It was 41 years ago today that one of the greatest sci-fi epics of all time was released in theaters. We’re talking, of course, about the sequel to Star Wars, then known simply as The Empire Strikes Back. But it wouldn’t be simple for long.
When Empire was released it instantly blew up and ushered in a more mature version of the Star Wars universe complete with bigger stakes, more action, romance, drama, suspense, improved visual effects and quite a twist ending, to put it mildly.
That twist, still often misquoted to this day, was one of the seminal events in many a young sci-fi fans life and marked a turning point in sci-fi movies that endures to this day. Sure, Empire didn’t invent the “twist” ending, but it damn sure brought it to millions of new fans around the world.
In short, we love this movie. And 41 years later it’s still one of our favorites of all time, especially for our Editor and podcast co-host Chris Ullrich. To him, there’s pretty much nothing better.
So, happy 41 Empire Strikes Back and thank you for being great then, and still being great today. We love you and we know you know. We also promise never to tell you the odds.
The Empire Strikes Back stars Mark Hammill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Anthony Daniels, David Drowse, Kenny Baker and Billy Dee Williams. It’s written by Lawrence Kasdan and Leigh Brackett, produced by George Lucas and directed by Irvin Kirshner.
It is Star Wars, after all. And we don’t pass up a chance to talk about or feature or generally get excited for anything Star Wars around here. Not with nerds like Chris and Joe in charge.
So, to put it mildly, this The Bad Batch trailer looks pretty awesome. In fact, it looks really awesome. We’re also very happy it’s produced by Dave Filoni (of The Clone Wars and The Mandalorian) and features the voice talents of Dee Bradley Baker, Ming-Na Wen, Stephen Stanton and Andrew Kishino.
But what’s it all about, you may wonder? Here’s some info from the official synopsis:
“Star Wars: The Bad Batch” follows the elite and experimental clones of the Bad Batch (first introduced in “The Clone Wars”) as they find their way in a rapidly changing galaxy in the immediate aftermath of the Clone War. Members of Bad Batch—a unique squad of clones who vary genetically from their brothers in the Clone Army—each possess a singular exceptional skill that makes them extraordinarily effective soldiers and a formidable crew.”
We. Can’t Wait. Fortunately, it won’t be too long. Until then, check out the trailer below.
Look for Star Wars: The Bad Batch to hit Disney Plus on, you guessed it, May the 4th.
What characters were rip-offs of others? Are comics and pro wrestling actually tied together? Is the story from the comic better than the story in the movie? Just what the heck was happening in comics in the 90’s?
These are some questions any reasonable human being who contributes a portion of their weekly salary to the funny books may ask. The Flickcast alumni Jonathan ‘Wally’ Weilbaecher and I join forces with Golden Apple Comics in Los Angeles to answer these and more.
With regulars Joe Slepski of The Joe on Joe podcast, Pablo Romero-Estevez and Alan ‘Sizzler’ Kistler of Crazy Sexy Geeks and some guests like Lucha Underground’s Joey Ryan and The Flickcast co-founder Matt Raub, we haven’t come to many conclusions but we have had a ton of fun arguing our way there.
By now all the fanboys, fangirls and fanpersons have seen Star Wars: The Force Awakens with just my fellow ambivalents and dilettantes left checking the matinee prices and hoping the theatre sells beer. Although I have probably seen OG Star Wars at least 50 times, I never bothered to watch the prequel trilogy. Not interested.
I was also pretty meh about The Force Awakens, until I saw a preview, had my “Oh shit” moment and realized this was the true and honest SEQUEL to Jedi we’ve been waiting for. Suddenly, I cared.
Still, I’m just a Star Wars fan, not a Star Wars FAN. I couldn’t tell you the name of the cantina from A New Hope, or the names of any planets besides Endor, Tatooine and Alderaan. But I’m a child of the 70’s and 80’s so Star Wars is part of my canon. Unlike FANS, though, it’s not part of my blood.
With that in mind, I give you the dilettante’s guide to The Force Awakens (complete with some potential spoilers, so beware).
You’ve waited and you’ve waited. Now, it’s finally here. A new episode of The Flickcast! But wait, that’s not all. Star Wars: The Force Awakens is also here!
As promised, Chris and Joe get neck deep into the new Star Wars movie and talk about it for pretty much the entire show. And yes, they do discuss some spoilers, so beware.
They also talk about a couple other things. But for the most part, this episode is all Star Wars, Star Wars, Star Wars!
Picks this week are again unanimous: Star Wars: The Force Awakens! Did you expect anything else?
As always, if you have comments, questions, critiques, offers of sponsorship, or whatever, feel free to hit us up in the comments, on Twitter, at Facebook, Google+ or via email.
It’s Friday again (well, Saturday if you’re being technical) and time for a new episode of The Flickcast. Sadly, this isn’t an episode devoted entirely to the new Star Wars movie. That will have to wait until next week.
It is, however, a damn fine episode. Here’s what you can expect from it: Star Trek: Beyond!, X-Men: Apocalypse!, Independence Day: Resurgence!, Mr. Robot Season Two!And a whole lot more! Don’t worry, we’ll stop using exclamation points now . . .until next time.
Picks this week include Chris’ pick of the Showtime Documentary The Spymasters: CIA in the Crosshairs and Joe’s pick of the Syfy Channel mini-series Childhood’s End, based on the classic novel by Arthur C. Clarke. But if you don’t want spoilers, might want to wait to click on that link after you’ve watched.
As always, if you have comments, questions, critiques, offers of sponsorship, or whatever, feel free to hit us up in the comments, on Twitter, at Facebook, Google+ or via email.
That’s right folks, it’s that time. Time for the brand new teaser for the trailer for the next Star Wars movie, The Force Awakens. And at only about 88 seconds, quite a tease it is.
In it you do get a few glimpses of some of the new faces coming up in the new movie. You also get to revisit some old friends (at least one) in the form of the ever-reliable Millennium Falcon.
You know the ship. It made the Kessel run in less than twelve parsecs. That is, if you believe a certain scoundrel’s account of past events.
At any rate, it’s here and it’s after the break. And yes, we kinda dig it and yes we’re pretty darn excited for the movie. But really, who isn’t?
Hot on the heels of Comic-Con comes the next unboxing in the Loot Crate Wars series. For July and August, the guys at Loot Crate have created a two part crate. First, July kicked things off with Villains as its theme which started with an awesome super foe themed trailer on Loot Crate’s own YouTube channel. In it is some of the baddest of the bad as you’ll see in the unboxing video below.
Most notable of the Crate (while still trying to keep the article spoiler-free-ish) is a special variant comic for a number one that just came out from Marvel. Loot Crate’s subscriber base has gotten so big that just by putting it in the July crate, they literally doubled the preorders of the book.
Even though we still have to wait a bit for new Star Wars movies to come out, that doesn’t mean we won’t get any great Star Wars stories in the meantime. Case in point today is Matt Kindt’s Star Wars: Rebel Heist from Dark Horse comics.
Here’s the deal:
A young Rebel meets one of the Alliance’s best for his first mission. But the young man’s hero worship is crushed by the reality of Han Solo. A botched escape, a ship that doesn’t work—could it be that Solo is just a lucky bumbler whose luck has run out?
Probably not. He seems pretty resourceful. Still, better read the new series just to make sure.
Check out the preview after the break. Look for Star Wars: Rebel Heist in comic shops on April 30.
It pretty much goes without saying that Star Wars, and all its many incarnations, are cultural icons of great significance. But, we’ll say it anyway. Why not?
It also pretty much goes without saying that Star Wars is hugely popular entertainment that have captivated audiences all around the world. Live action movies, toys, animation and more.
But it’s animation we’re talking about today with a preview of the upcoming Netflix exclusive series Star Wars: Clone Wars Lost Missions. Here’s more:
In these eagerly anticipated episodes of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, some of the deepest mysteries of the conflict between the light and the dark sides of the Force are revealed. An intrepid clone trooper discovers a shocking secret; Anakin Skywalker’s closest relationship is tested to its limits and what Master Yoda discovers while investigating the disappearance of a Jedi could forever change the balance of power in the galaxy
Check out the preview after the break. Look for Star Wars: The Clone Wars Lost Missions to arrive on March 7.
