darth vader

A small sample of new Star Wars merch. Image: LucasfilmThree things you can count on in this world are death, taxes, and new Star Wars merchandise. Just days after a huge dump of new figures for the upcoming show The Acolyte, it’s now time for a “March to May the 4th.” Basically, that means a reveal of new May the Fourth merchandise in March. (Also March is a word in “Imperial March”—because, you know, synergy.)Nevertheless, this merch runs the gamut, from a limited edition Darth Maul lightsaber timed to the 25th…

Screenshot: LucasfilmThe Jedi are talking to Mother Aniseya, played by Jodie Turner-Smith, described as the leader of an independent “coven of witches” that places high value on the preservation of their practices and beliefs. While she’s an entirely new character, all her face markings, her gesturing, and her “Mother” title may have some High Republic fans’ minds afire: it certainly sounds a lot like the Path of the Open Hand.Introduced as a major faction in the second phase of High Republic stories—themselves set a…

Image: LucasfilmIn the wake of Disney’s wave of content deletion on Disney+ in the last few years, physical releases of the platform’s original shows are more important than ever. Especially so when it’s physical releases of the far and away best piece of media to come out of the platform’s entire existence.That is, of course, Andor, which will finally receive the lavish treatment it deserves when it releases on 4K UHD Blu-ray on April 30. It’s not the only Disney+ show to receive a release—the second wave after The…

Photo: Jeff Spicer/Getty Images for Disney (Getty Images), Image: Marvel, Warner Bros., Lionsgate, Twitter/Warner Bros, Warner Bros., Disney, DisneyEvil! This week there’s a lot of it, whether it’s seeming confirmation as to just who Emma Corrin will play in Deadpool and Wolverine, or Star Wars subtly and not so subtly reminding us that the Jedi Order really did go off the rails with all that systemic rot. Also evil: the way Bill Skarsgård looks in the new Crow reboot? Maybe! Check out all this evil, and some good, in…

We live in a golden age of Star Wars prequel renaissance. The biggest stories right now all go back to the age of the prequel trilogy, its stars—some of them at least— are returning left and right. Arguably the most important character in the galaxy right now, Ahsoka Tano, was born from Clone Wars’ own diligent relitigation of the prequels’ perceived downfalls. And few people are as happy about that as Hayden Christensen.“It’s been a remarkable experience. And just a very heartwarming one. The journey that I’ve been on…

Image: LucasfilmIn current Star Wars canon, the plot to steal the Death Star’s technical plans is incredibly straight forward: it’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, the tale of Galen Erso’s sacrifice and the ragtag team that swooped down to Scarif and gave their lives to ensure that data fell into Rebel hands. But in the expanded universe, one of Star Wars’ most legendary games set the stage for a much larger, more complicated process.Dark Forces, released in 1995—and re-released this week with a new remaster across PC and…

When Star Wars first arrived in the world—back when it was just the original trilogy, mountains of toys, and one peculiar holiday special—fans knew where things stood. The Jedi were the good guys; Darth Vader and his pals were the baddies. But in the decades since, things have gotten a lot murkier across both sides of the Force.James Mangold on his Future Star Wars Film | io9 InterviewSpeaking to C Magazine, Amandla Stenberg—soon to star in Star Wars series The Acolyte, created by Russian Doll’s Leslye Headland for…

Image: Hot ToysBeyond the surprise of Ariana Greenblatt showing up during Ahsoka as a live-action interpretation of the Star Wars character’s animated youth was a really stark reminder Clone Wars never truly sold: holy hell, that is a little kid they gave a pair of glowsticks to and stuck on the front lines of the deadliest war the galaxy had seen in thousands of years. And now you can be reminded of the Jedi Order’s hubris—via wallet-induced pain—thanks to Hot Toys!The company’s latest Star Wars action figure goes back…

Image: Christopher Moeller/LucasfilmThe Epic Continues never made it past this presentation point, however—conflicting stories say either Lucasfilm approved the idea only for Kenner’s upper management to wind down the Star Wars line anyway based on market research showing declining interest in the series, or that Lucasfilm just wasn’t quite ready to take steps in solidifying a new Star Wars continuation at the time. Either way, The Epic Continues was over before it started, and with it, Kenner’s Star Wars toy line came to…

It’s safe to say that most people walking out of The Rise of Skywalker for the first time were left with a lot of questions, but one at the forefront of our minds back in 2019, and frankly, still even now, is perhaps the darkest ever raised by Star Wars: when, exactly, did Palpatine fuck? We’re just glad to know that Ian McDiarmid has been thinking about this too.Spoilers of the Week May 2-6 “Please don’t pursue that line too vigorously,” McDiarmid recently told Empire magazine, about the idea of Rey being Palpatine’s…