Movies

Star Wars Bits: Force Awakens Trailer Impact, BB-8, Josh Trank, Rogue One, R2-D2

Lego Star Wars Force Awakens Han Solo
By Germain Lussier

We begin to chronicle the aftermath of Star Wars Celebration in this edition of Star Wars Bits. Below, we'll discuss the following:

  • An iPhone controlled BB-8 is coming to stores, and a larger version is coming to Disney Parks.
  • Why didn't Josh Trank come to Star Wars Celebration?
  • Learn the code name for the Josh Trank Star Wars Anthology film.
  • The latest Force Awakens trailer had 88 million views in 24 hours.
  • Disney's stock valuation jumped $2 billion after the release of the trailer.
  • See J.J. Abrams and Kathleen Kennedy watching the trailer in front of the crowd.
  • Watch some new footage from Star Wars Battlefront.
  • The airline ANA now has a R2-D2 themed 787 airplane
  • Listen to Gareth Edwards talk about the tone of Star Wars Anthology: Rogue One.
  • The Disneyland 60th Anniversary R2-D2 is revealed.

    • Header image: Chris McVeigh Photography. Also check out this Chewie, We're Home doormat.

    Besides the trailer, the biggest takeaway from last week's Force Awakens presentation was just how amazing BB-8 is. The New York Times talked to the CEO of Disney, Bob Iger, about how he helped to get the droid made. In the article, they reveal that an apple-sized version of the droid, which you'll be able to control with your iPhone, will be available at Christmas. Plus, one similar to the version that hit the stage at Celebration will be rolling around Walt Disney Theme Parks. Read the full article at the above link.

    It was a big surprise over the weekend when Josh Trank didn't come to Star Wars Celebration. Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy said he was under the weather and Trank backed that up on Twitter. The simultaneous release of Trank's Fantastic Four trailer, however, raised some eyebrows, and led to speculation of competition. Variety looked into the situation and didn't find any foul play, but it was interesting.

    Speaking of Trank, Making Star Wars says the code name of his Star Wars Anthology film is "Tin Can." The code name for Rogue One was "Los Alamos" so the names probably have some kind of outside connection. What could that mean?

    The latest trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens has been everywhere. The official Facebook page announced that the video had 88 million views in the first 24 hours. It's surely way beyond that by now.

    What does a huge impression like that do? Well, according to Gizmodo, Disney stock prices soared after the release of the trailer, making $2 billion for the studio. That's half what they paid for Lucasfilm and they haven't even released a movie yet.

    The Force Awakens panel host and EW reporter Anthony Breznican caught this cool photo on Thursday. It's director JJ Abrams and president Kathleen Kennedy watching the Force Awakens trailer with the fans for the first time from the side of the stage.

    The trailer for Star Wars Battlefront was only the beginning. Fans on the floor got to see a gameplay demo (which you can read about here) and this DEV Diary is now online with some new info and footage:

    Revealed at Star Wars Celebration, ANA has teamed with Star Wars to put an R2-D2 787 into the sky. Read more info about it at this link, but then watch the video below.

    Flicks in the City somehow got Rogue One director Gareth Edwards to talk about his film and here's the result. I thought it was an old interview, but he mentions the fact that Rogue One is a war movie, which is new info.

    This year is the 60th anniversary of Disneyland and the theme park has lots of stuff planned. One of the few Star Wars additions is this R2-D60 limited edition toy that'll be released at the park. Read more at Vinylmation World.

    R2 Disneyland 60

    We'll have more Star Wars Bits soon!

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