Star Wars

Nothing Says Nerdy Like a Transforming Darth Vader Mug

Some people will drink coffee out of any old ceramic receptacle. But me? I want a mug that reminds me of the power of the Dark Side every time I drink. The $12 mug from ThinkGeek changes color when you pour a hot liquid into it. In the cupboard, it’s just your regular run-of-the-mill Vader…

The Exact Moment Star Wars: Battlefront Made Me Feel Like I Was Inside the Movies

Outside of my work here on io9, I tend to live and breathe two things: video games and Star Wars. Naturally, Star Wars games are right up my alley, and I was excited to try out the beta for the upcoming Star Wars: Battlefront this past week. I wasn’t expecting, however, for it to make…

Where’s the Wookiee? Has Kids Searching For Chewbacca Instead of Waldo

Martin Handford’s Where’s Waldo (or Where’s Wally if you were in the UK) were some of the most popular children’s books of the late ‘80s. Not surprisingly there have been countless knock-offs which are all worth ignoring, except now that Chewbacca the Wookiee has gone missing all over the Star Wars universe. Where’s the Wookiee?…

Luke Skywalker Has a Perfectly Good Explanation for His “Flub” in A New Hope

It’s a factoid years old that when Luke emerges from his X-Wing after the Battle of Yavin in A New Hope, the over-excited Mark Hamill accidentally cries “Carrie!” rather than “Leia!” when Carrie Fisher’s Princess comes running into his arms. But did he really? Not according to Luke Skywalker himself. The famous flub has been…

The Heroes and Villains of The Force Awakens Are Coming To Disney Infinity

The new Star Wars toys are already hankering for your money in various shapes and sizes following Force Friday in September—but they’d still like just a little more of it. The Disney Infinity videogame is all Star Wars themed this year, and naturally that means they’re bringing some of their newest stars to figure form…

A Totally Insane Rumor Says Marvel Is Killing The Inhumans Movie

An unlikely actor is rumored to take over the role of Boba Fett. An Adventure Time movie is still in the works. Agent Carter casts four big new characters. Plus, Seth Green throws cold water on a Howard The Duck movie, and NYCC sizzle reels for Arrow, The Flash, and Gotham. To Me, My Spoilers!…

So You Want To Join The Empire: Sun’s Out, Guns Out

Over the course of this column, we’ve been looking into the armor and how it all fits together. This week, let’s talk about something that goes along with Stormtroopers: the famed E-11 Blaster Rifle. There’s the long-running joke that Stormtroopers can’t hit anything. I have my own theories about their aiming in A New Hope,…

Iron Man, Frozen, and Star Wars Prosthetics Will Boost Kids’ Confidence

A prosthetic hand is about more than just improving the wearer’s physical capabilities. It’s also about improving their self-confidence. So Open Bionics, makers of low-cost but highly capable prosthetic robotic hands, have teamed up with Disney to realize some very cool designs. Kids can be bullied for something as innocuous as wearing the wrong shirt;…

Hasbro’s New The Force Awakens Toys Reveal Some New Details—and an Awesome Han Solo

Force Friday may have come and gone, but there’s going to be a lot more Star Wars toys between now and The Force Awakens heading our way. Hasbro have unveiled a bunch of new figures at New York Comic Con—and one of them is none other than Han Solo himself. Hasbro’s traditional pre-Comic-Con party kicked…

The Director of Star Wars Episode VIII Is Totally Messing With Me on Twitter

Every once in a while, there’s a reminder of just how amazing Twitter can be. One moment, I’m running a harmless contest, and the next, Rian Johnson tweets me a photo of the cover page to the script for Star Wars Episode VIII. How did we get to that point? We’ll here’s the quick story.…

Lego Luke Skywalker Is the Best L’Oréal Spokesperson

Proving you don’t need a supermodel to sell beauty products, Flickr’s Marc Mater has created this brilliant (but fake) L’Oréal ad showing how the company’s products can even tame hair ravaged by the dry deserts of Tatooine. If it can do this for Luke Skywalker, imagine what Chewbacca might look like after a long shower…

Princess Leia’s slave bikini outfit from Return of the Jedi has sold at auction. People reports that the costume, sold over the weekend, went for $96,000. The biggest Star Wars sale of the auction though? The model of the Tantive IV from the opening scenes of A New Hope, for a whopping $450,000.

So You Want To Join The Empire: Break A Leg!

When we last left off a couple of weeks ago, we were finishing up the legs, and it’s proving to be a bit more complicated than originally anticipated. The first problem was rectifying the screen-accuracy with something that’s practical to wear and regularly use. I’m not the same size or build as the actors who…

Meet the Jedi-Hunting Inquisitor Sarah Michelle Gellar Is Playing on Star Wars Rebels

Earlier this year, genre fans got pumped up when Buffy herself, Sarah Michelle Gellar, was announced as a cast member on Star Wars Rebels season 2. Speculation ran rampant about who she’d be playing and now we know for sure. Buzzfeed reveals Gellar is not playing Princess Leia, but instead a character named the Seventh…

Should You Feel Bad For Liking Crappy Superhero Movies?

Greetings, my mail minions! This week we’re trying to figure out if the superhero movie genre could survive without nerds, a possible misstep in the Agents of SHIELD premiere, and what you absolutely need to know before seeing The Force Awakens. (Answer: Nothing.) Shall we? Mass Effect Ralphie: Dear Mr. Postman: I am 67 years…

Recreate Epic Space Battles in Bed With These Plush Star Wars Ships

Heading off to sleep with a bed full of plastic pointy space ships is a recipe for an uncomfortable (and unsafe) slumber. So if your kid will only doze off after a space battle, these plush versions of ships from the upcoming Star Wars: The Force Awakens are a better alternative. The fleet includes Poe…

A New, Beastie Boys-Influenced Star Wars Alien Reminds Us How Much We Still Don’t Know

When I think of how little we know about Star Wars: The Force Awakens, it kind of boggles my mind. All the toys are from the first third of the movie, and we haven’t seen most of the old characters And we’ve only seen a few of the new aliens. Case in point, new images…

A 6-Feet Tall Inflatable Jabba Is the Perfect Lawn Decor For Any Holiday

You might look at this six-feet tall inflatable Jabba the Hutt and see the perfect way to decorate your front yard for Halloween. But look harder and you’ll see it’s actually perfect for any holiday or celebration—be it Christmas, St. Patrick’s Day, a wedding, or the arrival of a new baby. $170 might sound a…

A Brand New Kids’ Space Opera Series From Some of Your Favorite YA Authors

Voyagers aims to be a brand new Star Wars for the young generation, right while everybody is getting excited about the upcoming Force Awakens. There are six books coming out in the next year, written by people like City of Ember author Jeanne DuPrau and Skinned author Robin Wasserman. Check out an excerpt! In the…

This short film is arguably the cutest prequel to Star Wars: The Force Awakens

If you were a kid between the release of the first Star Wars movie—in 1977—and today, you’ve probably played with as many awesome Star Wars toys, action figures, vehicles, aircraft, LEGO sets, plush toys, anything as possible. This great short film about being a kid will instantly bring you back all those childhood memories and…