Suvudu Universe

With developments of the sequel trilogy currently underway and Star Wars Rebels set to debut in the fall, news about our favorite franchise pops up anywhere and at any time. To help you keep track, here is TWG’s roundup of the latest news and rumors (in no particular order).

Mini-excerpt from Star Wars: A New Dawn by John Jackson Miller

Del Rey released a mini-excerpt for John Jackson Miller’s upcoming novel, featuring Hera Syndulla and Kanan Jarrus from Star Wars Rebels. With a release date for September 2, 2014, A New Dawn will precede the events from the animated television series set to debut in October.

“It was time to move. Hera picked out the identifying transponder signal of a ship in the convoy. One button-push later, her ship was that vessel, as far as anyone trying to watch traffic was concerned. With practiced ease, she weaved her freighter into the chaotic flood of cargo ships heading to the moon. None of these guys can fly worth a flip, she thought. It was just as well it wasn’t a recruiting trip. She probably wouldn’t have found anyone worth her time.” (via Del Rey’s Facebook)

I absolutely can’t wait to get my hands on this book. I know I’m going to be a big fan of Star Wars Rebels (just as I am for Star Wars: The Clone Wars), so I can’t help but flail over this brief passage. Also, speaking of flailing, the writer and artist of Star Wars Destinies drew this piece recently. Needless to say, it gave me many emotions.

“You’re too reckless.”
“I know.”
by lledra

In other Star Wars books news, Del Rey received the manuscript for Star Wars: Tarkin by James Luceno, which is set to be released on November 4, 2014.

It’s an all-new Star Wars galaxy going forward-an exciting new era of storytelling. Here is the story of the one that even Darth Vader answers to: Tarkin.

“Governor Tarkin, I should have expected to find you holding Vader’s leash. I recognized your foul stench when I was brought on board.” -Princess Leia

Grand Moff Tarkin-the man who controlled the Death Star and ordered the destruction of Alderaan. The man who even the dreaded Darth Vader obeyed. At long last, as the true story of the Star Wars galaxy continues to unfold, Tarkin’s tale now comes to light!

Nothing like seeing the #StarWars Tarkin manuscript in my inbox to ease the Monday Morning comedown... http://t.co/MJDOylDKFv

—
StarWarsBooks (@DelReyStarWars) May 05, 2014

“I Have a Feel About This”

“I Have a Feel About This” is a videocast for female (and male) Star Wars fans brought to you by MakingStarWars.net. Each week, we will release two 5-15 minute segments that focus on Star Wars and our feels for that galaxy far, far away. Join Amanda Ward, Tracy Gardner, and me for the latest episode, entitled “The Feelenium Falcon,” where we discuss our favorite ships and favorite spaceships. Do you have a favorite ship and spaceship? Share yours in the comment section.

Star Wars Rebels Costuming 101: Sabine Wren

May the Fourth weekend was jam-packed with Star Wars appreciation. Executive producer Dave Filoni took to the Star Wars Blog and shared his notes on how to create a Sabine Wren costume from Star Wars Rebels. If you missed it before, Filoni also published a post for Hera Syndulla’s costume. He thanked the Perales family for their accurate and jaw dropping cosplay of the Rebels gang at WonderCon Anaheim 2014.

Straight outta Lothal. #StarWarsRebels #WonderCon http://t.co/mDuELpfKXl

—
Star Wars (@starwars) April 19, 2014

Filoni briefly mentioned that he might post an image of Hera and Sabine’s blasters, since many fans were also interested in having those details for future cosplays.

Make sure to follow Liz and Sal Perales on Twitter.

Her Universe’s “Geek Couture” Fashion Show Finalists

Following Her Universe’s March announcement of a “Geek Couture” fashion show for San Diego Comic Con 2014, over 150 designers applied for the opportunity. From that pool of talent, 36 designers were chosen to move forward and to showcase their “Geek Couture” designs on the runway on July 24th at the Grand Manchester Hyatt. The contestants will be competing for a chance to win the opportunity to design a collection with Her Universe for Hot Topic. This batch of designers includes Amy Beth Christenson Smith, a concept artist currently working on Star Wars Rebels, and Victoria Schmidt, a costume designer recently featured in Heroes of Cosplay. Congratulations to all those selected and good luck in bringing those designs to life! (via Her Universe)

A Message From J.J. Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan

On May the Fourth, fans received a video message straight from London. Star Wars: Episode VII director and writer, J.J. Abrams, and writer Lawrence Kasdan briefly updated viewers by stating that casting announcements will continue and that productions are gearing up.

Following the main cast announcement, several websites reported and discussed the lack of significant female representation in the sequel film. Rumors of an additional female role surfaced from The Hollywood Reporter and another implied that Lupita Nyong’o would portray Asajj Ventress. I’m one of the many fans disappointed with the casting. Although we don’t know anything about the roles, I’m pretty sure that none of the characters use gender as an integral part of their identity. As a result, any of those male roles could have been played by females of the same acting caliber.

Many more fans have responded to the outcry with “be patient” and “quality over quantity.” However, we’re not asking for more women to be added for the sake of representation. We’re suggesting that those male characters currently present could have been written as female characters. Again, I’m quite sure that none of those characters will use gender as part of their identity (meaning that gender is not important to who they are–that the roles could have been portrayed as females for the sake of representation). Not only does that increase the representation that is so desperately needed in the main cast, but it also breaks away from this archaic model of having a predominantly male cast.

As for the possibility of seeing Asajj Ventress on the big screen, I have mixed feelings. On one hand, Lupita Nyong’o is highly talented, an inspiration for colored girls everywhere, and someone I would love to have in Star Wars: Episode VII. On the other, she would be playing an alien. I’m also worried about how Ventress’ story will be handled. Fan-made posters are portraying Nyong’o with an air of villainy and wielding red lighstabers. If the rumor is true, Ventress’ character growth in Star Wars: The Clone Wars has to be taken into consideration. She was straying away from that dark path and becoming more of a bounty hunter sort of character. I highly doubt she will be a villain in the sequel film, so if Nyong’o’s involvement is true, then I would rather see her as a human than an alien.

That is my personal take on the matter. To read more about these significant issues, Club Jade wrote an informative piece, entitled “On Star Wars fandom, feminism, diversity and anger.” Also, ComicBook.com compiled the major articles pertaining to the Star Wars: Episode VII casting.

Star Wars Spin Off Films and Production

Remember when Disney confirmed at CinemaCon that it was planning to release a new Star Wars film into theaters every summer starting with 2015’s Star Wars: Episode VII? That didn’t exactly pan out, since the movie was moved to December 2015. I still think this approach is an ambitious goal. People always refer to the Marvel films as an example, but the Marvel formula does not apply to all franchises. Personal thoughts aside, Disney and Lucasfilm are planning three spin off films before the end of the decade. Additionally, the sequel trilogy (VII, VIII, and IX) will be released every other year, meaning 2015, 2017 and 2019. (via Jedi News UK)

Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars Rebels?

Dan Curto of Jedi News and Sandtroopers.com shared pictures of a new line of Star Wars figures, which includes characters from Star Wars Rebels. Present is “Rebels Obi-Wan Kenobi” with side-swept hair and a long brown robe, looking more like old Ben Kenobi from Episode IV: A New Hope. How big of a role he will have in the series remains unclear. Personally, I hope James Arnold Taylor returns to voice him, since for the past several years, he portrayed the character in Genndy Tartakovsky’s Star Wars: Clone Wars and in the Emmy award winning series Star Wars: The Clone Wars. (via Sandtroopers.com)

It’d be interesting to see if Obi-Wan and Kanan have some sort of a connection. Kanan was a young Padawan when he escaped Order 66, so he may be familiar with Kenobi’s name. There are so many possibilities when it comes to story lines. I can’t express in words how excited I am for this series. Instead, I’ll have to convey my enthusiasm with this animated GIF.

Vanessa Marshall Announced President Barack Obama at the Shoah Foundation Event

Star Wars Rebels voice actor Vanessa Marshall is a proud supporter of the Shoah Foundation, a non-profit organization established by Steven Spielberg in 1994 with the goal to record testimonies of survivors and witnesses of the Holocaust. On May 7 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Century City, California, the USC Shoah Foundation honored President Barack Obama with the annual “Ambassador for Humanity” award–and Vanessa Marshall was there to announce him! She tweeted pictures of the event and shared her personal experience. To read more about the event, click here. (via The Bearded Trio)

So, this is happening... http://t.co/tGRnqVqV9e

—
Vanessa Marshall (@vanmarshall) May 08, 2014

Also, make sure to read up on Vanessa Marshall’s latest interviews about Star Wars Rebels with IGN and Den of Geek.

Star Wars Rebels Event

If you didn’t get a chance to follow along with the exclusive Star Wars Rebels Event that took place on May the Fourth, I collected a few tweets and Instagram pictures over at MakingStarWars.net for your convenience. The 25 bloggers sat down for a dinner and met with voice actor Vanessa Marshall for a short Q&A session. Here is a concise list of blogs detailing the experience:

• As Mom Sees It
• Koupon Karen
• The Mommers
• Newly Crunchy Mama Of 3
• Coupon Mamacita
• Disney Nerd
• Sweeties Freebies
• Trippin’ with Tara
• My Boys and Their Toys
• Thrifty Jinxy

Tricia Barr’s Wynde and Independent Publisher Book Awards

The results for the 2014 Independent Publisher Book Awards have been released, highlighting this year’s best titles published in a wide variety of divisions in independent publishing. Earning her first Gold Medal in the Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror E-Book category is writer and professional fan of science fiction Tricia Barr (FANgirl Blog). Tricia published her novel, Wynde, earlier this year and has received positive reviews for her epic tale.

Once the semester finishes, I look forward to cracking the book open and immersing myself in the story. I’ve heard many great things, and I can’t wait to start reading it (finally)!

Congratulations to Tricia Barr and her awesome achievement!

Remember to follow The Wookiee Gunner on Twitter and Facebook for the latest Star Wars news!