Star wars

There were a lot of exciting toys announced yesterday during the epic 18-hour Star Wars Force Friday reveals, but none as exciting as the BB-8 toy from Sphero. We’ve been gushing about BB-8 since Star Wars Celebration and counting down the days until we could own one. And now that the day is here, it is perhaps even more fun than we imagined.

Harrison Ford might be a superhero. This, according to Star Wars: The Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams, who was on set for Ford’s unfortunate accident last year, when a hydraulic door broke his leg. (As Abrams’ describes it in the clip above, his ankle was at a, gulp, 90-degree angle to the rest of his body. Ew.) Thankfully, Ford was okay. Then he later got into a plane crash and was mostly okay after that too. Because, again, Harrison Ford is a superhero.

Jurassic World recently set the record for the biggest opening weekend at the box office with $209 million. But, did you know that Return of the Jedi once held that record in 1983 with just $23 million. That’s just one of the facts packed into the latest episode of You Think You Know Movies, which looks at the finale of the original Star Wars trilogy, Return of the Jedi!

After a staggering career that spanned more than sixty years actor, Christopher Lee has died. He was 93 years old. The BBC reports he passed away on Sunday “at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London, after being hospitalized for respiratory problems and heart failure.” The legendary actor appeared in over 240 movies.

May the 4th is known throughout the galaxy as Star Wars Day. So it’s the perfect time for this major bit of news, via TheWrap: the second Star Wars “Anthology” film (aka the spinoff films separate from the new trilogy that begins with Star Wars: The Force Awakens) will be an “origin story” for Boba Fett.

If there were any lingering doubts about the popularity of Star Wars in the year 2015, Star Wars Celebration killed them. Ruthlessly. When the the live-streamed panel for Star Wars: The Force Awakens premiered the second trailer for J.J. Abrams’ wildly anticipated sequel, you could feel the internet quiver and shake underneath the weight of the hype. It was a staggering event that made the next few geek-friendly trailers released in the following days feel like small potatoes in comparison. And yes, this hyperbole is backed up by raw numbers: the second trailer for The Force Awakens shattered the record for most trailer views in 24 hours.

The brand new Star Wars: Episode 7 trailer premiered this morning at Star Wars Celebration, as J.J. Abrams and the film’s cast showed off the footage to a packed audience of hardcore Star Wars fans. But, you don't have to be in Anaheim to get a new look at The Force Awakens: we've got the trailer for you right here, right now!

Star Wars details have always been difficult to come by, but they've proven even more difficult with the upcoming spinoff. Other than confirmation that Gareth Edwards (Godzilla) will direct, we know very little about the film. Well, now we at least know what it will be called. Disney and Lucasfilm today confirmed that the first ever Star Wars spinoff will be officially called Rogue One.

The new Star Wars: Episode 7 lightsaber was the most hotly debated topic that came out of the first teaser trailer. What is this thing? Where did it come from? It turns out those answers might come from a very unlikely source: Apple.

If you’re one of those people who can’t get enough ‘Star Wars: Episode 7’ spoilers, first, might we recommend our weekly Wookieepedia ‘Star Wars’ round up? With that shameless plug out of the way, let us now offer you ‘Star Wars’ spoiler addicts some advice from Luke Skywalker himself, Mark Hamill. CHILL OUT.

With all of his projects, J.J. Abrams has shown extraordinary good taste in casting and ‘Star Wars: Episode 7’ is no different. Forget about the old-timers returning to the saga and think about John Boyega, Adam Driver, Gwendoline Christie and the other terrific thespians being given the biggest spotlight of their careers. Abrams, more than most working filmmakers, knows how to showcase an actor or actress in a way that makes us wonder why they weren’t movie stars before he cast them. Anyway, this is just a longwinded way of getting around to saying that Abrams’ impeccable taste is once again on display since a trio of actors from ‘The Raid’ and ‘The Raid 2’ are apparently in ‘The Force Awakens.’

Did you know that in 'Empire Strikes Back' they used potatoes to stand-in for asteroids? Or, that Sir Alec Guinness was paid millions of dollars for five hours of work as Obi-Wan Kenobi? Well, now you can test your 'Star Wars' knowledge with the latest entry in our video series "You Think You Know Movies?"