The Road to Episode Infinity

Friday, October 19, 2018

Resistance: Star Wars Anime

"Star Wars: Resistance" is the new animated television show from Lucasfilm. Contrary to its name, the series has very little to do with the Resistance, and a lot to do with an aircraft refueling station called The Colossus and a young New Republic pilot named Kazuda.

The show follows in the footsteps of many animated Star Wars series including “The Clone Wars” and “Rebels”. Yet “Resistance” is unlike anything we’ve seen before from Lucasfilm. There are no Jedi or Sith in this series. The show is low on violence and it only takes place in a single setting. In fact, the writers of the series drew inspiration from the long-running sitcom “Cheers”. There’s even a bartender called Aunt Z who (probably) knows everyone’s name.

Creator, Dave Filoni, also sites an interest in World War II aircraft as being an inspiration for the series. On the refueling station there is an ongoing race tournament, which Kazuda accidentally becomes a competitor in. The commentator for the race is never seen, but is the unmistakable voice of Greg Proops (most famous for "Whose Line Is It Anyway"). Proops was also the voice of the two-headed Podrace commentator in “The Phantom Menace”.

Elijah Wood voices Jace Rucklin

The animation style of this series is an odd one. I’m not entirely sure what is going on here (at times it looks as it might be rotoscoped or motion captured), but according to the creators it is inspired by anime. In fact the series shares similar tones with Studio Ghibli and the works of Miyazaki. In this way, the story isn’t a Star Wars story at all. “Resistance” is a coming-of-age anime that happens to take place in the Star Wars universe. And isn’t that what fans have been clamoring for all along? Something different? A new type of Star Wars story? A series that is more than just a clone of other Star Wars tales?

Whether the show interests fans or not, they will have to admit that it’s well off the beaten path of laser swords, space wizards, and princesses.

Happy watching, Star Wars fans!

Sunday, October 14, 2018

This Halloween: Vader's Castle

Darth Vader’s Castle is a location that first appeared in the film “Rogue One” only a few years ago. But the truth is that the Vader’s Castle concept is almost as old as the franchise itself.

After the success of the 1977 film, “Star Wars”, George Lucas decided he should start work on the sequel. One of his big ideas was that Vader (having lost the Death Star) would have a gothic style castle on a planet of glowing lava.

“Might be nice to give Vader a little castle on a rock in the middle of the ocean. One way to see him would be in a tall, dark tower, very narrow in a lava flow, dark, red, and burning, almost like hell. He’d be up in the tower with his gremlin, goblin-type gargoyles surrounding him. His pets.” ~George Lucas (November 1977)

It wasn’t long before Ralph McQuarrie had drawn up several designs for Vader’s Castle. I don’t remember exactly where I saw these designs when I was younger, but I know that I was aware of the Vader’s Castle concept even before the prequels came out.

There were a few versions of Vader’s Castle that cropped in the Old Expanded Universe (including one on the acid-planet of Vjun)- But during the production of “Rogue One”, Lucasfilm placed Vader’s castle on Mustfar, overlooking the site where Anakin Skywalker was defeated in battle by Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Today Vader’s Castle is the gothic terror that Lucas imagined in 1977 and this Halloween Lucasfilm is showcasing the fortress in a big way. It is the currently the central subject of the monthly comic series “Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith”. The most recent arc, “Fortress Vader”, describes the construction of the stronghold.

The all-ages series “Star Wars Adventures” has given readers an even bigger treat for this October. Once a week this month they are publishing a series called “Tales from Vader’s Castle”- which gives us some spooky tales centered on Han & Chewie, Obi-Wan Kenobi, the crew of the Ghost, and even Ewoks.

Furthermore, Lego has announced the release of a “Vader’s Castle” set, due to his stores this December. Put it on your Christmas list, Star Wars fans.

More Spooky Star Wars Tales for Halloween

Death Troopers
https://roadto7.blogspot.com/2014/10/death-troopers.html

Galaxy of Fear

https://roadto7.blogspot.com/2014/10/spooky-star-wars-halloween-special-part.html

Saturday, October 6, 2018

Enfys Nest: Under The Mask

In November of 1977, Marvel’s “Star Wars #8”, introduced a notorious gang known as “The Cloud Riders”. The comic was titled “Eight for Abdula-3” and was a seven-samurai inspired tale with Han, Luke, Chewie and five other heroes defending villagers from the gang. The gang was led by Serji-X Arrogantus, a mustached villain.

40 years later, “The Cloud Riders” would be reintroduced into the new Star Wars canon, but this time the leader was known as Enfys Nest. Though Nest’s crew is first portrayed as a gang that rivals Han Solo, by the end of the film they are revealed to be something more. Enfys Nest and her crew are a rag-tag group of refugees who saw their home world’s ravaged under the Galactic Empire. The seek revenge, retribution and even Rebellion.

Though the film “Solo” heavily hints that Nest’s crew is the start of the Rebellion, we know from the new Expanded Universe that the Rebellion was built from multiple cells that eventually come together to form a single entity. Present in Enfys’ crew is Bethnic, one of the brothers known as “Two Tubes” who were featured as members of Saw Gerrera’s militia in “Rogue One”. So there is definitely a link between the “Cloud Riders” and the Rebel cells that come together to form the Alliance.

Enfys Nest’s crew are pretty impressive as marauders early in the film, but things really get exciting when they take their masks off in the third act. Enfys Nest is revealed to be a young woman and there are quite a few more surprises among her crew, if you look closely.

Chussido is a Rodian (like Greedo and other Rodians we’ve seen in the saga) but in lieu of the standard green she is orange in color. Waydurk is a Mibanese- a species briefly glimpsed earlier in the film on the mud planet of Mimban. Mimbanese are a very cool species and have roots in Star Wars lore as far back as the 1979 novel “Splinter of the Mind’s Eye”.

Faddera Rabar is a Dyplotid and if you look closely you will find other members of his species sprinkled throughout the rest of the film. Gelan Yees is a Sabat (A species that first appeared in Rogue One). Auromae Iselo is a Melbu, which is a new species, but very well designed.

Another Cloud Rider of note is Baroosh Pawk. According the "Solo: Visual Dictionary” Baroosh Pawk wears an Ubese mask, which is similar to the one Leia wore while disguised as the Ubese bounty hunter, Boushh.

The biggest shock of the whole Enfys gang is Warwick Davis. The man has appeared in many Star Wars films, (usually heavily costumed as Wicket the Ewok, Wald the Rodian-child, etc.) but here he is unmasked and spouting out dialogue.

Even more amazing, Davis is appearing as “Weazel”- the Sebulba-cheering podrace fan who sat next to Watto during the Boonta Eve Classic in "The Phantom Menace". The character obviously has grown a lot since his gambling days on Tatooine. The timeline even lines up pretty nicely- it’s been two decades since Warwick appeared in “The Phantom Menace” and “Solo” takes place a couple decades after that fateful podrace.

The saddest thing about the Cloud Riders is the lack of attention that the marketing apartment has given them. Since their alter-ego identities were supposed to be a secret, their faces are not even shown in the "Solo: Visual Dictionary". You won’t find their faces under the Lego Minifigure versions of them either. They aren’t featured in any of the comics or books or TV series. They don’t have action figures. If it wasn’t for Topps digital cards, they wouldn’t even have names. I hope in the future Lucasfilm will correct this error and give these characters the backstory they deserve.