the casts of Grey's Anatomy, Scandal, and How to Get Away With Murder.  It's not clear whether this will feature new footage, or just be a rehash of news and clips we've already seen in other trailers.  Regardless, it should be fun to tune in.

Check out a preview for the event below,

As a big @StarWars fan, I'm excited for Thurs, as #TGITAwakens with a special look at Star Wars: The Force Awakens! pic.twitter.com/gfYKPTfTEq

— shonda rhimes (@shondarhimes) November 10, 2015

Source: Shonda Rhimes (Twitter)

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Rumor: Live Action Star Wars Series in the Works

By: Dominic Jones

Talk of a live action Star Wars TV series can be traced as far back as 2005 when George Lucas mentioned that a series set between Episodes III and IV was in the works.  Since then the project has been in limbo, with over fifty scripts having been written but never produced.  When Disney took over, there was immediate speculation about whether or not they would be interested in producing a a live action Star Wars series and ABC president Paul Lee said he was interested in having one on the network.

Today, amidst all the rumors and speculation about JJ Abrams possibly returning to direct Episode IX, our friends over at MakingStarWars.net dropped a quick mention about things heating up behind the scenes on a new Star Wars TV series.  According to MSW, "my source also mentioned that a television series based in the Star Wars universe like Marvel’s Agents of Shield is ramping up a bit. I assume they don’t mean the premise is like Agents of Shield."

It doesn't sound like this would be the same series Lucas was talking about for years.  That show, which had the working title Underworld, sounded like it may be too dark for the likes of ABC and would be better suited somewhere like HBO (or Netflix).  

The Agents of SHIELD comparison is an interesting one.  It leads me to think that this would be a film set in the sequel trilogy era that, while it won't have the same stars as the film, will tell the story of some of what's going on between the films and could, in theory, interact with the films in some (small) way.

As always this is just a rumor until confirmed or denied by Lucasfilm or Disney.

Source: MakingStarWars.net

Via: Furious Fanboys

 

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Good Morning America To Reveal Preview Of 'Rebels' Finale

By: Benjamin Hart

Star Wars Rebels fans are currently on the edge of their seats awaiting the season one finale episode Fire Across The Galaxy! The episode is set to premiere this Monday, March 2nd, on Disney XD, but Good Morning America, on fellow Disney owned network ABC, is promising a sneak peek at the finale Thursday(tomorrow) morning. In a recent tweet, GMA announced the news, and also teased a "special guest."

The force is strong with @GMA tomorrow! We have a sneak peek at #StarWarsRebels season finale... and a special guest. pic.twitter.com/IvdFEzxPVu
— Good Morning America (@GMA) February 25, 2015

Fire Across The Galaxy is promising to be a mind blowing episode, featuring the final show down between Kanan, Ezra & The Inquisitor, the long awaited reveal of the the mysterious Fulcrum, and the return of Darth Vader! Be sure to tune into Good Morning America Thursday from 7:00am to 9:00am on ABC for the special sneak peek, and of course catch Fire Across The Galaxy on Disney XD this Monday at 9:00pm ET/PT!

Source: Twitter

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Star Wars References Spotted In Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D & The Flash

By: Benjamin Hart

Star Wars references; they're everywhere! The Saga has been a pop culture phenomenon since it's inception in 1977, and since then just about every other popular franchise has given the 'Wars a nod. This past Tuesday saw not one, but two different references on two different TV series created by two rival mega Superhero powerhouses. The Flash which airs at 8pm ET on The CW, and Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D, which airs at 9pm ET on ABC, created by DC and Marvel, respectively, both featured awesome Star Wars references in their latest episodes.

First off, the Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. reference appears near the beginning the latest episode titled "A Fractured House". At around 3:50 in the episode, Bobbi Morse, a.k.a Mockingbird(played by Adrianne Palicki), appears wearing a blue Star Wars shirt:

And then we have The Flash, which hosts an even more impressive Star Wars nod. It happens around 21:35 in the episode titled "Going Rogue". In the scene, Barry Allen/The Flash(Grant Gustin) is participating in a trivia contest with Iris West(Candice Patton), Eddie Thawne(Rick Cosnett) and Arrow's Felicity Smoak(Emily Bett Rickards). Eddie gets a question wrong, which prompts this exchange between Barry and Felicity:

Barry: "Maybe they'll get it wrong too."
Felicity: "Oh yeah, I'm sure that the team named "Pride & Padawans" doesn't know the name of Han Solo's ship."

Felicity then motions to a Star Wars costumed group on the other side of the room:

According to our count. this is the first Star Wars reference in the Arrow/Flash TV universe and the second in the Marvel Cinematic universe(the first being Steve Rogers' notebook in Captain America: The Winter Soldier). Let's hope these aren't the last Star Wars nods we see in both universes! If you want to see the scenes in full, you can watch The Flash episode on CWTV.com and the S.H.I.E.L.D. episode is currently available to certain subscribers on ABC.com.

The next best thing to watching Star Wars is seeing it pop up in other awesome things. We love to point out and discuss references to Star Wars in pop culture, so if you know of any, such as the ones above, in movies, TV shows, Video games and more, please drop us a line at swunderworld@gmail.com!

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First Look At Darth Vader in 'Star Wars Rebels'

By: Benjamin Hart

Last week we learned that the Dark Lord of the Sith himself, Darth Vader, would be making an appearance on Star Wars Rebels much sooner than we expected, and voiced by James Earl Jones, no less. Anticipation is running high as fans wonder what Vader will look like in the animation style of Rebels. Well now it appears that we're getting our first sneak peak at the animated half man, half machine courtesy of our friends at The WolfPack Podcast. They are reporting that during a Toy Story short film, which aired on ABC, the Vader scene, or a portion of it, was shown. You can check out a screenshot of the of the scene below. And of course, SPOILERS if you want to hold out for when the scene premieres with the re-airing of Spark Of Rebellion on ABC on October 26th.

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It appears this design of Vader in Rebels will very much be informed by the artwork of the late, legendary Original Trilogy concept artist Ralph McQuarrie. This falls in line with design of the rest of the series which is also McQuarrie inspired and, as the creators describe it; "A Ralph McQuarrie painting come to life." The resemblance is unmistakable when compared to the classic McQuarrie concept painting for Luke and Vader below:

So, what do you think? Is this look suitable for Vader? Or is it too much of a departure from his infamous design. Let us know in the comments below!

Source: The WolfPack Podcast

Update: The good folks over at From 4-LOM to Zuckuss have shared video of scene, which is featured at the end of a short TV spot for Rebels:

Post by From 4-LOM to Zuckuss.

Find Benjamin on Twitter @Benhartattack.

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