The President of Marvel Studios as well as the primary creator and producer of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has done so much for us Marvel geeks out there. In the year 2000, Feige was made an associate producer of the first X-Men movie due to his extensive knowledge of the Marvel universe. Doing so caught the eye of Avi Arad, CEO and founder of Marvel Studios, who made him second-in-command of the studio in the same year.
After that, Feige had realized that Marvel still owned rights to the characters of the Avengers, although they did not own X-Men or Spider-Man at the time. In March of 2007, he was named president of production at Marvel Studios and worked in developing the entirety of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as we know it today. Over the years he has won several awards and in October 2019, Feige also became the Chief Creative Officer for Marvel Comics, Television, and Animation.
Although I have listed many incredible accomplishments, you are all likely wondering why I have decided to dedicate this blog to him. To put it plain and simple: the MCU as we know and love today would not exist without this guy. As a true fan of the universe, as the head of Marvel, Feige really understands the source material and how to craft incredible content based on it. I now have a saying for whenever anyone is doubting an upcoming Marvel project: “Trust in Kevin Feige, he has given you no reason not to.” While the wording may be a bit silly, it is quite true. Up till now, the MCU has given us twenty-four incredible movies and three amazing shows with plenty more on the way. So from the bottom of our hearts here at Epicescape,com, thank you, Kevin Feige, for the past thirteen years and the many more to come.
The now Executive Creative Director and Executive Producer has done so much for the Star Wars universe. While directing many episodes of a show very near and dear to our hearts, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Filoni was offered a job by none other than George Lucas himself to help him develop a new Star Wars animated series. He then left Nickelodeon to serve as director for the Star Wars: The Clone Wars film and supervising director of the series in 2008.
Later on, Filoni also became an executive producer of Star Wars: Rebels which premiered in fall of 2014 and served as a supervising director for the first two seasons of the show. He departed in September 2016 when he was given the job as overseer of Lucasfilm Animation project. Then in 2017, Jon Favreau invited Filoni to work on The Mandalorian. After that, in 2020, Lucasfilm promoted him to Executive Producer and Executive Creative Director. He also worked as a screenwriter, animator, and actor as well as won several awards.
So why am I writing a whole blog about him? That would be due to the fact that he has developed amazing characters, crafted incredible storylines, created intriguing scripts, and so much more! The members of the Ghost crew, Ahsoka Tano, Cad Bane, Bo-Katan, and Grogu were all created under him. Some of the most fan favorite arcs of Star Wars shows came from his storytelling. Last but certainly not least, quotes that Star Wars fans have been recalling for years came from his genius ideas. Dave Filoni has been a true gift to Star Wars fans everywhere and we here at Epicescape.com can’t wait to see what is next for the years to come.
While we may be a little late, exciting news is here! On June 18, Star Wars fans everywhere got the pleasant surprise of the fan favorite character and his trusty sidekick’s return in the Bad Batch episode, “Reunion.” First appearing in Star Wars: The Clone Wars episode “Hostage Crisis” in 2009, Cad Bane quickly became one of the most infamous bounty hunters around.
This was especially exciting to Clone Wars fans who, due to a major unproduced Clone Wars arc, have long been awaiting his return. For those of you who don’t know, the Clone Wars TV show was originally intended to be eight full seasons. Because of this, many highly anticipated arcs had been left unproduced or unfinished including a bounty hunter arc. This arc would have been following Boba Fett and Cad Bane on Tatooine for a rescue mission.
To several fans of the universe, seeing Cad Bane as well as Todo was extremely exciting and left the door open to several possibilities to come. Dave Filoni, the man, the myth, the legend, has been providing fans with new content surrounding new and old characters alike. We here at EpicEscape.com can’t wait to see what’s next! See you all in the next blog!
Spoilers! Spoilers! Spoilers! We love you, our reeaders, here at EpicEscape.com, but please, please, please… If you are an Ahsoka Fan from Disney’s Star Wars: Clone Wars, or Star Wars: Rebels cartoons… Go away until you’ve had a chance to enjoy the latest episode of the Mandalorian. When you’ve had a minute to close your eyes, and absorb the sheer delight of it all, and you’re good and ready, and have jumped out of your joy induced coma, come back and join us in discussing Ahsoka Tano.
Yes, Ahsoka Tano has returned to the forefront of the Star Wars Galaxy, and despite the galaxy itself being so far far away, she is so near and so dear to our hearts. Rosario Dawson, who let’s face it, we’ve loved forever, brings her sheer and unmistakable talent to the live action world of Star Wars in an understated and brilliant turn as everyone’s beloved Paduan to Anakin Skywalker. Dawson captures not what Ahsoka was, the wide eyed kid who joined the Jedi order, but what she is now, an older, wiser, non-Jedi who carries the burden of history from her experiences in the Clone Wars, and the Rebels era of adventures.
Ahsoka is no fool. While she may be curious to see a Yoda-Like creature standing before her, she feels the full burden of what that might mean to the Galaxy in the Mandalorian. Here, we are presented with a Galaxy that has been torn apart by, dare I say it, a religious war between two warring factions, the Jedi, and the Sith. With all the damage that they have done to the Star Wars galaxy and all the lives that they have cost, Ahsoka mulls the actions to be taken with this new entry into her life. What to do with a new “child” who could be as powerful as Yoda or Emperor Palpatine?
Rosario Dawson masterfully, quietly, and beautifully brings Ahsoka’s mixed emotions to life reflecting tension, and joy at the possibilities. Her response is both complex and grave at the same time. Ahsoka can take steps, but does she chose to do so, or not… not quite so fast… thought and reflection must be brought to bear here.
We all remember Ahsoka’s difficulty with the Jedi order. If you don’t, go back and watch the Clone Wars “Ahsoka the Fugitive” Arc, in Season 5. It’s a question we Star Wars fans all ask. Would it be good to be a Jedi, or just ditch all the rules, and live a normal life? What good is it to be able to lift an X-Wing out of a swamp, if you can’t seek love, or have a family? Clearly, the burden of that choice to too heavy, when even the best of the Jedi, Anakin Skywalker, can’t seem to get it right. Ahsoka made her choice, and many of us fans have thought that she ended up being wisest of them all. A force wielder still, she no longer must adhere to the unattainable standards of the priestly order of Jedi.
Now, here, presented with a choice of teaching a being with the possibility of becoming the strongest Jedi alive, Ahsoka takes pause. Dawson’s demeanor, her muted movements, her manner of observation of Din Djarin’s Mandalorian, are all in poetic harmony with what Ahsoka would be after all that has happened with her character over the years.
We here, at EpicEscape.com. loved every second of it. Thanks so much, Rosario Dawson, for so beautifully bringing such a complex character to life. We can’t wait to see it again!
By John Cross
EpicEcape.com
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Finally! It’s coming. For those fans of the Last Airbender series that aired so many years ago on Nickelodeon, you can finally get off the edge of your seat. The success of the Avatar: The Last Airbender cartoon on Netflix, a consistent Top 10 show on the Netflix streaming platform, has prompted Netflix to produce a new live action series.
Now, I know what you’re thinking. Please keep M. Night Shyamalan as far away as humanly possible. His live action “The Last Airbender” movie was a far cry from the fun that made the cartoon so dear to all the fans. But let’s not be too hasty. Shyamalan’s movie, while it had several drawbacks, did present us with a interesting visual representation of the possibilities related to the world of the Airbenders.
M. Night Shymalan may be vilified by Airbender fans, but he is the legendary director that brought us The Sixth Sense, Signs, Unbreakable, and one of my personal favorites of all time, Wide Awake (not your typical M. Night Shyamalan movie). His choices on Airbender were part of a bigger system of Studio missteps. Casting choices, special effects, and story pacing were challenging in converting a story that spans multiple years, and a complex societal allegory, into a single two hour movie.
The Last Airbender is a modern story that attempts the same grandeur as The Lord of the Rings without having the cultural clout. Shyamalan, and Nickelodeon, and Netflix have all had a hand in bringing us to where we are today. Let’s hope they don’t fumble this latest addition to the franchise.
For my part, I’m looking for the new Airbender series, which is currently delayed in production as a result of Covid-19. I raise my glass of chocolate milk to those who have taken on the effort, and wish them “flameo” luck, as Aang, our intrepid Airbender might say!
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