Star Wars Bits: 'Angry Birds', 'Phineas & Ferb', 'Star Wars: Detours', Michael Giacchino

If Star Wars Angry Birds wasn't nearly evil enough for you, there's good news: The sequel will allow you to join the Dark Side. Oh, I'm sorry, I meant the Pork Side. Which seems like kind of a cannibal-y thing for them to call themselves, but what do I know? I'm not an evil egg-stealing pig. Also after the jump:

Based on Star Wars Episodes I-III, the game features avian and porcine versions of iconic characters like young Anakin, Jango Fett, and Darth Maul. Whether there's also a bird Jar-Jar Binks is unclear. Download the game for iOS, Android, and Windows Phone 8 today. [StarWars.com]

Last month, we reported that the Phineas & Ferb gang would be heading to the galaxy far, far away for a crossover special. Now we have an early peek at the episode in the form of some concept art.

The Phineas & Ferb episode will follow the plot of A New Hope, more or less, "but we find out that Phineas and Ferb are Luke's neighbors on Tatooine and become embroiled in the adventure," explained creator Jeff "Swampy" Marsh in August. The special will air on the Disney Channel sometime in 2014. [Comic Book Therapy via Comic Book Movie]

The fate of Star Wars: Detours was never really clear, but the sale of Lucasfilm to Disney seems to have made it even murkier. According to creator Seth Green, he has 39 finished episodes sitting on the shelf and another 62 scripts ready to go — but it'll probably be some time yet before they're officially released.

So there's actually been quite a bit of talk about this, but Detours is just on hold currently. We have 39 finished episodes and around 62 finished scripts. But that entire show was created before the decision to make more Star Wars movies, so our show (which was created by George Lucas) is an animated sitcom in the world of Star Wars, so we had a lot of conversations with Kathleen Kennedy about Star Wars in not just the next three years but the next 30 years, and when you're in as privileged a position as we were to be able to work on Star Wars content with its creator, you get a great sense of responsibility to the whole. I was introduced to Star Wars as a child and it was without any ironic or comedic lens, so I saw Darth Vader as scary, and I saw all of those messages very very clearly. We didn't think it made any sense, in anticipation of these new movies coming out, to spend the next three years with an animated sitcom as three generations' of kids first introduction to the Star Wars universe. [...]

I do feel that Detours is a timeless bit of entertainment. Media distribution is changing so quickly, so dramatically, that can you even imagine what distribution of content will look like in five years? In a day and age when Netflix series are nominated for the top accolades TV has to offer, who is to say what it will look like when the new Star Wars movie comes out? So Detours can sit on a shelf until the Star Wars movie comes out without losing any of its lustre, because what we've created is very funny, very smart and like I said before, timeless.

Of course, given your reactions to that Detours trailer from last year, I'm betting y'all are more relieved than disappointed. [Reddit via Movies.com]

Human life has yet to be found on the surface of Mercury, but a human figure has. Specifically, the form of one Han Solo. A recently uncovered photo from NASA's Messenger probe reveals a bumpy shape that'll look awfully familiar to Star Wars fans.

"A portion of the terrain surrounding the northern margin of the Caloris basin hosts an elevated block in the shape of a certain carbonite-encased smuggler who can make the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs," observed the researchers.

Realists that they are, however, they also have a more scientific explanation of what we're seeing here. "If there are two things you should remember, it's not to cross a Hutt, and that Mercury's surface can throw up all kinds of surprises," they said. "This block may be part of the original surface that pre-dates the formation of Caloris, which was shaped by material ejected during the basin-forming event."

The scientists note that the striking resemblance can probably be chalked up to "pareidolia," or the tendency of humans to notice human-like shapes in space. Okay, fine, maybe. But I'm going to stick with the story that involves a Sith Lord. [Yahoo via io9]

John Williams is returning to score Star Wars Episode VII, which means frequent J.J. Abrams collaborator Michael Giacchino is out. But thanks to Ben Schwartz (a.k.a. Jean-Ralphio from Parks & Recreation), Giacchino got his chance to put his own stamp on that iconic score anyway.

Schwartz explained the clip on his website:

Oscar Award Winning Composer Michael Giacchino (Up, Star Trek, Lost) and I brainstormed ideas to update the Imperial March for JJ Abrams' new Star Wars films. It turns out, JJ was "not interested".

Gee, I can't imagine why. [via THR]