Star Wars

Terrible news to confirm today, as a beloved icon and Star Wars star’s condition has taken a turn for the worse. Carrie Fisher, actress behind both Princess and General Leia, has passed away at age 60. The revered actress and comedic presence had earlier suffered a heart attack en-route from London to Los Angeles.

If you’ve seen Rogue One by now, you’ve probably noticed a lot of the moments we all saw in the trailers didn’t actually make the final cut of the movie. We even published a whole run-down of all the lines and shots that are nowhere to be found in the finished product. Apparently the movie went through a lot more edits than just reshoots though, because according to director Gareth Edwards, the original script had a vastly different ending from what the movie ended up with. This article focuses on the end of the movie, so if you haven’t seen it yet, SPOILERS abound.)

One of the biggest questions we were left with at the end of The Force Awakens, aside from “Do you think Luke makes his own organic soap out there on that space island?” was “Who the heck are Rey’s parents?” It’s a question that won’t be answered in the Star Wars universe until Episode VIII hits theaters late next year…unless you’re a real smarty-pants like Daisy Ridley.

The big emotional climax of Star Wars: The Force Awakens isn’t a lightsaber battle or a dogfight in space or even two characters talking. The last scene of 2015’s Star Wars saga revival follows Rey, a young woman from a desert planet, as she finally locates Luke Skywalker, the reclusive former hero of the galactic Rebellion. Without saying a word, Rey approaches Luke, reaches into her bag, and offers the Jedi master his old lightsaber.

Emilia Clarke, whom most of us know as Khaleesi, has been dipping a toe into film lately, probably preparing for Game of Thrones’ eventual end. She had a starring role as Sarah Connor in Terminator: Genisys over the summer, which wasn’t… super, but it looks like she’s digging the franchise thing. Tonight, the official Star Wars Twitter account announced that she’s heading to a galaxy a fur piece from our own to meet up with Han Solo and his furry Wookiee buddy.

As the Rogue One trailers keep rolling out, they get increasingly more Darth Vader-y. In the first few, we had that shot of the back of his helmet. Then, in the next couple, a new shot of him talking to Ben Mendelsohn’s Director Krennic. Now, the most recent international trailer actually starts off with his “Imperial March” theme and includes a short soundbite of that chilling breathing noise.

Even if you do live under a rock, you probably still heard the news on Friday that Donald Glover would be joining the Star Wars Han Solo prequel movie as dapper smuggler Lando Calrissian. Since the news broke, fans have speculated as to how the two characters would come together in the story. Would Lucasfilm focus on the earlier days of Han Solo’s smuggling career and the friendship between the two men? Or would it get right to the heart of the matter and show Han Solo winning the Millennium Falcon from his friend?

You might know that early in his career, Harrison Ford was credited as “Harrison J. Ford.” But did you know that the ‘j’ doesn’t stand for anything? Harrison Ford doesn’t even have a middle name. He adopted it to avoid any confusion with another actor named Harrison Ford, who’d had a lengthy career in the silent film era and died in 1957. That’s just one of the incredible Harrson Ford facts featured in the nwest episode of You Think You Know Movies!

Any Star Wars fan knows that nobody speaks as bluntly about the franchise as Carrie Fisher. While Harrison Ford and Mark Hamill might be counted on for the occasional funny soundbite or bit of interesting backstory, if you really want one of the Star Wars actors to lay their chips on the table, it’s Carrie Fisher you need to listen to. The actress and writer possesses one of the most acerbic wits in all of Hollywood and has never shied away from trying to spin her sense of humor into backdoor Star Wars cannon.

Eventually, the cycle of rumors and deflation around a possible live-action Star Wars TV series will resemble the wait for new movies a few years back, but isn’t ending anytime soon. Networks like ABC have had discussions of a possible live-action TV series, though Disney and ABC boss Ben Sherwood doesn’t believe it would happen until after all the planned movies.