Anakin

Ruling the galaxy with an iron fist and a not-insignificant amount of planet-sized battle stations is tiring work, and that’s even before you get to sexing your way to an immortal bloodline of evil. What’s an Emperor and Dark Lord of the Sith to do if not occasionally sit back, relax, and crack open a beer with the boys (the boys being the Imperial Ruling Council)?Spoilers of the Week May 2-6That’s probably not what was at the forefront of the minds behind these incredible adverts for the Chilean beer Cristal, which went…

Image: LucasfilmSeeing Hayden Christensen get his due and recognition has been one the best things to come out of the Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau universe of shows. From donning the suit as Darth Vader on Obi-Wan Kenobi to playing a Force ghost as well as Clone Wars Anakin Skywalker in Ahsoka, it’s been amazing to see Christensen flex his chops as the Star Wars saga’s tragic figure. What Drew Gillian Jacobs to Invincible? | io9 InterviewAll the sides of Anakin we wished to see Christensen play have started to be included…

Screenshot: LucasfilmWell, aside from being another legacy character for whom death is a revolving door or something to frequently lie about for the drama of it all, Ventress’ return in the final season of The Bad Batch raises a lot of interesting questions about how she’ll fit into events, and more broadly into this era of Star Wars. After all, we thought she didn’t survive to see Sidious’ rise and his ultimate plan to form the Empire actually come to fruition—but now she has, so what will her place in all that be? Is…

Gif: Hello There AnimationFor almost as long as Star Wars: The Clone Wars has been around, there have been fans asking to see their versions of the prequel characters get a chance to adapt the material of the live-action movies. We’ve had tiny tastes of what that might be thanks to video games, but this remarkable new animated short film gives us our best look yet at an animated Star Wars prequel remake.Bruce Willis is Keeping His FaceHello There Animations recently shared Clone Wars: Battle of the Heroes, a complete…

Get our free weekly email for all the latest cinematic news from our film critic Clarisse LoughreyGet our The Life Cinematic email for freeCharlie Hunnam has recalled an “awkward” meeting with Star Wars creator George Lucas when he was being considered to play Anakin Skywalker.The part eventually went to Hayden Christensen, who played the villainous character in the 2002 prequel film Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones and its 2005 follow-up Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith.Hunnam, who can currently…

Welcome back to Toy Aisle, io9's weekly roundup of the coolest toy news around the internet. This week, Playmates ensures that the horrors persist with an update to its classic ‘90s TMNT figures, The Marvels takes flight in Lego form, Hasbro rolls out even more Transformers: The Movie goodness. Check it out!Breaking the Fourth Wall in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts | io9 InterviewImage: Playmates ToysPlaymates Toys Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Classic 1991 Movie Star TurtlesIf the original run of Playmates Toys’ Teenage…

Fortnite fans are counting down to the release of update 24.30 on PS4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PC, Android and Nintendo Switch. The Star Wars-themed Fortnite update has a May 2 release date on consoles and PC. As a major update, version 24.30 will launch alongside an extended period of server downtime, beginning at 8am BST for fans living in the UK. Matchmaking will be disabled at 7.30am BST, while downtime is expected to end at around 10am. The news was announced by Epic Games on Twitter, alongside a…

Image via Lucasfilm / Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) The ever-expanding Star Wars universe continues to dominate the sci-fi sphere, as fans prep themselves for fresh releases and finally settle in to properly enjoy The Mandalorian’s third season.  It’s been two decades since the final entry in his dedicated origin story hit theaters, but it seems time is not enough to settle the Anakin Skywalker debate. The iconic Star Wars villain once again cropped up in conversations recently, after a fan…

Image: Hot Toys, Japan Trend Shop, and HasbroWelcome back to Toy Aisle, io9's regular round up of the latest in toy news. This week: Jen Walters’ paramour gets the Hot Toys treatment in more ways than one, Star Wars’ Micro Galaxy ships come back for another round, and Hasbro rolls out the Dinobots in two new Transformers releases. Check it out!Image: Hot ToysHot Toys Marvel She-Hulk: Attorney at Law Daredevil Sixth-Scale FigureCharlie Cox’s Daredevil returned to the MCU with She-Hulk, and with him, a new updated and…

Image: Alex Maleev/MarvelDarth Vader’s had his run of solo comic books over the years from a variety of creators. Some of them have been pretty good, some of them have been strange, but they’ve all gone a ways into showing what makes the drama queen formerly known as Anakin Skywalker utterly compelling after his fall. Vader’s cut a mean, imposing figure over the Star Wars universe for decades, and there’s nothing that Lucasfilm loves more than reminding us of that fact.Hence, Star Wars: Darth Vader—Black, White, &…