The latest Homing Beacon has
arrived and today we get to talk about the kick off for the 30th anniversary of
Star Wars. What a year 2007 will be, brimming with so many Star Wars
milestones. A decade ago, the Star Wars Special Edition Trilogy was
debuting on the big screen. The 501st Legion of costumed fans first donned their
helmets as a group, and the Official Star Wars website began looking
beyond the original films and tracking the production of prequels. Two decades
ago, fans could blast into the stratosphere on a Star Tours trip for the first
time. And three decades ago, the Star Wars saga began...
To kick off the 30th Anniversary celebration in a huge way, George Lucas
wrangled 200 costumed Star Wars fans, set them marching to the
high-stepping beat of Grambling State University's world-renowned Marching
Tigers band, and bracketed them with truly impressive floats depicting the
natural beauty of the saga in the first-ever appearance of Star Wars in
the Rose Bowl parade. Much of starwars.com's coverage so far in 2007 has
understandably been about this momentous event, and the stories below highlight
the efforts that went into pulling off the endeavor, with special focus on the
amazing 501st Legion.
Garrisons from around the world have recorded their hellos and New Year's
greetings during the parade, and a new video has been greeting daily
starwars.com visitors. If you've missed some of the daily missives, a
compilation video of the various greetings will soon wing its way to
starwars.com's community section.
In other news of a decidedly darker pallor, the Legacy of the Force series of
novels have given fans an unprecedented opportunity to leave their mark on the
Star Wars galaxy. In an upcoming book, Jacen Solo -- son of Han and Leia
-- will continue down the path to darkness and adopt a "Darth" name as he
resurrects the Sith past that has so colored his family's bloodline. The editors
and authors of the series are looking to fans to create Jacen's Darth names.
Last year, starwars.com took in submissions, and later in January, you'll have
your chance to vote on the final five finalists. To get you inspired, be sure to
check out the newly revealed cover to Sacrifice, the fifth book in the
series.
In an adventure-packed world not so far away as Star Wars, it looks
like everyone's favorite globe-trotting adventurer will be dusting off his
trusty fedora. Over the holiday break, fans of Indiana Jones were given a
surprise treat with the long-awaited announcement that Indiana Jones IV is
finally a go. Visit http://www.indianajones.com for more details. |