Star Wars Episode VIII gets a Title.

The title of the new Star Wars film was released. Episode VIII is going to be called "The Last Jedi". Does this refer to Luke or Rey? Is Luke the last ever or is it just a reference to the current state of affairs? In the openning crawl of The Force Awakens, Luke is  referred to as "the last Jedi". I guess we will find out December 15, 2017.

Rogue One: A Few Things to Know

When I was talking with a friend the other day, I realized that there are still people who do not understand what Rogue One is and in what time period it is set. When going to see Rogue One in December there are a few things you need to understand.

1. Rogue One is the first stand alone movie in the new Star Wars cinematic galaxy. It will have familiar elements such as Stormtroopers, AT-AT, and ships. This movie will not have Luke, Leia, and Han. Also, it will also not have the new characters like Rey, Finn, and Poe. It will have a cast unique to the story they are telling here.

2. Rogue One is set in a time before Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. The story is taken directly from the first few lines of the opening crawl. ("It is a period of civil war. Rebel spaceships, striking from a hidden base, have won their first victory against the evil Galactic Empire.
During the battle, Rebel spies managed to steal secret plans to the Empire's ultimate weapon, the DEATH STAR, an armored space station with enough power to destroy an entire planet.) We are getting a peak into the battle and how much it cost the rebellion to get those plans.

3. Rogue One is going have some other very familiar things. We will get to see the rebels and The Empire. We will see some characters like Mon Mothma, Bail Organa, and even Darth Vader. There will be TIE Fighters, Star Destroyers, and a newly built Death Star.

4. Rogue One is not set on a familiar planet. It is being promoted as a war film. This film is supposed to be the grittiest of the Star Wars films thus far.

5. Rogue One will have a conclusion. The is a self-contained movie. There are not plans (of course you never know with Disney) to use these characters again. Do not expect Rogue Two to be announced in January of 2017.

If you still were not clear on what Rogue One was and how it fits into the Star Wars Galaxy, I hope this helps. Please feel free to share this blog with your friends who may still have questions on what the new Star Wars movie is all about. In 2017, we can talk about Episode VIII.

Episode VIII Moves to December

With the success of The Force Awakens, it is not hard to believe that Disney is going to want to continue to ride the wave of Star Wars fever.  In December, they are releasing Rogue One the first of the antology films and the plan was to release Episode VIII in May of 2017. Disney just annouced that they were pushing back Episode VIII back to December 15, 2017. It should not come as a suprise that they were willing to make this change after the success  SWTFA achieved in December. This could set up an interesting stand off between Star Wars and the new Avatar film set for release that December. Unfortunately, we will all have to wait a few extra months to continue the Skywalker story.