Did you see the new tralier for Star Wars Episode VII?

Did you see it last night? The latest trailer for Star Wars Episode VII The Force Awakens came out last night and it was brilliant! We got to see some stunning scenery as well as some of the new characters and of course right at the end there was Chewbacca and a very gray-haired Han Solo.  The trailer opens on the scrap yard desert planet of Jakku.  The scenery is stunning as we track a speeder passing by a downed X-Wing fighter and then a half buried star destroyer.  We then get a glimpse of Darth Vaders melted mask and helmet which looks more like a skull, we then fade a again to see a robed figure stretch out his robotic arm to stroke R2-D2’s dome while they sit beside a fire, we then see Luke’s first lightsaber (Anakins lightsaber)  being given to someone, possibly Princess Leia, then we see an extended clip of the X-wings flying over a lake that we first saw in the first trailer.  It then switches to shots of the baddies and things blowing up.  The new Sith looks cool with a hint of Darth Raven about him plus that awesome lightsaber that he uses.  Also plenty of shots of the new stormtrooper and a new insignia for the Empire.  We then end with the millennium Falcon being chased by TIE fighters through a derelict spaceship, a scene that looks very similar to Return of the Jedi when the Falcon is flying through the super structure of the Death Star, we then end with Chewbacca and a very old-looking Han Solo who seem to be on the Millennium Falcon.  All the way through the clip we hear Luke talking, giving the same line he used in Return of the Jedi when he tells Leia that they are brother and sister. So far it looks like J.J. Abrams is doing a fine job and if rumours are true we might be seeing another trailer attached to Avengers : Age of Altron.  I don’t usually say this but HURRY UP DECEMBER!!!!!

May the force be with you…….. The Library Jedi

“Never tell me the odds!”

This week has seen rumours that if we are to belive them that our beloved scruffy looking nerf herder wont be making it to Star Wars Episodes VIII and IX.  In some ways this will be a shame but like a friend of mine said maybe this was the only way to get Harrison Ford back to play Han Solo.  Harrison Ford originally wanted his character to die in Return of the Jedi so maybe his wishes have been granted.  I know these are rumours and we know nearly nothing official about Star Wars Episode VII The Force Awakens but it does make me feel quite sad that they might kill him off.

My reasons are mainly to with the Star Wars Universe.  In Return of the Jedi we see a change in Han.  When we first met him he was only in it for him self, he was a very selfish person

“Look, I ain’t in this for your revolution, and I’m not in it for you, princess. I expect to be well paid. I’m in it for the money”

but as the trilogy goes on we see a change come across him no longer selfish and uncaring but willing to put his life on the line for whats right for the galaxy and his friends.  In the books we get to see more changes in him as he courts Leia and finally marries her and then his journey into parenthood.  It’s at this point I would like Han Solo to survive and continue a long and fulfilling life.  It was a very difficult decision for Leia to have kids.  At first she was really worried that one of her children would end up taking after their grandfather Anakin Skywalker but after reading her real mothers journals she gets to see Anakin Skywalker in another light and that persuades her to make the journey into motherhood.  In the end they have three children, the twins Jaina and Jacen and then later Anakin.  But things don’t go as planned. Anakin is killed during the Yuuzhan Vong war and Jacen turns to the dark side becoming Darth Caedus who is then later defeated and killed by his twin sister Jaina “The sword of the Jedi”  We get to see Han Solo in a completely different light as these events go on even him coming to logger heads with Luke about his kids (and Luke’s son) going on dangerous Jedi missions.  Its  sad times for the Solo family but there is a light at the end of the tunnel in the form of a granddaughter called Allana.  Near the end of the 2nd galactic civil war the Solo’s think their granddaughter (at this point they have only known she was Jacen’s daughter for a very short time) had been killed by a nano killer sent by the moff council.  Later we learn this was just a rouse much to Han and Leia’s delight and disguised as a war orphan Han and Leia get to adopt her so she is safe from all the politics of her home world plus learning a hell lot more about life and the galaxy from the Solo’s, also not forgetting a normal childhood (well I say normal but there’s never a dull moment when you are with Han and Leia).

So in my view yes it would be nice to see Han’s character through his journey of parenthood and all the ups and downs that come with it which we may see a glimpse of as other rumours say Daisy Ridley’s character could well be Han and Leia’s daughter but if the only way we are gonna get back Harrison Ford back is to kill his character off then so be it.

I will just leave you with this quote from one of my favourite Han Solo moments.

“Had a slight weapons malfunction, but everything’s perfectly alright now. We’re fine, we’re all fine, here, now, thank you. How are you?”

May the Force be with you…… Library Jedi signing out…….

 

Its a wrap!!!!!

  Its official, the filming for Star Wars episode VII has finally finished!  An article was published showing a letter that was given to everyone who worked on the film as well as a cleanly shaven Mark Hamill!  Hopefully it wont be long till we get our first trailer and some information on what the plot is.  So what have we learned so far….. Not a lot really, rather a lot of rumour and hardly no actual hard facts.  So hears what we have learnt so far……

In a galaxy far far away……..

It has been 30 years since the destruction of the 2nd Death Star and the Empire has been beaten back to a couple of loyal galaxies.  The Galactic Republic has now taken its rightful place and Princess Leia Organa Solo is now in charge.  Han Solo and Chewbacca have both retired from service with the Alliance.  The Sith have risen from the ashes and have sent out their inquisitors to search and destroy Luke Skywalker.  For the last ten years Luke has gone into hiding on the Sith home world to try to find a way to destroy the Sith once and for all.  Mean while on a desert planet the daughter of Leia and Han comes upon a downed TIE fighter and it pilot.  She rescues the pilot who is having second thoughts about serving the Empire.  On their travels they discover a lightsaber that once belonged to Luke Skywalker.  With the help of Leia, Han, Chewbacca, Lando and some friends along the way they go looking for Luke Skywalker so they can defeat the Empire and their new weapon of mass destruction forever……..

I’m looking forward to this film for several reasons.  One I`m a massive Star Wars geek and Two most of the filming has been done on location.  Its going to be good to see all the old characters back together again and the introduction of the next lot of star wars heroes and villains. Thou I was a little disappointed that Lucas and Disney have changed what’s Star Wars cannon and what’s Star Wars legends I don’t think we will be disappointed.  Other great news that nearly had me wetting my self is the talk of a trilogy of my favourite Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi with Ewan McGregor once again reprising the role!

So with nearly a year to go till we get to see Star Wars Episode VII here’s the Library Jedi signing off for now and May the Force be with you….Always.

My top five favourite Star Wars characters…. Whats yours? Number 2 Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader

At number two of my favourite Star Wars charterers in the former slave boy turned podracer champion later Jedi knight and then Dark Lord of the Sith Anakin Skywalker.  When we first met Anakin he was the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Vader way back in Star Wars Episode IV A New Hope.  Back then we didn’t know his true identity only that he had supposedly betrayed and killed Anakin Skywalker and then the shocking truth revealed its self in Star Wars Episode V The Empire Strikes Back that Darth Vader was Anakin Skywalker!!!!!

Darth Vader: “Obi-Wan never told you what happened to your father.”

Luke Skywalker: “He told me enough! He told me you killed him!”

Darth Vader: “No, I am your father.”

I don’t know about you but those three lines had me on the edge of my seat when I was a kid and even now I get goose bumps!  At the end of Star Wars Episode VI The Return of the Jedi Anakin redeems him self and brings the prophecy of the chosen one to an end when he saves his son Luke and sacrificing him self when he killed the Emperor.  Later on when George Lucas returned to the Star Wars universe with Episodes I, II and III we get to meet the young Anakin Skywalker and watch his full to the Dark Side.

Luke: No, my father didn’t fight in the Clone Wars. He was a navigator on a spice freighter.

Obi-Wan: That’s what your uncle told you. He didn’t hold with your father’s ideals; he felt he should’ve stayed here and not gotten involved.

Luke: You fought in the Clone Wars?

Obi-Wan: Yes. I was once a Jedi knight, the same as your father.

Luke: I wish I’d known him.

Obi-Wan: He was the best star pilot in the galaxy, and a cunning warrior. I understand that you’ve become quite a good pilot yourself.

Obi-Wan: And he was a good friend.

In Star Wars Episode I The Phantom Menace we meet a young Anakin, a slave for the junk dealer Watto.  He helps out Qui-Gon Jinn and Queen Amidala winning the parts for their space ship as well as being freed from slavery.  After the death of Qui-Gon, the Jedi Knight Obi Wan Kenobi takes him on as his apprentice against the wishes of the Jedi council.  Its not an easy partner ship for the pair but always in the back ground is Darth Sidious manipulating him with lies and dark Sith magic..  Its Sidious who arranges and pushes Anakin and Padame in to a forbidden romance and its Sidous who tells Anakin to use his emotions.  And in the end Darth Sidious gets his way, turning Anakin to the dark side and giving him the Sith name of Darth Vader.  We learn in the book that Anakins birth by the midi-chlorians was caused by Darth Sidious’s master Darth Plagueis.  And it was both Darth Plagueis and Darth Sidious who realized that if Anakin was trained by Qui-Gon  then Anakin would be lost to them as a possible Sith Lord.  How different would of Anakins life had been if he was trained by Qui-Gon.  It would have been a wholly different story if he had.

Anakins story is a sad story full of lose and hurting partly caused by Darth Sidious.  Even when he is Darth Vader he knows his whole life was manipulated by Sidious to become his apprentice and it takes sacrificing his own life to save his son to bring him back to the light.

My top five favourite Star Wars characters…. Whats yours? Number 3 is Luke Skywalker

At number 3 of my all time favourite Star Wars characters is that young farm boy from Tattoine Luke Skywalker.  My favourite scene with Luke in it will always be the shot of him staring out into the setting suns of Tattoine with Binary Sunsets written by John Williams playing in the background.  The first time we see Luke he is with his uncle Owen buying droids off the local Jawas.  The purchase of those two droids leads Luke on his path to becoming one of the greatest Jedi of all time!!!!!  The young Luke was very much like his father, an excellent pilot and a desire to see the stars!  In the films we see Luke grow up quite a bit, from a young farm boy rushing head on with danger to help his friends and then we see the more grown up mature Luke who will still rush in to help his friends but this time he has more confidence in his powers and all ways has a plan first!  Luke finally creates the New Jedi Order learning from the past mistakes that the old Jedi order made which made them easy pray to be culled by the Sith.  He also marries Mara Jade, an ex Emperors hand who originally wanted to kill Luke and together they have a son Ben.  As the years go on Luke becomes one of the most powerful Jedi ever, even more powerful then his father but see’s little peace in the galaxy as he fights in one war after the other!  If the rumours are true in the next movie we will see Luke Skywalker hiding out on Tatooine after 30 years of fighting off Jedi hunters.  I was hoping that the story line would be more in line with the expanded universe but alas that does not seem too be.  I am hoping  that they explain what Luke has been doing over the last 30 years to expand his Jedi powers and if he has been training up new Jedi.  The rumours that he are hearing about the new film makes it sound like a reboot of Star Wars Episode IV A New Hope but we will just have to wait and see.

Luke facts

When Luke was dragged under by the a Dianoga in the trash compacter Mark Hamill had to hold his breath for so long that he ended up blowing a blood vessel in his face.  After that he was filmed from one side till it cleared up.

Mark Hamel did all his own stunts in Star Wars Episode VI Return of the Jedi except in two scenes.  First scene was when Luke jumps of the plank at the Sarlacc pit and the second scene is when he is fighting Darth Vader on the Death Star and Vader hurls his light saber cutting the supports of the the catwalk that Luke is standing on.  Both of these stunts were performed by Colin Skeaping who was Mark’s stunt double.

Mark Hamill kept Luke’s boots from the first Star Wars film

When the first Rebel ships escapes Hoth the voice on the PA that says “The first transport is away” was actually Mark Hamill’s voice.

Mark Hamill has played Luke Skywalker in The Muppet Show, Family Guy and Robot Chicken

Mark had to bang his head 16 times in Yoda’s hut until the director was satisfied.

Just before Star Wars was released Mark Hamill was nearly killed in a car crash.  He had to have re constructive surgery on his face.  The scene when Luke was attacked by the Wampa was used to disguise his injuries.

When on Dagobah when Luke is just about to leave and Yoda and Obi Wan are trying to purswade Luke to stay and complete his training, Luke pulls a snake from one of the X Wing engines which ended up biting him on the hand even after being ensured that none of the snakes would bite

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My top five favourite Star Wars characters…. Whats yours?

    I now have more Star Wars figures then I did when I was a kid much to my better half’s delight!  I first started out collecting figures when I dug up two of my old figures while I was doing some gardening in my dad’s garden and now I have around 55 figures.  It was not an easy task to name my favorite five characters there are so many to choose from, both from the star Wars cannon and the extended universe.  So here it goes here’s my fifth favourite Star Wars character…..

At number five is…..

Darth Bane….  The Sith lord responsible for the Rule of Two, A master and an Apprentice.  Darth Bane and Darth Sidious are very alike specially in there planning and the using of different groups to undertake their plans to destroy the Jedi and to rule the galaxy.  Also in their power level as both Sith lords were said to be the Sith’ari.  The reason I choose Darth Bane over Darth Sidious is when I read the Darth Bane trilogy in some ways he came across as a good guy and that the Sith were not completely evil.  I think the reason why I thought of Bane as a good guy is because of his upbringing.  He grow up with out the love of his parents and with the scorn and hatred he had to endure all his life from his father I think made Bane a type of good Sith.  An example of this is when he took on Zannah on as his apprentice.  She was only a little girl when he first met her but he was never unkind or treated her badly or as she got older never took advantage of her.  In some ways he was the good father.  I know some of the trials he first set Zannah looked evil but it was all to do with conditioning her to the ways of the Sith.  I don’t think she went through as much in the degree of harshness in her training as Palpatine did in his training with Darth Palgueis.  I have wrote a shortened biography of Banes life below and there plenty of links for you to follow to read further into his life.  Please let me know what you think and if you think Darth Bane is one of your favourite Star Wars characters and

Born 1026 BBY on the outer rim planet of Apartos.  His birth name was Dessel.  His father was a miner for the Outer Rim Oreworks Company and his mother dies giving birth to him.  When he was 18 he had to jump planet after killing an ensign of the republic army over a game of sabacc.  He was enlisted in the Sith army where he became a sergeant and was noticed by the Sith lords over his command of the force.  Dessel was offered to train in the ways of the Sith at the academy on Korriban.  He changed his name to Bane.  While at the academy Bane studied the old texts about the history of the Sith and became interested on the old Sith title of Darth.  Bane lost his trust in the Brother Hood of Darkness and after discovering Darth Revans holocron he came up with a plan that would save the Sith and eventually destroy the Jedi.  He was able to trick the brotherhood into using a Sith ritual called the thought bomb which not only destroyed the brotherhood but also 100 Jedi.  Bane came up with the rule of two and gave him self the title of Darth.  He found a young force sensitive girl called Zannah and took her as his apprentice.   After destroying the brotherhood Darth Bane travelled to the moon Dxun in search of The Dark Lord Freedon Nad’s tomb..  There he found Nad’s holocron but he also picked up the parasite Orbalisks which would later grow to become an living armour and source of power.  After setting up camp on Ambria he put in motion his plan to defeat the Jedi and started Darth Zannah’s training.  Ten years later while undertaking a mission  to kidnap former supreme chancellor Tarus Valorum (A distant relative of Finis Valorum from The Phantom menace) Zannah meets with a force sensitive nobleman called Hetton who has a huge library of Sith artifacts and books.  She tricks Hetton into returning to Ambria and with his 8 Umbaren shadow assassins  attack Bane.  Bane defeats them and nearly kills Zannahn thinking that she had tried to betray him.  At the last minute Zannah reveals her plan and information about Hettons library.  Using information from Hettons library Bane discovers the were abouts of the deep core planet of Tython and the temple of the Dark Lord Belia Darzu whos holocron has information on creating holocrons.  Something Bane is trying to learn but with out any success.  Bane is also starting to worry that the orbalisks are slowly killing him and making him lose his mind so he sends Zannah to the Jedi temple on Coruscant to discover any cure for them.  Zannah discovers a cure but she also bumps in to her cousin who she thought dead on Ruusan.   The Jedi learn of Zannah and Bane and follow Zannah to the planet Tython where Bane has discovered the holocron he set out to find.  Darth Bane and Zannah battle the Jedi and defeat them but Bane is gravely injured when the force lightning he projected onto a Jedi is reflected back on to him killing some of the orbalisks which in return start to poison Bane.  Bane and Zannah travel back to Ambria to seek out Caleb the healer.  Caleb only agrees to save Bane if Bane hands him self in to the Jedi.  Zannah agress and Bane has the orbalisks removed.  Before the Jedi arrive to arrest Bane Zannah kills Caleb and puts a spell on her cousin driving him mad and making the Jedi think he is the Sith lord who they kill there and then.  The Jedi leave thinking that the Sith are no more little knowing that Zannah and the weak Darth Bane are hiding.

Ten years later we find Darth Bane and Darth Zannah living on the planet Ciutric IV pretending to be a rich merchant family.  Bane has come worried that Zannah no longer wants to take on the mantle of Dark Lord of the Sith and what with his rapidly ageing caused by the incidents ten years ago Bane draws up an contingency plan.  Bane seeks out the lost fortress of Darth Aneddu who had lived for centuries.  Bane discovers the fortress and the holocron and learns the art of essence transfer.  Unknown to Bane the daughter of Caleb the healer Serra, now a princess through marriage has learned of her fathers death at the hands of Bane and Zannah and has sent a bounty hunter and mercenaries to capture him.  Bane is attacked in his mansion and is able to defeat some of the soldiers until the bounty hunter Cognus stabs bane with a blade coated in senflax which sedates Bane.  Unknown to Serra her body guard Lucia served with Dessel during the Sith Wars and she owes her survival to Bane so helps Bane escape.  Meanwhile Zannah has learned about Banes contingency plan and has tracked Bane down to finally kill him and take over as Dark Lord of the Sith.  While Bane is escaping he comes across Cognus who asks Bane to take her on as his apprentice and teach her the ways of the Sith.  But for Bane to do that and keep to the rule of two he first must kill Zannah.  He arranges to meet Zannah on Ambria and the two battle it out.  Just before Zannah can finish Bane off his uses essence transfer.  His body crumbles to dust and there is a battle of wills between Zannah and Bane but Zannahs will is to strong and Bane is finished although a little bit of Bane stays with Zannah.  Zannah becomes the Dark Lord of the Sith and takes on Cognus, now Darth Cognus as her apprentice.

 

If you want to learn more about Darth Bane and the beginnings of the rule of two I suggest you read the following books

Darth Bane: Path of destruction

Darth Bane: Rule of Two

Darth Bane: Dynasty of evil

The new essential guide to characters

The new essential chronology.

 

 

 

 

Happy Birthday Star Wars Episode V The Empire Strikes Back

Wednesday marked 34 years since Star Wars V The Empire Strikes Back was first released.  Costing $22 million to make Empire Strikes back is the best selling Star Wars Movie.  I don’t know about you but this was one of my favourites as you get to see loads of cool vehicles such as the AT-AT and loads of new characters specially Boba Fett!!!!

Set three years after New Hope we see the Rebel Alliance is now based on the ice planet of Hoth.  While escaping from a Wampa Luke is visited by the force ghost of Obi Wan Kenobi who tells Luke to go to Dagoboah and train under the Grand Jedi Master Yoda.  After the battle of Hoth (where we get to see the impressive AT-AT‘s and the rebel’s snow speeders)  the rebel alliance escapes and Luke makes his way to Dagoboah and after crashing his X Wing and R2-D2 get swallowed then spat out by a Dragonsnake and a few misadventures we finally met Grand Jedi Master Yoda and Luke starts his Jedi training.  Meanwhile Han Solo, Princess Leia, Chewbacca and C-3P0 have a run in with the Empire and while hiding on an asteroid they nearly get eaten by a giant Space Slug.  We get our first glimpse of Darth Sidious when he contacts Darth Vader about Luke ordering Vader to hunt him down and destroy him.  Vader not really wanting to kill his own son tells Darth Sedious that if he could be turned to the Dark Side he would become a powerful ally to the Sith.  Unknown to the crew of the Millennium Falcon Vader has recruited a band of bounty hunters to track them down.  Here we get to meet Boba Fett, Dengar, IG-88, 4-LOM and Zuckuss.  Only Boba Fett is able to track the falcon and follows them to the cloud city of Bespin where Han Solo meets his old gambling buddy and the last owner of the Millennium Falcon Lando Calrissian.  Unknown to them Calrissian has betrayed them to Vader.  They are captured by Vader and Han Solo is tortured then frozen in carbonite where he is handed over to Boba Fett and loaded onto his ship Slave 1 who then takes him to Jabba the Hut.  Meanwhile Luke has left Dagobah after receiving a force vision of his friends in danger and ends up confronting Vader who has planned to capture Luke in carbonite and hand him over to Darth Sidious.  After a dramatic lightsaber battle Luke gets his hand chopped off and Vader tells Luke the truth about his father Anakin Skywalker

Darth Vader “Obi wan never told you what happened to your father”

Luke “He told me enough, He told me you killed him”

Darth Vader “No, I am your father!”

Luke just about escapes with his life and is rescued by Carissan, Leia and the droids accepting the truth that Darth Vader was once his father Anakin Skywalker.

Empire Strike Back fun facts….

Mark Hamill had to bang his head 16 times on the ceiling of Yoda’s hut before the director was satisfied.

In the asteroid scene, one of the asteroids is actually a shoe. The rumour is that George Lucas asked the SFX people to redo the scene so many times that they got annoyed and one of them threw in their shoe.

One of the bounty hunters that Darth Vader hires to find Han Solo, IG-88, can be seen in the Cloud City. IG-88 is a droid, and his dead body is sitting next to a furnace in the room where C-3PO is dismantled.