I imagine that a lot of you, like me, have used the past few months being stuck inside to rewatch all the Star Wars movies. Also, if you’re anything like me, you now have an urge to redecorate your house with a Star Wars theme. If so, this blog is for you! I’ve selected my top 10 favourite Star Wars homeware products from EMP for you guys to explore. From bedroom to kitchen, there’s something for every room in your house on this list.
This is probably one of my favourite items on this list. These Vader and Trooper Salt and Pepper pots are so simple yet still really cool and will be great conversation starters at dinner parties (when we can have them again).
The Millennium Falcon is one of the most recognised ships from the franchise. Now you can own a miniature version and use it as a table lamp! This LEP lamp is highly detailed and can be placed in various different ways. I absolutely love it!
Need a place to put all your Star Wars books and comics? Well, this is the item for you. This Stormtrooper bookend comes with two highly detailed Stormtrooper heads. It could also be used as a Star Wars DVD holder (If people still buy DVD’s nowadays).
If you’re going to get any Star Wars Funko Pop set, it has to be this one. This set includes incredibly detailed figurines of Han Solo and Princess Leia and was created for the 40th anniversary of The Empire Strikes Back. They would definitely look amazing displayed in your living room or bedroom.
When decorating your bedroom, the choice of bed linen is incredibly important. I absolutely love this set as it’s quite simple but still incredibly cool and would suit all age ranges. It’s made from 100% cotton material meaning you’ll be super comfy and cosy in your bed!
This item is for the bakers! This baking mould in the shape of the Jedi Master Yoda is incredibly fun and will be the envy of all your friends. It’s both dishwasher and microwave safe so it will easily survive most conditions. I just know that this item will encourage anyone to start baking.
With these magnets, you can ensure that even your fridge has a Star Wars theme! This set includes 19 magnets picturing some of your favourite ships from the franchise. If you’re anything like me, you will be standing at your fridge for ages placing all the magnets in the right position to create the perfect battle scene.
With this doormat, you can now have Master Yoda greeting you as you come home! It measures 40 x 60 cm and is made of PVC and coconut fibre. The perfect item to liven up the doorway of any Star Wars lover’s house.
This ‘Join The Dark Side’ plate set is great for both kids and adults! The set comes with 4 plates that are all dishwasher and microwave safe. Perfect if you’re looking to have a Star Wars-themed dinner one evening.
Finally, to match the Dark Side Plates at no. 9, you can get this Fathers Day Glass Set. This set includes 2 glasses detailed with your favourite characters from the dark side.
Check out the wide range of other Star Wars merch from EMP here!
It began ‘A long time ago in a galaxy far far away’, and since the first Eponymous film in 1977, this pop culture phenomenon has attracted millions of fans worldwide. This epic space adventure has captivated the attention of children and adults alike, and nearly everyone knows at least one person who loves Star Wars. So with Christmas approaching faster than a Naboo Royal Starship, it’s time to shop like a Jedi Knight and find the perfect gift for the Star Wars fan in your life.
However, as the fifth highest grossing media franchise of all time, there is an almost uncountable number of products to choose from. With everything from Star Wars themed monopoly to diamond encrusted stormtrooper helmets, how do you avoid a galactic shopping battle through a sea of Merchandise?
1) Give up now – Even if you know your Air Shrimps from your Anooba’s, you could still get lost in a Star Wars themed dimension of the internet. It’s not worth the risk, and besides, nothing shows how much you care like a £10 Argos voucher.
2) Use the force. If you spent months in a cave on the planet Dagobah learning how to lift stuff with your mind, then it’s your time to shine. Remember the words of Master Yoda – Shopping you are. Patience you must learn.
3) Use this really helpful list of the 40 best gifts for Star Wars fans.
Gifts under £10
On a budget? No problem. Gifts that show you care without breaking the bank.
Finding Xmas presents for your friends and loved ones can be a pain sometimes and the risk of getting stressed out and gradually turning into The Grinch is pretty high! And that would suck as you’d be killing the Christmas spirit… kind of defeating the whole purpose of getting gifts in the first place right?!? It should be a pleasure and a way to show your dear ones that you care and thought about them – not a dreadful task you can’t wait to get done with.
Luckily if you’re looking for the perfect gift for a TV series and movie lover, the hunt for it could be easier than you think (and quite fun thanks to the variety of fan merch that exists out there…)
I’ve picked a selection of my favourite items from some of the cult TV programs and big screen classics and must sees!
Let’s start with gift ideas for a TV series addict:
STRANGER THINGS
The trailer for Stranger ThingsS3 went live a few days ago and we know that “in the summer of 1985, the adventure continues” – but here we literally can’t wait for summer 2019 to see what’s happening next to Eleven and the rest of the Hawkins’ gang.
This Xmas you can ease the pain of the wait for a Stranger Things fan by gifting them one of the following items/must haves:
The Walking Dead is one of those TV series that you either LOVE or HATE and don’t want to invest time on.
I am personally fully addicted to it and I’ve been faithful to the show despite the ups and downs of some episodes/seasons and the fact that they keep killing all my favourite characters 🙁 (even if they’re alive and well in the comics – RIP Carl).
If you know someone who’s as passionate about this show as me these items are going to make a killer present:
Supernatural is a GREAT show. No wonder it’s still going after 14 seasons (yeah FOURTEEN – not a typo instead of a 4 or a 10). The recipe of the show includes all you need for it to be a success: humour, drama, intensity, passion, suspense and just to make everything even better it has 2 extremely handsome main characters (raise your hand if you have a crush on Dean Winchester <3)… Supernatural just has it all!
So if you’re looking for a gift for a fan of the Winchester brothers’ adventures you’re in the right place:
Possibly one of the funniest TV series EVER, FRIENDS is an absolute evergreen – and thanks to Netflix and the 90s nostalgia there’s now a huge hype around it, giving us the chance to put our hands on some great merch!
Show your friends that you’re always there for them with one of these awesome presents:
So, winter is here… but ironically we have to wait until April 2019 for the final season of GOT! Whether your friend is rooting for house Stark, Targaryen, Lannister or Tyrell (or the Night King… why not?) to be sitting on the Iron Throne at the end of everything, we’re sure you’ll find the perfect gift for them here. Just a little something to help them get through winter and keep the hype up until the long awaited S9XE01 airs:
Rick and Morty is without a doubt one of the most disturbing and yet brilliant TV series out there – big fan! Extremely clever in its borderline nonsense, Rick and Morty gives space and freedom to a huge selection of crazy and outrageous merchandise.
If your friend or loved one has picked up lots of random catch phrases like “it’s time to get schwifty” or “wubba lubba dub dub” or “Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, biatch!” or they keep screaming “Pickle RIIIIIIICK” – then you have no choice but to get them a Rick and Morty Xmas gift, whether it makes sense to you or not:
Not so much into TV series? No problem, let’s talk about some of the most popular moviesout there!
THE LORD OF THE RINGS
One of my favourite film series without question is The Lord of the Rings – thanks J. R. R. Tolkien for writing this masterpiece <3 and to the casting director for picking Orlando Bloom as Legolas!
This Xmas give a precious gift to a Lord of the Rings fan:
Do I even have to sell it to you? Deadpool is simply brilliant and any fan of the movies/comics surely has a great sense of humour… so why don’t you spice things up a bit and go for a fun gift like one of these? Ryan Reynolds would approve:
Finding a gift for a fan of these brilliant Marvel movies/comics is pretty easy. I’m only going to say one word… GROOT.
No come on, I’m only joking (or am I?)… Our huge Guardians of the Galaxy merch range include other awesome items without solely focusing on the cutest tree ever:
Jason Momoa as Aquaman was surely an interesting casting decision, “slightly” differing from the comic character, but it surely paid off! Surprisingly I don’t see Khal Drogo while looking at Momoa’s great performance and James Wan did an incredible job. It’s been interesting to see him directing something different and stepping away from horror movies for the first time in a while.
A fan on the Aquaman comics and movie (or actor :P) is going to love any of these:
I’m a BIG Star Warsgeek and I love everything Darth Vader – so getting a Xmas present for me is really not that hard (just in case my Secret Santa is reading LOL). We have a HUGE selection of merch that is going to make any fan of the saga happy – whether they’d join the Dark Side or stick with the Jedi.
From adorable (but slightly annoying) Porgs, to all your favourite droids and more:
Christmas is almost here and with it comes the frustration of maybe not knowing exactly what to get for those close to you. However, if someone you know IS a Star Wars fan (there’s millions of us so chances are high) then look no further, I am here to help!
These things are great! You can rest your phone or gaming controller in its hands and charge them via the USB leads supplied. Highly recommended (also available as Darth Vader).
You can never go wrong with a good mug and this TIE Attack one looks fantastic. The metallic finish makes it look a bit different too which is always a good thing.
Pop culture brings about a lot of wonderment when it comes to the characters and their everyday lives – don’t you think? Like how long does Umbridge spend watching cat videos on Facebook? How many posey Instagram stories does Hercules post in a gym session? How long does The Joker spend stalking and blocking the guys that like Harley’s photos? And the ultimate one… what might a villain group chat look like?
Although EMP love to be able to answer all of those for you, we have the answer to one: an insight into a villain group chat in the form of Funko POP!s. That’s right. We’ve hacked Voldemort’s (Harry Potter) phone and we’ve got his conversation with Hades (from Disney’sHercules), Darth Vader (Star Wars), The Joker (DC Comics) and Demogorgon (Stranger Things) asking for advice on how to approach Game Of Thrones, Daenerys Targaryen when she moves onto a shelf near him. Watch the video below:
Now they might be some of the baddest boys in the industry, but man are they terrible wing men. The Joker’s most inspiring piece of advice is telling her she smells nice… not exactly the most appropriate compliment coming from a man with no nose.
Darth Vader comes in with a less than helpful anecdote when he suggests Voldemort shares the story about how he was defeated by a small child, to which Voldemort hits back with ‘at least I wasn’t defeated by my own child’. BURN.
The banter continues back and forth until Voldemort finds the courage of a Gryffindor to approach the Queen and her dragon.
***SPOILER*** IF YOU HAVEN’T WATCHED THE VIDEO DON’T READ AHEAD!
This is when the iconic large head of a Funko POP! let’s the Dark Lord down and he stumbles and falls right in front of her. Now we all know Daenerys is used to having guys fall at her feet but we recon this is the first time a wizard has.
I think we’ve learnt from this video that Voldemort will probably have the turn to love potion after that embarrassment; Hades is about as useful as a white crayon when it comes to dating advice; The Joker has a thing for blondes; Demo G has some serious sly photo skills and being a Funko POP! is clumsy business! We would love to know your thoughts on the video and what other Funko characters or story lines you’d like to see!
Cats or dogs? Following your dream studying music or actually make money? Rewatch Harry PotterDeathly Hollows part 2 or just not cry tonight? Life is full of difficult choices, and us at EMP spend a decent amount of time going on caffeine induced rants arguing why zombie apocalypses are easier to survive than alien invasions and eventually after realizing we are getting nowhere, we turn to you the fans in all your supreme wisdom to finally clear things up!
After another discussion ending with coffee mugs flying across the room yelling “WITH A LIGHTSABER YOU WOULD CUT OFF YOUR OWN LIMBS” We “collectively” decided to stop arguing fictional questions and head to MCM Comic-Con to meet fans so we could properly discuss “Would you rather”! (the game, not the 2012 horror-movie that Americans are using to torture war criminals in Guantanamo Bay)
Question 1:
Would you rather be a werewolf or a vampire?
Without much surprise vampire came out on top with an insane 85% of the votes in our online-poll! Cause who doesn’t want to be a sparkling, night-dweller on a diet with as much variation as the last 3 Fast and Furious movies. However, a part of me should feel worried cause compared to werewolves that could in theory get tied down or head deep into the Siberian wilderness every full moon a vampire HAS to kill to stay alive. I’m not judging I’m just pointing out the fact most of you would be okay with being serial killers.
Question 2:
Would you rather go on a blind date with Gaston or Prince Hans?
Gaston won with 75% and you are all wrong. Prince Hans is rich. End of story. MONEY!
Question 3:
Would you rather have a real working lightsaber or a wand?
64% chose wand, which I agree with. If anyone has tried sword fighting they would know it’s hard, exhausting and you get hit a lot. One misstep and you end up chopping off your limbs. It’s the reason in the Jedi universe, building your lightsaber is the final exam before you are officially a Jedi. A wand has a lot of “fail-safes” for example, the unforgiveable curses cannot be cast without the caster REALLY wanting to: and I’m not talking how I kind of want some fries right now; I’m talking “I cannot see myself happy unless I torture this person.” Which begs the question what does “Mad-eye” have against spiders after demonstrating all 3 on one in “Goblet of Fire” …?
Question 4:
Who would you rather have as your boss, Dolores Umbridge or King Joffrey?
71% selected Umbridge and boy I really don’t want to be you guys! The common argument is that Joffrey is a sadist and more of a bully; he is a kid burning ants; he is a teenager that has yet to develop empathy so there is a chance (however small) that he would improve with age. “Yeah but he did sentence people to die!” Well Umbridge sentenced Muggle-Borns to the Dementor’s kiss, a fate that in the Harry Potter universe is WORSE than death. Neither of them would be ideal for middle or upper management but if I had to choose probably Joffrey. Keep your head down and learn to dodge crossbow bolts and you’ll be fine!
Question 5:
Would you rather live without music or without TV?
74% of you said you’d want to live without TV, which I agree with! There is something magical about music, the emotions the instrument, the lyrics! It’s truly a beautiful medium. TV shows are just storytelling. Instead of watching Game of Thrones you could still read and enjoy the books and get the same story there! Even though while Game of Thrones gets new episodes every year, the next book “Winds of Winter” is probably not going to be released before we are facing the heat-death of the universe.
Question 6:
Would you rather go to space or middle-earth?
71% to middle earth! And who can blame them? Second breakfast, elves, more food, magic, cursed rings, Uruk-hai wanting to murder you, Balrogs. Truly a peaceful and wonderful place! Well at the end of the day I have to agree, at least in the middle-earth you get SOMETHING. Compared to space where there is a pretty big chance you float out and find nothing for 100 years praying you become a Xenomorph meal. Only advantage I found is that you can speed up time much easier in space so maybe if you spend enough time out there, “Winds of Winter” will be released when you return to earth in 2851.
Question 7:
Would you rather talk like Hodor or Groot?
Insanely 89% said Groot! I personally expected more variation! Main argument was “people understand Groot”… they DON’T! It’s stated that Rocket understands the WAY Groot says “I am groot” making it easier to guess what he wants after spending so much time with him! But hey if you’re okay with sounding like tree-Chewbacca, I’m not gonna stop you.
Question 8:
Would you rather teleport but only into occupied toilets or be super rich but have all your money in 2 pence coins?
This surprised me – 86% said they wanted the two pence coins. You know how math ruins all that’s fun in life? Well sit tight cause I’m here to explain why there is no way in this universe or the next that would be convenient in any aspect of the word. A 2 pence coin weigh 7.12 gram. You need 50 of them to get a pound so one pound would weigh 356 grams. Multiply by 10 and you have 3560 grams or 3,5 kilos! 10 pounds would weigh 3,5 KILOS! And if you want to have a night on the town assuming you spend 100 pounds (since you are rich after all) we are looking at 35kilos! You need to drag around a bag weighing in at 35 kilos to buy something for £100 and that’s completely ignoring that you have to store a few metric tons of coins somewhere, so unless you go full on Scrooge Mcduck from Disney, you will probably drown in 2 pence coins or break your back dragging around a bag full of them. Teleportation any day of the week – yes they are occupied toilets but just say hello and be on your merry way… they would probably be too shocked to react anyway!
Question 9:
Would you rather be best friends with Iron Man or Batman?
72% said Iron Man. So let’s see you got a raging alcoholic with PTSD blowing things up that pose a real genuine threat to the earth or an rich man that likes to dress up and beat up poor people….. Yeah I’d say Iron Man too.
This one is fun because it got some moral ambiguity to it. 72% said supervillain which makes sense because we established in question 1 you guys are not above being a serial killer so robbing a bank with henchmen must be a normal Tuesday. But the fun part is that the way we as a society see morality it’s almost impossible to answer this question, look at Magneto in X-men: it’s a clear example where villain and hero is just a matter of perspective. I think it’s impossible to be either cause a good action for you might be bad for someone else and the other way around. I genuinely don’t have any opinion about this one.
Question 11:
Would you rather fight 20 duck sized Batmen or one Batman sized duck?
This was one of the closer ones with 61% saying they’d beat up a duck. Which actually makes sense since ducks aren’t dangerous. If you have ever seen Lord Of The Rings: Return of The King” they have huge elephant warships on the battlefields, the much much smaller humans STILL manage to take all of them down. Legolas almost does it alone! 20 duck sized Batman might be small but they will still pose a threat. Compared to the duck which will only be dinner for the week.
Question 12: Would you rather be a Jedi or join the Dark Side!
This was EXTREMLY close with Dark Side taking a small victory with 50,3% of the votes. To put that into perspective if that poll was a government election in some countries that would end in a re-vote. However once again we face the same issue as with the superhero or supervillain question: the way humans see morality would make it impossible to decide who truly is good and who is evil. The decision would have to be purely be based on things like if you want to shoot lighting or do mind tricks or have a red lightsaber or a green one.
86% said Rick and honestly, the 14% that said Morty PLEASE comment why!? I spend 20 min researching the advantages of being Morty over Rick and I found NOTHING. You can either be a super genius or a nervous teenager… WHY CHOOSE THE TEENAGER!? Please let me know.
Question 14: Would you rather fight off a zombie apocalypse or an alien invasion?
75% said zombie apocalypse and that means most of you will survive. Simply due to weather: humans experience hypothermia when the core temperature reaches roughly 35 degrees Celsius. Best way to survive the zombie apocalypse is really just to go somewhere cold! Get a boat and head to Iceland. Once winter arrives you are all good to go. Even in warm areas given enough time the zombies would just rot away. So you get a nice holiday to Iceland, and we solve over-population! As far as I’m concern the zombie apocalypse can just drop by anytime! I’ll be in Iceland chilling in a hot-spring with a mojito.
So there you have it! All the questions we always wondered finally solved! Well for the next two weeks before we start throwing things in the office again, yelling reasons why “Return of The King” is better than “Return of The Jedi”. But until then, thank you to everyone that answered at MCM and thank you to myself for filming the video and writing most of the questions.
Remember to stay awesome my friends and thanks for reading <3
Solo: A Star Wars Story hits the cinemas soon and expectations for this are high. Han is a fan favourite from the Star Wars universe mainly thanks to Harrison Ford’s rebellious swagger but likeable persona throughout the 4 films he was in. When it was announced that there would be a Han Solo movie the reaction was mixed: a lot of people said “how can anyone play Han Solo but Harrison Ford?” He is such an iconic character and whoever takes on the roll has BIG boots to fill.
Enter Alden Ehrenreich, a 28 year old actor from LA who has been chosen to portray Han in the upcoming film. Director, Ron Howard, recently stated that “It was always clear from the beginning, before I was involved, that it was not going to be an impression of Harrison. No one wanted that. Part of Han Solo’s character is sort of a vibe and a fell and a body language.” So, with that in mind, here is the first teaser that was released:
The story is an adventure into a dark criminal underworld, Han Solo meets his future co-pilot Chewbacca and encounters Lando Calrissian years before joining the rebellion. The cast is strong with this one too; other actors involved are Game Of Thrones star Emilia Clarke who plays “Qi’Ra”, Donald Glover will play “Landon Calrissan” (random fact: Donald made a brief appearance in the most excellent recent Spider-Man: Homecoming movie) and Bill Murrays #1 fan Woody Harrelson plays “Tobias Beckett” plus many many more…. Check out the full trailer:
I’ve watched this trailer like 1000 times; I absolutely LOVEStar Wars and I’m pretty sure that Alden will exceed any expectations, he will own those big boots that he needs to fill and will deliver an amazing performance of Han Solo and make the character his own. We will find out on May 25th when the film is released in the cinemas and I will be there, watching it on the biggest screen I can find with the loudest speakers blasting at my ears and be fully kitted out in Star Wars merch!
