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The Empire Strikes Back Trailer was released on August 15, 1979. Star Wars fans got their first real taste of the The Empire Strikes Back when the first live-action trailer premiered with the second re-release of Star Wars that summer. The 90-second preview, which was touted on the blue and red Star Wars posters printed for this release, was actually the second Empire trailer produced, but the first to showcase footage from the film (the first was merely a teaser with concept art and still photos).

Narrated by Harrison Ford, the trailer contains a few noteworthy gems, such as the famously cut "Threepio ripping the sign off the door" shot. Originally, the invading Imperials were to enter the door, sans warning sign, to be subsequently attacked by a pack of angry wampas. The sequence was ultimately cut from the film, but not before this small hint of its existence was forever immortalized by the trailer.

Also noteworthy is the lack of any mention of Yoda (his appearance was still top secret) as well as the stylized Empire logo we're all familiar with. Since the logo had not yet been finalized, an early, somewhat clumsy-looking title closes the trailer, promising Empire's much-anticipated release "next summer."

If you have a movie clip or scene from any video game in a AVI, MOV, etc. format, please send it in! Enjoy!

Star Wars: In Concert Video

The 30th Anniversary deck with collector's tin includes an Empire "classic moments" deck with 52 scenes from Episode V and vintage artwork on the jokers; the saga posters deck is also included, featuring 55 different Star Wars saga posters from around the world. Both decks include Empire artwork on the card backs and feature new Empire foil tuck box packaging.

A second set of cards includes the previously-released Posters and Quotes decks, but now with Empire 30th Anniversary packaging.

Look for both of these sets this Fall.

Star Wars: Invasion #5 (of 5) Written by Tom Taylor; Art by Colin Wilson; Colors by Wes Dzioba; Cover by Jo Chen On Sale November 4; 40 pages

The Yuuzhan Vong invasion of the galaxy is spreading quickly. Prince Finn Galfridian, whose planet of Artorias was taken and his family separated by the Vong, is training as a Jedi with Luke Skywalker to prepare himself to save his family and lead his surviving people.

Not surprisingly, the other members of the royal family have been working to save themselves! Finn's mother and sister Kaye are fighting against the Yuuzhan Vong's bioengineered killing monsters to escape imprisonment, and if his father, Caled, is still living, he will be leading resistance on Artorias. With hope, Caled lives, and will still be fighting when Finn arrives with aid!

Star Wars: Purge -- Seconds to Die Written by John Ostrander; Art (TBD); Cover by Travis Charest On Sale November 11; 40 pages

After Order 66, the Jedi purge led by the dark and fearsome Sith Lord Darth Vader, most of the remaining Jedi are hiding to survive -- but not all. Sha Koon, niece of the esteemed Plo Koon, has narrowly escaped the attack on the Jedi Temple, and has been left full of questions about the dark side. Sha Koon will not hide; she will find another way to continue being a Jedi -- one that will place her directly in the path of Darth Vader and the Emperor!

Star Wars: The Clone Wars #10 "Hero of the Confederacy" (Part 1 of 3) Written by Henry Gilroy and Steven Melching; Pencils by Brian Kolchak; Inks by Dan Parsons; Colors by Michael E. Wiggam On Sale November 11; 40 pages

Anakin Skywalker, Jedi Knight and hero of the Republic, is challenged by a fledgling hero of the Confederacy!

The Confederacy is being provided with newer and more advanced ships from a world that has claimed neutrality in the Clone Wars. Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi fly to Valahari to negotiate with the planet's rulers, but as events unfold, they find that diplomacy may have to give way to war!

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic #47 "Demon" Part 1 (of 4) Written by John Jackson Miller; Pencils by Brian Ching; Colors by Michael Atiyeh; Cover by Benjamin Carré On sale November 18; 40 pages

The trial of Demagol, the twisted Mandalorian researcher, is finally underway on Coruscant -- headed by none other than the Jedi Malak, a favorite of fans of the Knights of the Old Republic video game! Malak is going to make sure that Demagol, a specimen of true Mandalorian evil and deception, is made an example of and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

Amidst the trial, Zayne Carrick and his friends are learning a lot about deception in their own ranks -- and what they discover will threaten the life of one of their own!

Star Wars: Legacy #42 "Divided Loyalties" Written by John Ostrander; Art by Dave Ross; Colors by Brand Anderson and Cover by Chris Scalf On sale November 25; 40 pages

The partnership between the Galactic Alliance and Roan Fel's Imperials is tried again against the Sith Empire -- and this time they're joined by a group of Jedi who have at last come out of hiding!

Rogue Squadron's newest member is tested in battle! A traitor lurks aboard the Alliance! An Imperial Knight and a Jedi take on a dangerous retrieval mission! The Jedi, the Galactic Alliance, Fel's Imperials, and the Sith Imperials all contemplate the changes brought by Darth Krayt's death!

Star Wars Omnibus: Shadows of the Empire Written by Steve Perry, Michael A. Stackpole, John Wagner, Timothy Zahn; Art by Carlos Ezquerra, John Nadeau, Kilian Plunkett, Ron Randall and others On sale January 27; 408 pages

Beginning with Shadows of the Empire, Luke, Leia, and Chewbacca are determined to foil Boba Fett's plan to deliver carbonite-encased Han Solo to Jabba the Hutt. But these heroes are up against more than they realize. Darth Vader searches for Luke, hoping to turn him to the dark side, and a new threat, Xizor, the ruthless leader of the criminal organization Black Sun, seeks to gain the trust of the Emperor by killing Skywalker and overthrowing Vader! Then, in Shadows of the Empire: Evolution, a beautiful human-droid -- previously an assassin for Xizor -- searches to find her human side as Luke Skywalker tracks her across the galaxy, determined to bring her to justice! And finally, in Mara Jade: By the Emperor's Hand, the Emperor's personal assassin carries out her last mission, determined to succeed despite the death of her Master -- even if it costs her life!

This enormous collection features all your favorite characters from the original Star Wars trilogy: Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and Han Solo! It includes stories written by acclaimed novelists Timothy Zahn and Steve Perry!

Star Wars: The Thrawn Trilogy Written/Adapted by Mike Baron; Art by Olivier Vatine, Fred Blanchard, Terry Dodson, Edvin Biukovic, Mathieu Laffray and others On sale January 6 in hardcover; 420 pages

Five years after the fall of the Empire, Luke Skywalker is the first in a new line of Jedi Knights. Han Solo and Princess Leia have married, together assuming many burdens of the New Republic's government. But across the galaxy lies a dying part of the Empire -- all the more dangerous near death -- and it has just discovered something that could bring it back to life! The last of the Emperor's warlords, Admiral Thrawn, is ready to destroy the New Republic -- and the odds are stacked heavily against Luke, Leia, and Han!

Star Wars: The Thrawn Trilogy collects the adaptations of Timothy Zahn's Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising, and The Last Command. This Star Wars hardcover edition is a must have!

Star Wars Adventures: Luke Skywalker and the Treasure of the Dragonsnakes Written by Tom Taylor; Art by Daxiong On sale January 20; 80 pages; digest-sized.

The movie The Empire Strikes Back shows us only a small portion of Luke Skywalker's Jedi training under the tutelage of Master Yoda. In this story, witness a never-before-seen part of that training as Luke is given the task of finding -- and retrieving -- an object guarded by the deadliest creatures on the swamp world of Dagobah: the monstrous dragonsnakes! This is the most harrowing, dangerous, and muddiest mission that Luke has ever faced!

The Making of the Empire Strikes Back will be available in 2010 and is being published by Del Rey Books. Stay tuned to starwars.com for further reports of this highly-anticipated book to be released for Empire's 30th anniversary...

The arrival of the first three games will be accompanied by additional Star Wars-themed content on other Wii channels throughout the week. The Check Mii Out Channel will invite people to submit their best Mii^™ character renditions of classic Star Wars characters. On the Everybody Votes Channel, users can cast their votes to help settle old debates, such as the proper order to watch the six Star Wars films, and who fired first – Han Solo or Greedo?

“Our expanded partnership with LucasArts brings the Star Wars and Nintendo universes together,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “These three Super Star Wars games represent fantastic additions to the growing Virtual Console library, and the exclusive Star Wars content on the other Wii Menu channels is sure to have people from different generations having fun and interacting with one another.”

“Virtual Console on Wii is a great way to make these games available to our fans again, and it’s an awesome opportunity to expose our classic console titles to an entirely new audience,” said Darrell Rodriguez, president of LucasArts.

Additional classic LucasArts games for Virtual Console will be announced in the future.

Remember that Wii features parental controls that let adults manage the content their children can access. For more information about this and other Wii features, visit Wii.com.

For more information about Nintendo and the Wii Shop Channel, visit www.Nintendo.com and www.WiiShopChannel.com.

Star Wars author Karen Traviss just announced on her personal blog that Imperial Commando 2 will be her last Star Wars book.  While she doesn’t give specific details as to why she’s leaving, she does say that “changes in continuity were such that [she] wouldn’t be able to carry on as originally planned with the storyline [in her novels].”

She talks about how “the cannon [was] beyond [her] control,” and that she was left with a few choices: she “could try to make the massive retcons. Or [she] could switch to different SW books that weren’t affected by these changes. Or [she] could decide to call it a day.”  Sadly, the latter choice was the only “rational decision.”

It is interesting how the cannon has either changed or is going to change with the upcoming Clone Wars episodes or the Live-Action TV Series to the point where she feels she can no longer continue. We wish her all the best with her future titles and we lose a great writer in the Star Wars Universe.