Star Wars

See the Star Wars Lightsaber-Fighting Game That Never Made It

It never went anywhere, and maybe that’s a good thing, but this is a demonstration Studio Gigante put together for a Star Wars fighting game on the original Xbox. Josh Tsui, currently of Robomodo, co-founded the studio and for some reason tweeted out this video on Valentine’s Day It’s somewhat better than the trainwreck that…

Grown Man Turns Living Room Into Enormous, Incredible Battle Of Hoth Diorama

So, Barry here likes Star Wars. A lot. So much so that he’s sacrificed an entire room of his house to recreate Empire Strikes Back’s Battle of Hoth, in a diorama that would make even Industrial Light & Magic proud. It’s a completely static piece; the explosions and smoke you see don’t move, despite how…

12 out of 15 video game creators would make a new Star Wars game, Wired discovers. (Prepare for a twist ending.)

Gabe Newell and JJ Abrams’ Wonderful, Unprecedented Talk Has An R2D2 Easter Egg

A week after it happened, you can now watch the DICE Summit’s kick-off talk between Star Trek/Star Wars‘ JJ Abrams and Steam/Half-Life 3‘s Gabe Newell. It was a fun talk that ended with Abrams and Newell talking about making games and movies together. That’s the news you probably saw last week. But watch everything that…

Why The Empire’s Most “Spectacular Military Fiasco” Was The Battle Of Hoth

It’s one thing to pick apart plot holes in a film, but to do so while at the same time cross-examining the military strategy of fictional protagonists? That’s about as far up my alley as you can get without things getting adults-only. Wired’s military column, Danger Room, has written a fantastic piece putting Darth Vader’s…

Knights of the Old Republic II Studio Has an Idea for Another Star Wars RPG, if Disney is Listening

If you enjoyed Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II and hate Electronic Arts, then this next sentence should make your heart flutter: Obsidian Entertainment, the studio that gave us Fallout: New Vegas and an unfinished KOTOR II have pitched another Star Wars role-playing game set between Episodes III and IV Even with the…

RIP, The Man Who Made Yoda & Chewbacca

Legendary British special effects wizard Stuart Freeborn, who is responsible for some of science fiction’s most memorable on-screen characters, has passed away at the age of 98. Freeborn, who made the ape-men from Stanley Kubrick’s 2001, will be remembered most for his contributions in the Star Wars franchise, where his puppet-building and make-up skills led…

Sounds Like Young Han Solo And Boba Fett Will Get Their Own Star Wars Movies

“Boba Fett? BOBA Fett?? Where?” Yesterday, Disney’s CEO confirmed that in addition to the upcoming Star Wars trilogy, there will be all kinds of single-character spin-off films Today, Entertainment Weekly is reporting that one of those films will feature young Han Solo, and another will star Boba Fett. According to EW, the Han story will…

We’re Liveblogging Gabe Newell and J.J. Abrams’ Talk at D.I.C.E. Summit

Gabe Newell, the president and cofounder of Valve Corporation, and J.J. Abrams, the newly minted director of the next Star Wars film, are together for a keynote talk kicking off the D.I.C.E. Summit in Las Vegas. The talk isn’t being livestreamed, but Kotaku editor-in-chief Stephen Totilo is in the room, and will be liveblogging what…

Disney Will Be Making All Kinds Of Star Wars Spin-Offs

We already knew that the newly minted Star Wars-owners at Disney are planning a new trilogy, the first film of which will be directed by nerd-king J.J. Abrams It’s also been heavily rumored that Disney would be making spin-off movies outside of the trilogy. Sounds like that is indeed the way it’s going to go…

Star Wars Pinball Proposes a Unique Trilogy With Its First Three Tables

When Zen Studios went to Lucasarts about a year ago, they offered a straightforward pitch for a series of Star Wars-themed pinball tables. OK, here’s the Original Trilogy pack: Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi. OK, now here are the three prequels … “They said no,” said Neil Sorens, Zen’s creative…

There are Star Wars-themed tables coming to Zen Pinball throughout 2013, said a now-pulled post on the PlayStation Blog

George Lucas’ Daughter Could Probably Kick Your Ass: The Movie

Amanda Lucas, the daughter of Star Wars creator George Lucas, is an MMA fighter. This trailer is for a documentary about her, called Lucas, due for release later this year. It’s being made by Briton Bobby Razak, a director who makes MMA docs like this (as well as commercials) for a living. You can check…

Chinese Bootleggers Are Just Screwing Around

Pretty sure Arnold Schwarzenegger isn’t in Star Wars: Episode I. That didn’t keep Chinese bootleggers from slapping his mug on this pirated box. It isn’t only Schwarzenegger. Many of the boxes either have incorrect descriptions or feature actors who are not in the film. It’s as though the pirates are just putting whatever is popular—whether…

Iron Fett? Boba Man? Yeah, Boba Man.

So special effects wizard Stan Winston has a school named after him, aimed at instructing whole new generations in the art of practical movie magic. This image was posted on their Facebook page yesterday. As loathe as I am to entertain the prospect of fanfiction, a sexy drunk playboy bounty hunter is something that could…

Someone’s Made A J.J. Abrams Star Wars Trailer. It Is Perfect.

It’ll be years until we see what Star Trek director J.J. Abrams can do with Star Wars, but in the meantime, artist Gavin Chin has made this fake trailer, cutting the original films into a clip that’s so full of Abrams’ style—and lens flare—that you’d think it was the real thing. Star Wars Trailer by…

This Is How Lucasfilm Convinced J.J. Abrams To Direct Star Wars

After the J.J. Abrams news broke out, a lot of folks were in shock—wait, he’s going to direct both Star Trek and Star Wars? And, more importantly, didn’t J.J. say he wasn’t going to do Star Wars, anyway? What happened; how was he convinced? In a profile about Kathleen Kennedy, The Hollywood Reporter reveals that…

After 35 Years, Star Wars Action Figures Might Actually Be Growing Up

For such a massive series, the standard Star Wars action figures have never exactly set the world on fire. The originals had a range of movement last seen at the Nuremberg Rally, and subsequent ones haven’t improved much. For 2013, though—and perhaps spurred on by Star Wars‘ fresh ownership—Hasbro has pulled out all the stops,…

One Of The World’s Greatest Actors Hated Working With George Lucas

Terence Stamp is one of our age’s great actors. The guy has been everyone from Dracula to General Zod, and been in everything from Young Guns to Halo 3 (he was the Prophet of Truth). One of his most notable roles in recent decades, though, was as Supreme Chancellor Valorum in Star Wars: Episode I.…

The Humble MIDI Is 30 Years Old

The Musical Instrument Digital Interface, or MIDI, turns 30 this week. While it’s used across devices and mediums, for a long time it was crucial to your experience with video games, as it was a popular way of getting electronic music stored on game cartridges and discs, especially in the 1990s. Everyone will have their…