Force Friday - A Star Wars Adventure!

What an adventure Force Friday turned out to be!!

I've done every Midnight Madness since The Phantom Menance (things were a lot cheaper when I could just ask mum to buy me a Darth Maul!) but nothing could have prepared me for Thursday night.  My plan was to do Midnight Madness at Toys R Us in Warrington, pick up the first wave of the Black Series, then head to Disney Store the next morning to get Sphero's BB-8 then go home and relax.  Yeah, that didn't happen!

I got to Toys R Us around 19:30 on Thursday.  I figured I'd just be sat at home clock watching so I may as well be waiting there.  With hindsight it's a good job I did!  I was 5th in line when I arrived and it was a great group of guys.  We passed the hours chatting about Star Wars and collecting and just generally having a laugh.  They had Ray managing the line who I know and is a huge Star Wars fan so that was nice.  Thinking back he did tell us that everything they had was going out, that probably should have set off some alarm bells but I was near the front and I'd never walked away from any of the previous midnight openings without being able to get everything I wanted so it didn't worry me.

The 501st arrived with a Stormtrooper and two Sandtroopers and we all posed from photos (sorry, my old iPhone doesn't have the best camera);

Guess I shouldn't have said I was here for the Black Series!

The lightsabers were a lot of fun!

A bit later a local news crew arrived to cover the opening and interviewed a few of us (I told a Sandtrooper to move along when he said he'd bought all the Kylo Rens, hopefully it sounded as funny out loud as it did in my head!)

By the time midnight arrived the line had grown to over 200 people!  We'd even seen people drive into the car park, take one look at the line and turn around!

You can see how much the line grew in the last hour between these two pictures!

The veil of secrecy was still going strong right up till midnight.  At previous events the manager has come out with a list of everything they had, shown us samples of some of the products and talked about any exclusives they had.  This time there was none of that.  We were even given raffle tickets for a raffle that they couldn't tell us the prizes to (it ended up being some awesome Lego sets with the top prize being the new Force Awakens Millennium Falcon).

At midnight they led us into the store and gave us our free posters and t-shirts, along with a Lego keyring (we didn't get the exclusive brick that was given out in America).  Then we were led to the front of store display.  Ray had told me they weren't expecting this in until the weekend so they were really glad it arrived in time for the event.  The display looked amazing;

This is when the alarm bells started ringing.  As they let in the first four people I scanned the shelves from where I was and couldn't even see the Black Series.  One of the guys turned to me and said they only had 2 of each of Rey, Finn, Kylo Ren and Chewbacca and no Stormtroopers at all!  Luckily for me not everyone in the first four was after the Black Series so I was able to grab the last Finn and a Chewie.  I imagine the final Chewie went to someone in my group.  No way anyone after the 6th or 7th person was getting anything from the Black Series.

I'll be honest, I was disappointed.  Everyone in my group was, even the guys who were are the front of the line due to the lack of any Black Series Stormtroopers.  Given previous events where everything had been plentiful we'd all expected to be able to get everything we wanted and with reports online countries that some people had found wave 2 we were all hoping that we might get lucky and score a Poe and Phasma.  Not of us expected we wouldn't even be able to complete wave 1!

I can see now why they were only letting 4-5 people up at a time, previous events generally let 10-15 up at once but given the limited quantities of some products it would have been chaos.  This way people had a chance to actually look at what they were getting and meant there was no pushing or shoving.  It meant the line moved slowly but it was a better experience when you were at the display.  I didn't spend much time looking at the rest of the range.  I had what I came for so I moved on to help keep the line moving.  But I did get a photo with their special Force Friday display;

 

At the checkout we were given one last gift - a mini Lego TIE Fighter.  We all hung around until the raffle.  Whilst waiting I decided to go back outside and see Ray and ended up spending a bit of time chatting with him and another great guy from Toys R Us.

We probably ended up leaving around 12:45.  Whilst it was a little disappointing to not complete the first wave at Midnight Madness it was a great night.  I got to spend a few hours talking Star Wars with a great bunch of fans who were as excited (and spoiler free) as me for the new film.  I knew these figures would be everywhere in the next few days/weeks so I certainly wasn't going to let it ruin my night.  After all, looking back on previous events, I remember some of what I bought but it's the social build up and camaraderie that I remember most and I'm sure this time won't be any different.



Toys R Us Midnight Madness Giveaways

This has to be my cheapest ever Midnight Madness!

Force Friday itself we was up an out by 6:30 (I think I had about 4 hours sleep).  On the way to the Trafford Centre we called in at a 24 hour Asda just to check.  The shelves had been completely raided.  There was an Armour Series Poe and a few OT repacks and that was it.  We got to Trafford about 7am and were first in line.  We could even see them setting up behind the shutters!

Whilst we were waiting I got to talk to one of the staff who came out (I'm guessing on his break or finishing a night shift) and he confirmed that they did have the Sphero BB-8 and told me to go straight to the tills when they opened as they were behind the counter.  By the time the store opened at 9am there was only about 5 of us waiting.  A much calmer experience than the night before!  When they opened we all went straight to the tills for BB-8, I guess everyone loves that little droid!!

We bought BB-8 along with Disney Store's Star Wars bag and my wife and I both received a free pin badge.  BB-8 secured we decided to check out the rest of the store;

Sadly there was no Black Series to be had.  In fact, apart from the basic line and Sphero's BB-8 everything they offered looked to be Disney Store exclusive.  The Elite Series looked great but I can't afford to start a new line (though I may be tempted to pick up a Jedi Master Luke if they do one).  Jane picked up a plush BB-8 and a BB-8 cup.  It was all about the droid for us at Disney Store.

Disney Store's Force Friday Pin

Went a bit BB-8 crazy at the Disney Store

Since it was half nine I decided to wait for the rest of the Trafford Centre to open at ten rather than head straight into Manchester.  I figured all the big stores there would have been hit at opening so another half hour wouldn't make any real difference.

 

Hamleys had plenty of Lego and some of the basic line but surprisingly no Black Series (they also had an awesome guy in a Jedi cloak getting kids to use the Force to raise the shutters when the store opened!) and John Lewis was even worse.  Trafford Centre done we headed into Manchester.

 

The Entertainer had even less than Hamleys and no space on their shelves for anything else.  Jane loved the Bop-It R2-D2 but didn't pick it up as we'd just bought BB-8 between us.  The Disney Store was the same as the one in Trafford (they'd already sold out of Sphero's BB-8!) but Jane did manage to grab a Chewie hoodie in her size so it was worth the visit.  I really wish they'd do that Resistance jacket in adult size!

 

We headed to Forbidden Planet and they had nothing but the Funko Pop figures!  I knew the smaller independent comic/specialty stores could only order from Friday but I'll admit I thought Forbidden Planet would have been big enough to get some stock direct from Hasbro for Force Friday!  Manchester's Toys R Us hadn't had a midnight opening so they still had a reasonable selection of the basic line (including the Mission Series 3-Pack with BB-8 that really tempted me) but any Black Series figures were long gone.

 

On the way home we called at Salford's Sainsburys (no Black Series) and then Argos.  I never thought that Argos would be my Star Wars saviour!  Kind of fitting since I got my first ever Star Wars figure from them way back in 1997 (a Jedi Luke that I still have!).  We walked in and on the shelves sat Kylo Ren, Rey and 2 Finns.  I left the Rey as she had a bad paint job (her eyebrow touched her eye) and grabbed Kylo Ren and even got a free poster with my purchase!

 

Free poster from Argos

I can't believe I got the Force Friday giveaways from 3 different stores!

 

We did  a store check and saw that Argos had stock in both Birchwood and Warrington.  We called at Birchwood first but they were out of stock when we arrived.  We checked Asda whilst we were there but they were sold out to (but they at least had space for the Black Series on their shelves).  Off to Argos Warrington they had the same figures as Salford.  I grabbed Rey and headed for the checkout then got told I couldn't buy her as someone had reserved all four figures online.  It was like snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

 

Since we were in Warrington we called at Tesco (nothing, they said they were expecting a new end display on Monday) before heading up to Toys R Us again (wow those shelves were bare!) and the nearby Asda which had been cleared out at midnight, no doubt by the people who drove away from Toys R Us after seeing the queue.

 

We decided to do one final stop at Argos in Leigh.  The website said in stock but reservations were for collection the next day.  In store was the same so they must have been getting their figures from another store.  We called at another super market on the way home but by this point my heart wasn't in it anymore.  We were both tired, our feet ached and it was gone four at this point.  My wife did one last check of Argos stock and said a few local stores had one or two but I said no, they were probably just Finn anyway.  Then should found that the Ashton-Under-Lyne store had five.  It was an hour round trip but I was willing to gamble that they'd at least have a Rey so we reserved all five and set off one last time.  I was so glad that we did!  Not only did they have Rey but they had a Stormtrooper as well!  After Midnight Madness I never thought I'd see one of those on Friday!

 

Argos saves the day!

We finally got home around 17:30, eleven hours after we'd set off that morning!  But I'd managed to complete wave 1 of the Black Series and we'd got BB-8 (who's amazing!).  Force Friday definitely didn't go the way I planned but I'm happy we the end  result.  It also proved that I have the best, most patient, wife in the world!  To quote Darth Vader "This will be a day long remembered!"

 

The Black Series figures look fantastic together (even if I did have to "borrow" Luke's lightsaber to complete Finn);

 

 

And BB-8 is quite simply the best Star Wars toy EVER!!

 

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

The Force Awakens - Trailer Analysis (No Spoilers!)

Ok, I was so hyped in the build up to this.  It had been suspected for a while that the next trailer for The Force Awakens might be shown at Star Wars Celebration but with the announcement of the live stream cinema events and then the live stream online it was all but confirmed.  I feel sorry for anyone that had to put up with me at work last Thursday because I was totally hyper.  I loved the first teaser but I was so ready for more!

The panel with JJ Abrams and Kathleen Kennedy was a great way to build the anticipation, then came R2 and BB-8 (I love BB-8!!), our new trio of leads and finally the original cast.  I wish I could have been there, even on the live stream you could feel the energy in the room.  It must have been an incredible feeling.

Then came the moment everyone had been waiting for;

WOW!  I mean I was just blown away.  It showed less than I expected (I was honestly expecting to see a fuller reveal of Luke and Leia) yet more at the same time.  From the moment Luke's narration began "The Force is strong in my family..." I had goose bumps.  When it was over it felt like I'd just been reunited with old friends.  I felt like a kid again, who'd just walked out of A New Hope in 1997 and couldn't wait to get his own lightsaber.  And the best part of not being at Celebration was that I could re-watch it again and again straight away.  And I did.  A lot!

Ok, before I analyse the trailer a bit here's the obligatory spoiler policy.  THERE WILL BE NO SPOILERS.  Nada, zip!  I don't know, I don't want to know and I don't want to spoil anything for those who also don't want to know.  Unlike the Prequel Trilogy we have absolutely no idea where the story is going and I can't wait to be taken on that journey later this year.  Anything I post here is my own speculation based on what's officially been revealed in the teasers and at Celebration.

The teaser opens with an incredible sweeping shot of a distant speeder on the desert planet of Jakku.  Almost instantly the sight of a downed X-Wing in the foreground grabs your attention but as the camera continues to pan across the desert you suddenly realise that's not a mountain or dune in the background.  It's a crashed Star Destroyer!  It's a stunning visual that raises a very interesting question.  What the heck happened here?!

Thanks to Star Wars celebration and the upcoming DLC for Battlefront we know that the Battle of Jakku took place not long after Return of the Jedi which begs the question, what could have happened so soon after Endor that the repercussions are still being felt at the time of The Force Awakens?  Could this be the moment when the Empire becomes The First Order and the Rebel Alliance becomes the Resistance?



Luke Skywalker?



"The Force is strong in my family..."  This was my favourite part of the trailer.  I love Han and Chewie, but Luke Skywalker was one of my childhood heroes and just hearing his voice again gave me chills.  And the way it was done was simply perfect.  Teasing glimpses at the charred remains of Darth Vader's helmet, a robed figure implied to be Luke Skywalker and someone handing a female figure, implied to be Leia, Luke's first lightsaber before he tells someone unseen "you have that power too."

This trailer is like the perfect teaser because it just raises so many questions!

Who recovered Vader's helmet from Endor and why?

Is that Luke Skywalker?  If so where is he and is he alone?  Both teasers have shown us Kylo Ren with his extremely distinct lightsaber blazing but there's been a distinct lack of Jedi.  Luke was told to pass on what he had learned but it certainly doesn't look like he's rebuilt the Jedi Order by the time of The Force Awakens.  Has he even trained Leia?

Luke's old lightsaber?!  Last time we saw this it was lost on Bespin.  This wouldn't be the first time it's shown up again (it came back in the classic Thrawn Trilogy in the old Legends canon as well) but to see it again thirty years after it was lost certainly makes me wonder how it fits into the story.  We know Rey's a scavenger and Jakku appears to be something of a junk world so maybe that's the connection, but if so then how did it end up there?  Plus that doesn't look like Rey's hand passing the lightsaber to Leia.  And there's always the possibility that it's not been lost for 30 years...

"You have that power too." Though we don't see who he's talking to, the implication here is that Luke has found an apprentice.  Is it Rey?  Finn?  Maybe Poe?  Heck, it could be someone else entirely but I've waited a long time to see Jedi Master Luke Skywalker so I can't wait to see how this plays out and for Luke to finally pass on the knowledge of the Jedi.

The rest of the teaser has a faster pace as we get quick action shots of our new heroes and villain.  Poe Dameron flying the new style X-Wing over water.  Kylo Ren in action as everything around him burns.  Rey, Finn and BB-8 running from an attacking TIE Fighter.  BB-8 hiding on what looks like the Millennium Falcon.  Rey offering Finn her hand to help him up, presumably their first meeting.  But there's a few shots that stand out.  The first is this one;

The First Order

The new Stormtroopers look great, but what really caught my interest was the figure in black, standing in the centre under the banner.  Could this be the ruler of The First Order?  A new Emperor?  It certainly doesn't look like Kylo Ren but then we've never seen Ren without his mask on and the figure is too far away to make anything out.

There's a quick shot of what appears to be a TIE Fighter blasting the inside of a Star Destroyer hanger bay followed by Finn removing a blood stained helmet.  We know Finn is a Stormtrooper (or at least John Boyega implied he was at Celebration but he could have been messing with us) and that The First Order is hunting him so it's reasonable to assume he's defected.  But what has caused him to defect?  What's he looking at when he removes that bloodied helmet?  And is that him in the TIE Fighter, shooting his way out of the hanger?

Who is this awesome looking Stormtrooper?

The trailer closes with some fantastic footage of the Millennium Falcon being chased by a TIE Fighter into the wreckage of the downed Star Destroyer.  Then the screen goes black and we hear an unmistakable voice say "Chewie".  As we're given our first real look at two of the heroes of the Original Trilogy, Han delivers his already iconic line "we're home."

"Chewie, we're home."

Which of course begs the question, what's Han referring to as home?  It looks like they're on the Millennium Falcon.  But if Han hasn't been Captain of the Falcon for the last 30 years then who has?

The teaser trailer did a fantastic job of building up excitement for the film without giving anything away.  In fact it only served to raise even more questions that the first teaser from last year.  It's an exciting time to be a Star Wars fan and I can't wait to see what the future holds!