Star Wars

Although pre-production on Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s young Han Solo spinoff has been underway for some time now (operating under the clever codename “Red Cup”), today marks the full, official start of production. To celebrate, Lucasfilm has debuted the first photo of the cast and their directors, crammed together inside the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon as if posing for a very cheerful (if a bit tardy) holiday greeting card.

Without knowing the scope of Carrie Fisher’s role in the upcoming Star Wars sequels, it’s difficult to speculate about how Lucasfilm might address her recent passing. But a new report has uncovered key details (and potential spoilers) regarding General Leia’s narrative arc in Episodes VIII and IX, and reveals that Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy is planning to meet with director Colin Trevorrow next week to contemplate their options for Leia’s role in the forthcoming sequels.

We lost an incomparable actress, writer, icon, and amazing human being when Carrie Fisher passed away on December 27, 2016. No one is feeling that loss as deeply as those closest to her, and in the days since Fisher’s passing, we’ve had the privilege of reading and hearing some of their remembrances. Today, Mark Hamill has shared his own personal tribute to Fisher, offering a touching, humorous and appropriately candid essay for his Star Wars co-star and longtime friend.

Rogue One made impressive effort not just to tie into the original Star Wars films, but also the animated Star Wars Rebels in at least three instances. We’ll even meet a younger Rogue One character on Rebels in 2017, though the film’s visual guide might also tease another Rogue favorite making an animated debut at some point in the series.

The world’s still stinging from the loss of Carrie Fisher yesterday, and while we will most likely remember her first as Princess Leia, the actress cultivated a long career of comedy after her Star Wars years. Her one-woman show Wishful Drinking was a must-see on Broadway, and her hilarious, often inscrutable Twitter account will stand as a testament to her bizarre wit. In the wake of Fisher’s sad death on Tuesday, one video in particular has begun to pop up again, and it might just be the comic’s most searing public appearance of all.

When they said Rogue One was a war movie they weren’t kidding.

As expected, K-2SO was indeed announced as the next figure in the Hot Toys Star Wars: Rogue One collection. The former Imperial droid now joins several types of Stormtroopers and Deathtroopers, Jyn Erso and Chirrut Imwe, in the rapidly expanding line, which will only continue to grow in the coming weeks and months. We already know there are several other human characters planned, as well as some more Empire forces, but we're getting ahead of ourselves. Right now the focus should be on K-2SO, who will hope to join the short list of memorable droids in Star Wars movies.

Colin Trevorrow, Jordan Vogt-Roberts and Josh Trank are just a few of the names among those that have transitioned from acclaimed first-time indie filmmakers to first-time blockbuster directors. The list of filmmakers who have made that giant leap includes very few women, and it’s something that Disney and subsidiaries Lucasfilm and Marvel Studios have been working to address. Change comes slowly, and it’s been even slower for Star Wars, which has yet to hire a woman to direct any of their upcoming films. While it’s definitely a priority for Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, we might have to wait a bit longer for it to happen.

The late actor Peter Cushing, mainstay of Hammer’s horror films and erstwhile Star Wars cast member, cut a distinctive figure: cheekbones that could slice diamond, perfectly coiffed shock of grey hair, mouth permanently pursed into a single flat line. As the ruthless Empire commander Grand Moff Tarkin, Cushing left a lasting impression on generations of viewers, austerity coded directly into the lines on his face. He makes for an instantly recognizable silhouette — so is that really him, out of focus and in the foreground for a split second in the latest Rogue One: A Star Wars Story TV spot?

“There is a 97.6 percent chance of failure,” one of the characters says in the new trailer for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, referring to their scheme to steal the plans for the Death Star. I’m not sure the percentage is that high for the movie itself, but it’s got to be up there. There’s a lot of risk for Rogue One, or at least as much risk as there can be for a Star Wars movie. It’s got to prove that there is life for the franchise beyond the main “saga” films. And it’s got to prove that a prequel can work in Star Wars (previously, it hasn’t always worked out for this property). Even in a galaxy far, far away, those are some awfully big questions.