Ever since the first teaser for "Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens" was released last November, "Star Wars" fans have been especially intrigued by one new character who was introduced.

That character wore a black cape, hood, and carried a unique three-pronged lightsaber:

In June, director J.J. Abrams confirmed to Vanity Fair what many had already suspected: this would be the chief villain of "The Force Awakens." His name is Kylo Ren and he will be played by Adam Driver.

This is a big change of pace for Driver. Driver's breakout role came in 2012 with the debut of HBO's "Girls." For his performance as Adam Sackler, Driver has already been nominated for three Emmys. Driver has also made prominent film appearances in 2013's "Inside Llewyn Davis," 2014's "This Is Where I Leave You," and 2015's "While We're Young."

For those curious to know more about Kylo Ren, J.J. Abrams revealed a few more details about the latest villain to Entertainment Weekly earlier Wednesday in a new cover issue.

Ren is described as a "Vader obsessive," perhaps somebody who idolizes Vader and aspires to replicate his reign of terror over the galaxy. Like Vader, he also wears a mask. 

“The movie explains the origins of the mask and where it’s from, but the design was meant to be a nod to the Vader mask,” Abrams told EW. “[Ren] is well aware of what’s come before, and that’s very much a part of the story of the film.”

Also, like Vader, the name that Ren goes by is likely a title, and not his actual birth name. Just like "Darth" is not a real name, it seems that "Ren" is simply a title.

“He is a character who came to the name Kylo Ren when he joined a group called the Knights of Ren,” Abrams said.

"The Force Awakens" director didn't go any further than that.

One thing Abrams briefly explained further, however, is Ren's lightsaber, which has been driving fans crazy for months.

"The lightsaber is something that he [Ren] built himself, and is as dangerous and as fierce and as ragged as the character,” Abrams said. 

Nobody quite knows what Kylo Ren's overall is, but between his lightsaber and his outfit, he appears to be something of a self-made man. He is somebody who has seen evil and thinks he can replicate it. However, a photo released by EW implies that he could be working with the First Order in some form.

You'll be able to find out even more about Kylo Ren on December 18 when "Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens" opens in theaters.

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NOW WATCH: Meet the dark side of the new 'Star Wars' cast

Though the next "Star Wars" movie, "The Force Awakens," doesn't open until December 18, there's been no shortage of news about the saga.

One of the most exciting announcements was that an upcoming"Star Wars" anthology film would focus on a young Han Solo.

Entertainment Weekly reported Thursday some new details about the project. Here's a breakdown of everything we know so far about the standalone movie on one of the galaxy's most lovable scoundrels.

1. The directors behind the "21 Jump Street" films and "The Lego Movie," Phil Lord and Chris Miller, have signed on to direct the film.
2. The movie will be released May 25, 2018.
3. EW got a sense from Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy that the film will include a lot of familiar faces including Solo's wingman Chewbacca, Lando Calrissian, Jabba the Hutt, and even Greedo.
4. Lawrence Kasdan, screenwriter for "The Empire Strikes Back,""Return of the Jedi,""The Force Awakens," as well as "Raiders of the Lost Ark" is writing the screenplay.
5. No actor has been hired yet to play Solo. In fact, according to the EW story, "they aren't even close in that department."
6. According to Kennedy, the Solo stand-alone will likely focus on him at the age of "the high teens, low 20s."
7. It's possible we'll also see Solo's wife. From the movies we believe that at the end of "Return of the Jedi" Solo and Princess Leia are an item, but it turns out from the current comic books Marvel is releasing on events that happened between "A New Hope" and "The Empire Strikes Back," Sana Solo, Han's wife, shows up to her husband's surprise.

As we see here:

SEE ALSO: Why Stormtroopers look different in "Star Wars: The Force Awakens"

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Disney is set to reveal its anticipated line of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" toys next month in stores on September 4.

The toys have supposedly been under lock and key for months in preparation of keeping them hidden from the public eye until next month, but it looks like some retailers may have spoiled parts of the big reveal.

Photos of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" action figures began appearing online Thursday. Star Wars site Jedi Temple Archives appears to have stumbled upon the first figures, which may have been sold at a Walmart.

Some of the toys were seen on eBay, selling for a high price of $99.99. Their retail price is set at a reported $9.99.

Here are the ones we've seen on eBay:

A Kylo Ren action figure complete with his three-pronged lightsaber.

Finn (John Boyega) out of his stormtrooper suit we've seen him inside in trailers:

Here's the back of his box which gives a description of his character.

And a closer look at that character description:

It reads: "A trained warrior desperate to escape his past, Finn is plunged into adventure as his conscience drives him down a heroic, but dangerous, path." So, is Finn trying to escape his past as a stormtrooper?

Other toys are popping up on eBay from seller 1000thghost.

This one's cool. The new Flametroopers:

Here's a figure referred to as a resistance trooper.

Here's a First Order Stormtrooper. We're pretty familiar with this guy after the San Diego Comic-Con exclusive Black Series figurine.

Here are some of the others. We've seen all of these characters introduced beforehand so far in trailers or Star Wars: Celebration.

There's Captain Phasma (Gwendoline Christie).

Her character is described as the commander of The First Order's legions of troopers.

That probably means she's in charge of all of these troops.

Here's Rey who will be played by Daisy Ridley. Her character box mentions Starkiller Base, which is interesting because that's supposed to be the base of the First Order. 

And X-Wing pilot Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac).

Most curious are two figurines of Darth Vader and a young Luke Skywalker. It should be noted that the packaging for both toys does not include "The Force Awakens" on it.

The biggest reveal was a toy for a new character called Contable Zuvio. 

You can see he was teased on the back of the box for another character:

Here's how his toy looks:

Here's a closer look at Zuvio.

A few sellers are auctioning off sets of 12 toys for $100 or more. One seller has the figurines going for $455.

We have reached out to Disney Consumer Products for comment and will update this post if we hear back.

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NOW WATCH: We just learned a bunch of new details about what's coming up in the next 'Star Wars' movie

It's been a long time since a movie has generated as much fervent anticipation as "Star Wars: The Force Awakens." Due in theaters this Christmas, the movie is expected by some to gross more than $2 billion at the worldwide box office.

Expectations are incredibly high for the JJ Abrams-directed sci-fi epic, but there's no guarantee that "The Force Awakens" will please everybody. 

Produced by Graham Flanagan. Camera by Corey Protin.

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With only about four months left before "Star Wars" makes it's grand return to cinemas with "The Force Awakens," we're finally starting to get a sense of what the film will be about.

In addition to tantalizing details about all sorts of things — including villain Kylo Ren— Lucasfilm released a number of new images via Entertainment Weekly Thursday.

Since then, the studio has released high-resolution versions of the images on the Star Wars Facebook page for fans to obsessively pour over. 

Let's take a look at them. 

John Boyega plays Finn, a Stormtrooper on the run following what looks like a disastrous escape.

J.J. Abrams gives direction to Daisy Ridley, who plays a character named Rey, on the desert world of Jakku.

There, she'll free the droid BB-8 loose from a scavenger's strange new beast.

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When people think of "Star Wars," George Lucas is usually the first name that comes to mind.

However, let's not forget about Lawrence Kasdan.

Screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan is responsible for some of the greatest entries in the "Star Wars" franchise. Kasdan is credited as a co-writer for both "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi." The 1980s were clearly a very good decade for him: he also wrote the screenplay for "Raiders of the Lost Ark."

In LucasFilm's massive push to return the franchise to its former glory, Kasdan has been brought on board for both "The Force Awakens" and the upcoming Han Solo spin-off film.

However, according to Entertainment Weekly, Kasdan actually turned down an offer to work on the original "Star Wars" prequels. However, the Han Solo project intrigued him. 

“They said, ‘Here are the things that we’d like to make movies about,’ and I said, ‘Oh, well, Han Solo. I would write a movie about Han Solo. He’s always been my favorite.’ And that’s the job that I took,” Kasdan told EW.

The presence of Ford in "The Force Awakens" might have made Kasdan want to come back to the franchise, given that he co-wrote two of the actors' most iconic roles.

However, writing two "Star Wars" films at once is a tricky endeavor. So, Kasdan sought out someone to help him out. He decided to recruit his son Jon.

“Since I did not expect to be sidetracked like this, when I came back to it I said to [Lucasfilm president] Kathy [Kennedy], you know, I would like Jon to write this with me,” Kasdan said. “I could use some inspiration and Jon is really good, and he’s full of energy for the project, and I said, I think Jon would be a good one to do this. And we went forward that way.”

While this is the first major feature Jon has worked on, he still has a few solid credits to his name. He wrote and directed 2007's "In the Land of Women" and 2012's "The First Time." He also wrote for the show "Dawson's Creek" and is credited with story and teleplay for the "Freaks and Geeks" episode "The Little Things."

The Kasdan family has a surprisingly strong hold on Hollywood. Kasdan's other son, Jake, has made a name for himself as a comedy director, working on TV shows such as "New Girl" and "Freaks and Geeks" and the great, underrated "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story."

The still untitled Han Solo standalone movie will be out in theaters on May 25, 2018. "The Force Awakens" will be out in theaters on December 18.

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Posters are one method for studios to sell their films.

Years later, many of the best ones can end up becoming collector's items.

Sometimes, movies will switch up the posters when going overseas. Some take a lot of creative liberties, and others might even manage to create something even better than their American counterparts.

This is what the posters for some of your favorite movies look like in other countries

Here is the poster that accompanied the original 1984 release of "The Terminator." This was before anyone realized that the man on the poster would become one of the most famous people in the world.

Poland took some interesting, creative liberties with how they sold "The Terminator" to audiences. Perhaps the bright colors represent what it is like to see in T-800 vision.

The American poster for "Jurassic World" intimidated us with the breathtaking size of the park's newest creature, Mosasaurus.

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Here it is. 

Just announced and rolled out at the D23 event this weekend, our first look at a new official poster of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens."

As io9 notes, the art is drawn by Drew Struzan, who has a long track record doing posters for 'Star Wars' movies.

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We finally have our director for "Star Wars: Episode IX"!

Colin Trevorrow will be stepping into the director's chair for the ninth installment of the "Star Wars" saga. 

Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn made the announcement at the studio's annual fan convention D23 Saturday. 

Trevorrow had recent success with Universal's surprise summer blockbuster "Jurassic World" starring Chris Pratt.

The film broke several box-office records, including highest-grossing opening weekend, and has now made over $1.5 billion worldwide. 

Trevorrow is also known for his indie hit, "Safety Not Guaranteed."

“This is not a job or an assignment. It is a seat at a campfire, surrounded by an extraordinary group of storytellers, filmmakers, artists and craftspeople," said Trevorrow in a press release from Lucasfilm. "We’ve been charged with telling new stories for a younger generation because they deserve what we all had—a mythology to call their own. We will do this by channeling something George Lucas instilled in all of us: boundless creativity, pure invention and hope.”

We won't see Episode IX for some time. The film will conclude the new trilogy of "Star Wars" films in 2019 which kicks off this December 18 with "Star Wars: The Force Awakens."

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NOW WATCH: We just learned a bunch of new details about what's coming up in the next 'Star Wars' movie

There is a lot of "Star Wars" news Saturday!

Disney and Lucasfilm announced the director for "Star Wars: Episode IX," revealed the first poster for "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," and revealed plans for a massive "Star Wars" expansion into its theme parks at fan convention D23.

The studio also announced the first standalone "Star Wars" spin-off movie "Rogue One" has begun principal photography, and celebrated by showing off the first cast photo for the film.

You can check it out below:

The standalone film will take place before the events of "Star Wars: A New Hope" following a group of resistance fighters who are working together to steal plans to the Death Star. Gareth Edwards ("Godzilla") will direct the movie. 

“It goes into new territory, exploring the galactic struggle from a ground-war perspective while maintaining that essential Star Wars feel that fans have come to know," said Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy in a press release. "Gareth is such an innovative director and I’m so excited to be working with him and the extraordinary ensemble cast he’s selected for ‘Rogue One.’” 

Here's a quick breakdown of who will star:

Oscar nominee Felicity Jones ("The Theory of Everyting")
Diego Luna ("Milk")
Ben Mendelsohn (Netflix's "Bloodline")
Hong Kong action star and martial artist Donnie Yen ("Blade II")
Jiang Wen ("Let the Bullets Fly")
Oscar winner Forest Whitaker ("The Last King of Scotland")
Mads Mikkelsen ("Hannibal,""Casino Royale")
Alan Tudk will play a performance-capture character
Riz Ahmed ("Nightcrawler")

"Rogue One" will be released December 16, 2016.

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Here it is. 

Just announced and rolled out at the D23 event this weekend, our first look at a new official poster of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens."

As io9 notes, the art is drawn by Drew Struzan, who has a long track record doing posters for 'Star Wars' movies.

Join the conversation about this story »

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Disney announced a ton of new theme park attractions coming to its parks in California and Florida, Saturday at fan event D23.

Among them are several new "Star Wars" experiences including a launch bay, an update to its popular "Star Tours," and "Star Wars"-themed lands.

Let's take a closer look at everything "Star Wars" coming to Disneyland and Disney World.

Disney CEO Bob Iger took the stage at the company's biannual fan event D23 Saturday to unveil new "Star Wars"-themed lands coming to Disneyland in Anaheim, California and Hollywood Studios in Orlando, Florida's Walt Disney World Resort.

“We are creating a jaw-dropping new world that represents our largest single themed land expansion ever," said Iger. "These new lands at Disneyland and Walt Disney World will transport guests to a whole new Star Wars planet, including an epic Star Wars adventure that puts you in the middle of a climactic battle between the First Order and the Resistance.”

The lands will include two big attractions.

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Ever since his breakout role in 2013's "Inside Llewyn Davis," Oscar Isaac has become one of Hollywood's most reliably great actors. He has often been compared to actors such as Al Pacino and Robert De Niro.

After an Oscar-worthy turn this year in "Ex Machina," Isaac prepares for the next huge move of his career. In December, he will play pilot Poe Dameron in "Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens."

Before becoming the acclaimed actor that he is today though, Isaac took a different path to show business success. He took all the guitar skills he picked up as a child and tried to make a living as a musician.

While living in Florida, where he grew up, Isaac served as frontman for a ska-punk band called The Blinking Underdogs. Isaac was a member of the band long before he went off to acting school at Julliard.

The group formed in Miami. During their brief run together, the band had some strong successes. They performed at Warped Tour and even opened for Green Day.

The group disbanded in 2001. The last news update on their website, posted on September 24, 2001, comes from band member Nick and announces Isaac's departure:

Hello everyone, Nick here. For those of you who don't know we are taking a break as of now while Oscar attends acting school at Julliard in NYC. We will be playing on his breaks or whenever we can. Check back here for shows that will be booked in the future.

Another bit if info on the band, when we do get back together, it is going to be a different band than what it was when we were a 6 piece. We aren't going to have horns, after losing Alan it just wasn't the same group horn wise and the song writing has been steering away from that style a bit. Most likely the group will be a 4 piece, 2 guitars, bass and drums. This past summer we experimented with this grouping and it seemed to work very well. That's it for now, check back for more in the near future.

Nick

While the Blinking Underdogs are no longer together, they continue to exist online. 

A fan page for them exists on Facebook. This page includes lots of old photos of the band performing. In many of them, Isaac is barely recognizable. Most of their songs are up on online as well.

A few of them can be found on YouTube:

Creative people often don't like to talk about their early projects. Sometimes, they might be embarrassed by them. In an interview with The Telegraph, Isaac admitted that he isn't very proud of his abilities as a lead singer.

"I was never much of a singer. I was terrible," he admitted. "It’s embarrassing, I was trying to sound like everybody else. I went through a big Cure phase so I was trying to do that kind of dramatic voice."

Yet, this helped him with his career in a big way.

Isaac's breakout role came in "Inside Llewyn Davis." In the film he plays a musician struggling to make it in the 1960s Greenwich Village folk scene. One of the reasons he was eventually cast in the film was for his abilities to actually sing and play guitar. 

Maybe he wasn't great as a lead singer, but he sure makes a good solo act:

You can see Isaac next in HBO's new series "Show Me a Hero" which premieres August 16 at 8 p.m. He'll be in "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" when it hits theaters December 18, 2015.

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NOW WATCH: Here's why the new 'Star Wars' movie might stink

The big news out of Saturday’s D23 Expo was that Colin Trevorrow, fresh off of directing Jurassic World all the way to what will soon be the second biggest domestic box-office haul of all time, will direct Star Wars Episode IX.

Whether this landed as good news or not likely depended on whether you saw Jurassic World as a popcorn-y thrill ride through the familiar terrain of one of your favorite blockbusters, or as a clunky, clumsy, art-less mess. (Unless you’re one of those weird people with moderate, non-strident opinions? What’s that like?)

One of the most fascinating things about Trevorrow’s rise to blockbuster prominence is that this all rose out of a modest, likable little indie movie called Safety Not Guaranteed.

Starring Jake Johnson, Mark Duplass, and Aubrey Plaza, the film was well-reviewed (Roger Ebert called it ambitious and touching), it made a good little bit of money for an indie, won a couple of awards for its screenwriter Derek Connolly, but never really crossed over into the mainstream the way some breakout indies do.

When it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January of 2012, it occasioned some bidding competition from Fox Searchlight and the Weinstein Company before settling at Film District, but nothing that would justify calling it a bidding “war.”

It was one of about a dozen or more movies that emerged from Sundance 2012 with good buzz, but it was far from the headliner.

That slot was probably held by Beasts of the Southern Wild, the true crossover of that year’s festival, making three times as much as Safety at the box-office and ultimately nabbing Oscar nominations for screenplay, actress, directing, and Best Picture.

But now, three and a half years later, Beasts director Benh Zeitlin—Oscar nomination affixed to his resumé—is still working on his follow-up film, while Trevorrow has ensconce himself in the heart of big-studio blockbuster filmmaking.

And he’s not the only alumnus of Sundance’s class of 2012 to have caught the eye of the major studios.

Rashida Jones and Will McCormack co-wrote that year’s Sundance romantic comedy attraction Celeste and Jesse Forever, another film that did solidly okay but wasn’t exactly igniting movie houses ablaze.

Three years later, Jones and McCormack appeared on stage at D23 as the screenwriters of Pixar’s hugely anticipated Toy Story 4.

Before Selma made her one of the most sought-after filmmakers in the business, Ava DuVernay showed up to Sundance in 2012 with her intimate romantic drama Middle of Nowhere.

DuVernay would win the directing award at the festival, then spend the next few months trying to get Middle of Nowhere seen (it never played on more than 25 screens across America in its two-month theatrical run), and the next two years trying to get Selma made.

Earlier this summer, the blockbuster film community was abuzz that Marvel was going to hire DuVernay to direct 2018’s Black Panther, which would have made her the first person of color and first woman to direct a film within the ultra-lucrative Marvel Cinematic Universe.

It was never confirmed, and weeks later DuVernay shot those rumors down, saying that she and Marvel had “different ideas about what the story would be.”

That Marvel and DuVernay had conversations about the project highlights what’s become a demonstrable trend: major studios are finding their talent amid the up-and-coming Sundance class.

In fact, second only to the 2012 Sundance alums for blockbuster success might be the 2012 SXSW film festival class, which that year gathered together 21 Jump Street’s Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (currently writing/directing Warner Bros. The Flash movie AND the Han Solo Star Wars anthology film), Cabin in the Woods’ Drew Goddard (screenwriter on Fox’s The Martian; once rumored to direct a Sony/Marvel Sinister Six movie), and Sinister’s Scott Derrickson, who will be directing next year’s Marvel Cinematic Universe entry Doctor Strange.

The world of blockbuster filmmaking is only getting bigger.

Whether that translates to swallowing up indie talents as it grows or giving a platform for directors to make the leap from a small canvas to a massive one may be in the eye of the beholder.

Either way, it seems that the path to blockbuster success has definitely opened up a new detour through Park City.

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Walt Disney has been gutting Disney World's least-visited park, and on Saturday we got the first official glimpse into the replacements that will fill the void during the D23 expo.

Star Wars Land and Toy Story Land will be added to Disney's Hollywood Studios in the coming years, probably with a name change for the park itself along the way.

The upgrades are long overdue, and the theme-park leader has been closing attractions at Disney's Hollywood Studios at an alarming pace.

Star Wars Land will be a game changer. Toy Story Land isn't as inspiring, but it will make the park more entertaining for young families.

However, with Disney failing to provide a timeline for the actual debut of either expansion project, it's a safe bet that we won't be seeing Toy Story Land for another year or two, and it may take several more years before we get to pilot the Millennium Falcon.   

Disney moves slow.

It announced the Avatar expansion at Disney World's Animal Kingdom four years ago, teaming up with James Cameron to bring his blockbuster franchise to life.

We're still waiting.

Disney offered a sneak peak of Pandora: The World of Avatar over the weekend, and even though it's been under construction for a couple of years in plain sight it won't be until 2017 when guests can enjoy the richly themed expansion.

Disney closed one of the only two rides in EPCOT's World Showcase last year, and it will take nearly two years just to transform it into a Frozen-themed boat ride. Regional amusement parks announce rides at the end of the summer, setting them up during the offseason.

Disney doesn't move at that speed, even when the end result is a simple attraction. 

Toy Story Land shouldn't take long to flesh out.

It's basically a carnival-style flying saucer spinning ride themed to the little green aliens from Pixar's original movie and a Slinky Dog-fashioned kiddie coaster.

It's also expanding capacity at the existing Toy Story Mania 3-D shooting gallery ride, but that's been in the works for months. There's no new "E-ticket" attraction here. It will merely satisfy the need for incremental attractions at a park with voids to fill.

The same can't be said for Star Wars Land.

It will be amazing. It will be a tourist draw. It will encourage guests to travel down to Florida, drumming up attendance at the park that has been Disney World's least visited park for the past few years.

It gives Disney the opportunity to offer the same kind of high-tech and immersive experiences that its biggest rival has been adding lately.  

By the time Star Wars Land opens -- and with no official timeline for when it actually does we're probably talking 2018 or later -- investors will have an entirely different slate of challenges and opportunities to consider. Disney moves slow, and that only works out if you're a patient investor.

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If you've been holding out on buying a PlayStation 4, this may convince you to change your tune. 

This November, Sony will release a limited edition Darth Vader-inspired PS4 with a repeating "Star Wars" logo across the top of the system. 

The announcement was made at Disney's D23 Expo event in Anaheim, California Sunday.

Let's take a closer look at it!

Here's the limited edition Darth Vader-inspired PS4.

Check out the "Star Wars" logo across the top of the console.

It's a beauty!

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Disney revealed a lot of "Star Wars" news over the weekend at fan celebration D23 for its upcoming movies. 

Lucasfilm is working on a total of six "Star Wars" movies that will span across the next several years. Three will be part of a new ongoing trilogy, while the others will be standalone films referred to as anthology movies.

Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn introduced the "Star Wars" projects in the works at D23 with a helpful timeline showing when fans can expect (most of) the new films.

Take a look.

The three movies part of the new trilogy are at the top, while the standalone movies are shown across the bottom portion of the timeline. 

The only film missing from here is the third "Star Wars" standalone feature which is expected to be released somewhere after "Star Wars: Episode IX" in 2020.

Here's a closer look at when each of those films will be released:

• "Star Wars: The Force Awakens": December 18, 2015
• "Star Wars" anthology film "Rogue One": December 16, 2016
• "Star Wars: Episode VIII": May 26, 2017
• The second "Star Wars" anthology film about a young Han Solo: May 25, 2018
• "Star Wars: Episode IX": May 2019

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Meet the dark side of the new 'Star Wars' cast

Ever since his breakout role in 2013's "Inside Llewyn Davis," Oscar Isaac has become one of Hollywood's most reliably great actors. He has often been compared to actors such as Al Pacino and Robert De Niro.

After an Oscar-worthy turn this year in "Ex Machina," Isaac prepares for the next huge move of his career. In December, he will play pilot Poe Dameron in "Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens."

Before becoming the acclaimed actor that he is today though, Isaac took a different path to show business success. He took all the guitar skills he picked up as a child and tried to make a living as a musician.

While living in Florida, where he grew up, Isaac served as frontman for a ska-punk band called The Blinking Underdogs. Isaac was a member of the band long before he went off to acting school at Julliard.

The group formed in Miami. During their brief run together, the band had some strong successes. They performed at Warped Tour and even opened for Green Day.

The group disbanded in 2001. The last news update on their website, posted on September 24, 2001, comes from band member Nick and announces Isaac's departure:

Hello everyone, Nick here. For those of you who don't know we are taking a break as of now while Oscar attends acting school at Julliard in NYC. We will be playing on his breaks or whenever we can. Check back here for shows that will be booked in the future.

Another bit if info on the band, when we do get back together, it is going to be a different band than what it was when we were a 6 piece. We aren't going to have horns, after losing Alan it just wasn't the same group horn wise and the song writing has been steering away from that style a bit. Most likely the group will be a 4 piece, 2 guitars, bass and drums. This past summer we experimented with this grouping and it seemed to work very well. That's it for now, check back for more in the near future.

Nick

While the Blinking Underdogs are no longer together, they continue to exist online. 

A fan page for them exists on Facebook. This page includes lots of old photos of the band performing. In many of them, Isaac is barely recognizable. Most of their songs are up on online as well.

A few of them can be found on YouTube:

Creative people often don't like to talk about their early projects. Sometimes, they might be embarrassed by them. In an interview with The Telegraph, Isaac admitted that he isn't very proud of his abilities as a lead singer.

"I was never much of a singer. I was terrible," he admitted. "It’s embarrassing, I was trying to sound like everybody else. I went through a big Cure phase so I was trying to do that kind of dramatic voice."

Yet, this helped him with his career in a big way.

Isaac's breakout role came in "Inside Llewyn Davis." In the film he plays a musician struggling to make it in the 1960s Greenwich Village folk scene. One of the reasons he was eventually cast in the film was for his abilities to actually sing and play guitar. 

Maybe he wasn't great as a lead singer, but he sure makes a good solo act:

You can see Isaac next in HBO's new series "Show Me a Hero" which premieres August 16 at 8 p.m. He'll be in "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" when it hits theaters December 18, 2015.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Here's why the new 'Star Wars' movie might stink

"Rogue One" is going to be a different kind of "Star Wars" film. 

The first of three planned spin-off movies to be released in the years between Episodes VII-IX, they're an opportunity to tell stories in the "Star Wars" universe with a different sort of feel than the grand space opera fans know and love.

"Rogue One" takes place before "Episode IV: A New Hope" and tells the story of a group of resistance fighters and their mission to steal the plans for the Death Star. At this summer's recent D23 expo, the movie's cast was unveiled — and though we don't know the name of their characters or what roles they'll be playing, it's a pretty exciting bunch. 

Get to know the cast of "Rogue One":

Felicity Jones finally gets a big role after getting nominated for an Oscar last year.

More than any other cast member in this movie, there's some heavy speculation about who Jones will be playing in this movie. The favorite rumor right now is that she's the daughter of Boba Fett — but that's one to take with an enormous grain of salt given that Boba Fett is a name that is always thrown around by speculators whenever there's a "Star Wars" mystery to solve. 

While Jones has been acting since the late '90s — she's appeared on shows like "Doctor Who" and had a minor role in "Amazing Spider-Man 2" that would have ostensibly led to a bigger part in the now-scrapped series — she received much acclaim (and an Oscar nomination) for playing Jane Hawking opposite Eddie Redmayne in the Stephen Hawking bio pic "The Theory of Everything."

Ben Mendelsohn will likely play an intense villain.

A character actor with a penchant for playing villainous people in the States and a longtime leading man in his native Australia, Ben Mendelsohn is an actor you've almost certainly seen (most likely as Dagget in "The Dark Knight Rises") but whose face you'll likely recognize more than his name.

Mendelsohn is an intense, unsettling performer in his best roles (like Danny Rayburn in Netflix's "Bloodline"), and given that he doesn't seem to be pictured with Felicity Jones in the released cast photo, he might be playing a villain.

He does look like he'd be a good fit for an Imperial uniform, no?

Mexican actor Diego Luna also appears to suit up with the Rogue One team.

A Mexican actor who exploded on the scene with 2001's "Y Tu Mamá También," Diego Luna spent much of his career in Spanish-language cinema, occasionally surfacing in big films like  "The Terminal" and landing a pivotal role in the Academy Award-nominated "Milk." 

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Produced by Rob Ludacer

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