Star Wars Celebration 2023! Big Announcements! Trailers & More!

Hey Everyone,

Paul here…

Over the weekend Lucasfilm held it’s annual Star Wars Celebration event, showcasing what the future holds for a galaxy far, far away. In addition to several interesting trailers, which you can watch below, there were several major announcements to come out of the event. The most notable being, that three new Star Wars movies are currently in development.

Jon Favreau (L) & Dave Filoni (R)
The current stewards of The Star Wars Universe (the good stuff anyway)

No official release dates have been announced so I’m not certain what order these films will be released in, but I am going to break each of them down. First, will have an Avengers-style, team-up movie, directed by Dave Filoni, bringing together the characters from The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, and the upcoming Ashoka. The series will act as the epic culmination of the overarching storyline that began with The Mandalorian and serve as an ending to the story of Din Djarin and Grogu. But don’t freak out yet! We still have multiple seasons of The Mandalorian before the film will hit theaters. At the very least we know Season 4 is already in early stages of production.

The second film will be directed by James Mangold. Mangold is a fantastic director, behind movies like Logan and the upcoming 5th Indiana Jones film. The movie take place thousands of years before The Skywalker Saga and chronicle the origins and beginning of The Jedi Order. As much as I love The Mandalorian, this is the film that I’m most excited for. Mangold is a great director and the story has a lot of potential. Taking place in a completely different time period, with all new characters, is something a lot of Star Wars fans have been wanting for a while now. I think going back as far as the beginning of The Jedi, has the potential to be very unique and cool.

The third and certainly most controversial film, will focus on Rey from the sequel trilogy, and take place years after The Rise of Skywalker. The story will follow Rey, as she attempts to rebuild The Jedi Order. Considering how divisive The Sequel Trilogy was, especially Rise of Skywalker, this seems like a somewhat surprising and misguided, move on the part of the leadership at Lucasfilm. We’ll be following the production of these movies and keep you updated as new details come to light these films begin to come to light.

On the streaming front, as I mentioned before we got our first look at the Ashoka series in the awesome trailer posted below, as well as several other exciting interesting Star Wars TV projects. Take a look:

Ashoka

Star Wars: Visions Vol.2

Both of these shows look amazing and I can’t wait!

A new series called Star Wars: Acolyte was also announced. The series is set before The Skywalker Saga, in The High Republic Era. Very little is known about the project at this point and is shrouded in secrecy. The show has been fully cast, with most of the roles being kept under wraps for the moment. However, we do know one thing for sure: We’re getting a Wookiee Jedi! Which is worth the price of admission all by itself. I will keep you updated as news of this new series develops.

The cast of Star Wars: Acolyte

Thanks for reading! Follow us on Twitter @PJWrightWBM, Instagram @worldsbestmedia2017, and our Facebook Page, Worlds Best Media. Those likes and follows, as well as iTunes reviews for the podcast, go a long way to supporting World’s Best Media. We really appreciate the loyalty and support shown to us by our fans, so thanks again! Stay healthy and stay safe!

-Paul

May The Fourth: Star Wars Day! Here’s Some Awesome Star Wars Art

Hey Everyone,

Paul here…

May The Force Be With You, my friends! Today we celebrate another Star Wars Day! For those of you who don’t know every year, May 4 is Star Wars day. You know, like “May The Fourth Be With You” (I normally hate puns, but it’s Star Wars so I kind of like this one). One of my favorite things to do is find unique and talented artists all throughout the Internet and see their take, their interpretation, of classic pop-culture characters or stories. Star Wars has some of the BEST art on the internet. From concept art from the films that were never used, to famous artists putting their own spin on a Star Wars character or scene, or all of the incredible amature artists out there who post their fantastic work on Instagram and social media. So to commemorate Star Wars Day, I wanted to share some of the cooler pieces of Star Wars art I’ve come across recently. Check them out below! May The Force be with you, always…


I also wanted to include some of these fantastic photos you’ll see below. Every time a new Star Wars movie has come out of the last 25 years, Vanity Fair wouldsend world renowned photographer Annie Leibowitz to take photos of the production, the actors, the characters, etc. Vanity Fair’s Star Wars issue was usually best look at the upcoming Star Wars movie. Usually a teaser trailer would have been released, but not much else. So Vanity Fair’s in-depth article on each, upcoming Star Wars film was our first and best look at the coming film. The best part was that each article was accompanied by Leibowitz’s amazing images. Through color and texture, she captured so much amazing detail with her photos. Each photo she took was unmistakably an Annie Liebowitz photo. She’s just that damn good. So I wanted to include some of my favorite photos from her extensive Star Wars portfolio…

Thanks You! Follow me on Twitter @PJWrightWBM or type Worlds Best Media into the search bar, you can also like and follow us on our Facebook page; World’s Best Media. We’re on Instagram @worldsbestmedia2017. Those likes and follows, as well as iTunes reviews, go a long way to supporting World’s Best Media. We really appreciate the loyalty and support shown to us by our fans, so thanks again! Stay healthy and stay safe!

-Paul


PODCAST: Star Wars Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker Review (SPOILERS)!

Hey Everyone,

Paul here…

On this episode of The World’s Best Podcast, I reviews the highly anticipated final installment in The Skywalker Saga, Star Wars: Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker. A movie over 40 years in the making. I think this episode should just speak for itself. Huge SPOILERS! Thanks for listening! Enjoy!

Listen here: https://www.spreaker.com/episode/20969009

Or subscribe on Stitcher, Deezer, Spreaker, iHeartRadio, Google Podcasts, & Apple Podcasts/ITunes! 

iTunes/Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-worlds-best-podcast/id1246038441#episodeGuid=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.spreaker.com%2Fepisode%2F20969009

Stitcher: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-worlds-best-podcast/id1246038441#episodeGuid=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.spreaker.com%2Fepisode%2F20969009

Thanks for listening! Follow me on Twitter @PJWrightWBM or type Worlds Best Media into the search bar, you can also like and follow us on our Facebook page; World’s Best Media. Those likes and follows, as well as iTunes reviews, which go a long way to supporting World’s Best Media. We really appreciate the loyalty and support shown to us by our fans, so thanks again!

-Paul

NEW TRAILER, POSTER, & IMAGES: Star Wars Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker !

Every Saga has an ending….


STAR WARS EPISODE IX THE RISE OF SKYWALKER! Poster, New Trailer, & More Star Wars News!

Hey Everyone,

Paul here…

Wow! That trailer… man, it just blew me away. This was the footage shown at D23 this weekend. I was still coming off my Marvel summer high. After Avengers: Endgame, Spider-Man: Far From Home, and all the PHASE 4 announcements, this was definitely the summer of Marvel for me. Then I saw the new poster for Rise of Skywalker. It shook me out of my Marvel coma and now I’m back in the Star Wars game! You can watch it right here, posted below:

I’ll be honest, I got chills watching this trailer. Because it’s not just a movie, it’s crazy to think that back in 1977 your parents would’ve been sitting down in a movie theater waiting to see the original Star Wars. Now you could take your own kids to see the final film in the series. We know that we’re going to keep getting Star Wars movies after Episode IX, but this is the end of The Skywalker Saga. The nine film, legendary, epic that George Lucas first teased decades ago. Now, we’re finally getting to see the end of that story. The beautiful thing about Star Wars is that there’s been a new Star Wars movie out every single decade since the 70s, so it’s truly a multi generational story.

Telling stories is part of who we are as humans. People huddling around the campfire together, telling tales of good and evil, love and family, adventure and heroes. Star Wars is primal. Despite the fact that some of the Star Wars films have a major faults, I honestly I love all of them, because I love the universe Lucas created. This is it: the end of The Skywalker Saga. I have faith that J.J. Abrams is the man to bring this on home and give us a satisfying ending to one of the greatest stories ever told.

The last shot of the trailer shows what appears to be Rey going full Dark Side. Black cloak, sick double bladed trick red lightsaber, the whole deal. I don’t think what we see in that quick moment can be taken at face value. It can mean a whole number of different things. I would love to hear your theories though! Anyway I did want to include these 2 awesome pieces of fan art, that shows what Dark Side Rey could look like, made by one of my favorite artists BossLogic ( follow him on Twitter he doesn’t amazing stuff!).

Anyway, below we have some more cool Star Wars news from the D23 Expo. Check it out. More STAR WARS new from D23:

Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season 7

Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season 7 will premiere in February 2020 on the Disney+ for what is likely to be the final season for the popular animated series. Dave Filoni, the talented writer and director who’s worked at Lucasfilm for years, the co-creator of Star Wars: The Clone Wars will write and direct the final 4 episodes of the 12 episode season. Filoni was also the showrunner on Star Wars: Rebels

Ashoka VS. Maul

Untitled Obi-Wan Kenobi Series

Another cool announcement at D23 was confirmation that a live action Obi-Wan Kenobi series starring Ewan McGregor will be premiering Disney+. According to an interview Kathleen Kennedy, the head of Lucasfilm, gave to EW.COM, there are scripts currently being written with production to start early next year. Even though it may be a little while before we get to see the series, it’s still cool to know that it’s finally happening.

Disney/Lucasfilm also showed an up to date time lines of the films and shows that are currently “in canon”. Take a look…

So, what did you think of the new trailer? Do you think Rey is really going to the Dark Side? Which of the upcoming Star Wars TV shows are you most looking forward to? Comment below or reach out to us on social media! We always love hearing from you guys!

Thanks for reading! Follow me on Twitter @PJWrightWBM or type Worlds Best Media into the search bar, you can also like and follow us on our Facebook page; World’s Best Media. Those likes and follows, as well as iTunes reviews, go a long way to supporting the show. We really appreciate the loyalty shown to us by World’s Best Media fans, so thanks again!

-Paul

FIRST LOOK: New Photos STAR WARS EPISODE IX THE RISE OF SKYWALKER!

Hey Everyone, 

Paul here…

Star Wars is like a religion to me. Those films are a large part of why I love movies so much. However, even with Star Wars Episode IX coming out in December, all of my attention as a fan has been focused on Avengers: Endgame and Game of Thrones. Game of Thrones ended up being a bit of a mixed bag in it’s final season, but man oh man, did Endgame deliver. Avengers: Endgame was one of the most thrilling movie going experiences of my life. The movie surpassed expectations to deliver a masterpiece of blockbuster filmmaking. I’ve often said The MCU is this generation’s Star Wars, which makes Endgame the modern equivalent of The Empire Strikes Back. Like, The Empire Strikes Back, Endgame has already reached the status of modern classic. Anyway, back to Star Wars! With Game of Thrones and Avengers: Endgame out of the way, I can focus my fandom on Star Wars Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker! The final chapter in  The Skywalker Saga, 40 years in the making.

   The new issue Vanity Fair has given us the best look at the film so far. The June cover story is all about Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, with an excellent article by Lev Grossman that’s the most in depth look at the film yet and just a damn good read. You can read the full article the full article right here (I highly recommend that you do): https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2019/05/star-wars-cover-story?verso=true

   The coolest part of the Vanity Fair issue is the amazing photos taken on the set by famed photographer Annie Leibovitz. Vanity Fair and Leibovitz have been covering the Star Wars movies for decades now. I still have the Vanity Fair issue that focused on The Force Awakens because of the incredible photographs she had taken. In my opinion, Annie Leibovitz one of the best photographers in the business and these fantastic photos for The Rise of Skywalker are a testament to how stunningly beautiful her photos can be. You can see them all below.

The Knights of Ren (FINALLY!!!)

Well, the countdown to Star Wars Episode IX has officially begun! Spider-Man: Far From Home is the last, “next BIG movie”, that I’m really looking forward to, but once I see that, I imagine my Star Wars mania will really start to heat up! As always, thanks for reading!

-Paul 

*Editors Note: All photos from Vanity Fair

PODCAST: Star Wars Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker TRAILER BREAKDOWN!

Hey Everyone,

Paul here…

After decades of movies, books, TV shows, and comic books, we finally come to the beginning of the end. The first trailer for the final film in The Skywalker Saga is upon us. The film is officially called Star Wars Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker. Of course for an event this epic and monumental, I needed my resident Star Wars expert with me to get the job done, so I had the illustrious Mr. Ryan McDonald Esq. with me on this episode of The World’s Best Podcast.

C3PO (Anthony Daniels), Finn (John Boyega) and Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) in STAR WARS: EPISODE IX.

We sat down to break down the trailer for this new Star Wars film, the final film in this new trilogy. We offer up our theories, we speculate where the story is going, we offer up some inside and behind the scenes information, and discuss the changing landscape of franchise filmmaking that began all those years ago in 1977 with the first Star Wars film. We had a great time recording this episode, so we hope you enjoy listening to it! If you’d like to watch the trailer before listening to the podcast, we have it posted at the bottom of the page. Listen here or subscribe on Stitcher and iTunes: https://www.spreaker.com/episode/17636894

iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-worlds-best-podcast/id1246038441#episodeGuid=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.spreaker.com%2Fepisode%2F17636894

Kylo Ren

Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/s?eid=60039549&autoplay=1

Star Wars Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker Teaser Trailer:

Thanks for listening!

-Paul

What I Want to See: Solo Sequel

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This is going to contain some spoilers, so be warned.  TLDR: Spoiler Alert!

I had some reservations about Solo, I didn’t think it was a great idea, and there was the mess of a production we all heard about, and then they took forever to release a trailer, and it seemed like it was going to be a stinker, but the trailers regained some of my confidence.  I saw the film last night, and I really liked it, for a letter grade, I’d say B+.

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The film tells the story of how Han starts his life as a ‘scoundrel,’ how he meets Chewie, and Lando, and how he finds the Falcon.  Of his lore, I think that’s all the big key points that were touched upon.  The film ends with Han and Chewie heading off to Tattooine to find some ‘big gangster’ for a ‘big score.’

That’s what I want to see in the sequel.  Han and Chewie finding Jabba, and starting their smuggling.  That’s the concept they obviously need to go with, and perhaps there will be some chaos with the head of the Crimson Sun, who was revealed at the end of Solo.  That’s the basic plot, and obviously that’s what they’re planning.

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But, what I want to see, comes down more to cameos, and lore.  If they’re going to be on Tattooine, we could easily see some kind of Obi-Wan cameo, same with young Luke.  I’m a little iffy on what the timeline is supposed to be, so I’m not sure if Luke’s a small child or a young teenager.

In addition to those two though, are all of Jabba’s crew; Greedo, Boba-Fett (not necessarily Jabba’s crew but on payroll), Salacious Crumb; it would be interesting to expand upon these characters.

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There is also the possible setup of new characters that could be really cool.  So if you watched Rogue One, you should have known that most if not all of the characters shown would die, because otherwise why wouldn’t they be in A New Hope, but with Han’s life before A New Hope, there is no rule that says it has to interact with the main Skywalker Saga at all.  Cameos will be fun, but lets establish some awesome new characters, and pockets of the galaxy.  By doing this, it could create some connection, to whatever either of the two new trilogies (Rian Johnson, or the GoT guys’ trilogies) because while I don’t want those two new trilogies to be about Rebels or Resistance, or anything too obvious, it would be nice to know where it falls with in the extended universe.  Han and Chewie’s adventures could definitely provide a springboard for that.

Lastly, there’s a fan theory that I like, that might be fun if it’s shown to be correct, or at least purposely kept ambigious.  This theory basically says that because we see Chewie with Yoda in Revenge of the Sith, that they clearly know each other, and Chewie definitely has a passion for liberating the oppressed, and so what if Chewie was working as a rebel agent to some degree, with Yoda.  That’s why Han and Chewie meet with Obi-Wan, and it’s not all coincidence.  It’s a good theory, especially after seeing how Chewie behaves in Solo.

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What about you?  What do you want to see from a Solo sequel?  Let me know in the comments below.

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PODCAST: Solo: A Star Wars Story Review (Some Spoilers)

Hey Everybody,

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On this episode of The World’s Best Podcast, I finally review the much debated new Star Wars film , Solo: A Star Wars Story! Unfortunately, I also forgot to introduce myself at the start of the show! So… I’m Paul Wright! Look, this isn’t easy, ok?!

Ive also included some cool promo images from the movie for your viewing pleasure.

1D0DBB00-FB3E-4287-90B8-E74FA26F9382F8F39488-1443-46D5-8C36-4D635749A3179D9D04F3-DB84-4759-BB6D-CBD42966057DI do get into SPOILER territory later in the episode, but I give my spoiler free thoughts on the movie ear Lin the episode.  Here you can get my take on the film and inside info on the making of Solo: A Star Wars Story, as well background on characters and mythology you can’t find anywhere else! I do go into SPOILERS, so beware! The World’s Best Podcast is available on iTunes, Stitcher, The Boston Podcast Network pod617.com ,and here on Spreaker. Enjoy!

Spreaker:
https://www.spreaker.com/episode/14902919

iTunes:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-worlds-best-podcast/id1246038441?mt=2&i=1000412382091

May The Force Be With You…

-Paul

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STAR WARS RETROSPECTIVE (PART 5): EPISODE V THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK

Hey, everybody

It’s Paul, today we have the next piece of our series of articles looking back at The Star Wars Saga with Episode V The Empire Strikes Back. Our guest writer today is Marc Rodolfo who is a Incredible wordsmith. He’ll also be writing our Return of The Jedi article which I’m excited for you guys to read, (it’s one of my favorites from the entire series of articles). Without further ado, please enjoy our article on arguably the best Star Wars film: The Empire Strikes Back…

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Star Wars Episode V The Empire Strikes Back  Written by Marc Rodolfo

The Darkside of Dagobah: Reflecting on The Empire Strikes Back

Empire…Empire…Man…If you tell me that A New Hope truly made you a Star Wars fan, I simply, and unequivocally, don’t believe you. And I mean, a true fan. I’m sure you liked A New Hope. I am sure you thought it fun and interesting and if pressed you may even admit you WERE a fan. However, it was Empire that truly made you a fan. Empire that turned you from a fair-weather Storm Trooper (puns!) to a Darkside lovin’ Darth Vader. This is how it was for me and for the purposes of this article, for you too.
What follows is a piece written with an unmitigated love for the best Star Wars film ever…and yes, I am going to be THAT stubborn and say it will be better than Episode VIII and Episode IX and any A Star Wars Story movie that is bestowed upon us in the future. Because this is Empire and Empire changed the essence of Star Wars. Empire took a franchise that was supposedly created for the enjoyment of children and made it for everyone.

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It’s funny, I don’t really have a nostalgic story for Empire like I do for A New Hope and, as you will see in the next article, for Return of the Jedi. All I truly remember is that I went to the movie theater and I saw the movie. I don’t remember who I was with. I don’t remember if it was at the old General Cinema in Shopper’s World or the new AMC “A Lesson in Excess” Theater. I don’t remember the trailers or the ticket. I don’t remember if I got popcorn or soda. I don’t remember anything except for the movie. All that mattered was Empire. Yes, once the auditorium lights dimmed and the excited voices drifted off into soft murmurs and then to silence and the opening crawl accompanied that oh-so-familiar theme, I was back: enraptured in a universe that the previous chapter didn’t quite prepare me for…

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And as the opening preamble drifted upwards and the camera panned down towards this new planet, the hushed silence of the theater began to echo the icy azure aerospace of Hoth. Soon though the silence would be broken by a roar, a flash of a lightsaber, mumblings about someone called Yoda, and the incoming Imperial onslaught of the AT-ATs. Those AT-ATs…I mean, the Death Star was huge, sure, but it never really gave a menacing presence. It was just a giant steel ball after all; a “small moon.” But these new machines, these new tanks, looked like giant mechanical camels or elephants or something and slowly, they stalked towards their tiny prey, not unlike a monster in a slasher flick.

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And then, we got Vader. The last we saw of him he was spinning away into the eternal blackness of space. But now he was back, on the ground, and cutting rebels down left and right. Sounds of lasers, explosions, and the whirring of a red lightsaber pervaded the once tranquil theater. We were all on the edge.

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Empire started with a bang and continued throughout with more and more revelations: “I am your father!” (Notice he didn’t say Luke first?) Force ghosts. Removable hands. Immovable Hans. Betrayals and backstabbing. Cities in the clouds. And an ending…an ending that tipped us over that edge.

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I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Yoda. But let’s face it-Yoda was a risk. In a complete tonal shift from the maturity of the movie, we got a seemingly goofy puppet with a weird backward voice. We all complain about Jar-Jar, but if Yoda wasn’t putting us on and pulling a fast one, he would have made no sense in that movie. Luckily for us, it was a ruse; it was a test for Luke to see if he had the patience to start his training. It was then that Yoda quickly went from just another Star Wars muppet, to the wizened Jedi Master we know today. It was from Yoda we learned the true extent of what “the force” was capable.

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More than a “bad feeling about this” (a cliche that is uttered over ten times throughout the movies and is even mocked in Rogue One), more than intuition, more than mental connections, the force was a strength that awed even the most skeptical of us (Han Solo-lookin’ at you). It was Yoda that made us all, and I’m admitting it, actually try to move things with our minds. Yoda who taught us even the smallest of us can have strength and power as well as wisdom. Yoda that taught us the path to becoming a Jedi was found in patience and virtue. Yes, our little Buddhist monk quickly became a fan favorite.

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The Empire Strikes Back is one of those rare near perfect films. It brings back old characters and introduces new ones that quickly became fan favorites. It is the movie that cemented the Star Wars fandom and expanded it from a somewhat claustrophobic space opera (Episode IV was really only Tatooine and the Death Star) to a vast open wide space epic. From tundra to jungle and cave, from space to cloud and sky, each of Empire’s set pieces is as epic as the next and each moment is as memorable as the last. It is the Star Wars movie that created a universe.

May The Force Be With You…

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