Feel the Force Friday: “The Force Awakens”, Her Universe in Sports Illustrated and MORE!!!

Well Dork Siders, it’s been awhile since we’ve had a weekly recap. There’s been some BIG news that’s dropped this week but fear not, DSOTF is here to get you caught up on all the important things happening in the Star Wars galaxy!

First off…

The official title of Star Wars: Episode VII, as revealed by Lucasfilm on Thursday.

As we’d reported yesterday, Lucasfilm has officially announced the title of the upcoming film Star Wars: Episode VII! The title “The Force Awakens” was revealed via Twitter by the official Star Wars feed at 12:00pm EST on Thursday.

Initially, there was some slight confusion as to whether or not the episodic number of VII would be dropped completely from the title of the film or not. Thanks to the research efforts of Rebel Force Radio‘s Jimmy “Mac” McInerney and TheForce.Net’s Eric Geller, we know that although the official title is simply “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”, the episodic title will NOT be omitted from the film’s opening crawl.

Fans have already created a mockup of Star Wars: Episode VII‘s opening crawl.

Fans were quick to express their excitement over the breaking news yesterday afternoon, and many took to social media forums such as Twitter and Facebook to share their thoughts and opinions. There was also a flood of humorous jabs at the title, many of which have been compiled over at Club Jade.

Graphic designer Michael Cohen‘s mock logo for The Force Awakens evokes a vintage look.

Yesterday, Lucasfilm’s own Mary Franklin celebrated a birthday! For fans who are unfamiliar with her work, Franklin serves as Lucasfilm’s senior events lead which basically means she’s in charge of making things like Star Wars Celebration happen. No Mary Franklin, no SW Celebration. It’s that simple.

Franklin is also the editor of Bantha Tracks, which can be found in the pages of Star Wars Insider. She’s a fantastic human being and huge part of Star Wars fandom. You can follow her adventures on Twitter @MaryLFL. Oh, and send her photos of Bossk. She just loves Bossk.

Mary Franklin poses with fellow Star Wars fans, including members of the famed Perales family.

This week, Sports Illustrated featured a terrific article on two time MLB all star David Eckstein and his involvement with Her Universe, the fangirl fueled clothing line owned and operated by his wife Ashley Eckstein.

From the SI article:

"If his career in baseball was unconventional and surprising, his postplaying life is turning out to be even more so. After an injury-plagued final season with the Padres in 2010, he received multiple contract offers, but he wanted to turn his full attention to the business that he and his wife, Ashley, had founded in ’10. Her Universe, a company that produces a fashion and accessories line for female sci-fi fans, was Ashley’s brainchild, and it was entering what Eckstein saw as its make-or-break third year. Says Eckstein, “After all the years of her making my career a priority, it was time to make *hers a priority.”"

Ashley Eckstein is a name that is well known to Star Wars fans, as the actress famously provided the voice of the beloved Ahsoka Tano on the popular animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars. She is also an active member of the fan community, on hand at many conventions and serving as host during Disney’s Star Wars Weekends event.

You can read the full Sports Illustrated article on the Ecksteins and Her Universe, here.

Ashley Eckstein and David Eckstein with their new Sharktopus shirts, available exclusively at Her Universe.

More NEWS from the Dork Side:

The latest episode of the Full of Sith podcast features hosts Mike Pilot and Bobby Roberts discussing all of the latest Star Wars news and putting some of the latest Episode VII rumors to rest.

You can find this awesome podcast on iTunes or at the official Full of Sith site, here.

Tune into the latest episode of The Star Wars Report for an excellent interview with Star Wars Rebels executive producer Greg Weisman.

Don’t forget to check back later today for the latest episode of Podcast 66!

Thanks for visiting DSOTF and please follow us on Twitter @DorkSideOForce.