Star Wars

Mitzi Breaux with United Blood Services joined Rob and Bernie on Acadiana's Morning News to discuss two upcoming blood donation drives.

Help us celebrate the release of the Star Wars movie by donating blood on Wednesday, December 16th or Thursday, December 17th at United Blood Services Donor Center located at 1503 Bertrand Drive in Lafayette. All donors receive cool prizes and a chance to win a BB - 8 droid!

Has there ever been as much hype for one movie trailer as there is right now for the Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer? (Except maybe the last Star Wars trailer? And, maybe the Star Wars trailer before that?) Fan anticipation has been at a fever pitch for the last few days, but the waiting is finally over. Enough hype, it’s time for you to actually sit down, take a deep breath and watch official, final Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer in all its glory.

Alright, Star Wars fans, what are you doing on Monday, October 19? Nope, sorry. Whatever you thought you were doing, you might want to readjust your plans, because you’re going to be sitting in front of your computer, watching the new Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer and pre-ordering your tickets for December 18. At least that’s according to multiple early reports, as well as some of our sources as well.

As both Comic-Con and D23 went by without a new Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer we were left to wonder when exactly we’d see the next footage from the upcoming. Well, get ready. That time is now. “Have you felt it?”

Just when you thought we might be done with Star Wars news today — nope! The glorious internet has provided us with our first legitimate look at Mark Hamill’s Luke Skywalker in The Force Awakens, and he looks like he’s aged quite nicely into a wizened Jedi.

It should come as no surprise that fancy new limited editions of the original six Star Wars movies are hitting Blu-ray later this year. Did you think Disney and Lucasfilm weren’t going to do everything in their power to wring every last penny out of this devoted fan base? After all, everything about Star Wars: The Force Awakens has us weak in the knees. We have never been more vulnerable to large corporations exploiting our love. And now we know what love looks like: a series of very cool steelbook Blu-rays, complete with new art.

Jurassic World recently set the record for the biggest opening weekend at the box office with $209 million. But, did you know that Return of the Jedi once held that record in 1983 with just $23 million. That’s just one of the facts packed into the latest episode of You Think You Know Movies, which looks at the finale of the original Star Wars trilogy, Return of the Jedi!

After a staggering career that spanned more than sixty years actor, Christopher Lee has died. He was 93 years old. The BBC reports he passed away on Sunday “at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London, after being hospitalized for respiratory problems and heart failure.” The legendary actor appeared in over 240 movies.

Now that the first Star Wars spinoff has an official title and an official leading lady, it’s about time for the project to get into gear and add a few more faces. Australian actor Ben Mendelsohn might just be the first name to join the cast opposite Felicity Jones, which is a very, very exciting prospect if you’ve paid any attention to Mendelsohn’s work at all.

It’s a common complaint about modern movies: “They only made this to sell toys.” And sometimes, that’s actually true. But there was a time, not that long ago, when that concept didn’t even exist, and toys based on movies were barely an idea, much less a guarantee. Let’s take a stroll down memory lane (and by memory lane, I mean YouTube) and watch movie toys (and movie marketing) evolve through 40 years of vintage movie toy commercials, from Planet of the Apes to The Avengers.

Remember how so many Star Wars fans lost their minds when we first saw Kylo Ren’s bizarre hilted lightsaber in the trailer for Star Wars: Episode 7? Well, they’re about to lose ‘em all over again. Hasbro is introducing a new line of toys that will allow children (and their parents) to customize their own Jedi weapons. If you should a little hilt was crazy, then you probably aren’t prepared for what people will soon be able to create in their homes.

Did you know that in 'Empire Strikes Back' they used potatoes to stand-in for asteroids? Or, that Sir Alec Guinness was paid millions of dollars for five hours of work as Obi-Wan Kenobi? Well, now you can test your 'Star Wars' knowledge with the latest entry in our video series "You Think You Know Movies?"

There have been a lot of reports regarding the trailer for ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens.’ Just last week, news surfaced that Disney planned to attach the first teaser trailer to screenings of ‘The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies,’ which seemed to confirm an earlier rumor, while Disney reps said they had “bigger plans” for their official debut. And now another report has surfaced, claiming that we’ll see the first teaser in theaters as soon as this coming Thanksgiving week. Madness!

We weren't altogether surprised to learn that 'Star Wars Rebels' would incorporate the iconic Darth Vader at some point, though the news that James Earl Jones would reprise the role on October 26 certainly caught our attention. Now, the first look at 'Rebels' Vader has arrived from yet another legendary figure behind the character, and with a slightly updated design.

Ready for a great way to spend the weekend?

Although fans weren't in as quite an uproar when J.J. Abrams was announced to director 'Star Wars: Episode 7' as, say, when a certain 'Daredevil' took on The Dark Knight, but there was a pocket of die hards doubting whether the 'Star Trek' helmer could carry the next chapter of 'Star Wars.' For those still questioning his abilities, Abrams recently opened up about the next installment.

Imagine a galaxy far, far away, where Darth Vader's voice modulator malfunctions, and he's left with the voice of his pre-pubescent self as played by "world's greatest kid actor" Jake Lloyd.

With filming on 'Star Wars: Episode 7' scheduled to begin in just about four months, casting on the new movie is well underway. And, after many rumors and much conjecture, we've got one more rumor to add to the pile. Director J.J. Abrams, who likes to return to work with some of the same actors, has brought a friend from the 'Star Trek' universe with him: Benedict Cumberbatch is rumored to star in

Much of the speculation surrounding 'Star Wars: Episode 7' has been in regards to its release date - mostly because it doesn't have an official one yet. But, when will J.J. Abrams and crew actually start production on the new 'Star Wars' film? Sounds like we have a pretty good idea now.