The Ronto Roundup: Episode VII Rumors, New Rebels Clips and MORE!

Good morning, Dork Siders! Welcome back to The Ronto Roundup, our Monday feature which will get you caught up on all of the Star Wars happenings from the past weekend. It’s been a crazy weekend for fans, particularly those who pay attention to social media outlets such as Twitter and Facebook. Let’s get started, shall we?

There was an abundance of information on Star Wars: Episode VII leaking out through various sites over the weekend and while you may find that many of them are shoving exclusives and reveals in your face, we here at DSOTF have pledged to give it to you straight.

WARNING: POTENTIAL SPOILERS BELOW:

The onslaught of Episode VII reveals began last week when artist Tom Hodges briefly posted a sketch of the newly designed Imperial Stormtrooper helmet, which he had apparently gotten a glimpse of at some point. Not long after, Indie Revolver posted a more detailed look at the alleged prop.

Tom Hodges‘ initial sketch of what he believed to be the new Stormtrooper helmet from Episode VII.

The new Stormtrooper helmet, according to Indie Revolver‘s post on Thursday.

On Friday, the rumor mill was set ablaze with multiple new sites reporting very huge Episode VII reveals. First, Indie Revolver threw their hat in the ring once more, this time with concept art depicting some of Han Solo‘s costumes to be worn by Harrison Ford in the new flick.

Indie Revolver leaked two photos of Han Solo concept art, allegedly from Episode VII, on Friday.

Not long after the Han Solo artwork, sites began dumping all of the news that they had received from their alleged sources. Latino Review revealed that there would be chrome plated Stormtroopers with cloaking capabilities running around, hunting Jedi. They also gave away some potential plot points involving Gwendoline Christie‘s role in the film.

Next, Jedi News began reporting on a new character who just so happens to be from the Mon Calamari species. Sound fishy?

Not to be outdone, Devin Faraci of Badass Digest let fly some more details on who he thinks the villain of Episode VII may be.

Finally, Indie Revolver broke the internet with a revealing look at said villain, when they posted an image of what they claimed to be Episode VII concept art. Their sources claim this villain to be called The Inquisitor.

Indie Revolver claims that this image reveals what the new villain from Episode VII will look like.

Are you confused yet, Dork Siders? That’s okay. Not much of these reports make much sense and we expect very little of this information to ever be actually proven true. We’ll just have to wait until December 18th, 2015 to find out for sure!

Recently, a campaign to benefit the ALS Association has had the internet buzzing with videos of celebrities taking the “ice bucket challenge”.

From the ALS Association official site:

"As of Monday, August 18, The ALS Association has received $15.6 million in donations compared to $1.8 million during the same time period last year. These donations have come from existing donors and 307,598 new donors to The Association.The ALS Association’s mission includes providing care services to assist people with ALS and their families through a network of chapters working in communities across the nation and a global research program focused on the discovery of treatments and eventually a cure for the disease. In addition, The Association’s public policy efforts empower people to advance public policies in our nation’s Capital that respond to the needs of people with ALS."

Star Wars: Episode VII Director J.J. Abrams got in on the fun yesterday, when he posted a video of himself having ice water dumped onto him by his family. Abrams then challenged others to join the cause, calling out the legendary 501st Legion!

You can watch J.J. Abrams get soaked with ice water, in the video below:

Disney XD will be premiering another all new exclusive clip of the upcoming animated series Star Wars Rebels, tonight! Tune into the channel at 9:29pm EST for the next exciting look into the world of this highly anticipated new show! If you can’t wait to watch it, Lucasfilm posted the clip; titled “Art Attack” early this morning.

Watch the new Rebels clip, featuring the voice talent of the wonderful Tiya Sircar, below:

Entertainment Weekly posted a recent interview with Episode VII star Adam Driver on Friday. In the interview, Driver is hush on any details about the new film but he does open up about his appreciation of the Star Wars story.

From the EW interview:

"“The thing about Star Wars that’s so good—sure there’s this huge [canvas]. It’s space, it’s a long time ago in a galaxy far away. That’s set up immediately. But in the midst of all those things, what has made those movies last so long is that they’re all grounded, which is something that is not so far off from every movie with huge universal themes of siblings and parents and betrayal and trust. That’s so generic and obvious, but it’s hard to balance those things.”"

More NEWS from the Dork Side:

The always incredible Johnamarie Macias gives us the rundown on all the Star Wars news that’s fit to report, with her latest report at The Wookiee Gunner.

Star Wars: Episode VIII Director Rian Johnson recently appeared on the Girls in Hoodies podcast and talked briefly about the Wars. Visit MakingStarWars.Net for the report.

Mark Sutter from The Cantina Cast makes a strong case for a Boba Fett film, with this awesome article right here.

If you’re having trouble making sense of all the crazy rumors surrounding Star Wars: Episode VII, the boys over at Full of Sith have got you covered. Bobby Roberts, Bryan Young and Mike Pilot discuss all the latest news in depth on their latest podcast. You can listen to their kickass show, right here.

Speaking of great podcasts, the team over at The Wolfpack Podcast spoke with The Clone Wars voice actress Catherine Taber during their most recent episode. You can check out the podcast at YouTube, here.

Thanks for visiting DSOTF! We’re sure to have plenty more Star Wars news and rumors to report in the coming days. Make sure to visit us on Facebook and Twitter!

May the Force be with your Monday, Dork Siders!