Rogue One: A Star Wars Story - 1st impressions

After watching the trailer a dozen times, like many of you, I went through some frames to spot some familiarities. Before I share what it pleased my eye, it´s important to say that concerning "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story", I´m pretty much the amateur. The reason... None! I simply decided to embrace Rogue One as a fresh approach to the Star Wars Universe, so I decided not to read, learn or watch anything related to it until today, so I could be absolutely baffled! So far, it´s working.

So let´s dig in!

"Rebel" Diego Luna seems to study Felicity Jones (Jyn Erso) as Mon Mothma explains her many "abilities".

Yes, she rebels! And we like it.

Mon Mothma´s (played by Genevieve O´Reilly) smile says it all!

This frame of the Death Star is mind blowing! The scale of it is simply astonishing.

The familiar translucent Rebel screens are everywhere. 

Rebels and more Rebels getting ready. The "usual" type of Rebel base seems to be part of Rogue One  too - forest world, under an ancient construction, with dark rooms full of translucent screens. 

I wish I knew who this Imperial is... The white outfit approach seems a perfect fit.

Forest Whitaker! I´m so curious to see if his role will continue in the next movies (stories type ones).

Kick ass Trooper!

These Troopers seem equipped for a Forest type terrain, pretty much like the 41st Elite Corps in the Battle of Kashyyyk.

Blind Jedi with a stick? Was he the one to crash land that X-Wing back there? I bet he´ll kick the butt of all these Stormtroopers.

More dark Troopers... Are they Shadow Troopers? I hope so :)

This spaceship is too similar to Kylo Ren´s vessel in "Star Wars: The Force Awakens". Did he stole the idea from a previous Sith wannabe?

Emperor´s Royal Guards! This has to be something awesome... Are we standing before a new Sith? Or an already known Dark Lord?... I say option 2. I wish Palpatine or Vader popped from there...

AT-AT Walkers in a caribbean background? Coolness! I wonder if this Walker shooting up these Rebels is Blizzard 1... maybe we get to see General Veers again.

Now this is the image that got me totally hooked! Will Jyn Erso become an Imperial or is she simply on a mission, as Mon Mothma states in the early seconds of the trailer? She has some Japanese inspired gear (or is she ready to fly a Tie Fighter?), something that seems to be part of the whole movie with some very interesting characters being added.

Have you guys realized that we will have at least 1 Star Wars movie per year in the near future? How far was this a few years ago?...

If only December was tomorrow...

I would love to hear from you, let´s discuss this! Can´t wait to hear your opinions about this new movie and your general idea about the new "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" trailer.

May the Force be with you all!

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story - Official Teaser Trailer

DARTH MAUL: Apprentice - A Star Wars Fan-Film

Great work from these guys!
I specially like the fighting style, the way Maul moves and his facial expressions, very similar to Episode I, congrats for that.

I kinda wish the new movies will bring us some Maul minutes...

Brace yourself!!! Star Wars: Episode VIII is now filming

Great news peeps!

Star Wars: Episode VIII is filming since two days, and the cast is confirmed.

Can´t wait for further developments on new cast members, but so far, here´s what you can expect:

Star Wars: Episode VIII, which is written and directed by Rian Johnson and continues the storylines introduced in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, welcomes back cast members Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Gwendoline Christie, and Andy Serkis.  New cast members will include Academy Award winner Benicio Del Toro, Academy Award nominee Laura Dern, and talented newcomer Kelly Marie Tran.

Read everything at StarWars.com

PIC(K) OF THE WEEK #1

As I do in my comics blog for a long, long time, I´ll bring to the Academy the topic "Pick of The Week". Usually I don´t write about it, just post a cool pic with the artist´s credits, but as its the 1st POTW I´ll make an exception.

Today will be with a touch of vintage, from the Master Ralph McQuarrie.

He made tons of early sketches before the characters and concepts were "finished", so a lot of his depictions seem Star Wars but from another era.

I will post more of McQuarrie in the future, but 1 pic is 1 pic. Enjoy!

Ralph McQuarrie: Tie fighter pilot with Millennium Falcon and Death Star

"Star Wars: Force Collection" or "The most addictive Star Wars mobile game ever"

It´s now 1 year and and a half that I play Star Wars: Force Collection. And as weird as it may sound, no, it´s not just a card trading game.

Before I talk about it, I would love to hear from the fans. How many of you that visit the blog play it? And for how long? What do you like more about it and what would you definitely change? (and some major changes have been taking place lately, since the new movie arrived)

The game is deep, full of events and new stuff happening every week. Back in the old days, there was about two dozen 5* cards available only with the classical characters. Now, almost every two weeks, two new 5* cards are released (and with a skill), making everything more interesting but at the same time complicated and sometimes hard to keep the pace.

Being a card trading game, the range goes from 1* to 5* cards. The 1* and 2* cards are usually disregarded, there are a few decent 3* cards with powerful skills and then plenty of 4*s and 5*s. The higher the star, the better. But much depends on the skill, with some 4*s being traded 1:1 for 5*!

Taking this in consideration, you build your deck, your formation of 18 cards (3 horizontal lines of 6 cards each). The maximum skills you can have popping in your form is 3, so chose wisely! You can define your support deck with 7 cards, to help with the type of formation of your choice. You can go LS (Light Side) or DS (Dark Side), or even mix a bit of both. You can place vehicles in your form, like the Millennium Falcon, the X-Wing or a panoply of Tie Fighters, creativity is a must and you should explore it.

You will need training remotes to skill up your cards that come with a skill, so you can have major boosts of attack, defense, accuracy, evasion and ton of other stuff you can imagine.

Then there is LAW (Legions at War)!!! This is what hardcore players expect approximately every 2 (or 3 weeks). Veteran players take this very seriously. When you are part of a legion, you help your fellow legionnaires to improve their forms, you provide tips, share precious info and if things get bigger, you will probably be part of a fleet. My fleet is S.O.B. (Smugglers of Bespin) and I´m part of the "S.O.B. Outlaws" ship, and since we joined S.O.B. due to the hard work of our Captain PhiltyForce, everyone has had the chance to grow their L.A.W. experience.

I could make a gigantic post about this game, because it really has a ton of features and options to explore and improve. It´s not the usual mobile game, it´s an addiction that makes you log in everyday so be aware of the time it can consume in your life.

Hope you´re playing and enjoying Star Wars: Force Collection (SWFC).

Oh! and by the way, my profile in the game is Beximus.

May the Force be with you!

P.S. - all the pics are screen shots when I´m playing.

Star Wars goes "Calvin & Hobbes"

Artist Brian Kesinger has recently posted several "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" works on his Instagram.
One of the most interesting revamps is the Calvin & Hobbes approach, with amazing results.

Here are some of them, please visit Kesinger´s Instagram to check his amazing contribution to the Star Wars universe.

May the Force be with you, Brian!

Star Wars: Episode VIII to launch on December 15, 2017

Nothing better than to read the official reason behind the rescheduled release date of Star Wars: Episode VIII, from Summer to the Winter of 2017.

This was written on January 20th, 2 days ago.

Today, Disney and Lucasfilm announced that Star Wars: Episode VIII, originally scheduled for release in summer 2017, will now debut on December 15, 2017.

The move follows the extraordinary success of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which was the first Star Wars movie to premiere outside the traditional summer blockbuster window and smashed numerous records, including biggest domestic and global debuts of all time as well as the biggest domestic second and third weekends, en route to becoming the highest grossing domestic release of all time with over $861.3 million and the third biggest global release ever with $1.886.7 billion.

Written and directed by Rian Johnson, Star Wars: Episode VIII is currently in preproduction and will begin principal photography in London next month. Kathleen Kennedy and Ram Bergman will produce and J.J. Abrams, Jason McGatlin, and Tom Karnowski will executive produce. Stay tuned for exciting updates in the coming weeks.

From StarWars.com

Star Wars: The Epic Battles Poster

Jeff Carlisle pays tribute to artists Ralph McQuarrie and Moebius, with these amazing posters artwork.

"Star Wars:The Epic Battles is a seek-and-find game that changes every couple of weeks. When you find the five items that are listed along the side, you have the option to replay and find MORE items or to get a certificate that you completed the game, which you can take to a local Toys R Us and get a HERO’S MEDAL for completing the game."

Follow the link at StarWars.com to discover several hidden points of interest on each poster.

Is Jar Jar Binks the Ultimate Sith Lord?

This crazy theory makes more sense than you expected!

What are your thoughts, is Jar Jar the ultimate Sith Lord?

About Star Wars: Battlefront

I couldn´t agree more with this guy!

Han and Chewie will always be best friends!

This is hilarious! :)

Star Wars: The Force Awakens Official TV Spot #1

More footage, more dialogues, more excitement!!!

And the 16th of December still so far, far away...

New Japanese "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" trailer reveals new footage

O_o

My jaw´s still dropped......

It´s not just new footage, it´s (almost) a new trailer! Please watch it! Many times if you can :D

"Hope is not lost today. It is found."

Is it Rey saying it? If not, who else? Oh man, I´m soooooooo excited :D

R2 has the moves

It´s Saturday and it´s time to dance!

Duracell Star Wars Commercial: Battle for Christmas Morning

The Force is strong with Duracell.

Their new commercial is simply perfect: 3PO, R2-D2, BB-8 and much more!

Is that little girl a sort of spoiler telling us that Rey will use the Force? Will she be a Jedi in the new movie? Or a Sith?... Ahhhhhhh, can´t wait for December the 16th!!!

When the dying wish of a Star Wars fan comes true

It´s a sad story, but I´m glad Daniel was able to see his final wish come true.

Click on the pic and read the full article about this Star Wars superfan whose dying wish was to see "Star Wars: The Force Awakens". And thankfully, he already did.

Daniel, may the Force be with you, always...

 

#ForceForDaniel

Exhibition - "Founding Myths. From Hercules to Darth Vader"

If by chance you´re visiting in Paris or you live there, here´s a great opportunity to see Darth Vader (Dark Vador in french) in Le Musée du Louvre.

The exhibition "Exposition Mythes fondateurs - D’Hercule à Dark Vador", opened its doors on the 17th of October and it will run until the 4th of July of 2016. So there´s still plenty of time to enjoy it and to see how Darth Vader is depicted in one of the most iconic museums of the planet.

Here´s a bit of what can you experience: 

"What are myths? And how are they portrayed? How are myths passed on to us? How have artists appropriated them? Told, sung, written, and illustrated, myths are a part of all cultures and civilizations, including contemporary popular culture."

And pop culture is what Star Wars is about!

If you go there, let me know, I would love to see some pictures of it.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer analysis

Alright Star Wars fans, what are your thoughts on these:

- Rey knows who she is, she knows about her heritage, she´s just playing with us. Which leads us to:

- She is running from it, from her family (is she Han and Leia´s daughter?)

- Rey and Kylo are siblings? Are they somehow relatives? Brothers, cousins...

- Is BB-8 a female droid?

- What does Kylo Ren mean when he says "I will finish what you started"? Will he bring Vader back from the dead?

- Is Luke in exile or was he sent/forced into exile?

- Did Luke trained the Knights of Ren and they went rogue? Luke promised to restore the Jedi Order and maybe he was gathering Force sensitive people during these 30 years between Episode VI and VII

- Is that furry body in front of a crying Rey, Chewie? (dead or possibly injured)

- And who´s that voice in the end and to whom is she talking to? Is it Leia talking to Rey, Finn or Kylo Ren? Might be Poe as well..

To wrap this up, why´s Rey pending to the Dark Side in the new poster?…

Just think about it for a few seconds and about the theory that her and Kylo can be relatives.

I would love to hear your thoughts about these theories in the comments bellow, so just go ahead and let´s discuss it there.

Thanks for reading (and thanks also to the Jedi Council for sharing their excitement and theories).

Will Luke go Dark Side in "Star Wars: The Force Awakens"?

I don´t think so...

Still, I love a good conspiracy and all the theories around this Universe.
That´s what makes Star Wars so alive and unique.

Let´s take a look at some interesting facts:

- Luke fails at the Dark cave in Dagobah, with the cave "showig" him his future

- Luke uses Force choke against Jabba´s guards (no Jedi uses Force choke dude!)

- Luke chooses to wear black (no Jedi uses black!)

- Luke´s rage (a well known DS tool) fighting Vader gives him the advantage and the win, if you can call it a win (ok, some Jedi like, once in a while, to taste the Dark Side flowing through them)

- And he cuts his father hand in a vendetta style!

- There are more, I just can´t remember right now

Although George Lucas never wanted to turn Luke to the Dark Side, truth is, Mark Hammil gave him this (cool?) idea. Here´s the video where he states it.

Will we have a Dark Luke in J.J. Abrams movie? Honestly I don´t think so, because even if we don´t see Luke in the teasers and trailer, we see his hand touching R2 in a gentle nostalgic way. More, he´s wearing light colors, not the dark mantle of the Sith. But I still find pretty interesting that some people say he is Kylo Ren´s Dark Master, and that Ren is only his apprentice (like Vader was to Palpatine) and a puppet of his Master´s will.

Talking about Palpatine, some even say that his Master, Darth Plagueis, is still alive and might have something to do with all this turn of events. Plagueis is dead, for what we know, but this is Star Wars so anything can happen!

Now tell me, isn´t this amazing? One has to love the internet and all the Star Wars fans around the world building up such fantastic conspiracies.

I´m anxious to see what will unravel next...

Star Wars: Shattered Empire

"Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens".
It kinda of says it all.

This 4 issue miniseries brings the bitter-sweet taste of the Rebel Alliance´s triumph over Palpatine´s Empire. It all starts in Endor, with the Rebels celebrating the destruction of the 2nd Death Star, along with the fall of Palpatine and Vader (you can see the genuine happiness in our heroes faces in issue #1´s cover).
But they soon realize that some Imperials did not acknowledge defeat. Worse than that, they discover that even dead, Palpatine still had plans to finish the Rebel Alliance. From here on I won´t spoil the script, go grab your comics now!
They are beautifully sketched by Marco Checchetto and colored by Andres Mossa. Greg Rucka took the helm at writing a story that takes the fans to the undiscovered journey that was the (supposed) end of the Galactic Empire. Let´s see what the movie will unveil in 2 months time.

The miniseries was concluded yesterday with number #4 (hoping to grab it in my comic book shop next week).

P.S. - if you love covers as I do, check these variants, they are AWESOME!!!