5 Things To Tide You Over Until Star Wars: The Last Jedi Hits Theaters

Let’s face it, December 15 is a long way off and the teaser trailer that was recently released only makes the anticipation grow. But that doesn’t mean there is nothing to look forward to in the world of Star Wars until then. So, here are five things to tide you over while waiting for the next movie to come out.

1) A new Darth Vader comic from Marvel

Marvel has already done one run of Darth Vader comics, set in between the events of Episodes IV and V where we got to see how the Emperor reacted to his ultimate weapon being destroyed as well as Vader realizing his son is alive. This new series goes back even farther, starting at the very end of Episode III and telling the story of Vader’s first days after his fight with Obi Wan on Mustafar. We’ll get to see him wrestle with the death of his wife and apparent death of his child as well as see him get his iconic red lightsaber. Marvel has struggled to make a mark with their new Star Wars comics but this one looks promising. Look for issue one in June.

2) The D23 Expo

We’re still coming down from the high of Star Wars Celebration but we are already looking forward to seeing what D23 has in store for us this July. They released the schedule of events recently and there are three opportunities for Star Wars fans to get excited. The Disney Legends Award Ceremony is welcoming Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill into their ranks. The Walt Disney Studios panel will showcase what’s coming for all of Disney’s film divisions including Lucasfilm and we can only hope that a few more secrets will be unveiled for the Star Wars lands during the Disney Parks panel.

3) Also in July, Star Wars Forces of Destiny begins. These 2-3 minute animated shorts will be released on Disney’s YouTube channel and will feature the heroines of the Star Wars universe. What’s really exciting is that the actresses are reprising their roles; Daisy Ridley as Rey, Felicity Jones as Jyn, Ashley Eckstein as Ahsoka, Tiya Sircar as Sabine and Lupita Nyong’o narrating the series as Maz Kanata. Later in the Fall a longer special will air on Disney XD.

4) The end of the Aftermath Trilogy

Two years ago, Chuck Wendig released Aftermath, the first in a trilogy that bridges the gap between Episode VII and Episode VIII. This August, the third book in the trilogy, Aftermath: Empire’s End, comes out in paperback. Among other things, Empire’s End leads up to the Battle of Jakku and explains why there is a crashed Star Destroyer in the middle of the desert.

5) A new location in Star Tours

One of the best things the Imagineers did when they updated Star Tours was allow for new locations and characters to be added without any hassle. They did this in 2015 with The Force Awakens and they’ll be doing it again for The Last Jedi. Later this year, much closer to the movie release, tourists on Starspeeders may find their way to the planet Crait in the midst of a battle.

These are just a few things to help with the anticipation. Which of these are you most looking forward to?