Star wars

By now, you definitely know that Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is the first of what Disney is calling the Star Wars “Anthology Films,” spun off from the main saga. But did you know Rogue One is not the first live-action Star Wars spinoff film? In the 1980s, Lucasfilm produced two TV movies based on Star Wars, The Ewok Adventure and Ewoks: The Battle for Endor. They never played theaters in the United States, but they did get theatrical releases overseas. That’s just one of the galactic facts featured in the newest episode of You Think You Know Movies!

Over the past few years, there has been a small but noticeable attempt to rehabilitate the image of the Star Wars prequels in popular culture. Last November, for example, the A.V. Club published an article on why the Star Wars prequels don’t deserve our hatred. Similar pieces have been published in The Mary Sue, USA Today, and many other websites and online publications. It just goes to show that there is a lid for every pot, no matter how misshapen that pot may be.

Even if you do live under a rock, you probably still heard the news on Friday that Donald Glover would be joining the Star Wars Han Solo prequel movie as dapper smuggler Lando Calrissian. Since the news broke, fans have speculated as to how the two characters would come together in the story. Would Lucasfilm focus on the earlier days of Han Solo’s smuggling career and the friendship between the two men? Or would it get right to the heart of the matter and show Han Solo winning the Millennium Falcon from his friend?

Star Wars Rebels has gifted us similarly high-profile big bads each year, from beating Rogue One to James Earl Jones’ Darth Vader return, to this year’s reemergence of Grand Admiral Thrawn. Don’t expect Vader to have any significant role going forward, however, as Rebels boss Dave Filoni says there’s been “an elected decision to not have Vader around.”

“There is a 97.6 percent chance of failure,” one of the characters says in the new trailer for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, referring to their scheme to steal the plans for the Death Star. I’m not sure the percentage is that high for the movie itself, but it’s got to be up there. There’s a lot of risk for Rogue One, or at least as much risk as there can be for a Star Wars movie. It’s got to prove that there is life for the franchise beyond the main “saga” films. And it’s got to prove that a prequel can work in Star Wars (previously, it hasn’t always worked out for this property). Even in a galaxy far, far away, those are some awfully big questions.

By now, you probably know all about some of the cameos in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, like Daniel Craig’s secret appearance and the actors behind the voice of BB-8. But there are a couple more hidden cameos you most likely didn’t notice — as it turns out, Luke, Leia, Han and Admiral Ackbar aren’t the only classic characters from the original trilogy who appear in The Force Awakens, but J... Read

Despite some early concerns, most would agree that Star Wars: The Force Awakens is a diverse film. The three leads are a woman, a black man and a Cuban man. One of the main enemies is a woman. One of the major new characters is played by a black woman. Princess Leia is now General Leia Organa. It’s not perfect yet, but it’s a very solid step in the right direction. Unfortunately, it may have been a little too far in the right direction for some countries. A new Star Wars: The Force Awakens poster from China has been revealed and, despite being one of the two main stars of the film, they’ve shrunk down black actor John Boyega in half.

Back in October, Ashley Fleetwood, the wife of Daniel Fleetwood, a terminally ill Star Wars fan, started the #ForceForDaniel campaign to help her husband see Star Wars: The Force Awakens before he died. Daniel, a lifelong fan who camped out for tickets to see the prequel trilogy, was given only two months to live in July and both he and his wife knew he wasn’t going to be able to make it until opening day. On November 5, Disney, Lucasfilm and director J.J. Abrams made Daniel’s dying wish come true by bringing Star Wars: The Force Awakens to his home in Spring, Texas. Daniel Fleetwood died last night, just five days after his Star Wars screening, at the age of 32.

(Update: November 5, 2015) According to Daniel's wife's Facebook page, Daniel got to see "Star Wars Episode 7: The Force Awakens," so that mean #FORCEFORDANIEL was a success! // To all our wonderful supporters, friends, family and awesome strangers: Daniels final dream was just granted...

Alright, Star Wars fans, what are you doing on Monday, October 19? Nope, sorry. Whatever you thought you were doing, you might want to readjust your plans, because you’re going to be sitting in front of your computer, watching the new Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer and pre-ordering your tickets for December 18. At least that’s according to multiple early reports, as well as some of our sources as well.

Despite being the lead villain and one of the most iconic characters in cinematic history, Darth Vader only has 12 minutes of screen time in the first Star Wars movie; that’s less than 10% of the movie. That’s just one of the facts packed into the latest episode of You Think You Know Movies, which catches up with the Sith Lord, Darth Vader!

So much of Han Solo’s appeal is due to Harrison Ford’s portrayal of the legendary smuggler. It’s an iconic character elevated by an iconic performance. But it almost didn’t happen. Early in the development of Star Wars, Han Solo was a big, green-skinned alien Jedi with gills and no nose. Once George Lucas decided he wanted a human character, he actually almost cast Billy Dee Williams in the part, before reconsidering him for Lando Calrissian. That’s just one of the facts packed into the latest episode of You Think You Know Movies, which catches up with the captain of the Millennium Falcon, Han Solo!