Your Evening Linc: Return of Return of the Jedi, OUAT in Wonderland News, Fresh Prince Back In Style, and More!

It's a beautiful evening here in New York. The air is calm, the sky is clear, and the cicadas are buzzing louder than a TIE's ion engines. Don't know what a cicada is? Well, once, every 17 years, the denizens of the East Coast are visited by a plague of giant, blind insects who burrow up from the depths of the Earth to mate, drop from trees, bump into bystanders, and then die after laying their eggs back in the ground. Then their offspring wait for their turn to terrorize the populace. Luckily, we have the internet to keep us inside and safe!

1. "Return of Return of the Jedi" Celebrates 30 Years of Ewoks, Emperors, and Endor

30 years ago this month audiences witnessed what was then the final tale in the Star Wars saga. Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, my absolute favorite of the series, brings Luke Skywalker face to face with his destiny, hoping to redeem his father and thwart the utter evil of the Emperor. Our heroes battled Jabba the Hutt's minions and destroyed the second Death Star, finally restoring peace and freedom to the galaxy. This movie represented the ultimate battle between good and evil and perfectly ended the trilogy that had inspired a generation. And...of course....it gave us the gold bikini.

God bless you, George Lucas.                   

Now, filmmakers Kyle Newman (Fanboys) and my friend, J.C. Reifenberg (Hughes the Force), along with David Collins and Jeff Yorkes,  have brought together the geek elite (such as  Kevin Smith, Seth Green, Chris Hardwick, Jaime King, Topher Grace, Fall Out Boy, Eli Roth, and Jason Mewes) to share their stories and memories of Return of the Jedi in....The Return of Return of the Jedi: 30 Years and Counting.

Sadly, I can't embed it here, but you can check it out here!

2. Once Upon A Time IN Wonderland


That title is going to make a lot more sense once I tell you that the new series from the creators of Once Upon A Time will, ever so slightly, cross over with its predecessor. Once Upon A Time In Wonderland follows Alice as she leaves the real world behind to find her lost love in the crazy world of Wonderland. And, according to Entertainment Weekly, it will all start in Storybrooke!

  "Get this: The first episode of Wonderland currently starts in Storybrooke. We’re sworn to secrecy on details beyond that. But let’s just say that while the two shows will maintain clear and separate identities (it’s important to ABC and the showrunners that Wonderland can stand-alone with its own easily accessible story) this won’t be the last time the world Once Upon mingles over to Thursdays at 8 p.m."

I think this is a really smart approach: give just enough of a link to OUAT to make the show feel as if it's in the same universe, but then let it stand on its own and follow its own path. We'll be travelling down the rabbit hole this fall on ABC.

3. Now This Is A Story All About How...

Brits and Anglophiles alike will know "chat show" host Graham Norton for his quirky and entertaining show, suitably titled "The Graham Norton Show" where I'm not even quite sure he knows what will happen. Sitting alongside Bradley Cooper and Heather Graham (hello!) Will Smith and his son Jaden were discussing their upcoming movie After Earth. Graham asks the father-son duo if they ever recorded an album together...and then that's when it all went down!



Not only did Will provide a sick beat for Jaden's rap (a different kind of sick), but then the Fresh Prince brought back his partner in crime, DJ Jazzy Jeff. After treating the crowd to a rendition of the Bel-Air theme, the music changed to something more classic, more dignified, more suited for a member of the Banks family! As Alfono Ribeiro danced to his own quasi-theme song "It's Not Unusual" by Tom Jones, the beat changed again and the three men, along with Graham, did the "Jump On It" routine, with Bradley and Heather clapping along in the background. It was actually really touching to watch the old friends hug and high-five, as if no time had passed at all.

DJ Jazzy Jeff, however, left by traditional means.

4. Coming Soon....The World's End

Previously I posted the teaser trailer to Simon Pegg's latest homage film The World's End. A bunch of old friends reunite for the ultimate pub crawl, but making it to The World's End soon become the least of their worries. Check out the full trailer below.

The World's End hits theaters August 23.    

Well, I think that should keep the cicadas at bay! Keep on reading for more geekery here at The Missing Linc!

Til' next time.

- Joe

Your Morning Linc: Disney/Lucasfilm To Partner With EA, Mark Hamill At ROTJ Screening,

Well, now that I'm caught up on my reviews, I'm in a very Star Warsy mood...so let's start the blog off with:

1. Disney/Lucasfilm To Partner With EA

Following the recent shutdown of LucasArts, many fans thought we'd never see Star Wars on our consoles again. But Disney and Lucasfilm announced yesterday that they will be teaming up with Electronic Arts for a "multi-year, multi-title exclusive licensing agreement...for the creation of new high quality Star Wars games" that will span both genres and platforms, with Disney Interactive creating games for mobile and tablets.

Here's a quote from the release from EA Labels President Frank Gibeau:

"Every developer dreams of creating games for the Star Wars universe," 

"Three of our top studios will fulfill that dream, crafting epic adventures for Star Wars fans. The new experiences we create may borrow from films, but the games will be entirely original with all new stories and gameplay."

According to the release, those studios will be DICE (Battlefield series) and Visceral (Dead Space series) which will team up with BioWare (Mass Effect series, Star Wars: The Old Republic). Now, of course, fanboys are hitting the internet hard blasting EA as the choice to continue the Star Wars franchise in the gaming world. But I wouldn't pay attention to them, since we haven't even seen a screenshot of one game yet. There is so much potential for new, exciting, and mind-blowing games. And while I hope we see the resurrection of Star Wars 1313 and Battlefront III, I look forward to more Star Wars on more platforms and in more ways than ever before!

2. Mark Hamill At Return of the Jedi Screening in LA

On May the 4th, fans at Entertainment Weekly's CapeTown festival in LA had the chance to talk with the returning Jedi himself, Mark Hamill. Here's a clip of him discussing the Sequel Trilogy and more.



You can read more about his appearance and thoughts on ROTJ, the OT, and the Sequels on the official Star Wars blog.

3. Synopsis for Kenobi by John Jackson Miller:

Need I say more?

The Republic has fallen.
Sith Lords rule the galaxy.
Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi has lost everything . . . 
Everything but hope.

Tatooine—a harsh desert world where farmers toil in the heat of two suns while trying to protect themselves and their loved ones from the marauding Tusken Raiders. A backwater planet on the edge of civilized space. And an unlikely place to find a Jedi Master in hiding, or an orphaned infant boy on whose tiny shoulders rests the future of a galaxy.

Known to locals only as “Ben,” the bearded and robed offworlder is an enigmatic stranger who keeps to himself, shares nothing of his past, and goes to great pains to remain an outsider. But as tensions escalate between the farmers and a tribe of Sand People led by a ruthless war chief, Ben finds himself drawn into the fight, endangering the very mission that brought him to Tatooine.

Ben—Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, hero of the Clone Wars, traitor to the Empire, and protector of the galaxy’s last hope—can no more turn his back on evil than he can reject his Jedi training. And when blood is unjustly spilled, innocent lives threatened, and a ruthless opponent unmasked, Ben has no choice but to call on the wisdom of the Jedi—and the formidable power of the Force—in his never-ending fight for justice.


Wow, I really can't wait to see what's in store on the video game, movie, and print fronts! Despite all the shake-ups, this is still an immensely exciting time to be a Star Wars fan. And I will be chronicling all of it for you, right here at the Missing Linc!

MTFBWY,

- Joe