Yesterday, Comic-Con International: San Diego wrapped up for another year. The convention brought with it a flood of pop culture trailers, panels, and merchandise announcements. It can all be a little overwhelming - so in this post you'll find a recap of the most important Star Wars news to come out of SDCC, accompanied by a few of my own thoughts along the way.
The highly anticipated The Force Awakens panel was, without a doubt, the biggest Star Wars event at SDCC. StarWars.com is yet to release an official video of the panel, but Flicks and the City has generously provided us with an unofficial recording. The panel featured producer Kathleen Kennedy, director and co-writer J.J. Abrams, co-writer Lawrence Kasdan, and cast members Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Oscar Isaac, Adam Driver, Gwendoline Christie, and Dohmnall Gleeson. There was no new footage or trailer on show, but we arguably got something just as good - an exquisite behind-the-scenes video:
Like most fans, I got pretty darn emotional during the first two teaser trailers for The Force Awakens. But this video hits me in a whole different way. It reaffirms the crew's commitment to building a tangible, lived-in universe just like the one we all fell in love with decades ago. Of course, this doesn't guarantee a spectacular movie - Abrams himself noted that simply directing a scene on the Millennium Falcon "doesn't make the scene good". But if we add Abrams and Kasdan's demonstrated gift for storytelling into the mix (not to mention the cast's obvious enthusiasm for this project) then we can see why there's still every reason to have hope in Episode VII.
There are a few new details about The Force Awakens that eagle-eyed fans will be able to glean from this video. We get our first glimpses of both Princess Leia and C-3PO - the latter of whom is sporting a new red arm. We find out that a TIE fighter crashes on Jakku, that Poe Dameron is taken prisoner by a First Order stormtrooper (though this scene may not be all that it appears to be), and that at some point Rey finds herself flying the Falcon solo (pun entirely intended). The panel also announced that Gleeson will be playing a First Order commander by the name of "General Hux", and that the new antagonists will be operating out of "Starkiller Base" - an affectionate reference to Luke Skywalker's original name in George Lucas's early scripts of Star Wars.
Elsewhere in canon news, the Del Rey panel gave us more details on the first run of publications that will come under the "Journey to the Force Awakens" banner. As well as a handful of reference and activity books, Del Rey will be releasing five novels. Two of these - The Weapon of a Jedi by Jason Friday and Smuggler's Run by Greg Rucka - will be set between A New Hope and the Empire Strikes Back and tell standalone stories of Luke Skywalker and Han Solo respectively. A third - Moving Target by Cecil Castellucci and Jason Fry - will be set between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi and follow Princess Leia. Lost Stars by Claudia Gray will feature a pair of entirely new characters who find themselves in love and on opposite sides of the war between the Empire and the Rebellion. These books will accompany the previously announced Aftermath - the first novel to be set after Return of the Jedi in the new canon. Written by Chuck Wendig, Aftermath will be the first book in a new trilogy. You can see more details about these publications (including brief synopses) over at StarWars.com.
Of course it wouldn't be Comic-Con without some sort of focus on merchandise as well. Hasbro gave us a first look at their new die-cast line - though, to my eye, these look to simply be recasts of the same old Titanium Series line. An assortment of new Black Series 6" figures was also unveiled including realistic sculpts of both Kanan Jarrus and Ahsoka Tano from Star Wars: Rebels. The 6" First Order Stormtrooper recently previewed by Entertainment Weekly was in hot demand, but other than that there was only one other piece of The Force Awakens memorabilia on display - the upcoming Black Series 6" TIE Fighter.
The above shot is interesting for more than just toy collectors, as it gives us our first proper look at a vehicle that may play a very important role in the upcoming film. This is no ordinary TIE fighter - featuring a custom paint job, added weaponry, and distinctive bracing around the wing mounts. It looks to be the very same TIE that we see attacking a First Order hangar in the second teaser trailer, and crash-landed on Jakku in the behind-the-scenes video above.
My one disappointment about SDCC was the complete lack of news (bar a couple of new Rebels figures) for 3 3/4" fans. It's less than two months until "Force Friday" when the influx of new The Force Awakens merchandise begins hitting stores, and I honestly thought Hasbro would have more to show us by now.
What were your highlights of this year's SDCC? Be sure to email them to me at relicsoftheforce@gmail.com or send a tweet to @Archon_Revuge!
There are a few new details about The Force Awakens that eagle-eyed fans will be able to glean from this video. We get our first glimpses of both Princess Leia and C-3PO - the latter of whom is sporting a new red arm. We find out that a TIE fighter crashes on Jakku, that Poe Dameron is taken prisoner by a First Order stormtrooper (though this scene may not be all that it appears to be), and that at some point Rey finds herself flying the Falcon solo (pun entirely intended). The panel also announced that Gleeson will be playing a First Order commander by the name of "General Hux", and that the new antagonists will be operating out of "Starkiller Base" - an affectionate reference to Luke Skywalker's original name in George Lucas's early scripts of Star Wars.
Elsewhere in canon news, the Del Rey panel gave us more details on the first run of publications that will come under the "Journey to the Force Awakens" banner. As well as a handful of reference and activity books, Del Rey will be releasing five novels. Two of these - The Weapon of a Jedi by Jason Friday and Smuggler's Run by Greg Rucka - will be set between A New Hope and the Empire Strikes Back and tell standalone stories of Luke Skywalker and Han Solo respectively. A third - Moving Target by Cecil Castellucci and Jason Fry - will be set between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi and follow Princess Leia. Lost Stars by Claudia Gray will feature a pair of entirely new characters who find themselves in love and on opposite sides of the war between the Empire and the Rebellion. These books will accompany the previously announced Aftermath - the first novel to be set after Return of the Jedi in the new canon. Written by Chuck Wendig, Aftermath will be the first book in a new trilogy. You can see more details about these publications (including brief synopses) over at StarWars.com.
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| Special thanks goes to HelloGreedo for this incredibly helpful Journey to the Force Awakens timeline. |
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| Hasbro's upcoming Black Series 6" The Force Awakens TIE Fighter |
My one disappointment about SDCC was the complete lack of news (bar a couple of new Rebels figures) for 3 3/4" fans. It's less than two months until "Force Friday" when the influx of new The Force Awakens merchandise begins hitting stores, and I honestly thought Hasbro would have more to show us by now.
What were your highlights of this year's SDCC? Be sure to email them to me at relicsoftheforce@gmail.com or send a tweet to @Archon_Revuge!
