Citizens Make Own Galaxy Far, Far Away

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»

(NEWSER) - Police and FBI agents hunted for clues after a homemade bomb blew out windows in a Manhattan Starbucks and jolted awake residents on the Upper East Side before dawn yesterday, reports the New York Times. No one was injured in the blast caused by a makeshift bomb tucked under a street bench. Investigators were probing possible links to three other similar bomb blasts in Manhattan over the last four years. Witnesses reported seeing two teenagers running away shortly before the blast. More»

Prof explores 'wider issues behind the Star Wars universe;' light saber not included

(NEWSER) - The force will now be with university students: Queen’s University in Belfast is offering a new course on Jedi knights that it hopes will impart universal lessons to students, be they fans of Star Wars or not, the Telegraph reports. The one-day class, entitled “Feel the Force: How to Train in the Jedi Way,” promises to teach “real-life psychological techniques behind Jedi mind tricks.” More»

Lucasfilm loans original light saber to NASA for upcoming flight

(NEWSER) - Astronauts aboard the space shuttle Discovery will have a bit of extra protection on their next mission: Luke Skywalker's original light saber from 1977's Star Wars. Lucasfilm has loaned the prop—in real life not much more than a slick flashlight—to NASA for the shuttle's launch this October, reports the Oakland Tribune. More»