There's been a lot of big news in the Star Wars universe in the past week. Last week LucasFilm announced release dates for Episode VIII as well as the first of several planned stand-alone films, entitled Rogue One. Filming on Rogue One begins this summer in London and release is set for December 16, 2016 just less than a year after the premier of The Force Awakens. It will be directed by Gareth Edwards best known for his work on last year's Godzilla. The only star announced so far is Felicity Jones, who garnered an Oscar nod for her work on The Theory of Everything earlier this year. Episode VIII is scheduled for release May 26, 2017, forty years and one day after the opening of A New Hope. It will be written and directed by up and comer Rian Johnson.
I have high hopes for Rogue One especially considering that Jones is the only star thus far. I'm hoping the rogue in the title refers to Rogue Squadron, an elite flight of X-Wing pilots founded and led by Luke Skywalker after the Battle of Yavin. Rogue Squadron was a staple in the books of the old expanded universe and it would be great to see them on the big screen, especially in the command of a woman. I'd love to see Jones as a Jaina Solo-esque character. It's possible, although highly unlikely that she could be Jaina. Although this is purely speculation, there is nothing to say what era the film is set in, all we know so far is that the story line stands apart from the main saga. I would love to see a few nods in upcoming stand alone films to the old EU. Those stories and characters are so dear to the hearts of so many fans that it would be nice to see that they haven't been completely discarded.
In addition, LucasFilm and Disney Publishing have announced that more than twenty upcoming books across all genres will lead up to the release of Episode VII in what they are calling the "Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens." All works released during this period, including comics, novels, children's activity books and reference books will be included in canon and will drop hints to the plot of The Force Awakens. It appears that there will be a fair amount of fodder for speculation enthusiasts. Many of the stories will retell parts of the original trilogy while others will fill in the time between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. I am interested to see if there will be a novelization released before the actual film like there was for The Phantom Menace. Also released this week was the cover art for Star Wars: Aftermath. Aftermath should be really exciting, as it represents the first new EU novel set after Return of the Jedi and has been touted as introducing people and places that will have significance in the new trilogy.
At the moment I'm working through some of the new comic arcs, Star Wars, Princess Leia, and Darth Vader and I'm about two-thirds of the ways through Heir to the Jedi. I couldn't be happier. The art in the Marvel comics is superb and the writing is tight and witty. Heir to the Jedi is an interesting departure as it is written in first person from Luke's point of view. It takes place right after the Battle of Yavin and it focuses on Luke's mourning the loss of Obi-Wan, his uncertainty of his force abilities and his anxieties about becoming a Jedi without an teacher to guide him. It is a unique portrayal and I am enjoying it. A full review will definitely follow :)
Sources: Star Wars.com, IMDB
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