Star Wars

Robotics company Sphero skyrocketed to popularity in 2015 with the release of BB-8, a miniature iPhone-controlled toy droid modeled after the BB-8 character in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. As the release of the The Last Jedi approaches this December, Sphero has introduced two new Star Wars-themed robotic toys, BB-9E and R2-D2. R2-D2 is a well-known classic droid that's starred in Star...

It's been nearly one year since Disney announced that it will pull all of its movies from Netflix and launch its own streaming service in late 2019, including both TV shows and movies from Marvel and Star Wars. This week, however, Bloomberg reports that the company is facing troubles with the TV rights to the Star Wars film franchise, dating back to a deal it made with Turner Broadcasting in...

When Apple first announced its ARKit developer platform, one of the examples it gave was an image that showed someone playing Dejarik, a holographic board game from the Star Wars universe. The game has been available in an augmented reality experience on the iOS "Star Wars: Jedi Challenges" app [Direct Link], but it required pieces of hardware -- namely the Lenovo Mirage AR headset -- that current...

Writer/director Rian Johnson did an interview with The Wall Street Journal this week, discussing his favorite tech essentials that he uses both casually and professionally, including for the creation of Star Wars: The Last Jedi. In regards to the scripting process of The Last Jedi, Johnson said that he wrote the entire film on an air-gapped MacBook Air. Star Wars: The Last Jedi official title ...

Disney and accessory maker HEX have teamed up to release official Star Wars cases for iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X, ahead of the premiere of Star Wars: The Last Jedi on December 15. The genuine leather cases are debossed with Star Wars art and iconic characters such as Darth Vader, R2-D2, and stormtroopers, with styles including snap-on cases, folio...

Following the launch of BB-8 in 2015, and R2-D2 and BB-9E last month, Sphero has introduced an all-new iPhone-controlled droid ahead of New York Comic-Con, which begins today. This one is R2-Q5 and is the Imperial counterpart to R2-D2, with a glossy black finish and matte gold trimmings. R2-Q5 first appeared in Return of the Jedi. Similar to Sphero's R2-D2 droid, R2-Q5 has functional...

In early August, Disney revealed that it plans to pull all of its movies from Netflix and launch its own streaming service in 2019. Users were understandably curious as to which Disney-owned brands that might include, particularly once Disney CEO Bob Iger referenced the company's interest in potentially branching off Marvel and Star Wars into their own, separate streaming services. Today, Iger ...

A collection of Star Wars toys, including Sphero's new R2-D2 and BB-9E droids, are now available to purchase from Apple's online store. R2-D2 and BB-9E can be controlled with an iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch. More details can be found in our earlier coverage of the droids. BB-9E App-Enabled Droid by Sphero — $149.95 R2-D2 App-Enabled Droid by Sphero — $179.95 Apple's new Star Wars...

Sphero today unveiled all-new iPhone-controlled Star Wars toys, including R2-D2 and a new character from Star Wars: The Last Jedi called BB-9E (via TechCrunch). This latter droid is described as originating from the same astromech series as BB-8, but is instead associated with the villainous First Order. Similar to Sphero's BB-8 droid from 2015, BB-9E (priced at $149) comes with a set of...

In celebration of Force Friday II later this week, Apple has invited customers to attend free Star Wars–themed sessions and workshops at select Apple retail stores between Friday, September 1 and Saturday, September 9. Participating countries include the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia, UK, France, Italy, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Netherlands, Spain, Hong Kong, Sweden, Taiwan,...

Two years after the original "Force Friday" launched in celebration of new toys and gadgets for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Disney is now gearing up for "Force Friday II," which will see the launch of new merchandise centered on Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Force Friday II will run September 1 through September 3, with toys being sold at Apple, Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Target, and more (via Reuters). ...

During its quarterly earnings report yesterday, Disney revealed that it plans to remove all of its content from Netflix and debut a streaming service of its own in 2019. The announcement didn't make clear which exact Disney-related pieces of content might be found within that service, but more information from the earnings report has been shared today by TechCrunch, with Disney CEO Bob Iger...

Animator and illustrator Wahyu Ichwandardi has shared one of his newest projects on Twitter this week, where he recreated the entire two-minute trailer for Star Wars: The Last Jedi on a vintage Apple IIc from 1984, using the bitmap paint program Dazzle Draw and a KoalaPad+, both from the same year (via TechCrunch). Image via @pinot on Instagram The project required 48 floppy discs and 288...

Back at CES 2016, Sphero debuted a prototype version of the "Force Band," a wearable that allows users to motion control the iPhone-controlled BB-8. While the Force Band can mostly be used to control BB-8 without an iPhone, it has some select features that need an iPhone and Sphero's Star Wars app (via Engadget). The band comes with five modes, two of them for motion controlling BB-8 and...

Disney today released Star Wars: The Force Awakens onto digital platforms, including iTunes, Disney Movies Anywhere, and other Digital HD platforms. The company first confirmed the release date in early March, also announcing the long-awaited film will launch at physical retailers on April 5. The iTunes version of the film has the same bonus content as the standard retail editions set to...

Disney today announced that the newest film in the popular Star Wars saga, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, will be available on iTunes, Disney Movies Anywhere, and other Digital HD sources on Friday, April 1, several days ahead of a planned April 5 Blu-ray and DVD release. Star Wars: The Force Awakens takes place 30 years after Return of the Jedi, pitting new characters like scavenger Rey and...

The original motion picture soundtrack for the brand new film Star Wars: The Force Awakens has been released today on both Apple Music and iTunes. The tracklist includes all of the orchestral highlights from the movie, beginning in what appears to be chronological order with the well-known opening crawl music to the big finale. Composed by John Williams, there are a total of 23 songs on the...

All six Star Wars movies will be available digitally for the first time this Friday, April 10 on iTunes and other digital stores, Disney, Lucasfilm and 20th Century Fox have announced. The movies will be available to purchase separately and as a collection, and come with two never-before-seen special features. “We’re thrilled that fans will be able to enjoy the Star Wars saga on their...