Tag Archives: Star Wars

Mace Windu The Unlikely Subject Of A New Star Wars Spinoff?

November 19, 2014 Elton Jones Leave a comment

The Star Wars universe is getting a major directorial shot in the arm.

J.J. Abrams is hard at work on Star Wars Episode Seven: The Force Awakens, with fellow Hollywood directors Rian Johnson, Josh Trank and Gareth Edwards all on related projects. Lucasfilm has tapped these talented individuals to craft future installments of the SW Universe over the next decade. Some of the rumored names who may be a part of those stand alone projects include Han Solo, Yoda and even the infamous bounty hunter Boba Fett.

But if the information we caught on display in a recent director-helmed Reddit AMA is to be believed, another Jedi may join that list of characters planned for their own big screen stories. The Jedi we’re referring to is none other than Master Mace Windu!

Director A.J. Edwards hopped on Reddit to promote his upcoming film The Better Angels, which focuses on a young Abraham Lincoln. A fan asked about the unlikely scenario of Edwards taking on a Star Wars film. Here’s what transpired during that Q&A session:

The Better Angels is a great film and I can’t wait for the world to see it. Is there any truth to the rumor you will be directing a spin-off Star Wars film?

Talking about it, not able to say a lot yet. It will focus on Mace Windu.

For those of you who need a refresher on who Mace Windu is, his life was taken during an intense stand-off with Chancellor Palpatine and a newly turned Dark Side Anakin Skywalker. That climactic scene took place in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (it hurt us to see that cool as hell purple lightsaber wielder get electrocuted so bad. It’s likely that this film, if made, would have to take place even earlier than The Phantom Menace, and that seems like something Disney isn’t eager today revisit – prequels.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXjT6Dg4E68

We hope the rumors surrounding this Star Wars spinoff movie comes true as seeing a young Mace could be interesting, though Jackson would likely be too old to reprise the role. In earnest though, given his resume, Edwards seems an unlikely choice to do a SW film, and this was no doubt said in jest. We’re still waiting for confirmation on the first couple standalone flicks in the series, so we’re pretty sure this news wouldn’t have been dropped in this manner. Anyhow, keep hoping Jedi fans, we’ve been wrong before.

Images: Lucasfilm, NetFlix

Star Wars: Rebels – New Disney Show Gives Fans What They Want

October 14, 2014 Tabitha Davis Leave a comment

When Disney bought out Lucasfilms and talks started about sequels and an animated series, fans were understandably nervous. What would the massive multi-media conglomerate do with our beloved characters, characters that shaped our own character? Star Wars: Rebels is easing some of those concerns. Continue reading Star Wars: Rebels – New Disney Show Gives Fans What They Want →

POP CULTURE

GB Christmas Special: Knock Off Toys 2013

December 14, 2013 Adam Parker-Edmondston Leave a comment

Last year I did an article showcasing some of the best knock off toys on the market. Now this may seem strange to have a best knock off toy, with the term knock off implying that the toy itself is not going to be of the standard you would think. But some of these figures are just plain genius in their design while others are so bad, they need to be showcased around toy stores so people are aware of some of the rubbish that can filter on to shelves if shop suppliers are not vigilant. So this year I decided to do the exact same thing, because it is entertaining to see just what new knock of toys have come out in a year. So without further ado, here are some of the best and worst toys out there. If you ever see these toys in a toys shop then you are really in a bad toy store!

These toy examples came from Pleated Jeans which amassed a whole selection of really bad toys. The worst has to be a toss up between Superman on a horse (?) figure or the truly awful Chewbacca figure.

The next batch of slightly shoddy toys (from numerous websites listed below) all seem to be based on recognizable characters from film and TV screens. It is always fun to watch Bugs Bunny advertise the slightly embarrassed looking Munsters toys and there are many more awful toys that follow. My personal favorite out of these is the cartoon style jigsaw puzzle based on Tim Burton’s Batman. As a child I would have done this and as a man-child I am still quite tempted. The Judge Dredd-ful toy is inspired as well.

Then we are left with the odds and ends and also the end of this article. To end, we have a return from our old friend, Robert Cop. The internet is full of these kind of galleries and if you dig deep you will find a wide range of rubbish to pour over. So until next year have a great celebration and see you in the New Year with more knock off toys!

POP CULTURE

James Hance’s Relentlessly Cheerful Art

November 22, 2013 Adam Parker-Edmondston Leave a comment

Relentlessly Cheerful Art is the name of artist James Hance’s website (As well as the title of this article. Clever, eh?) and it also happens to best describe his work. But before looking at his stuff it may be best if we get to know the man and who better to do that than his own UK website?

Continue reading James Hance’s Relentlessly Cheerful Art →

Movie News & Opinions

Abrams Not Directing Star Trek 3, Details a Hidden Into Darkness Cameo

September 26, 2013 Adam Parker-Edmondston Leave a comment

News has hit the web of J.J.Abrams confirming he won’t be directing the next installment of Star Trek; it is hardly surprising, considering he now has the chance to play in a whole other universe with Star Wars Episode VII. And now that Star Trek‘s characters have been well-established it will be nice to see how someone else runs the rebooted franchise. In an interview with Collider, Abrams had this to say about the direction the Star Trek franchise would be heading without him:

[quote]”It’s a little bittersweet. But, I will say that I’m going to be producing the movie. Whomever it is that directs the film will be someone we all know is going to keep the cast and crew in good hands. I feel very lucky to have been part of it, and it definitely feels like the right time to let someone come in and do their own thing. I certainly don’t want someone to come in and try to do what I would have done. We want to hire someone who’s gonna come in and bring their own sensibility. I’m very excited to see what comes next, despite feeling jealous of whomever that person is.”[/quote]

Moving onto news from Yahoo Movies, it is no secret that fans love finding Easter eggs in their beloved movies. Apparently J.J.Abrams does too: He let slip that Star Trek Into Darkness featured a cameo that may have passed the audience by:

[quote]”R2’s really been in all of the movies I’ve done, really for no other reason than I’m a huge fan, and when I was a kid I realized that R2 was also in ‘Close Encounters. Actually, I’m putting a ‘Star Wars’ character into ‘Star Trek’ as an homage to ‘Close Encounters.’ So there you go.”[/quote]

Below is the scene in question and it’s a doozy [Second image below]. Just for fun there is also a cameo by R2 from the first Star Trek movie [Pictured first below].

Incidentally this is not R2D2’s only appearance in other movies. Take a look at the images below to see the little guy popping up in other great films:

Photo from www.movie-club.net — Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Photo from http://www.movie-club.net

Photo from www.planetadeaficiones.com — More from Indy. Photo from http://www.planetadeaficiones.com

So good news is mixed with bad but the suggestion that a Star Trek character could turn up in the Star Wars universe is certainly intriguing. Jabba’s palace and Mos Eisley cantina seem the most likely of places from the old movies for said character to turn up but who knows? Keep reading Grizzly Bomb for more up to date Star Wars news. Before you go check out Geek Exchange website showing even more of Abrams’s Easter eggs.

Movie News & Opinions

Star Wars: Rumors Swirl Around Stand-Alone Movies for Han, Yoda, & Boba Fett…

September 16, 2013 James Henshaw Leave a comment

We have known for a while that starting in 2015 Disney plans to release a new Star Wars movie each year, alternating between the new series and stand alone character based movies. We now have confirmation that these movies will be origin stories. Disney’s chief financial officer Jay Rasulo announced during a presentation to financial investors that the intermittent installments would play host to the origins of some of the best-loved characters from the franchise.

Variety broke the story yesterday afternoon stating that Rasulo sees it as “the sky’s the limit” for the for the sci-fi franchise, including expanding its presence in the company’s theme parks. “There’s incredible flexibility. It’s an unbelievable palette to create from.”

Rasulo also confirmed that from 2015 one Star Wars trilogy film or origin story film would also appear on the release schedule, starting with the seventh installment in the Star Wars saga directed by J.J. Abrams. Lawrence Kasdan and Simon Kinberg were previously rumored to have been hired to write the second and third installments, with Michael Arndt already scripting Star Wars Episode VII, however it is now confirmed the Kasdan and Kinberg will be writing the stand-alone origin movies.

Any Star Wars fan that knows his salt is aware that Kasdan is no new-comer to the saga, having written, in my opinion the best installment, Empire Strikes Back and having an eye in on Return of The Jedi. Aint It Cool News reported a little while back that one of the stand alone films would focus on Yoda, and Bleeding Cool recently reported that there was also talks of Han Solo and Boba Fett movies with a casting call already out for a young Han. It remains to be seen if Han Solo and Boba Fett would get separate movies or have share the screen. We already know that Harrison Ford and the rest of the central Star Wars cast will be reprising their roles, but this would be the first sign that Disney is looking to recast characters from the original trilogy for the new movies. Granted Harrison Ford is too old to play a young, agile Solo, but this is certainly a piece of casting Disney will need to get right.

It would be great to see two of the best characters from the saga face off against each other. I fear for fanboys the world over whose heads would explode in excitement!

Conveyors of Common Sense…