First look at Star Wars: Rebels

At the past weekend's Star Wars Celebration Europe convention the first images from the new Star Wars animated series, Rebels, were revealed. The series will be set between the the prequel and original trilogies, focusing on the Rebel Alliance (or its fore-bearers), as StarWars.com describe:

It takes place in a time where the Empire is securing its grip on the galaxy and hunting down the last of the Jedi Knights as a fledgling rebellion against the Empire is taking shape.

The series is being heavily influenced by the aesthetic of Ralph McQuarrie's concept art for the original trilogy - Which I think is an excellent decision; I really like that look! The logo above, and the following images were released by StarWars.com, as you can see, they really capture the crisp clean and bright look of McQuarrie's art:

The central ship in the above image is the hero ship of the series, the Ghost. TheForce.net uncovered a schematic of the ship, from a url hidden on badges given away at the convention:

Hoth Bricks posted photos from the Rebels presentation at the convention, there are a few highlights after the jump, but you can see lots more of the Ghost, new stormtroopers, droids, and location designs on Hoth Bricks:

Star Wars Episode VII fan poster channelling Struzan

Check out this excellent Star Wars Episode VII fan poster, featuring all the aged regulars from the original trilogy, ready to step back into action:

It was made by DeviantART user Adam Schickling, though would fit right in with Drew Struzan's posters for the special editions and prequels.

Amazing Star Wars films as maps

Check out these amazing maps of the Star Wars films, by artist Andrew DeGraff. The ingeniously guide us through all the story points, and locations, of all the original trilogy:

These will be part of an exhibition of his work opening in Los Angeles this week, which will apparently include similar treatments of the Indiana Jones films. Amazing! Via /Film.

Disney buys Star Wars!

Wow, Disney has just brought LucasFilm for a whooping $4 billion from George Lucas, which puts Disney in charge of LucasFilm, ILM, Skywalker Sound and all the LucasFilm brands, including of course Star Wars. Lucas cites a desire to ensure the longevity of Star Wars as his impetus for the sale:

For the past 35 years, one of my greatest pleasures has been to see Star Wars passed from one generation to the next. It's now time for me to pass Star Wars on to a new generation of filmmakers. I've always believed that Star Wars could live beyond me, and I thought it was important to set up the transition during my lifetime. I'm confident that with Lucasfilm under the leadership of Kathleen Kennedy, and having a new home within the Disney organization, Star Wars will certainly live on and flourish for many generations to come. Disney's reach and experience give Lucasfilm the opportunity to blaze new trails in film, television, interactive media, theme parks, live entertainment, and consumer products.

Disney certainly aren't shy about playing with the Star Wars brand either; their first announcement upon the acquisition to that a new movie, Episode VII, will be coming to screens as soon as 2015, with more to follow - In fact TheForce.net report plans for films every two to three years! Plus even more new Star Wars TV series. George Lucas will continue his association with Star Wars as a creative consultant. You can read the full press release about Disney's purchase, here.

Here are Lucas and Kennedy talking a little about the whole thing:



I am cautiously optimistic about this. Since The Clone Wars relaunched Star Wars on TV, and with more TV plans already in the works, it's been interesting in recent years to start to see Star Wars as an expanding multi-media brand, and not just a film series with some particularly successful tie-in products. Disney have done a pretty good job working with/owning Pixar and Marvel, so perhaps they can be trusted with another distinct production entity under their wing. At the same time I look to Disney's in-house stuff and worry a little - In particular I'm thinking of John Carter, which was an absolutely brilliant, stunning, and all round amazing film, which I think could easily have been the next Star Wars itself. Except Disney made a mess with the marketing and the film flopped!

A new Star Wars film every two years also seems a bit excessive. But I guess it depends how they treat it. Star Wars 7, 8, 9, etc could become tiresome. But if they were to pursue a strategy similar to the Marvel films, and have a myriad of distinct film series within the single Star Wars universe, I think that could get interesting. One can't help but wonder what the future may hold for Indiana Jones too... So I guess for now, let's hope the force is strong with Disney.

Awesome Star Wars B-movie posters

Check out these fantastic B-movie stlye Star Wars posters from Sublevel Studios: Revenge of the Sandpeople, by Mark Daniels and Mark Steele, and Lair of the Rancor, by Mark Daniels:

 

Star Wars Detours

Have you seen the trailer for the latest Star Wars spin off? A new animated series, this time parodying the franchise itself. It looks most amusing:



They've also released a few clips:








Leia and Obi-Wan especially crack me, as does the matt painting gag. I look forward to this very much.

Clone Wars season 4 trailer

Check out the new trailer for the forthcoming fourth season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars:



I'm still waiting for season three to come out on bluray!

Star Wars bluray art

I just came across the full artwork for the forthcoming Star Wars bluray releases, pretty:

 

 

Niue's Star Wars coins

The New Zealand Mint has begun to release sets of coins, legal tender on the island of Niue, featuring Star Wars designs. There will be forty all together, starting with two sets of four solid silver coins in novelty cases (Darth Vader's helmet and the Millennium Falcon), and ten individual silver plated coins. Here are my favourite two:

 

You can find out more on the New Zealand Mint's website.