Who’s in the mood to speculate about a totally bonkers casting rumor? After the jump:
- Telefonica announces a Star Wars pop-up channel in Spain
- What was the most best selling Force Friday toy?
- Hot Toys unveils a 1/6 scale First Order Snowtrooper figure
- One fan argues the Star Wars spinoffs avoid origin stories
- A handy chart outlines the Star Wars canon chronology
- Luke and Vader will be playable in Battlefront; get the details
- A nutty rumor says Hayden Christensen is in Episode VIII
- … and another rumor claims Darth Vader will be in Rogue One
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Spanish Star Wars fans will (temporarily) get their own dedicated channel. The Walt Disney Company Iberia and Telefonica are teaming to create a Movistar Plus Star Wars channel. For two weekends in late September, it will replace the Canal Plus DCine service and show the first six movies in the franchise.
The Star Wars channel will then return in the 15-day run-up to The Force Awakens‘ December 18 premiere, as a pop-up channel on Movistar Plus’ pay TV platform. Programming will include the existing Star Wars films, plus documentaries, extras, and Movistar’s own productions. Get more details at Variety.
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The question isn’t whether Force Friday made a whole lot of money for Star Wars, but exactly how much money Force Friday made for Star Wars. According to Juli Lennett, senior vice president of the U.S. toys division at The NPD Group (via Toyworld), “Force Friday provided a phenomenal lift for Star Wars, growing sales by six times its recent average weekly sales. About $1 of every $11 for the week was spent on a Star Wars toy.”
The market research company found the top seller for the week of Force Friday was Hasbro’s Star Wars The Black Series 6″ assortment. And the dough will keep rolling in. In all, Lennet said, “Year to date, the total U.S toy industry has experienced 7.3% growth, and this year’s Star Wars movie-related toys have the potential to be a significant contributor to industry sales through the holiday season.”
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Speaking of Star Wars toys, Hot Toys has just unveiled two more figures as part of its Episode VII 1/6 scale line. Behold, a pair of First Order Snowtroopers — an officer and his underling:
The latest generation of Snowtrooper is equipped with completely redesigned advanced insulated armor and helmets that can reduce the glare of icy terrain when carrying out the First Order’s missions in extreme climate.
The highly-accurate collectible figures are specially crafted based on the image of First Order Snowtrooper in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Each Snowtrooper features a brand new designed Snowtrooper armor, helmet, and backpack. The standard First Order Snowtrooper will be equipped with a blaster rifle with extended stock while the First Order Snowtrooper Officer is armed with a blaster rifle with extended stock, a pair of articulated binoculars, and a red color pauldron that indicates the rank of officer. Two additional blaster rifles are included exclusively in this collectible set!
Hit Hot Toys for more info (via Star Wars Underworld).
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We already know what Disney’s first Star Wars spinoff, Rogue One, will be about, but we know less about Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s planned Han Solo movie, and even less about the rumored Boba Fett movie. While we wonder, First Showing’s Dan Marcus has just one request for the studio: No more origins stories.
Quite frankly, Boba Fett is going to be a more interesting character the less we know about him. Audiences don’t care about what makes him tick – they care more about what he does when he’s ticked off. Bryan Fuller’s “Hannibal” TV show is a great example of redefining a classic character but not ruining him by exploring the origins of how he came to be. When Hannibal begins, he is fully formed. The interesting aspect of the show is how he cunningly navigates Will Graham and those around him. In a similar sense, it would be interesting to see Fett react to a galaxy that has since forgotten about him, where he must prove himself worthy again, not a story where he doesn’t really become Boba Fett until the end. That’s what people come to see anyway – their favorite character, not a story of how they became their favorite character.
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On the next page, a helpful Star Wars canon timeline, details on Luke and Vader as playable Battlefront characters, and crazy Darth Vader rumors for Episode VIII and Rogue One.
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