Star Wars Bits: Daisy Ridley Has Read ‘Episode 8’, Rogue One Details, Han Solo Casting

This edition of news from a galaxy far, far away includes:

Daisy Ridley has read the Episode 8 script
Star Wars in Concert will be back in 2016
A NASA engineer explains how real Death Star would be built
Some real military personnel will be extras in Rogue One
The Death Star model from A New Hope was once lost
Stephen Colbert convinces Harrison Ford to do The Force Awakens
Star Wars: Kanan comic book will be canceled in 2016
How do you cast a young Han Solo?

Star Wars: The Force Awakens is out there now, and soon enough everyone will move on to being excited about Star Wars Episode VIII. In fact, Daisy Ridley already knows what’s in store for her new character, as she revealed that she already ready the script. When asked whether she read what Rian Johnson had cooked up, she said, “I have. It’s very good; very good. Let’s see VII first and then we’ll talk about VIII.” I’m sure we’ll be talking about VIII plenty in the future. For more from Ridley, read the full interview over at Variety.

Star Wars in Concert will be making a comeback in 2016 after touring around the world in 2009 and 2010. The previous iteration of the concert had Anthony Daniels (who plays C-3PO) hosting, telling the story of Star Wars in between music pieces that were accompanied by clips from the movies on a massive screen behind the orchestra. Now the concert will return in 2016, and if you want to find out how to get tickets as soon as they are available, sign up over at the official Star Wars in Concert website.

An engineer at NASA explained how a Death Star would be built if it were real.

Some real military personnel got to be extras for Star Wars: Rogue One. An article at Forces.TV (via MakingStarWars.net) explains that about 40 current and former members of the Royal Navy, the British Army and the Royal Air Force were hired to play X-Wing pilots and ground crew in Rogue One. That should add a nice level of authenticity to the proceedings. It’s not the first time Star Wars has used real military personnel in a movie, since some Marines played the Special Edition Stormtroopers with dewbacks in A New Hope.