Force is Weak in Clone Wars

Wired blog: Lucas denies rumors, but maybe he should reconsider

(NEWSER) - Rumors are flying that George Lucas has another Star Wars trilogy up his sleeve. Lucas says it ain't so, but Scott Thill offers five reasons at Wired why he should reconsider:

• Purists are annoying: The first movie came out in 1977, and those who whine about Lucas ruining things "need to step back into the timestream and grow up," writes Thill. Lucas hasn't "sold out our sacred childhood fantasies. He’s the one that built them, and another trilogy will remind us all of that inescapable truth."

3-D Phantom Menace coming in 2012

(NEWSER) - The Jedi are returning to movie theaters in 3-D. Lucasfilm has announced that all six Star Wars movies will be re-released in 3-D starting in 2012. Many fans of the saga may be disappointed to learn that the Phantom Menace will be first to hit movie theaters, meaning Jar Jar Binks will be in 3-D long before Han Solo, the New York Times notes. George Lucas' special-effects company Industrial Light & Magic will oversee the conversions. More»

Laugh-free sci-fi satire mediocre at best

(NEWSER) - It has a cool concept—a human is greeted with paranoia on an alien planet straight out of the '50s—but critics say Planet 51 never reaches orbit. Some reviews:

• It’s a “bland, humor-free narrative,” with lame references to other movies instead of jokes, writes Glenn Whipp of the LA Times . If the '60s ever come to Planet 51, “we just hope someone writes a protest song about this movie.”

Tens of thousands try to order a 'Tauntaun sleeping bag'

(NEWSER) - What started as an April Fools joke may turn into a dream come true—almost literally—for Star Wars fans, LA Weekly reports. The Tauntaun sleeping bag seemed just plausible enough that retailer ThinkGeek was bombarded with orders—and raked over the coals when the truth came out. Now Lucasfilm, which holds the Star Wars merchandising rights, is in on the joke, and "it's looking good" for the actual product, a ThinkGeek rep says. More»

Lucasfilm plays hardball with costume creator over rights

(NEWSER) - George Lucas and the man who invented the stormtrooper costume are headed for a court battle over who has the right to make it, the Guardian reports. Lucasfilm is suing British prop designer Andrew Ainsworth, who recently discovered his original stormtrooper molds, and began selling replicas for some $3,600 each. “As far as I am concerned I am the original maker and I'm using the original molds,” says a defiant Ainsworth. More»