The Star Wars Show Recap: Rian Johnson, Chewbacca Mom, & Celebration Art
By Elaine Tveit
On this week’s episode of The Star Wars Show, Rian Johnson made a brief cameo, Chewbacca Mom toured Lucasfilm, and Celebration art was revealed.
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There was a lot of fun stuff going on in this week’s episode of The Star Wars Show. The ball droid got rolling with a Chewbacca we can only assume was one of the real Chewbacca’s, Peter Mayhew or his double Joonas Suotamo, watching the video of the Chewbacca Mom, Candace Payne, on his tablet. We kind of got a clue it was either Mayhew or Suotamo when the director of Episode VIII himself, Rian Johnson, who is still shooting Episode VIII in Ireland, walked by. Johnson was clearly a little weirded out with how obsessed Chewie was with watching the video of Chewbacca Mom, and he asked his star, “How many times have you watched that thing?” Sorry, Rian, Chewie can’t stop watching and neither can we.
And neither can Chewbacca Mom, AKA Candace Payne. Her viral video got the attention of the people at Lucasfilm, who gave her a private tour of the LFL headquarters in San Francisco. Andi Gutierrez interviewed Candace for The Star Wars Show, and all you need is to watch that interview to realize Candace is just as sweet and bubbly as she appeared in her original video (maybe with a little less crazy cackling).
She’s had quite a journey this past week, from being a YouTube star to guest starring on Good Morning America and The Late Late Show, and getting to visit the official Facebook headquarters as well as Lucasfilm’s. When asked about her whirlwind ride to fame, Candace said that after everything is said and done, the moment she will remember most is when her Chewbacca mask video first hit 30 million views on YouTube. Recalling the experience, she said:
"“I just got face down on my kitchen floor and said, ‘Thank you, God.'”"
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Candace, her husband and their two kids are huge Star Wars fans. Last year for Halloween, Candace wore a Yoda onesie and her husband wore one of Chewbacca (there’s a twist!), and together they have been to see all three prequels films. Earlier this week, Kohl’s, who sold Candace the Chewbacca mask, gifted her with all kinds of Star Wars merchandise, but most importantly with three more Chewbacca masks so she would no longer have to share hers with her family. And that was just the beginning of all the madness for Candace. I hope she’s enjoyed every minute of it.
In other news, The Star Wars Show revealed the key art for Star Wars Celebration Europe, a beautiful ensemble illustration which features characters from The Force Awakens and Rogue One. There’s even a new type of stormtrooper, a shoretrooper, on the left side, and to his or her left are a new class of AT-AT: AT-ACTs, All Terrain Armored Cargo Transport. Check it all out below.
The last big thing we learned from The Star Wars Show this week is Dennis Muren of Industrial Light & Magic, who worked on A New Hope, will be answering fan questions on next week’s episode. Just tweet your question and include the hashtag #StarWarsShowAsks, and it might get featured.
Next: Star Wars Celebration Europe Key Art Revealed
That’s the recap! Check Dork Side next Wednesday for a rundown of the next episode of The Star Wars Show.