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Tag: Darth vader

  • DC Man Sues Over His Arrest for Playing Darth Vader Music at National Guard

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    A Washington D.C. man was arrested last month for following National Guard troops around while playing “The Imperial March,” Darth Vader’s theme song in the Star Wars films. But now that man is suing, with the help of the ACLU, because he says his First and Fourth Amendment rights were violated while he engaged in peaceful protest.

    Sam O’Hara, 35, was walking in the Logan Circle neighborhood of D.C. on Sept. 11 when he spotted National Guard troops patrolling the area. O’Hara started playing “The Imperial March” from his phone while walking behind them and started filming it for his TikTok account. But “in less than two minutes,” according to the lawsuit, Ohio National Guard member Sgt. Devon Beck turned around and threatened to call the local cops to “handle” him if O’Hara didn’t stop.

    O’Hara didn’t stop, so that’s what Beck did. He called the Metropolitan Police Department, who came and put O’Hara in handcuffs. He remained “tightly handcuffed” for about 15-20 minutes, according to the suit.

    The four MPD officers who made the arrest, Tiffany Brown, JM Campbell, Edward Reyes-Benigno, and Alfonso Lopez Martinez, are all named in the lawsuit, which was filed with help from the DC chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

    O’Hara has “experienced significant anxiety around law enforcement and feels less safe in his neighborhood,” according to the suit, and the “overly tight handcuffs” reportedly left marks on his wrists. He also had pain in his arms and shoulders the next morning, according to the suit. O’Hara has had two surgeries on his left shoulder since 2023.

    The suit includes some jokes about Star Wars, which was probably to be expected:

    The law might have tolerated government conduct of this sort a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. But in the here and now, the First Amendment bars government officials from shutting down peaceful protests, and the Fourth Amendment (along with the District’s prohibition on false arrest) bars groundless seizures.

    President Donald Trump has sent a surge of federal agents to cities that he considers to be Democratic and has seen mixed success sending National Guard troops to cities like Portland and Chicago. Judges have flip flopped on whether Trump is allowed to do that, with some finding that he can with others finding he can’t as the cases make their way up the ladder to higher courts. As of this writing, Trump has not been allowed to deploy troops to Portland and Chicago.

    But there’s very little question that Trump has the ability to deploy the National Guard to Washington D.C. because it’s not a state. The president has incredible powers to do many things in D.C. that he really can’t do elsewhere. But the free speech protections of the First Amendment, as well as the protections from unreasonable search and seizure in the Fourth Amendment, still apply to the entire country—even in D.C.

    Curiously, when Gizmodo went to find the videos that O’Hara has posted to TikTok in order to embed them in this post, we found that the video from Sept. 11 had been slapped with the warning: “This post may not be comfortable for some audiences. Log in to make the most of your experience.”

    There’s nothing graphic about the video and it’s unclear why TikTok wouldn’t allow the video to be embedded, but the local TV news outlet WUSA9 has a video that also shows you what happened, including O’Hara’s arrest.

    O’Hara hasn’t stopped filming National Guard troops around D.C. since his arrest. There are plenty of videos at his account @freedc20009.

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    Matt Novak

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  • Darth Vader balloon faces uncertain future as fans rally for its revival

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    BEING NEW BALLOONS TO ONE OF THE POPULAR SHAPES EVERY YEAR IS THAT DARTH VADER BALLOON. BUT THE FUTURE IS ACTUALLY UNCERTAIN, AS THAT BALLOON IS AT THE END OF ITS LIFESPAN. SO NOW THERE’S AN EFFORT TO KEEP THE TRADITION ALIVE. PEYTON SPELLACY JOINS US LIVE FROM THE PARK WITH MORE ON THIS STORY. HEY, PEYTON. HEY, GOOD MORNING TODD, I WANT TO SHOW YOU YODA IS BEING SET UP RIGHT NOW. NOW, HIS COUNTERPART, DARTH VADER, IS NOT SO LUCKY. LIKE YOU SAID, HIS FLYING DAYS ARE NUMBERED. BUT FOR NEARLY TWO DECADES, HE’S BEEN LOOMING LARGE OVER BALLOON FIESTA PARK. HE’S A FAN FAVORITE FROM THE GALAXY FAR, FAR AWAY. BUT THIS CREW SAYS HIS FLYING DAYS AREN’T OVER WITHOUT A FIGHT. THE BALLOON IS 19 YEARS OLD. IT’S REALLY A LONG TIME FOR A SHAPE, AND SO WE WE REALLY EXPECT WE CAN CONTINUE THE STORY. BENOIT LAMBERT HAS BEEN FLYING THE STAR WARS SPECIAL SHAPE SINCE 2007, AND SAYS FROM THE MOMENT HE SAW THEM, HE KNEW THE FORCE WAS STRONG WITH HIM. BUT TIME, EVEN FOR THE DARK SIDE, HAS TAKEN ITS TOLL. YOU CAN SEE IT START TO BE HARD BECAUSE THE FABRIC STARTS TO BE DEFLATED ON THE NECK, BUT IT’S PART OF THE PROCESS. DARTH VADER MAY BE GROUNDED, BUT HIS CREW ISN’T THROWING IN THE LIGHTSABER YET. THEY’RE FUNDRAISING TO REBUILD IT BECAUSE IT’S MORE THAN JUST A BALLOON. IT’S THE SHOW EVERYONE’S LOOKING FOR. WE HAVE 100 TROOPERS AROUND MY BALLOONS. DARK SIDE. IT’S THE KIDS THAT’S SEEING THE KIDS SEE ACTUAL CHARACTERS IN REAL LIFE. BUT IT’S NOT JUST FOR KIDS. FANS OF ALL AGES ARE DRAWN IN. COME ON, EVEN THE BIG KIDS COULD GET SOME BIG KIDS. I SAW THE STORMTROOPERS WITH THEIR LIGHTSABERS AND THEIR GUIDES AND I WAS LIKE, WE NEED TO FOLLOW THEM. KATRINA’S A FIRST TIMER AT FIESTA, BUT THE FORCE IS STRONG WITH HER. I EVEN HAVE A TATTOO RIGHT HERE WITH THE DEATH STAR IN THE MIDDLE OF MY SUNFLOWER. AS SOON AS I GET SOME TIME, I’M GOING TO GET ONLINE AND I’M GOING TO DONATE TO YOU GUYS BECAUSE I THINK THIS IS SOMETHING MAGICAL THAT WE NEED TO SEE EVERY YEAR. THAT PASSION, GIVING THE CREW HOPE THAT ONE DAY SOON THE SITH LORD WILL RISE AGAIN. DO YOU THINK HE’LL MAKE A RETURN? I HOPE SO, YES. THAT’S MY PLAN. YES. IF YOU WANT TO SEE THESE CHARACTERS ALONGSIDE DARTH VADER, YOU CAN DONATE ONLINE. WE HAVE THAT LINK ON OUR WEBSITE, BUT FOR NOW, LOOKS LIKE DARTH VADER AND YODA WILL BE FLYING. MAYBE STATIC, MAYBE YODA WILL BE FLYING OVER HERE AT OUR ONE MARKER REPORTING LIVE

    Darth Vader balloon faces uncertain future as fans rally for its revival

    Updated: 1:17 AM EDT Oct 10, 2025

    Editorial Standards ⓘ

    The Darth Vader balloon, a fan favorite at the Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque, New Mexico, for nearly two decades, faces an uncertain future as its fabric deteriorates, prompting efforts to keep the tradition alive.Beniot Lambert, who has been flying the “Star Wars” special shapes since 2007, said, “So the balloon is 19 years old. The fabric starts to behold. So we are planning a way to continue the story.”Lambert noted the toll time has taken on the balloon, saying, “You can see it start to behold because the fabric starts to be deflated on the neck. But it’s part of the process.”Despite the challenges, the crew is determined to rebuild the balloon, recognizing its significance beyond just being a balloon.Video below: ‘Star Wars’ opens in theaters”We have 100 troopers around my balloons,” Lambert said.The balloon’s appeal extends beyond children, drawing fans of all ages. One first-time attendee, Katrina Bustillos, shared her excitement, saying, “I saw the stormtroopers with their lightsabers and their guides, and I was like, we need to follow them.”Bustillos, who has a tattoo of the Death Star, expressed her commitment to the cause, saying, “As soon as I get some time, I’m going to get online and I’m going to donate to you guys, because I think this is something magical that we need to see every year.”The crew remains hopeful that the Sith Lord will rise again, with Lambert expressing his optimism, “Do you think he’ll make a return? I hope so. Yes, that’s my plan.”

    ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. —

    The Darth Vader balloon, a fan favorite at the Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque, New Mexico, for nearly two decades, faces an uncertain future as its fabric deteriorates, prompting efforts to keep the tradition alive.

    Beniot Lambert, who has been flying the “Star Wars” special shapes since 2007, said, “So the balloon is 19 years old. The fabric starts to behold. So we are planning a way to continue the story.”

    Lambert noted the toll time has taken on the balloon, saying, “You can see it start to behold because the fabric starts to be deflated on the neck. But it’s part of the process.”

    Despite the challenges, the crew is determined to rebuild the balloon, recognizing its significance beyond just being a balloon.

    Video below: ‘Star Wars’ opens in theaters

    “We have 100 troopers around my balloons,” Lambert said.

    The balloon’s appeal extends beyond children, drawing fans of all ages. One first-time attendee, Katrina Bustillos, shared her excitement, saying, “I saw the stormtroopers with their lightsabers and their guides, and I was like, we need to follow them.”

    Bustillos, who has a tattoo of the Death Star, expressed her commitment to the cause, saying, “As soon as I get some time, I’m going to get online and I’m going to donate to you guys, because I think this is something magical that we need to see every year.”

    The crew remains hopeful that the Sith Lord will rise again, with Lambert expressing his optimism, “Do you think he’ll make a return? I hope so. Yes, that’s my plan.”

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  • These Star Wars Strains Will Give You The Perfect Escape

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    Looking for something to distract you and make you feel good? These classic Star War strains will help you kick back and enjoy the wonder of the universe.

    Need a little escape from the world around you? Want to slip in a new yet familiar environment? As of 2023, the Star Wars universe had a worldwide box office revenue of about $10.3 billion. Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens (2015) is the highest-grossing Star Wars movie of all time. It is ranked number one on a list of fandoms, ahead of Marvel. Will, the Star Wars strains will give you the perfect escape to let you take a breather from the world?

    Be a Skywalker

    Skywalker was created by the Dutch Passion Seed Company. They crossed two of their award-winning Indicas – Blueberry and Mazar – to produce Skywalker, which they intended to be “one of the best Indicas in the world.” The top flavors and aromas of Skywalker are earthy, woody, and spicy, with hints of sweetness and fruitiness.

    Skywalker OG is a Sativa dominant, marijuana hybrid. Skywalker OG is well-known for its relaxing and euphoric effects, making it an excellent choice for stress relief and pain management. This strain is often used to alleviate symptoms of anxiety, depression, and insomnia. The Kush is highly potent, with THC levels up to 21%, on average.

    Skywalker OG Kush (“No. There is another… Sky… walk…errrr.”) is an Indica derived from Skywalker crossed with an OG Kush. Vape it with a Skywalker OG 710 KingPen.

    RELATED: Great Fall Whiskeys

    Sour Skywalker (“That name no longer holds any meaning for me.”) is a half and half Sativa/Indica strain. Its ancestry is Sour Diesel crossed with Skywalker OG. It has a dank, pungent smell of earth and lemon, as well as a sour flavor with fruity notes of citrus and lemons. It has an intense yet calming, indica-driven body buzz matched with intense, euphoric cerebral effects. It’s an effective treatment for muscle spasms, chronic pain, insomnia, and stress.

    Photo by Flickr user Irudayam

    Favorite Characters

    C-3PO is a Humboldt County hybrid that was created by Petrolia Farms. With the smell of fresh pine, C3PO delivers relaxing effects with mental clarity due to its high CBD. It has low 1% THC count and high 12-15% CBD count. C-3PO’s levels making it an excellent choice for medical marijuana patients suffering from depression and stress, just like its robotic, neurotic namesake.

    R2-D2 Kush is an Indica-dominant hybrid strain, that smells reminiscent of Pine Sol, which come to think of it, is probably what R2-D2 smells like when he needs an oil bath. It is hard and quick hitting to really whisk you into a different place.

    RELATED: Marijuana Use And Guy’s Member

    The Jedi Masters

    OG Darth Vader is a strong, Indica marijuana hybrid that induces an intellectual high, combined with an opiate-like body relaxation. The effect is deep and long lasting. The Vader Force force comes through in its effects, which provide complete body relaxation and sleepiness. Ideal for treating insomnia, this strain may not knock you out immediately, but it will definitely quiet the mind and put all major productive plans on hold.

    OG 1 Kenobi is an is an 80/20 Indica-dominant marijuana hybrid, with 18-23% THC levels. It is a cross between Master Kush and Skywalker OG hybrid, and is often mistaken for Skywalker OG. The force is strong with Kenobi. This strain is not for pot padawans. It might knock you out, just like Kenobi knocked out Anakin Skywalker before he fell into the lava pit. Although, if you have serious, chronic pain, you might say, “Help me, OG 1 Kenobi, you’re my only smoke!”

    Master Yoda is cross between OG Kush and Master Kush. Yoda is an Indica dominant marijuana hybrid. he original Master Yoda would know, and the sativa side of this mostly indica buzz has just enough of an uplifting balance to please just about anyone.  Relax you will!

    Jedi Kush (aka OG Jedi) is a pure Indica marijuana, with a 2% CBD count and THC levels between 19-25%, on average. Jedi buds are spade-shaped, like Star Destroyers, with orange and purple undertones, like Mace Windu’s lightsaber. The effects are almost comparable to micro-dosing.

    And of course…the ultimate

    Death Star is a fully operational 75/25 Indica dominant hybrid with a high THC content. It is a cross between Sensei Star and Sour Diesel. Just like the DS-1 Orbital Battle Station, this hybrid hits hard, so it is better for evening and nighttime use. Crush it up in a Death Star inspired grinder.

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    Anthony Washington

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  • James Earl Jones, iconic voice of Darth Vader in ‘Star Wars’ and Mufasa in ‘The Lion King,’ dead at 93

    James Earl Jones, iconic voice of Darth Vader in ‘Star Wars’ and Mufasa in ‘The Lion King,’ dead at 93

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    (CNN) — You can’t think of James Earl Jones without hearing his voice.

    That booming basso profundo, conveying instant dignity or menace, was Jones’ signature instrument. It brought power to all his stage and movie roles, most indelibly as Darth Vader in “Star Wars,” Mufasa in “The Lion King and as the voice of CNN.

    That remarkable voice is just one of many things the world will miss about the beloved actor, who died Monday, according to his agent. He was 93.

    Jones was with family when he died, according to his representative. No cause of death was shared.

    Jones had a distinguished career that spanned some 60 years and took him from a small-town theater in northern Michigan to the highest reaches of Hollywood, where he appeared in dozens of movies and TV series.

    Voicing Darth Vader

    In the mid-1970s “Star Wars” creator George Lucas cast towering British actor David Prowse as the guy inside Darth Vader’s black suit, but decided he wanted someone else to voice the character.

    “George thought he wanted a – pardon the expression – darker voice,” Jones once told the American Film Institute. “I lucked out.”

    Back then nobody imagined “Star Wars” would become a blockbuster, let alone an enduring franchise and cultural phenomenon. Jones recorded all his lines in a few hours and was not listed in the film’s credits. He said he was paid just $7,000 for the movie, “and I thought that was good money.”

    The actor and Lucas had disagreements about how he should voice the villainous Vader.

    “I wanted to make Darth Vader more interesting, more subtle, more psychologically oriented,” Jones said. “He (Lucas) said, ‘No, no … you’ve got to keep his voice on a very narrow band of inflection, ‘cause he ain’t human.”

    Darth Vader’s climactic duel with Luke Skywalker in 1980’s “The Empire Strikes Back” became a dramatic high point in the “Star Wars” series – punctuated by Jones’ delivery of one of the most famous lines in movie history: “No, I am your father!”

    Jones said that almost two decades later, when he was voicing the dignified Mufasa for Disney’s animated “The Lion King,” it took him a while to strike the right tone.

    “My first mistake was to try and make him regal,” Jones said of the 1994 film.  “And what they really needed was something more like me. “They said, ‘What are you like as a father?’ and I said, ‘Well, I’m really a dopey dad.’

    “And so they began to impose my facial expressions onto Mufasa, and a different tone of voice. Yeah, he was authoritative, but he was just a gentle dad.”

    A prolific career

    Jones was born in 1931 in Mississippi. His father, Robert Earl Jones, left the family before James was born to become an actor in New York and Hollywood, working with playwright Langston Hughes and eventually earning supporting roles in hit movies including “The Sting.”

    Jones’ family moved from Mississippi to Michigan when he was 5, a traumatic upheaval that caused him to develop a stutter. His fear of speaking rendered him almost mute until he got to high school, where a poetry teacher helped him overcome his disability by encouraging him to read his poems aloud.

    “He began to challenge me, to nudge me toward speaking again … toward acknowledging and appreciating the beauty of words,” Jones said.

    Jones studied drama at the University of Michigan, served as an Army Ranger and then moved to New York, where he soon landed lead roles in Shakespearean stage productions. He made his film debut in 1964 as a bombardier in Stanley Kubrick’s “Dr. Strangelove.”

    In 1967 Jones was cast as troubled boxer Jack Johnson in a theatrical production of “The Great White Hope,” a career-changing role that won him a Tony. He reprised the role three years later in the film adaptation, becoming only the second African American man, after Sidney Poitier, to be nominated for an Academy Award.

    By the mid-1970s Jones was working steadily in movies and TV – a prolific run that never slowed. Over the next five decades he appeared in many memorable roles: As Alex Haley in TV’s “Roots:The Next Generations,” warlord Thulsa Doom in “Conan the Barbarian,” an African king in “Coming to America,” Kevin Costner’s reluctant recruit in “Field of Dreams,” Admiral Greer in “The Hunt for Red October” and “Patriot Games” and a South African preacher in “Cry, the Beloved Country.”

    The power of speech

    In 2019 he again voiced Mufasa in Disney’s remake of “The Lion King,” becoming the only cast member to reprise his role from the first film.

    Over the years he also guest-starred in dozens of TV series, from “L.A. Law” to “Sesame Street,” appeared regularly on the stage and lent his deep, rumbling voice to everything from “The Simpsons” to a popular audio recording of the King James version of the Bible.

    Jones said people in public sometimes didn’t recognize him until they heard his voice.

    “When you don’t talk it’s like going ninja,” he told Rachael Ray in 2016. “You get in the taxi and say where you’re going and the guy turns around and says, ‘Hey, aren’t you that Darth Vader guy?’”

    Over his long and prolific career Jones won three Tonys, two Emmys, a Grammy, a Golden Globe and numerous other awards. He also lent his voice to CNN’s tagline, “This is CNN,” complete with a dramatic pause after “This …”

    “It wasn’t acting. It was language. It was speech,” he said when asked what aroused his passion for acting. “It was the thing that I’d … denied myself all those years (as a boy). I now had a great — an abnormal — appreciation for it.

    “And it was the idea that you can do a play — like a Shakespeare play, or any well-written play, Arthur Miller, whatever — and say things you could never imagine saying, never imagine thinking in your own life,” he told the Academy of Achievement in 1996.

    “You could say these things! That’s what it’s still about, whether it’s the movies or TV or what. That what it’s still about.”

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    CNN

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  • Oreo’s Special Edition Star Wars Cookies Are Here to Feed Your Inner Wookiee

    Oreo’s Special Edition Star Wars Cookies Are Here to Feed Your Inner Wookiee

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    Image: Oreo

    Oreo has dropped a collaboration with Lucasfilm featuring special edition Star Wars sandwich cookies. Fans will be able to buy packs of the classic treat representing either the light side or dark side of the Force.

    The fun catch? You won’t know which side you’ve got until you actually open the package. Each pack will feature one of two different color fillings: red for the dark side and blue for the light side—both infused with “kyber” sugar crystals inspired by lightsaber cores. The Oreos also feature heroes or villains embossed on the cookies themselves, with characters like Darth Vader, Darth Maul, and a stormtrooper representing the dark side, and Luke Skywalker, Yoda, and Princess Leia representing the light side. In total, there will be 20 iconic characters featured.

    The limited time Star Wars Oreo cookie packs will be available for presale starting May 30 at Oreo.com/StarWars and they will begin rolling out at retailers nationwide June 10. Take a look at the designs in the gallery ahead!

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    Sabina Graves

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  • Hasbro’s New Star Wars Toys Embrace the Dark Side

    Hasbro’s New Star Wars Toys Embrace the Dark Side

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    Image: Hasbro

    Star Wars products love a theme moment—Force Friday, Triple Force Friday, whatever the Force Friday equivalent for Rogue One was called. Maybe they just love Fridays, but now Lucasfilm and its merch partners are capitalizing on a whole month to sell you things, with a specific villainous twist.

    This March is now Imperial March, because, well, duh, and Lucasfilm is planning a bunch of new merchandise announcements with a suitably evil theme. Hasbro is leading the charge with a wave of new figures from Jedi: Fallen Order, Ahsoka, and classic Star Wars across its 6″ and 3.75″ toy lines, and although “Imperial March” will be long done by the time any of them come out, it’s still nice to see what’s in store for the baddies on your shelves this year.

    The Jedi: Fallen Order three-pack (featuring the vision of an Inquistor Cal Kestis, the Second Sister, and a Purge Trooper) will release this spring exclusively through Amazon for $75, while the Vintage Collection Captain Enoch and Night Trooper pack ($55), as well as the individual Darth Vader and Stormtrooper releases ($17 each), will be available from Hasbro Pulse and other retailers this summer. Click through to see pictures!

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    James Whitbrook

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  • Hayden Christensen Is Glad the Star Wars Prequels Got Their Reappraisal

    Hayden Christensen Is Glad the Star Wars Prequels Got Their Reappraisal

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    We live in a golden age of Star Wars prequel renaissance. The biggest stories right now all go back to the age of the prequel trilogy, its stars—some of them at least— are returning left and right. Arguably the most important character in the galaxy right now, Ahsoka Tano, was born from Clone Wars’ own diligent relitigation of the prequels’ perceived downfalls. And few people are as happy about that as Hayden Christensen.

    “It’s been a remarkable experience. And just a very heartwarming one. The journey that I’ve been on with Star Wars over the last 20 plus years… it’s been a wild ride, and where we’re at now is really meaningful to me,” Christensen recently told Empire in a wide-ranging interview about his time as—and return to—Anakin Skywalker, across Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, and now in Obi-Wan Kenobi and Ahsoka. “I think that those movies have held up well over time. It feels like vindication for the work that we did. Everyone that worked on those movies thought that we were part of something special. We all wanted to do our very best work, and we cared a lot about it. And so to see the response from the fans now, it’s very cool.”

    Christensen bore the brunt of a lot of the complaints about the prequels’ general acting performances at the time—perhaps only up there with Jake Lloyd and Ahmed Best as specifically heightened targets of vitriolic abuse. But the cultural re-examination that has occurred over the last 25 years, as the children who grew up watching the films became adults, has seen Star Wars in turn more keen to re-explore the legacy of the films and return to their ideas with a similarly more matured eye. For Christensen, that potential to appreciate what the prequels did for Star Wars was there since he very first watched.

    “When Episode I came out, there was a lot of excitement that they were making a new Star Wars, and it was going to be the backstory of Darth Vader. But I had friends that were upset that the character was starting off as this young kid. And I watched the film, and I loved it. It was everything I wanted and more. And I didn’t understand the disconnect between the movie that I saw, and the negativity in some of the reviews,” Christensen continued. “In a way that sort of criticism, I think, comes from a certain failure of their own suspension of disbelief. If you’re gonna go sit in a theatre, and the opening scroll starts with, ‘A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away’, that’s setting the stage that anything is possible. These people don’t need to sound and behave the way that we might expect. And if you’re going to sit down and think that you’re getting something that is of our current zeitgeist, then you’re setting yourself up for something else.”

    Such is the cyclical nature of Star Wars. We’re already seeing this idea of expectation and reality furiously being applied to the fallout of the sequel trilogy—even nearly five years on from its end, that cycle will be an interesting one to experience as we move even further on, and the current prequels renaissance declines from its greatest prominence. Time will tell, just as it did for Hayden Christensen.

    Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

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    James Whitbrook

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  • Does McConnell’s Exit Signal The End Of Marijuana Prohibition

    Does McConnell’s Exit Signal The End Of Marijuana Prohibition

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    Mitch McConnell embraced being called the Darth Vader. For 17 years he has commanded the GOP Senate, and, had an oversized influence in the larger Republican Party. In the last year, he has been plagued by a divided party, a tussle with a former president, and health issues.  So it was only a somewhat surprise he announced he was stepping aside in leadership.  Politicians are lining up to take his place and he will have a tough go until November when he relinquishes the position. But does McConnell’s exit signal the end of marijuana prohibition?

    RELATED: Science Says Medical Marijuana Improves Quality Of Life

    McConnell has been proud of remaking the Senate and accomplishing his personal political goals. While Senator, he and his wife has amassed a fortune of $35 million while stopping small marijuana business owners from getting ahead. Born in a different era, McConnell is a conservative from the old school, legal marijuana, LGBT rights, expanded voter access and are enemies to him.  As the legal state by state cannabis industry has blossomed to $20+ billion in sales filling state coffers, McConnell only grew more firm in his stand to block federal legalization.

    Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

    Congresswoman Nancy Mace (R-SC), a strong ally of the industry, said publicly what everyone is thinking.  If McConnell is a no on federal legalization, it is a no go.  He has stonewalled the SAFE Banking Act multiple times. When the Senate flipped, Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Patty Murray (D-WA) put forward the SAFER Banking Act with a bipartisan group only to have it die due to the House’s leadership chaos.

    McConnell has been fine going against public opinion when making policy he feels is correct. Marijuana federal legalization has over 87% of public approval and veterans groups have pleaded for support on cannabis for help with PTSD.  Both appeals have fallen on the deaf ears of the Grim Reaper. And he has seemed pleased when he wins a major battle against the public and voters.

    RELATED: People Who Use Weed Also Do More Of Another Fun Thing

    While his loss indicates a positive for the cannabis industry, there is a downside.  Like the House, the Senate could get swept up in a power play as the players reshuffle who is control. Meaningful legalization could come to a standstill without strong, focused leadership whipping votes.  With the Biden administration hesitate to move forward in the campaign procmises, the cannabis industry is holding its breath.

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    Terry Hacienda

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  • Ahsoka Episode 1 Review: It Really Is Star Wars: Rebels 2

    Ahsoka Episode 1 Review: It Really Is Star Wars: Rebels 2

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    You could certainly accuse creators within the Star Wars franchise of needlessly injecting their media with heavy doses of fan service, and Ahsoka series creator Dave Filoni might be the guiltiest of them all. There’s a reason a tweet from April 2023 sharing a fake page from a Filoni script that follows the famous “and my ax” format from The Lord of the Rings but with Star Wars characters is so funny—because it feels, in part, like something the man blessed with George Lucas’ trust would try to pull off.

    Fortnite Introduces Force Abilities In Latest Star Wars Collab

    Read More: Your Essential Ahsoka Refresher Before The New Star Wars Series

    There are moments throughout the first episode of the new Disney Plus Ahsoka series that feel a bit like that tweet, and a bit like Filoni, who helmed the animated Star Wars: Rebels series, just wanted to finish telling that show’s story. But even though the frequent nods to content and characters from that beloved series may sometimes make Ahsoka feel like it’s only for the initiated, it still manages to be a compelling standalone story in its own right—maybe not as well as Andor does, but far better than, say, The Book of Boba Fett.

    Stream it now: Disney+

    The start of the Ahsoka series

    Ivanna Sakhno as Shin Hati in a promotional poster for Ahsoka.

    I can fix her.
    Image: Lucasfilm

    Ahsoka begins with something that makes me genuinely squeal with delight: a traditional Star Wars opening crawl (though in a striking red font), filling you in on the key story beats you’ll need to know going in. This is a brilliant move by Filoni—not only does it help Ahsoka feel more like a full-blown film (which it does throughout the first two episodes that aired on August 23 thanks to fantastic VFX and excellent pacing), but it gives a little bit of context for fans who may not have sat through some 200 episodes across two different kids’ shows.

    The crawl tells us that Morgan Elsbeth, an ally to Imperial Grand Admiral Thrawn, has been captured by Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) and is being transported by the Rebel Alliance. Cue a giant Rebel ship sweeping into view, and a nice look at how the new government is running—a ship sending out an old Jedi signal is asking to board, but the Rebel captain thinks its passengers are bluffing. Most of the Jedi were wiped out during The Clone Wars, remember?

    The captain was right to suspect them, because it turns out they’re two red-lightsaber-wielding bad guys named Baylan Skoll (RIP Ray Stevenson) and Shin Hati (Ivanna Sakhno). Both Stevenson and Sakhno shine in their respective roles—Stevenson playing Baylan like a classically trained Shakespearean villain, Sakhno imbuing Shin with a feral, twitchy energy like a corner feral cat. They kill everyone on the ship and release Elsbeth (Diana Lee Inosanto, who first played the role on The Mandalorian), who tells Baylan that there’s someone after the “map”: Ahsoka Tano.

    This is an early reminder that Filoni likes the toys in his sandbox a bit too much, as Inosanto’s somewhat bizarre line-read (she just says the name “Ahsoka Tano” before it cuts to the show’s title card) would have been so much more powerful if she never said it all. Instead, we just get snapped right to the name of the show. Listen, Ahsoka is Filoni’s best girl (and mine, too), so I’ll let him have this one.

    Ahsoka showrunner Dave Filoni and Rosario Dawson onstage at Star Wars Celebration 2023.

    Dave Filoni loves Ahsoka Tano.
    Photo: Kate Green / Disney (Getty Images)

    Then we see Ahsoka herself, walking through the ruins of what appears to be an old Jedi temple. It’s great to see Dawson physically embody the role—she is reserved, almost stoic as she moves through this space, but still occasionally offers flashes of playfulness that remind us of a younger Ahsoka. And, thankfully, her fucking lekku are finally the right length. In a scene that feels straight out of Indiana Jones, Ahsoka uses her dual lightsabers to slice through the ground and drop straight into a secret room that demands she complete a puzzle to get the object she’s looking for. She does so with ease, but when she tries to communicate with Huyang (a Jedi engineer droid voiced by David Tennant), she realizes something’s not right.

    She’s attacked, and we get our second lightsaber fight of the show before we even hit the 15-minute mark (hell yeah). The fight is choreographed well, and it’s clear that the team made sure Dawson’s movements (and that of her stunt double, Michelle Lee) echo Ahsoka’s competency with many fighting styles—she can move swiftly and lithely when needed, but stand tall and powerful to deflect hard hits or blaster shots as well.

    It’s a great fight, but it’s the scene afterwards that gives me pause—Dawson, clearly trying to embody an older, more stoic Ahsoka than the one we know from the animated shows, can occasionally feel stiff, a stark contrast to the lively take that voice actor Ashley Eckstein brought to the character. This could, perhaps, be because this is a much older Ahsoka Tano than the teenage girl in Clone Wars (she’s certainly more reserved in Rebels, and she’s in her forties now), but it feels jarring, especially since she is such a beloved character. As my partner said during the first episode, “Those contacts don’t help, do they?” Dawson feels the most like Ahsoka when she invokes a sort of bemused disdain, which we luckily get more of in the second episode.

    Ahsoka and her rebels

    Natasha Liu Bordizzo as Sabine Wren rides a purple and yellow speeder bike.

    I love a motomami.
    Image: Lucasfilm / Entertainment Weekly

    Ahsoka believes the map will help lead her to the location of Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen), the last leader of the Empire and its heir apparent. At the end of Rebels’ final episode (which aired back in 2018), Jedi Ezra Bridger used hyperspace-traveling space whales called purrgil to banish himself and Thrawn to the remotest corner of the universe. Ahsoka hopes that the map will find them both, so that she can save Ezra and also prevent Thrawn from retaking his mantle as imperial leader and plunging the galaxy back into war.

    She’ll need help, however, so she turns to two of her oldest and closest allies: General Hera Syndulla (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo). Here is where Ahsoka slows down a bit too much for some, as it tries to give the audience a better understanding of the dynamics between these three women, which were properly fleshed out across 75 Rebels episodes. Ahsoka used to train Sabine, a Mandalorian warrior and close friend to Ezra, as her Padawan, before it became clear that the two weren’t a good fit, and they both fought alongside Hera (who lost her partner, a Jedi named Kanan Jarrus) in the rebellion for years.

    Unfortunately for Dawson, her reserved approach to Ahsoka only makes it harder to fully dig into her relationship with Hera (who Winstead plays like a concerned but feisty aunt through several pounds of some of the worst FX makeup I’ve ever seen) and Sabine (who Bordizzo portrays beautifully as a brash, angsty riot grrrl who uses her cool speeder bike to do an Akira-esque slide when you first meet her). Whenever they’re interacting, she feels more like an exasperated mom than a former pain in the ass herself (which Ahsoka was, just ask her older master, Anakin Skywalker). It’s unfortunate, but I’m hoping that the three women stretch and flex into their roles in future episodes.

    Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Hera Syndulla, standing in a bomber jacket and goggles.

    Awoop, jumpscare.
    Image: Lucasfilm / Entertainment Weekly

    Aside from the trio’s dynamic, however, Ahsoka looks and feels great. The lovingly recreated locations from the animated series (Ahsoka’s ship, the planet Lothal, Ezra’s crow’s-nest home that Sabine now lives in), all look amazing, like something out of a full-fledged Star Wars blockbuster. The animatronic Lothal cat has dethroned Grogu as the cutest Star Wars puppet in my opinion, and aside from Ashoka’s contacts and Hera’s far-too-cartoony outfit, the costuming and set-dressing are all top-notch. The lightsaber battles crackle and snap—there’s energy in every swing of the sword or blaster deflection that feels purposeful and well-directed, and the ASMR-heavy moments (Ahsoka twisting and turning stone columns to complete a puzzle, Sabine shifting a metal sphere to reveal a map) are tactile and almost sensual.

    The episode ends with a fantastic lightsaber fight—Sabine, ever the stubborn one, takes the map off of Ahsoka’s ship despite her protestations, and discovers exactly where it leads before she’s attacked by Shin and her droids. Sabine gets a saber straight through her abdomen, something that Star Wars doesn’t do all that often (I gasped so loud I woke up one of my cats), and it fades to black. We know Sabine survives, but will her already fractured relationship with her former master, Ahsoka?

    There’s love in every Ahsoka detail, like a jade heart sewn into the pocket of your jeans. You just have to allow for the hope that, like all things, it’ll get better with age.

    Stream it now: Disney+

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    Alyssa Mercante

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  • The Darth Vader Clapper Lets You Use Force Clap on Your Appliances

    The Darth Vader Clapper Lets You Use Force Clap on Your Appliances

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    Command your appliances and lamps like a Sith Lord with this Star Wars-themed outlet controller. The Darth Vader Clapper has two sound effects. It says “The Force is strong with this one” when you clap on, and “You underestimate the power of the Dark Side” when you clap off. There’s also a C-3PO version.

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    Lambert Varias

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  • Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Is Really That Good, Seriously

    Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Is Really That Good, Seriously

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    Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is really, really good. You’ve probably heard this already. Our own review and other reviews of the game have praised it quite a bit. But this isn’t a review. Instead, this is just us reaffirming that, yeah, it really is as good as so many other people have claimed. In fact, some of us at Kotaku are already penciling it in for our Game of the Year list.

    The Week In Games: Return To Hyrule

    The Week In Games: Return To Hyrule

    And don’t worry, no spoilers below.

    For those just tuning in, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is the follow-up to 2019’s Jedi: Fallen Order. And just like before, in this latest adventure from Respawn and EA, players take on the role of Cal Kestis, a Jedi who survived the purge as a young boy and who now hangs out with his ragtag found family of misfits as they try to free the galaxy from the Empire. Oh and also try not to get caught by all the people hunting them down. (And there are a lot of people after them.) To bring down the Empire, outrun their enemies, and save the day, Cal has to do a lot of jumping, sliding, climbing, fighting, and exploring. And in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor all of this—every jump, lightsaber swing, wall climb, and more—feels great.

    Jedi Survivor is one of those games that just feels fantastic to play. Controlling Cal quickly becomes effortless while either platforming or fighting. You stop thinking about pressing buttons or whatever and instead Cal feels like a natural extension of your own body. And to be clear: The first game played really well. But Survivor just feels more honed in, with every part of the game seemingly built to be fun and satisfying to play.

    EA / Lucasfilm

    Whenever folks playing the game at Kotaku talk about Jedi: Survivor, it usually evolves into people just gushing about the latest sequence they experienced or just trying to describe how awesome combat or platforming felt during their last play session. A lot of the time people don’t even say full sentences, instead going “Ahhh, man… so good” or “Uhhh it’s sooo great” or making other noises that aren’t words but convey how much they are enjoying it.

    I’ve heard some complaints about how animations look in the game, and I get that sometimes they might look janky, but this is just because Respawn has clearly prioritized input and feel over how it looks. So yes, watching someone play as Cal as he jumps around platforms might look odd, but playing it feels heavenly. I’m not sure about others, but I rarely fast-travel in this game because moving around the planets you visit is such a blast that fast traveling often feels like I’m missing out on one of the best parts of Jedi: Survivor. When simply moving and jumping in a game feels this good, you know you got something special.

    Jedi: Survivor Is Way Better Than Just A Star Wars Game

    It can be easy to assume that all the hype around this game is just because it’s Star Wars, but even some non-Star Wars fans around these parts are having a blast with the game. Again, when you start to drill down into why, it ends up coming back to how mechanically satisfying and fun Jedi: Survivor is to play. You don’t need to know or care about the Clone Wars or Jedi or the Force to enjoy Cal sliding down a cliff, leaping into the air, force-dashing further, and then grabbing onto a distant rope to swing over a group of enemies that you eviscerate in seconds with your laser sword. That’s just universally cool stuff.

    And while I just said it’s great not just because it’s a Star Wars game, it’s still an awesome Star Wars game. I’ll have more to say about this in the near future, but something I appreciate about Survivor is just how Star Wars-y this game truly is. Crusty alien cantinas, weird but loveable characters, dangerous bounty hunters, cute droids, excellent music, genuinely charming friends, cool ships, and all the perfect sound effects.

    EA / Lucasfilm

    This is Star Wars at its finest (and weirdest), and an example of how AAA games can be big and yet still feel like each aspect was designed with care. In other words, they can still be incredible if done right. Other devs, take note of sequences like everything leading up to and directly following the moment you get the crossguard stance, or the amazing escape sequence on Jedha. More of this, please!

    Sure, the game has some performance issues, but even those can’t stop us (and the rest of the internet) from playing and enjoying this latest and possibly greatest Star Wars video game. Good luck to everything else coming out in 2023!

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    Zack Zwiezen

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  • Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Already Has Better Lightsabers Than Fallen Order

    Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Already Has Better Lightsabers Than Fallen Order

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    Screenshot: Lucasfilm / EA

    New gameplay from the upcoming Star Wars Jedi: Survivor seems to reveal that, unlike in the first game, the sequel will finally let Jedi Cal Kestis slice up stormtroopers and other human enemies. And that’s a good thing, as this much-wanted change makes lightsabers feel powerful and deadly again.

    The lightsaber is one of the coolest pieces of Star Wars tech and genuinely one of the best fictional weapons ever created. Instantly iconic, the weapon and its sounds are so ingrained in our minds that when grown adult actors in Star Wars movies or shows are handed a prop lightsaber they make all the hums and whoosh noises like they were eight years old again. And I don’t blame anyone for loving the lightsaber. It’s a powerful laser sword that can cut off limbs, slice through metal doors, and it comes in rad colors. What more could you want? But for a long time, most Star Wars games—including 2019’s Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order—haven’t let you really slice and dice with these iconic laser blades, treating them more like glowing bats.

    Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Combat Stances Explained

    However, in new gameplay released by IGN yesterday, we see that this doesn’t appear to be the case in Survivor. In a neat video going over how the game’s combat stances work, the devs showcase Cal fighting different enemies while explaining how his various moves will work and how stances factor into combat.

    That’s all fine and dandy. But more interesting to me is what happens during the fight against some Imperial scout troopers at around 4:14:

    Gif: IGN / EA / Lucasfilm / Kotaku

    Look at that! Cal just cut a dude’s leg off. And if you look around the floor at that point in the video you can see at least two more cut-off limbs, likely from earlier in the fight. This is exciting!

    Kotaku reached out to EA and Respawn about this dismemberment and was told “The footage is what it is” and that the publisher wouldn’t provide any additional comment.

    For many years now, Star Wars games have made lightsabers feel pretty weak as it can often take dozens of hits to kill a random enemy and you never get to cut off limbs or do real damage to your target unless they are a droid or random animal. In an interview in 2019, Respawn senior designer Justin Perez seemed to imply Lucasfilm and Disney weren’t okay with lightsabers cutting off arms or legs. This was further backed up by people who worked on season 7 of The Clone Wars, which is also mentioned in that IGN interview from 2019.

    So, I had assumed that was just how things would work. Cal could kill all the innocent animals and aliens he wanted, but he couldn’t chop any limbs off of stormtroopers. But it appears that Disney and Lucasfilm have either relaxed this rule or given Respawn a pass.

    Either way, I’m excited to play Star Wars Jedi: Survivor and cut off some legs when it launches on April 28, 2023 for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.

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    Zack Zwiezen

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  • Deepfake: Post The Bruce Willis Controversy What Disruption To Entertainment Could Be Caused

    Deepfake: Post The Bruce Willis Controversy What Disruption To Entertainment Could Be Caused

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    At the beginning of October there were numerous reports that veteran actor Bruce Willis had sold the rights to his face to deepfake company, Deepcake. Though these rumors were debunked by an official spokesperson for the actor the conversations around the technology have continued. How could it be used positively for the industry in the future and could it negatively impact actors?

    Willis announced his retirement from acting in March after being diagnosed with a speech disorder known as aphasia. There was a report that he had sold the rights to his face, that major news outlets including the Daily Mail and The Telegraph ran with. Though untrue, it did get people’s imaginations running about the possibilities through using the technology.

    Deepfakes use artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning technology to render realistic videos. The tech has so far been used to mimic celebrities and other well-known individuals with surprising accuracy. Willis had worked with Deepcake before on a deepfake project, an advert for Russian telecoms company Megafon.

    The advert was shot and aired in 2021 and a Russian actor had Willis’ face superimposed over his using deepfake technology.

    The production, through Deepcake, had to collect numerous materials from Willis and his consent to use his likeness in the advert.

    In a statement from Deepcake, they shed more light on the controversy surrounding the report.

    “The wording about rights is wrong… Bruce couldn’t sell anyone any rights, they are his by default,”

    The quote implies that Willis couldn’t sell his rights even if he wanted to, however, his participation in the Russian advert implies otherwise. Perhaps not long-term, but it could certainly be done on a project-by-project basis.

    If just materials were needed for Willis to be replicated so accurately, anyone could be deepfaked with the requisite archives. For those in the public eye, most of those materials are in the public domain already.

    Some organizations have come out and said the technology would affect actors’ livelihoods and even that they could be contracted out of their voices and/or faces. Regardless the business is growing.

    Deepfake technology has been used for recently retired Darth Vader actor James Earl Jones. His voice as Vader can continue and was recently used on Disney’s Obi-Wan Kenobi series through a company called Respeecher. The voice was even made to sound younger and more relevant to the timeline the show is set-in.

    The growth of the tech does bring the points of rights into question. Could estates that represent deceased celebrities position themselves for their individual to carry on their legacy using deepfake technology? Is it ethical to do so? Music is still released from musicians that have passed away. Michael Jackson, Pop Smoke, and Tupac are notable examples. Though they may have recorded the vocals did that mean they wanted the tracks released? Starting a new project using their likeness is potentially even more controversial, as it’s something they can’t comment on in live terms.

    Willis’ situation is much more unique as he can decide which projects to lend his name and likeness to, with this could we see another layer to performance with actors playing actors portraying characters in the future?

    The continued development of the technology will certainly be something to look out for as another perspective is that characters could live on irrespective of what happens to an actor. Scheduling conflicts could become a thing of the past. The passing of Chadwick Boseman is a prime example. Clearly, no one wanted to replace Boseman but it was pivotal that the Black Panther character continued, with Disney deciding to continue a storyline post the death of T’Challa.

    Speaking with Empire, Marvel head Kevin Feige said about the matter, “It just felt like it was much too soon to recast,”

    “Stan Lee always said that Marvel represents the world outside your window. And we had talked about how, as extraordinary and fantastical as our characters and stories are, there’s a relatable and human element to everything we do. The world is still processing the loss of Chad. And Ryan poured that into the story.”

    There’s a lot to unpack in regards to ethics and processes but there is certainly the potential for mass disruption using deepfake technology.

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    Josh Wilson, Contributor

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