A Salute to WINGMAN: An X-Wing Story - Fans Are Doing the Best Work
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- čas přidán 14. 01. 2024
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The fans are doing the best work, and the latest Star Wars fan film, Wingman: An X-Wing Story, is the epitome of that truth. RetroBlasting celebrates this achievement. - Komedie
Hey Michael. I think this is the most honest and true appreciation I can ever ask for or even think about.
Thank you!
I, and I can speak for all the girls and guys involved as well, am a happy man (or woman) hearing and learning that our work brought joy to so many fans and perhaps even made a dream for some come true.
I gladly take any criticism as it is intended to be. There's a pinned comment below the film where I explain some of the issues with the dialogue.
Thank you again so much for your kind words and if we ever do a follow-up, I'll remember you standing by.
You have saved the Star Wars franchise from its own corporate short-sightedness, and we are forever in your debt. - Michael
All of us geezers want more of this kind of Star Wars. The sounds brought me back to the old X-Wing and TIE-Fighter simulator games. Thank you sir! 😆
Noticing your Star Trek IV reference ;)
I don't have words that can describe how much I appreciate the praise, but even more so your sincere understanding of what we tried to accomplish with our movie. I'm genuinely touched and I had actual goosebumps at many points during your video. Thank you.
Your achievement cannot be understated. Thanks to all of you, from a Rebel Pilot supporter since 1982. You did an INCREDIBLE job. This was the film I have always wanted to see. - Michael
You guys just may be the future, seriously.
Thank you for making it!
@@imkurteh Effectively, Micha made it, so all the credit goes to him. I just helped the best I could.
You and your team did a phenomenal job on Wingman. I waited to watch it with my kids and I hope they got some joy out of it. I really appreciated your handling of PTSD, and the toll combat and loss take on a person.
@RetroBlasting Thank you so much for your kind words. It was a joy to be part of the project, but such amazement really really makes the effort worthwhile.
I had pee in my eyes at 37:50 :'-)
As someone who played X-Wing and TIE Fighter on 3.5" floppy disks loaded onto a 386 computer, thank you for channeling EVERYTHING I felt about seeing this,. Michael.
Star Wars is at its best when it’s showcasing people of extraordinary bravery. Doesn’t get any braver than hopping in an X-wing and giving it all you have.
Great to see this celebration of Michael Koepff and team's work. 7 years, 5,000 hours of work on a 3k budget. A real lesson to Lucasfilm/Disney of what can be achieved through love and hard work.
They deserve every accolade going.
Great video and analysis as always Michael.
To me as a kid, Star Wars was about Han, Luke and Leia. The Jedi were mostly part of the backstory. The concept was there, but it was more about Luke's desire to follow in his father's footsteps and becoming a "great warrior" than about rebuilding the Jedi Order. Luke himself is introduced to us with the simple goal of wanting to join the Academy to become a pilot, and he envied his best friends for beating him to it. Lightsabers were cool, but they weren't going to win the war, they were mysterious relics of the past that informed the context of the present.
Well said (Hat tilt).
I had to leave about the 20 minute point in your vid and checkout Wingman, and come back. Watching it, yes, the setup felt exactly like an X-wing mission. What caught my attention, and made me realize this was a next-level production was when they deployed the cutter on the assault craft. That shot of it penetrating the hull blew me away, with lots of bells and whistles they didn't even need to add. Not to mention, even the assault on the ship was from the perspective of the pilots. If they could merge these pilots with a Robotech-type human story (I'm thinking relationships) but base it on a battleship (so you could have the off-battle moments in the ship, a la Wing Commander) you'd have one of the greatest series ever. Also, as a final note, I love the way you and the creators of Wingman are complementary to each other in the comments here. Not false, a genuine appreciation of work well done. As technology evolves, if entertainment could move in that more complementary direction, with excellence recognized (instead of a brand being defended) I think some really interesting works could be produced. Thanks for the vid, Michael
Watched Wingman. Still excited. Came here to find someone who shared my joy and admiration. Got that and more. Michael, you formulated so many ideas, I just felt in my gut. I needed that. Thank you.
Thanks for bringing Wingman to my attention. I had given up on fan films, and even when i started watching, i thought they just put the dogfight up front and was waiting for the rest of the runtime to be padded out with characters sitting around moping like you mentioned in the middle, but it didn't happen! I was engaged throughout the whole story, and it felt so refreshingly authentic! It took me back to the 1990s EU era or even OT 😊
As a major fan of the Rogue Squadron stories these fan projects are outstanding. Thanks guys for shining a light on these films! 🙌🏻
The lack of a starfighter show, or movie makes perfect sense when you have a company like Disney, that is more concerned with DEI scores and Twitter likes than they are with telling good stories and making money!
I SO agree with you dude, what's baffling is that even for their own nefarious reasons a Starfighter show could be even MORE inclusive and make a WHOLE lot of sense sin ANYONE can be a pilot, I guess it's just their aversion to doing good work or "gunfights in space" that keeps them from it. Disney doesn't know what to do with Star Wars
The whole 'ww2 in space' was always interesting to me, and wheen i saw this yesterday... Wow! Thanks for giving this movie attention :D
I thoroughly enjoyed Wingman and I’m glad I watched it before seeing this excellent RetroBlasting video assessment of the production. I totally agree with your comments regarding the dialogue. Hopefully the filmmakers are open to this kind feedback if they ever make a follow up feature.
Thank you. This life long StarWars film/toy collector fan will give it a watch. Disney NEEDS to sell StarWars to someone who’ll do it RIGHT.
The film is mind-blowing. I wish there was a Making Of documentary because i have no idea how they achieved this with all the limitations they had.
Thank you so much. There is the fun reel on the channel, which gives some small looks behind the scenes. But as this is getting requested pretty constantly, I think we could whip up something a bit more in-depth.
I came across ‘Wingman’ by chance and decided to watch it. I was very impressed. I’ve seen a few other good Star Wars fan films, some higher quality comedies and a few light saber-oriented ones that were varying degrees of amateurish, with younger casts. But it was so wonderful to see a high-quality action film based in the Star Wars universe that wasn’t ruined by politics or bad content decisions.
Michael thank you for highlighting Wingman! I stopped mid roll and immediately watched Wingman. This is THE Star Wars I’ve been craving. This grizzled space battle is better than anything Disney+ has tried to produce. Wingman felt like a WWII film where British pilots took on a German Ace and barely made it home to tell the tale. Again, thanks for an excellent thought piece on this gem. 😎
I 100% agree with you on what Star Wars was to me growing up in the 80s and 90s. It loved the ships way more than the drama with the Jedi. Rogue One gave me back some of that nostalgic feeling during the Battle of Scariff. Thanks for turning me on to this gem.
And this is why I love RetroBlasting so much.
A great compliment towards all fan made movie makers and genuine respect.
Great video and amazing show as always.
Thank You Mr French.
Ooooof, that "I'm standing by" at the end got to me, Michael. You put in words what I've been trying to articulate about this fan film but didn't manage to. Thank you for doing this.
From what I understand, it took them seven years to complete. That's a whole lotta love. Also, thanks for making this commentary. I really enjoyed this.
X-wing was an incredible game and experience in its time.
You’ve got me excited to see this Wingman film. Going to check it out!!
Thanks Michael for posting this video. I didn't even know about this and I loved a lot of it. I am so glad I checked this out. I agree, this definitely looks like it was storyboarded so every shot was carefully executed. I also had the same desire to see X-Wing pilots fighting back against the Empire. I loved the mission, and the special effects. There were a few clunky moments with the dialog that were a bit cringe.
Also I have a love/hate with Rogue One. I really wish I could have seen the original plan for that movie. The executives and their yes men get in the way of any real great Star Wars films being made. I really think they could benefit from having a really good script and then hire someone who really loves Star Wars to make it without all Executives wanting to mess with it.
I never heard of this fan film. I’m kind of like you, I stay away from fan films, but I loved Troops and I loved that anime film, and now you got me excited about this fan film. I will definitely watch it. Thanks for the info.
Man. I’m 58 and I still want to sit in an X-Wing cockpit. Or play a simulator of one
TIE Fighter is, to this day, the best representation of the "life of an Imperial", along with Andor.
Also Star Wars Squadrons was like a surprise gift, I never ever thought I'd see a throwback of that style. Sure, the singleplayer was short but fun, but it was really fun as a multiplayer game. But of course they messed it up in an update so that it was region locked and the game just died.
Imagine what they could've done with $30 million.
Money always tends to come with expectations. We had full creative freedom, which is worth a lot. We would appreciate the 30 mil, though. 😅
WINGMAN: An X-Wing Story is like watching a proper SW movie. I watched the movie twice it was that great. 🤩 Nicely said Michael. Thank you. 🙂
The movie was really fun to watch! The sound effects and score, the ability to have quality dog fights in space, and the feel of what Star Wars means to fans, are what makes this film really enjoyable!
"Rogue Squadron" novel was written by Michael Stackpole. It may not seem like much, but there is a story behind it.
In 1984 a board game called Battledroids was created, and it attracted the attention of Lucas in a not so positive light so he sent a notice of cease and desist to FASA Corporation. So they renamed the game as Battletech.
Battletech was not just a board game, but it attempted to create a lore, and FASA hired a team of writers, and Michael Stackpole was commissioned to write the framework, the skeleton of that lore, and all other writers would expand the lore from there. Battletech was the first to have a galactic map, which was called the Inner Sphere.
When you see The Empire Strikes Back, you see ships at the end with a galaxy in the background. It is obvious that the concept of a galactic map was not yet present. So we can imagine that Lucas borrowed the idea and started to figure out the layout of the galactic map. And also probably he borrowed the idea of making a series of novels of the expanded universe to have a menu of options to make movies.
Shadows of the empire was a multimedia project that had everything except a movie. It had videogames, novel, a soundtrack, etc.
And you had Michael Stackpole writing the iconic Rogue Squadron novel. It is obvious that he understood the essence of Star Wras. It was not just about Jedis. It was about pilots.
The idea of FASA was ambitious. They wanted to create a Gaming center, where you could enter a pod like simulator, that would make you feel you were inside the stompy robots from Battletech. It was the first multiplayer game way before that existed in the videogame world. Of course, hardware was custom made, and graphics were not great. And it did not help that there was a video card war in the late 1990s.
During the 1990s you could see the Mechwarrior games that were the Battletech universe for gamers. The most iconic, Mechwarrior 2 trilogy just hit a home run. It was a unique experience for gamers back then.
And in the meantime, Lucasarts also understood the richness of piloting as a core experience in Star Wars. Mechwarrior 2 trilogy was the equivalent of X-Wing for Battletech fans who never had a movie.
I watched Wingman last night with my kids, I loved it and as a vet with PTSD I could relate to Hunter 6. I couldn’t tell if the scenery or the fighters themselves were CGI or models, the effects were that good.
I've seen it twice now, thanks for getting it out there, I hope Dave Filloni gets to see it.
Hell yeah man ! I covered this on a livestream and video on my small You Tube channel. Glad too see a bigger Star Wars fan channel promoting it! Michael and his team did an astonishing well job on this movie/ fan film !
I watched it. Loved it. Thank you, Michael for telling us about this awesome fan film. The fans are indeed making the best work!
this is the best i have seen from star wars since 1990 and i completely agree with everything you've said here. the owners of the franchise have to understand what we, the consumers want. and we have to vote with our wallets.
I totally agree. I was fascinated by the dogfights of the viper pilots in the show battlestar galactica. We loved it.
This movie was brilliant... Maybe my favorite Star wars film since the original trilogy... Disney and Lucasfilms couldn't make this if they tried... It feels like Star Wars hasn't in decades.
This video mirrors a lot of the feelings I had while watching this fan film, indeed… Nice to see so many other people feel this way :)
Wayched Wingman several times already. This show is absolutely amazing.
Wingman is a dream made true. Excellence to a whole new level. I remember when I saw the Tie Fighter animated short. I was blown away. And I wanted the same about X- wings. Wingman has done that plus. A true blessing for a wounded fan base.
Thank you so much for your kind words!
It‘s nice to know you‘re standing
by….
Arren/ Hunter Six
That's probably the most frustrating thing for fans with Disney. Star Wars isn't complicated. It isn't hard to get right or understand. Disney just doesn't want to do it unless they can do it in their own postmodern way.
“Desperate battle”?
“Incredible odds”?
Sounds like a job for a Gun Star
Dude if it's you behind this type of magic
Then it is you behind the freshet ideas to reignite the whole galaxy with fresh story's
And new life to parts not spoken of like the Xwings pilots these guys do work to as characters let us see more of this by you to wake them who are now disney up with your out standing work they need hire you guys the people they have could learn from real talented people like your team
MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU
MAY THE FORCE BE WITH US ALL
FOR YOU HE SAKE OF STAR WARS
AND THE GALAXY OF GREAT STORIES
Love the X-Wing fan film Wingmen … now we just need a fan film about the good guys .. The Empire 😊with the same awesome quality 😊
I own a full Tie Fighter pilot costume and I would be thrilled to join a fan production now 😊
This video just proves to me how much Michael that I am in sync with you.. I have been thinking about this as well for years..
We're in sync.... until you call the Empire the good guys.
I watched the x -wing video one of the best I’ve seen today who ever made it make more as a fan film good job 👏 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️🇨🇦
X-wing and Tie Fighter were sheer brilliance!
I usually find these fan films on the bus well I am going somewhere and when I get to Ware I am going. I turn it off if I have not finished it just before I get off the bus. Now if the fan films is good enough in my head to get past my bad memory caused by my sleeping disorder. I will watch it later so sometime. Now I was on my way to the mall to get shopping done as well as to meat a friend. I happened to agree with what you said Michael about wingman and that is because I could not stop watching it every Ware I went I was watching it and trying not to get hit crossing the street or parking lots as well as for me I will be right there with all the other thousands of people standing bye. Thank you.
Watched it on CZcams. Loved it. Amazing that none of the cast were professional actors. The special effects were perfect. I'm one that loved the battles in the new Battlestar Galactica so this was right up there with them for me.
Kind of funny seeing Michael with the mug again on the thumbnail. Great video, I loved Wingman myself very much!
It’s funny, I just came across this today! Everything you said pretty much, took the words out of my mouth. Also, to validate what you said about people loving the X wing, there’s a whole generation of Air Force pilots because of Star Wars.
I've been reading the X Wing novels from the EU, and I love them! I hope to finish all 9 novels by the end of the year. I'm even writing a novel inspired by old EU storylines and Micheal A. Stackpole is interested in becoming my editor once the draft is done!
i saw that glint in my husband’s eyes when he got his pilot’s license his youth on Air Force bases
and know families living in base housing near his house who were pilots. I am proud to see pictures of my husband in photographs with long passed Tuskegee Airmen. On my husband’s desk is a Vietnam era USAF flight helmet adorn with oxygen mask and it sits next to an X-wing rebel pilot helmets helmet. Even though my husband was infantry he still love’s Fighter pilots and helicopter pilots.
I had a blast watching that X-Wing film. Great characters, great lore continuity, great story, and great effects. Well worth the watch.
It’s hilarious I just watched this Show a few weeks ago & started sharing the show to fellow Star Wars fans. I enjoyed it. Really impressed myself.
While watching Wingman, I couldn’t help but think it would be amazing if Chris Smith made some of the pilots and droids from the fan film. They’d pair great with the vintage X wings and Y Wings
Wow I just watched wingman and Michael you were totally right about this movie amazing , and Disney might as well give up " the fans are doing the best work" thanks Michael
This is why I love this channel Michael is always speaking from his heart and is just giving the most authentic passionate fan reactions. In my honest opinion he really understands what these franchises meant to a lot of people. Wingman and other projects like it's kind show the missed opportunity/potential big studios had but ultimately are too blind to see. I salute and completely support all passionate fans. Never stop creating and never let studios/suits that don't know better ever stop your passion.
I think all of sci-fi is going to be in the fans hands. Shows, toys, etc.
They have the passion, and are not held back by the bottom line along with endless red tape.
What a lovely and heartfelt video.....lots of interesting insights from Michael and a lot of perspective. For the Wingman Crew, as Michael has said: "the fans are doing the best work!". Disney SHOULD learn from these things and get their heads out of their corporate asses and greenlight a project about the pilots.
Just watched half - and had to break off and go to work. It is pretty good. Reminds me of an X-Wing attack scenario with a little more story.
I came accross this about a week ago best dam Star Wars Film I have seen since Jedi.
I just voted for Wingman on IMDB and can't believe, it's not had enough to show a rating!
Finally a review by a fan who lives star wars from the heart. Thank you for taking the time to express it in such clear and eloquent terms.
I love the beginning message. Fans who love Star Wars with such a passion that they spend their own free time and resources to create fan moveis, fan art etc. are doing it out of a love for Star Wars. They don't have the highly trained, highly paid actors, sets, props, costumes, makeup etc. to make their movies. I've seen a few pretty damn good fan movies that were done cleverly with minimal resources. Imagine if the team that created some of the really good ones were backed up by signifiacant resources!!!
I just finished watching Wingman, and it was truly incredible. Yes it was a little rough in some spots, but you can tell its a pure labour of love. I think a show centering around a group of Rebel and Imperial pilots would be great. I also watched Troopers too, and I think the two concepts could be fused. Maybe not the comedic aapects (though it wouldn't hurt now and then when appropriate), but the point of view of your average Imperial trooper/pilot who isn't involved in the politics, and is just fighting for "his/her Empire" would be interesting.
There is a reason the X-Wing miniature is so popular.
I stumbled on this a couple of days ago and watched it and it was amazed because you see in detail how much of a beating the X wings can take and still keep fighting It definitely left me wanting more
Theyre taking backyard play to a new level ❤
I hoped of this video to watch it, then came back to finish here. It was so good man… that was fun, it definitely made me feel like a kid again.
I'm going to have to agree with you with the idea of making NEW characters. I know I've wanted this type of story as well - focusing on the pilots. Something that should have been done, I agree, and Disney is dumb to not do this exact scenario. Having new characters, is such a good thing to do, because you don't have any expectations, and you never know what will happen.
High praise indeed Michael! I’m gonna give this a watch as soon as I have an empty house😂
Can’t be disturbed for 50 minutes! Thanks for the recommendation 👍
Thanks for pointing this out Michael, it has more heart in it more than anything that comes out of Lucasfilm
Loved Troops downloaded them years ago and still watch them
100%! I spent so many hours on X-Wing back in the day. Even the training missions were fun. Unpopular opinion, but I loved the Y-Wing. That thing could take some punishment and deliver. Probably tells you how not great of a pilot I was. TIE Fighter follow up was, ok, but I didn’t get much replay value in it, always went back to X-Wing.
Wingman gave me something that I haven't had for a very long time when watching something SW related.......Goosebumps!
Great video!
Just two weeks ago I got my own Arcade 1up Stars Wars cabinet so now I can be an X-Wing Fighter every single day so this resonates with me tremendously
(I can also be a Snow Speeder and Millennium Falcon Pilot too … )
I was born in 1979, the first Star Wars "Playsets/Vehicles" I received was the Speeder bike that blew apart and Jaba's lair set... I was envious of the kid who had the Ewok village... but he also had the GI Joe Aircraft carrier
Great video. I too have great memories of the original X-Wing and Tie Fighter games. The best Star Wars video games ever made.
First SW film was for everyone, it was new and original, almost 50 years later and new entry is now steeped in the massive continuity. Now has the same problem as comic books, one needs a Masters Degree in Super Hero Studies from a State University to even understand any new issue one buys. Star Wars is trapped between the pull of Nostalgia and Innovation. First entry was ALL INNOVATION and RISK. Lucas fought to get his movie completed as many thought it was going to fail and he created new types of SFX just to make this film.
Hadn’t heard of this until now. Best sort of amplification of fan work by a fellow fan using their platform to boost the good stuff out there. Looking forward to checking this out, after having completely walked away from Star Wars.
Your tale on this film has got me so pumped Michael I’m gonna watch it now! I will report back!
*UPDATE*
Just watched it and I frigg’in LOVE IT! This is what we need! Come on Disney, either give us this kind of content or sub it to fan based company that can do it for is! Excellent work, awesome story!
Just watched Wingman. Amazingly good! I see your point about the script. There were a few times where the dialogue interrupted the emotional impact of the moment. But I will still be sharing it and watching it again and again! Thank you for another great recommend!
Wow! A new hope for Star Wars 🎉 fan stories would be the equivalent to the rebel alliance fighting the evil empire (Disney) panderverse ❤
While I've never played the videogame that influenced Wingman, I did play Wing Commander 2, and I've noticed A LOT of stylistic similarities with that game when watching this fan film.
I love the Wing Commander series, especially the following games. Ironic they had Mark Hamill as the main character (well sort of, as Prophecy had you playing as another character while Mark Hamill was promoted to Commodore in charge of the new Midway capship.) I really wish the series would come back but now with Electronic Arts owning Origin, my hopes are not that high.
Though I do recommend playing X-Wing as well as its amazing sequel, TIE Fighter.
Always a pleasure hearing you talk about the things you love. Makes me remember what I love about my favourite fandoms
X Wing and TIE Fighter were excellent SW games, and still are.
Fantastic review!!!
I just watched Wing Man and it is extremely well crafted by very talented film makers. The originality and creativity is on the next level.
Thanks for sharing!!!!
"It's "Baa Baa Black Sheep" but with X-Wings" is such an obvious pitch, especially if you have a streaming platform in need of content, that only a company like Disney could manage not to see it. I've been wanting that show for 30+ years myself. Guess I'd better go watch "Wingman"!
Thanks for bringing Wingman to my attention, I’m looking forward to watching it.
I’ve always been jealous of my friends who had x-wing and tie fighter growing up. I had the rebel assault games, which are on a rail system and you just have to move to the correct part of the screen. Don’t get me wrong, I played the heck out of them, but I always wanted a true fighter pilot game in the Star Wars universe, and was in college before I found out those actually existed.
I watched it almost immediately after it hit the UTube! It is all you say Michael, and more! It is SO good it gave me goosebumps while I watched the story unfold! The fans are doing the best work! Lucasfilm can’t even jump high enough to reach the bar these people set with this film! May the Force be with us all!
The prototype to X-Wing was the original arcade game- which (while repetitive, like a lot of early 80s games) was very addictive- and I pumped quarter after quarter into it.
I remember playing it on my Dad's Atari 800XL.
Not often do I click away from a video I'm currently watching, but when it's Retroblasting, I do!
Missed out on X-Wing. Was heavy into Wing Commander which wanted to be Star Wars. Did manage to get TIE Fighter though. So glad the fans are really stepping it up lately.
The fans always do the best work. Well, they're at least doing it better than Disney.
Watched it twice. Pretty good.
I agree this fan film was one of the best I have seen. I also agree that some fan films are better than others but still better than what Disney has been putting out. Really enjoyed your take on this film.
I love the film, but I have to admit the Black Ace is RIDICULOUSLY OP, he’s flying a standard TIE Starfighter, a literal flying eggshell with no shields yet he solos a squad of X-Wings like he’s on a Tie Advanced. Even Vader had two wingmen during his defense of the Death Star. Also, great nod to Otaking’s Tie Fighter, probably the greatest animated Star Wars fan film ever made.
Great episode. Interesting and informative. I cried when the fleet arrived at the shield gate in Rogue One. Definitely a Star Wars moment.
I use micro machines for the Star Warriors game.