We’re four months from "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" and things are going to get a bit ridiculous. For instance, Disney has announced an 18-hour live unboxing YouTube stream of the products/toys/merchandise that are coming for the J.J. Abrams-directed sequel. Geez. Meanwhile, fans will be poring over the bits of details and intel regarding not just ‘The Force Awakens,’ but the future sequels and spin-offs as well, and quite a few tidbits have surfaced in the past few days.
Perhaps the most significant is that Adam Driver‘s baddie Kylo Ren is not a member of the Sith, and in fact works under Andy Serkis‘s CGI character Supreme Leader Snoke. But even more intriguing, J.J. Abrams provided some background to Empire about the mysterious First Order and how they play into the mythology of Darth Vader. “That all came out of conversations about what would have happened if the Nazis all went to Argentina but then started working together again?’” Abrams said. “What could be born of that? Could The First Order exist as a group that actually admired The Empire? Could the work of The Empire be seen as unfulfilled? And could Vader be a martyr? Could there be a need to see through what didn’t get done?” Lots of excellent ideas there!
Meanwhile, Mads Mikkelsen teased just a tiny bit about his role in the upcoming "Star Wars: Rogue One." Speaking with Ekstra Bladet (via Star Wars VII News) he said that he has an "important role" in the spinoff. "…my character is actually not a bad guy, and then I cannot say more," he added. "I can also say that the movie will be shot in Iceland and England. And the filming will last for three months." So, there you go.
Lastly, Dan Flesher has made a trailer for "Star Wars: Episode V — The Empire Strikes Back" in the style of ‘The Force Awakens’ and it’s pretty great stuff. Watch below and in case you didn’t know it already, ‘The Force Awakens’ arrives on December 18th. And it will be everywhere with THR reporting Disney has booked pretty much every IMAX screen around the world for one month for ‘The Force Awakens.’