Tagged: luke skywalker
A Solo Yoda Movie: Star Wars Meets The Dark Crystal!
So for a while there was a lot of talk about the anthology “A Star Wars Story” movies that were potentially in the works, that was until ‘SOLO’ bombed at the box office. An Obi Wan movie, a Boba Fett and even talk of a Lando solo adventure. However the one that interested me the most was the idea of a Yoda movie, where we follow the adventures of a younger Yoda. This for a while seemed like an actual possibility but besides Solo’s failure in theaters, Frank Oz had stated a Yoda movie would simply be too difficult to articulate the puppet for a feature length movie and would likely need to be fully CGI. I think it could be done, utilizing both old school puppetry blended with CGI. The more I’ve thought about it all the better the idea seems to me, that Yoda should indeed get his own movie though.
So in response to Frank Oz, I think doing incredible puppetry in 2018 with the Disney budget doesn’t seem all that impossible, especially with green screens, CGI being able to erase wires, strings & actors who’re controlling it’s actions. I think utilizing CGI as well to bring Yoda to life in full body shots / lightsaber duels is indeed a must but using puppetry for close ups is also a must. It would be the perfect mixture of both to make everyone’s green Jedi really come to life in an epic full length adventure. Doing it the way they did back in 70’s though? Yeah, I’m certain that’d be quite a headache, though in the 80’s they pulled it off beautifully in the ambitious Dark Crystal.
Which leads me to the next point, imagine a Yoda movie that was more of a modern mix of The Dark Crystal and Star Wars. A spin-off Star Wars Story that maximized the use of real Puppets, exotic locations/sets and a stronger blend of old school fx blended with todays modern tech. It’d definitely be something different for a Star Wars movie especially in this day and age of total overuse of CG in blockbusters. I imagine someone like Guillermo del Toro at the helm, or at least someone who truly loves practical fx work, epic fantasy and incredible monsters. Just the hype of the movie featuring heavy puppetry alone I think would bring something truly unique to the table for today’s young and old fans of the franchise. They could even add some animatronic modifications to the Yoda puppet, giving him more complex facial expressions & get help from The Jim Henson Company to bring it all to life. I bet you’d have a hit on your hands at the box office. Continue reading
Casting the ‘Star Wars: Heir to the Empire’ Live Action Movie!
After the last two installments of the “Skywalker Saga” sequel trilogy ‘The Force Awakens & The Last Jedi’ from Disney I’ve decided to look elsewhere for a good fix of the iconic series til ‘Episode IX’ drops. There’s definitely not a better spot to start than with Timothy Zahn’s iconic “Thrawn” Trilogy!! There’s a lot of Star Wars fans out there, like myself, who’ve never really seriously delved into the EU (expanded universe) stuff, I’d been recommended this trilogy of books, ‘Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising & The Last Command’ for a long time as they’re considered by many fans the real Episodes 7, 8 & 9. I can firmly say I’d wished they’d have drawn from this storyline for the current trilogy as it’s not a direct “retelling” that mirrors the original trilogy. It has incredible villains at it’s core as well, that bury characters like Snoke, Kylo Ren & Phasma. The current trilogy is actually more of a reboot, borrowing major plot points from previous movies, even Rian Johnson’s “The Last Jedi” while supposedly attempting to subvert audience expectations still follows very similar beats with the original trilogy.
Heir to the Empire is set five years after the events of Return of the Jedi, the Rebellion, which is now known as the New Republic, is still fighting the final remnants of the Imperial resistance and trying to set up a strong new government. But in outer reaches of the galaxy, the most cunning of all the hand picked Grand Admirals is quickly gaining power and preparing to launch a series of deadly attacks on the New Republic. After convincing a crazed Dark Jedi to join his side, Grand Admiral ‘Thrawn’ is scheming his ultimate victory. I’ve been listening to the audio books, narrated by Marc Thomson and damn does that guy nail the voices of almost all character to perfection, as I listened I could picture it all unfolding on screen with the original actors, so if you’re a bit late to the party (it came out in 1991!) & wanna check this out most definitely check out this version of the story, it’s a ton of fun.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCgf2pf0gg0&t=3674s
So obviously I began to think about how much I’d like to see this basic story on the big screen & while it is true, that because of the newest trilogy they’d have to change a few of the plot points I think they could still manage to tell a decent version of the original story. Fore instance Leia is newly pregnant with twins at the time in the book, that’d have to change, it’d have to be baby Kylo and it could take place a bit later than 5 years after Return of the Jedi. Still though, this story could indeed be brought to the big screen as many of the major characters required for this adventure have actually already been recast in ‘Solo’ and ‘Rogue One’. I have my doubts however this movie would happen at this point in time, as ‘Solo’ was a bit of a flop and perhaps Disney wouldn’t want to take a chance recasting the original trilogy characters again. If they ever do bring this to life though, I’ve got the actors right here cast that’d likely please hardcore fans- let’s take a look at some choices for major characters in the story that I think would be great for the movie version of the epic trilogy….
Han Solo: Alden Ehrenreich
Obviously we’ve got to to cast Alden again as Han right? To keep with continuity of the new ‘Solo’ film it makes perfect sense he’d be up for the role again. I of course wish they’d have given Anthony Ingruber a shot as he’s a spitting image and mastered the general vibe of Harrison Ford. But in this case we’ve already got our new Han so we might as well roll with it right? That’s the good thing here, some of the casting is already complete. Phew!
Lando Calrissian: Donald Glover
Another no brainer, as Glover did an excellent job as portraying Lando in ‘Solo’. He had it down and obviously did his homework on mastering a similar swagger of icon Billie Dee Williams. There’s a lot of Lando here in this Star Wars adventure and it further cements him and Han’s friendship after the events of ROTJ. It’d be amazing to see Glover back again and cement his legacy as a younger Lando once again as this story has a good deal of trouble for him and Han to get into!
Princess Leia: Billie Lourd
To me Billie Lourd is the only real option for Leia. She’s the perfect age to play the role, she’s totally beautiful like Carrie and she’s Carrie’s daughter!! She’s also looks a lot like her and has already expressed interest in playing a young version of the character. How truly sweet would it be to have her play her mother’s iconic character? Check this out as she states how she wishes she could play a young Leia:
I know she’s got a small role in the latest trilogy but this would be a whole new timeline. I’d love to see Billie as Leia learning to use a lightsaber as well as tapping into the Force like she did in the book. How could you turn her down for the role? You’d have to have no damn soul!
That 80’s German Star Wars Musical Starring Mark Hamill?!
Ok so here’s an interesting clip! You remember that old Star Wars holiday special that George Lucas wants to pretend never happened? Well here’s another bizarre moment in retro Star Wars history, all the way back in 1980 Hamill made an appearance on German television making a cameo on a musical Star Wars themed variety show, recently Hamill shared the video and commented on it also saying “I remember not wanting to wear a gold jumpsuit like a rejected member of ABBA or if I could memorize dialogue in a foreign language-but thought “Who cares? No one outside of Germany will ever see this!” Thanks to the internet-NOTHING EVER GOES AWAY. Who knew?”
I’ve never seen this before but I’ll say it’s quite a treat for any true fan of the beloved series. In case you missed this one here it is in all of it’s glory!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dT-oCX0yh_s
Comic Cover of the Week: Classic ‘Sienkiewicz’ Star Wars!
Here’s an incredible classic Star Wars cover way back from 1984 that’s one of my favorites of the retro Marvel series. One quick look and it’s evident why it’s so damn epic, Bill Sienkiewicz and Cynthia Martin were responsible for issue #92’s unforgettable confrontation. In all the divisiveness amongst fans in the current landscape of Star Wars it’s nice to go back to an era where fans for the most part loved just the movies! This cover is making me seriously considering revisiting those classic comic book adventures!
Vintage Star Wars Valentines: May The Force Be With Your Relationship!!
Here’s a great way to use the force!! Send someone a vintage 80’s Star Wars valentine greeting! I love these old vintage classic cards and anything retro Star Wars here’s some good ones…
Star Wars: Episode 9 – Will Luke Skywalker Return in the Flesh?!
After expressing my disappointment in The Last Jedi I’ve been thinking a lot about what to expect next in Episode 9. We’ll have JJ Abrams back in the writer/directors chair to complete the story he started. It felt to me like, Rian Johnson wasn’t a fan of the plot points JJ set up and maybe wished that he himself would have wrote & directed The Force Awakens. The problem I think is that it just didn’t feel like a cohesive story was being planned by these two directors and as we now know there never was a real solid story for this trilogy. JJ wrote the first installment and Rian Johnson took over the second, literally writing whatever his heart desired to continue the story. Sadly it really shows when watching both movies in succession. The trilogy should have had a planned story, instead they’re seriously making shit up as they go. So it leads me to a legit question of Episode 9: Is Luke Skywalker REALLY dead?
Of course, everyone has come to the logical conclusion that Luke Skywalker died at the end of TLJ and that he will return in the next installment as a good ol’ trusty Force ghost. BUT, I think that there’s a damn good chance we could indeed see Luke in the flesh again. First, let’s consider the backlash TLJ has gotten, there’s a large portion of that backlash that’s incredibly upset with the handling of Luke. So taking the fan backlash about this character into consideration, I think JJ could indeed tastefully retcon his “supposed” death. Let’s face it, if Luke returning in the flesh for Episode 9 will elate the fans and make some seriously big bucks, it as a possibility, is totally, 100% on the table. I think these movies are way more about the money these days than the actual story telling. So Luke returning in human form is most definitely a very serious possibility even if you think it’d be bad storytelling and wanna call me some crazy ass fan who needs to let go of the past. You need to realize 99.9% of this is, at the very end of the day about MONEY. Continue reading
Is There An Evil Online Conspiracy Against ‘The Last Jedi’?!
Wow, I wasn’t even planning on writing about ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ because let’s face it, there’s enough material about this movie online for you to read for decades. However after seeing the movie and being thoroughly disappointed, (and more so everyday the more I think about it) I’ve become well aware that I’m NOT the only one who feels this way. Some SPOILERS ahead….
What inspired me to write this post is the recent news of the giant backlash against the movie from fans simply being called a conspiracy by anti-social justice warriors who’re irate about the inclusion of strong female characters & racial diversity in the new movie. It’s claimed they’ve essentially hacked Rotten Tomatoes and have brought the fan score to a whopping low of 54% while the critics reviews rate it 92% fresh. I’ve decided to put my opinion here, to state as a long time fan, since I was a little boy, that the reason I disliked The Last Jedi has absolutely zero to do with strong female characters, white males, racial diversity, or anything that has to do with the current political landscape of the real world.
It actually upsets me that Disney simply can’t accept the fact that maybe, just maybe, their $200 million plus budget movie might not have pleased a huge number of long time fans. I can see many reasons why people absolutely love The Last Jedi AND I can also see just as many reasons why people may absolutely despise it. It may for some all revolve around shitty people being racist, sexist, bigots who’re furious about Rey being female and Finn being a black male fronting the franchise now. I however don’t think that’s the case for most, as The Force Awakens holds an 88% on Rotten Tomatoes by fans and I highly doubt everyone suddenly became upset about the sex and race of characters between the last movie and this one. No, the people I know who were disappointed had completely different issues with the movie entirely. Continue reading
The 10 Best Vintage STAR WARS ads!
Back in the day Star Wars was all the rage….wait it STILL is! So all these companies were using Star Wars to sell the shit out of anything and everything!! So let’s take a look at some of the best vintage Star Wars ads of yesteryear, they’ll never make ads this cool again that I guarantee…
Listen Up Abrams! The FOUR Golden Rules for Star Wars Have Arrived!
Here’s a great little video that hit the web today, simply titled “4 Rules to Make Star Wars Great Again”. Meaning what? That the prequels were BAD?! Yeah…well we don’t need to get into those pesky prequels again. What we have here is a simple guide line with some great animation for Abrams to roll around in his brain from Portland Oregon’s own Sincerely Truman.
Honestly though at this point in the game it certainly doesn’t appear that JJ Abrams is gonna screw anything up, everything I have seen and heard thus far points to the next installment being the opposite of what we got served from the prequels. In fact, so far I am so certain that he’s not only going to do it right but he’s going to exceed us Star Wars fans expectations! But then again, with Hollywood THESE days you just never know! So here are 4 rules along with their official website!
Are these four rules enough? What do you think? I’d say they nailed it but Star Wars was cute back in 1983 Return of the Jedi’s the Ewoks were about as cute as it gets!
Is Mark Hamill Just Too Damn OLD for Star Wars Episode VII?!
Sorry folks I had computer problems for the whole last week and wasn’t able to effectively blog unless blogging from a smart phone sounds fun? Anyway I kinda missed reporting my thoughts on the whole Star Wars future trilogy / Disney fiasco. So first let me say I think it’s a great thing that we finally got Star Wars away from Lucas. Sorry George! I also think this will mean BETTER films for the franchise. The prequels can’t be erased from our minds sadly but maybe we can tarnish off the shit that has been coating Star Wars and get something truly amazing that the fans will lose their god damn minds over. I have a feeling that is exactly what we’ll get. In fact I think a great director will be chosen and like J.J. Abrams did for Star Trek this director will do similars wonders for Star Wars.
So today I want to address the fact that we are getting major speculation that Episode Seven will feature possibly Luke Skywalker, Leia and Han Solo. They won’t be casting new actors, they will be including Hamill, Fisher and Ford. I’ve already heard people bitching about this idea, calling them too old to carry a movie. Quite possibly this really could be the case. I however think that with a few younger cast members the movie could be rounded out perfectly and capture the nostalgia for longtime fans and younger fans alike. My real focus here though is on Luke Skywalker. I feel Episode Seven must feature Hamill as Luke, much like the way the last Star Trek movie featured Nimoy as Spock. However I’d like to see Luke as a major player in the movie rather than a cameo, maybe not first billed but a great supporting part played. So let’s cut the small talk and get to the point is he too old for the role?
That’s what I hear people saying, however one thing that has been a constant theme in Star Wars is one simple fact. A Jedi is dangerous, but and OLD Jedi is the most lethal and deadly of them all. Obi-Wan, Yoda, Vader, Dooku? Need I go on?
So this makes perfect sense to me to have Mark Hamill return as an older Jedi. I mean I almost wish Hamill was even older for the role. I imagine him training someone in the Jedi Ways and having to fight along side his student/students against whatever threat is chosen for the next film. I’d also agree that Hamill would have to take this role very seriously, I mean he better be running on the damn treadmill as I type this. All we need is him to get back into shape, he can look old as shit but he’s got to look like he can still kick some major butt with a lightsaber. I also think it could possibly end up being the most bad ass Skywalker role yet if done tastefully. I think it’s a must, it would tie the films together and make a lot of sense. Now Harrison Ford & Carrie Fisher? I’m not so certain about. What I do know is these movies cannot possibly be worse than the prequels, so whatever we get will seem like a god damn Academy Award winner next to the last few films. One thing to seriously consider is who else could return form the past for these movies? Bring ’em on Disney!
Universal Dork 