It’s been just about two months since we put this blog on hiatus to update its design and develop a new approach to content. It took a bit longer than we had hoped, but we’re glad to say that starting today, we’re back… with a few exciting changes.
We want the Star Wars Blog to be as exceptional as the fan community that it’s written for, and that requires both ongoing commitment and a specific vision.
The truth is that this blog – much as we love it – often got less attention than it deserved, and became a place to put stories that don’t fit somewhere else on StarWars.com. Sure, we can give you news and announcements, but so can all of the community sites we now feature on the site. We can talk about collectibles and books, and point to stories from around the web, and we plan to keep doing all of that.
But this has also been a place to cover one of our favorite topics: the fans (including you!) that make Star Wars exceptional and exciting. What we do at Lucasfilm is only half of the story: what you do is just as important.
At its best, that’s what the Star Wars Blog should be about.
So, what do you want to see around here?
During the break, many of you shared your ideas and suggestions, and told us what you’d like to see the blog focus on – and while we weren’t able to respond to everyone, we were listening, reading and discussing every single comment.
Great. So what happens now?
We thought you’d never ask! (But we’re glad you did, because this is the part we’re excited to share.) Starting today, we’re thrilled to announce a few big changes.
First, you’re going to see a lot more faces around here.
Starting this afternoon, the Star Wars Blog will become a true group effort, with more than a dozen regular writers from both inside and outside of Lucasfilm, representing a huge range of interests and perspectives on Star Wars and fandom. On top of that, we’ve also invited a galaxy (pardon the pun) of guest bloggers to write in.
Second, we want to bring you stories you can’t find anywhere else.
We want to give you much deeper access to Star Wars. Without ruining all of the surprises we’ve lined up, here’s some of what you can expect moving forward:
- Supervising Director Dave Filoni will be sharing insights and stories from behind-the-scenes of The Clone Wars, along with other cast and crew.
- We’re going to open up the Lucasfilm archives, with J.W. Rinzler and others sharing never-before-seen images, videos and stories from the making of the films.
- Resident Star Wars experts Pablo Hidalgo and Leland Chee will be sharing details about the Expanded Universe and answering your questions.
- Lucasfilm Events Coordinator Mary Franklin will share stories from behind-the-scenes as we get ready for events like ComicCon and Celebration VI.
We’re also planning to introduce you to the creative leads of upcoming video game projects like Star Wars 1313, the authors and artists behind Star Wars EU books and comics, the designers who make the most-coveted Star Wars collectibles, and more.
And, just as important are the stories from outside Lucasfilm, so we’re proud to say that our bloggers also include super-collectors and experts like Steve Sansweet, members of fan communities like the 501st Legion, artists like Katie Cook, and many, many more.
Third, we’re going to experiment… and we need your help.
We’re trying to do something new. We’re going to explore a lot of new possibilities, and as a result, we’re going to figure out what works as we go along. We won’t get everything right, at least not right away.
But here’s the thing: we want to get it right. We want to give you the blog you want, and deserve. We want this to be a place where fans come together to meet each other, to discuss topics we all care about, and to hear each others’ stories.
To do that, we need your help. We need your input and your feedback, your suggestions and your concerns. (Also, we might need a little bit of patience!) And while we can’t always respond to all of your comments, we will keep reading them. We’ll do our best to respond, and more important, to listen.
We’re excited about what’s coming, and we hope you are too. Let us know what you think in the comments!
Tags: Site Updates, StarWars.com
It’s the official blog. The possibilities are nearly endless. Please let the blog have a true purpose for all the fans. Don’t let it be about potatoes shaped like Uncle Owen or about a bird named Bib Fortuna. That can be funny once, but at the end nobody cares about such things.
Bring real news and new interesting facts. Source updates and retcons for example. Dare to exist and to create something instead of linking everything to WP.
Make sure fans will come and visit the blog at least once a day. You can only do that if you publish new and interesting contest so that fans may fear to miss something important.
I agree with sompeetalay, this blog should avoid those kind of things. I don’t want to see pictures of dogs in Star Wars costumes, I want to see never published pictures from Star Wars production, I want to know more about things related to the behind the scenes of working on movies, of working in LucasBooks, of working in LucasArts etc or even movies (even one short video of an alternative shot of some scene from a movie could be epic). I’d love to see alternative books covers, interviews with EU writers, conceprt arts of SW1313. This is the place to put those things in. This is official blog so you have acces to many people and many materials. The possibilities are endless, just be interesting and I’m sure a lot of people will come here everyday!
May the Force be with you!
(and sorry for my english, it’s not my first language)
Please focus on the original trilogy as well, sometimes lately they have been getting a little lost. I agree with wanting to see never before seen pictures, cut scenes, scripts, etc. Put up thought provoking discussion questions and I will be back.
With so many contributors, I would love to see regular columns have a presence. There are so many news sources already that I feel there’s a huge opening for opinion- and personality-based material, where each category comes with a distinct voice – Bonnie Burton was great at this. Imagine Collecting Mondays with Steve Sansweet, EU Wednesdays with Pablo or Leland, Clone Wars Fridays with Dave Filoni. Appointment blogging, almost.
Blogging is great at showcasing individual voices, and that’s what I’d most like to see driving content.
What somepeetalay said
have a ratio that has TCW stuff equal to EU content and not dominate the site like it does the website already. Return features from the old website which was way better than the current one with lots of sadly now missing content, articles and canon stuff that is rare and loved by fans still.
And if people reply to fanquestions, or interviews, make sure they answer questions properly and do not just give random answers or all the same questions we heard them answer on multiple conventions and Insider interviews already.
Post ART lots of it, original, new art, sketches, prelims and the like of novel covers, comic art, alternatives that got not chosen. those are loved!
Proof that you are invested in SW and answer to diehard fan questions, not just noobquestions that get repetitive in Insider already. Tackle the hard problems, difficulties, errors or retcons instead of just ignoring the problems or tending to the casual fans more than the completists who nitpick at details.
Take SUVUDU for an example: Great new art, great articles and previews/reviews. But do not steal their place and ideas. become unique.
have more authors and artists post endnotes for comics, novels, short stories, guides, etc. like Jason Fry and John Jackson Miller already do elsewhere.
post missing scenes, alternate scenes and all that NOT from movies but from novels. what got cut and why? release cancelled novel fragments as infinities or nonanon online if needs be. fans dig such stuff and appreciate it. like upcoming essential readers companion or already released commented heir to the empire rerelease should proof.
last but not least: HIRE ME
Endnotes are a great suggestion. Clearly they’re a very niche attraction, but they’re being written all the time anyway; it’s silly for someone like Jason Fry to have to post them on his personal Tumblr for lack of an official venue.
[...] they say they are, anyway, as there’s only one new post. (Unless you count the roundups.) But it lays out some [...]
As has been said, being the official blog, it has the opportunity to show content and intel not found anywhere else. I’m glad about some of the new changes.
My only one is to not just talk about the new stuff, but talk about what came before. Who wouldn’t want to know about the making of novels like Shadows of the Empire, or videogames like Knights of the Old Republic? I know I do. They are not new, but it’s interesting to know about them nonetheless.
Things like the restoration process made for the Original Trilogy for the DVD release in 2004 (and more recently The Phantom Menace), the genesis and explanations behind the changes made for the Special Editions. Videos about previous Star Wars Celebrations. I love to know about this stuff as much as the next fan. Bring it, and I’ll visit the blog (and the website) twice a day.
I agree that old things like Shadows of the Empire and the Knights of the Old Republic games should be revisited for behind the scenes intel.
Please have more content on the blog and on the website that features both the original trilogy and the prequels. For me the prequel films get over looked by starwars.com within LFL itself and theirs not enough content on the site from those films. Also give us some new and classic interviews with the cast and crew Also have more EU short story’s on the blog as well. That’s what I would like to see on the starwars.com blog. And also bring back the old content from star wars.com
I look forward to it and am glad you’re back!
Have EU features in addition to TCW, have more inside looks and have some fan favorite writers such as Matt Stover, Zahn, Denning, JJM and give some exclusive sneak peaks or have official art of scenes from books
Please, as others have said, don’t be dominated by TCW. Give the comics and novels just as much love. I love the idea of more endnotes like Jason Fry is doing now and how Abel Pena used to do on the official blogs. Return to releasing new fiction and archive all the lost old fiction from Hyperspace. I also love the idea of “deleted scenes” from novels and comics.
I’d love to see content from the legions – 501st and Rebel Legions – what they are doing, highlights, charity work, etc. Those things are important to me.
I will be reading regardless – love the prequels, love the originals, love the collections, love the personalities…love the Clone Wars – love it all!
May the Force be with you as you build this new blog experience!
If you intend to highlight costume organizations like 501st and RL, please don’t forget to include regular fan clubs as well. Clubs that publish magazines, have meetings for their members, etc …
@ Hendel D’bu & sompeetalay
While it’s important to recognize the charity work the Legions do, I think that if you are really interested in that, you can check their websites. That’s one of the things you can check elsewhere while here they should focus on more exclusive content.
I’d love to see a mix of:
- essays (”What Star Wars means to me,” “I totally think Han should have paid the cantina bartender more money to clean up the mess”),
- short behind-the-scenes interviews about Star Wars products (how the book editors decide on stories, just how did LFL’s marketing process end up with things like the Jar Jar tongue lollipop)
- interviews about newly released items (books, games, TCW)
- information on what it takes to do big events
- interviews/guest posts from fans in the news.
I wish you luck in making this an awesome destination for the fans.
I would really like to see all the old hyperspace content up and online again!
Cool
Unique SW lore stuff. Not just fan-made objects/cosplay or weird real-life things connected with SW, but actual lore that is found in the LFL Holocron and ok to use or just made up stuff that’s canonized on the spot.
That’s what I’d like to see.
Just look at Admiral Nantz’s official appearance. One email to Leland and boom, canonized in a blog.
I’d like to see…
-more photos and videos of conventions, art shows, charity events, cosplayers, star wars weekends at disney, behind the scenes at lucasfilm, fan artwork, etc.
-spotlight/bios on the not so well known star wars characters.
-guides on collecting on a budget. i love collecting star wars items (books, clothing, movies, toys, art etc) but in today’s economy its hard to maintain a solid collection, would like to see a monthly look at good deals or ways to collect without dropping major imperial credits.
-interviews with celebrities who happen to be fans.
-fun facts about the films that the most hardcore of fanboys wouldnt even know.
SWEET!!!
Can’t wait to see all the unpublished photos that Rinzler couldn’t fit in his books!
Please, any deleted shots or scenes you couldn’t fit on the blu-ray!
Not just the RL and the 501st. Don’t forget the smaller groups like The Jedi Assembly, The Dark Empire and the Mando Mercs! We all have stuff to contribute as well! Also collector clubs such as Ohio Star Wars CC, Pennsylvania, etc. There are lots of outlets for fandom that get overlooked!
Would it be possible to use the SW blog to promote the not-for-profit illustrated fan fic found at my site, http://www.virtualedition.net ?
Q&A about the Holocron and some of the hotbutton topics concerning Boba Fett and other characters.
The behind the scenes content is what I’m really interested in. I’d love to see “deep dives” into some of the more obscure Clone Wars characters. There’s so much cool artwork on the show that we barely see!
Please bring back the great clone wars episode guides that where once at the site before the redesign. I don’t want to be re directed to wookipedia to read about the episode I want the episode guides to have the information I’m looking for. Why the clone wars episode guides where taken off before the site redesign does not make sense at all.
nice
[...] The Official Star Wars Blog is back in the force of business and there have been a few new and exciting changes on the way. Star Wars Blog have enhanced the experience for the Star wars fan community and down below are some of the new features available on the Official blog and here is the message proclaimed for what they hope and plan to do in the future: [...]