Suvudu Universe

TWG’s roundup gathers popular and intriguing updates pertaining to Star Wars, including animation, literature, comic books, merchandise, and any other aspect related to the galaxy far, far away.

Rebels Recon #10: Inside “Idiot’s Array”

Make sure to watch the latest behind-the-scenes look of “Idiot’s Array” in Rebels Recon. At the end, catch a sneak preview of the next brand new episode airing on February 2, 2015, “Vision of Hope”.

Also, the mystery of Fulcrum’s identity continues. Tumblr user kablob17 spotted Fulcrum’s symbol in this particular video, as seen on the left. On the right, the symbol appeared in the Rebels Recon video for “Gathering Forces”.

Star Wars Rebels Pushes Disney XD Canada to Record-Breaking Performance

Though it may not seem like the biggest news, it is quite pleasing to hear that Star Wars Rebels helped Disney XD Canada continue its lead with a record-breaking performance. Compared to variety of other digital channels geared towards children, Rebels was the highest ranking animated program during the Fall 2014 season. It even reached a high record of 274,500 viewers on October 26, 2014. Visit Stockhouse‘s report for more information and details about the network’s success.

Back in December, Disney XD outperformed Nicktoons, and Star Wars Rebels, specifically, ranked as Disney XD’s #1 animated series in November for a particular age group and #2 for total viewers.

BANDAI NAMCO Games Reveal New Star Wars Battle Pod Levels

Last October, I attended the exclusive reveal of a new arcade game by BANDAI NAMCO Games, Star Wars Battle Pod. There, I experienced the game firsthand and played the Yavin level twice. At the time, both the Hoth and Vader’s Revenge levels were unavailable, but the latest Battle Pod trailer reveals additional information and footage of those two stages.

The HOTH stage is taken directly from Star Wars™: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back™ and places players on the icy planet with an impending attack from Imperial forces. Players will find themselves in the pilot seat of a snowspeeder; their mission, to repel an Imperial forces attack on the Rebel Alliance base and provide air support to ally cargo ships as they escape to safety. The action in this stage is frantic and exciting filled with sights and sounds that Star Wars fans are sure to recognize and enjoy.

The VADER’s REVENGE stage presents an original storyline exclusive to Star Wars: Battle Pod. This special level places players in the role of Lord Darth Vader himself as he pilots a TIE Advanced fighter, a special variant of the famed TIE fighter. In this special mission, players are tasked with preventing the Rebel Alliance from seizing a secret superlaser from the remnants of the destroyed Death Star. Players will feel the visceral challenge of flying through the debris of the destroyed Death Star while engaged in intense battle.

The game is now available to play at most Dave & Buster’s Restaurant locations in the United States, having been officially released on January 23, 2015.

Her Universe’s New Star Wars Items

Ashley Eckstein recently revealed a new Her Universe sample hoodie that resembles the dark grey Hope Lounge Hoodie with the Rebel Alliance symbol replacing the “o” in the word “Hope”. This new sample replaces the “o” with the Imperial symbol in the word “Love”.

Ashley also hinted not too long ago that a new Star Wars Rebels shirt is headed our way.

“We have a really cool Sabine top coming this spring,” she mentioned in a Twitter conversation. Here’s hoping a Hera top will also be coming soon, since the Captain of the Ghost seems to be nonexistent in merchandise.

Prequel Comic Books in Marvel’s Future With Star Wars?

Marvel editor Jordan D. White recently answered a fan question over at his Tumblr blog about the future of Star Wars projects focusing on the prequel era.

So far, of the four projects we’ve announced, three of them are set during the original trilogy. The idea there is that we want to first establish a sort of core line for Star Wars—the way the X-Men line or Avengers line have a core of books that can interact with each other, and readers can read some or all of them. Things that happen in one book can echo through the other, so to speak.

But the fourth book, Kanan, is set between the trilogies for the most part—it starts with the story of how Kanan survived order 66.

I look very much forward to doing stories set in the prequel era—I have a couple of ideas for series I think would fit really well there. But we have nothing to announce just yet.

He also later responded to another similar concern with, “We’re just getting started.” Here’s hoping that if Marvel and Lucasfilm decide to go in that direction, that a few Star Wars: The Clone Wars stories pop up as future comic book series. White has also answered questions about women creators and characters involved in Star Wars comics.

Other questions of possible interest:

• About Legends stories (x) (x) (x)
• Regarding the Princess Leia comic book and its five issues (x) (x)
• Luke and love interests (x)
• Collaborating with other creators (x)
• Touching on stories/characters from The Clone Wars (x) (x)

Learn more about what Jordan D. White has to say about Star Wars comics in Coffee With Kenobi’s Book Chat.

Kilian Plunkett, Dave Filoni, and Henry Gilroy at FTW Comics

Jason Ward at MakingStarWars.net captured video footage of the Star Wars #1 event at FTW Comics in California, where Kilian Plunkett, Dave Filoni, and Henry Gilroy discussed Star Wars Rebels and Star Wars: The Clone Wars. (via Part 1 and Part 2)

Cover Reveal of Jedi Academy: The Phantom Bully by Jeffrey Brown

The third book of Jeffrey Brown’s popular Jedi Academy series won’t come out until July 28, 2015, but StarWars.com revealed its cover and shared the official summary of the book.

“It’s hard to believe this is Roan’s last year at Jedi Academy. He’s been busier than ever learning to fly (and wash) starships, swimming in the Lake Country on Naboo, studying for the Jedi obstacle course exam, and tracking down dozens of vorpak clones — don’t ask. But now, someone is setting him up to get in trouble with everyone at school, including Yoda. If he doesn’t find out who it is, and fast, he may get kicked out of school! Why can’t middle school just be easy. . .

This incredible, original story captures all of the humor, awkwardness, fun, and frustrations of middle school — all told through one boy’s comics, journal entries, letters, sketches, e-mails, and more.”

Midtown Comics Podcast and Video with Jason Aaron and John Cassaday

The crew at Midtown Comics sat down with Jason Aaron and John Cassaday to discuss the latest release of Star Wars #1. Visit the Midtown Comics Blog to find alternative ways to listen to the podcast or click to play below. Also, go ahead and check out the exclusive video coverage of the Midtown Comics Star Wars #1 signing.

http://traffic.libsyn.com/midtowncomics/Episode_25_final_part_2.mp3

Now Available: A Galaxy of Possibilities – Representation and Storytelling in Star Wars

A Galaxy of Possibilities – Representation and Storytelling in Star Wars by transmedia author and scholar Natacha Guyot is now available for purchase as Kindle content on Amazon.

The collection of essays is availabe on all Amazon sites. The following are direct links for US and UK readers: A Galaxy of Possibilities on Amazon US and A Galaxy of Possibilities on Amazon UK.

Visit Natacha’s website to read the official description and contents.

Travel Buddy Or Roommate Spreadsheets for Star Wars Celebration Anaheim 2015

Heading out to Star Wars Celebration Anaheim in April? If you’re still looking for a traveling partner and/or roommate for the big event, check out TheForce.net‘s Google spreadsheets. Doing so may help you feel more relieved about lessening expenses and finding company.

For those looking for someone to travel and accompany to Anaheim from your area, visit http://bit.ly/swcanaheimtravelform.

For those looking for a roommate, visit http://bit.ly/swcanaheimhotelform.

Father Creates 3D Printed Star Wars Rebels AT-DP Helmet for His Son

Credit: 3DPrinting.com, Jon Watson

When Jon Watson’s son wanted to be an AT-DP trooper for Halloween, he had to turn to his Type A Machines Series 1 3D printer, since the costume didn’t exist in the market. The project took about 4 days to create a 3D model and over 100 hours to print the entire helmet. And once it was done printing, he had to take several more steps to give it the final touches.

The way I smooth out the surface is [with] lots of coats of high build filler primer. Then I sand it back down until I hit the plastic, and then primer again until smooth. This works better and is easier than just sanding the PLA. PLA does not sand well. You really have to wet sand it for best results. The final paint was Krylon Fusion satin white and satin black.

Visit 3DPrint.com to read more about this father’s endeavor to fulfill his son’s desire to be an AT-DP trooper.

Star Wars at Sand Sculpting Australia’s “Friends, Foes & Super Heroes” Event

Sand Sculpting Australia’s “Friends, Foes & Super Heroes” event at the Frankston Foreshore has over 3,500 metric tons of sand sculptures featuring Disney, Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars characters. Open every day until April 26, 2015, fans have a chance to visit the location and take pictures with the detailed sculptures, which also includes the crew from Star Wars Rebels. Check out the website and video for more information.