Renew THE ACOLYTE...Now!

So a few hours ago, I watched the season finale of The Acolyte on Disney+...and all I can say is— Screw the haters. Renew The Acolyte for a second season immediately!

After viewing Episode 8, titled "The Acolyte," it made me that much eager to see the story of Osha (Amandla Stenberg) continue as (SPOILERS AHEAD) her journey down the path of the Dark Side quickly unfolded once she killed her former Jedi mentor, Master Sol (Lee Jung-jae), upon finding out that he murdered her mother on Brendok 16 years earlier. I want to see what awaits Osha and her cortosis-welding teacher Qimir (Manny Jacinto) after the would-be Sith spared the life of Mae (also played by Stenberg) in exchange for her sister Osha becoming his apprentice instead.

And of course, as shown in the screenshot at the top of this Blog entry, I want to see how Darth Plagueis plays a role in the future trials and tribulations of Qimir and Osha. I expected Darth Tenebrous to show up in tonight's finale instead (I definitely wouldn't be surprised if he made an appearance in Season 2), but it's still awesome that Darth Sidious' former master appeared in this Star Wars streaming series.

And let's not forget the final scene of today's episode...with Vernestra Rwoh (Rebecca Henderson) meeting a certain green-eared Jedi Master at the Jedi Temple to seek his counsel following the discovery that her former Padawan was still alive after being seduced by the Dark Side of the Force a long time ago. That Padawan, of course, being none other than Qimir.

So yea— If Lucasfilm wants to politely give all the haters the middle finger for review-bombing The Acolyte, Season 1 on Rotten Tomatoes and other sites, as well as continuing the story of Qimir and Osha and revealing how Plagueis and Yoda factor into their tale, then giving The Acolyte at least one more season is the way to go!

We've seen the Old Republic in the Star Wars prequels, the reign of the Galactic Empire in Solo, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Andor, Rogue One and the original Star Wars trilogy, and the New Republic in the Star Wars sequel trilogy (as well as in The Mandalorian and Ahsoka)... Let's see more of the High Republic in live-action through the eyes of creator Leslye Headland!

The Dark Side also continues to beckon.

On This Day in 2001: IMPORT_JEDI Is Born...

So today marks two decades since I created my Import_Jedi account for the Jedi Council Forums on the Star Wars fan site, TheForce.net.

I've actually been browsing the JC Forums since early 1999 (before The Phantom Menace was released in theaters...which was near the end of my first year of college at Cal State Long Beach), but Import_Jedi was born 13 days after Lucasfilm revealed that the official title for Star Wars: Episode II would be Attack of the Clones.

I've been going on the JC Forums regularly till after Revenge of the Sith came out in 2005—and then it was only sporadically that I would frequent threads, most of which had nothing to do with Star Wars.

I started logging on a bit more around the time The Force Awakens and Rogue One were theatrically released almost six and five years ago, respectively (but not as much for 2017's The Last Jedi, and not at all for 2018's Solo and 2019's The Rise of Skywalker), but other than that, I only visit the JC Forums if I'm feeling extremely nostalgic about my good ol' college days.

Click here to view the list of friends that I made on the JC Forums during my 20-year tenure—though I don't know how many of them still go to this message board. I miss the 3SA Sarcasm Knights! Happy Friday.

Photo of the Day: Trump's Executive Order...

If you're a member of #TheResistance (the real resistance...not the one featured in the new Star Wars trilogy) who wants to poke fun at everything that Donald Trump does while he's still president, click on this link to customize your own executive order that Trump will proudly hold with his [ALT-FACT] giant hands [/ALT-FACT] in this photo. Now if only Steve Bannon, Mike Pence and Paul Ryan can display white sheets of paper in pics that will be manipulated on the Internet for everyone's amusement as well... I can wait.

Images of the Day: The Seventh Sister...

Just thought I'd share this illustration that I drew of the Seventh Sister, the 'Sith Inquisitor' who's voiced by Sarah Michelle Gellar on Disney XD's Star Wars Rebels. I've only watched this animated TV show once (it's pretty cool based on what I've seen), but the Seventh Sister herself caught my attention after viewing a Disneyland commercial—which aired around the time of The Force Awakens' theatrical release last December—showing a Cast Member wearing a live-action costume of the villain while engaging in mock lightsaber duels with little kids dressed as Jedi Younglings (see the photo at the very bottom of this entry). It would be so cool if the Seventh Sister made an appearance in Star Wars: Episode VIII or a future film...even though I don't know what her fate was on Star Wars Rebels (and she would be quite old considering that Rebels takes place more than 30 years before Rey and Finn join the Resistance to save the galaxy). Anyways, I can't decide if I should draw a Death Trooper from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story or Captain Phasma as my next artwork. We'll see. Happy Hump Day!

Video of the Day: Luke Skywalker Channels Celine Dion!

Star Wars: Episode VII star Daisy Ridley posted this hilarious Instagram video yesterday poking fun at the confrontation between Luke Skywalker and Rey at the end of The Force Awakens. As Rey looks on in astonishment, Luke takes out a microphone and breaks out a tune from the Celine Dion song "All by Myself." The Jedi Master's performance is so mesmerizing that it destroys a planet. Or planets... The destruction of Alderaan in A New Hope as well as the obliteration of the Hosnian Prime system and Starkiller Base in The Force Awakens are combined to show the magnitude of Skywalker's intense power ballad. Anyways, check out the video below and enjoy the brief hilarity.

Update: Daisy deleted her Instagram account, so here's the YouTube version...

Photo of the Day: Happy Birthday, Rey!

I'd post this pic in my Film Notes section, but I don't wanna. Seeing an actual shot like this in next year's Star Wars: Episode VIII alone would be worth the price of admission... Maybe. Yoda taught Luke well in The Empire Strikes Back. And Daisy Ridley (a.k.a. Rey for those of you who didn't watch The Force Awakens despite the fact that it's now available on DVD. How dare you) turned 24 today! Let's celebrate by revealing who's the jerk that left Rey on Jakku when she was just a wee little tyke!

Photos of the Day: You, Too, Can Look As Bad-Ass As Boba Fett!

Photo courtesy of Galac-Tac International - Facebook.com

Just thought I'd share these awesome pics showing body armor that was recently developed by a company called AR500 Armor. This gear—which you can wear while playing airsoft (and paintball too...presumably)—is inspired by the cool Mandalorian armor that Boba Fett (and his father Jango Fett before him) donned in the Star Wars saga. Don't know how much this outfit will cost, but all I can say is, the U.S. military should adopt this for use in the Army and Marine Corps...just because. One wonders how much ISIS fighters would piss in their pants if they saw opposing troops wearing that awesome helmet with its T-shaped visor walking right towards them, guns at the ready.

Note to AR500: Please develop a Kylo Ren-inspired helmet next!


Photo courtesy of Galac-Tac International - Facebook.com


Photo courtesy of Galac-Tac International - Facebook.com


Photo courtesy of Galac-Tac International - Facebook.com

Photos of the Day: Captain Phasma and a Stormtrooper on Display in Hollywood...

MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE! Just thought I'd share these photos that I took of the Captain Phasma and First Order Stormtrooper outfits from Star Wars: The Force Awakens that have been on display at ArcLight Cinemas in Hollywood for over a week now. The suit of the "Chrometrooper" (that was the nickname for Gwendoline Christie's character before the name Captain Phasma was officially confirmed by Lucasfilm, via Vanity Fair magazine, back in May) was the only major First Order attire that I haven't yet seen in person up to this point. (The TIE Fighter pilot suit and even the General Hux uniform worn by Domhnall Gleeson have never been displayed in public, as far as I recall.) Hopefully (SPOILER ALERT), we'll see more of Phasma in May of 2017. This is assuming, of course, that Star Wars: Episode VIII writer/director Rian Johnson explains how she escaped from a trash compactor on Starkiller Base towards the end of The Force Awakens... That is all.

Long Beach Comic Con...

So yesterday afternoon, I drove down to the Long Beach Convention Center to get my geek on at the LBC's very own Comic Con. I didn't go because I wanted to be in a room full of cosplayers dressed as Deadpool, Boba Fett, Stanley Ipkiss (Jim Carrey's character in 1994's The Mask) or Batman (yes, the Ben Affleck version from next year's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice), but I attended the show to meet two lovely actresses from a pair of my current favorite TV shows. The first one I met was Lindsey McKeon, who played Tessa (a 'Reaper') on the long-lived CW Network TV series, Supernatural. The second actress I took a pic with was Chloe Bennet...who plays Skye (whose real name is Daisy Johnson and is now known as Quake, a so-called Inhuman) on the hit ABC TV show, Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Ms. Bennet was originally supposed to appear at 1:00 PM but instead arrived at 5:30 PM for a photo op event at Comic Con. Thank God for the change though; Chloe showing up at the earlier time probably would've prevented me from meeting Lindsey (can't call her Ms. McKeon now since she got married two years ago—to a dude named Brant Hively) first. A long line formed about an hour before Bennet's photo op was supposed to begin. Everything worked out!



Unlike the Star Wars Celebration in April and Disney's D23 Expo last month (I was thinking about attending this one but changed my mind), there were no new news at Comic Con pertaining to Star Wars: The Force Awakens...which opens in theaters 95 days from now (94 if you live in the UK; bastards). The only sign at the Long Beach Convention Center that Episode VII will soon be upon us were the two First Order Stormtroopers (shown towards the bottom of this entry) milling about inside the main showroom, and a booth that sold some Force Awakens merchandise. It's all good. I'm just wondering when J.J. Abrams will reveal the next trailer for the 7th live-action Star Wars installment, and in front of which film? Yea, I'm too lazy to go to Google and see which movies (other than the next Paranormal Activity film, Steven Spielberg's Bridge of Spies and the very last Hunger Games flick) are coming out this October and November. Carry on.

May The Force (Friday) Be With You!

So earlier today, I spent more than two hours driving around to different Toys"R"Us, Walmart and Target stores looking for Kylo Ren and Captain Phasma action figures to buy as a way of participating in the much-hyped "Force Friday." I worked a night shift yesterday, and by the time I drove to the Toys"R"Us store that was right next to the freeway I used to head home early this morning, it had already closed following midnight festivities that only lasted an hour (stores selling The Force Awakens stuff opened at 12:01 AM; I didn't arrive at the Toys"R"Us till a couple of minutes after 1 AM). So right when I was about to head home empty-handed this afternoon since most of the new Star Wars merchandise at the three stores mentioned above were gone (yes— I went home, got some sleep and ate breakfast before I headed back out), I decided to visit the Disney Store at my local mall to see if they had the figures I was searching for. As the photo above shows, it did! Presumably, since the Disney Store didn't open at midnight (I didn't stumble upon anything online showing that Disney's own retail outlet would take part in the 12:01 AM activities), I assumed that it would have Kylo Ren and Captain Phasma figures in stock. And yep, I was right. The fact that this um, playset also comes with First Order Flametrooper, Finn, Rey and BB-8 figurines is an added bonus! Thanks Disney! Here's hoping Star Wars: Episode VII itself will deliver the goods like you did.

Lastly— If you wanna know just how big of a geek I am, open my closet door at home. Or just check out the pic below. Yes, that's a Pacific Rim Jaeger to screen right of my General Grievious figure from Revenge of the Sith. Have a nice weekend. Oh, and Happy Labor Day to my fellow Yanks!

(STAR WARS CELEBRATION) I'm About Four Months Late, But Oh Well...

Back on April 16 and 17, I went to the Anaheim Convention Center in Orange County, California, to attend the latest Star Wars Celebration. Originally, I was only supposed to go on the 16th, but I didn't find the location for The Force Awakens' movie prop exhibit till later that day (right when the exhibit closed). I wasn't about to pass up the opportunity to see Kylo Ren's lightsaber hilt, the armor used by First Order Flametroopers and Snowtroopers as well as a desert attire worn by Daisy Ridley (who plays Rey) in person. So I dished out another 65 bucks to return to the Anaheim Convention Center the following day. Anyways, click on the link below to check out the 75 photos that I took at Star Wars Celebration. And celebrate some more: The theatrical release for Star Wars: Episode VII is a little over 4 months away! If you live here in the United States, that is.

LINK: Click here for more images from the Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim

Star Wars Celebration...

So last Thursday and Friday, I drove down to the Anaheim Convention Center to attend the latest Star Wars Celebration. The main event (which I missed since I didn't pick my badge up early enough to join the line on Wednesday evening; instead, I watched the panel via simulcast in a separate showroom at the convention center) was the morning panel devoted to The Force Awakens on Thursday. During this presentation, director J.J. Abrams and Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy unveiled the newest trailer for Star Wars: Episode VII...plus introduced the film's three main stars, Oscar Isaac, Daisy Ridley and John Boyega, onto the stage to divulge details about their characters for the very first time. Several minutes later, the cast of the Original Trilogy—Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Anthony Daniels and Peter Mayhew (Harrison Ford couldn't make it since he was still recovering from that plane crash last month)—appeared on stage to thank the fans for their 35-plus-year devotion to the science fantasy franchise.



Originally, I was only going to attend the Celebration on Thursday, but I went back on Friday to visit the costume and prop exhibit devoted to The Force Awakens. I spent much of Thursday looking for this exhibit (it was on the 2nd floor of the convention center), and by the time I found it later that evening, the line to get into the showroom was cut off since the exhibit was closing for the day. But that's okay... It was another $65 (plus $10 for parking at Angel Stadium; I had to take a shuttle to the convention center on both days) well-spent. Here are several photos from my two days in Star Wars nerdvana.