Star Wars: The Clone Wars Bonus Content Rumor: To Be Apple Exclusive? Via Jedi News

The Force seems to be strong with JediNews.co.uk lately as they have been getting a number of news making rumors. The latest rumor regards the "bonus content" for Star Wars: The Clone Wars.  This content consists of finished and unfinished episodes from the planned sixth season of the cancelled television show.

As recently as Disney's D23 convention, Lucasfilm's Pablo Hidalgo has said that they are still trying to determine the best way to distribute this content.

According to Jedi News' source the following may be what is planned:

“A Disney branded app for Star Wars will launch on Apple TV devices, with plans to distribute the final Clone Wars episodes exclusively digitally only through the Apple TV device for a limited period of time. This will happen in this holiday season.

In 2014, plans are in an early stage to use the platform to deliver SW7 production news ‘live’ from the sets, followed with Star Wars Rebels in late 2014 taking us all the way through to SW7 release.”

iOS 7

“Distribution will only be on Apple TV devices capable of running iOS7 and there has been no confirmation if the same app will be available to other iOS devices such as iPad or iPhone."

Apple TV is a streaming device that attaches via HDMI to your television.  It features not only content through the Apple iTunes library and store but also stand alone content providing apps such as Netflix.  Apple TV is currently on it's third generation of development, I would expect a fourth generation release sometime in the next year but there hasn't been an official announcement yet.  There is also speculation that the device may be replaced ultimately by an Apple branded iTV that will include the Apple TV functionality in an HD Smart TV sold by Apple.

Apple iOS 7 is rumored to be released as early as September 10th. iOS 7 features a radical re-design of the operating systems graphics along with other features.

If the rumored Disney Star Wars App works on Apple TV as well as iOS 7 devices, then the following currently released devices may be able to use the App.

I wouldn't rush out today and buy an Apple TV, but as someone who already owns a Roku 2 and a Sony Blu-ray player with much of the same functionality a Star Wars App that was Apple exclusive would convince me to spend the $99 to get an Apple TV device.  I am not sure if the promise of The Clone Wars exclusive content would make the App a major selling point for the device, however I bet if there is Episode VII exclusive news and documentary content on the App that it would cause many to purchase the device and particularly could be the deciding factor in taking market share away from other digital streaming devices.

It is interesting to note that Lucasfilm and Apple have a relationship when it comes to movie promotion.  The reason that many of use visit Apple.com or use the Movie Trailer App on iOS devices is because of a collaboration between Apple and Lucasfilm that was created with Episode I: The Phantom Menace. I was not aware of this relationship until it was discussed at Pablo Hidalgo's D23 Star Wars 101 Panel, but here is a version of the story, basically Lucasfilm released a trailer on Starwars.com and the folks at Apple thought that it was very sub-par and that with their QuickTime software they could provide a much higher quality product.

The idea of a Disney branded Star Wars App seems a bit odd, though there is some inconsistency on Disney's part. For example the Marvel comics App is not branded as Disney-Marvel, but the Pixar Toy Story App is branded as Disney-Pixar.  

I have long decried the lack of a Star Wars App, and I would certainly welcome one.  It is important to note that Disney does have some new Apps launching both a Disney Channel and Disney XD App is now available on iOS devices.  This provides access to programming that airs on these channels, however you must have a cable or satellite contract and your provider must allow access to these channels for the App to work.

Stay tuned as we endeavor to learn more about the future of the unreleased Star Wars: The Clone Wars episodes.

Source: Jedi News 

Star Wars Rebels News: Video of D23's Star Wars 101 Panel Regarding Rebels and Other Star Wars Projects

At last weekend's Disney fan convention the Lucasfilm presence was fairly limited, but there was one panel that featured Lucasfilm's Brand Communications Manager Pablo Hidalgo.  Hidalgo served as ambassador for the galaxy far, far away to this gathering of Disney fans.

After a presentation where Hidalgo gave a summary of the Star Wars saga story and additional context about the films and the franchise, he answered some questions from the audience.

I have included two questions in the clip below, one deals with the new series Rebels and one deal with the status of projects like Star Wars: Detours which was put on the shelf after Episode VII was announced.

I hope you enjoy.





Stay tuned for the latest Star Wars news and opinion right here.

The Vision Thing: What Lucasfilm can learn from Marvel Studios

The stewardship of Marvel Studios by President Kevin Feige has been a resounding success.  It shouldn't be seen as a coincidence that Feige went into this with a long term plan and continues to form long term plans for the future of Marvel Studios and it's film franchises.

As Abraham Lincoln said "Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will sped the first four sharpening the axe." The importance of having a plan and a vision is key.  While a great deal of the success of Marvel's The Avengers film can be attributed to planning, execution, adaptability and luck also play a major role in this.  Picking the right people to execute the plan is just as important as having a plan. The two most obvious examples from Marvel Studios is the decision to cast Rober Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man and the decision to hire Joss Whedon to write and direct The Avengers. The massive success of Iron Man provided validation for Feige's vision and allows Marvel to continue following it's plan.  Success breads confidence and opportunity, the success of The Avengers allows Marvel to take on more risk as it attempts to expand it's stable of cinematic characters and franchises.

From comics to film vs. from film to film:

It is important to remember that Marvel and Star Wars are fundamentally different properties. Marvel at it's core is a comic book company.  Comics are cyclical storytelling vehicles, where stories run guided by a single writer or series of writers for a limited period of time and then very often end and begin again.  This cycle of character origin, growth, decline/death and re-birth happens across the industry on widely varying timelines.  The nature of the story telling results in not only numerous characters but also numerous incarnations of the same characters.  This does allow continuity to exist but said continuity can be very fractured.  

While Marvel Studios is using characters and stories that originated in it's comics, it is crafting a series of films that fit together in their own continuity, there is an internal consistency within the film universe.  This universe is created as the individual character films tell their stand-alone stories, set up their own sequels but also set up the larger cross-franchise story of the Avengers.  

Star Wars at it's core is a film property.  While it has birthed an Expanded Universe of comics and novels and other story telling mediums, the focus of the franchise is cinematic.  George Lucas has borrowed from the Expanded Universe, particularly the comics bringing them into the Prequels as well as The Clone Wars series.  As an already established film franchise spanning over 30 years, there is already an established film continuity that is guiding Star Wars storytelling.  This is vastly different then some of the haphazard films produced featuring Marvel characters in the 1980's and 1990's.

Instead of moving on from Episodes I-VI and rebooting the Star Wars franchise, it appears that Lucasfilm is embracing it's cinematic continuity and building upon it. I believe this approach creates a richer experience for fans but creates a more challenging situation for storytellers.  It is often commented that the world J.R.R. Tolkien created for The Lord of the Rings is one of the richest and most nuanced examples of world-building that we have in fiction.  I would assert that the Star Wars universe is the richest and deepest fictional universe ever created.  

Structuring the film franchises:

At the same time it is important to remember that Star Wars and Marvel are structuring their movie plans in what appears to be fundamentally different ways.  

From all that has been revealed so far about plans and rumors regarding the Star Wars films is that we will get a new Sequel Trilogy. In the years between these films it has been announced that Disney is planning to release stand alone Star Wars films.  Speculation is that these will be a story focusing on a young Han Solo as well as a movie focusing on Boba Fett.  If these rumors are accurate we will be seeing films that are set in the Star Wars universe but would not be serving the same role as the Marvel character franchise films. The Star Wars stand-alone films would not be used to further the overall saga story line. At the same time Star Wars is ahead of Marvel at joining it's television universe and it's cinematic universe's together.  George Lucas as the driving force behind both the first six films as well as The Clone Wars series and the now on the shelf Live-Action series provided story telling across the theater and television screens that were all part of the same grand story.  Marvel is just beginning to do this with it's new Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on ABC. 

So if the Star Wars saga and stand-alone films are not going to all tie together in a larger story arc as tightly as Marvels franchises, it presents a different challenge that perhaps speaks to a different plan for executing and structuring the future of the Star Wars franchise. 

If you look at the structure of the way Lucasfilm is handling it's television and film properties it may be telling.  Word of the Lucasfilm "Story Group" as well as the announced involvement of certain individuals working on multiple projects provides for a sort of storytelling cross-pollination.  

Episode VII, VIII and IX (Released between 2015-2021)

On Episode VII we have Kathleen Kennedy as an Executive Producer, J.J. Abrams as Director and producer, Bryan Burk (from Abrams' Bad Robot) as a producer.  We have Michael Arndt writing and we have Lawrence Kasdan, Simon Kinberg and George Lucas serving as creative consultants. Kennedy revealed at Celebration Europe that she is very involved in the writing process as they refine the script for Episode VII.

Star Wars Rebels (Premiering Fall 2014)

For Rebels we have three co-executive producers in Dave Filoni, Greg Weisman, and Simon Kinberg.

Filoni and Weisman both come from television animation backgrounds whereas Kinberg's experience is as a writer and producer for feature films.  It  isn't yet clear how involved Kennedy is or will be on the series, but presumably the majority of her focus will be on the feature projects.

Stand-Alone Films (Between Between Saga Episodes)

We assume we are getting at least two stand-alone films, Disney CEO Bob Iger has confirmed those plans to release these movies between Episodes VII, VIII and IX.

Writing these stand alone films will be Simon Kinberg and Lawrence Kasdan and reportedly J.J. Abrams will serve as a consultant on these films.  

Unannounced Animated Feature (Unknown Release Date)

We know Lucasfilm is also working on an unannounced animated feature film project directed by Gary Rydstrom, with Kennedy presumably as executive producer, and potentially written by Irene Mecchi with Brenda Chapman getting either a consulting or writing credit on the film.  It isn't clear if this project is Star Wars related.

Conclusions:

It is important to note that both Feige and Kennedy are producers having production experience in both television and film.  I believe that Kennedy's role as President of Lucasfilm because of the other companies that fall under her domain may be forced to delegate the development of the Star Wars brand a bit more then Feige has to at Marvel Studios.  It seems clear that the workload necessary to run Lucasfilm as well as be the creative lead on a Star Wars trilogy is a terribly difficult task and one of the reasons it took George Lucas so long to make the Prequels and contemplate making the Sequels.

It looks like what Kennedy and her team have assembled at Lucasfilm, between the creation of the Story Group and the involvement of individuals on multiple projects is to create a connective tissue that will ensure that the overall story and continuity will mesh. The new films must have that Star Wars "feel" to them, a lived in universe that mixes the grander heroic themes and archetypes with sci-fi action, humor and romance.

Outside of Kennedy herself it appears that the guy to really keep an eye on at Lucasfilm is Simon Kinberg who seems to have a hand in every project.  It makes me wonder if Kinberg is serving a role to Kennedy similar to what Rick McCallum did for so many years for George Lucas.

So as we look at it what Lucasfilm can learn from Marvel in the broadest terms is to have a clear overall plan mapped out. Feige has revealed that in 2006 Marvel Studios was already planning out it's various film "phases" and projects until 2015 and currently they are planning out until 2021.  Not only does this give the company a road map from which to proceed it also has the ancillary benefit of reassuring fans and exciting fans. Fans want to know that when they are emotionally investing in characters that they will see those characters' stories continue.

This plan doesn't need to be publicly revealed but it should be as forward reaching as possible.  It also should accept the fact that some projects may not work as well as others.  Marvel didn't allow the difficulties with The Incredible Hulk star Edward Norton and having to recast the character derail it's larger plans for The Avengers.  There will be Star Wars films that preform less well as The Clone Wars theatrical premiere demonstrated.  You have to trust the plan.  If an element of the plan isn't working you have to figure out a way to work around that and be willing to make some hard and expensive choices.

What Star Wars can't do is simply copy the Marvel model.  The linkages that Marvel has created in it's movies provides a narrative momentum.  Star Wars storytelling whether in comics, books or television has often been non-linear.  We jump back and forth in the timeline and if the new stand-alone movies follow this pattern they can't really be used to connect Episode VII to Episode VIII or Episode VIII to Episode IX.  As a new Star Wars continuity develops, what the stand-alone films and television vehicles can do for the franchise is to provide depth and breadth to the universe, similar to what the comics and novels did. The difference being that with tighter narrative control by the Story Group and the creators involved we should get a new continuity that is far less messy and takes the Star Wars universe in new and interesting directions.

Binding the Galaxy Together: A Look at the Lucasfilm "Story Group"

A seemingly minor bit of news out of the recent Star Wars: Celebration Europe convention was an oblique reference to something called the "story group" within Lucasfilm. If you know me at all you know that not only do I love a good story, but I am also fascinated by the creative process of writing and of collaborative storytelling.  The idea that there may be significant changes in the decision making and creative processes of how the story of Star Wars is told has me very curious. It has me wondering...

What is the story group?

@stern_man More than 140 chars allow. Nutshell: story group is about ensuring future storytelling meshes better far more than in past
— Pablo Hidalgo (@infinata) July 29, 2013

Background on Continuity and Storytelling:

In interviews with some key players at Lucasfilm we get a background on how the cross division storytelling process and continuity review has worked previously.  This background allows us to guess at what has changed with what appears to be this new working group across Lucasfilm's divisions.

In a 2010 interview Pablo Hidalgo, Lucasfilm's Brand Communications Manager (formerly manager of on-line content) discusses his previously informal input in the storytelling process.

"20. And now, fan questions. Lord Tuetanus from Durango asks, what is the editorial process for creation of new content in Lucasfilm? Continuity, magical word, how is it controlled?

If you’re referring to published, expanded universe content, then it’s really up to the editors in our Licensing group to work with the publishing partners and the authors to develop a story, and the editors and Leland Chee review the story for any new continuity, potential conflicts, or opportunities to connect to other stories. I have no formal involvement in this, but I am an occasional guest who is allowed to sit in on story conferences and offer input from time to time.
If you’re referring to the stories that come out television production, that comes out collaboration from George Lucas, Dave Filoni, and a team of writers during a story conference. They have access to all the Expanded Universe reference books during development, and will occasionally send queries to Leland and myself to see if there’s opportunity to connect with the EU. But aside from that, I have no involvement on the story side of The Clone Wars." (Source: Korpil.net Interview with Pablo Hidalgo, Nov. 2010)

On the publishing side former Lucas Licensing Executive Editor Sue Rostoni described the story creation process to EU Cantina.

"EUC (Fan Question): I was wondering if you could describe how you handle manuscripts. I don’t fully understand what happens when you get them. Do they come to you electronically, or on paper? How do you make edits? When editing, what do you look for?

SR: The manuscripts arrive electronically. In the past, I would print them out and edit on paper, but over the last few years I’ve grown fond of editing electronically. It’s easier for me and I believe I do a better job. For one, my writing gets sloppy after a few sentences and there’s never enough room in the margin or between lines to really get my thoughts out. There’s no limit to my verbosity when editing electronically. So I edit in “Word” using “Track Changes” and the “Comments” options.

I especially use the comment option when there are continuity issues for Leland Chee’s input, or specific things for him to note in the Holocron. Leland will make his comments in the manuscript and send it back to me.

Shelly Shapiro is more responsible for seeing that the story works as a whole and the writing runs smoothly, while I make sure the story and characters fit the sensibility of Star Wars. I watch for things that take me out of the story, sometimes just a word like “typewriter” will do it, sometimes it’s when someone acts out of character. And since Star Wars is populated by an abundance of aliens, I have to remind myself that while most readers will automatically “see” a Wookiee, it helps to have a few reminders of the appearance of some of the less known aliens.
And, of course, I want to have an emotional response to the story, to both be entertained and challenged, and to be able to identify how the events change the primary characters." (Source: EUCantina.net Interview with Sue Rostoni, May 2011)

Leland Chee, Lucasfilm's Continuity Database Administrator (a.k.a Keeper of the Holocron) explains the Holocron and his role in the creative story telling process.

Image by Siddique Hussain

The Holocron which Chee created replaced the old Star Wars bible (a set of large black binders) and contains various in-universe information broken down by subject matter of Character, Location, Alien/Creature, Technology (Droids, Vehicles, Weapons), Group/Organization, Terminology, Event, Flora, and Language.  As of 2011 there was over 45,000 entrees in the Holocron.  The Holocron is used by various individuals withing Lucasfilm as well as select licensees and writers.

 "In the real world, the Holocron is an internal database maintained by Lucas Licensing that tracks all the fictional elements created for theStar Wars universe. The database includes material from the films and The Clone WarsTV series as well as everything from the Expanded Universe (EU) which includes books, comics, videogames, trading cards, roleplaying games, websites, toys, cartoons, and just about every officially sanctioned fictional element of the Star Wars universe." (Source: Keeper of the Holocron on Facebook)

The Holocron allows folks whether it is editorial staff or writers themselves to check elements of their stories against the established continuity.

Roqoo Depot did an excellent interview with Chee in which he details what his job is and isn't as well as his input on the creative process.

"What’s a typical day at the office?

LC: Because we have so many diverse projects going on at a time, I can never be quite sure how my day is going to go. The bulk of of my time is spent going through novel manuscripts, comic book scripts, and video game documents. Oftentimes, the authors and editors will add or point out specific continuity questions on the manuscripts they’d like me to address. As I am going through these, I am creating new entries in the Holocron database for anything new that’s created and adding any new backstory to existing entries. I also spend time going through art, whether it be interior art for Essential Guides, video game concept art, or comic art. At any point through the day, I may get calls or e-mails from editors or authors with questions or requests for reference. The scope of my duties goes beyond publishing and video games. I might be asked to check the text on the back of a trading card, or check trivia questions on a calendar, or confirm vehicle stats on a t-shirt. I might be asked to check pronunciations for an audio book, or someone needs the Aurebesh font, or someone might be looking to confirm that the appropriate translation for “Darth Vader” in French is “Dark Vador.” And I do this for the Indiana Jones material as well.

What are the most common misconceptions about your job?

LC: Star Wars continuity, even EU continuity, does not rest on my shoulders. Our licensees submit product directly to either our editors or our product development managers. The Holocron serves as a tool for them to check any issues regarding continuity, and after that, if the editors or developers have any questions, they pass it along to me to check for continuity. At the same time, I am constantly on the lookout to make sure that any new continuity being created gets entered in the Holocron. With regard to the the films and The Clone Wars, I am not involved in continuity approvals though I have often been asked to provide reference material.

At what point in the reviewing/editing process of a Star Wars book do you come in and look for continuity errors? Do you work with the author during the writing process, after the final draft is submitted, or after the editors go over it?

LC: I work with the Licensing editors at the onset looking at outlines and manuscripts. I have been present for nearly all of the writers’ conferences for the multi-author/multi-book story dating back to when I started in 2000. I work directly with the authors when there are specific continuity points that need ironing out or if the books are heavily tied to other titles currently in development, whether it involves The Clone Wars, video games, or other fiction." (Source: Roqoo Depot Interview with Leland Chee)

In addition to the processes they described we know that there are different story conferences that occur at Lucasfilm each year.  For The Clone Wars series before a season went into production, Lucas, Filoni and other writers and production staff on the series would meet at Skywalker Ranch to break the stories and assign writing duties for episodes and story arcs to writers.  On the licensing end there has been a greater push in recent years of cooperation between the comic license holder Dark Horse Comics and the adult novel license holder Del Rey.  This spirit of cooperation has extended to editorial staff conferences at Lucasfilm where the staff at Lucas Licensing (LucasBooks) get together with editors from Dark Horse and Del Rey and develop story ideas and plot out the direction of the Expanded Universe.

So in the past while there were certainly organized periods of time when story telling whether it was an adult or young adult novelization of a television property like The Clone Wars, or multiple stories taking place in the same time period with some of the same characters like the Knight Errant comic and novel, we have seen cooperation between Lucasfilm, Lucas Licensing and it's licensees.  What we haven't really seen is a unified storytelling vision that has been executed across all platforms.

I think some of this stems from previous leadership, where as his own privately held company, George Lucas may have allowed the licensing division to let other storytellers play in his universe, he didn't really consider that part of his story so he tolerated it's existence and sometimes enjoyed it and borrowed from it.  At the same time his focus was very much on telling the stories he wanted to tell.  The result is you had the storytelling in Star Wars being pulled in various directions across multiple in-universe time periods.  Folks like Leland Chee played traffic cop, seeming to prevent as many crashes as possible but acknowledging that it was never going to all fit perfectly.

With the purchase of Lucasfilm by Disney and the announcement of new films and new TV ventures it created a great deal of uncertainty for the direction of future Star Wars storytelling in other formats. What seems to have developed is a bit of a holding pattern.  Until it is known what exactly the Sequel Trilogy is going to do to continuity we don't really know what is going to happen to the Expanded Universe.

What is the purpose of this new "Story Group?"

Disney did not become the giant corporation that it is by being stupid.  The prime revenue sources for the Star Wars property will come from feature films.  Everything else is and should be secondary to the films.  It also makes sense that as you attempt to attract new fans and hook them on new Star Wars stories for years to come that you would want simplify the Star Wars universe, grounding everything primarily in the first six films so that they can jump in now with Episode VII or with Star Wars Rebels and the stories will make sense and fit.

To me the indication based on the description above is that the purpose of this group is to enforce narrative or continuity discipline going forward.  Which means a different emphasis in the editorial oversight from Lucasfilm and not allowing as much decision making on the licensee end of things on the direction of plots and characters.

I believe that this will have two effects in the short term. The first is that it will provide a more cohesive set of stories.  The second is that we will hit a storytelling bottleneck, where the pace and number of stories released in other medium will be greatly reduced until we have a clearer picture of where the story in the films is going.

Of course the beauty of the story group is that assuming the key players on the film side of the company are part of it, it should allow the story group to have access to the film stories as early as possible which will let them commission books, comics and animation that fit with this.

There will no doubt be some conflicts as last minute edits and decisions in the films could create continuity hiccups with other materials, but no matter what system you establish that is going to occur.

What do we know about the Story Group?

At present we don't have a great deal of information about the story group.

It is not clear whether it is a formal structure within Lucasfilm or more of an informal or ad hoc working group.  Based on Pablo's tweet it sounds like it is more formal than anything they have had in place in the past.

The membership of the group is also unclear. We do not know how many members the story group has or who is part of the group.

Jennifer Heddle, LucasBooks Senior Editor

It appears that at least Pablo Hidalgo and Leland Chee are part of the group.  As Senior Editor at Lucasfilm/LucasBooks Jennifer Heddle is almost certainly part of the group as well, she is the successor to Sue Rostoni and deals with both novels and comics.  Simon Kinberg who is one of the three executive producers on Star Wars Rebels is also involved in the Star Wars feature films for Lucasfilm so it would make tons of sense for him to be a key figure in the story group.

Other likely names to be involved would be Michael Arndt, Lawrence Kasdan, Dave Filoni, and Greg Weisman.

At the senior leadership levels of Lucasfilm, Paul Southern is Lucasfilm's Vice President, Licensing and Consumer Products Marketing and Senior Advisor Howard Roffman (former head of Licensing) could also be part of the story group.

Additionally it could be a bit like the United Nations Security Council where there are some permanent members and some temporary members. Individuals like JJ Abrams or Kathleen Kennedy may sit in on meetings, lead a meeting or simply send a memorandum with instructions to a meeting or they could be core members of the story group.  We simply don't have much information at this point.

While the exact details of the story group may not be clear at this point, or whether the Expanded Universe will survive in whole, in part or be rebooted, what is clear is that going forward Lucasfilm is making a concerted effort to ensure that all the storytellers are on the same page.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars Joins Cartoon Network's Toonami Programing Block

It was announced via Toonami's Tumblr page that The Clone Wars would be joining The Cartoon Networks' Saturday night programming block.

It isn't clear if this is a continuation of the previous contract for The Clone Wars distribution, if there are some continued rights for Cartoon Network to air the series in perpetuity or if this is a new distribution contract.

"Star Wars: The Clone Wars begins airing on Toonami on August 17th, replacing Eureka 7 (full schedule to come)."

It is also not clear exactly what time the series will air within the Toonami block.  Stay tuned to this blog for continued coverage of The Clone Wars.

SOURCES: Tumblr and TheOuthousers.com

Upcoming Star Wars Specials on Disney XD: 7/30 and 8/1

Star Wars programming is beginning to show up across the Disney Television platforms.

This coming week on Disney XD a three day event showcasing various Disney owned properties will transform Disney XD into Disney Fandom.

During this event two Star Wars specials will be aired

TUESDAY, JULY 30 
11:00 P.M. - "Star Wars Tech"A documentary about the technical aspects of Star Wars - from Darth Vader's robotic limbs to the light saber,  to how X-wings compare to modern jets. 

THURSDAY, AUGUST 1
8:00 P.M. - Live Well Network's "My Family Recipe Rocks - Star Wars" Special Edition (Disney Fandom premiere)
Host Joey Fatone visits the world's largest collection of Star Wars memorabilia showcased in a museum on the 'Ranch Obi Wan' near Skywalker Ranch and cooks a Star Wars themed breakfast from the Star Wars Cookbook.

Since Star Wars fans are often also Marvel fans, it should be noted that the event running from 8 p.m. - 1 a.m. Tuesday through Thursday will also feature looks at upcoming Disney film projects.

Fans will also get a sneak peek at Phase Two of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, including Marvel's "Thor: The Dark World," Marvel's "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" and Marvel's "Guardians of the Galaxy," along with Disney's "Frozen," "Planes," and ABC's "Once Upon a Time in Wonderland."  

Hopefully this is just the beginning of more Star Wars content on Disney entertainment platforms.

SOURCE: Disney XD and Disney Fandom

Star Wars Rebels News & Rumors: Taking A Closer Look At The Main Character's Ship: Ghost

Among the concept art for Star Wars Rebels that was revealed at Star Wars Celebration Europe II was the concept art for a new ship that will feature prominently in the series.

May I present the Ghost.

This will be the main character's ship and Filoni mentioned that he wanted it to feel like a home, much like the Millennium Falcon was in the Original Trilogy.

If you look a the cockpit you will notice a significant difference between the Ghost and the Falcon.

This is a much different cockpit design then the Falcon, notice the distinct lack of passenger room. It is not clear from the images shown, but if you notice the double-bubble cockpit in the Ghost, it appear that the side-view shot is actually the nose-gunner's seat and not the pilot's seat. Based on the presumption of a need for one pilot and two gunners to man the front and top-side laser canons, it implies that the Ghost would carry a standard crew of three.

Two pilot seats and two passenger seats in the cockpit. 

Design wise this certainly looks to be heavily influenced by the Falcon.  Notice the starboard and port airlocks. To my eyes it looks like a ship influenced by the Corellian Engineering Corporations (CEC) XS stock light frieghter, the CEC YT-1000, but with a more angular and less rounded astetic, possibily influenced by the Delta-7 and 7b Jedi starfighters.

XS Freighter

YT-1000

Ahsoka's Delta 7-B

Some other notes about the shape of Ghost.

You will notice two symbols that are present on the craft.  One is the same one that was made into a button and given to those who attended the Celebration Rebels panel. The other symbol is not yet identified.

Note that the button cuts off the bottom portion of the "Y" shaped black mark at the bottom of the symbol.

In the description below it mentions that the Ghost contains a turret (top mounted), airlocks (starboard and port), a ramp (not seen lowered), a fighter dock, and cargo pod clamps.

The Falcon had a single boarding ramp on the starboard side below the airlock.  If you look at the bottom right concept art their  is a darker grey area below so the Ghost may have it's boarding ramp on the port side. Some YT-1300's had multiple boarding ramps, so it is possible that Ghost has more then one. It is also possible that the square area below the nose gun is a boarding ramp.

The Ghost features three landing gear and four cylindrical engines. The engines are different than the 'wide bar' engine that the YT-1300 possessed. Interestingly according to the Haynes Millennium Falcon Owner's Workshop Manual, the wide bar engine "generates greater thrust and has multiple steering flaps that allow for unprecedented maneuverability for a YT, but because some pilots were unable or unwilling to adapt to the more controlled engine system, CEC offered cylindrical engines as an alternative." (pg. 17)

The Manual further notes that, "interestingly, most pilots who preferred cylindrical engines on the YT-1300 also preferred a central-mounted cockpit.

The size and the number of engines makes it look like Ghost is going to be a very fast ship, but with relatively light weaponry.

It is not readily visible where the cargo clamps are on the vessel and where the fighter dock is.  The mandibles on the front of Ghost do not appear to extend past the bubble cockpit, so using those to dock or as clamps would seem to be problematic before even talking about the line of sight issues it could create.

A close reading of the top right image on the concept art layout appears to say in part, "Please see 'Ghost Ext (Notes)' for additional notes on how the fighter connects to the ship and details on the docking area." It also has a yellow arrow pointing to the port side of the ship.

UPDATE: 

A detailed schematic and translation provided to us by Bothan spies over at Rebel Forces Radio gives us more insight into the ship.

Facebook User Gergely Hangodi provides the following Aurebesh translation:

Modified VCX-100 light freighter

Corellian Engineering Corporation

Metrics: length: 43.9 meters, width: 34.2 meters, height: 14.5 meters

1. Nose turret's gunner position

2. Forward floodlights

3. Main cockpit

4. Crew quarters

5. Port docking ring

6. Starboard docking ring

7. Dorsal laser cannon turret

8. Main cargo hold

9. Engine assembly

So we now know the ships classification as part of the VCX series. We have confirmation that like the Millennium Falcon, this is a CEC produced ship.  Does this mean we will see Corellians or Corellia in the series? I hope so.

We also get confirmation that the concept art side-shot we have above is actually the "nose turret's gunner position" which sits directly below and in front of the main cockpit.

The co-author of The Essential Guide to Warfare chimes in on Twitter with the following comment regarding the Ghost.

That is all we know about the Ghost, one thing is for sure, this is no Consular ship.

SOURCES: Starwars.com, StarWarsBlog and Youtube

Star Wars Celebration Europe News: Star Wars Rebels Concept Art and News

UPDATE: VIDEO FROM THE PANEL

Youtube User TheHuskyDog7 posted video from the panel including the question and answer session.



Star Wars Celebration host Warwick Davis had Dave Filoni up on stage this morning discussing Star Wars Rebels.  At the panel Dave revealed the Rebels' official logo, gave us a production update and a peak behind the curtain at concept art from the series.

Official Logo:

Concept Art:

The first two images below are official concept art released via StarWars.com, the remainder are images captured by fans at Celebration Europe.  

Image Source: Official Blog

Image Source: Official Blog

Image Source: @DeathStarNews

Image Source: @MarkNewbold1971

Image Source: @RebellRadion

Image Source: @InfiniteEarths

Image Source: @InfiniteEarths

Production Update:

On the animation style and production:

12:59: Filoni says they opened the archives and looked at all of Filoni’s originals, to see texture and details. They were often slightly different from what made it to film, which was perfect. “We wanted to create a look for this part of Star Wars that precedes A New Hope by just a little bit.” He adds “We have created a set of digital brushes that replicate McQuarrie’s style…We’re going for something that’s much more an illustrative look.”

13:05: No animation has really been created yet, but Filoni shows off some Star Wars Rebels concept art, including an Imperial interior! He talks about very specific color schemes. The Empire is always glossy and silver. Luke wears browns and sandy colors. Han is multi-colored. Leia wore white because she was in the Imperial Senate.

It is interesting that they have not done any animation on the show yet, but not surprising.  Also we received no casting or character information on the series yet, except for a hint at what type of character the main character may be by way of a ship. 

On the main character and a featured ship: 

13:14: Now showing the Ghost, a new ship from the show, which will be central. Filoni says he wanted it to feel like a home, the way the Falcon did. They’re also working hard studying the original films, hoping it will match the look of classic Star Wars.

Ghost as the name of the main characters ship is certainly an interesting choice. It could have multiple meanings. The ship could have some stealth capabilities, or it could imply that the main character is themselves a "ghost" or a person that the Empire thinks is dead. 

I'll be taking a more in-depth look at the ship in another post. 

Stay tuned for more Star Wars Rebels news as it develops. 

SOURCES: Star Wars Blog,  StarWars.com and various Twitter Feeds linked above. 

Star Wars Celebration Europe News: Star Wars Rebels Logo Revealed

Revealed today at the Star Wars Rebels panel was the Disney XD show's official logo.


SOURCE: Star Wars Rebels Facebook

Star Wars Celebration Europe News: The Clone Wars Season 5, The Complete Series Box Set, and Bonus Content Update

 Friday's "Secrets of Star Wars: The Clone Wars" panel at Celebration Europe featured Dave Filoni and Pablo Hidalgo.  The fan site The Star Wars Underworld live-tweeted the panel and has a recap posted.

At the panel we got some insight on what might have been in a Season Six, the status of the bonus content and release date and information on the Season Five and a Season 1-5 Box Set home video releases.

On what might have been:

There was going to be a Yoda arc featuring the Wookiees, a dramatic resolution for Ventress, scenes dealing with Ahsoka's choice, and an appearance of a Sith Temple. In the bonus content we shall see Cad Bane get a new ship and the return of former Chancellor Valorum.


On the bonus content: 

"Hidalgo says they are still working on how to distribute Bonus Content, may be outside the box, could include unfinished animation."


For a complete collection of tweets check out SWU's recap of the panel.

On the Season Five and Season 1-5 Box Set Releases:

It was also announced that October 15th will be the release date for both The Complete Season Five Blu-ray and DVD sets as well as "Seasons 1-5 Box Set."

Caveat emptor applies with the Season 1-5 Box Set, I sense that based on the title there will be a further home video release down the road that will likely include the bonus content and other bonus materials.

It is cool to see that there are two books included in the Season 1-5 sets, the "Episode Guide" and the box set exclusive "The Art of Star Wars: The Clone Wars."

I am very curious about the dimensions on the "Art of" book because it looks to be pretty tiny, which while a cool inclusion doesn't really fit with the coffee table size of the traditional Star Wars "Art of" books.

No prices have been announced but my guess would be $59.99 for Season Five and between $99.99-$139.99 for the Season 1-5 Collection.

Season Five and Season 1-5 Box Set Trailer:

SOURCE: SWU

Star Wars Celebration Europe II: What May Be Announced and When?

Gruga Hall, location of Celebration Stage

Star Wars Celebration Europe II is right around the corner. On July 26th-28th legions of Star Wars fans will invade Messe Essen, Germany.  As a preview for those attending and those not attending, let's take a look at what could be officially announced at this Celebration.

Below is my speculation based on publicly announced schedule and guests. Some things to note with CEII is that a great number of the panels and screenings (except the special guest panels) repeat throughout the weekend.

Publishing:

While we know that Lucasfilm/LucasBooks Senior Editor Jennifer Heddle will be present for the convention, the U.S. novel publisher Del Rey will not have a presence at the convention.  Dark Horse Comics will have a minor presence with Editor Randly Stradley being present for "The Art of Star Wars Comics With Panini" panel on Friday from 12:00 pm -1:00 pm on the Behind-The-Scenes Stage.

Until we get further along in development on Episode VII it seems like the novel and comic publishing licensees are in a bit of a holding pattern.  We may get some tidbits of news out of Leland Chee's panel, "The Holocron 101 with Lucasfilm’s Leland Chee" on Saturday, July 27 from 12:30 pm - 1:30 pm on the Behind-The-Scenes Stage. Any news out of this panel will likely be regarding continuity and possibly hints at what is coming in the future of publishing, but if we do get news I wouldn't expect much.

The non-fiction book The Making of Return of the Jedi by J.W. Rinzler will get a panel hosted by Leland Chee and featuring Rinzler called "Lost Secrets from Return of the Jedi." This panel will take place on Sunday on the Digital stage from 1:30 pm - 2:30 pm.

Other than that we may get some news about short fiction at the Star Wars Insider Magazine, "Star Wars Insider" panel on Saturday, July 27 from 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm at the Star Wars University stage.

It seems clear that from a storytelling point of view the focus of this celebration is going to be Episode VII, Star Wars Rebels and Star Wars: The Clone Wars. So I expect no major publishing announcements at Celebration Europe II.

Films:

There will be special screenings of Return of the Jedi and Attack of the Clones at the convention.  The Return of the Jedi screening will be a special outdoor event from 7:30 pm - 10:00 pm on Friday night, because of the nature of the event and it's location there aren't likely to be any announcements made then.

Repeated on the Digital Stage once per day during the convention will be a special screening of Star Wars: Episode II: Attack of the Clones in 3D. While the previously planned release of all six Star Wars films in 3D conversions is on hold, fans will get a chance to see Episode II in what we assume is a completed conversion.  Once again I wouldn't expect any major announcements on this, except perhaps that they are going to continue the 3D conversion process on the other films with the eye towards a future release after the sequel trilogy.

We have two tiers of film related panels based on the likelihood of theatrical news.

Lower Likelihood Tier

On Sunday at 11:00 am - 12:00 pm on the Celebration stage there is the panel, "The Fett-Tastic Four." This panel features Jeremy Bulloch, Daniel Logan, Dickey Beer and John Morton, discussing Fett.  If there is a spin-off film that focuses on a young Han or young Boba Fett we may get some news out of this panel.

The supporting character fun continues on the Celebration stage on Sunday from 12:30 pm - 1:30 pm, as "The Jabba's Palace Reunion" panel takes place featuring Tim Rose, Mike Edmonds, Femi Taylor, Toby Philpott, Gerald Home, Sean Crawford, and Tim Dry.

Higher Likelihood Tier

"The Golden Hour (Or Maybe 45 Minutes) with Anthony Daniels," will take place on Friday, July 26 at 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm on the Celebration Stage. The likelihood of C-3PO appearing in the Sequel Trilogy seems high, so perhaps with some proper etiquette and protocol we can get some news out of Sir Anthony.

Following Anthony Daneils on the Celebration stage will be, "Evening With the Emperor: Ian McDiarmid" at 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm.  Fans can ask questions to both Anthony Daniels and Ian McDiarmid via Twitter by using the hashtags, #AskC3PO and  #AskPalpatine.

Luke and Leia will be making their appearances at the convention.  Carrie Fisher will be featured on "Straight Talk From a Princess: Carrie Fisher" Saturday, July 27 from 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm on the Celebration stage. Mark Hamill takes center stage in "Mark Hamill: The Jedi Returns" on  Sunday, July 28 from 2:30 pm - 3:30 pm.  Fans can submit questions for Mark Hamill by using the hashtage #AskJedi.

You never know that Carrie Fisher may say and it certainly would make sense for both Carrie and Mark to talk up Episode VII.

Preceding both Carrie and Mark's panels will be the Celebration debut of Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy. "Kathleen Kennedy: Her Celebration Premiere!" will be held on the Celebration stage on Saturday, July 27 from 10:30 am - 11:30 am. Fans can submit questions by tweeting #AskKathy.  If I were placing bets on a big Episode VII or spin-off film announcement it will be at this panel.

I  think we will get a few announcements at Kennedy's panel. I think we get the official confirmation of the return of Original Trilogy cast members, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, and Anthony Daniels to the Sequel Trilogy.  I also think we get the official announcement of the subtitle for the film.  Finally I think we get official confirmation of the subject and possibly title of the first spin-off film.

Kennedy's panel seems likely to feature a drop in by Hamill and Fisher and perhaps a surprise appearance by Harrison Ford.


Television:

We have two major things to look forward to from the television perspective for Celebration Europe II. Announcements regarding the future of Star Wars: The Clone Wars' bonus content and announcements and a sneak peak at Star Wars Rebels.

The Clone Wars:

For The Clone Wars we have special screenings of the theatrical cut of the Season Five Darth Maul/Mandalore story arc featuring episodes “Revival,” “Eminence,” “Shades of Reason,” and “The Lawless."  These screenings will be held introduced by Dave Filoni.  The presence of Filoni could allow for him giving attending fans some news regarding the series' bonus content.

There are two panels that aren't especially Clone Wars focused but may let some information slip.  Ashley Eckstein the actress who portrayed Ahsoka Tano in The Clone Wars will take part in the "The Women of Star Wars" panel on Sunday, July 28 from 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm on the Digital stage. Dave Filoni will also host a fan question and answer with guests Pablo Hidalgo and Leland Chee, "Masters’ Challenge: Dave Filoni with Pablo Hidalgo and Leland Chee on Saturday," July 27 at 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm on the Behind-The-Scenes stage.

The biggest Clone Wars news will likely drop at the "Secrets of Star Wars: The Clone Wars" panel on Friday, July 26 from 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm on the Behind-The-Scenes stage. This panel will feature Dave Filoni and Pablo Hidalgo and potentially some fan questions as well.  From this panel I can expect we would get a release date and cover art for the Season 5 Blu-ray and DVD release.  I also think we will get announcements regarding the "bonus content" including a distribution channel, release date, possibly titles and a new trailer.

Star Wars Rebels

While it is possible and even likely that Kathleen Kennedy will mention Star Wars Rebels during her Saturday morning panel, we are early enough in the production process on the show that what little news we will get of the series will likely all come out of the one dedicated panel at the convention.  Kennedy will probably mention the series in passing not to steal the thunder from the Rebels panel which occurs after her panel.

The panel "First Look: Star Wars Rebels" will occur on  Saturday, July 27 from 12:30 pm - 1:30 pm on the Celebration stage.

"Exclusive for Celebration Europe, a first glimpse into the production of Star Wars Rebels, an exciting, all-new animated television series slated for release in 2014. Rebels executive producer Dave Filoni, who was supervising director of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, will discuss the inspiration for the new series. Rebels is set between the events of Episodes III and IV, an era spanning almost two decades of Star Wars stories that have not yet been explored on screen. Details about the show are a closely-guarded secret at this point, but fans at Celebration Europe can catch a first look into production. Tweet using #AskFiloni and your question may be asked during the panel!"

I expect we may see some character concept art, perhaps some storyboards, but I would be surprised if they are far enough on in production to give us a proper trailer for the show.

Closing Ceremonies:

Finally at the Closing Ceremonies we should get an announcement about the next Celebration and perhaps Fan Days events. The Closing Ceremonies will take place on the Celebration stage on Sunday from 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm.

For a complete printable schedule of Celebration Europe II, click HERE.

SOURCE: StarWarsCelebration.EU