star wars the force awakens

On December 17, 2015, to celebrate the release of Star Wars: Episode VII --- The Force Awakens, Disney and Lucasfilm held special back-to-back marathon screenings of all the Star Wars films, in story order, leading up to and including The Force Awakens itself. ComicsAlliance’s own lifelong Star Wars fans, Dylan Todd and Chris Haley, spent almost 18 hours in a theater, and have returned from a galaxy far, far away to tell the tale.

It’s the beginning of a new era for the Star Wars saga. Love the movies, loathe them, cherish them or criticize them, the undeniable fact is that when a new Star Wars movie comes out, the world pays attention. The concepts, stories, environments, and, of course, characters of the Star Wars universe provide a bountiful well of creativity which pervades culture around us. The well doesn’t always provide the best, but it does provide and Star Wars: The Force Awakens has done well to provide so far, especially when it comes to fan art inspiration. Characters like Finn and Rey seem from the outset to carry a spark that’s been difficult to replicate since the days of Luke kicking sand around gazing into the horizon of Tatooine. Kylo Ren and Captain Phasma provide a sense of awe, fear, and mystery that will serve their parts in the antagonistic Empire well. Of course, Han and Chewie are still kicking around, having gone from youthful renegades to grizzled veterans.

Andrew Wheeler doesn't know much about Star Wars. Dylan Todd knows possibly everything there is to know. Most people probably fall somewhere between the two of them in terms of knowledge and passion about the franchise. In order to help those with less-than-perfect insight into Star Wars to prepare for The Force Awakens, Dylan has agreed to answer some of Andrew's probably stupid questions about the original trilogy, the prequels, and what to expect from the new movie.

Three years ago, Disney bought Lucasfilm and a number of its properties for $4 billion. With that deal came the right to produce new movies, books, comics, games and toys based on the existing Star Wars universe. However, since Lucasfilm had let the universe of Star Wars expand so widely since the conclusion of the original trilogy in 1983, Disney decided it was best to wipe the slate mostly clean. The Mouse House greatly streamlined the Star Wars galaxy, introducing a new and improved canon for a new age. This new canon would still keep much of what made Star Wars so endearing to a large number of older fans, but it would also open the previously impregnable fortress of the expanded universe for new fans by practically dismissing all of it. In the past three years, Disney has been busy filling the void vacated by the expanded universe. To prepare for the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens we've carefully curated a catalog of Star Wars' new history. This is the new Star Wars canon timeline.

A long time ago (last night: December 14) in a galaxy far, far away (Los Angeles), Hollywood's biggest stars gathered for an event that could turn the universe on its axis, free moons from orbit: the premiere of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. See Zendaya, Sarah Hyland, Adam Driver and more — including Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Yoda — on the red carpet.

Finally. It seems like we've been waiting an eternity to get our first official look at Hot Toys' non-First Order/Stormtrooper figures from Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and now just a short 10 days before the movie premieres, the Hong Kong manufacturer has graced us with a proper glimpse at its upcoming Rey and BB-8 figures. Not that it wasn't cool seeing characters like Kylo Ren and Captain Phasma get the signature hyper-detailed treatment from Hot Toys, but the endless reveals of new, slightly-tweaked Stormtroopers has gone on long enough. We get it. They're an army. They're cool, but it's about damn time some of the actual faces of the upcoming sequel get their moment in the spotlight.

BB-8, the adorable soccer ball droid from the upcoming life-changing mega-blockbuster Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens, has been reproduced in gold and diamonds by Kay Jewelers. This little droid is only 4.25 inches tall, but it's worth $135,000 according to appraisal. That's because it's made of 18-carat gold and festooned with 18 carats of diamonds (which is apparently about 860 actual rocks).

There's been a lot of talk about Star Wars this year, and I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it's not going to get any better between now and Dec. 18. Actually, I don't think it's bad news at all, but that's because I'm clinging to the hype train with all my strength, hoping just to make it through the next few weeks without falling off. One of my coping mechanisms for not having The Force Awakens beamed directly into my brain has been playing Disney Infinity's Star Wars content with my wife. Soon, we'll have even more Drunk History versions of Star Wars' narratives when Disney Infinity's The Force Awakens play set arrives. The existing Star Wars content for Disney Infinity has been decent, giving me the ability to play as my favorite characters from the prequel and original trilogies, as well as Rebels, but the stories have been seriously wacky. Maybe not the Clone Wars/Rebels era stuff, but the Rise Against the Empire play set has a narrative that's eerily reminiscent of a child who's only seen Star Wars once trying to explain the whole story while her parents capture the moment on a cell phone. It's silly fun, and makes the experience feel fresh, even if you are laughing the whole time at the inaccuracies from the original story. I'm getting that same vibe about The Force Awakens from this trailer.

Following on the heels of Funko's Marvel Collector Corps subscription box, the collectible company slid comfortably over to Disney's other big pop culture phenomenon, Star Wars, for its latest venture. The Smuggler's Bounty adheres to the formula established by the MCC, and gives those who subscribe a handful of exclusive items, including shirts, pins, patches, and a few coveted, limited Pop figures. With so much hype and hoopla surrounding the arrival of a new Star Wars movie for the first time in 10 years, Funko positioned itself well to capitalize on all the excitement. However, despite the promise the Smuggler's Bounty held, the First Order box, based on the villains of The Force Awakens, it lacks the significant punch of its Marvel brethren. In fact, were it not for the inclusion of the first fully-chromed out Captain Phasma, the Smuggler's Bounty would have been a great disappointment.

If you're wondering how long it takes to build a Millennium Falcon, the answer is, "About three Star Wars movies." Well, that's for a Lego version anyway. I couldn't really tell you how long it takes to actually build a Corellian YT-1300 freighter because trying to measure build time in the Star Wars universe isn't exactly easy. Though we picked up this new Force Awakens edition of the Millennium Falcon back on Force Friday, things were just too hectic until recently to put the Falcon together. After spending a few weekends assembling the Lego Marvel SHIELD Helicarrier, I wanted to make sure we had ample time to devote to getting the Falcon finished in a reasonable time.