Star Wars

Here's George Lucas -- seller of Lucasfilm for $4 billion -- throwing down some $6 Asian noodles in a food court in Adelaide, Australia ... all by himself.

#ThaiFighter
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#C3PPho
#ImSolo

It's the kind of 'Star Wars' secret normally kept under lock and key, but the new "Shadow Trooper" just got exposed by Lucasfilm's need to make big money merchandising the character.

Lucasfilm filed docs to lock up the trademark to manufacture and sell all things "Shadow Trooper" -- such as clothing, footwear, toys, gymnastic and sporting articles, electronic games, Christmas stockings, Christmas tree ornaments, snow globes ... pretty much everything under Tatooine's 2 suns.

Shadow has already been introduced to the 'Star Wars' universe via video games, but hasn't been in any of the movies. This move is a strong sign that's about to change. 'Star Wars' geeks have speculated a debut in "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" ... which comes out in December.

Lucasfilm filed similar docs for Kylo Ren, BB-8 and Poe Dameron long before 'The Force Awakens' was released.

Filming for 'Star Wars: Episode VIII' is underway in Croatia and there are a lot of new faces on set.

We got pics of two new alien species ... and a land speeder, which looks like an upgrade from any of the pod racers in 'Episode I.' Then again, anything is an upgrade from 'Episode I.'

Production moved from a London studio to Dubrovnik this month and set designers got creative with the Old Town's gothic architecture ... giving it some 'Star Wars' flare! Filming is about 5 weeks in, but the movie won't hit theaters until December 2017.

Tony Dyson, the man behind the birth of 'Star Wars' character R2-D2 has died.

Sources close to Dyson tell TMZ Tony was recently at a convention in Holland and flew back to Malta where he lives. We're told Tony's girlfriend became worried when she couldn't contact him so she called the cops. When police went to Tony's house, they found his body.

Local reports say police are investigating, but at this time there's nothing suspicious about his death.

Tony was the technician behind the creation of the R2-D2 robot for 'Star Wars: A New Hope' in the '70s. Tony also did robotics work on "Superman II" with Christopher Reeve and "Dragonslayer" in 1981.

He was 68 years old.

R.I.P.

Rihanna dropped a big clue she's a hardcore 'Star Wars' fan just like everybody else Thursday during her night out on the NYC town.

RiRi dined at one of her favorite places ... Da Silvano in the Village.

The skirt's a knockoff of the old movie poster for 'The Phantom Menace' from the prequel trilogy ... so she clearly wasn't dressing to impress ... the original three or 'Force Awakens' is the proper attire for true aficionados.

Harrison Ford's busted leg on the set of 'The Force Awakens' just got the 'Star Wars' production slapped with 4 criminal charges in England.

The U.K.'s Health and Safety Executive brought the charges against Foodles Production Ltd. -- a Disney subsidiary -- claiming it violated health & safety codes when Han Solo went down during filming.

Back in June 2014 ... a hydraulic metal door on the Millenium Falcon slammed on Ford at Pinewood Studios. Foodles will have to face the judge in May.

Good thing they didn't see what happened to Han later during filming!

Mike D from the Beastie Boys was duly impressed J.J. Abrams gave an oblique shout-out to his group in the new 'Star Wars.'

The director named character Ello Atsy after the Beastie Boys album "Hello Nasty," and his helmet appears to have "Born to Ill" emblazoned on it.

It also seems another character, BB-8, may be a vague reference to the number of albums the group has recorded.

"Star Wars: The Force Awakens" is still in theaters -- but we already have major clues about "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story," a prequel to the original, 1977 'Star Wars.'

TMZ has obtained pics of what appear to be a classic X-Wing -- the Rebel fighter plane Luke Skywalker famously used to destroy the Death Star.

The new film will reportedly follow a group of resistance fighters attempting to steal plans for the Death Star.

Check out the pics ... this X-Wing has 4 engines, just like the original planes. The X-Wing featured in 'The Force Awakens' is a newer plane with 2 engines.

The pics were snapped at Pinewood Studios where the 'The Force Awakens' was also filmed.

'Rogue One' will be released December, 2016.

Before he was Finn in "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," John Boyega was just the suave dude repping the minority in a bunch of educational stock photos.

Boyega copped to taking the gig with Getty Images back in the day after someone shared them on his Twitter page. He says he used the money for a pair of Nike Air Force 1s and drama school ... so money well spent.

Everybody starts somewhere, kids.

J.J. Abrams had a big "thank you" dinner Thursday, no doubt heaping gratitude on Steven Spielberg ... the dude who got him the 'Star Wars' gig.

The most famous directors in the world dined at Craig's in WeHo, where J.J. no doubt profusely thanked the "Jurassic Park" director for singing J.J.'s praised to 'Star Wars' producer Kathleen Kennedy, saying he was a must hire.

Jason Wingreen, who voiced the villain Boba Fett in "Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back" and played Harry the bartender on "All In The Family" has died.

Wingreen died at his home in L.A. on Christmas day according to a statement from his son.

Wingreen, who has almost 200 credits to his name also appeared on "The Twlight Zone," "Archie Bunker's Place" and "The Untouchables."

The Hollywood Reporter, which broke the story, said he died after a brief illness.

He was 95-years-old.

R.I.P.

As the new 'Star Wars' film breaks box office records ... its former boss, George Lucas, vacationed in St Barts with his wife.

Lucas has been hanging on Paul Allen's famous yacht, Tatoosh, which is the 43rd biggest yacht in the world.

So while Lucas is missing out on this latest windfall, selling LucasFilm for $4 billion clearly had its perks.

This is the ominous photo that landed an 18-year-old "Star Wars" fanatic in jail.

As we reported, Arthur Charles Roy was taken into custody after posting this pic allegedly designed to threaten another fan who spoiled the plot for him.

Law enforcement says Roy threatened to go to the other guy's school in Helena, Montana and shoot him.

The pic of Roy brandishing a Colt 1911 semi-automatic with a hairpin trigger is the centerpiece of the case against him.

Roy has posted other scary pics in the past.

A teenage 'Star Wars' fan is in jail after threatening to shoot a friend who spoiled the plot.

Cops say 18-year-old Arthur Charles Roy became enraged after a Facebook friend revealed plot points.

Authorities say Roy, who lives in Helena, Montana, sent his friend a photo of himself, with a gun ... threatening to go to the friend's school and shoot him.

'Star Wars' is more powerful than first thought, because some moviegoers become so overtaken by characters like Chewbacca they actually assume their identity.

Comedian Harland Williams was stricken Monday night as he left the ArcLight in Hollywood with fellow comedian Adam Ray.

Everyone in the world is buzzing over the release of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" ... and the TMZ newsroom is no different -- so we whipped up a quick list of our favorite "Star Wars" characters to get you in the spirit for sci-fi.