Rebel Force Radio: February 17, 2017

While looking forward to THE LAST JEDI, we continue to pick apart and analyze ROGUE ONE. Joining us this week with his review is up-and-coming NASCAR driver Ryan Blaney, who shares his fandom with us while prepping for the biggest race of the year, The Daytona 500. Keeping with our auto theme, Nissan visited the Chicago Auto Show with a massive ROGUE ONE interactive display. Jimmy Mac paid a visit and talked The Wars with Nissan’s Jeremy Meadows, who gives us the behind-the-scenes info about the Nissan Rogue One Limited Edition and who he met at the ROGUE ONE world premiere. Plus, the latest news about THE LAST JEDI with comments from Disney’s Bob Iger, Kylo Ren actor Adam Driver and Josh Gad continues to harass Daisy Ridley. And, Mulgrew vs Feldshuh, RFR Slow and Tell, and bowls upon bowls of ROGUE ONE Chex Mix. #Savory

 

“The Last Jedi” Packaging Revealed and Force Friday September 1, 2017

Via Starwars.com:

 
GET THE FIRST DETAILS ON THE GLOBAL LAUNCH OF STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI TOYS, COLLECTIBLES, AND MORE!

Attention, Star Wars fans: It’s time to make some room on your desk, toy shelf, bookshelf, and in your closet.

Disney and Lucasfilm today announced Star Wars Force Friday II, a global fan event celebrating the launch of Star Wars: The Last Jedi products. Toys, collectibles, books, apparel, and more will go on sale beginning at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, September 1, 2017, with stores around the world opening for a weekend-long celebration of all things Star Wars. In addition, packaging for the new line, featuring striking images of a lightsaber-wielding Rey, Poe Dameron, and Finn, was also revealed today and can be seen below.

“The first Star Wars Force Friday event was truly unique, uniting fans across five continents in an unprecedented global live unboxing event ahead of thousands of midnight openings at retail,” said Jimmy Pitaro, chairman, Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media. “We’re excited to confirm that Star Wars Force Friday is back for The Last Jedi. Plans for this year’s worldwide event are top secret, but expect something befitting the excitement around the next episode of the Star Wars saga.”

Star Wars fans around the globe embraced Force Friday in 2015, with hundreds of thousands turning up to stores at midnight to be the first to get their hands on merchandise from Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Toys from the new line were revealed via a global livestream unboxing event with top Maker Studios creators that unfolded over 18 hours, 15 different cities and 12 countries, attracting millions of views on YouTube. Fans took to social media to share their experiences with nearly 3 billion Twitter impressions about the events, using #ForceFriday.

Jill Wilfert, vice president of global licensing and entertainment from The LEGO Group commented, “It was so much fun to be a part of Star Wars Force Friday, and we can’t wait for fans to join this year’s celebration as we reveal new Star Wars: The Last Jedi products during Force Friday II — a global event that will connect fans and families, and allow them to build, create and share their experiences with others.”

Details of how fans can participate will be revealed closer to the event, but the worldwide launch will tap new technology and Star Wars mythology to create a unique experience for fans. Just like 2015, products for The Last Jedi will be kept under wraps until Force Friday II to preserve surprises for fans. As well as introducing new characters from the movie in toy form, the line will build on the success of products like Sphero’s BB-8, introducing more innovative technology to bring the characters and stories from the film to life in unique ways.

“Toys play a unique role in the Star Wars universe, and we’re proud to have been part of that incredible legacy for the past 40 years. The new line for The Last Jedi is our most innovative yet, and we’re excited to unveil it on Force Friday II,” said Samantha Lomow, senior vice president at Hasbro.

Stay tuned to StarWars.com for more on Force Friday II!

Rebel Force Radio: February 10, 2017

It’s officially time to begin the countdown to THE LAST JEDI and this week on RFR, we discuss the latest rumors about the release of the first Episode VIII trailer. And, ROGUE ONE concept art, recasting General Leia, and ILM’s John Knoll talks about resurrecting actors via CGI. Plus, listener voice mail, Nissan Death Trooper key chain winners, Lando meets Lando and Jedi Kanye.  

Rebel Force Radio: January 27, 2017

THE LAST JEDI was revealed this week in a surprise announcement as the title of Rian Johnson’s upcoming STAR WARS EPISODE VIII. We discuss this title and speculate on it’s meaning and the impact it will have on the saga moving forward. Also this week, we unearth exclusive audio of Carrie Fisher telling us what her wish was for her own Oscar in-memorium segment. We would like to start a movement to get Carrie’s request honored by the Academy. In Star Wars news headlines this week: Woody Harrelson joins the Han Solo standalone film, ROGUE ONE gets a couple of Academy Awards nominations, Laura Dern talks about Episode VIII, Adam Driver talks about Carrie Fisher, and Felicity Jones hosts SNL

Rebel Force Radio: January 6, 2017

ABC News reporter and resident STAR WARS expert Clayton Sandell joins us to talk about his latest exclusive report for Nightline about the recreation of Tarkin in ROGUE ONE. Clayton give us all the behind-the-scenes details about ILM’s latest and greatest achievements. Steve Sansweet, the legendary STAR WARS author, collector and fan ambassador, joins us from Rancho Obi-Wan to talk ROGUE ONE, share Carrie Fisher memories, and a great opportunity to win a trip to Rancho Obi-Wan courtesy of Little Debbie. And, we get caught up with our STAR WARS holiday adventures and discuss how many times we’ve seen ROGUE ONE, recap blowing up the Death Star at midnight on New Years Eve, and talk about when is the right time to introduce your child to the STAR WARS saga. Plus much more this week on RFR! 

STAR WARS: EPISODE VIII TO OPEN DECEMBER 15, 2017

Via Starwars.com:

THE RELEASE DATE FOR THE NEXT FILM IN THE SAGA IS CONFIRMED.

Today, Disney and Lucasfilm announced that Star Wars: Episode VIII, originally scheduled for release in summer 2017, will now debut on December 15, 2017.

The move follows the extraordinary success of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which was the first Star Wars movie to premiere outside the traditional summer blockbuster window and smashed numerous records, including biggest domestic and global debuts of all time as well as the biggest domestic second and third weekends, en route to becoming the highest grossing domestic release of all time with over $861.3 million and the third biggest global release ever with $1,886.7 billion.

Written and directed by Rian Johnson, Star Wars: Episode VIII is currently in preproduction and will begin principal photography in London next month. Kathleen Kennedy and Ram Bergman will produce and J.J. Abrams, Jason McGatlin, and Tom Karnowski will executive produce. Stay tuned for exciting updates in the coming weeks.