- After first announcing they’d obtained the Microman license way back in July 2011(!), ThreeA has finally revealed photos of the figures (or photos were leaked, I’m not sure). They’re 6″ tall and feature fabric clothes, like most ThreeA releases. They look intriguing, and it’s cool that they’re in 6″ scale, but I’m sure they’ll come with the usual high ThreeA prices and besides, I’m not a Microman fan anyway (well, except for a brief, odd period in 2004). However, I should note that in this particular case, the cloth isn’t what’s keeping me away – ThreeA is the only company whose fabric I like in sub-12″ scale. It’s the license and, presumably, the cost.
- Let’s start by pointing out that this all comes from Latino Review. I have no idea what their reputation is at this point, but some of the people I follow on Twitter were very snarky about them, so maybe they’re known for being wrong a lot. I don’t know and I don’t care right now because this is so interesting and I want to talk about it. A lot.
- Anyway, Latino Review claims Joe Johnston – director of The Rocketeer, Jurassic Park III, Captain America and oh yeah, the guy who designed Fett’s outfit (with Ralph McQuarrie) – may be in talks to direct the Boba Fett spinoff movie. Lawrence Kasdan, who wrote The Empire Strikes Back and is writing Episode VII, is allegedly in talks to write it. But what gets me is this quote: “To counter-act the prequels, the Boba Fett spin-off movie planned for 2018 has an interesting twist pitched by Episode VII writer Lawrence Kasdan: the spin-off will start with a complete stranger killing Boba Fett and taking his armor, starting a Man-With-No-Name bounty hunter tale. So: someone kills the Boba Fett from the prequels and takes his armor and name. One this is for certain is that Kasdan didn’t like the prequel and wants no Boba Fett Clone in the spin-off film.” Does anyone? Maybe kids who have grown up with the character from The Clone Wars, which is one of several reasons I expect George Lucas to veto the idea if it’s actually at all in play. Can he still veto things? (Side note: Latino Review doesn’t understand Internet Star Wars fans very well if it starts off a rumor about killing off the prequel Boba Fett with “Strap in, a lot of you aren’t going to like this.”)
- But here’s the funny thing about that killing-prequel-Fett-at-the-beginning-of-the-movie: I pitched this exact idea to Nemo Eight in a discussion we had last month. I even argued with him that the killing had to happen at the beginning of the movie and not the end; he liked the “surprise horror twist” of killing Fett suddenly at the end, whereas I pitched a Usual Suspects-type thing where you find out at the end that prequel Fett was killed at the beginning and the guy who you’ve been watching the whole time isn’t prequel Fett. Anyway, chalk me up for hoping this rumor is entirely true.
- On another note, that article also states that Toy Story 3 screenwriter Michael Arndt, who’s now off Star Wars Episode VII, was focused on the story of the Solo kids while Abrams (and Kasdan) felt it should focus on Skywalker. This is yet another example of something that makes me highly suspicious of Abrams. Han Solo was the audience representative in the original films – something that was sorely lacking in the prequels. Maybe I’m in the minority here, but I don’t like Jedi that much – this article covers some of the reasons why. I know it’s a geek cliché to claim some showrunner or producer doesn’t “get” a geek property. And Abrams is actually the perfect successor for Lucas in certain ways – they’re both obsessed with effects and mechanics. Abrams’ work has always reminded me of Treebeard describing Saruman: “he has a mind of metal and wheels.” To me, Abrams’s films fall somewhere between Spielberg and Zack Snyder – great overall concepts, well-directed, great action, but lacking in emotion, real characters, or compelling themes. Lacking heart. Even Super 8 felt like that to me. Abrams’s Star Trek films were fun but forgettable (and the second had some annoying fan service and lazy writing). Quite frankly, I trust Joe Johnston to make a great Boba Fett movie more than I trust Abrams to make a great Star Wars movie.
- Power Con is moving from Anaheim to New York City. That’s big news, but what I’m more curious about is what “transforming back to its core roots” means. Does that mean Ninja Turtles and Thundercats have been given the boot? (You may also be wondering: am I going? Answer: Maybe. Not sure yet.)
- There will be a Glyos drop tonight at 9:30 EST. Check out the link for the full list of products.
- Spy Monkey Creations has updated the story of The Golden Age for the Weaponeers of Monkaa ahead of an upcoming new drop.
- In the course of following various Twitter conversations I came across the H Hangar by Wave. It’s designed for Gundam figures, but I immediately saw the potential for Star Wars Black 6″ dioramas as a corner of the Death Star or a Star Destroyer. Because they’re only 6″ tall, you really need two, which I immediately ordered from HLJ.
@RobotsPJs
I like kid Boba Fett and I'm not ashamed to admit it.
lanerb
Believe me, NOTHING in Star Trek into Darkness was fan 'service.' I believe the word you're looking for is fan-groin-kick, aka the same thing Star Wars Fans experienced from the majority of Episode I.
Poe Ghostal
I have mixed feelings on STID…I need to see it again. But the "Khan" scream was totally risible, and had people laughing in the theater.
@RobotsPJs
I went in with an open mind, but I just can't like that Star Trek universe.
Jester
Maybe I’m in the minority here, but I don’t like Jedi that much – this article covers some of the reasons why.
I'm not particularly fond of Jedi over-saturation (or in the case of the Prequels, Jedi in general), but that article, yikes, the Godwin is strong with that one…
Poe Ghostal
I agree it goes a little over the top (although I do like Brin as an author). But his point is well-made to me. As a kid, I wanted to be Han Solo, not Luke, and like Batman, there was a possibility I could be Han, whereas I could never be Superman/Luke because the happenstance of my birth did not include supernatural powers.
Now that the prequels are done, one could probably make an argument that the prequels themselves show that the mightiest are not the rightiest, so to speak. And while I doubt this was Lucas's intention, let's face it – in the end the Empire doesn't really fall because Vader dumps the Emperor, it falls because the Emperor forgot to make sure someone did the due diligence on investigating the indigenous species on Endor and their combat capabilities 🙂 I hate to say it, but as I see it, without the Ewoks, the Alliance doesn't blow up the shield generator and whoever the next guy in line on the Death Star is becomes the new emperor. So the superhuman Jedi don't save a the day, a bunch of teddy bears do.
Jester
Wait, that was David Brin? Colour me unsurprised…
As a kid, I wanted to be Han Solo, not Luke, and like Batman, there was a possibility I could be Han, whereas I could never be Superman/Luke because the happenstance of my birth did not include supernatural powers.
For me, it was always a toss-up between Luke and Boba Fett; I was never really appreciative of Han as a child because it seemed to me that he wasted most of his time chasing after the resident icky girl; how our perspectives change, eh? 😉
I never really got the impression from the OT that the use of the Force was a "happenstance of birth", just that some people were naturally more talented than others with it ("The Force is strong with my family", not "The Force is with my family") as with anything else, and that with training, anyone with inclination and dedication might become a Jedi Knight (if not an extraordinary one), hence my fantasies tended to revolve around being either a Jedi of average ability who depended as much on wits and a blaster as telekinesis and lightsabers, or one of Boba Fett's former comrades who'd managed to survive the slaughter of the 212 Mandalorian Protectors in the Clone Wars.
I hate to say it, but as I see it, without the Ewoks, the Alliance doesn't blow up the shield generator and whoever the next guy in line on the Death Star is becomes the new emperor. So the superhuman Jedi don't save a the day, a bunch of teddy bears do.
And then only because the Rebel commando team brought an ungainly, ridiculously obvious interpreter droid along for the trip for no apparent reason. :p
Basically, the good guys win in the end because of Act of God (and Luke explicitly defying/rejecting one of the old Jedi Order's most central tenets by embracing his emotional connection with his father).
dayraven
ah, but that's entirely true… the jedi had lost their way by this time, and the assumption that detachment yielded power was false, qui gon lived by a different creed, and was quite powerful, and the young anakin explained the apparent duality to young padme. if you go back to the old republic era, that was not the prevailing attitude of the jedi, when the order was stronger and much more numerous. they did not eschew emotional attachment or see aloofness as a means towards communion with the Force. They embraced the vitality of life, in it's full splendor, and used all of the emotions that that evokes to channel their abilities. in those times, it was a quality of selfishness and corruption that led to the dark side. the modern era jedi order could very easily be seen as self-serving in their philosophy ("you're going to find that a great many truths that we cling to depend on our point of view"), and thus, they are corrupted by the dark side and made impotent for it.
Jester
ah, but that's entirely true… the jedi had lost their way by this time, and the assumption that detachment yielded power was false, qui gon lived by a different creed, and was quite powerful, and the young anakin explained the apparent duality to young padme.
Actually, I've been arguing for years that, contrary to the assumptions of many fans, Lucas deliberately set the Prequels' Jedi Order up to fail specifically via their doctrinal emotionlessness, as Luke forcefully demonstrates in ROTJ.
In my view, the PT Jedi are meant not to be role models except insofar as they can serve of examples of what a Jedi truly in tune with the Force should not do, and I'm annoyed by the trend in the post-PT EU towards trying to make Luke's new Jedi Order ape its Clone Wars-era predecessor. Talk about missing the point…
Jester
I've always liked the idea of Boba Fett being the GFFA's Dread Pirate Roberts, the name and armour continually passing from one man to another across the years and stars as the various holders ultimately retire/die and transfer the legacy to their successors. It would enhance the character's mystique quite a bit, I think, if, like the Phantom, he was, in effect, immortal and unkillable after a fashion.
dayraven
they (the power con people) omit discussion of the other properties, but i think " this year’s convention will be a gathering to celebrate the worlds of Masters of the Universe and Princess of Power!" pretty much says they're kicking TMNT and TC out the door, at least for this year… which seems folly to me, considering how many turtles fans there were last year. by some accounts, they represented almost half the attendees all by themselves… kicking them out seems to undercutting one's own budget…
which also can't be helped by staging the event in the most expensive city for the hospitality industry in north america. and the coincidental date correspondence to NYCC seems almost stupid. no, forget that, it's seems completely stupid. half the mattel personal who might have attended the con won't be, because there's no way mattel will sign off on two travel vouchers for a slew of corporate dicks with 30 days of each other. not to mention, that means the odds of seeing anything decent at power con, reveals wise, seems thin at best, when they can debut pieces to a much larger audience a few days later. that said, it's being run by the guys who run the org, a place so devoid of humanity that the exodus to find a less pro-mattel-in-the-face-of-all-logic destination has yielded not one, but two different he-man fansites in the last couple months… you couldn't interest me in power con at this point if they were giving away anthony de longis tattoos.
Dead Man Walking
Anthony De Longis will henceforth be my porn name. Thank you.
dayraven
i go by Harry Balzonya, personally.
Barbecue17
I know of He-Man world- what's the other site?
And I'm actually wondering if taking those other properties out of Power-con means that Mattel is somehow becoming officially involved with Power-con more-so than in the past. Probably not a bad thing for them to foster with the film actually beginning to seem like a reality. If they control it while it's small and MOTU explodes in a few years, that could be a benefit for them.
So now the Power and Honor foundation, the Thundercats, and TMNT are booted from Power-con. Next year it will be the New Adventures fans. (I kid, I kid!)
Victor Prime
"He-Man World" is awesome! I highly recommend that site to anyone who is a true MOTU fan and enjoys freedom of speech! http://www.hemanworld.com. The other site is http://www.motu.com.co. I think they could have picked an easier name to remember, but there it is. That site is stiull finding its feet. As for Power Con, I think they just didn't want to pay talent who worked on TMNT and TCs to be part of panels. There may have laso been licensing fees with the companies taht own thos eother two companies that they wanted to avoid paying. Chances are, well never get an honest answer from V.S. about it.
Dark Angel
Hemanworld is fantastic assuming you can handle some straight talk about the current line. If, like some of the regular guests on this site, a person's primary interest is to spew vitriol on anyone who dares question the management of the line, I don't recommend they visit or register there.
The Rook
I was wondering the same thing about Power-Con. There wasn't really any clarification with regards to that statement. I'm exicited about Power-Con finally coming to the East Coast, but it won't be the same if it doesn't include the other properties.
Malancthon
So, basically the pitch is the Jodo Kast story, a comic from Dark Horse back in 1997 (which was canon until the prequels messed up canonicity, and are now part of the 'committee discussion' to decide what all is and isn't canon). Jodo Kast was made into a figure about 5 years ago as a KMart exclusive, too. It's a great story, and actually would be pretty cool for a movie.
However, all they really need to make a great Boba Fett movie is to basically do a Clint Eastwood "Man with No Name" rip-off movie. Fett is basically that character. Yojimbo would be an easy one to use (as Yojimbo was a rip-off of Daniel Hammet's Red Harvest- the circle becomes complete). Rebels on one side, Empire on the other, and Boba Fett in middle playing off both sides.
Thommy/Uki
The Jodi Kast would be pretty nifty; I always loved that tale-much better than so very very much of the EU.
Jester
Except they're proposing that Kast actually killed Fett, not the other way around.
Thommy/Uki
I’m so over Whiny, Prequel-Hate-obsessed SW anything. (Sorry, had to get that out there.) That said, Joe will make a great Fett film and I could maybe see some merit in the idea…I like the idea of it being ambiguous: is it him or someone else in there?
_RZ_
I'd love it if they killed prequel Fett. The episodes of the cartoon featuring him were pretty weak, and it would be great for the character to have that evil, mysterious vibe again, instead of the crying emo/misunderstood kid one from the last decade.
I love the idea, and hope Joe Johnston gets the gig, because The Rocketeer was awesome, as was Captain America.
Rancor84
I think they could achieve that by just not explaining/mentioning any of his past. The only hope I have is that he hardly talks & keeps that helmet on! I don’t need to know that any sw character was a whiny kid, especially the cool ones!
AFOS
Man what episodes of The Clone Wars were you watching? Or are you confusing Boba with Anakin? In his first appearances Boba was a little ball of rage being held back by Aurra Sing. The next time we seem him he's already a professional bounty hunter.
_RZ_
I saw the same ones as you, I guess we got different things from them. I thought the episodes set on Mandalore were great, a very original culture was created and the plots were interesting. And there were quite a few others that were really good. The Boba episodes felt like fan service though, and a chance to give the young actor who played Kid Boba a job on the TV show. It was the final step from making Boba a "bad guy" into "a sympathetic kind-of bad guy with honor" who is justified in his actions. Must we sympathize with every evil character nowadays? Why can't some dudes just be "bad" and not "bad because of some-justifiable cause." Not to mention, he's now kind of, just Jango's son, which as a spaghetti western fan I appreciate the in-joke, but it makes him "less" in a way because he's simply a copy of a "better" character. Not to mention the retcon plot problems that are created because of this (Why is everyone afraid of Jango clones/Empire if Stormtroopers can't shoot and get taken down by blind people in 15 seconds? Mace Windu whooped him one handed in like under 30 seconds! If Boba is so great then why do Stormtroopers suck so much? etc.)
I enjoyed Robocop 2's kid gangster back in the day, I didn't need to see it again retold kid-friendly style. I had twenty years of Boba being a mystery figure, you never saw his face, he didn't say much. Where did he come from? Why does he seem to make everyone afraid? Is it a girl or a guy? A robot? Alien like Greedo? These questions aren't important at all… but they are a big part of the appeal of the character. Do we need to know The Man With No Name's origin and background in order to enjoy the Dollars Trilogy? Of course not. Do we need to hear about Mad Max's dad in order to follow him in The Road Warrior? I don't like the post-2000s idea that we need to over-explain every character to death, and kill the imagination of the audience watching at home.
I enjoyed the prequels and TV show for what they were… Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan is reason enough alone to watch. He kills it and holds those movies together. But I'm not going to pretend that they don't try to re-write the past in an uninspired way. People diss on the prequels not to be part of some "club", they diss them because they aren't that good. I don't like retcons and I like a little mystery, I don't need to know who every single character is and the intricate details of their life from their birth to death. "Wait you thought THIS happened, but THIS is what is true." Blah, lazy writing. Give me something NEW and exciting, SW was a revelation to people in 1977 because it was different! I think the TV show especially was a huge missed opportunity- a big piece of the SW puzzle in the 70's/80's was that it was one of the few kid-friendly properties out there that didn't speak down to children. Kids like it when they get to "sit at the grown-up table" and in a way that was what SW was, something for everyone, new, and a little dangerous! The stuff from the last decade has such a kid-oriented focus, it makes it less something the old and young could share together, and makes it more lasers and SFX and fast food advertisements without a heart or even a loose message. It could be anyone or anything under that Fett helmet there- a robot, an alien, a girl, an old man, a warrior- and the Jodo Kast-style idea Poe mentions would be great to instantly bring back the mystery to the character.
Jester
I wonder if the intention was to eventually introduce Fenn Shysa, Tobbi Dala and co? The heavy emphasis on the role of the Mandalorian police (with whom Fenn is supposed to have served) is suggestive, and interestingly enough, Star Wars Insider at some point featured a Mandalorian soldier with a unique jetpack and a modified version of Fenn's personal insignia on his armor:
https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/q71/s…
Mace Windu whooped him one handed in like under 30 seconds!
Jango was very likely suffering from a concussion at that point, having just been trampled by two and a half thousand pounds of space rhino. Frankly, it's a wonder he was still able to stand upright.
Rancor84
I hope they don’t kill Fett. I’d like it better if they don’t touch on his past at all. That said, I think Tem is perfect for Fett!