The world-renowned series’ 7th chapter will come to light by JJ Abrams (Super 8, Mission: Impossible III, Star Trek) and being scripted by Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan (Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi) and another pleasing information is that John Williams is returning to score.

Shooting is scheduled to begin spring 2014 at Pinewood Studios.

These LP-sized LaserDiscs were popular among video enthusiasts because they provided the best quality home video experience. They allowed for uncompressed full-frame video and 5.1 audio, which is why George Lucas was drawn to the format as a way to avoid all that tedious mucking around with filmstock.

To watch the the clips, click here.

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First, we have a cool, retro-Soviet style propaganda art that will appear on the show. The art depicts three stormtroopers.

And here is a new villain from the show… The Inquisitor. A black-clad, intimidating figure who is “tasked by Darth Vader to hunt down the remaining Jedi Knights” and will play a prominent role in the upcoming animated series.

He was unveiled officially by Star Wars Rebels executive producer Dave Filoni at Lucasfilm’s Star Wars Rebels panel at NYCC.

The panel, hosted by Lucasfilm’s Pablo Hidalgo, focused on the Empire and how it is central to the story of Star Wars Rebels. Hidalgo revealed that the series takes place about 14 years after the events of Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith, a time in which the Emperor’s rule is secure and the Empire is seeking to expand its power to Outer Rim territories. That leads Imperial forces to Lothal, a poor planet that initially welcomes the Empire on the promise of security and prosperity. Soon the Imperials start exploiting its people and begin recruiting young citizens to join TIE fighter and Stormtrooper academies, or to work in the Sienar Fleet Systems factory – which builds TIE fighters.

A video was screened at the end of the panel, you can watch it here:

Star Wars Rebels is set to debut on Disney XD in 2014. Stay tuned for more.

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“After five highly successful and critically acclaimed seasons of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, we feel the time has come to wind down the series,” the announcement reveals, adding the somewhat confusing news that, “while the studio is no longer producing new episodes for Cartoon Network, we’re continuing production on new Clone Wars story arcs that promise to be some of the most thrilling adventures ever seen” and advising fans to “stay tuned for more information on where fans can soon find this bonus content.”

 

They’ve also put Seth Green’s planned official parody series “Star Wars Detours”, created by the team behind Adult Swim’s Robot Chicken, on indefinite postponement. Originally announced last year, Lucasfilm today said that the series was postponed until a later date.

“Detours was conceived and produced before we decided to move forward with the new Star Wars trilogy, and in the wake of that decision, Lucasfilm has reconsidered whether launching an animated comedy prior to the launch of Episode VII makes sense. As a result, we’ve decided to postpone the release of Detours until a later date.”

 

Canceling of the terribly written young-adult animated series Clone Wars, postponing of another fun-show and development of a next-gen looking game Star Wars 1313 shows a coming to senses on Disney’s part and an overhaul of the franchise. These are good signs. There may be an opportunity for a high(er?) quality Detours after the new trilogy.

But Disney obviously know what is bad for the franchise, what to do about it and that means a new hope…

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KotOR I and II are accepted as one of the best SW games and CRPG’s ever made and Screenwriter and author Drew Karpyshyn, (Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2, Jade Empire, Baldur’s Gate, Neverwinter Nights, and both Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Star Wars: The Old Republic) formerly of BioWare, has addressed those new Star Wars movie rumors about him that are growing online.

Alas, the KOTOR movie rumors appear to be incorrect. AICN updated their report  to say Karpyshyn told them that he;

“has heard nothing about a Knights of the Old Republic movie. Of course even if he was working on it, he couldn’t say so – but I’m going to say this looks like a rumor that we can put to rest for now. His old workmates at BioWare were hoping it was true, but there was more hope than reality to the rumor. Consider this one shut down for now.”

 

Damn… I wanted that rumor to be true.

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Via: IGN

Disney chairman Robert Iger announced today that his company, The Walt Disney Company is buying Lucasfilm for approx $4.05 billion and is already planning “Star Wars: Episode VII”, the first installment of a new trilogy, for release in 2015. The following two films will be released in 2017 and 2019 respectively.

This announcement is a few hours old and carries an atomic payload.

For the moment, despite The Avengers, I’ve got a bad feeling about this.

Here is the announcement:

And here Lucas talks about his retirement and Kathy receiving his lightsaber, briefly mentioning movies:

Maybe we can expect to see Grand Master Skywalker, Ben Skywalker, Mara Jade and Yuuzhan Vong.

Ford, Hamill and Fisher are perfect age for a New Jedi Order or Legacy trilogy.

“George Lucas is a visionary, an innovator and an epic storyteller – and he’s built a company at the intersection of entertainment and technology to bring some of the world’s most unforgettable characters and stories to screens across the galaxy.  He’s entertained, inspired, and defined filmmaking for almost four decades and we’re incredibly honored that he has entrusted the future of that legacy to Disney.” Said Iger.

Image Credit: Todd Anderson/Disney via Getty Images

“For the past 35 years, one of my greatest pleasures has been to see Star Wars passed from one generation to the next,” said Star Wars creator and Lucasfilm CEO George Lucas in a statement. “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.”

Lucasfilm current co-chairman and veteran producer Kathleen Kennedy will step up to become President of Lucasfilm and report directly to Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn with George serving as a creative consultant. Under the deal, Disney will acquire ownership of Lucasfilm and its operating businesses in live action film production, consumer products, animation, visual effects, and audio post production including LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic, and Skywalker Sound.

So expect MORE TV shows, books and merchandise.

I guess, the force is strong in Mickey Mouse…

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And now, they released the first gameplay video just one week before release. In this one you’ll see Luke swinging his lightsaber and Leia force pull stuff. Which is not exactly fitting, since Leia never became a jedi in the movies. Why not have her talk her way through the piggie blocks Rovio? Like a true politician?

Angry Birds Star Wars is all set to launch on November 8th which is just next week.

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Angry Birds and Star Wars will collide in a new game. And this is not an Angry Birds Space update, it is an entirely new game. Rovio will launch Angry Birds Star Wars on Thursday, Nov. 8. The game, which will be the sixth in the Angry Birds series, will be available for the iOS, Android, Amazon Kindle Fire, Mac, PC, Windows Phone and Windows 8. It will feature characters from the popular six-film franchise.

According to Paul Southern, vice president of licensing and consumer products marketing for Lucasfilm Ltd, these characters will not be “Angry Birds dressed up as “Star Wars” characters.” Instead, “they are characters in their own right.” As such, each will come with personalities “which are kind of similar” to the real characters.

For example, Red Bird will be transformed into Luke Skywalker as an X-Wing pilot in Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope.  At launch, other characters like Chewbacca, Princess Leia, Han Solo, and Obi-Wan Kenobi will take on the bird roles as well. Not surprisingly, Darth Vader and the dark side of the Force will represent the pigs.

“You will see a pig-esque Vader and pig-esque stormtroopers,” Southern says.

Players have already downloaded 1 billion Angry Birds games, paid the plush toys $25 million in sales and just two weeks ago, Rovio launched Bad Piggies, a game starring the grunting green pigs. The game is the top-ranked paid app in the Apple iTunes Store and, in the Android Market, it tops the free apps list.

There’s also big-screen potential for the franchise. A series of animated shorts will be released by year’s end.

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