A Death Star rises from the desert of Jakku

Doug Chiang, vice president and executive creative director of Lucasfilm, has shared on Instagram unused concept art depicting the Death Star II rising from the desert of Jakku in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

View this post on Instagram

Deathstar ascending! In the early days of EP7, we explored some wild concepts (before we had a script) 😁 This was for a dream sequence of the Deathstar 2 rising out of the desert of Jakku. #art #starwars #fun #illustration #artist #conceptart #dream

A post shared by Doug Chiang (@doug_chiang) on Jul 29, 2019 at 11:20am PDT

The Death Star II, destroyed during the battle of Endor, can be seen in the teaser trailer for The Rise of Skywalker.

Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge opens Friday at Disneyland

Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, at the cost of $1 billion dollars, opens at Disneyland in Anaheim, California, this Friday.

Josh D'Amaro, the president of Disneyland Resort, posted the above photo on Instagram with the caption: "So proud to introduce you to the inhabitants of Batuu! I want to thank this amazing team for their incredible dedication and passion. Yesterday's Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge cast rally was unforgettable. This photo is one for the ages!"

Coca-Cola is the official beverage partner at the new 14-acre attraction. Fans will be able to purchase exclusive Star Wars merchandise including droids and lightsabers for budding young Jedi Knights and Sith. I choked up watching fellow fans react to seeing the Millennium Falcon for the first time.



Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance will not be open in time for the first day whilst the attraction undergoes further tweaks.

A second Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge theme park opens at Walt Disney World in the fall. Are you planning on attending? Let me know in the comments below.

Is Taika Waititi voicing IG-88 in The Mandalorian?

Executive producer Jon Favreau (Iron Man) teased on Instagram director Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok) seemingly voicing IG-88 during post-production for The Mandalorian. Aside from the infamous assassin droid, Waititi is directing an episode of the Disney+ live-action Star Wars series.

IG-88 first appeared in The Empire Strikes Back as one of the bounty hunters tasked by Darth Vader to hunt down the Millennium Falcon and quickly became a fan-favourite. I owned several Kenner incarnations including the awesome 12" action figure. R5-D4, another droid from the original trilogy, will appear too.

The Mandalorian, set between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens, will debut exclusively on Disney+ later this year.

The Mandalorian keeps original Star Wars trilogy tone

Director Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok) recently talked about directing an episode of the Star Wars live-action series The Mandalorian, executive produced by Jon Favreau (Iron Man), for Disney+.

"Favreau's a genius and so smart and so good at what he does and creating these worlds," he revealed during a post-panel interview at the Television Critics Association's winter press tour. "The scripts are really great. And yeah, it was really fun doing something in the Star Wars universe. It's every kid's dream just to see a Stormtrooper. When you're doing these scenes with like 50 or 60 of them, it's pretty amazing."

Waititi is excited to direct Mandalorian bounty hunters after Boba Fett captured his imagination in the original trilogy. "For most kids growing up with those films, he was one of the most favorite characters, even though he was barely in the films," the director said. "Bounty hunters, the helmets are so cool. So yeah, I mean just getting to see characters like that and getting to shoot with them was pretty cool."

The Mandalorian is set between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. Will Waititi be able to utilise his comedic eccentricities as evidenced in Marvel Studios' Thor: Ragnarok at Disney stablemate Lucasfilm?

"You know that Star Wars, you know, is just very different to the Marvel style," he explained. "They know that whatever was set up in the tone of the first films really should be kind of adhered to and that's what the fans like and you can't really disrespect it, I guess, is a nice way of saying it. Can't have too many jokes, but there's a little bit. Definitely my tone is in there, with the dialogue and stuff like that."

During the last few months, Favreau has shared photos, on Instagram, teasing different droids including what appears to be R5-D4 and bounty hunter IG-88.

The Mandalorian is exclusive to Disney+ later this year.

Jon Favreau teases IG-88 in The Mandalorian

Took a break from the festivities to share this snippet of exciting news. On Christmas Day, director Jon Favreau took to Instagram and posted a photo of what appears to be IG-88 in the upcoming Disney+ Star Wars live-action series The Mandalorian!

IG-88, commonly referred to as 'Phlutdroid' by fans, was a popular bounty hunter from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes and the action figure had pride of place alongside Boba Fett, Dengar, Bossk, Zuckuss and 4-LOM.

The Mandalorian is expected to debut, exclusively on Disney+, in late 2019.

Star Wars live-action series is The Mandalorian

Director Jon Favreau took to Instagram to announce the title and a brief synopsis of his upcoming Star Wars live-action series:

“After the stories of Jango and Boba Fett, another warrior emerges in the Star Wars universe. The Mandalorian is set after the fall of the Empire and before the emergence of the First Order. We follow the travails of a lone gunfighter in the outer reaches of the galaxy far from the authority of the New Republic..."

The Mandalorian is set between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. With a budget of $100 million dollars, Lucasfilm's not pulling any punches with this exclusive live-action series bound for the Mouse House's new streaming venture in 2019.

The first time I wrote about a Star Wars live-action series was following the release of Revenge of the Sith in 2005. 13 years on and it's finally in production with shooting commencing this week.

Tom Holland announces Spider-Man: Far From Home

Tom Holland used Instagram to announce the title of the first sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming, yesterday. Spider-Man: Far From Home sees Holland’s web-slinger pitched against Jake Gyllenhaal as classic villain Mysterio.

"We start filming early July," Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige said. "We film in London. We shot first film in Atlanta. And we shoot a lot of films in London but there's another reason we're shooting in London which is, yes, Spidey, of course, will spend some time in New York, but he'll spend some time in other parts of the globe."

Spider-Man: Far From Home will follow on from Avengers 4, which may see the heroic end of beloved Marvel characters as they attempt to undo Thanos’ seeming victory in Avengers: Infinity War.

Next up from Marvel Studios, Ant-Man and the Wasp is in cinemas August, followed by Captain Marvel next March, culminating in May's Avengers 4, which directly follows the cliffhanger ending of Infinity War.

Spider-Man: Far From Home will be in cinemas July 2019.

What do you think about the title of the upcoming Spider-Man: Homecoming sequel? Let me know in the comments below.

Win a Star Wars holiday gift from CuffLinks.com

Star Wars: The Last Jedi is in US cinemas a week today. The highly anticipated Star Wars sequel, directed by Rian Johnson, sees Rey begin her training as a Jedi.

The fine folks at CuffLinks.com are celebrating the release of the next instalment in the Star Wars saga with 25% off products from today and 4 days of sales next week. Be sure to subscribe to my social media, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, as I'll be sharing exclusive vanity codes for further discounts.

We've teamed up to give one reader a limited edition pair of Darth Vader socks for the holidays.

To be in with a chance of winning, just answer this simple question:

Who is Darth Vader's grandson?

A. General Hux
B. Poe Dameron
C. Kylo Ren

Please leave your answer and where you heard about the competition in the comments below.

The competition is open to all and closes Friday, 15th December. The winner will be randomly selected and contacted soon thereafter. Only one entry per household.

Good luck and may the Force be with you. Always.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi is in cinemas 15th December.

The Force Is Here!
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This blog post is sponsored by CuffLinks.com and therefore I may receive compensation for any referrals.

Bryan Singer brings the X-Men to Fox in The Gifted

Legion isn't the only X-Men cinematic universe spin-off to grace television screens in 2017. Franchise stalwart Bryan Singer has directed the pilot for The Gifted. An upcoming series from Marvel and Fox.

Action-adventure family drama THE GIFTED, from Marvel, tells the story of a suburban couple whose ordinary lives are rocked by the sudden discovery that their children possess mutant powers. Forced to go on the run from a hostile government, the family joins up with an underground network of mutants and must fight to survive.



Amy Acker (Angel) and Stephen Moyer (True Blood) head up the cast as parents of mutant children. A Stan Lee cameo has been teased on Instagram.

The Gifted premieres on Fox this Fall.

Is Jenna Coleman returning to Doctor Who?

Jenna Coleman is rumoured to be returning to Doctor Who for this year's Christmas special.

The rumour originates from a story suggesting Eddie's Diner has been booked for filming this July. The iconic location was used in The Impossible Astronaut and as Clara and Me's TARDIS in Hell Bent: the series 9 finale in which Clara wiped the Doctor's memory of her.

Peter Capaldi is leaving at the end of this year, along with showrunner Steven Moffat, and it wouldn't be the first time a former companion returned for a regeneration story. Karen Gillan reprised the role of Amy Pond when Matt Smith bowed out in The Time of the Doctor. It's worth noting Clara's theme can be heard during the current series premiere as possible foreshadowing.

Series 10, currently airing on BBC One on Saturday evenings, is proving to be a hit with fans. So much so, I was inspired to email the official Doctor Who Magazine and was delighted to see my thoughts on the season premiere, The Pilot, reprinted in the current issue.

A post shared by John Hood (@johnhood) on May 4, 2017 at 7:21am PDT

Andrew Lewin, fellow Whovian and blogging co-conspirator, is reviewing the current series on Taking the Short View. Hopefully, this won't dissuade him from our obligatory post-series discussion later in the year.

Coleman is filming the second series of Victoria for ITV.

Would you like to see Clara return in the Christmas special? Let me know in the comments below.

Director teases Star Wars: The Last Jedi opening crawl

Director Rian Johnson took to Instagram, on Tuesday, to tease the opening crawl for Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

The first sequel to The Force Awakens was officially given a title earlier this week and I, like many other fans, love it.

The photo was accompanied by the following caption:

“Felt so good to drop this into the cut this morning."

Delighted to see everyone's favourite Astromech, R2-D2, is assisting with post production chores.

Star Wars Celebration Europe to be live streamed

In just over a week Star Wars Celebration Europe begins at the ExCeL, London, and the holiday season will come early for thousands of geeks (including myself).

Fans unable to attend a galaxy far, far away... The Star Wars Show will live stream the official 3-day event with celebrity guests, interviews with Star Wars creators, and panels all weekend, hosted by Andi Gutierrez and Peter Townley. This is the second year Star Wars Celebration has been live streamed.



I'll be covering Star Wars Celebration on this blog, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.

Daisy Ridley demonstrates her lightsaber skills

Daisy Ridley (Rey) demonstrates her prowess with a lightsaber in this video posted on her official Instagram.

So @liangstunts (TRAITOR) is WUSHU FRICKING MASTER and I always try to get him to teach me things... This was today!!! Obvs not great but HE'S amazing and he's also featured at the end 😄😄😄 our stunt team are the most incredible group of people, so lucky I get to train with them!

A video posted by @daisyridley on Apr 25, 2016 at 10:37am PDT

The Star Wars actress was put through her paces by Chinese martial arts expert Liang Yang who played FN-2199 AKA TR-8R in The Force Awakens and launched a thousand memes.

Star Wars: Episode VIII will be released in theatres December 2017.

Counting down until The Force Awakens

Star Wars fans know all about waiting. But, The Force Awakens is released in cinemas this month. There, I've said it!

I'll be posting daily LEGO Star Wars Advent Calendar photos on Instagram and John Rivers, friend and fellow Star Wars superfan, is celebrating with a cool countdown to The Force Awakens...

Guest post by John Rivers

As a Star Wars fan since the early 80s, easily as far back as I can remember, I’ve enjoyed the ups and downs of wanting to experience more in the adventures of Luke, Han and Leia. When ‘The Force Awakens’ in seventeen days’ time it will be the culmination of over thirty years of waiting for the saga to continue. [I'm getting misty-eyed - Ed]

Over the years and thanks to the explosion of online video in the past decade, fans have collected, catalogued and screened all sorts of ephemera around Star Wars. Whether it’s old adverts for Kenner Toys, spin-off TV movies, cartoon series, radio dramas or BBC documentaries, there’s an awful lot of content out there about the making-of, marketing and magic of George Lucas’ movies.

That’s what I’m presenting with 30 Days of Star Wars a collection of all the ‘stuff’, usually found on TV, that sat around the original trilogy for the past 30-odd years. I wanted to create a sort-of Advent Calendar for fans to enjoy as the time ticked away (oh so slowly!) until the new movie premieres.

I’ve focused on the Original Trilogy because there’s a wealth of archive material to draw upon and of course, those characters are back. None of the material is uniquely uploaded by me, but I thought that 30 Days of Star Wars could act as a hub for collecting some of this content together. I also enjoy researching where items came from and who was behind them. For example raw footage of R2-D2 and C-3PO on ‘Sesame Street’ is not something you see every day. Or Big Bird messing-up his lines, come to think of it.

Occasionally there’s also a rare glimpse into the mind-set of what may happen in future Star Wars movies. I mean, you guys all knew there was a character in the ‘Droids’ cartoon series from the mid-eighties named ‘Kybo Ren’ right? Coincidence? Time will tell!

Follow @johnrivers

Star Wars: The Force Awakens character posters

Social media exploded today when John Boyega (Finn) and Daisy Ridley (Rey) teased their new character posters for Star Wars: The Force Awakens on Twitter and Instagram. This was followed with posters for Han Solo, Leia and Kylo Ren.











Which is your favourite poster? Let me know in the comments below.

The new Star Wars movie opens in under two months.

Neill Blomkamp to direct Alien

In January District 9 director Neill Blomkamp posted his original concept art for Alien on Instagram, which attracted the attention of fans, across the globe, in the hopes the beleaguered franchise may return to its nightmarish roots...

“So I think this is officially my next film,” the director wrote on Instagram.

Trade paper Variety then confirmed Blomkamp has inked a deal with 20th Century Fox to direct the next Alien movie. This is unrelated to producer Ridley Scott's Prometheus 2.

District 9 and Elysium had rich political subtexts that failed to deliver on their initial premise. Both movies descended into generic Hollywood blockbuster fare in the final act.

However, the notion of another Alien movie, pitting the proletariat against the bourgeoisie, is mouthwatering. There's going to be xenomorphs and, possibly, Sigourney Weaver reprising her role as Ellen Ripley. What's not to like?

It's speculated the new movie will be a reboot a la JJ Abrams' Star Trek and follows events depicted in James Cameron's, seminal sequel, Aliens. Fans of the series will find out in 2016.

Can Blomkamp resurrect Alien? Let me know in the comments below.

Karen Gillan as Nebula

Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn has posted a new photo of Nebula (Karen Gillan) on Instagram and Twitter.

Gunn describes Nebula as an interplanetary Clint Eastwood. The former Doctor Who actress looks all kinds of awesome.

R2-D2 announces official Star Wars Tumblr

The force is strong with Tumblr!

R2-D2 announced the official launch of Star Wars on the social media site. This is only weeks after Disney launched an official Instagram account.

A statement on the site reads: "Artoo is pleased to announce the launch of our official Tumblr!"

"We promise there won’t be any cat videos… except maybe a Nexu or two."

Star Wars Episode 7 director JJ Abrams recently spoke about the decision to delay the film’s release date back from summer 2015 to December 18, 2015.

JJ Abrams told MTV: "Before I even came on to the project they were talking about 2015," he explained.

"And they made this announcement very early on, which I understand. But it didn’t necessarily have anything to do with the reality of where anything was creatively.

Abrams added: "A release date is great, but you have to release something great. To me, the new release date is a huge improvement."

Star Wars joins Instagram: Darth Vader posts selfie!

Darth Vader captures a selfie during the original Star Wars in 1977.

Star Wars: Episode VII maybe two years away. However, Disney's marketing machine has embraced Instagram in the run-up to the new trilogy. Fans will be hoping for some sneak peeks.

The infamous Sith Lord appears to be holding an iPhone!