Sci-Fi Storm

It was no secret that when Star Wars: The Clone Wars was canceled, there was some in-process material that was left in limbo – we just didn’t know how much. However, it has been announced that there are in fact 13 full episodes now completed, and they will finally be released on March 7th, exclusively to Netflix subscribers to coincide with the entire series being added to the online video provider’s catalog, which will also include several “Director’s Cut” episodes as well.

From the press release:

The Galactic Republic, Disney/ABC Television Group, Lucasfilm, and Netflix Inc. today announced the highly anticipated debut of the sixth and final season of the Emmy(r) Award-winning series Star Wars: The Clone Wars exclusively to Netflix members in the US and Canada on Friday, March 7. Accompanying the 13-episode new season dubbed “The Lost Missions” will be the entire Star Wars: The Clone Wars saga, which includes several director’s cut episodes never seen on TV as well as the feature film. This multi-year agreement also makes Netflix the exclusive subscription service for the entire Star Wars: The Clone Wars series.

In these eagerly anticipated episodes of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, some of the deepest mysteries of the conflict between the light and the dark sides of the Force are revealed. An intrepid clone trooper discovers a shocking secret, Anakin Skywalker’s closest relationship is tested to its limits, and what Master Yoda discovers while investigating the disappearance of a Jedi could forever change the balance of power in the galaxy. Fans will not only be able to watch the thrilling finale, they’ll be able to see more of Star Wars: The Clone Wars than ever before as Netflix will also stream the director’s cut of seasons one to five.

“Star Wars is one of the most iconic franchises of all time and this series joins a long line of Disney content that Netflix members are and will continue to enjoy for years to come,” said Ted Sarandos, Netflix chief content officer. “The Clone Wars marks an important moment as Netflix welcomes more and more first-run content from The Walt Disney Company and its subsidiaries.”

Star Wars: The Clone Wars is the first time any Star Wars content has been available for Netflix streaming members. The deal follows a recent announcement from Netflix and The Walt Disney Company to bring multiple original series based on Marvel characters to the service in 2015. Netflix will be the exclusive US subscription television service for first-run, live-action, and animated movies from the Walt Disney Studios including titles from Disney, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar Animation Studios, Marvel Studios, Disneynature, and Lucasfilm beginning in 2016. Netflix members can currently enjoy a wide range of Disney, ABC Entertainment Group and Disney Channel films and TV shows across the 41 countries where Netflix operates.

TV Line reports that Big Bang Theory producers Bill Prady and Steve Molaro said on the red carpet last night at the Golden Globes that they’ve signed James Earl Jones, best known as the booming voice of Darth Vader, and Princess Leia herself Carrie Fisher, to play themselves in cameo roles in an upcoming episode of the show where they will cross paths with Sheldon.

We know that Sheldon is a huge fan of That Other Franchise, but we’ve not seen a lot of Star Wars representation on the show. I wonder what reaction we’ll see?

In the meantime, The Hollywood Reporter is reporting on some of the names being bandied about as possibly up for roles in the upcoming Episode VII movie, including Michael Fassbender (X-Men: Days of Future Past), Hugo Weaving (The Lord of the Rings, The Matrix), Adam Driver (Girls) and Breaking Bad‘s Jesse Plemons.

But there is also this interesting nugget…that with the departure of Michael Arndt, who was originally writing the script which focused on the offspring the of the original trilogy’s main characters – Luke, Leia and Han, with them and the original actors taking supporting roles, J.J. Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan, who have taken over the writing, have rewritten the script to put the three back into the lead roles!

Apparently even George Lucas, who had given guidance at the start, has acquiesced to Abrams and Kathleen Kennedy, President of Lucasfilm.

Is this a good idea? I can see them perhaps using this film as a transition, launching the new characters forward, but I can’t see it working for three movies.

I totally missed this during the actual holidays, but here it is…bookmark for next year!
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Now that both Star Wars and Marvel are one under the Mouse, it is no surprise that today Marvel announced that the license for Star Wars comics will return to Marvel, where it began in 1977 and lasted for 9 years. After a break, Dark Horse picked up the license in 1991, and has been publishing Star Wars comics ever since, including some highly acclaimed stories, and most recently, “The Star Wars #1”, based on George Lucas’ original rough draft. Marvel will publish new comics starting in 2015.

From the announcement:

The Walt Disney Company’s Lucasfilm Ltd. and Marvel Entertainment are joining forces to bring new Star Wars adventures to readers across the galaxy, with Marvel granted exclusive rights to create and publish Star Wars comics and graphic novels beginning in 2015.

The agreement marks a homecoming for the Star Wars comic books. Marvel Comics published the first Star Wars comic book, STAR WARS #1, in March 1977, which went on to sell more than 1 million copies. Marvel Comics published its STAR WARS series for nine years. In 1991, Dark Horse Comics took over the license, publishing fan-favorite titles like Dark Empire and Star Wars: Legacy. Last year, Dark Horse released The Star Wars #1, an adaptation of George Lucas’ original rough-draft screenplay for the film, garnering rave reviews and national media attention and ranking among the top-selling Star Wars comics of all time.

“Dark Horse Comics published exceptional Star Wars comics for over 20 years, and we will always be grateful for their enormous contributions to the mythos, and the terrific partnership that we had,” said Carol Roeder, director of Lucasfilm franchise publishing, Disney Publishing Worldwide. “In 2015, the cosmic adventures of Luke, Han, Leia and Chewbacca will make the lightspeed jump back to Marvel, to begin a new age of adventures within the Star Wars universe.

“We here at Marvel could not be more excited to continue the publication of Star Wars comic books and graphic novels,” said Marvel Worldwide Publisher and President, Dan Buckley. “The perennial brand of Star Wars is one of the most iconic in entertainment history and we are honored to have the opportunity to bring our creative talent pool to continue, and expand Star Wars into galaxies far, far away.”

“We’re incredibly excited by this next chapter in the Star Wars saga,” said Andrew B. Sugerman, executive vice president of Disney Publishing Worldwide. “Bringing together the iconic Lucasfilm and Marvel brands to tell new stories will allow us to continue to thrill lovers of the original Star Wars comic books and entertain generations to come.”

Perhaps not exactly shocking that R2-D2 will be returning to appear in Star Wars Episode VII…but perhaps more surprising is that he is the first one actually confirmed, after months of rumors of the “big three”.

Let me go out on a limb…C-3PO will be in it as well. 🙂

What is a LOT more surprising is who build the droid for the upcoming film(s): Lee Towersey and Oliver Steeples, two German fans and members of the R2-D2 Builders Club. During Celebration Europe this past summer, Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy toured the Builders area and saw all the droids they had built and was amazed. Steeples half-jokingly said that the Builders were available if needed…and it looks like they were…

Well, we now know ONE thing about Star Wars: Episode VII at least…when we’ll see it.

Disney has set December 18th, 2015 is a the release date for J.J. Abrams-directed film, widely expected to have the original stars of the first three movies, albeit aged as they are now, but the full title, plot, etc. are completely unknown.

“We’re very excited to share the official 2015 release date for Star Wars: Episode VII, where it will not only anchor the popular holiday filmgoing season but also ensure our extraordinary filmmaking team has the time needed to deliver a sensational picture,” said Alan Horn, chairman of The Walt Disney Studios.

Shooting is scheduled to begin spring 2014 at Pinewood Studios.

Michael Arndt is out as sole screenwriter for Star Wars Episode VII, and J.J. Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan will be taking over.

In a statement from LucasFilm, LucasFilm president Kathleen Kennedy said, “I am very excited about the story we have in place and thrilled to have Larry and J.J. working on the script. “There are very few people who fundamentally understand the way a Star Wars story works like Larry, and it is nothing short of incredible to have him even more deeply involved in its return to the big screen. J.J. of course is an incredible storyteller in his own right. Michael Arndt has done a terrific job bringing us to this point and we have an amazing filmmaking and design team in place already prepping for production.”

Kasdan had already been involved in helping develop some of the future Star Wars films, which was expected to include screenwriting duties for a “non-saga” film to come after Episode VII. Kasdan is also no stranger to LucasFilm properties, having written the original Indiana Jones film, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and co-written the next two sequels.

Pre-production work is already well underway for Episode VII, which is expected to begin filming next Spring for a 2015 release.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars may be over, but the story goes on…Star Wars Rebels will begin next Fall, and Dave Filoni is giving us a little taste, courtesy of this video shown at New York Comic-Con. And we get a glimpse of Rebels Big Bad…a Pau’an known only at this point as the Imperial Inquisitor, who is sent by Darth Vader to hunt down the surviving Jedi…which makes me wonder if there were more survivors than just Yoda and Obi-Wan…and whether Ahsoka might make an appearance.

Star Wars Rebels takes place in the interim between Episodes III and IV.
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The final full season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars is now out on [sfs=1368]Blu-ray[/sfs] and [sfs=1369]DVD[/sfs] today, plus the Collector’s Edition of the complete series is also out on [sfs=1365]Blu-ray[/sfs] and [sfs=1366]DVD[/sfs], if you haven’t started your collection yet – 14 discs for Blu-ray and 19 for DVD, including over 7 hours of extras!

Unfortunately, no signs of the completed Season 6 segments here either…

Check out this alternate scene (the animation isn’t complete) of the climactic point of the finale of Star Wars: The Clone Wars and see if you sense how Ahsoka really felt…

P.S. I’m still hearing that they have completed more material for The Clone Wars, but it is still unknown how and when we might see it…

(Note: you need to read the full article to see the video – it automatically plays with an ad to start, and I don’t like auto-play videos when I don’t expect them…)
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