Star Wars Bits: Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Nathan Fillion, Han Solo, And More

J.J. Abrams thinks casting Tina Fey and Amy Poehler as Darth Vader's annoying moms provides the "pitch-perfect Star Wars energy fans are clamoring for." Because what can't these two make better? Also after the jump:

POEHLER: "He has two horrible mothers. We know a lot of father stuff with Star Wars, and not a lot of mother stuff. We play these really naggy mothers of Darth Vader."

FEY: [In an elderly New Yorker accent] "Darth, eat! Why don't you eat?" That kind of stuff.

POEHLER: "You're never gonna find a girl when you go out looking like that!"

FEY: Making him practice his Jedi stuff for hours.

POEHLER: Hitting on all his Jedi friends inappropriately. I feel like the theme of the next Star Wars is going to be: How does a working mother juggle it all? I'm looking forward to that. What I like about all these giant superhero movies is that they speak to the issues that I'm dealing with right now — working mother and time management and how to be an interesting, sexual, curious woman in your 40s. That's the kind of stuff that I like to see on the screen, and that's what I see with a lot of the films out today.

The normally secretive J.J. Abrams was thrilled to back them up: "The exciting thing about having Amy and Tina play the Vader Moms, as we're calling them, is that they bring to the film that pitch-perfect Star Wars energy fans are clamoring for," he said.

... Okay, so this is pretty obviously a big fat joke. But no kidding, I would be tickled to see Fey or Poehler wielding a lightsaber. [EW]

While Fey and Poehler prepare to portray Vader's parents, Nathan Fillion has stepped into the role of Vader himself. No, not for Episode VII — for a 501st Legion charity photoshoot benefitting Make-a-Wish and other organizations. Watch the behind-the-scenes video below.

If you'd like to buy a print, head to LeeAnnaVamp.com. [via Geeks are Sexy]

In 2012, we were positively gobsmacked to hear that Lucasfilm, under new ownership by Disney, was planning to produce and release Episodes VII through IX of the Star Wars saga. But if you think back further, there was a time when we thought the whole story would be wrapped up and done with well before the new millennium.

A Redditor has shared what they claim is a Usenet thread from 1982. In it, the poster moans, "I can't really imagine waiting until 1997 to see all nine parts of the Star Wars series." That poor, innocent fool. [Reddit]

It seems like every studio is trying their hardest to replicate the success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And that includes Disney, who's hoping to apply the Marvel model to the Star Wars franchise.

"I think everything I say about Marvel you can take a couple of years down the road and substitute the word Marvel for Lucasfilm," said CFO Jay Rasulo. "But we really wanted to take this treasure trove of content and deliver it throughout the Disney ecosystem."

That may mean following Marvel to Netflix, as Rasulo mentioned the comic book franchise's recent deal to launch four new shows. For now, the film series is already headed in a Marvel-esque direction. The studio announced earlier this year that they'd release one Star Wars movie a year starting in 2015, including both new installments of the main story (i.e., the "Episodes") and spinoffs. [ComicBook.com]

Speaking of those standalone films: Although Disney hasn't said much about any of them, Rasulo hints that Han Solo's will be up first, in 2016. And while Star Wars Episode VII will no doubt be a lavish affair, it seems that the studio's hoping to make the single-character-centric spinoffs for a little bit cheaper.

Which, fair enough. Just like not every Marvel movie needs an Avengers budget, not every Han Solo or Boba Fett standalone needs to cost as much as Episode VII. [Las Vegas Guardian Express via Jedi News]

The Ltd. Art Gallery in Seattle is opening its third annual Star Wars-themed group art exhibit this week. Featuring "a collection of original and limited edition artwork inspired by the greatest saga ever told," the show runs through January 2014. See a poster and some highlighted works below.

For those who want to attend, the gallery's Facebook page has more information. [via Laughing Squid]