Advertisement

Star Wars News Round Up: First Force Awakens Poster, Spin-Off Update, New Comic And More

It’s been a surprising week for ‘Star Wars’ fans after Liam Neeson admitted that he’d love to star in a ‘Star Wars’ spin-off and George Lucas revealed he was working on his very own sequel trilogy before he sold the franchise to Disney.

image

But that’s not all. We’ve now seen our first poster for ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ as well as a cameo for an old friend in ‘Star Wars Rebels’. And with Gary Whitta’s exit from the first ‘Star Wars’ spin-off, there might even be a surprising new role for a certain X-Men writer…

All-in-all, there’s plenty of news to catch up on in our first Star Wars Holonet report.

- New Look At The Millennium Falcon
- Andy Serkis Has Only One Star Wars Role
- George Lucas Won’t See Star Wars VII Trailer

Liam Neeson Wants A Star Wars Spin-Off

Qui-Gon Jinn actor Liam Neeson has admitted that he wants to return to the galaxy far, far away… and it seems he’d love his very own ‘Star Wars’ spin-off as the prequel trilogy Jedi Master.

During an exclusive interview with Yahoo, Neeson confirmed he’d love to play Qui-Gon again in his own movie. “Yeah, I’d say so. Yeah, that would be terrific.”

Of course, they couldn’t help asking him about the new ‘Star Wars VII’ trailer and what he thinks of the new lightsaber. Find out in the video above.

First Star Wars VII Poster Unveiled

It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for – the first ever ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ poster has been spotted in a subway in Japan. But don’t get too excited… it’s not exactly what we had in mind.

image

The rather underwhelming image shows just about what you’d expect this far away from the film’s official release. And what we see is… well, not an awful lot, really. Sporting the usual logo and a few stars in the background, that’s all we get for now.

Thankfully, Eric Geller from TheForce.net was able to have a word with Lucasfilm, who revealed that the poster is “not a poster for The Force Awakens,” and is instead merely a bit of “local market promotional activity”.

Fingers crossed for something a bit more epic, then.

Gary Whitta Exits Star Wars Spin-Off

After an announcement back in May 2014, screenwriter Gary Whitta has been working alongside Gareth Edwards on the first ever ‘Star Wars’ spin-off. But now, after turning in his first draft, it looks as though Whitta is off the project.

Of course, there’s still plenty to do before the 2016 release date… and there’s already talk that ‘X-Men’ scribe and ‘Star Wars’ consultant Simon Kinberg could be taking over on the spin-off’s scriptwriting duties.

George Lucas Wanted To Make Star Wars Sequels

That’s right folks – it looks as though we all dodged a bullet here. ‘Star Wars’ creator George Lucas revealed that he originally wanted to make his own ‘Star Wars VII’ before he sold the franchise to Disney.

image

I think we can all agree that after the ‘Star Wars’ prequels, Lucas is just about the last person we wanted to continue the franchise. So perhaps it all worked out for the best.

Billy Dee Williams Returns In Star Wars Rebels

He may not be starring in ‘Star Wars VII’ but it looks as though Lando Calrissian has made his way back to the galaxy far, far away. Billy Dee Williams will voice Lando as he appears in an upcoming episode of ‘Star Wars Rebels’. And this means we get to see the coolest guy in the galaxy before he became holed up in Bespin cloud city.

If you ask me, it’s a rather cool way of bringing Billy Dee back into the franchise. And I can’t wait to get a glimpse of Lando’s smooth-talking, scoundrel days.

Star Wars Detours Gets Another Chance?

Back in 2012, Lucasfilm commissioned a new ‘Star Wars’ animated comedy called ‘Star Wars Detours’ which would essentially deconstruct the ‘Star Wars’ saga. Darth Vader was a misunderstood rapper and Obi-Wan had a sting as a stand-up comedian. But the show was eventually put on ice when Disney took over the franchise.

image

But according to the guys at Jedi News, the almost-forgotten project has recently been the subject of some trademark registrations by Lucasfilm. Could the project be resurrected?

Star Wars VII Secrecy Is Paramount

The subject of secrecy surrounding ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ is a hot topic this week, after Domhnall Gleeson revealed that it’s the most secretive project he’s worked on. And this is coming from someone who’s appeared in ‘Dredd’, ‘Now You See Me’ and several ‘Harry Potter’ films.

Elsewhere, it looks as though Adam Driver is equally tight-lipped about ‘Star Wars VII’ as the cast of ‘Girls’ explain that he’s not told them anything at all about the upcoming movie. But has he used Jedi mind tricks to stop them asking?

Original Boba Fett Concept Art

The folks over at The Dented Helmet have uncovered some pretty excellent original concept art for the character of Boba Fett. Designed by Joe Johnston, there are plenty of very different ideas about how the most feared bounty hunter in the galaxy would perform.

image

Most interestingly, it looks as though Fett may have once had some kind of anti-gravitational beam that fired from his chest armour. But I can’t help thinking that would have laid the sci-fi on a bit thick. Still, some rather cool ideas here, and it’s nice to see how he developed.

Star Wars #1 From Marvel Comics Out Now

It’s the first Marvel ‘Star Wars’ comic since 1987… and ‘Star Wars #1’ has hit the shelves today all across the globe. Sporting at least sixty different variant covers, it’s a bit special. After all, this is the launch of a new flagship comic book series after the franchise was given back to Marvel last year.

image

Will it be as successful as the Dark Horse ‘Star Wars’ comics? For now, we’ll have to wait and see. But my order is already in.

Join us next week for a run-down of all the top ‘Star Wars’ stories.

- Daniel Craig Rumoured For Star Wars Cameo
- Star Wars VII’s John Boyega Replies To Haters
- Did Star Wars VII Lose Control Of Its Secrets?

Picture Credit: Lucasfilm, Marvel, Twitter, The Dented Helmet, WENN