Latest news with #RevengeoftheSith
Gizmodo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Gizmodo
‘Andor' Put So Many Easter Eggs in Luthen Rael's Shop
You knew about the 'Indiana Jones' one, but did you see the winks at 'Revenge of the Sith' and 'Phantom Menace'? One of the many, many things that makes Andor so great is that it's uninterested in fan service. There are no gratuitous cameos. No wild, broad connections. First and foremost, creator Tony Gilroy wanted to tell an emotional, impactful, and timely story of heroism and hope, which just so happened to be in the world of Star Wars. But that doesn't mean other members of his team didn't want to have a little fun, and the set and prop designers did just that. In the first season of Andor, fans instantly noticed that Luthen Rael's shop on Coruscant was filled with recognizable and clever winks and nods to Star Wars and Lucasfilm projects of the past. The most famous, of course, were the Sankara stones from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, but Luthen also had Sith artifacts, Mandalorian armor, and more. All of which made sense. Luthen, after all, does deal in rare artifacts and antiquities, so he would be interested in acquiring and selling things of this nature. This season, that was taken up a notch, and the official Star Wars website has a post breaking it down. Like, for example, Luthen has a Sith Chalice on display, much like the one Palpatine had in his office in Revenge of the Sith. There's a Kalikori, a prized Twi'lek family heirloom, much like the one we've seen from the Syndullas in Star Wars Rebels. There's a Royal Naboo headdress that looks very similar to one Queen Amidala wore in The Phantom Menace (shouldn't Bail Organa have picked this one up to hold for his daughter?). Finally, there's even a Gungan skull. Which Gungan? We don't know, but I'm sure many of us have a few top choices. You can see images of those and more all over at The same article also reminds us of everything from Andor season one, including a Jedi Temple Guard mask, like the ones from Star Wars: The Clone Wars; a Gungan shield as seen in The Phantom Menace; and another Naboo headpiece, this one resembling one Padme wore in Attack of the Clones. Again, Bail, why didn't you buy these? The best part about all of this is it has nothing to do with the story. There's no impact on Luthen and Kleya's work in the shop. No smoking gun to solve a problem. It's just there to remind you this story is happening in a world where all of this other stuff happened too. Both seasons of Andor are streaming on Disney+. You can see the above artifacts most specifically in episodes five and 10 of season two, as well as four, five, and seven of season one.
Geek Tyrant
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Tyrant
STAR WARS: MASTER OF EVIL Novel Will Dive Into the Sith Ritual That Defined Darth Vader — GeekTyrant
If you're a fan of the Star Wars prequels and have ever wondered how Anakin Skywalker, broken and burnt at the end of Revenge of the Sith , fully embraced his Darth Vader persona, we're finally getting a deeper look. Coming November 11th, Star Wars: Master of Evil by author Adam Christopher will dig into Vader's early days as Palpatine's apprentice. The book will explore a crucial Sith milestone that hasn't been portrayed in the movies… the dark ritual Vader performs to create his own red-bladed lightsaber. According to the official synopsis from Penguin Random House: 'On the volcanic world of Mustafar, Vader undertakes a dark ritual, bleeding a kyber crystal to forge his lightsaber. This act unleashes a power far greater than he anticipated, giving him a glimpse into the limitless potential of the Force.' If you're a hardcore fan and you've read the comic, maybe you'll remember it from Marvel's Darth Vader #5 (2017), part of the Dark Lord of the Sith comic series by Charles Soule and artist Giuseppe Camuncoli. That series kicked off right where Revenge of the Sith left off and spent 25 issues showing how Vader's armor, mindset, and relationship with the Force all evolved under the Emperor's rule. This new novel won't overwrite that continuity, instead, it aims to offer a fresh, more intimate lens. And it's a significant one. The process of 'bleeding' a kyber crystal is a deeply personal Sith tradition, symbolizing a full commitment to the Dark Side. It's been explored here and there, most notably in the Jedi: Fallen Order video game and a bit in Tales of the Jedi , but never through Vader's transformation, and never in this much detail. It's the kind of deeper mythology come fans have been waiting for, the stuff that connects the character dots between the fiery end of Anakin Skywalker and the cold, commanding presence of the Vader we meet in A New Hope . Star Wars: Master of Evil is up for pre-order now in hardcover, ebook, and audiobook formats, with a November 11th release date.
USA Today
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
20 years later, Ian McDiarmid's Palpatine in Revenge of the Sith still stuns
20 years later, Ian McDiarmid's Palpatine in Revenge of the Sith still stuns The Star Wars prequels are a Death Star with a discourse-powered tractor beam still pulling in deliriously impassioned takes all these years later. Love them or hate them, either you do. There is no fine. The prequel cultural reclamation of everything from Jar Jar Binks to Hayden Christensen's Anakin performance has been as aggressive and as unexpected as anything in 21st century blockbuster film, but there was always one aspect about these movies we should have all agreed on for the last two decades: Ian McDiarmid's firecracker of a performance as Chancellor-turned-Emperor Palpatine. Setting aside the whole "Palpatine has returned" Fortnite fracas that bubbled up with 2019's flawed-yet-enjoyable The Rise of Skywalker, McDiarmid's gripping performance in the prequels, particularly Revenge of the Sith, pushed against basically everything George Lucas arguably faltered with as a screenwriter and a director of actors in his second Star Wars trilogy. Even the most ardent prequel defenders (raises hand) should admit some of Lucas' ham-fisted interpersonal dialogue was as course, rough and irritating as the sand Anakin despised. It got everywhere, even as rip-roaring pod races, composer John Williams snapping off for "Duel of the Fates" and Lucas' general penchant for space spectacle did marvelous jobs paving over the rocky screenwriting... except for with Palpatine, when everything collided into something truly special. It might seem silly to say this with a performance from the Star Wars prequels, but McDiarmid really deserved some sort of award (or at the very least, an Oscar Best Supporting Actor nomination) for the dastardly kindness chameleon he crafted with Palpatine in Lucas' prequel films. More than a shadowy figure in a hooded cloak with hunched posture and a crackly voice, you begin to understand full well the manipulation that drove Anakin from a path of glory to the Dark Side through the way McDiarmid brings Lucas' writing to life. Rewatching Revenge of the Sith 20 years later, you notice more than ever Palpatine's deviously masterful gambit to lure Anakin to his personal ruin and Sith baptism-by-fire: a dagger through the back from a hug of deceptive paternal concern. In a saga built on the fractures between fathers and sons, the sad reality is the most collaborative paternal relationship any of these characters ever had, even if it was fake, was Palpatine's twisted grip on Anakin as his validation machine. Even as early as Attack of the Clones, McDiarmid's Palpatine embraces Anakin in word and deed like he's the prodigal son, lavishing him with praise locked in to assuage his insecurities and continually feeding into his darkest impulses and fears. McDiarmid gives Palpatine the charm and warmth real manipulation requires to really work, as if he's a blanket of comfort that slowly reveals itself to be a constricting snake. Lucas wrote Palpatine with a nefarious nuance that he never really gave any of his other characters, leveling his pertinent critiques of fascistic movements against the mundane grip a charismatic, faux-credible politician can hold on a body like the Galactic Senate. However, through his fatherly charm offensive on the dad-less Anakin, McDiarmid and Lucas never shy away from the raging darkness bursting at the seams through Palpatine's guise. Darth Sidious always moves in the shadows; Chancellor Palpatine his useful decoy to infiltrate his ultimate "Chosen One" ace in the hole. At the beginning of Revenge of the Sith when McDiarmid's Palpatine, seemingly out of nowhere, barks at Anakin to kill Count Dooku, it's a brief slip of the mask, but one carefully placed enough in the grander chaos of a space rescue. The scene at the opera where Palpatine tells Anakin about the tragedy of Darth Plagueis The Wise is a masterclass in tonal tightrope walking for McDiarmid, as his cover slowly slips as he recounts the story that will ultimately push the fear-tortured Anakin over to the Dark Side. Lucas' writing a monologue like this never really should have worked given his track record with dialogue blocks, but here, he nails it. Like Anakin, you get everything you need from this moment for it to deeply impact you. The tragedy of Darth Vader has only begun, this fateful meeting in an opera box between a devious mentor and his tormented mentee seemingly the final spark that ignites the fire that burns down the Galactic Republic and Jedi Council. By the time it's time to flip the Sith switch in Anakin's brain, McDiarmid relishes in the tragedy of the fall. If "Order 66" could be summed up in a person, it's the way McDiarmid progresses Palpatine through his seeming arrest by the Jedi Council to his embrace of his new apprentice in Darth Vader. It's absolutely riveting to watch McDiarmid glide through how this chaos unfolds, from his withering Chancellor Palpatine begging for mercy to his horrifyingly proud boast of "UNLIMITED POWER!!" as he hurls Mace Windu into the Coruscant abyss. His speech to declare the Galactic Empire a necessity and kick the door down on his Imperial reign is just as impressive and harrowing, McDiarmid playing the victim as he relishes in his victory to seize the galaxy that he worked so hard to charm, plot and con into total, willful and absolute submission. It's absolutely riveting to see it through McDiarmid's eyes. Sometimes, you just get lucky in making movies with performances and characterizations like this. Largely plagued by wooden dialogue throughout his otherwise trailblazing career as a filmmaker, Lucas burst through his own limitations to craft a Palpatine in Revenge of the Sith for McDiarmid to sprint with to the finish line. Great villains are never just about the villainy; it's about their quirks that make them hauntingly human. You can't forget Darth Vader's deep breathing, Hannibal Lecter's disarming sophistication or Heath Ledger's awkward notes of gallows humor with the Joker. Anton Chigurh loved a good monologue about chance and a bad haircut, Hans Gruber couldn't get over his arrogance in thinking he could outsmart the American cowboy and Agent Smith smacked through his Matrix dialogue like it was a big wad of Big League Chew. It goes on and on with all the great movie villains. McDiarmid's performance will always hold a spot in the Cinema Villain Hall of Fame for its weaponized friendliness. He's the angler fish of movie villains, luring in a wayward Jedi Knight with false belief and crooked empathy and turning him into the most fearsome monster the galaxy had ever seen when he least expects it. You can't achieve this kind of iconography without McDiarmid's generationally complex performance or Lucas' striking upheaval of weaknesses into strengths. As we get further and further removed from the prequels, it's clear their merits are finally being just as embraced as their faults. Perhaps the greatest accomplishment of all in Lucas' prequel films was bringing McDiarmid back and giving him some his finest work on the page. All these year later, his Palpatine still resonates.
Forbes
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
‘Star Wars' Music Dominates The Billboard Charts
As Star Wars Day renews interest in the franchise, multiple Star Wars soundtracks return to ... More Billboard's Classical charts, with one new debut among them. CANNES, France: Soldiers of the Empire stand guard at the entrance of the Festival Palace as photographers wait for US director George Lucas and his cast to come out, at the end of the screening of their film "Star Wars : Episode III - Revenge of the Sith", 15 May 2005 at the 58th edition of the Cannes International Film Festival. The seminal sci-fi saga "Star Wars" comes to a rousing close 15 May when the final episode in the six-part series gets its international premiere at the Cannes film festival. The Cannes film festival, the world's top showcase of cinema, started 11 May with a slew of veteran auteurs lining up for the prestigious Palme d'Or prize, and Hollywood muscling in to promote this year's blockbusters. AFP PHOTO GERARD JULIEN (Photo credit should read GERARD JULIEN/AFP via Getty Images) May 4 is internationally recognized as Star Wars Day, as the date is a play on the iconic phrase "May the force be with you," which is a hallmark saying of the hugely successful franchise. Each year, fans honor the vision of George Lucas vision by rewatching the many films — and, apparently, by returning to the music that accompanied them. This renewed interest is reflected on the Billboard charts this week, as several collections from the brand become hits again. As Star Wars surges in popularity again, multiple albums have returned to various charts — and there's even a new arrival. John Williams: The Star Wars Trilogy debuts on two Billboard rankings this frame. The full-length, credited to Varujan Kojian and the Utah Symphony Orchestra, opens at No. 4 on both the Classical Albums and Classical Crossover Albums charts. It's the second-highest rising new title this frame, landing just behind Gems by Josh Groban, which leads both lists. Several other projects from the Star Wars universe return to both tallies this frame. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back reappears at No. 11 on the Classical Crossover Albums list and No. 12 on the Classical Albums chart. Star Wars: A New Hope is only a few spaces further down, landing once again at No. 13 on the Classical Crossover Albums ranking and No. 16 on the all-encompassing Classical Albums roster. In total, Star Wars music fills four spaces on both Classical Albums charts this frame. Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith dips slightly from where it stood last time. That film — and its accompanying score — has returned to the spotlight following a theatrical re-release in celebration of its twentieth anniversary. While fans continue to support the score, there's more competition now as Star Wars becomes a trending topic all over again. Except for the brand new arrival, all three albums are credited to both John Williams and the London Symphony Orchestra. Star Wars Episode III also credits a group called London Voices. Though Williams doesn't earn a new win on the charts with the debut, his name remains front and center in the album title, as it's his music that fuels this lasting success.
Forbes
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
‘Star Wars' Hits The Charts Following ‘Revenge Of The Sith' Box Office Coup
It seems that no matter how much time passes, anything connected to the Star Wars franchise will not only make money, but continue to generate revenue, even if it's been years or possibly decades since fans were first introduced to a piece of media. To celebrate the twentieth anniversary of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, the movie was recently put back into theaters. It proved to be a hugely successful re-release, and the popularity of the sometimes-maligned entry in the franchise has crossed over to the Billboard rankings, where the music that soundtracked the film is charting once again. The Revenge of the Sith soundtrack is back on multiple tallies in the U.S. this week. The project, which is credited to John Williams and the London Symphony Orchestra, along with the choral group London Voices, reappears on a pair of Billboard rankings this week. It's a top 10 hit once more as it reenters the Classical Crossover Albums list at No. 10. It also lands in the lucky thirteenth spot on the slightly-broader Classical Albums ranking. Revenge of the Sith has already spent more than 100 weeks on both tallies. It previously reached No. 1 on each list and has logged 102 weeks on the Classical Albums chart, and just three additional frames on the Classical Crossover Albums roster. In the United States, between April 25 and 27, Revenge of the Sith was the second-highest-grossing movie, despite the fact that it was originally released two decades ago. With more than $25 million in ticket sales, it beat out new arrivals like The Accountant 2 and Until Dawn. The Star Wars flick fell slightly behind Sinners, which earned another stay at No. 1 at the box office — its third in a row — with over $45 million in ticket sales. The twentieth anniversary release of Revenge of the Sith has thus far earned $55 million globally. That places it within the top 20 top-grossing movies of the year all around the world. The original run of the film was vastly more successful, racking up more than $900 million. With the movie – the third in the second trilogy of Star Wars movies – being so massively popular, it's no wonder that the music that's featured within the final installment in that series has become successful again as well.
