Today is February 18, 2016 and it’s time for another Collider Jedi Council hosted by Darth “Kristian” Harloff; The Smith Lord, Tiffany Smith; and Obi-John-Kenobi, John Campea.
First up, Disney released a very small video tease announcing the start of principle photography for Star Wars: Episode VIII – featuring Mark Hamill, Daisy Ridley and director Rian Johnson. Though it featured more Luke Skywalker than in all of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the crew were just excited to know that Johnson is behind the camera (and writing Episode IX!). And since it teased the end shot from TFA, the crew speculate on whether or not Episode VIII will pick up right where TFA left off – a first for any Star Wars movie.
And what would a Jedi Council be without the latest batch of Han Solo rumors? This time, Kingsman and upcoming Eddie the Eagle star Taron Egerton is rumored to now be in the mix – even though he wasn’t initially on the short-list released a few weeks back. The crew weigh the pros and cons of his potential casting and then go on to pick who they would want to see take on the young, scruffy-nerfherder. Will his part in Eddie the Eagle seal the deal for him?
Speaking of Episode VIII (because we’re always talking about Episode VIII) along with the short tease, we finally got confirmation that Benicio Del Toro has officially been cast in the movie. Along with this confirmation, the report also included two new women in the movie – Jurassic Park’s Laura Dern and newcomer Kelly Marie Tran. This led to wild speculation on who each actor will be playing. Is del Toro playing a Sith? Is Dern Rey’s mother? And is Marie Tran a Jedi? Find out what each council member thought.
With these new characters, what about some returning actors and characters for Episode VIII? Peter Mayhew took to his Twitter account, confirming that he will in fact be back as Chewbacca in Episode VIII. He also promised to reveal a special announcement in the next few days. Seeing as it’s not a complete surprise, the council only wonder whether or not Mayhew’s stand-in for Chewie will see more action in the next episode.
On to some Rogue One: A Star Wars Story news! Riz Ahmed was asked on the red carpet at the BAFTA awards what he though about his director Gareth Edwards and Riz, of course, had nothing but nice things to say. The council were especially excited to hear from him – and happy as well to know he is in the movie based on his work from Nightcrawler. And because we haven’t yet heard anything on when we can see a trailer for Rogue One, the council make some bets on when they think we will see the first trailer.
WHAT’S THE DEAL WITH CANON?
Next up is our segment simply called What’s the Deal with Canon? This is everything that is going on in the world of Star Wars that is NOT involved with the movies.
And the council dives right in - first looking at the latest episode of Disney XD’s Star Wars Rebels. Each member of the council weighs in on episode 14 entitled “Homecoming” and whether or not it’s delivering on its promise made by the amazing trailer released for the mid-season premiere.
In comics, the council looks at the latest Marvel issue of Star Wars, issue 16; and the new story taking place in the run that follows not only the big three of Han, Luke and Leia but also some new characters that have become favorites in the comic universe.
In video game news, one of Darth Harloff’s favorite games of ALL TIME is Bio-Ware’s Knights of the Old Republic. It has been revealed that the game will be getting an upgrade in the form of adapting it to the Unreal Engine 4 system, making a lot of fans very happy. What’s even better? The game is done by some enterprising fans and will be released for free to everyone who wants to play.
And from the Toy Fair in New York City, details have been dropped on the toy packaging for Rogue One and, no surprise, it looks like they will be focusing on the most iconic villain in any Star Wars movie: Darth Vader. This leads to everyone hoping...WANTING a bigger part for Darth Vader who is now rumored to have an even bigger role in the spin off.
A SHORT TIME AGO, IN A TWEET FAR, FAR WAY…
Now we get to hear from you! The Council takes on all your Twittter questions you send in to @ColliderVideo with the hashtag #ColliderJediCouncil.
This week the council discuss:
- How to get the audio books for all your favorite Star Wars books.
- Did Darth Maul create the Knights of Ren?
- Which Oscar The Force Awakens will win.
- Rumors of Matthew Vaughn and Jon Favreau directing a Star Wars movie.
- Did Boba Fett survive the Sarlacc Pit?
- Will there ever be an R-rated Star Wars movie?
That will do it for this installment of Collider Jedi Council! Make sure you let all your Star Wars fans know about this show! To get your questions answered on the show, make sure you follow @ColliderVideo and hashtag #ColliderJediCouncil. We will see you next week!
