Fanboy.com is on Hiatus

See You Space Cowboy

I’m sorry to report that Fanboy.com is now on hiatus: We’re currently thinking of relaunching the site in the future, but for now no new stories will appear. We will still be posting links we love on a regular basis on our Facebook page so please keep in touch with us there.

I first registered this site on a lark in the 90s, but then started blogging almost 9 years ago in 2006 and found it to be a very rewarding experience. However after about 3,000 or so posts I got a bit burned out, however I was very lucky in that I found a few folks who were willing to put in the work to keep the site alive (namely Ben Huber, Bob Muir and Tim Sheehy) and to them I owe a great deal of thanks. I also would like to thank you the readers of this website for coming back to us over the past few years. In the meantime we’ll keep this site up for anyone who would like to see our old stories until further notice.

 

More Details Revealed bout Star Wars: Rogue One

Posted by Ben Huber on Apr 19, 2015 in Star Wars

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Gareth Edwards took to the stage at Star Wars Celebration to talk a little bit about the upcoming Star Wars spinoff film, Rogue One. Kathleen Kennedy also announced that any spinoff film will fall until the branding of “Anthology” (which you can see underneath the logo above). They haven’t started filming yet, but did show off a short clip made for the convention that featured the Death Star floating menacingly over the horizon of a forest planet. Yes, this film will be about rebels stealing the plans to the Death Star, as previously rumored. And, as was already confirmed, Felicity Jones will play the lead, a rebel soldier in the mission. Edwards said he’s excited about making this movie because “it comes down to a group of individuals who don’t have magical powers that have to somehow bring hope to the galaxy.” Read more…

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Star Wars: The Force Awakens Teaser Trailer #2 Arrives

Posted by Ben Huber on Apr 16, 2015 in Cinema, Star Wars

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Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim has kicked off in a big way: with J.J. Abrams and Kathleen Kennedy premiering the new teaser trailer for The Force Awakens. This new teaser still doesn’t give much away, but does give you a better look at the leads and the villains they’ll be up against. Of course, there’s also a shot of two certain characters from the original trilogy too. You can probably guess who! I won’t spoil anything else, just watch the teaser below! Read more…

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Star Wars Getting Digital Releases For The First Time

Posted by Bob Muir on Apr 7, 2015 in Cinema, Star Wars

The Star Wars Digital Movie Collection

Let’s put aside for the moment that you still can’t buy the original, unaltered versions of the classic Star Wars movies. The movies were also traditionally tied to home video, with no way to legally buy them on digital platforms in an increasingly digital world. That changes on April 10, when The Star Wars Digital Movie Collection is released on digital platforms such as iTunes, Google Play, and Xbox Video. You can get all six movies for $99.99, or individual movies for $19.99 each. Each movie includes bonus features, and on some platforms, additional bonuses like an R2-D2 avatar accessory. Sadly, these are still the Lucas-modified versions, but hey, at least you can get Star Wars on your iPad now. Read more…

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Ben Mendelsohn Rumored For Role In Rogue One

Posted by Ben Huber on Mar 27, 2015 in Star Wars

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The Star Wars spinoff film Rogue One is picking up steam fast: we heard recently from Disney that Felicity Jones would be in the production, but now rumors are circulating that Ben Mendelsohn could sign on to a lead role too. He’s been making news more and more often for his excellent performances in Killing Them Softly and The Place Beyond the Pines (he also had a brief role in The Dark Knight Rises). But mainly he’s been doing a great job in the Netflix series Bloodline, which has put him in the spotlight. He would fit perfectly into the Star Wars universe — let’s hope this rumor is true! Read more…

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Why Isn’t Star Wars An Awesome Late-80s Anime?

Posted by Bob Muir on Mar 25, 2015 in Animation, Fandom, Star Wars

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Look, Star Wars: Rebels is alright, but they could be doing something so much more stylized and interesting with the franchise, like Genndy Tartakovsky’s Star Wars: Clone Wars. They should be doing, say, a Star Wars cartoon that looks like a late-80s sci-fi anime, with detailed ships and dramatic shading. That’s what animator Paul Johnson has been working on for the last four years of weekends, and now he has finished his seven-minute short. Star Wars: Tie Fighter takes inspiration from the 1994 PC game of the same name and captures that dark, cool look of some classic anime like Gunbuster. Watch it and be amazed! Read more…

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Life Inside Jabba the Hutt, A Great Short Documentary

Posted by Ben Huber on Mar 22, 2015 in Star Wars

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Here’s something a little off the beaten path: a short documentary about the work and puppeteer effort put into making Jabba the Hutt! Yeah! Jamie Benning makes video and audio interviews about film, along with short documentaries. He recently interviewed Toby Philpott about his work as a puppeteer as Jabba the Hutt, but it quickly grew and turned into a 20-minute documentary about the entire process behind the puppet. It’s really fascinating to hear about how it was manned, created, and the hurdles they faced along the way. Often restrictions can induce really creative solutions! Watch the whole documentary below! Read more…

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John Williams Is Not Scoring Star Wars ‘Rogue One’ Spin-off

Posted by Bob Muir on Mar 17, 2015 in Cinema, Star Wars

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In what may sound like sacrilege, one of the upcoming Star Wars movies will be the first Star Wars movie to not be scored by John Williams. Gareth Edwards’s Rogue One will instead be scored by Alexandre Desplat, which may not be as familiar a name to some of you. But the score is left in capable hands, as Desplat is fresh off winning an Oscar for The Grand Budapest Hotel‘s soundtrack. Desplat recently worked with Edwards on Godzilla, and his past work is impressive: The Imitation Game, Moonrise Kingdom, Argo, The King’s Speech, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and Zero Dark Thirty, to name just a few. Since Rogue One is a spin-off and not part of the new trilogy, maybe this will help the movie stand out even further. Read more…

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First Image From The Force Awakens Prequel Comic

Posted by Ben Huber on Mar 15, 2015 in Star Wars

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Okay, maybe we should call it an interlude? A post-Return of the Jedi comic? A pre-Awakening story? Whatever you want to call it, a new Star Wars comic is coming in September, titled Shattered Empire. The tale will take place between the sixth and seventh Star Wars films, and will be told from the perspective of C-3PO. The first image of it (presumably a cover) has been revealed by Disney and Lucasfilm and… it’s a nice drawing of the final scene of Jedi! Hope you weren’t hoping for anything more spoiler-y! This is just one of 20 books planned to come out this fall and also with The Force Awakens in December, all as part of the new canon. So there will be more on the way soon! Check out the cover below. Read more…

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Star Wars Stand-Alone Film Titled “Rogue One” & Episode VIII Release Date Announced

Posted by Ben Huber on Mar 13, 2015 in Star Wars

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After much theorizing about the story and characters, Lucasfilm and Disney have finally revealed some critical information about the first stand-alone Star Wars film: the title, “Rogue One.” The Gareth Edward’s-directed film will also feature Felicity Jones as one of the leads (although Disney simply lists her as “the first actress cast”). All of this was officially announced in Disney CEO Bob Iger’s shareholder meeting. In addition, they also confirmed what we all already knew, that Rian Johnson would write and direct Star Wars: Episode VIII… but then they added a new tidbit: Episode VIII will release May 26th, 2017. So, uh, start saving your spot in line now? Read more…

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Weird Al Sings ‘Yoda’ With Autistic Children

Posted by Bob Muir on Mar 10, 2015 in Star Wars

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Weird Al sang a special duet at Comedy Central’s Night of Too Many Stars, held for New York Collaborates for Autism. 13-year-old Jodi DiPiazza, who has autism herself, began singing ‘Yoda,’ the 1985 parody of The Kinks’ ‘Lola.’ Soon, Weird Al came out in Jedi robes to harmonize with Jodi, and before long, a whole chorus was singing along with them. It was a great moment from a show with a great cause.
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JJ Abrams and Kathleen Kennedy To Kick Off Star Wars Celebration

Posted by Ben Huber on Feb 15, 2015 in Star Wars

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The Star Wars Celebration convention isn’t too far off: April 16thto the 19th, to be exact. It’ll be at the Anaheim Convention Center, and we now know it’ll be kicked off by The Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams and producer & Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy. The exact quote from the official site is that they’ll start “the show in a big way” and “this will be a day long remembered.” I don’t know about you, but given the speculation that a the first real trailer for The Force Awakens will premiere at Star Wars Celebration… that sounds pretty likely if both Abrams and Kennedy are there, doesn’t it? Read more…

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Lego Reveals UCS TIE Fighter Model

Posted by Ben Huber on Feb 15, 2015 in Hobbies and Collections, Star Wars

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It wasn’t that long ago that the Lego UCS Slave I came out, but Lego never stops. At the NY Toy Fair, Lego has revealed the Ultimate Collector’s Series TIE Fighter. With 1685 pieces, a TIE Fighter pilot, and of course, a display stand, the TIE Fighter model stands 18 1/2 inches tall and roughly 12 inches long and wide! This would definitely make a great desk piece. Lego also released their usual designer video, with a look at all the little features and pieces included. And here’s a heads up: there are rumors that there will be a large Hoth Rebel Base set in October. UCS sets are always pretty well-done. I’m still waiting for a new UCS Millennium Falcon, so I don’t have to pay ridiculous after-market prices on the old model! Check out more TIE Fighter images below. Read more…

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Lando Calrissian: “I Have A Feeling I’m Going To Show Up”

Posted by Ben Huber on Feb 13, 2015 in Star Wars

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Actor Billy Dee Williams recently jumped headfirst into an interview with Cinelinx, talking up his role in Star Wars: Rebels. In between the other questions, of course, Cinelinx took a chance to ask him about the new Star Wars trilogy: was there any chance Williams could return as Lando Calrissian? Fans were upset he hadn’t returned yet. “Yeah, people were pretty upset about it.  But I uh…I may very well…I have a feeling I’m going to show up,” the actor said, then added: “There’s nothing I can really discuss about it at this stage.” Whether that means he actually knows anything or if he’s just hoping to get a chance to come back, who knows! Still, if you’re looking for some Lando, go watch his Star Wars: Rebels episodes! Read more…

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Felicity Jones To Star In First Stand-Alone Star Wars Film

Posted by Bob Muir on Feb 4, 2015 in Cinema, Star Wars

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Fans are still salivating over Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens coming out at the end of the year. But don’t forget, Disney wants Star Wars to become an annual thing, similar to how their subsidiary Marvel is constantly putting out something. There have been at least two stand-alone movies mentioned, the first of which will be directed by Gareth Edwards. Though it still doesn’t have a name, it just got its star: Felicity Jones. The actress is currently Oscar-nominated for Best Actress for playing Jane Hawking in The Theory of Everything, so that’s a good pick. Meanwhile, Chris Weitz has taken over writing duties from Gary Whitta, who wrote the first draft. Now we just need to, you know, find out what the movie is about. Read more…

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The Muppets Visit The Set Of The Empire Strikes Back

Posted by Ben Huber on Feb 1, 2015 in Star Wars

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Some old photos are new again: Star Wars Archives has surfaced some old photos of the Muppets visiting the set of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. These have been in print before (and that full-color photo has been around online for a while) but most of these haven’t been uploaded to the internet before. It’s a great look at Kermit and Miss Piggy hanging around with their puppet pal Yoda… and the people behind them, like Frank Oz and Jim Henson. I love when stuff like this shows up again after being buried, letting a whole new group of fans see some classics collide! Read more…

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Standalone Star Wars Film Testing Kate and Rooney Mara, Tatiana Maslany, and Felicity Jones

Posted by Ben Huber on Jan 23, 2015 in Star Wars

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We’re getting a clearer picture of Gareth Edwards’ Star Wars spinoff film! Last we heard, it was rumored to be a bounty hunter-themed heist film focusing on several of them stealing the plans for the Death Star. Now, we’re getting word that the lead role is female and several actresses are already testing for it. On the list we have several great names, like Kate Mara (House of Cards), her sister Rooney Mara (Girl With The Dragon Tattoo), Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black, pictured above), and Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything). As of yet there’s no word on who might be pulling ahead, aside from that Jones may have to drop out due to prior obligations to Ron Howard’s Inferno. I imagine a Star Wars film, even if it’s a spinoff, is still a pretty big draw, though… Read more…

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GOG To Sell Classic Star Wars Games

Posted by Bob Muir on Jan 21, 2015 in Star Wars, Videogames

Star Wars: X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter

Disney isn’t just sitting on the games made by LucasArts as many feared when they bought LucasFilm. They’ve made a deal with GOG.com to sell six old Star Wars games, three of which aren’t available on Steam. Star Wars: X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter, Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance, and Star Wars Galactic Battlegrounds are now available to buy, while Star Wars Battlefront II, Star Wars: Dark Forces, and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords have been brought from Steam. These follow a few even older Star Wars games being rereleased last fall. And enticingly, GOG is promising another six LucasArts games over the next ten days. Maybe a few non-Star Wars games, please? Read more…

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Georgia Boy Gets Clone Trooper Replacement Arm

Posted by Ben Huber on Jan 18, 2015 in Star Wars

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A young boy from Georgia, Liam Porter, born without an arm, recently was given quite the surprise. He wanted a cool-looking Star Wars-themed Clone Trooper prosthetic arm… so what happened? The 501st Legion hooked up with the man 3D printing it and set up a whole event to give it to Liam. This involved several troopers being present and giving him his own helmet to wear too! This is really awesome. From The Augusta Chronicle article: “‘They want it to look as superhero-ish or as robotic as possible,’ Peterson said. ‘To them, it is just cool. And it actually frees us up a lot because now we can feel free to try to experiment and do different things. Like, hey, why not put a clamp on a hand? It’s just a tool anyway.'” Amazing work! Check out a video of the event below. Read more…

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Check Out This Amazing Custom Lego Landspeeder

Posted by Ben Huber on Jan 17, 2015 in Hobbies and Collections, Star Wars

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Wow, talk about impressive. Lego fan Aaron Fiskum has put together a detailed and quite large X-34 Landspeeder, styled similarly to the highly collectable Lego UCS series of Star Wars sets. It measures about two feet long and features almost 3000 pieces! I’m really blown away by the amount of care put into this, and according to The Brothers Brick, this is Fiskum’s second model he’s made. Wow! I love the curves on the engines and nose of the speeder. Plus, that cockpit looks pretty roomy too! Check out more images below, then stop by his Flickr page to see the entire gallery. Read more…

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George Lucas Almost Made Star Wars Episode VII Himself

Posted by Bob Muir on Jan 14, 2015 in Cinema, Star Wars

 

George Lucas

After watching the Star Wars prequels, I think everyone agrees that the new Star Wars trilogy is safer in any hands but those of George Lucas. And yet, if things had happened differently, we could now be anticipating/dreading Lucas’s version of Star Wars Episode VII (now Star Wars: The Force Awakens). Lucas confirmed he had begun planning the next three Star Wars films, but that he only planned to direct the first one. Episode VII would have been released in May 2015, then he would have sold Lucasfilm, perhaps so he wouldn’t feel tempted to direct. But Lucas realized this trilogy would be another ten-year commitment, which is admittedly a ton of work. Disney entered the picture at the right time, and Lucas realized it would be better for him not to develop the new trilogy at all, leaving it completely to others. Of course, Lucas remains a consultant on the movie, but maybe that’s how it should be: offering some new ideas or reference that the actual creative team can choose to use or ignore as they please. Read more…

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Gareth Edwards’ Star Wars Film To Get Another Writer

Posted by Ben Huber on Jan 11, 2015 in Star Wars

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You may remember that Book of Eli scriptwriter Gary Whitta had been signed on to write the first standalone Star Wars film (which would be directed by Godzilla’s Gareth Edwards). Now, Whitta has tweeted that his first draft is done, and he’s off to work on other projects. Quite a few folks interpreted this as a firing, but no: it’s simply an amicable parting of ways. Whitta finished the first draft, and now Disney will presumably hire someone to wrap it up and finish the project. This happens all the times on movies… but hey, because this is Star Wars we’re talking about, way more people are paying attention to every little detail. The last rumors said this film was to be a heist film in which bounty hunters were hired to steal the Death Star plans. Sounds neat! Read more…

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Hot Toys’ Darth Vader Sixth Scale Figure Goes up For Pre-Order

Posted by Ben Huber on Jan 5, 2015 in Hobbies and Collections, Star Wars

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If you’re looking for an imposing evil figure to guard your shelf space or desk, look no further! Hot Toys has put up pre-orders for their latest Star Wars figure, the dark lord himself, Darth Vader. It’s based off of the costume used in A New Hope down to the last detail, also features a voice box with breathing sound effects, and tops it all off with LEDs that light up on his belt and lightsaber. Imagine seeing that in the dark! It’ll also come with multiple hands, a stand, and an Interrogator Droid. Vader will run you $299.99, and will release in September later this year. He’s over 13 inches tall! Check out more details and the pre-order page here.

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No More Episode VII Trailer Parodies… Ok, Maybe One More

Posted by Ben Huber on Dec 29, 2014 in Star Wars, Videogames

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As with everything on the internet, if there’s something big, there’ll be parodies of it. This Star Wars: The Force Awakens teaser trailer parody places Nintendo characters into a “Smash Wars” video, in which “The Triforce Awakens.” It’s short, it’s sweet, and it does a good job fitting Nintendo characters into the spaces where each Star Wars character would fit. The animation isn’t too shabby either! Their substitute for the new lightsaber design is also very cute. Also: props to the musician who made the background music, as it successfully straddles the line between Nintendo and Star Wars music at the end. Read more…

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