We have movies not available at Redbox or NetflixWe have movies not available at Redbox or Netflix

October the 4th: Double the 'Star Wars' fun

Posted Tuesday, October 4, 2016 at 1:34 PM Central

by John Couture

Did you miss us last month? I could make up so many excuses and argue that since the 4th of September fell on a Sunday, I should get a pass. But, the reality is that last month was just crazy and something had to give.

And to be honest, Star Wars news was a bit slow last month, but don't worry, I didn't just toss those tidbits out like yesterday's blue milk. Nope, I held on to them and added this month's Star Wars chatter.

With Rogue One on the horizon, the news is surely going to ramp up in the coming months. And while even Disney head honcho Bob Iger agrees that Rogue One won't match last year's Force Awakens performance, the scuttlebutt around Disney is that they are cautiously optimistic about Rogue One's long-term prospects.

Speaking of long-term, today is another busy day, so let's knock out these Star Wars news bites.

  • If you're wondering how things are developing for next year's Episode VIII, Adam Driver was kind enough to spill the dirt on the filming that recently wrapped and how director Rian Johnson differed from J.J. Abrams.

    It's a good read and reassures us that the main films are in good hands for the next installment. He famously compares the script to Episode VIII to that of Empire Strikes Back. While some are postulating that we will get a glimpse of Episode VIII in the next few weeks, I'm a firm believer that we'll get our first trailer for Episode VIII with Rogue One.

  • Speaking of those stand-alone anthology films, while the upcoming Rogue One and 2018's Han Solo film are the only two anthology films to officially be announced, Iger seemed to hint at what we all know as long as they remain massive money makers, we will get a new Star Wars film every year until the end of time.

    The Han Solo film is still slated for a May 25 release in 2018, but I wouldn't be surprised to see that one also get moved to December to better position it in line with the releases of the other Star Wars films.

  • Back before Star Wars became an overnight success and a big-studio sequel was all but assured, George Lucas commissioned writer Alan Dean Foster to pen a low-budget sequel to Star Wars. The book called "Splinter of the Mind's Eye" was published in 1978, but the success of Star Wars ensured that it would never see the light of day on the big screen (thank God). But, there was a comic book series based on the story and thankfully, Mr Sunday Movies reviewed the book/comic so that you don't have to seek it out.

    Thankfully, we got Empire Strikes Back instead.

  • Do you hate the prequels? Yeah, us too. But this upcoming documentary is going to try real hard to persuade you to the dark side.

  • Speaking of J.J. Abrams, what would happen if his two geek worlds collided? Well, Screen Rant decided to try and figure that out.

  • Finally, technology is a wonderful thing. It has allowed people to create professional looking films in an affordable way. Fan films aren't new, but they certainly do look better these days. Case in point, here's a short film that takes place right before the battle of Jakku. It might even make you reassess the blanket hatred that you have for stormtroopers.