Star Wars

Much has been made of the diversity in the new era of Star Wars, with J.J. Abrams smartly casting the franchise’s first black and female leading characters in John Boyega’s Finn and Daisy Ridley’s Rey. They weren’t the only diverse part of The Force Awakens, which boasted a noticeably varied assortment of genders and ethnicities in its supporting and extras casting, but many fans are still wondering when — or if — we might see an openly gay character in the newly inclusive franchise. According to J.J. Abrams, it will happen, and soon.

Ex Machina provided the first real upset of the 2016 Oscars beating out heavy favorite Star Wars: The Force Awakens for Best Visual Effects. In addition to Star Wars, Ex Machina beat out fellow nominees Mad Max: Fury Road, The Revenant and The Martian.

Back in 1997, George Lucas re-released the original Star Wars trilogy in digitally altered “special editions,” and asserted that these were the only “true” editions of the classic films. The original, unaltered versions became rare — you can find them on VHS, and they are included on a DVD release (though the transfer is poor), and there are some original 35mm prints floating around, but fans have been desperate for Lucasfilm to restore and re-release the unaltered versions on Blu-ray. While we wait for something that may never come, one anonymous group has uncovered an original 35mm print and cleaned it up.

Though Star Wars: The Force Awakens takes place over 30 years after the events of Return of the Jedi, director J.J. Abrams still found a way to work on some classic characters who had long since passed on. Kylo Ren has a conversation with Darth Vader’s helmet. Obi-Wan speaks to Rey during her Force vision. And, there was one additional cameo that ultimately was cut from the film: Yoda.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens is still playing in movie theaters (and still making lots of money), but if you’re among those who are eager to get a copy to watch and rewatch in the comforts of your own home, you perhaps got an e-mail this weekend that got you excited. Some Star Wars fans who pre-ordered a copy of The Force Awakens on DVD or Blu-ray got an e-mail from Amazon.com confirming an April 5 release date.

Just recently, Star Wars: Episode 9 director Colin Trevorrow attracted some attention when he said that he wanted to shoot the finale of the current Star Wars trilogy on film rather than digital. But, what’s more interesting perhaps, isn’t what he wants to shoot it with, but where he wants to shoot it. Namely, in outer space.

On February 21, ABC will broadcast a new special titled The Wonderful World of Disney: Disneyland 60, a commemoration of the Anaheim amusement park’s sixtieth anniversary and Star Wars devotees just got a reason to tune in that can’t be ignored.

With two more Star Wars episodes and at least three spinoff / anthology films on the way, it’s hard to think too much about the future of the franchise beyond that, though we have been curious about Disney and Lucasfilm’s plans for the future of the series after Episode IX hits theaters in 2019. Will there be more sequels? A new trilogy? More spinoffs? According to Disney CEO Bob Iger, Star Wars will continue on after Episode IX, and the studio has no plans to end that other major franchise anytime soon, either.

If any rumor runs longer than word of a new Star Wars trilogy, it might be the promise of a live-action TV series set in the same galaxy far, far away, one which has been through multiple iterations over the last decade. Now, Lucasfilm bosses and other insiders officially shoot down hopes for a Star Wars tie-in on TV, not wanting the follow the Marvel path.

For those of you eagerly awaiting the upcoming eighth installment in the Star Wars franchise, we've got some good news for you -- and also some bad.

One of the biggest questions following Star Wars: The Force Awakens was that of Rey’s parentage. She could be a Skywalker a Kenobi, a Hutt…we just don’t know. Well at least we don’t know. There’s one guy that knows: J.J. Abrams. Which shouldn’t be a surprise because, duh, J.J. Abrams wrote the movie.

Should it be comic relief Dave Franco? Oscar-nominated tool Miles Teller? Withering dinosaur Scott Eastwood? Someone else entirely?

Earlier this month a group of enterprising Star Wars fans started an online petition to … wait, where are you going? I know, I know, it’s the same tired old tale of bemoaned fans trying to rally together to raise support for a fruitless cause, but stay with me. So these Star Wars fans got together and created a Change.org petition all with the purpose of getting Colin Trevorrow booted from his position behind the camera on Star Wars: Episode IX in favor of George Lucas. This will never in a million years ever happen, but that’s not why this is notable. It’s notable because this petition, which almost 25,000 people have signed, got back to Trevorrow himself, who was forced to comment on it in the most awkward of fashions.

Geek alert... what happens when you put together the most successful box office franchise with one of the best movies of all-time? Well, good thing we don't have to wonder. Check out these very cool videos.

Numerous viewers have reportedly expressed a deep attraction to the man who wears the heavy, wool Chewbacca costume in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens has dominated almost the entire world at this point with over $1.5 billion at the worldwide box-office after just 20 days. But, there’s still one country where the film has yet to open: China. To “help” celebrate the release of the film, Lucasfilm has named LuHan, a former boy-band singer from Beijing, as the “official China Ambassador for Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” This means LuHan, a self-described “social media star,” has recorded a brand new Star Wars theme song with the requisite music video, complete with cameos by R2-D2 and BB-8.