May the 4th be with You

What a great weekend!  Free Comic Book Day on Saturday and Star Wars Day on Bank Holiday Monday!

I must admit I was expecting something from The Force Awakens to drop today but until they revealed the cover last night I definitely wasn't expecting a full Vanity Fair photo shoot by Annie Leibovitz!

To be honest I am slightly disappointed.  I was really hoping for them to give us our first real look at Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia.  Part of this is purely because Luke is my favourite character and the suspense is killing me, but the other part is purely pragmatic.  September 4th has been announced as "Force Friday" when all of The Force Awakens merchandise will arrive in stores.  Four months from today everything from action figures to LEGO, t-shirts to kitchen utensils, and even Del Rey's prequel novel Aftermath will be in our stores.  And it's already been strongly hinted that we'll be seeing the first of Hasbro's The Force Awakens products revealed at this summer's San Diego Comic Con which is only a little over 2 months away (and before Ant-Man which is probably the most likely film for the next trailer).  I really don't want my first look at Episode VII's Luke Skywalker to be an action figure or merchandising artwork and May the 4th seemed, to me, like the best time to make that reveal.  That said, I trust the team behind this film, they obviously have a plan in place and from the massive amount of hype this film is generating it's clearly working.  I'm sure they'll make the Luke and Leia reveal when the time is right.  As Yoda would say, I must have patience.

And what was revealed is pretty awesome!  There's a few potential spoilers, given all of this has been officially released I'm guessing it's pretty safe but still, if you're trying to avoid everything then best stop reading now.



John Boyega, Daisy Ridely, Peter Mayhew and Harrison Ford with BB-8, Photo by Annie Leibovitz

How amazing is that cover?  Han and Chewie are home in the Falcon along with new heroes Rey and Finn and the little droid I'm almost certain is going to steal the show, BB-8.  It's so great to see Han and Chewie again this soon after the teaser and this image offers us a slightly clearer look at Han Solo's new outfit (and Chewie who doesn't seem to have aged a day!)

Not one, not two, but three articles on Vanity Fair!  The first features an interview with director J. J. Abrams (where he discusses killing Jar Jar Binks and the "wonderful preposterousness" of old-school effects) along with a photo gallery of 6 new images from the production of The Force Awakens and the second looks at those photos in a bit more detail whilst the third reveals the secrets of the chrome armoured Stormtrooper.

The first photo confirms what has long been suspected - Adam Driver is the one behind Kylo Ren's fearsome mask.

Adam Driver as Kylo Ren along with Snowtroopers of The First Order, Photo by Annie Leibovitz

For some reason I'm surprised his face is normal under that mask.  I don't know why but I'd imagined he'd be scarred or disfigured in some way under the hood.  Snowtroopers look pretty cool too.  The Vanity Fair article says that The First Order's secret base is in the frozen plains of the planet pictured above.  That definitely seems to match up with the image in the last teaser with all the Stormtroopers in front of the red First Order banner with snowy mountains in the background.

The article also reveals that Lupita Nyong'o will be playing the pirate Maz Kanata (who will be a CGI character) who has a castle filled with the classic assortment of scum and villainy;

Lupita Nyong'o in the motion capture outfit required to create Maz Kanata, Photo by Annie Leibovitz

The Scum and Villainy of Maz Katana's Castle, Photo by Annie Leibovitz

Of course, Star Wars wouldn't be Star Wars without heroes and Vanity Fair offers up a new look at The Force Awakens' Rey and Poe Dameron.

Daisy Ridley as Rey with Director J. J. Abrams, Photo by Annie Leibovitz

Oscaar Isaac as Poe Dameron, Photo by Annie Leibovitz

Finally, a third article brought one last reveal.  Confirming that it's  Game of Thrones' Gwendoline Christie in the awesome looking chrome Stormtrooper armour.  And that she has a name.  Captain Phasma.

Gwendoline Christie as Captain Phasma, Photo by Annie Leibovitz

And if that's not enough there's a behind the scenes video as well;

And if that's still not enough then Vanity Fair have promised another character portrait will be sent out tomorrow to everyone that signs up to their newsletter by 8pm EST today.  Originally I thought this would be the image of Captain Phasma as she wasn't included in the initial photo set and a leaked scan of the magazine revealed the image before the third article was posted.  With that picture now revealed I'm not sure who we can expect to see tomorrow.  Maybe a new image of John Boyega's Finn or a full body shot of Han Solo and Chewbacca?  I know who I'm hoping for but I'm not expecting that anymore!

Pretty awesome Star Wars Day, huh?

John Williams, Kathleen Kennedy, Lawrence Kasdan and J. J. Abrams, Photo by Annie Leibovitz

Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens - A New Republic?

If you've ever read any of the old Expanded Universe then you'll probably know that soon after defeating the Empire at the Battle of Endor the Rebellion came the New Republic and the remains of the Empire eventually formed the Imperial Remnant.  The announcement that the old EU would no longer be part of continuity threw this into question and the Celebration confirmation that by the time of The Force Awakens the Rebels would the Resistance and the Empire would be The First Order didn't seem to leave much room for the New Republic in the new canon.

However, EA's website for Star Wars: Battlefront's free DLC Battle of Jakku seems to tell a different story. One where the Rebel Alliance did, however briefly, become a New Republic.  Here's how they describe it;

"Be among the first players to experience the Battle of Jakku, the pivotal moment when the New Republic confronted key Imperial holdouts on a remote desert planet. Taking place in the aftermath of the Rebel victory in the Battle of Endor, players will experience the events that created the massive, battle-scarred landscape of Jakku shown in Star Wars: The Force Awakens."
Now, this could simply be a mistake, someone confusing the two continuities and using the New Republic name in error, but given how closely these things are likely being scrutinised in the build up to The Force Awakens I doubt it.  Based on this it seems that the Rebellion did succeed in becoming a New Republic before being thrown back into Resistance by the rise of The First Order.

I'm sure we'll learn more when Battle of Jakku launches on 1st December, but we may not have to wait that long.  The Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens will begin 4th September with Chuck Wendig's novel Aftermath (the first in a trilogy of novels from Del Rey set between ROTJ and TFA) and continues in Marvel's new comic series Shattered Empire later that month.  Maybe we'll find some answers there.