‘Solo’ Official Trailer Shows Why Studio Waited So Long To Drop It

The first official full trailer for Solo: A Star Wars Story dropped overnight, and while it’s not quite a snooze, nothing in it made me sit up and pay attention, either. In fact, if anything, I was disappointed by the lack of imagination on display.

Overall, I can see why the studio waited so long to release a real trailer: Curiosity is the only thing that’s going to bring the casual viewer in to see this Han Solo origin story, so maintaining the mystery about what it actually is, seems to be the best bet. The more I learn about Solo, the less excited I am about it.

A train robbery? Really? That old saw? Sure, it’s “in space,” but c’mon, FIREFLY already did that years ago, not to mention Sucker Punch!

‘Rogue One’ Doing Reshoots? Everybody Calm Down!

The next entry in the Star Wars universe, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, represents Disney taking a big chance with the first-ever stand-alone movie, meaning it is not connected to the Skywalker family in any way, so it’s not surprising that the studio is nervous about tampering success in the wake of Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens. But absolute panic has swept fandom since the announcement that Rogue One will be doing reshoots this summer.

Calm down, people! Reshoots are perfectly normal — even expected in modern filmmaking. Sure, there used to be a time when doing reshoots meant a movie was in trouble and the studio was desperate to fix it, but that is no longer the case.

Film Review: ‘Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens’ (2015)

Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens is the best installment since The Empire Strikes Back, but it’s no brave new world; it’s well-trod territory that will make you feel like you’re watching another special edition of A New Hope.

All the signature tropes from the 1977 original are here, such as:

A disaffected orphan loner on a backwater planet? Check.

A beeping droid carrying something vital for the Resistance? Check.

A black-clad, masked Big Bad? Check.

Daddy issues? Check, check and check!

But it’s 2015, so in this reboot for the post-millennial world, the loner is a woman, Rey (newcomer Daisy Ridley), who can really handle herself in a scrap. The movie takes pains to populate the Resistance and the First Order (the evil group that succeeded the Empire) with women of various ages and races. Grrrrl Power!

‘Star Wars’ International Trailer Features Lots of New Footage!

The brand-spanking-new international trailer for Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens has dropped, and it is packed with… many feet of epic new footage!

Does anyone else that “Jakku” is just a publicity codename to cover up the fact that Rey lives on Tatooine? Nobody onscreen has ever called it that, and I’m getting tired of seeing footage of the outer-rim desert world with the double suns and moisture farms and a Dune Sea and the Mos Eisley-looking town. Just admit it, Lucasfilm…

I think J.J. Abrams and pals wanted to avoid all the eye rolls that doubtless would have accompanied the announcement of another return to that dustball. Tatooine may be the place furthest from the bright spot of the galaxy, but it’s inextricably linked to the fate of said galaxy…

This newest trailer looks spectacular — so why not pair it with the full U.S. trailer for a mind-blowing experience…

Can’t wait for this to open on Dec. 18!!!

New ‘Force Awakens’ Posters Are… In Color

Today is “Force Friday,” when the Disney juggernaut unleashes all the merchandizing for Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens. And, indeed, there are enough mountains of toys, textiles and knickknacks to make Spaceballs‘ Yogurt swoon.

I’m not really interested in most of the stuff; if you are, here’s a pretty good roundup of the best stuff available. I’ll just take a look at the three new posters, which I find… well, less than inspiring, to be honest. They don’t fire my imagination.

The best one is the collage, which showcases most of the important characters — well, the new ones, at least. No sign of Luke, Leia or Han, sadly… The First Order troopers has a certain appeal as just a mass of bodies suggesting a powerful force (no pun intended). And while the Kylo Ren solo is supposed to make him look like a fightin’ badass, to me, he looks like an old man bending awkwardly to pick up a coin. (“It’s heads, so it’s cool.”)

So, like I noted above, the posters are… well, they’re in color, that’s for sure…

Blast From the Past: the original 1976 Teaser for ‘Star Wars’

Yes, this is a true treasure from the past: the original teaser trailer for 1977’s Star Wars! This was the first taste we got of George Lucas‘ space opera set a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. It was just Star Wars then — no “Episode IV,” no “A New Hope” — just plain ol’ Star Wars.

 

This was Star Wars the way it used to be… truly old school!

As you can tell, this was an earlier age of movie promotion. The editing is very static and slow-paced, the music is generic filler. Can you imagine a Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens trailer cut like this?

Some Cool New Images From ‘The Force Awakens’ Debut!

With a December release date fast approaching, LucasFilm has unleashed a bunch of new images to keep people interested in Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens. This takes some of the sting out the announcement by director J.J. Abrams that there will be no new footage shown at Disney’s D23 Expo this weekend in Anaheim, Calif.

Rey and Finn

Kylo Ren

Finn and TIE fighter

Rey frees BB-8

Kylo Ren and troops

R2D2 and C-3PO

General Hux

Poe Dameron

Captan Phasma

Chewbacca and Han Solo

Director J.J. Abrams and co-writer Lawrence Kasdan

Abrams directs Ridley

As you can see from the watermarks, the images make their debut in the new issue of Entertainment Weekly, covering the Fall movie preview issue.

The big new revelation to me is the identity of Domhnall Gleeson‘s character: General Hux, a cruel leader of The First Order who craves to show the galaxy his might.

The hotly-anticipated film stars newcomers Adam Driver as Kylo Ren, Daisy Ridley as Rey, John Boyega as Finn, Oscar Isaac as Poe Dameron, Gleeson as General Hux and Gwendoline Christie as Captain Phasma. Returning stars include: Anthony Daniels as C-3PO, Kenny Baker as R2-D2, Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca, Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker, Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia and Harrison Ford as Han Solo. Oh, and the Millennium Falcon as herself!

ST:EVII—TFA opens opens Dec. 18.

New ‘Star Wars’ Film to Feature Red Arm-y C-3PO?

Looks like we have visual proof that December’s Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens will consider the franchise’s trademark severed-limb meme, and this time the victim is prissy protocol droid C-3PO (Anthony Daniels).

How do we know? An interesting soda can was discovered in Mexico and reported to the Making Star Wars website, which posted a photo. On the can, Threepio is depicted with a red left arm, suggesting the limb has been replaced at some point. C-3PO is seen with partner-in-crime R2-D2 and soccer-ballish droid BB-8, however each droid appears to have been pasted into a collage separately rather than the image representing a scene still (notice the sandy background behind BB-8).

It is entirely possible that this is an unofficial bootleg product — which would explain why the can was apparently found in a store south of the border. Officially licensed soda cans from a soft-drink giant are unlikely to leak six months early, but stranger things have happened. If this is a knock-off, it’s possible that the red arm is a Photoshop mistake or a printing error.

But it is also entirely possible that Threepio has been refurbished again. Remember, he has had a silver-plated lower right leg since the original movie, and he blown to pieces by stormtroopers in Star Wars: Episode V — The Empire Strikes Back, so it would be no biggie for him.

Episode VII opens Dec. 18, but you can watch the thrilling teaser trailer and the theatrical trailer now.

More ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ Promos

Because I’m having a hard time resisting anything to do with James Gunn‘s upcoming adaptation of Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, here are three new images from what promises to be a bat-shit crazy movie! (We should be so lucky!)

Here we see Chris Pratt as Peter Quill/Star-Lord wearing his mask and running on the set, plus Peter dealing with Gamora, as played by Zoe Saldana. And then there’s all the self-described Guardians in prison jumpsuits: Quill and Gamora flanking Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel), Rocket Raccoon (voiced by Bradley Cooper) and Drax the Destroyer, played by Dave Bautista.

Director Gunn recently doled out a bit of info about Peter Quill’s origin in the movie, as well as Gamora and Nebula:

“He was abducted from Earth (Missouri) at age eight and raised in a group of thieves and smugglers called the Ravagers. He’s good with the ladies and a little bit of a d**k and very lucky. Thanos slaughtered [Gamora’s] family and Nebula’s, then raised them together as siblings. They were bioengineered to become living weapons, so he’s really good at killing people.”

Let the GotG insanity begin on Aug. 1!

Another Look at the Wachowskis’ ‘Jupiter Ascending’

Remember that mind-blowingly cool trailer for the Wachowski siblings‘ latest wild sci-fi ride, Jupiter Ascending? Well now we have another trailer for the intergalactic chase film starring Mila Kunis and Channing Tatum.

This version of Lana and Andy Wachowski film feels very different from the first trailer; in this one, Mila’s Jupiter feels very much like a lovely victim swept along by events and “rescued” by handsome hero, rather than the kick-ass gal we saw in the first film. Also, it appears that maybe she’s not playing two roles, but rather Jupiter before and after accepting her royal destiny.

In any event, it looks like a pretty good summer popcorn film to me.