July was a pretty crazy month. A helluva lot of awesome Star Wars things on the horizon. Here are some convention panel recaps and more.
By Mike Audette // Rogue One panel, Rebels season three, Thrawn, Life Debt, Battlefront, toys, Celebration, Comic Con. July 2016 will go down as one of the biggest months in Star Wars news. I think it deserves its own reflection.
Celebration Europe
At Celebration Europe, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, was all encompassing. The big panel included most of the ensemble cast. Each member got time to talk about their respective characters and a behind the scenes sizzle reel showing off a lot of cool footage from the making of the film. There was no wide release trailer but attendees did get their own exclusive at the end of the panel. This movie is going to be unlike any other Star Wars there has ever been before. I really am loving the look an feel of what I’ve seen so far. Gareth Edwards is doing everything right and is capturing that essence of what makes Star Wars Star Wars. At the same time, he’s also turning it on its head and introducing a whole new set of rules to it.
Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel
There wasn’t only news on the actual film itself but tie-in media as well. It was announced that the prequel novel Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel, will be penned by veteran Star Wars author James Luceno and the official novelization of the film will be written by Alexander Freed. I am a big fan of both authors, most notable Luceno for his work on Darth Plagueis and Freed’s excellent Battlefront: Twilight Company. Both selections are perfect for this kind of subject and I really can’t wait to read them. Catalyst is scheduled for a November release while the novelization should be out the same time as the film.
Star Wars Rebels
Arguably the biggest scene stealer from Celebration was the Star Wars Rebels panel and season three trailer. It was absolutely insane. Everyone in the Ghost crew looks like they are getting character redesigns. From the panel it seems that Sabine will play a more prominent part in the upcoming season while showcasing more of her backstory and Mandalorian connections. She has the Darksaber in the trailer! The Darksaber is my favorite lightsaber. I’m very intrigued to see how it ended up going from Maul, who last had it, to Sabine.
Hondo, Tarkin, and Maul will all be returning while Governor Arihnda Pryce will finally make her debut. In the trailer there’s a a famous Rebel appearing to defect from the Empire, none other than Wedge Antilles. In Lost Stars, it is revealed that he was recruited to join the Rebel Alliance by Fulcrum. Fulcrum in season one was Ahsoka, in the season two finale Ahsoka’s fate is left unknown. Is this part in season three with Wedge a flashback when Ahsoka was still Fulcrum? Or is it present in the season and someone new has taken over the Fulcrum moniker? I can’t wait to find out.
Thrawn
The biggest pop out of the panel and trailer was undoubtedly the reveal of one of the most famous non-movie Star Wars characters in Grand Admiral Thrawn. It had been heavily rumored that Thrawn would be getting introduced in season three and he may be featured as the main villain for the season. There were no new Inquisitors showcased during the panel so it’s pretty safe to assume Thrawn should be the cloud looming over the head of the Rebels.
He will be voiced in the show by Lars Mikkelsen, brother of Mads Mikkelsen who plays Galen Erso in Rogue One. Not only will Thrawn be coming to the small screen, he will be gracing the printed pages yet again in a brand-new canon novel by none other than his creator, Timothy Zahn. The novel simply titled Thrawn, will be coming out April 2017 right around the time of Celebration Orlando. The book will serve as a origin story for the man. It will take place before and during the Rebels timeline.
Battlefront DLC
Early in the month the latest DLC update for Battlefront released that featured Bespin. I wrote about it extensively here. At the Star Wars video games panel at Celebration, EA and DICE released a bunch of info on the next two DLC installments, the Death Star and the previous unknown pack that is now Rogue One: Scarif! I’m so pumped for these updates. In the Death Star, Fighter Squadron is going to include the Trench run from A New Hope. That’s amazing.
Chewie and Bossk are confirmed to be the two new Hero characters while Darth Vader’s TIE Advanced and Luke’s Red 5 X-Wing look to be new Hero vehicles. The Rogue One update is going to feature Jyn Erso and Director Krennic. And, it isn’t known yet what sort of customization options will be available on the Rebel or Imperial sides. I am so hoping for Deathtroopers as an unlock-able skin on the Empire. That would be incredibly cool. Maybe Shoretroopers too? Or maybe Walker Assault uses the AT-ACT on Scarif instead of regular AT-AT’s? Is it December yet?!?!
A lot to look forward to on the horizon. Here’s to hoping it a fun lead up to Rogue One on December 16th.