The Toy Fair 2011 was this weekend and Star Wars had their usual presence there, but it was certainly the year for The Clone Wars, with much of the new toys being targeted toward that show rather than the movies in general, which was somewhat of a disappointment for some fans. However, it was quite a boom for fans of the animated series with new characters, new character looks a spiffy new large scale Attack Shuttle and other toys. For those that have a fondness for your own lightsaber, Hasbro introduced a plastic hilt version of the FX Light Saber for $35 which is a big savings off the collectible metal model. Darth and Luke’s sabers will hit the stores soon. Star Wars, by the way, took in a record total for 2010, even though there was no movie released, mostly in part to the Cartoon Network series.
Not to let other film franchises get all the glory, in 2012, Star Wars Episode I: Phantom Menace will be updated to 3D and rereleased, with the whole series to follow over time. While converted 3D never looks as good as filmed in 3D, it should be interesting to see how this process lives up to the Lucas standard. We hope it’s better than the badly converted Clash of the Titans. James Carpenter also plans to rerelease Titanic in 3D as well.
Darth Vader appeared this week in Star Wars: The Clone Wars when Anakin Skywalker was given a look into his future in the completion of the 3 part arc that featured returns of Qui-Gon Jinn and Anakin’s mother Shmi to the Star Wars universe. In Anakin’s visions, he is forced to relive or preview the mistakes he had made to become the Dark Lord of the Sith. Of course, this included the killing of the younglings, seen in Episode 3 and the famed destruction of Alderaan once he became Darth. Seeing Darth Vader in his vision was very haunting for anyone, but especially for the Star Wars fan. This foreshadowing makes Ghosts of Mortis arc some of the most popular and well created of the series and a true turning point. Now the question is whether Anakin will take that into consideration and change what he has done or continue down the path later on. The only trouble is that if he doesn’t, there may never be a Darth Vader, but since Clone Wars tends to play with the canon quite a bit, who knows?
The Pheonix Rays basketball team hosted a Star Wars night on their home court, inviting Star Wars fans from all over. The costumes were amazing. Of course, there was Darth Vader, C3PO, Boba Fett, R2D2 and a whole slew of slave bikini Leia girls that danced on the hard wood. The game itself was actually against the Sacramento Kings, but it seemed that the sporting event may have been overshadowed by the event. It would be interesting to see Darth Vader use the force for basketball. Imagine how easy it would be to will the ball into the net? And being 7 foot doesn’t hurt either. Unfortunately, even the Force couldn’t save the Rays that lost to the Kings, 113 to 108.
For those of you eagerly awaiting Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars, Han Solo and Leia will make an appearance, even though in the movie/tv show, their birth is still years away. They will be unlockable characters in the game, which should really set the canon on its ear. We would like to see Leia slap some sense into her dad.
And finally, as you’ve seen here, we’ve talked about the upcoming Star Tours II at the Disney Parks, which originally featured a wayward journey of a Star Speeder on it’s way to Endor. In the new version, their goal according to show producers, Disney’s version of the guys in charge of the ride’s design, will feature as many of the cast as possible in the short action packed journey. Scheduled to appear is C3PO, R2D2, Darth Vader, Boba Fett, Princess Leia, Chewbacca, and Admiral Ackbar, who will no doubt warn us it’s a trap. The question is how will all these legends appear, as old footage, new footage, holograms? C3PO is the only one we know will be doing new footage and appearing as an actual robot piloting our Starspeeder. Guess we’ll find out on May 20, 2011 or maybe even earlier during the cast member (employee) or passholder previews that are usually held days before the official opening.
And that’s it for now. End communications. And see you next time.
