Uncategorized

https://blackgirlnerds.com/jon-favreau-and-dave-filoni-give-fans-the-tea-on-the-mandalorian/

This week at Star Wars Celebration the panels have enlightened us from diving into the history of how structures and concept designs are made within the Lucasfilm universe. The Light & Magic panel featuring Ron Howard, Lawrence Kasdan, Dennis Muren, Phil Tippett, Joe Johnston, Rose Duignan, and Lynwen Brennan showcasing these luminaries shined a light on the inner workings of the film industry . There’s also Lucasfilm studio showcase panel which highlighted new shows and series premiering on Disney+ this year and next. John Williams celebrated his 90th birthday and a surprise appearance from Harrison Ford stunned the crowd.

However, today’s panel was the one that fans of The Mandalorian looked forward to the most.

Moderated by Screenrant’s Ash Crossan the panel started out with Jon Favreau sharing his love for Star Wars. And also how important as someone who grew up watching the franchise, how important these characters were to him. “I wanted to pair down to a few characters and I knew people may not be up on the lore, so I knew this would be an entry ramp.  We were most proud the viewership went up for not only this show, but all of the other animated series.”

As Favreau said this, the audience roared with applause. The Mandalorian has had two major secrets. One disclosed at the beginning of season one and the other at the end of season two. Dave says, “I’m just glad the secret was out in the first episode.” This, of course was the Grogu reveal, which is now the show’s most popular character in the series. “And the secret in last episode of the second season when Luke Skywalker came back,” says Dave.

Jon Favreau is now pop star icon status to Star Wars fans.  For the series The Mandalorian, it was a continuation of a serialized story and there were cliffhangers. “Those chapter stories were very fun to write. We know we could tell the stories over the course of many hours. It’s the most fun I ever had,” Favreau adds.

The panel introduced other cast members including the mandalorian himself actor Pedro Pascal. The actor after the playing the role for two seasons now talks about being a patriarchal figure in the series.  “It’s the close I’ve ever come to being a dad, and you watch the show and to see a child to love his father and I get it.”

Lateef Crowder (who starred in Kingsmen with Pascal) and actor Brendan Wayne (John Wayne’s grandson) joined the stage of panelists. “The way we work is so inclusive, Wayne adds. We get to play cowboys in space.  It’s always been apparent to me in creating The Mandalorian, we want to be of service to your fandom and I think about it everyday on set when I’m there.”

Veteran actor Giancarlo Esposito was brought to the stage and shared some of his insight to the panel. “It gives me pleasure to drop into a character that is honest and truthful. The filmmakers give me hints and I fill in the blanks. I know a bit of the Star Wars franchise from the beginning and I catch up as I go.”

For Giancarlo having Jon Favreau trust him as an actor was empowering to him. Giancarlo says, “That’s what this show is about. Empowerment. Jon changed my existence as an actor. I’ll never forget it.”

Emily Swallow who is nothing like her character on the show elaborates on how fans interact with her in real life. “I love getting to live in her space. There are often people who will meet me at conventions and they will catch me in an excited mood and they are like ‘are you really the armorer?’ She is so grounded and so patient”, she adds. “What I appreciated in season one, in that scene in episode three when they came to blows and fight and she says simmer down and she reminded everybody that he abided by the same creed that everyone had, he was one of them and he had made the same sacrifices. And that kind of bond of community is so important,” she says.

Carl Weathers, who I personally remember best from Action Jackson fame, but has made a splash in The Mandalorian universe graced the stage and was amazed by the turn out of fans in the arena.  “I owe at least 90% of what you see on screen to Jon Favreau. If Jon hadn’t invited me, I wouldn’t be here right now. His support along with Dave’s has been phenomenal,” he says.

Dope director Rick Famuyiwa also directed 3 episodes of The Mandalorian. And will take on more in season 3. “From the moment I saw the opening crawl of Star Wars my life changed This has always been a dream of mine to tell stories. And to get to walk in and to have Jon offer to have to do the second episode, was great and I got some exciting developments to come.

Katee Sackhoff spoke about women roles in The Mandalorian.  “My dad raised me on strong characters and when I was little you didn’t have strong character to choose from. But I wanted to be Bruce Willis, and to be able to play the women I have been able to play in my career has been such a gift,” she says.

The final cast members added to the panel were Rosario Dawson who plays Ashoka and Natasha Liu Bordizzo who plays Sabine Wren. Fans roared when Rosario came out on the stage.

We’re excited for the new season of The Mandalorian and what is to come.

 

May 29, 2022

Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni Give Fans The Tea on ‘The Mandalorian’

https://blackgirlnerds.com/jon-favreau-and-dave-filoni-give-fans-the-tea-on-the-mandalorian/

This week at Star Wars Celebration the panels have enlightened us from diving into the history of how structures and concept designs are made within the Lucasfilm universe. The Light & Magic panel featuring Ron Howard, Lawrence Kasdan, Dennis Muren, Phil Tippett, Joe Johnston, Rose Duignan, and Lynwen Brennan showcasing these luminaries shined a light on the inner workings of the film industry . There’s also Lucasfilm studio showcase panel which highlighted new shows and series premiering on Disney+ this year and next. John Williams celebrated his 90th birthday and a surprise appearance from Harrison Ford stunned the crowd.

However, today’s panel was the one that fans of The Mandalorian looked forward to the most.

Moderated by Screenrant’s Ash Crossan the panel started out with Jon Favreau sharing his love for Star Wars. And also how important as someone who grew up watching the franchise, how important these characters were to him. “I wanted to pair down to a few characters and I knew people may not be up on the lore, so I knew this would be an entry ramp.  We were most proud the viewership went up for not only this show, but all of the other animated series.”

As Favreau said this, the audience roared with applause. The Mandalorian has had two major secrets. One disclosed at the beginning of season one and the other at the end of season two. Dave says, “I’m just glad the secret was out in the first episode.” This, of course was the Grogu reveal, which is now the show’s most popular character in the series. “And the secret in last episode of the second season when Luke Skywalker came back,” says Dave.

Jon Favreau is now pop star icon status to Star Wars fans.  For the series The Mandalorian, it was a continuation of a serialized story and there were cliffhangers. “Those chapter stories were very fun to write. We know we could tell the stories over the course of many hours. It’s the most fun I ever had,” Favreau adds.

The panel introduced other cast members including the mandalorian himself actor Pedro Pascal. The actor after the playing the role for two seasons now talks about being a patriarchal figure in the series.  “It’s the close I’ve ever come to being a dad, and you watch the show and to see a child to love his father and I get it.”

Lateef Crowder (who starred in Kingsmen with Pascal) and actor Brendan Wayne (John Wayne’s grandson) joined the stage of panelists. “The way we work is so inclusive, Wayne adds. We get to play cowboys in space.  It’s always been apparent to me in creating The Mandalorian, we want to be of service to your fandom and I think about it everyday on set when I’m there.”

Veteran actor Giancarlo Esposito was brought to the stage and shared some of his insight to the panel. “It gives me pleasure to drop into a character that is honest and truthful. The filmmakers give me hints and I fill in the blanks. I know a bit of the Star Wars franchise from the beginning and I catch up as I go.”

For Giancarlo having Jon Favreau trust him as an actor was empowering to him. Giancarlo says, “That’s what this show is about. Empowerment. Jon changed my existence as an actor. I’ll never forget it.”

Emily Swallow who is nothing like her character on the show elaborates on how fans interact with her in real life. “I love getting to live in her space. There are often people who will meet me at conventions and they will catch me in an excited mood and they are like ‘are you really the armorer?’ She is so grounded and so patient”, she adds. “What I appreciated in season one, in that scene in episode three when they came to blows and fight and she says simmer down and she reminded everybody that he abided by the same creed that everyone had, he was one of them and he had made the same sacrifices. And that kind of bond of community is so important,” she says.

Carl Weathers, who I personally remember best from Action Jackson fame, but has made a splash in The Mandalorian universe graced the stage and was amazed by the turn out of fans in the arena.  “I owe at least 90% of what you see on screen to Jon Favreau. If Jon hadn’t invited me, I wouldn’t be here right now. His support along with Dave’s has been phenomenal,” he says.

Dope director Rick Famuyiwa also directed 3 episodes of The Mandalorian. And will take on more in season 3. “From the moment I saw the opening crawl of Star Wars my life changed This has always been a dream of mine to tell stories. And to get to walk in and to have Jon offer to have to do the second episode, was great and I got some exciting developments to come.

Katee Sackhoff spoke about women roles in The Mandalorian.  “My dad raised me on strong characters and when I was little you didn’t have strong character to choose from. But I wanted to be Bruce Willis, and to be able to play the women I have been able to play in my career has been such a gift,” she says.

The final cast members added to the panel were Rosario Dawson who plays Ashoka and Natasha Liu Bordizzo who plays Sabine Wren. Fans roared when Rosario came out on the stage.

We’re excited for the new season of The Mandalorian and what is to come.

 


May 29, 2022

Every OBI-WAN KENOBI Easter Egg We Spotted In Part I and II

https://nerdist.com/article/every-obi-wan-kenobi-easter-egg-we-spotted-in-first-two-episodes/

The Obi-Wan Kenobi series is here and we could not be more excited for the series highlighting one of our favorite characters. We already knew that this show would find Obi-Wan in a dark lonely place… And that Obi-Wan Kenobi was bound to be chock full of Star Wars universe Easter Eggs. Happily, from the big to the small, Obi-Wan Kenobi‘s first two episodes had a lot of references for fans to enjoy.

Here’s everything we spotted. Of course, watch out for spoilers.

Where do we even begin? At the beginning, of course. Right away Obi-Wan Kenobi reminds us of one of the bleakest parts of Star Wars history, Order 66. In case we forgot all about it, which we did not. But the opening scene seems to be designed to tee up the rest of the story. This scene also most likely gives us an origin story for the villainous Inquisitor Reva. But we’ll have to wait and see how that unrolls.

Luckily, not all our Star Wars lore references are that bleak. Later in the episode, we see grumpy uncle Obi-Wan buy a toy for Luke. But it’s not just a toy. Eagle-eyed Star Wars fans will recognize the Easter egg for what it is. The model ship is actually a T-16 Skyhopper. And Luke will actually own a real version of the ship in A New Hope… And he will also have a model of it. Adorable.

Luke with his T-16 Skyhopper and model an Easter egg from Obi-Wan Kenobi
Lucasfilm

In Obi-Wan Kenobi‘s first two episodes, we also get to know a child Leia Organa. And that’s a treat and one big Star Wars Easter egg, in and of itself. Through Leia, we get deep-cuts to Aquilian Ranger ships, Merson pirates, jakobeasts, and more.

Although less joyous, we particularly love when Bail and Breha Organa tell Obi-Wan essentially that he’s Leia’s only hope. Talk about an excellent reference.

Young Leia from Obi-Wan Kenobi
Lucasfilm

Finally, we love seeing some familiar faces. C-3PO makes an appearance and so does Temuera Morrison. Morrison played Jango Fett in Star Wars Episode II: The Clone Wars. And his DNA was used as a template to create an army of clones. This Morrison-looking clone is down on his luck now, since the clones were decommissioned. Temuera Morrison, of course, also plays Boba Fett in The Book of Boba Fett and The Mandalorian. We also loved seeing a surprise appearance by the Red Hot Chili Pepper’s bassist, Flea.

These Obi-Wan Kenobi Easter eggs were the perfect treat for any Star Wars fan. And we can’t wait to see what the rest of the series has in store.

The post Every OBI-WAN KENOBI Easter Egg We Spotted In Part I and II appeared first on Nerdist.


May 29, 2022

STAR WARS REBELS Characters Sabine, Chopper, Hera (Maybe More) Joining AHSOKA

https://nerdist.com/article/star-wars-rebels-characters-joining-ahsoka-sabine-chopper-hera/

More and more, as the Disney+ Star Wars series continue, the importance of the animated series comes to the fore. From Cad Bane showing up in The Book of Boba Fett to fan-favorite Ahsoka Tano getting her own live action show, the more Dave Filoni creates, the more connected it will be. In her debut in The Mandalorian, Rosario Dawson’s live-action version of Ahsoka confirmed she still hunts the evil Grand Admiral Thrawn. This confirmed that the end of Star Wars Rebels leads directly into Ahsoka. This became even more of a fact on Saturday at Star Wars Celebration; other Rebels characters Sabine Wren, Hera Syndulla, and Chopper will be on hand.

From left: Chopper, Hera, Ezra, and Sabine in Star Wars Rebels. They will appear in the live-action series Ahsoka in 2023.
Lucasfilm

During a panel with Filoni and Jon Favreau, the pair showed clips of season three of The Mandalorian, and then showed little bits of Ahsoka. That series has only had three weeks of shooting, so it wasn’t much. However, they confirmed a long-rumored recasting of another animated favorite character. Australian actor Natasha Liu Bordizzo took the stage to talk about bringing Mandalorian warrior Sabine Wren to life.

Natasha Liu Bordizzo on stage at Star Wars Celebration. She will play Sabine Wren in Ahsoka.
Nerdist

“I know how much Sabine means to you,” Bordizzo told the stoked audience. “And after watching Star Wars Rebels, she means so much to me as well.”

Bordizzo wasn’t alone; the practical version of the Chopper droid also took the stage. The sassiest of all droids will also appear in Ahsoka, as will, evidently, Hera Syndulla. During the sizzle reel, the audience saw the back of the Twi’lek ship captain’s distinctive silhouette. No announcement on who will play Hera.

The final episode of Star Wars Rebels had Grand Admiral Thrawn and young Jedi trainee Ezra Bridger going through a wormhole to parts unknown. Ahsoka and Sabine vowed to track down their friend. Rumors have abounded about who might play Ezra, but no word there either. So the search is on for both Ezra and Thrawn. Thrawn was easily the best villain of the pre-Disney Star Wars Legends era who got a reprieve from de-canonization in Rebels.

Ahsoka Sabine Wren live-action and Star Wars Rebels
Netflix/Lucasfilm

For years, it was only The Clone Wars keeping the Star Wars legacy alive. It remained the only non-movie in the canon after the Disney purchase of Lucasfilm. Since then, Filoni’s animated universe has only gotten more important in the Disney+ shows. Obi-Wan Kenobi deals directly with the aftermath of The Clone Wars; Bo-Katan is a major character on The Mandalorian; and now in Ahsoka, fans will get the continuing live-action adventures of more favorites of the animated ilk.

Ahsoka will premiere some time in 2023.

Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Instagram and Letterboxd.

The post STAR WARS REBELS Characters Sabine, Chopper, Hera (Maybe More) Joining AHSOKA appeared first on Nerdist.


May 28, 2022

Eternals #12 Review

https://blacknerdproblems.com/eternals-12-review/

Writer: Kieron Gillen / Artist: Esad Ribic / Marvel

I don’t know what Gillen has been sipping, but I want some of that writer juice ASAP. In the first three pages of Eternals #12, the whole history of Marvel changes in a flash. Well, maybe not the whole history, but surely the roots of the Marvel tree have been altered significantly.

The Real Origins of the Marvel Universe

Back in issue #5 of Jason Aaron’s Avengers run, Loki gave us the lowdown on how these beautiful, messy heroes came to be. The Progenitor landed on a young Earth. Not because Earth was the selected land for greatness, but because it was sick infected by the Horde and coincidentally fell to our primordial planet and spewed its necrofluids God’s guts, pus and whatnot into it as the Celestial died. Necrofluids that seeped into the planet and its eventual inhabitants, which became the catalyst that eventually birthed our loveable crime fighting homies. But that’s a tale many Marvel fans now know and accept. 

Eternals #12

What we didn’t know was that there was a huge variable at play that allowed earth life forms to flourish into the flying, energy beam blasting, mind reading legends they’ve become. That variable was Deviants. Much to Ajak’s chagrin, Eternals are not the all-important entities they were led to believe, but the counterpart to the creatures that helped to create “strange” stable life forms who eventually became those Savage Avengers and modern-day Avengers we all know and love.

So that was a lot, but ever important if you call yourself someone who values canon and a proper origin story. Could all of what was has happened in Eternals #12 be wiped away with the sweep of a new writer pen in 2025? Sure. Hell, Hickman could come outta left field and demand to write a new origin story of all existence tomorrow, and this info could be cleansed quicker than you washed your hands during the height of 2020 Delta variant. But for now, “the Deviants…they are the important ones” and Celestials are now left to ponder their purpose moving forward.

Wait, Isn’t There a Mad Titan to Kill?

Your boy Thanos, the barbarian philosopher, first of his name is also first of his kind. On the journey through his father’s mind, he is disgusted by how breezy it is to bypass the psychic blocks and traps A’lars put into place to protect such a precious secret. Thanos and Druig essentially have a walk in the park to get to Thanos’ design, and the follow up conversation between these two and Domo provides Thanos with even more credence. The ensuing battle between Thanos and the Eternals was a fun little skirmish that had nothing to do with the eventual death or dominance of Thanos. That was a much more calculated outcome. That all readers should have the pleasure of reading and witnessing themselves. 

Eternals #12

It’s really spectacular to witness a good writer and impeccable artist bring a fire comic with Thanos and his unfuckwittable one liners at the center of the story to life. Eternals #12, the final issue of this Hail Thanos story arc, was a good one, but it also set up the highly anticipated conflict between the Eternals and the X-Men and I am hypeeee for all that smoke! Judgement Day is coming!

9 Mothers of the Age of Marvels out of 10

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The post Eternals #12 Review appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.


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