Lucasfilm has registered the Production Company BARKING LION PRODUCTIONS (UK) LIMITED back on July 23rd, according to new reports from Fantha Tracks and The Bespin Bulletin. The name is believed to be a reference to the London neighborhood Barking & Dagenham, which is to be home to a new production studio where, according to MakingStarWars.net, Star Wars productions based in the United Kingdom will be based out of going forward, starting with the Cassian Andor series from Disney+.
Michelle Rejwan, producer of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and co-producer of The Force Awakens, has been hired by Lucasfilm as their senior vice president of live action development and production. The announcement was made this week by the company's president Kathleen Kennedy, who revealed that Rejwan would be working with Lucasfilm on, "shaping the future in all areas of story development, from theatrical film development to live action content for Disney Plus."
On top of all the amazing Star Wars news we've been getting over the past few days, New York Comic Con is happening now in the Big Apple! And with the convention comes lots of awesome panels and an assortment of exciting news & info.
The Star Wars Publishing panel at New York Comic Con just wrapped up, featuring an assortment of writers and creators from Lucasfilm, Del Rey, and Marvel, including Amy Ratcliffe, Charles Soule, Chuck Wendig, and many others. Or very own Dominic Jones was in attendance and live-tweeted the panel, providing swift and detailed updates from the panel. To get the gist what was said at the panel, as well as what big announcements were revealed, keep scrolling...
Arguably one of the greatest aspects of Star Wars it its fans. Star Wars fans are some of the most kindhearted, creative and positive people in any galaxy, and they continue to prove it in many ways. Lucasfilm has now taken to the task of bringing a spotlight to these fans through a new web series that was just launched today.
"Our Star Wars Stories" is a new series that's been revealed on the official Star Wars YouTube channel, hosted by Jordan Hembrough. Yesterday a trailer was dropped featuring many familiar faces, including our friends, the Perales family, also known as The Rogue Rebels:
Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy is here to stay! The legendary movie producer, who took over from Star Wars creator George Lucas as head of Lucasfilm in 2012, signed a three year contract extension with the Walt Disney Company to remain in that role, Borys Kit from The Hollywood Reporter reports. The deal keeps Kennedy, who was recently honored with the Irving G. Thalberg Award by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, with Lucasfilm/Disney through 2021.
Following the disappointing box office returns of Solo: A Star Wars Story, there have been some questions about Disney's handling of Star Wars films of late. Specifically, if they may have bit off more than they can chew by releasing two films just six months apart. Disney CEO Bob Iger took responsibility for the decision and spoke in vague terms about how they are approaching making Star Wars films after Episode IX (hitting theaters in December 2019) in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
Kathleen Kennedy has one of the most amazing resumes of any producer in Hollywood, having her hands in the creation of such classic films as Raiders Of The Lost Ark, Jurassic Park, E.T., Back To The Future, The Goonies and many, many others. And that was all before she became President of Lucasfilm and produced the four newest Star Wars films(and countless others to come).
By: Benjamin Hart
Despite what you might have heard recently, Star Wars fans are still some of the best people in the Galaxy. Just recently, Lucasfilm has taken steps to spotlight the best and brightest among us with a new, exciting contest.
There is no denying that Solo: A Star Wars Story was a major disappointment at the box office. It currently stands at having made just $194 million domestically and $147 million internationally (for a grand total of $341 million). As a result, it appears Lucasfilm has decided to place all current Star Wars spin off films, otherwise known as the A Star Wars Story films, on hold, a new report from Collider claims. The company is instead focusing their efforts on the production of Star Wars Episode IX, while it decides what to do going forward with the spin offs.
John Williams conducts the London Symphony Orchestra
during the recording of Star Wars(A New Hope)'s musical score.
By: Benjamin Hart
If you love the music of Star Wars (who doesn't?), this year's Star Wars Day will be an extra special one! Today, Lucasfilm and Disney Music Group announced that the soundtracks for the original six Star Wars films will re-released on May the 4th, 2018.
There are almost always more Star Wars projects in the works than have been announced, and today we may have gotten a small glimpse into what's to come. Jayson over at YakFace discovered a new trademark filing by Lucasfilm for something called "Star Wars: Resistance". The filings YakFace uncovered cover a broad range of products that could be produced to tie in to this upcoming project.
Some sad news to report tonight. Allison Shearmur, a producer of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and the upcoming Solo: A Star Wars Story passed away this evening at the age of 54 after a battle with lung cancer. Shearmur's other credits include being executive producer of the final three Hunger Games films, and producer of Cinderella (2015), and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.
In celebration of the United States' Independence Day this week, the team over at "The Star Wars Show" took a break from kicking out weekly episodes to do something special. Today they released a unique episode that gives us a look behind the scenes of the show.
The big news on everyone's minds lately has been the major director shakeup for the upcoming Han Solo standalone film. After the projects original directors, Phil Lord and Chris Miller, were allegedly fired, Ron Howard was brought on to finish the film. This understandably raised a lot of concerns among fans and has gotten people talking about this extremely rare situation.
The first reference to Star Wars Day in the UK was on the day Margaret Thatcher took office as Prime Minister on May 4, 1979.
Thatcher's political party, the Conservatives, had allegedly placed a congratulatory advert in The London Evening News which said "May the Fourth Be with You, Maggie. Congratulations."
A cooperative effort between Lucasfilm, the Starlight Children’s Foundation, Google, and Niagara Cares is launching a new program for hospitalized children across the United States.
The campaign is a virtual reality initiative, intended to entertain, educate, and inspire the imagination of thousands of hospitalized patients across the country. According to the official press release, Star Wars: Force for Change is the Founding Sponsor of the program, with additional funding from Niagara Cares. Google will be providing the VR technology. It is expected to launch in late 2017.
“We’re excited to announce the launch of Starlight VR which we believe will be a game-changer in the pediatric health care space,” said Chris Helfrich, CEO of Starlight Children’s Foundation. “We’re excited to have Lucasfilm and Disney, Google and Niagara Cares alongside us as we harness the power of virtual reality to bring more smiles to hospitalized kids when and where they need it most.”
According to the press release, the program will be distributed to Starlight’s network of children’s hospitals and other health care facilities. Lucasfilm is partnering by allowing children to harness the VR technology and transport them from the hospital room to a Galaxy Far, Far Away. Lucasfilm’s hope is that the Star Wars name can be used on this platform to “empower and improve the lives of children around the world,” according to the press release.
Star Wars: Force for Change, through its parent company Disney, will be providing a grant to Starlight that funds the placement of 270 VR headsets and equipment in hospitals across the US. According to the press release, the new collaboration officially launches today, April 12, 2017, and will have a special event at the Florida Hospital For Children in Orlando.
“At Lucasfilm and ILMxLAB, we strive to make the impossible, possible and to deliver stories that inspire and entertain,” said Vicki Dobbs Beck, Executive in Charge of ILMxLAb. “We are honored to use our immersive storytelling to spark children’s imaginations during the hospital stay,” Another addition made by Lucasfilm and Force For Change includes the "Brave Gown" initiative:
A significant grant from Niagara Cares will fund research and development for Starlight VR, as well as impact reporting to inform future program enhancements and usage recommendations.
Starlight VR will be a physical program geared toward entertainment and distraction purposes for use with children, according to the press release. In addition to the exclusive Star Wars VR content, the program will incorporate many of Google’s VR technologies, including: Google Expeditions, virtual field trips to the world’s most amazing places for children over the age of 7, as well as Daydream, Google Earth VR, and more.
“We’re thrilled to support this Starlight program and use our virtual reality technology for good in hospitals around the United States,” said Amit Singh, Google’s Vice President of Virtual Reality.
Picturing a child forced to stay in a hospital for days, weeks, or even months, this partnership strives to bring a smile to a child’s face thanks to the technology present today. It may not be a game of Sabacc or a functioning astromech, but it should still make a galaxy of difference in young people’s lives.
There is a lot of Star Wars projects in various stages of production these days. Not only are there films like The Last Jedi, the Han Solo film, and Episode IX, and animated series like Star Wars Rebels, but also countless books, comics, and video games. Most of these projects remain shrouded in secret, but we may have just learned the title of an upcoming Star Wars release. Our friends over at The Star Wars Post noticed today that Lucasfilm has trademarked the title Star Wars: Rivals. It appears this is the title for an upcoming video game.
Since returning from an extended hiatus, The Star Wars Show has been a fantastic source of behind the scenes material for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. In a new weekly segment titled "Rogue Reports", Pablo Hidalgo of the Lucasfilm Story Group has been taking us behind the scenes of the new film and revealing fascinating details about the production.
By: Benjamin Hart
After an extended hiatus, Lucasfilm's weekly web series "The Star Wars Show" has finally returned. The newest episode includes several notable changes, including the addition of at least one new segment, as well as a brand new co-host.
It appears that Anthony Carboni, whom fans will know from the recent Rogue One premiere live stream and other events, will be taking over hosting duties from Peter Townley alongside Andi Gutierrez. Townley is still expected to return to the show in the future in some capacity.
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