Star Wars Bits: Darth Maul Hot Toys Figure, Kylo Ren Is Not A Sith Lord, 'Thrawn: Treason' Excerpts, And More
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In this edition of Star Wars Bits:
Toyark pointed us to this awesome Solo: A Star Wars Story Darth Maul figure, which features a 1/6th scale version of the Crimson Dawn gang leader (and his mechanical lower body). The coolest part has to be the interchangeable lightsaber blades which make it seem like the weapon is in motion. I don't even collect these myself, but I have to admit that's pretty rad. You can preorder it here for $274.
Limited Run Games is re-releasing physical cartridges of the beloved Nintendo 64 video game Shadows of the Empire as well as NES and Game Boy versions of The Empire Strikes Back. They're taking orders right now, and each one comes with an action figure cardback for proudly displaying the cartridge itself. Check out this interview with Limited Games' Josh Fairhurst for more info.
She LOVED I was willing to look ridiculous! I squeezed into her white #ESB snow jumpsuit & she paraded me around the studio-Didn't want to wear the robe but isolated in the desert she said"No one will see you!"This is the exact moment she saw a photographer on a long-angle lens😳 https://t.co/6ObRsjxJwr
— Mark Hamill (@MarkHamill) July 12, 2019
In case it flew past your feed earlier this month, Mark Hamill shared a lovely little story about his friend and former co-star, the late, great Carrie Fisher.
As just announced, I am writing THE RISE OF KYLO REN – a limited series comic launching in December, just before Episode IX.
You know the one story everyone's dying to see, about Kylo and the Knights of Ren? That's this.
You're not ready (hell, I barely am.) pic.twitter.com/CiBehByvy1
— Charles Soule (@CharlesSoule) July 20, 2019
As mentioned earlier on /Film, we're excited to see what writer Charles Soule has cooked up in this upcoming origin comic story about Kylo Ren – especially since it debuts before J.J. Abrams' The Rise of Skywalker comes to theaters and will likely reveal some aspects of the character we haven't seen before.
Speaking of comics, a Redditor pointed out that the next volume of Doctor Aphra is available for pre-order, and there's a new synopsis that comes along with it that hints that Darth Vader may attempt to try to finish off Aphra after failing to kill her years earlier.
Just got my "Who's Who in the Galaxy" (ty Amazon Prime)and, sho' nuff, that symbol revealed last week on the sith trooper figure packaging & back pack is used for ALL the Sith Lords... interestingly, but not surprisingly, it's not used for our baby boy pic.twitter.com/5IEFST75uR
— 𝒟𝒾-ad (OK, it's only a PARTIAL hiatus) (@Thigh_Ground) July 16, 2019
And as for Kylo Ren, this is a fascinating confirmation that the character is not, in fact, a Sith Lord. Will he actually become one in The Rise of Skywalker, or is he content enough with his new position as Supreme Leader that he won't feel the need to graduate to the Sith title?
Imagineer Zsolt Hormay and his team were responsible for all of the rock work at Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, and in addition to some quick glimpses in the video above, you can get a much more detailed explanation of this under-appreciated aspect of construction right here.
Speaking of the parks, Disney has pushed back against recent complaints by Abigail Disney about The Walt Disney Company's treatment of its employees, with the company touting the studio's Disney Aspire initiative, a workforce education program which is the most comprehensive in the country. That's a good step forward, but I think it's safe to say that there's still plenty of work to be done to make sure some Disneyland employees no longer have to live in their cars to survive while working a $15/hour job.
Thrawn: Treason, the final book in author Timothy Zahn's trilogy, is in stores now, and StarWars.com has an interview with Zahn and io9 has a lengthy excerpt from the novel itself. I'll reproduce a small section of that here, but head to both of those links to get the bigger picture:
It had all started out well enough, Lieutenant Eli Vanto thought as he paged through yet another data listing filled with delicate Chiss script. Thrawn had told him that the Chiss Ascendancy had vital need of his talents and abilities, and that he'd arranged for Eli to be quietly released from his current duty aboard the Chimaera. Eli had accepted the new assignment and left Imperial space, arriving at the rendezvous point Thrawn had sent him to full of hope and expectation, with the excitement of the unknown tingling through him.
I am Admiral Ar'alani of the Chiss Defense Fleet, the blue-skinned woman had greeted him from the bridge of her ship. Are you he?I am he, Eli had confirmed, making sure to fill his voice with the mix of confidence and respect that had served him well during his years in the Imperial fleet. I am Eli Vanto. I bring greetings to you from Mitth'raw'nuruodo. He believes I can be of some use to the Chiss Ascendancy.Welcome, Eli Vanto, she'd replied. Let us learn together if he was correct.
That had been over a year ago. In retrospect, Eli thought a little sourly, he should have realized from Ar'alani's neutral words and tone that she wasn't impressed.
And speaking of Star Wars books, a new YA novel called Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge – A Crash of Fate by Zoraida Córdova features two teenaged lovers over a 24-hour period on Batuu, the fictional location in the Outer Rim which serves as the setting for the new Disney theme park. The forbidden romance between Padmé Amidala and Anakin Skywalker helped inspire the relationship between this book's protagonists, Izzy and Jules. The book hits shelves on August 6, 2019, but you can learn more about it here.
We'll wrap up with a few Comic-Con character posters for the VR experience Vader Immortal, and you can click this link to see all six.
