New 'The Rise Of Skywalker' Artwork Surfaces From Star Wars Insider

By: Benjamin Hart

As of today, we are officially only three months shy of the release of Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker! Fans are anxiously awaiting the reveal of any new previews of the upcoming film, and one such reveal dropped today that's already raising eyebrows.

Earlier today, writer Jay Stobie shared some cover art on Twitter for an upcoming issue of Star Wars Insider magazine. The artwork is a comic book store exclusive cover for issue #194 and features previously unseen art from The Rise Of Skywalker. The cover puts a heavy emphasis on the bad guys and features an assortment of First Order characters, including Stormtroopers, Sith Troopers, Jet Troopers, Snow Troopers, the Knights of Ren, and, of course, Supreme Leader Kylo Ren. In addition, we also get some First Order vehicles, including Star Destroyers, TIE Fighters, Kylo Ren's TIE Advanced fighter, and the newly introduced First Order Treadspeeder and TIE Dagger. You can check out the cover in all its glory below:

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Han Solo & Finn To Appear In 'Forces Of Destiny'

By: Benjamin Hart

The first run of episodes from the new animated series Forces Of Destiny, which were released this Summer, featured a variety of beloved characters from across the saga. It has be announced that a new batch of episodes is on the way, and they will include even more classic Star Wars characters.

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On This Day: July 24, 2012

By Ciaran Duggan,

Star Wars Insider released their 135th issue which celebrated 30 years of Star Wars video games from The Empire Strikes Back to The Old Republic.

The article Game On! was written by Tony Rowe and detailed video games from The Empires Strikes Back arcade game all the way to The Old Republic MMORPG.

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Upcoming Star Wars Insider Short Story Will Tie-Into 'Star Wars: Bloodline'

By: Benjamin Hart

The 30 years between Episodes VI and VII have drawn much intrigue recently. The Force Awakens inferred that much had happened since we last saw our heroes, leaving the door wide open for future stories to reveal the events of that era. One of those stories is the upcoming novel "Star Wars: Bloodline", written by Claudia Gray(Lost Stars). The book won't be hitting bookshelves until May 3rd, but it appears we'll be introduced to the time period a but sooner. Del Rey has announced that Star Wars Insider magazine #165 will feature a short story titled "Scorched". The story will be written by Delilah S. Dawson(The Perfect Weapon) and will be focused on the character Greer Sonnel, a popular Starfighter racer who is preparing to participate in a treacherous race. Sonnel is a close ally to Leia Organa and will be a key player in Bloodline, which is said to focus on the soon-to-be-General of the Resistance. The story is set prior to Bloodline and promises to shed light on Sonnel's background.

The Star Wars Books Facebook page revealed some accompanying artwork created by artist Joe Corroney which features Greer Sonnel next to her A-Wing the Ossifrage. You can check that out below:



Star Wars Insider #165 is set to hit both physical and digital newsstands on April 27th!

Source: Del Rey

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'Aftermath' Parts II & III, 'New Republic: Bloodline' Novels & More Revealed At NYCC

By: Benjamin Hart

This week New York Comic Con has been providing us with lots of awesome Star Wars news. On Thursday Star Wars Rebels took center stage with reveals from it's second season, and today Del Rey has stolen the spotlight with reveals of several new books. During the "Journey To The Force Awakens" panel they announced three new novels and two short stories.

First off, they revealed that author Delilah S. Dawson will be writing an Ebook short story titled "The Perfect Weapon". It is scheduled for release in November of this year and will focus on a character named Bazine who also appears in The Force Awakens.

Secondly, it was announced that Alan Dean Foster will be writing a short story, titled Star Wars: Bait, that will appear in issue #162 of Star Wars Insider. It will relate to The Force Awakens and will star an alien character named Grumgarr from the film.

Grumgarr & Bazine in the The Force Awakens SDCC behind the scenes reel

It was also announced that author Landry Walker would be writing an ebook anthology of short stories about aliens in The Force Awakens, which will be released on December 1st.  The anthology will be titled  Star Wars: Tales from a Galaxy far, far away: Aliens and features four short stories.  The stories are titled, “High Noon on Jakku,” “All Creatures Great and Small,” “The Face of Evil,” and “The Crimson Corsair and the Treasure of Count Dooku.”  The book will be available in print in April 2017.  The print version will feature two more stories.

Furthermore, Claudia Gray, who recently became well know among Star Wars fans for authoring Star Wars: Lost Stars, will be moving on to write a new novel set six 6 prior to The Force Awakens titled "New Republic: Blood Line". It will be released sometime in 2016. You can see the preliminary cover for the novel below(Courtesy of Jedi-Bibliothek):

And last, but certainly not least, the titles of the second and third parts of Chuck Wendig's Aftermath trilogy were revealed. "Aftermath: Life Debt" is slated for release in the Summer of 2016 and "Aftermath: Empire's End" is coming in 2017. The preliminary covers for both novels were unveiled at the Del Rey booth, which you can see below(photo courtesy of Lillian Skye):

Very exciting! Looks like we will have plenty of great reading material to consume over the next few months and years! You can check out our full recap of the Journey To The Force Awakens publishing panel by clicking here!

Sources: Del Rey (Facebook), (Twitter)

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'Battlefront' Tie-In Short Story Coming in Star Wars Insider #161

By: Dominic Jones

Star Wars Battlefront - the video game - captured the hearts and minds of many Star Wars fans and gamers during E3 last month.  When the game is released it is sure to be a big deal and being released to coincide with the game is some fun tie-in material.  We learned about a novel, titled Star Wars Battlefront: Twilight Company back at Star Wars Celebration and now the official Star Wars Books Facebook Page has announced a new short story to be released in Star Wars Insider Magazine #161.  The story is written by Janine K. Spendlove (War of the Seasons Trilogy).  Insider #161 will be available October 20th.

Star Wars: Battlefront: Twilight Company hits shelves November 3rd, 2015 and is written by Alexander Freed.

Star Wars Battlefront (the video game) will be available November 17th, 2015.

Source: Star Wars Books

 

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The Clone Wars Strikes Back | Episode 31

On this episode Dominic and Ciaran are once again joined by Star Wars Insider Editor Jonathan Wilkins to discuss the Younglings arc from Season 5!  The break down the process of building a lightsaber, discuss Ahsoka's role, and debate the possibility of the Younglings surviving Order 66.  Plus Doctor Who, Hondo Ohnaka, and so much more!

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Report: 'Star Wars Rebels' Season One Finale Details in Star Wars Insider #156

 

By: Dominic Jones

The March 2nd season one premiere of Star Wars Rebels is rapidly approaching and there is much speculation about what might happen and who might appear.  The team over at Yak Face spotted some very intriguing details about the finale in the next issue of Star Wars Insider Magazine.  While this doesn't reveal too much about what will happen in the finale, it does reveal that certain characters are returning.  So if you don't want to know anything about the Rebels Season One finale, stop reading now!  This is you official SPOILER ALERT!

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Yak Face tweeted out this information,

Insider #156, confirms that the identity of Fulcrum is revealed along with the return of Bail Organa and Vader in final Ep. #StarWarsRebels
— Yakface.com (@yak_face) February 22, 2015

No real surprises there.  We've been assuming for a while that Fulcrum would be revealed in the finale.  Also, we've seen so much build up over this season with the rise of our Rebels on Lothal, it makes a lot of sense that some of the major players from both sides (Bail and Fulcrum for the Rebels, Vader and Tarkin for the Empire) would need to get involved.   All signs point to finale being a game changing affair.

The Star Wars Rebels season one final "Fire Across the Galaxy" airs Monday March 2nd on Disney XD.

Source: Yak Face (Twitter)

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'Star Wars Rebels' Season One Episodes 7-10 Titles Revealed

By: Dominic Jones

The titles for the upcoming 7th-10th episodes of season one of the animated series Star Wars Rebels were revealed in the latest issue of Star Wars Insider Magazine. In addition, the writers and directors for those episodes were also revealed.  Check it out below,

Episode 107: “Breaking Ranks”
Directed by Steven G. Lee
Written by Greg Weisman

Episode 108: “Out of Darkness”
Directed by Steward Lee
Written by Kevin Hopps

Episode 109: “Empire Day”
Directed by Steven G. Lee
Written by Henry Gilroy

Episode 110: “Gathering Forces”
Directed by Steward Lee
Written by Greg Weisman

It seems we'll have a new writer joining the Star Wars Universe with Episode 8.  Kevin Hopps will make his Star Wars debut this season, Hopps has previously worked on animated series such as Young Justice and The Spectacular Spider-Man, both of which were projects that Season One executive producer Greg Weisman worked on.

Source: Star Wars Insider

Via: MakingStarWars.net

Also, you can catch Star Wars Insider Editor Jonathan Wilkins on the latest Episode of The Clone Wars Strikes Back Podcast!

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The Clone Wars Strikes Back | Episode 20

On this episode Dominic and Ciaran are joined by Star Wars Insider Magazine Editor Jonathan Wilkins to discuss the game changing Nightsisters/Savage Opress arc from season 3.  What did they think of Ventress' story?  What is their take on Sith Training?  And just what is Nightsister magic?  Plus, the rule of two, some incredible action, the effects of Force lightning, and the return of Darth Maul.  All this and much more!

NOTE: we experienced some technical difficulties during the second half of the show that make it a bit hard to understand at points.  But I promise the discussion is worth sticking with!
Right click here and select save link as to Download MP3.    
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Check out Star Wars Insider Magazine!

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Star Wars Insider Special Edition 2015 Preview

By Ciaran Duggan,

In just two months time, Star Wars: Insider Special Edition 2015 will be hitting the shelves of newsstands and an abundance of stores! StarWars.com has disclosed a mouth-watering sneak preview of the front cover, as well as revealing an enrichment of subject matter which will be duly released in this special edition:

"...in this issue collects classic Star Wars Insider articles, and includes a new interview with Dee Bradley Baker, the actor who voiced the clone army in Star Wars: The Clone Wars; a talk with the supporting players from A New Hope about their time on the set of the very first Star Wars movie; and an in-depth chat with Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi creature consultant Chris Walas."

The new edition will be published on November 11^th 2014. This special edition should certainly represent a wonderful sentimental trip for Star Wars fans, rounding off a great year for Star Wars and whetting the appetite for the bombshell of a year in 2015!

Source: StarWars.com

Follow The Star Wars Underworld on Twitter @TheSWU for more updates about this story and other breaking Star Wars news.

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First Six 'Star Wars Rebels' Episode Titles, Writers, and Directors Revealed

By: Dominic Jones

Star Wars Insider Magazine Issue #152 has released the titles, as well as the writers and directors, of the first six episodes and the four shorts, of the upcoming animated series Star Wars Rebels.   They are:

Episode 101A: “The Machine in the Ghost”

Directed by Dave Filoni

Written by Greg Weisman 

Episode101B: “Art Attack”

Directed by Justin Ridge

Written by Greg Weisman    

Episode 101C: “Entanglement”

Directed by Justin Ridge

Written by Henry Gilroy, Simon Kinberg   

Episode 101D: “Property of Ezra Bridger”

Directed by Dave Filoni

Written by Simon Kinberg

Episode 102-103: “Spark of Rebellion”

Directed by Steward Lee, Steven G. Lee

Written by Simon Kinberg

Episode 104: “Droids in Distress”

Directed by Steward Lee

Written by Greg Weisman

Episode 105: “Fighter Flight”

Directed by Steven G. Lee

Written by Greg Weisman

Episode 106: “Rise of the Old Masters”

Directed by Steward Lee

Written by Henry Gilroy

Besides the episode titles, another reveal from this list is that Star Wars: The Clone Wars veteran Henry Gilroy is working on the series.  Gilroy had a major hand in getting that series off the ground writing many episodes from seasons 1,2, and 3, as well as an arc in season 4 and the 2008 film.  Other The Clone Wars veteran returning are Steward Lee (although he was announced back at NYCC) and Justin Ridger.  Lee directed 21 episodes of The Clone Wars over all six seasons and Ridger directed 4 episodes in seasons 1 and 2.  Steward's brother Steve Lee is also on board as a director.  Steve is a veteran of LucasArts (he too was announced at NYCC).

Also, there seems to be fewer writers and directors than on The Clone Wars.  Over this first group of episodes and shorts there are only four directors and three writers.  I'm not saying that's a bad thing, just that it's interesting to note.  It could lead to more continuity in the style of the series than The Clone Wars, which, at times, could be all over the map.

Source: Star Wars Insider

Via: Rebels Report

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Star Wars Insider Announces Jeffery Brown Signing at SDCC

By: Dominic Jones

Our friends over at Star Wars Insider have let us know that Star Wars author Jeffery Brown (Darth Vader and Son, Jedi Academy) will be doing a special signing during San Diego Comic Con at the Titan Booth (#5537) at 3 PM on Friday July 25th.   This coincides with issue #151 of Insider which features two collectible covers, one of which features original artwork by Brown (the other features the character Hera Syndulla from Star Wars Rebels).  Issue #151 will be available at the Titan booth throughout SDCC.

The official description of Issue #151 reads,

Star Wars Insider #151 brings you the exclusive collectible Jeffrey Brown cover!

With Star Wars Rebels just around the corner we talk to Vanessa Marshall, who plays Hera the Rebel pilot who's always at the centre of the action! Comic creator Jeffrey brown talks about his latest Star Wars boos, Goodnight Darth Vader and revisiting Jedi Academy! The amazing behind the scenes story of Dark Horse Comics' Tales of the Jedi series is revealed and we investigate how Star Wars won geek girl love!

Source:  Star Wars Insider

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Star Wars Insider Teams Up With Nerd Block

By: Dominic Jones

Star Wars Insider Magazine announced today that they are teaming up with the folks at Nerd Block.  Nerd Block is a service where subscribers get a box of "Nerdy" toys.  Insider and Nerd Block have teamed up to include two awesome Star Wars items in the July box! 

Our friends over at Insider let us know that,

The force is strong with Nerd Block! A geek tested, nerd approved monthly mystery package that includes toys, collectibles and a limited edition shirt. Nerd Block and Star Wars Insider are teaming up to include 2 epic Star Wars items in July’s classic block!

Visit Nerd Block and save 10% of your first month with promo code WICKET!

This sounds like a great team up between two awesome companies!

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Star Wars Insider #150 On Sale Today!

By: Dominic Jones

Issue #150 of the Star Wars Insider Magazine hits shelves today in the U.S.  In celebration of this, there are three different covers (see above) available, two news stand editions featuring Lego Han Solo and Lego Clone Troopers, and one comic book store edition featuring Lego Obi-Wan.  The issue celebrates the past 150 issues of Insider, as well as 15 years of Lego Star Wars!  In addition, it will also feature exclusive episode guides for Season Six 'The Lost Missions' of The Clone Wars, and the reveal of the Darth Vader Hot Wheels car which will be available at San Diego Comic Con.   On top of that, Issue #150 features part two of the short story Blade Squadron, which is part of the official canon!

Check out some preview pages from Issue #150 below,

On behalf of all of us here at The SWU, congratulations to the team over at Star Wars Insider on 150 fantastic issues!  We look forward to many more!

Source: Star Wars Insider

You can follow Dominic on Twitter: @DominicJ25

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Report: Hot Wheels Unveils First Star Wars Car in 'Insider'

By Chris Seekell

The latest edition of Star Wars Insider magazine has revealed Mattel's first Star Wars model car. Pictured above, the 1:64 scale Darth Vader car will be the first in a continuing line of Star Wars merchandise from Hot Wheels. According to Insider, the Vader car will be first sold at San Diego Comic Con this summer, and will come in a special lightsaber display case. Mattel also will display a life size, drive-able version of the car at the convention.

Mattel's Jean Gomez told Insider, "We're going to launch a full line of Star Wars cars in the fall. All cars are cool and fast-looking, but we make sure the type of vehicle matches the character. So, for example, in the Hot Wheels world, Yoda is a mini car and Chewbacca is a big, powerful hauler."

You can read the article in Star Wars Insider #150 for further details.

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Star Wars Insider Fiction Part of Official Canon

By: Dominic Jones

Star Wars Insider Magazine has announced that, beginning with issue #149, all exclusive fiction published in the magazine will be considered part of the new official canon, and not part of the Legends (formerly EU) universe.  The announcement was made in issue #150 of the magazine in an article about the new canon and legends universe.  This means that the short story Blade Squadron, which began in issue #149 (with Part 1) and continues in issue #150 (with Part 2), is part of the official canon, alongside the films, The Clone Wars, Rebels, Darth Maul: Son of Dathomir comic mini series, and all future publications from Del Rey Books and Marvel Comics.

This follows Lucasfilm's promise to make all Star Wars fiction part of one canon going forward.  I think this move makes sense and allows for minor characters to get their chance to shine within the pages of Star Wars Insider.  I hope, however, that Lucasfilm doesn't make the same mistake they've made with short stories in the past.  Many short stories in the Legends universe are very difficult to find because they were published in old issues of Insider (not available for back order) or released through the now dead Hyperspace membership.  I hope that Lucasfilm will periodically re-release these stories in another form, perhaps a collection from Del Rey (like what was done with the Lost Tribe of the Sith short stories).

Regardless, it is exciting to know that every issue of Insider will feature canon of the Star Wars galaxy!

Subscribe to Star Wars Insider here

Source: Lightsaber Rattling

You can follow Dominic on Twitter: @DominicJ25

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'The Clone Wars' Season Six Episode Synopses in Star Wars Insider #148

By: Dominic Jones

Issue #148 of Star Wars Insider magazine has synopses and titles for season 6 of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, which will be hitting Netflix on March 7th.  The titles and synopses more or less line up with those that came out Germany a few weeks ago.  You can check out the synopses and titles in the image below,

Image courtesy of our friends at Jedi News.

Interesting to note, we now know who is writing and directing the final episodes of the series.  Katie Lucas, daughter of Star Wars creator George Lucas and writer of the Nightsister's trilogy, has written the Order 66 arc.  Jonathan Rinzler, writer of many behind the scenes books including the amazing Making Of... books, has written The Disappeared duology.  And Christian Taylor, writer of the Mortis trilogy, has written the Clovis and Yoda arcs! 

March 7th cannot get here soon enough!

Source: Star Wars Insider (via Jedi News)

You can follow Dominic on Twitter: @DominicJ25

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'Star Wars' Rebels Will Have Two Female Leads

By: Dominic Jones

While the cast of the upcoming animated series Star Wars Rebels is still unknown (although, at this point, what cast for any upcoming Star Wars project isn't unknown), executive producer Greg Weisman has laid down a few hints.  In an interview featured in Star Wars Insider Magazine #146, which is hitting subscribers mailboxes now and should be on newsstands shortly thereafter, Weisman revealed that among the ensemble cast for Rebels will be two female characters.  Weisman said,

"We have two strong female leads in the show among our set of characters and we think they are going to be fan favorites very quickly. That’s always been a personal priority for me in all the work I’ve done, to have a strong and diverse cast of characters, both in terms of gender and race."

Weisman also went on to praise the character of Ahsoka Tano from the much missed Star Wars: The Clone Wars as well as give his thoughts on where the rebellion will be at the time of the series.

Personally I think it's great to see that Rebels will be picking up where Clone Wars left off, in terms of having more than one main female character.  And I feel that a diverse cast is a great way to reflect the diversity in the Star Wars community.

What do you think?  Are you excited about the prospect of more than one female character starring in Rebels?  Let us know in the comments and/or on Facebook.

Source: Club Jade

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Episode VII Update and Rebels News Coming in Star Wars Insider #145

 By: Dominic Jones

If you're not a Star Wars Insider subscriber (or at least reader) now, you'll definitely want to become one by the time the next issue rolls around.  According to the description for issue #145 on ThingsFromAnotherWorld.com (TFAW) the issue will not only feature "the latest details about the hotly anticipated new animated series, Star Wars: Rebels", but also "an update on Episode VII as principal production nears."  If that doesn't get you excited, I don't know what will.  

Star Wars Insider #145 hits stands October 23rd, 2013.

You can read the full description of issue #145 on TFAW here.
Subscribe to Star Wars Insider here.

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