- Minor Spoiler Review -

Though Boba Fett didn’t have much dialogue, his demeanor, armor, and his capture of Han Solo left quite an impression on Star Wars fans. Sure, he kind of went out like a punk in Return of the Jedi, but his EU presence is profound and shouldn’t be missed. So when Attack of the Clones revealed his father and origins, things got even more interesting. Lots of new fans (and old) couldn’t help but be interested in Jango Fett as much as, if not more than, his son. Seeing the potential in uncovering some of the hazy backstory on how Jango became the clone template for the Republic’s army, LucasArts went ahead and made 2002’s Star Wars: Bounty Hunter. The third-person shooter can test your trigger finger, and your patience, but it’s a fun romp as one of the most feared men in the galaxy.

Set just after the events of The Phantom Menace, Bounty Hunter uncovers how Jango got the Slave 1, became the clone template for the Republic’s army, why he chose to have an unaltered clone for himself, and how he met Zam Wesell. Along the way, you’ll travel from the underbelly to the skyscrapers of Coruscant, break in (and out) of the max security prison on Oovo IV, shoot up Malastare, get mixed in some Hutt politics on Tatoonie, and take out the spooky Bando Gora cult and its Dark Jedi leader on the moons of Bogden. Sounds like a busy game, no? It is, and it’s a blast to watch it all unfold, despite the game’s largely repetitious gameplay (Back when I first played this game in ’02, and even this time through, I kept wondering how cool this game would be if ever made into a movie).
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Amazon has a few more new images from the upcoming The Old Republic: Encyclopedia, due out October 15, 2012! Link

Click on the second link below to see five previously released images from the publication!

SEE ALSO:
The Old Republic: Encyclopedia Cover Art
The Old Republic: Encyclopedia
The Old Republic Now Available For Pre-Order
Star Wars The Old Republic: Signs of War
The Old Republic Launch Dates Announced
The Old Republic RETURN Intro Cinematic Trailer
New SWTOR Trailer: Fate of the Galaxy

Earlier in the day, I happened to find two brand new listings over at the Random House site catalog.

The Essential Novels: Star Wars 10-Book Bundle
and The Essential Novels: Star Wars Reads Day Special Edition: 4-Book Bundle

As you can see, there is nothing there at this point but the titles. Speculation hardly got off the ground before Del Rey made an official announcement about an hour later:

To celebrate Star Wars Reads Day (October 6th), Del Rey is releasing two eBook bundles. Both will be available on October 2nd, to lead into Reads Day.

The first is a ten-book bundle of Essential Novels, and the second is a special four-book “Reads Day Edition” that will be available for a limited time at a massively-discounted price of $7.99. The novels featured in the two editions are:

STAR WARS: THE ESSENTIAL NOVELS (10 Books):

The Old Republic: Deceived
Republic Commando: Hard Contact
Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader
Death Troopers
Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor
X-Wing: Rogue Squadron
Heir to the Empire
New Jedi Order: Vector Prime
Legacy of the Force: Betrayal
Crosscurrent

THE ESSENTIAL NOVELS READS DAY EDITION (4 Books for $7.99):

X-Wing: Rogue Squadron
Heir to the Empire
New Jedi Order: Vector Prime
Legacy of the Force: Betrayal

Both will available on all major e-reading platforms.

We tried to feature a good entry point book from various SW eras. We’re curious, if you guys were going to put together a bundle of ten “Essential Star Wars Novels,” what would you include?

There have been mixed reactions about the book choices, but you can’t deny that these two eBook bundles will be very popular, especially the Reads Day Edition priced at $7.99! Bring on Star Wars Reads Day!

SEE ALSO:
Star Wars Reads Day 2012‏ Event Map
Star Wars Reads Day 2012‏

StarWars.com has posted an event map for the upcoming Star Wars Reads Day on October 6th, 2012! Link

Participating publishing partners include Abrams, Chronicle Books, Dark Horse, Del Rey, DK, Scholastic, Titan Magazines, and Workman. Over 1000 events will be held across the US! Link

Take a look at the map to find a location near you!

SEE ALSO:
Star Wars Reads Day 2012‏

Here’s a look at Star Wars: Detours, the hilarious new animated comedy from a plethora of creators including Seth Green and Matthew Senreich! The trailer made its debut at Celebration VI. Also, check out the Detours playlist, which includes 6 more clips!

Star Wars Detours™ is an animated comedy that explores what daily life is like in a galaxy far, far away. There are no Empires striking back or attacking clones here. Instead, Star Wars Detours focuses on the universe’s regular folks and their everyday problems… which, to be fair, do frequently involve famous bounty hunters, crazed Ewoks, and even a Dark Lord of the Sith.

Welcome to Star Wars: Detours: the other side of the stars, between the wars.

Day one of Celebration VI was very much a day of learning for me. This was my first Celebration. So not only did I not know what to expect (other than seeing pictures of past Celebrations), I really had no idea of the layout, even though I looked at the maps. Seeing it on a picture and being there are two very different things.

My first objective was to find the press room so I could pick up my media badge. Once I got there, I was a bit nervous. I had a what if my name isn’t on the list? feeling. To my delight, it was there, and I quickly received the golden ticket, er, my media badge. Once I put it around my neck and walked out of the room, I had a moment of awe wash over me. Here I was, at the greatest Star Wars fan gathering in the world, and I now had access to it. I had a brief moment of hesitation. What do I do next? Then all of a sudden, the months of preparation came to me: A panel I was wanting to see was just about to start!

As it turns out, my first Star Wars Celebration panel would be Inside The Clone Wars Tech, featuring Dave Filoni and Joel Aron. This was quite exciting for me. Until now, I had never seen a member of the Star Wars cast or crew in front of me, live. This was quickly about to change. I found a seat, then unloaded my camera and laptop (nope, I’m not a part of the iPhone crowd). The panel was great. Lots of great information from the masters and a great reception from the audience. I believe it was before this panel that I met a few of the staff from EU Cantina and The Star Wars Report. After this I knew the next four days would be unforgettable. My photos of Inside The Clone Wars Tech

I had planned to visit another panel that started 30 minutes later, but decided not to. I wanted to head to the exhibit hall, which was easily the busiest hub of people in the building. Once I reached the doors, I was blown away by what I saw. The Star Wars Celebration exhibit hall is every Star Wars fan’s dream world. From wall to wall, there’s toys, shirts, books, comics, props, games, fans in costumes, the occasional celebrity that walks by, droids… anything and everything Star Wars. What should I look at first?

Then I remembered: The Del Rey, DK Publishing and Her Universe booths were all side-by-side. Because I’m very familiar with those companies, I decided to visit their booths first. I’m glad I made that decision, because once I reached the Del Rey booth, I saw that they were giving out free stuff! I scored a paperback copy of The Old Republic: Deceived, four Scoundrels bookmarks and a 2012 Del Rey Sampler, a Celebration VI and New York Comic Con exclusive (I’ll share more about this book in another Celebration VI diary). From there, I continued to meet people that I’ve chatted with online for many months. Finally, my online world was beginning to mix with reality. Afterwards, I basically walked through each aisle one-by-one, taking pictures as I walked.

The rest of the day was pretty much uneventful for me; eating lunch, taking pictures and finding a spot out of the way to sit, upload pics and charge my electronics. Because of a prior engagement, I had to leave early on Thursday, but a shortened day was pretty much all I could handle. My first day at a Star Wars Celebration was fairly overwhelming, but in a good way.

I was finally here, and this would be an event I’d never forget.

SEE ALSO:
Celebration VI Day Two Diary by Bry Dean
Celebration VI Day Three Diary by Bry Dean
Celebration VI Day Four Diary by Bry Dean
Celebration VI Albums

Back To Celebration VI Main Page

Here is the spectacular The Clone Wars season 5 trailer that debuted at Star Wars Celebration VI! Prepare yourself: It’s nothing short of awesome!

SEE ALSO:
The Clone Wars Season 5 Premiere Screening
The Clone Wars Season 5 Teasers
The Clone Wars Season 5 Trailer
Introducing: Clone Commander Thorn
The Clone Wars Season 5 Teaser

Back To Celebration VI Main Page

Here’s the latest from artist Steve Thomas: Beggar’s Canyon Tatooine and Echo Mountain Ski Patrol! Click on the images for purchase information.

SEE ALSO:
Knights Archive Exclusive: Steve Thomas
Steve Thomas Star Wars Posters at Acme Archives Direct
Steve Thomas Star Wars Posters at Ltd. Art Gallery‏
Lord of the Sith by Steve Thomas
Steve Thomas Star Wars Posters

All Steve Thomas images on our site are used with permission by Steve.

One of the announcements to come from the Del Rey panel at Celebration VI is the upcoming new post-Fate of the Jedi series Sword of the Jedi, by Christie Golden!

The announcement was followed by a huge roar of approval from the audience. Release date is forthcoming.

As part of my vacation to Florida and eventual visit to the Star Wars Celebration VI, my family and I stopped over at Disney for a day. Of course, I had to see the new Star Tours! As a former resident of Florida, the uncooperative weather was no surprise to me. It was hot, humid and rained the entire day. The rain was a welcome break from the heat, so we just walked around in it like most other people there. A great way to get out of the weather was Star Tours!

Click on images for larger sizes:

The iconic entrance to Star Tours.

Me in front of the walker!

Star Tours sign on the building.

Star Tours was my only reason for visiting the Hollywood Studios. I’ve been there so many times, I didn’t even need the park map. As I reached the large AT-AT, I was still excited as though this was my first time. The hour-long line queue didn’t bother me, as it gave me time to soak in all the visuals. The structure of the line queue is still the same, but a large screen above displays the different destinations the ride offers. Also in the opening room are two Mon Calamari above, along with C-3PO and R2-D2. The droids provide funny bantering as they tinker with a spaceship like the one you’re about to ride.

C-3PO at the controls.

R2 works on a StarSpeeder 1000.

Later in line, we were pleased to find Darth Vader and a couple of Stormtroopers available for photos. Other droids are in the background; one that checks out luggage contents and another that scans visitors. As we made our way into the loading area, there are containers that contain the 3D glasses you’ll need to view the new scenes inside the simulator.

Darth Vader and a few Stormtroopers make an appearance inside.

A stack of 3D glasses.

The new Star Wars the ride has randomly chosen destinations during each viewing. My destinations were Hoth and Geonosis. The CG and 3D elements were superb; The best I’ve ever seen. Adding the motion makes this simulation an awesome experience for anyone, especially Star Wars fans. After the ride the exit takes you to the entrance of Tatooine Traders, a Star Wars gift shop.

The entrance to the Tatooine Traders gift shop as you exit the ride.

Many of the remnants of the older Star Tours version remain, which in my opinion is a great thing. It’s nice to see older parts of the ride along with the new purely for nostalgic reasons. Star Wars fans: You want to experience the new version of Star Tours. It’s a no-brainer.

SEE ALSO:
Star Tours Latest Announcements

Here is the schedule of events for Sunday, August 26th at the Star Wars Celebration VI.

The panels that we plan to attend are highlighted in blue.
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Here is the schedule of events for Saturday, August 25th at the Star Wars Celebration VI.

The panels that we plan to attend are highlighted in blue.
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