Experience the next great chapters of the Star Wars universe

The Daily Mail in the UK made quite a comment about Mark Hamill no longer looking like the boy that we grew up with in Star Wars, but after 30+ years, did we expect him too? I mean really. He’s 59 now and still working, mostly doing voice work for animated features and video games. He recently was spotted at a wrap party for an independent film called Sushi Girl and he looked significantly older than we are used to seeing him. The article mentioned that he looked paler and more rotund than he was when he played Luke decades before. So what?

They are actually shocked enough to berate the man for aging and not spending a fortune and going through all sorts of plastic surgery to maintain that look, a look that he was horrifically typecasted by. I mean to Star Wars fans, it may be hard to see Luke get older, but for Hamill, it’s just him living his life. It wasn’t like he looked like a homeless guy or something. Voice actors tend to shy away from the...

A while back we talked about how Legoland California had joined in with George Lucas to create a new mini land for their park. You can find our preview article here. But Thursday marked the grand opening of the new 1400 square foot area and Star Wars fans are thrilled. While oddly placed within an area that is more known for its reality, than its fantasy, it sort of shows the series in a new light as if it is the future that could be.

The entire project sets out to chronicle the most memorable locations, scenes and characters from the six movies and the Clone Wars animated series. Guests will start on one side of the timeline and travel through the history of the series, enjoying some of their favorite memories, such as R2D2 and C3PO ducking storm troopers at Mos Eisley, the Ewok Celebration on Endor, and the Battle of Hoth which wouldn’t be complete with well modeled...

George Lucas has selected Prime Focus, a VFX company that is responsible for the 3D implementation in Disney’s Tron Legacy, to do the honors of converting Star Wars Episode I: Phantom Menace to 3D.

A movie series like Star Wars, no matter what people think of the first three episodes, is a legacy that can’t really afford to be a disappointment to the fans and Prime Focus is very aware of that. They said in their press release that they were honored to become a trusted partner in this endeavor and that making sure there is a quality conversion is of utmost importance. They certainly have the experience and technology for it. Their View-D system allows filmmakers to actually not use a dual camera for filming a 3D movie, but it still can be converted in high quality by their artists.

Coordinating the effort is a man who is no stranger to Star Wars, but Industrial Light and Magic’s VFX supervisor for all three of the new films, John Knoll. He is on a mission...

For those of you who like THQ’s Star Wars games for the iPhone, you may want to consider picking up whatever you still want very quickly. A developer for THQ has spilled the beans that the iTunes store for games will be dropping all Star Wars related products very soon. The reason is that the licensing agreement that THQ has with Lucas is nearing its end. Because they are wireless games, the contracts work differently than in regular games where the development is what is included in the license, not the sales thereafter. Instead in wireless apps, the licenses have to keep being renewed and apparently THQ has decided not to do so if this person is correct. So get them quick if you want them.

PS: Games purchased now will still run fine, but THQ will not be able to provide updates through the iTunes system as they have in the past with no license to release Star Wars related products.

In other gaming news, Star Wars: The Old Republic, which we’ve talked...

In 1996 three high school students were on a mission to bring the movie Star Wars to life on the stage as a musical. They took music from such Broadway hits as Grease and Les Miserables, rewrote the lyrics and presented the concoction as a 40 member rock opera, much in the same vein as Jesus Christ: Superstar and Godspell. The show was a huge hit, but only was seen for three nights before it was shut down by George Lucas with a court order. Mainly because the show was making money and even these days, Lucas doesn’t like that, even though he’s been more tolerant of fan based movies and creations based on the Star Wars universe.

The two videos that have been made available from the show are The Millenium Falcon (a send up of Grease’s Greased Lightning) and Use the Force (sung to the tune of Les Miserables’ One Day More). There is talk of releasing the whole video to the show, but its unclear when that would happen or whether it can, given Lucas’ hold on it...

If you haven’t seen Chad Vader, who is supposedly Darth Vader’s brother, on YouTube or his website, you are missing quite a bit. What started out as a web series about what if a Darth Vader like character (legal stuff, you know) was a day manager at a grocery store has turned into an internet phenomenon. He now has DVD’s of Seasons 1 and 2 (which will also be on YouTube in HD) and has come up with a whole bunch of skits beyond the series. He was even one of the funny commentators on the Rifftrax send up of Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back.

In his latest video, he takes on another internet sensation, Rebecca Black’s Friday. You may have seen the video, millions did, or heard the story about this girl. She is a teenager who’s parents put up the money to make a video of her song. They put it up on YouTube and it went viral and is now across the entire internet. The song itself has been charting now on iTunes where it’s gotten 2 million downloads, making her a...

A few days ago we talked about how Star Wars: The Old Republic is signing up beta testers for the soft opening of their massive multiplayer world based on the Star Wars of 1000 years ago. The game is already got 1.5 million interested. But anytime there is huge demand and limited space, the scammers see an opportunity, one that Emperor Palpatine would no doubt approve of.

People always try to make money by selling some intangible object that is not real and is filled with false promises. In this case, a typical ad will try to sell a beta tester invite (or beta key) to an unsuspecting, but eager game player. But like the magic beans, these “tickets” aren’t real. But once you purchase them, you have nothing, but they have your credit card and your personal information. They can then use this to purchase more stuff on your VISA or to steal your identity. There are no tickets for sale by Bioware to beta test their game. So if they are trying to sell you...

Wondercon, for those of you unaware, is one of the largest Comic Book conventions of the year. It’s held this year from April 1st-April 3rd at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, CA. And while it is mostly for comic books, the years have introduced it to a lot of pop culture as well, much like its brethren Comic-Con. And there is nothing more pop culture than Star Wars, and so Lucas and companies fit right in. There are many educational and exciting panel and entertainment venues to go to while you are there.

Here are the Star Wars related events:

Now in its 10th year is the Star Wars Last Fan Movie Standing. Budding moviemakers get to show their stuff not only to the audience of fans, but to George Lucas himself, who has the final word on who wins, after the audience has their chance. While it’s surely too late to get entries in, you can cheer on the ones you love, boo the ones you hate, and have a good old time watching some great talent light up the...

During the closing of a cricket club in the UK, two men intending to rob the place thought they could remain anonymous by donning Darth Maul masks. The ploy seems to have worked because all that they had for the police as a description was their height and estimates of their weight. The pair arrived at closing time and when confronted by two male employees, they attacked the club’s workers with metal bars. Both men defending the club suffered injuries to their arm and face with severe bruising, but there was nothing life threatening. The guys are still at large.

This isn’t the first time a Sith Lord has resorted to robbery to fund his evil empire. Back in June 2010, a man dressed in a full Darth Vader getup including mask and cape, went into a Long Island, NY bank and robbed it at gunpoint. At one time, he struggled with a customer who thought it was a joke at first because of the camouflage pants the bandit was wearing with the disguise. Once the...

Everyone is awaiting the release of Star Wars: The Old Republic, which has been marketed quite a bit before its release on December 31, 2011. But right now, they are soliciting beta testers and have already gotten 1.5 million, which is a good start to the game’s success. Execs at Bio-Ware and EA have a lot riding on this huge undertaking and have been quite careful to keep the public involved. For instance, they recently put up a section of their site where guilds can be formed in anticipation of the game.

They hope to get at least a few million to be able to be profitable and compete in the marketplace with Worlds of Warcraft. To do this, they know that they may have to introduce the idea of MMO to people who’ve never played WoW or any other MMO, but are interested in Star Wars. This will involve not only good marketing and communications, but less intense and easier entry systems in the game itself. In other words, discouraging players with instant kills...

It’s time once again to look at some more interesting and cool Star Wars things that are sure to get the wallet out of your pocket, or at least a smile on your face, or a face palm. Either way, here are three items we haven’t talked about before and maybe should have.

Our first one comes from ThinkGeek. It’s a Force Trainer. It will teach you to hone your mind skills like a Jedi in order to move objects with your mind. By wearing the included headset, your mission is to lift the ball up in the tube using your brainwaves. This is based on the same type of technology as Mattel’s Mindflex which I’ll be honest with you is a bit more fun. In that one, the tube is not the only challenge, but getting the ball through rotating hoops and stuff. The Mindflex is only $55, versus $79.99 for the Force Trainer, but for the collector or fan, the coolness of Star Wars has to be factored in.

You can order it at...

Last news we featured Star Wars Uncut, which featured a fan based recreation of the first Star Wars movie in 15 second increments. Today, we find another gem from a couple of fans of the film, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. Both actors are starring in the new film Paul about an alien landing on Earth. They’ve put together a short film in which they try and recreate the scene where R2D2 and C3PO are out in the desert. Their original intent was to reshoot scene by scene, but only managed to finish one, and that one went a bit awry itself. This is definitely fun stuff from College Humor.

One of the highlights of the Star Wars video games is the Lego ones and on March 22, 2011, Lego: Star Wars III hits the console games. One of the things we love about them is the humor that is in them, and of course the latest installment is loaded with such fun. This TV ad, entitled Charge, shows just what length they’ll go. Check it out...