Looking Back and Moving Forward at Star Wars Celebration V

As most geeks are probably well aware, Star Wars Celebration V took place this past weekend in Orlando (ha, Lando). This particular Force-centric convention celebrated the 30th anniversary of The Empire Strikes Back, considered by many to be the best film in the saga, but it also clued fans in on some upcoming developments pertaining to that galaxy far, far away.

George Lucas and co. unveiled an exciting new trailer for the anticipated third season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, which kicks off September 17. The clip introduces Savage Oppress, a servant of the dark side and a formidable new threat to the Galactic Republic. Oppress is a Zabrak, the same species as Phantom Menace baddie Darth Maul. I’m guessing he’s savage and, well, oppresses people from time to time. Sigh.

“It’s important that when creating a new character that they become iconic,” says Clone Wars supervising director Dave Filoni. “It was important that you don’t confuse him with Darth Maul—we couldn’t make him red and black so we made him yellow and black.”

Okay, cool, I dig the look of the character (pictured above), but the name? After General Grievous, Cad Bane and now this guy, I wouldn’t be surprised if the next major Star Wars villain gets saddled with the name Evil Vicious. it’s almost as if the creative team at Lucasfilm just picks synonyms for “bad” out of the thesaurus and calls it a day when it comes to naming new villains. I’d go on, but since The Clone Wars is an excellent show overall, I’ll let the lazy monikers slide for now.

Perhaps the biggest piece of Star Wars news to come out of Celebration V was the announcement that the entire Star Wars saga will arrive on Blu-ray in the fall of 2011. The boxed set will feature all six films and extensive special features, including deleted scenes. Among this never-before-released footage is an introductory sequence from Return of the Jedi that shows Luke Skywalker building his lightsaber.

Reportedly (and expectedly), the set will not include the unaltered pre-Special Edition versions of the first three films. On the contrary, we’d all be wise to expect entirely new alterations to the original trilogy when the set hits shelves next fall.

For complete Celebration V coverage, visit StarWars.com.

'BioShock' Takes to the Skies

As much as I loved the original 2007 BioShock, I could never bring myself to purchase its sequel, released earlier this year. I’d heard good things, but the general critical consensus was that it was well crafted, but it was essentially a retread of the first game. Now, if you’re aiming to rehash a game, BioShock certainly provided a great template: it was fun, engrossing, looked amazing and provided a great deal of story without force-feeding it to the player. I welcomed a return to the underwater dystopia of Rapture, but part of me wanted something new and fresh for the follow-up that would justify shelling out another $60. Fortunately, Irrational Games’ BioShock Infinite looks to be exactly what I was waiting for. After all, what better way to freshen up the franchise than by taking it from the depths of the ocean to the clouds?

BioShock Infinite takes place in 1912 in the airborne, hyper-patriotic American city of Columbia. Gaming blog Kotaku reports that Irrational—which did not develop BioShock 2—has been working on this project since wrapping up the original BioShock.

Although it takes place prior to the first game, Irrational’s creative director Ken Levin does not consider it a prequel.

“I don’t want to think about that,” Levine told Kotaku. “I don’t think it’s particularly constructive to have that conversation.”

But, like in the first game, BioShock Infinite transports the player to a crumbling would-be utopia. Levine describes it as a symbol of turn-of-the-century American Exceptionalism.

“This is not a floating world’s fair,” he said. “Columbia is a Death Star.”

Consider my interest piqued. Click here to watch the trailer.

The Spider-Man Musical’s in Full Swing?

Troubled Broadway musical Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark—featuring music by U2’s Bono and The Edge—is apparently finally happening, with an official opening night set for December 21.

According to The Onion’s A.V. Club, the Julie Taymor-directed rock opera starring the Wallcrawler boasts a whopping $52 million budget, making it the most expensive musical in history. But will the show be worth the massive price tag, True Believers? We’ll all find out when preview performances begin November 14.

Click here for show info.