While Boba Fett obviously has an air of “danger and mystery,” did you know that he also enjoyed Jazz and early Dixieland? That’s right: Jango Fett, whose real name was Bruce Fitzgerald Fett and was born in Aukland, wasn’t called Jango for nothing (he dropped the silent D because they didn’t have that particular consonant combination on his adopted planet of Kamino), and his son, Boba, took on some of his father’s latent genetic predilections including a love of the Gypsy Troubadour’s jangling guitar. He also slightly color blind (low blue perception) and a bit of a lisp, which is why he didn’t talk much. → Read More
Star Wars is finally getting released on Blu-ray. That’s a fact, jack. Sometime in September is what the initial announcement stated. Now, Amazon is listing the actual date as September 27. You know what this means? It’s time dig out the trusty Travel John and camp out in front of Best Buy. [Amazon via Engadget → Read More
Normally I would have passed this by. But since I already posted one cheesy Star Wars tie-in today, I figured why not make it two? This luxurious velour robe (what man wears a velour robe?) comes with a flip-up Yoda head and Rebel Alliance badge. Perfect for the man who never leaves his house. It costs £49.95, which is too much. [via 7Gadgets] → Read More
Where these came from, I don’t know. I’ve done a little searching and there don’t appear to be any Han/Greedo cantina bookends anywhere on the internet. It’s too bad, because they’re definitely the coolest Star Wars bookends I’ve seen… and brother, I’ve seen a lot of Star Wars bookends. → Read More
As we saw teased before CES, the Star Wars Trilogy (along with those other ones) is indeed to be re-released on Blu-Ray in September (you can pre-order now). The fan relationship with this franchise is perhaps the most complicated one in the entertainment world, for various reasons, and while I have no doubt that the new release will see millions of sales, it’s a legitimate question to ask whether this is the film my parents watched in 1977, and which I have perhaps never seen.
I mean, I’ve seen all the movies, but the process of keeping a movie alive for 30, 40, 50, or more years is a complicated one, especially for one that pushed the technical boundaries of filmmaking at the time. In contemplating this, I ran across this somewhat old but absolutely fascinating article about the preservation and restoration of the series. → Read More
Attention, Star Wars fans! The Empire Strikes Back, generally regarded as the best of the Star Wars films, has been added to the National Film Registry. It joins the likes of Airplane, All The President’s Men, and The Pink Panther (the original one, the good one) as the class of 2010 inductees. → Read More
Katie Goldman is a cute little first grader who lives in Evanston, Illinois. She’s 7 years old and loves Star Wars. For a while she carried her Star Wars water bottle to school and then, one morning, she asked for the pink one instead. She told her mother that some kids at school had bullied her, telling her that Star Wars was for boys. Heartbroken, she resolved to fix the problem by backing down instead of calling them womp rats. → Read More
Star Wars and video games go hand-in-hand. There is a long line of Star Wars-themed games going back to the days of arcade games, and continuing through home console and mobile games. Now, the first augmented reality Star Wars game for the iPhone just hit the app store. It is called Star Wars Arcade: Falcon Gunner ($4.99, iTunes link).
The game starts with the scene from the original Star Wars inside the Millennium Falcon after they escape the Death Star and the TIE Fighters attack. You are Luke Skywalker in the gunner’s turret below, and you turn the iPhone to rotate around and shoot the attacking TIE Fighters while Han Solo and Princess Leah either encourage or heckle you depending on your skills. (“Let me guess, you are trying not to hit anyone.”) In the 360-degree background is the Death Star and an earth-like planet, which come into view depending on which way you turn. The game is completely immersive, and works especially well while sitting in a swivel office chair. → Read More
Star Wars. Tie Fighters. Gun Turrets. Oh, yeah, and augmented reality. Do I really need to say anything more?
Actually, yes, I do, because that’s my job and I need to eat and pay bills and stuff. → Read More
Darth Vader’s armor and helmet, owned by an unnamed American collector, is on the auction block and is expected to sell for an estimated $250,000 in November. While it’s doesn’t come with the lightsaber it does include a small vial of absolute nerd cred that you can dose yourself with next time you roll through Comic Con. Think of how many kisses you’ll get at the next PAX nerd orgy. → Read More
It’s October 26, so that means two things: one, Fable III has been released (to solid scores), and two, the zombified DLC for Red Dead Redemption, Undead Nightmare, has also been released. Here’s the launch trailer. → Read More
Lucasfilm has been teasing us for years about a 3D release of the Star Wars saga, and apparently Lucas has decided to come back to the trough one more time. All six movies are due to get their time in the theater, starting with The Phantom Menace, due in early 2012. → Read More
Build-A-Bear: a place where parents pay out of the nose to allow their children the pleasure of stuffing and dressing their own stuffed animal. At least now, overzealous parents can force their love of Star Wars onto their offspring at a younger age with the addition of Star Wars-themed outfits and a limited edition bear. Right now there’s Darth Vader, Jedi Knight and Clone Trooper outfits, but soon C-3P0, Princess Leia and even Han Solo outfits will be available for $15 each. Now what was that about George Lucas killing the Star Wars franchise with cartoons and silly merchandise? Oh yeah, he is. → Read More
I’m in awe. There’s something wonderfully simple but yet appropriate about this concept from author James Hance. Star Wars should be as important as Winnie The Pooh in a child’s development and it’s probably best to introduce them to the lore as early as possible. → Read More
While it is my understanding that playing with the actual Jon Stewart is not safe for children over four years of age, it appears that playing with his Star Wars action figure is just fine. This amazing action figure, made specifically for Star Wars Celebration V in Orlando, was created for presenter Jon Stewart by George Lucas. Needless to say this is not part of canon and is not for sale.
The figure comes with two heads, one with a goatee and one without, and Stewart looks surprisingly virile in his while battle dress. → Read More
Adidas Originals, makers of the Star Wars kicks, is about to drop some Kashyyk on you and yours. The Wookiee coat features a furry hood, a Wookie belt (what did he have in there anyway?) and a quilted outer shell. → Read More
Mini R/C helicopters are really fun to play with, and this model of the Millennium Falcon is no exception. Made from foam and built around a double bladed helicopter motor, this toy will let you reenact all of your favorite scenes from the original Star Wars trilogy. You can pre-order one now from the Star Wars shop for $44.99, and the expected ship date is August 1st. [via Technabob] → Read More
Ladies and gentleman of Comic-Con: Please be on the lookout for anyone in a Darth Vader costume. He may well be a notorious BANK ROBBER~! → Read More
Can someone please send this link to Mrs. Burns and tell her I want the Darth Vader apron for Christmas. She knows that I do a whole lot of grilling and really need an apron anyway. But I haven’t found one that I like this much. Plus, it fits nicely into our Christmas budget at only $24.99. And for the purpose of this post I’ll state that I can’t think of anything I want more. The Princess Leia is cool, too, but I’m not hip enough to wear that. Darth Vader is more my style. [StarWars.com via OhGizmo!] → Read More
