R2-D2's actor Kenny Baker passed away

British actor Kenny Baker, who has played one of the most iconic robot roles as Star Wars' R2-D2, has passed away on Saturday. He was 81 years old and succumbed to a long illness. He first got the role because of his height (he stands at three feet, eight inches). And he's been playing the beloved robot for most of the Star Wars films, he was even credited as "R2-D2 Consultant" in The Force Awakens. He was supposed to attend the premiere for said movie but was told he was too ill to travel. He's had problems with his lungs and was often in sitting in a wheelchair, according to his niece Abigail Shield.

Shield told The Guardian: "It was expected, but it's sad nonetheless. He had a very long and fulfilled life. He brought lots of happiness to people and we'll be celebrating the fact that he was well loved throughout the world. We're all very proud of what he achieved in his lifetime."

‘Star Wars: Rogue One’ release official trailer

In case you’ve missed it, the newest Star Wars film coming out at the end of the year recently got its first official trailer. And it’s a great thing we get to see a lot of the new characters from this movie as well as seeing one of the greatest villains in the Star Wars universe (and perhaps the whole cinematic universe): Darth Vader. And as The Verge points out, his reveal in the trailer comes in a similar vein as when Han Solo and Chewbacca came out in the trailer for The Force Awakens. Rogue One is led by actress Felicity Jones and it takes place just before the 1977 Star Wars: A New Hope film, which is just around the time that the Death Star was being built. Director Gareth Edwards calls this film a “war movie” and you can certainly see that here. Let’s just say we’re now more excited for it.

Magic Leap and Lucasfilm want to bring C-3PO into your living room

Watch this on The Scene.

It’s feels like a match made in heaven when you think about Lucasfilm and mixed-reality startup Magic Leap partnering, especially if you think about the technology the two companies can bring into the world. What took over a year of “courtship” has resulted in the two innovators working to bringing Star Wars content into our lives. Magic Leap is working closely with Lucasfilm’s forward-looking division, xLab, to do something both brands won’t elaborate on. But a video showed at WIRED Business Conference shows the possibility of having C-3PO in your living room interacting with you and sharing the issues from the Star Wars galaxy, making use of augmented reality and other “mixed reality” tech we’re sure is headed our way many years from now. What they could put forward could be a new medium to consume content or change the way we tell stories. It’s all pretty exciting, if you ask us.

Source: WIRED

‘The Walking Dead’ stars spoof ‘Star Wars Holiday Special’

Getting in the spirit of Red Nose Day, The Walking Dead actors Norman Reedus and Andrew Lincoln contemplate how they can make their show a little less gory. What they had in mind is a spoof of the 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special complete with cast members Steven Yeun, Sonequa Martin-Green, David Morrissey, and Melissa McBride. Their idea als had Coldplay and Jeff Goldbulm involved as well as a stop-motion “Walking Dead” adventure from Robot Chicken. Also, making a cameo are Talking Dead host Chris Hardwick and Dax Shepard who are fighting over who gets to play Han Solo. Now, if someone makes this a reality, we’ll be completely onboard. Red Nose Day is the annual Comic Relief NBC TV special to help raise money and awareness for children in need.

Source: CNET