Star Wars Episode VIII Wraps Production

On the Star Wars Facebook page, it was revealed that Star Wars Episode VIII has completed production and now moves into post-production. The video comment says "Final slate of the final shot. VIII is officially wrapped. Thanks to the best cast and crew in the galaxy, and thanks to the fans for all the love and support through the whole process. Cannot wait to put it together and share it with you all! " -Rian Johnson"

Few Star Wars Celebration 2016 Panels

If you are interested, below are videos from four Star Wars Celebration 2016 panels when it was held in London a week ago. The first is for Rogue One, second is for the Han Solo movie, next is about Episode VIII and the last is the Art of Storytelling.

Alden Ehrenreich Cast as Young Han Solo

At Star Wars Celebration in London, it was revealed that Alden Ehrenreich has been cast as Han Solo for the planned Han Solo film that will follow Episode 8. The current plan is to have Phil Lord and Chris Miller (The Lego Movie) write and direct the film. The actor was the first to audition for the role out of an eventual 3000 which later included screen tests on the Millennium Falcon with Chewie over the course of six months of continued screen testing.

Said Lord: “I relate to Han Solo: He doesn’t want to do anything he’s told, when you tell him not to do something he wants to do it more — he’s very sarcastic and at the end of the day he’s reasonably optimistic. That’s why we got so excited about making this movie: the dichotomy between this grouchy guy with the biggest heart in the galaxy.”

Grand Admiral Thrawn Re-Introduced In Star Wars: Rebels Season 3 Trailer

Star Wars Celebration continues in London and with it comes a new trailer for Star Wars: Rebels season 3. It seems the time frame has skipped forward a bit and two characters will appear. One is Wedge Antilles. The other is Grand Admiral Thrawn who is a master tactician and a real threat to the rebels. From the Extended Universe, Thrawn was introduced in the 1991 novel Heir To The Empire that took place right after Return of the Jedi. Over the course of the three novels now called The Thrawn Trilogy, the character nearly destroyed the New Republic and re-energize the Empire. For all intents and purposes this trilogy created the Extended Universe for Star Wars and reintroduced the franchise to a new generation of fans.

When people (like me) complain about the loss of the EU and the refusal of Disney to allow new stories to be told in the "Legends" continuity (why? would love a real explanation), it is because of novels like the Thrawn trilogy. I remained a fan of Star Wars because of the EU and the 1990s to 2014ish novels. Not because of the movies. So while seeing Thrawn being re-introduced into canon is great, its also a constant reminder of Disney's bizarre policy of blocking off the EU and allowing no one to play in that sandbox again.

Below is the trailer and Bleeding Cool has the summary of the Rebels Panel.

Star Wars: Rogue One Behind the Scenes/Trailer, Poster and More

Yesterday Star Wars Celebration kicked off in London with Star Wars: Rogue One. As part of that there was a panel (few highlights below) with the cast and crew, a reveal of a new poster (right), and a kind of trailer/behind the scenes video of the movie. Below are links to gallery of images of exhibits, props, etc. at the convention.

Galleries: Trailer Stills | Exhibit | Rogue One Panel | Rogue One Props

Highlights
- When George Lucas visits: "I was told on Friday and spent the whole weekend crapping myself," [Rogue One Director Gareth] Edwards said. "I challenge anyone to have a more surreal experience than showing a Star Wars film to George Lucas. He'd criticize things, but then we'd realize he was joking. But we'd all be having heart attacks."