Lucasfilm’s latest Star Wars series has officially wrapped on Disney+ and the ending of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew has fans wondering about one major question: Is Skeleton Crew getting a season 2? It’s a logical one to ponder for sure, not only because it’s no guarantee that a Star Wars TV series returns for more episodes, but anything is possible in that galaxy far, far away. Up until this point there’s been no official confirmation about more episodes of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, but ahead of the show’s premiere on Disney+, the future for this corner of the galaxy started to look brighter.

Before the first episode of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew even aired, the rumor mill and assumptions lead many fans to think that the series would be a limited one, wrapping up as a one-and-done show on Disney+. At first this seemed like the right move to fans, considering the heartbreak of cancellations like The Acolyte, but the creators appeared to be open to the idea of telling more stories with the characters as premiere time loomed. In an interview last year, series co-creator Jon Watts noted that a season two of Skeleton Crew would have to avoid a major problem of another hit series in order to work.

RELATED: What’s Next for Star Wars After the Skeleton Crew Finale

“It would be something like [a three to four-year time jump] to make sense,” Watts told Collider. “But we wouldn’t do like a Stranger Things thing where we’re like ‘It’s the next day,’ because it won’t be.” Watts’ co-creator Christopher Ford added another wrinkle, noting: “It’s built into it that it would be a bigger time jump forward because it does take so long to get things moving. There are so many repercussions. It’s like, you kind of want to catch up later.”

As noted above however, there has still been no movement one way or the other one if Star Wars: Skeleton Crew will be renewed for season two. Of note however is that even if Skeleton Crew doesn’t get renewed, a new rumor has teased that the characters may be showing up down the line anyway.

A report earlier this month revealed that plans may be in motion for characters from the series to appear on the big screen, showing up in Dave Filoni’s planned “crossover” movie. Since that film is set to merge storylines from The Mandalorian, Ahsoka, and other critical Star Wars moments from Disney+ into one, it would make a lot of sense for some familiar Skeleton Crew faces to appear. Until then we’ll have to wait and see, but right now Skeleton Crew season two has not been confirmed, nor has it even been hinted at.

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The Star Wars timeline has not advanced for over five years now, with the franchise instead exploring the nooks and crannies of its existing stories. This has been pretty successful, deepening some characters and answering some longstanding mysteries in the process in shows like Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi and movies like Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. If this trend is to continue, there are some more questions the franchise should definitely tackle.

The Skywalker Saga is about 70 years long, and so far all of the movies and most of the TV shows are set during this period. Outside of the episodic Skywalker Saga, Rogue One really set the template for standalone movies. It answered fans’ longstanding curiosity about how the Rebels got the blueprints for the Death Star, building on the dramatic implications from Star Wars: A New Hope.

If the franchise is going to continue fleshing out its timeline rather than deciding what comes next, it will need to explore more cul de sacs in the story like this one. Fortunately, there are plenty of those to choose from. Read on for three of our top choices.

Luke’s Lightsaber

There are a lot of mysteries about Luke Skywalker’s behavior in the sequel trilogy, but there’s one in particular that seems like it would make for a satisfying movie or TV show: the fate of Luke’s first lightsaber. Luke lost the weapon at the end of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, and we didn’t see it again until Star Wars: The Force Awakens when it ended up in the possession of the “pirate queen” Maz Kanata. There’s surely a story about how it got there, and the lives it touched along the way.

Keep in mind that this wasn’t just Luke’s lightsaber — it originally belonged to Anakin. In fact, Anakin was still using this lightsaber when he first turned to the dark side, earning it some grim nicknames from fans online. In Empire, it fell into the depths of Cloud City along with Luke’s severed hand, and he escaped without it on the Millennium Falcon. The next time we see it, Maz is offering it to Finn and Rey.

[RELATED: Skeleton Crew Further Proves Star Wars Is Better Under Disney]

There is one other canonical off-screen mention of the lightsaber — a 2020 comic book shows Luke returning to Bespin shortly after his duel with Darth Vader, searching for his lightsaber in Cloud City below. Ultimately, he is called away by other responsibilities before he can find it, and he eventually determines that it’s not worth it to go hunting after the past. Cloud City remained under imperial control of Cloud City for several more years after that, so it would be interesting to see who found this lightsaber and how it got into friendlier hands.

The Mysteries of Yoda’s Species

Fans would love more details on Yoda’s mysterious species at any point in the timeline, but with the popularity of The Mandalorian and Grogu, it seems likely that we’ll learn more within the setting we’re most familiar with. Yoda’s homeworld and species have been left intentionally vague from the beginning, though it is becoming clearer that they are all naturally Force-sensitive. So far, we’ve only met three members of this race: Master Yoda, Master Yaddle, and Grogu.

We know for sure that this species is very ancient and rare, and that its members have a naturally long lifespan of at least several centuries. It’s also hinted that they are born with a naturally high Midi-chlorian count, giving them a natural affinity for the Force. We don’t know where this species comes from, but it seems likely that we’ll learn more about Grogu’s past, at least, in the upcoming movie The Mandalorian & Grogu, which hits theaters on May 22, 2026. The question is whether that will include more general tidbits about his species or not.

Palpatine’s Return

Finally, Star Wars will have to address the mystery of Palpatine’s return in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker eventually. The Sith lord was defeated in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi — thrown from the Death Star by his own apprentice — and he himself confirmed that he died in this incident. We see that he returned from the dead with some help from cloning technology, but we don’t learn anything else about how.

Rise of Skywalker was infuriatingly vague about this plot point. At times, it almost seemed uninterested in this question and dismissive of fans’ curiosity, like with Poe Dameron’s hasty line, “Somehow, Palpatine has returned.” When asked how he did it, Palpatine himself simply reiterated a line from an earlier movie verbatim, “The dark side of the Force is a pathway to many powers some consider to be unnatural.”

There are plenty of explanations for this comeback that could be consistent and satisfying — perhaps Palpatine had prepared a cloning apparatus in advance to trigger if he died. Perhaps he had other agents as loyal as Darth Vader who helped him get to Exegol. Palpatine already mentioned that his own master, Darth Plagueis, had developed a means of overcoming death through the Force, so it makes sense that he’d be trying to advance that project himself. However he did it, seeing how Palpatine returned from the dead would go a long way in redeeming Rise of Skywalker for many fans.

You can stream all 11 Star Wars movies now on Disney+, along with most of the TV shows and specials as well. The latest title in the franchise is Skeleton Crew, which airs its season finale on Tuesday, January 14th on Disney+.

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Star Wars: Skeleton Crew has been a real adventure. The coming-of-age story from series creators Jon Watts (Spider-Man: No Way Home) and Christopher Ford (Chaos Walking) — which sees the enigmatic Force user Jod Na Nawood (Jude Law) chaperone lost kids Wim (Ravi Cabot-Conyers), Fern (Ryan Kiera Armstrong), KB (Kyriana Kratter), and Neel (Robert Timothy Smith) on a spacefaring adventure seeking home and pirate’s treasure — finishes its eight-episode first season Tuesday on Disney+. Now fans are asking: Is Skeleton Crew renewed for season 2?

To quote Yoda: “Difficult to see. Always in motion is the future.”

The Dec. 2 two-episode series premiere failed to enter the Nielsen top 10 — a first for a live-action Star Wars series — despite strong reviews. (At 95 percent approval from critics on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, Skeleton Crew was better critically received than every live-action Star Wars show except for Andor.) To compare, the June series premiere of The Acolyte charted on Nielsen with 488 million minutes viewed from its two-episode premiere, only for that series to be canceled in August 2024.

RELATED: Every Upcoming Star Wars Movie, From The Mandalorian & Grogu to Star Wars Episode X

Disney Entertainment co-chairman Alan Bergman told Vulture on Dec. 19 that Acolyte‘s performance “wasn’t where we needed it to be given the cost structure of that title,” which went over budget at a reported cost of $230 million. Meanwhile, Disney+ has “seen some growth” on Skeleton Crew and “the reviews have been excellent,” Bergman said, “so we’ll have to see how that all plays out as it moves forward.”

As Lucasfilm readies its return to theaters with the Jon Favreau-directed The Mandalorian & Grogu film in 2026 — the first Star Wars feature since The Rise of Skywalker capped off the nine-movie Skywalker Saga in 2019 — the studio will also continue to expand the Star Wars galaxy on Disney+. The second and final season of Andor, the prequel leading up to the events of Rogue One, arrives in April, and Lucasfilm Chief Creative Officer Dave Filoni is penning Ahsoka season 2 ahead of his forthcoming New Republic film set during the post-Return of the Jedi timeline of The Mandalorian.

Filoni’s as-yet-untitled film, which will close out the interconnected stories told in The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka, and Skeleton Crew, was one of three new Star Wars movies announced at Star Wars Celebration in 2023. James Mangold (Logan, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny) is directing a film set at the dawn of the Jedi, and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (Ms. Marvel, Saving Face) is helming a film set after the events of the Star Wars sequel trilogy that follows Rey Skywalker (Daisy Ridley) as she builds a new Jedi Order.

So far, only The Mandalorian movie has a theatrical release date: May 22, 2026. A fourth season of the flagship Star Wars series about helmeted bounty hunter Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and the Force-trained Mandalorian Grogu is in development at Disney+, although Lucasfilm has yet to announce anything beyond Andor season 2 and Ahsoka season 2.

“We have Andor season two, which we’re really excited about. It is excellent. I’ve watched all the episodes, and it is a fantastic season. And then we have Ahsoka season two, which Dave Filoni is leading,” Bergman told Vulture. “And then we’re looking at a number of additional series that are in development. We’ll see what we decide to do.”

“They have to be great, and when we’re in the position where we think we have what we want, we’re going to move forward,” he continued. “In terms of the films, at this point we have Mandalorian, which is coming out Memorial Day of ‘26, and we’ve got a number of films that we are developing. When we’re ready, we’ll be making announcements as to what those are.”

Bergman went on to say that Disney is looking to make some streaming titles “as economical as possible” but that “the whole goal, in whatever we do, is quality.”

“It’s the most important thing, and we won’t do anything that we don’t think is quality,” he said. “So I think what you’re going to see is a mix of those series that have more visual effects and will certainly be more expensive. And then you’re going to see some titles that are less expensive because they have less visual effects. But what they’ll both have are great stories.”

The Star Wars: Skeleton Crew finale premieres Jan. 14 on Disney+.

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While many Star Wars fans are familiar with bounty hunters like Boba Fett and Cad Bane, Embo remains a relatively obscure character despite being one of the most formidable hunters during the Clone Wars era. That might soon change, as recent rumors suggest that Dave Filoni’s fan-favorite bounty hunter from Star Wars: The Clone Wars might make his live-action debut as the main antagonist in The Mandalorian & Grogu. His potential inclusion in the upcoming movie could introduce this fascinating character to a broader audience while adding an exciting new threat to Din Djarin and Grogu’s adventures.

Embo is a male Kyuzo from the planet Phatrong who gained notoriety during the Clone Wars for his exceptional combat abilities and unique approach to bounty hunting. Standing at an impressive height of 1.99 meters, Embo’s most distinctive feature is his large-rimmed circular hat, which he uses both as a defensive shield and a deadly projectile weapon. Unlike many of his peers who rely heavily on advanced technology, Embo prefers a more traditional approach to hunting, wielding a bowcaster as his primary weapon, and depending on his physical prowess and tracking skills.

[RELATED: Star Wars: The Mandalorian’s Grogu Gets Anime-Style Short Series Ahead of New Movie (And It’s the Cutest)]

Throughout his appearances in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Embo demonstrated his versatility by working with prominent bounty-hunting crews, including those led by Sugi, Cad Bane, and a young Boba Fett. However, his only true loyalty lies with his faithful companion Marrok, an anooba who assists him during his missions. This dedication to his pet reveals a more complex side to the otherwise stoic hunter.

Embo’s Rumored Role in The Mandalorian & Grogu

As The Mandalorian & Grogu enters post-production, the rumor mill has been running non-stop, with multiple sources trying to get leaks of the movie’s mysterious plot. One of these reports claims Embo might serve as the primary antagonist in The Mandalorian & Grogu, with Filoni – who originally voiced the character in The Clone Wars – expected to reprise his role. The rumors suggest that the plot revolves around a rescue mission to save Rotta the Hutt, who is allegedly being held hostage by Embo. This scenario would be particularly interesting given that Rotta, voiced by Jeremy Allen White, is now a fully grown crime lord, quite different from the infant Hutt that Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano once rescued.

If these rumors prove true, Embo’s inclusion could create an intriguing dynamic with Din Djarin, as both characters follow strict codes of honor despite their dangerous professions. Additionally, Embo’s presence might tie into the larger threat posed by the Shadow Council, especially considering that Imperial Warlord (played by Jonny Coyne) has been confirmed to appear in the film. Finally, Embo’s rumored involvement with Rotta the Hutt could explore the complex power dynamics in the post-Empire galaxy, especially concerning the criminal underworld’s relationship with both the New Republic and Imperial remnants.

The Mandalorian & Grogu is scheduled to hit theaters on May 22, 2026. While we await official confirmation about Embo’s role in the film, fans can watch his original appearances in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, currently streaming on Disney+.

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It’s been just over 12 years since Disney acquired the rights to the Star Wars license from George Lucas. These 12 years have had some high points and low points, but it has become increasingly obvious that the franchise is in the best place it’s been since the original trilogy ended in 1983. While the quality of the sequel trilogy continues to inspire debate among the fandom, Disney has managed to right the ship over the last few years, expanding the idea of what Star Wars can be. From TV shows, to video games, to comics, and theme park attractions, Star Wars is delivering experiences that are superior to anything we’ve gotten since Star Wars: Return of the Jedi.

The greatest case for the superiority of Disney Star Wars comes from Disney+. Over the last five years, the streaming service has been an absolute gift to Star Wars fans. Things started with The Mandalorian, a series that has not only brought in new fans, but has given us characters that are as popular and well-regarded as the biggest in the franchise. While Boba Fett’s popularity in the original trilogy hinged on the fact that he simply looked cool, Mando is beloved by fans in large part thanks to the depth of his character. Din Djarin has gained a well-earned reputation as the galaxy’s greatest dad, and his relationship with Grogu is unlike anything we had previously seen in the Star Wars canon. As a result, Din and Grogu are everywhere now, from action figures to holiday light displays. The two characters caught on in a way we never saw with Jar Jar Binks, Mace Windu, or any of the other prequel-era faces.

Not only are the Star Wars shows giving us new favorites to root for, they’re also expanding on the themes that George Lucas explored, while outdoing the creator’s works. In the prequel era, George Lucas set out to tell a tale about the growth of fascism, using the rise of Palpatine as a metaphor for the Iraq War. Subtlety has never been Lucas’s strong suit, though, and while the messaging of those movies has aged well, the films are brought down by their cheesier elements. In its debut season, Andor has given us a startlingly dark take on the war between the Rebellion and Empire. While the show still feels grounded in the Star Wars universe, it’s telling a grittier story, and it’s one that manages to feel frighteningly believable. Lucas also tried to push the idea of the Jedi being more flawed than we were led to believe by the original trilogy, but The Acolyte gave viewers a greater appreciation for the Jedi Council’s failures. Rather than highlight the bureaucratic redtape the Jedi found themselves trying to navigate, we actually got to see their mistakes and the failures that left an opening for Palpatine’s rise.

It’s a little too early to tell whether Skeleton Crew will have the same lasting appeal as Andor and The Mandalorian, but the show’s existence proves that Disney is willing to expand what creators can do with the Star Wars universe. There are still droids, lightsabers, and space battles, but the story channels ’80s movies like The Goonies, as opposed to Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. One of the most common complaints about Star Wars is that the franchise has leaned too heavily on characters connected to the original trilogy. Skeleton Crew abandons all of our previous favorite characters for a brand-new cast. The largely warm reception to the series proves that strange and interesting things can be done with the franchise, and that’s been a common thread during Disney’s ownership of the brand. While Skeleton Crew is the most recent example, Star Wars: Visions has also given creators more liberty with the themes and concepts of Star Wars.

The superiority of Disney Star Wars isn’t just limited to TV shows. Video games are another perfect example of how things have improved in recent years. While the brand inspired lots of great games over the decades, when Disney acquired the license, it had been years since there had been a truly beloved Star Wars game. In the last five years, fans have been treated to Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and Jedi: Survivor. There’s still one entry left to go in the trilogy, but fans have become invested in the adventures of Cal Kestis in a big way. Disney hasn’t been afraid to take big swings in gaming, either. While reception to Star Wars: Outlaws was mixed, the game was fairly ambitious, and the same can be said for Quantic Dream’s Star Wars: Eclipse.

[RELATED: Star Wars Game Announced Three Years Ago Is Still MIA]

For many fans, Star Wars and Disney have been entwined since Star Tours first debuted in Disney Parks. While the ride was a fantastic take on the Star Wars universe at the time of its creation, Disney has far outdone its Imagineers with the creation of Galaxy’s Edge. The theme park section blows Star Tours out of the water, and a large part of that is due to Rise of the Resistance. Rise of the Resistance isn’t just better than the theme park ride many of us grew up with, it might be one of the best attractions ever in a Disney Park.

While the Star Wars TV shows have given creators greater room to tell stories in the Star Wars universe, the comics have also done just that. One of the biggest problems in the later days of George Lucas’ ownership of the brand is that the Expanded Universe had become bloated and overly dense. The Star Wars comics under Marvel have been a huge improvement, with clearly defined eras that are far less difficult to get into. Comics like Greg Pak’s Star Wars: Darth Vader run have given us a much deeper look at the motivations of the Dark Lord of the Sith, while Charles Soule’s Star Wars ongoing helped to flesh out the relationship between Lando and Lobot.

The Star Wars franchise is in a renaissance period right now. Fans might not realize just how good things are at the moment, but that’s par for the course when it comes to this franchise. Star Wars fans rarely realize how good they have it, which is the reason we’re now seeing a lot of revisionist history surrounding the prequels; many of the same people that were tormenting George Lucas and Ahmed Best 25 years ago are now waxing nostalgic about those same films. While many Star Wars fans are jaded about how things have played out under Disney, there’s a general quality that has extended to all aspects of the franchise. Some shows and products have been better than others, but it’s hard to ignore just how good it is to be a Star Wars fan right now.

Have you been enjoying the last few years of Star Wars content? What’s been your favorite thing to come out of the Disney era? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp, on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!

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In an era dominated by digital effects, Star Wars: Skeleton Crew‘s terrifying Mama Crab emerged from a distinctly old-school approach. The massive creature, which towers 30 feet tall compared to the show’s young protagonists, was brought to life through stop-motion animation at Tippett Studio, continuing the practical effects legacy of the original Star Wars trilogy. The project holds special significance as it was created under the guidance of Phil Tippett, the legendary animator behind The Empire Strikes Back‘s AT-ATs and tauntauns, marking a full-circle moment for the franchise’s practical effects tradition.

According to StarWars.com, the creature, nicknamed “Tet’niss” by its creators, became the heaviest stop-motion puppet ever produced by the studio. Visual effects supervisor Chris “CMo” Morley and art director Mark Dubeau collaborated with production designer Doug Chiang to craft a creature that balanced menace with accessibility.

“The original concept didn’t have much of a face,” Morley explains. “It was essentially a giant meatball with legs on it and a bunch of stuff sticking out of the back.” The team refined the design to include a snapping beak while maintaining what Dubeau describes as “a little bit of a Muppet quality,” ensuring the creature wouldn’t terrify younger viewers.

[RELATED – Star Wars’ Coolest New Alien Is Voiced by an Arrested Development Favorite]

The final puppet weighs approximately 15 pounds and features roughly 70 joints for animation. To support this unprecedented weight, the team developed a special harness system, one that required a little extra support.

“It’s definitely the heaviest stop motion puppet we’ve ever worked on,” Morley notes. “So heavy, in fact, that we had to build suspenders for it.”

Eagle-eyed fans might spot several Easter eggs hidden within the creature’s trash-covered shell. Dubeau reveals that miniature versions of familiar droids like R2-D2, K-2SO, and C-3PO are concealed among the debris, alongside fragments of the Millennium Falcon and Imperial walkers. However, Chiang insisted these references remain subtle, ensuring they didn’t distract from the overall design.

The creature also shares DNA with the original trilogy’s practical effects. Its gleaming eyestalks feature ball bearings treated with Sharpie marker, the same technique Tippett used for the rancor’s eyes in Return of the Jedi. The team even added digital slime effects to the creature’s mouth during roars to enhance its organic feel.

“It’s a dance because the intention of the animator can get lost in the reality of the puppet. The puppet will only want to do certain things, and as the animator, you have to lean into that,” stop-motion animation supervisor Tom “Gibby” Gibbons said.

The creation now stands proudly displayed at Tippett Studio, complete with a scientific name plate reading “Megapagurus detritiphorus” – essentially Latin for “big hermit crab carrying trash,” serving as both a tribute to practical effects craftsmanship and a continuation of Star Wars’ legendary practical effects tradition.

Skeleton Crew is now streaming on Disney+.

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You read the title correctly – The Beginning: Making Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace really is one of Lucasfilm’s best movies. How is it that, in a filmography that includes the original Star Wars and Indiana Jones trilogies, a “making of” documentary ranks among the best titles put out by the legendary studio? Even more shocking is that it’s available to watch for free on the official Star Wars YouTube channel; why Lucasfilm had no problem releasing a documentary that chronicles the making of one of the more hated films in the Star Wars franchise is beyond anyone’s guess, but it certainly was brave of them to do so.

While Episode I is hardly regarded as a classic today (though many fans would still rank it higher than the more recent sequel trilogy), the documentary is a fascinating look at the film that audiences had been waiting for since 1983’s Return of the Jedi. The movie has plenty of fascinating behind-the-scenes footage that’s sure to please cinéastes, and it gives audiences an in-depth look at George Lucas’ creative process; throughout the film, he makes it quite clear that he doesn’t always fully know what he’s doing, with many key members of the crew expressing their doubts with his decisions. Was Lucas ahead of the curve when it came to exploring new filmmaking techniques? Was he in over his head? It’s a little of both, as The Beginning reveals with unflinching – and often humorous – honesty.

Why The Beginning Is One of Lucasfilm’s Best Movies

Early in the documentary, we see signs that George Lucas’ reach may be exceeding his grasp when, five months before production begins, he’s marking up a series of storyboards with two different colors, one used to note which on-screen elements are real and the other to note what will be added later with CGI. The crew behind him grow increasingly nervous as Lucas points out the massive number of elements that will need to be built, both practically and by computer. While looking at some other storyboards, Lucas makes a bold declaration that will soon age terribly: “Jar Jar is the key to all of this.” Lucas’ naive enthusiasm is both charming and sad, as at this point in the film’s production, he has no idea how much the character would become a lightning rod for controversy among fans for decades to come.

In between Return of the Jedi and The Phantom Menace, you’d think Lucas would’ve used that large amount of time to hone his craft as a screenwriter. But, as The Beginning amusingly depicts, this doesn’t seem to have been the case. We see the iconic filmmaker take a pretty cavalier attitude towards his script for the film, and little in the way of writing expertise. For example, early in the documentary, as he explains how elements from The Phantom Menace mirror moments from A New Hope, he pauses before awkwardly uttering, “Hopefully it works.” Later on, when the principal cast is about to start the first table read, Lucas tells everyone, “And after this reading, I’ll finish writing the script.” Considering how much of the cheesy dialogue that was rehearsed during the table read ended up in the final product, one wonders if Lucas went back to the screenplay and changed so much as a word.

[RELATED: Wicked Director Reveals Surprising Phone Call From Star Wars Creator George Lucas]

One of the most hilarious and portentous scenes in the documentary is when Lucas and key members of the production team watch a rough cut of The Phantom Menace – and not a single person is impressed by it. “It’s a little disjointed. It’s bold in terms of jerking people around,” Lucas says before leading into a quiet pause. “But … I may have gone a little too far in a few places.” Following the screening, Lucas gets into an argument with producer Rick McCallum and sound/film editor Ben Burtt, in which he admits that he overdid the film more than he has previously, but still believes it’s possible to tone it down for general audiences. Considering how much of – well, everything – The Phantom Menace has in its current form, we’re only left to wonder how much crazier that rough cut was.

George Lucas, A Flawed Genius

The Beginning: Making Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace opens with George Lucas sitting down for a 60 Minutes interview wherein he makes a revealing statement: “The auteur theory of film is very true if you know directors, because they are very much like their movies.” While the auteur theory – a theory that posits that the director is the “author” of their film, or its main creative force – will always be debated in academic film circles, it applies to Lucas and The Phantom Menace quite well; both the director and the film contain flashes of brilliance and genuine innovation, and both are too obsessed with pushing technology forward for its own sake to achieve true greatness.

Still, what makes this documentary so wonderful is that it neither lionizes nor demonizes Lucas and his attempt to reach for the stars, letting the audience decide for themselves how many of his creative risks paid off. The Beginning gives us a brutally honest view of a flawed visionary who may not always be honored for the execution of his grand ideas, but will always be honored for trying. Whether you’re a hardcore Star Wars fan, an aspiring filmmaker, or you just want to see the often uproarious making of a pop culture cornerstone, The Beginning: Making Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace is worth a watch.

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Star Wars: Skeleton Crew is winding down and, so far, it’s done a pretty great job of giving fans a Star Wars tale that they never expected. One of the key aspects of the show has been its mysteries. Star Wars has made some rather large mistakes with mystery box storytelling — the sequel trilogy revolved around this approach and this infuriated fans when the answers weren’t as great as they were expecting. However, Skeleton Crew has been able to sidestep this sort of thing, partly because its mysteries aren’t related to the most beloved aspects of Star Wars and partly because they’re answering them in intriguing ways.

Each mystery leads into another one, which is the best way to do mystery-box storytelling. As the show reaches its ending, the newest mystery is one that has been building since the beginning and is related to the show’s others questions: who is the Supervisor of At Attin? Viewers have gotten some clues about who leads the planet the show’s titular kids crew comes from, and there are two major theories out there.

At-Attin’s Supervisor Is Either a Pirate King or a Computerized Entity

The first theory, and the one that has the most circumstantial evidence behind it, is that the pirate Tak Rennod is the Supervisor. Fans were introduced to Tak Rennod in the second half of the season, after the children and Jod Na Nawood — the scoundrel who helped them escape the pirates at Port Borgo — found the planet At-Achrann, which was related to their homeworld of At-Attin. They learned that their ship, the Onyx Cinder, was formerly Rennod’s ship and eventually made their way to his lair on Lapuna, where they found the coordinates to his homeworld.

When they got to his home, they learned that the Cinder was actually related to their planet. At-Attin is one of the Jewels of the Old Republic, which have been revealed to be worlds that contained Old Republic mints. The planets are surrounded by a powerful defensive system called the Barrier, which destroys any ship that enters them. Only special ships can get through without being targeted, and Rennod was able to get his hands on one, namely the Onyx Cinder.

This means that Rennod at least got to At-Attin. Fans who subscribe to this theory believe that Rennod pretended to be an Old Republic official, tricked the Supervisor somehow, and took their place. It’s a pretty good theory, but the latest episode of the show has thrown all of that into doubt.

[RELATED: Star Wars: Skeleton Crew’s Jod May Be a Game-Changing Character for the Franchise]

The question of who the Supervisor is came from earlier in the season, when the kids’ parents ask for an audience with the Supervisor and are refused by droids, which are ubiquitous on At-Attin. While the planet is staffed by many organic beings, the only authority that viewers actually see, the real power on the planet, are droids. The droids pilot the public transportation, deal with truant children, staff the school, and seem to be the security forces of At-Attin. When the ship lands and the children are bought into the Republic Mint, these droids are everywhere.

Also while the ship is landing, a voice tells everyone on the planet that a Republic official is incoming. Now, this could be the voice of Tak Rennod, but it actually seems more likely that it’s a computerized voice, and the droids are the tools of this computer. The Supervisor could easily be a computer and, honestly, that makes a lot of sense.

The Republic set up nine worlds as mints and went through a lot to keep them hidden. The Republic wasn’t known for using droids for a lot of things, so it makes sense that they would staff the planet with many organics to do a lot of the planet’s “Great Work.” However, greed is something that is very hard for organics to overcome and the Republic wouldn’t want to lose their mints to greed. The Republic putting an A.I. network in control, one that has an army of droids at its disposal, would sidestep that eventuality. The droids would follow the rules no matter what and they would stop anyone who tried to rob the mint.

The Mystery of the Supervisor Is About to be Revealed

These two theories are the most likely for the identity of the Supervisor. While the show has focused a lot on Tak Rennod, it honestly seems like Rennod being the Supervisor is a bit of a red herring. Rennod certainly got to At Attin. Using the ship, which he probably got his hands on by going to one of the other Jewels, allowed him access to the mint. However, it doesn’t seem that the droids would have let him get away. It’s looking more likely that they killed him and buried the Cinder, which would also explain why the safety droids were patrolling that area earlier in the show.

At Attin being run by a powerful A.I. has been subtly hinted at since the beginning. Droids are everywhere on the planet, and while this isn’t strange in Star Wars in some ways, it is weird in others. For example, the Republic never used anything like safety droids in any other Star Wars media, and rarely showed them in positions of authority. The only way this makes sense is if the Republic set up an A.I. network to run the mint.

It’s looking like Star Wars: Skeleton Crew is going to have one last twist, and it’ll be that the planet is run by A.I. The show’s creators have fooled everyone, leading them to believe that Tak Rennod had taken the Supervisor’s place, all while waving the answer in viewers’ faces the whole time.

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew‘s final episode debuts on Disney+ on Tuesday, January 14th at 9 p.m. ET.

The post Who Is the Supervisor in Star Wars: Skeleton Crew? We Have Theories appeared first on ComicBook.com.

A groundbreaking fan documentary aims to unravel one of Star Wars‘ most ambitious and controversial storytelling experiments: the 19-book New Jedi Order series that forever changed the franchise’s literary landscape. Crafting An Epic: The Making of the New Jedi Order, a seven-part documentary series released on YouTube, delves deep into the massive undertaking that spanned from 1999 to 2004. Using over 120 interviews gathered across 25 years, including previously unreleased material, the documentary chronicles the series’ creation and impact through the words of those who brought it to life.

The project, which began releasing episodes on January 8th, examines how this unprecedented publishing venture reshaped Star Wars storytelling. The New Jedi Order (NJO) series represented a radical departure from previous Star Wars novels, introducing a devastating alien invasion that would claim beloved characters and transform the galaxy far, far away.

The series emerged from ambitious planning sessions at Skywalker Ranch in 1997 and 1998, where representatives from Del Rey, Lucasfilm Ltd., and Dark Horse Comics mapped out what would become the franchise’s longest continuous storyline. Twelve authors contributed to the series, which covered four years of galactic history and chronicled the invasion of religious zealots known as the Yuuzhan Vong.

Each of the series’ 19 novels made the New York Times Best Seller List, with more than 4 million books sold worldwide by 2005. Despite its commercial success, the series remained controversial for its darker themes and significant character deaths, though many now view these elements as having paved the way for more complex storytelling in the Star Wars universe.

The documentary’s first installment, “Creation,” explores the series’ conception through seven segments, including “Birth of a Universe,” “Dreaming of an Epic,” and “Creating the Yuuzhan Vong.” Future episodes will examine individual books in detail through discussions with their authors.

[RELATED – Ahsoka Could Be Setting up the Debut of Some Major Star War Expanded Universe Villains]

The NJO’s legacy remains complex. While initially polarizing for its darker tone and high-stakes storytelling that saw the death of major characters, time has softened many fans’ views. The series is now often praised for its ambitious scope and willingness to take risks with established characters. The documentary promises to shed new light on controversial decisions, including the death of Chewbacca in the first novel – a choice that earned author R.A. Salvatore death threats but was actually mandated by George Lucas himself. As Salvatore noted at the 2015 Salt Lake Comic Con, most reader response was ultimately positive despite initial backlash.

Through interviews with the creative team, the documentary explores how the series balanced multiple authors while maintaining narrative coherence. Author Troy Denning reflected on the collaborative process in a March 2014 interview, noting, “As many pages as we wrote in manuscript, we probably wrote that many pages again in emails” to ensure consistency between books.

With new episodes releasing weekly, the documentary offers both longtime fans and newcomers an unprecedented look behind the scenes of this pivotal moment in Star Wars publishing history, examining how this ambitious project has impacted the blockbuster franchise’s storytelling.

The post Star Wars Fan Documentary Revisits the Franchise’s Most Divisive Saga (and It’s Not the Sequels) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Once upon a time, TV Shows typically ran for as long as networks could squeeze the last drop of money out of them. Nowadays, extremely brief runs on streamers and networks are extremely common for a multitude of reasons. Shows just don’t get to five or more seasons very often anymore. Star Wars: Andor is no exception. This Star Wars TV program’s first season was an unequivocal hit by all measures. After Andor Season 2 drops in 2025, that’ll be the end for this Cassian Andor spinoff series. Andor will only last two seasons (24 episodes total), full stop.

This lines up with not just the norm for modern big-budget streaming shows, but also many of the Disney+ Star Wars programs. The Book of Boba Fett and The Acolyte only ran for a single season each, while The Mandalorian currently only has three seasons to its name. Even so, there are some very specific reasons why Andor Season 2 is the Final Season. Despite Star Wars fans loving this corner of the galaxy far, far away, it’s simply not practical to make even more seasons of this particular show.

It’s hard to remember now, but Andor was one of the very first Star Wars Disney+ shows put into development, first being revealed to the public back in November 2018. A showrunner was set for the program by the end of that year – indicating that Andor was really getting up and running. It’s easy to imagine a timeline where this show debuted as early as the first few months of 2021. Instead, COVID-19 hit and Rogue One‘s uncredited director Tony Gilroy took over the reins of Andor, delaying the production severely.

The Changing Plans For Andor’s Length

The program would not begin airing until August 2022, nearly four years after it was first announced! A few months before those debut episodes dropped, cinematographer Adriano Goldman divulged that, initially, Andor had been set to run for five seasons. At the time, Goldman speculated that ambitions were to do the show in just three seasons. The lengthy delay behind Andor’s first season and all the energy it took to get those first 12 episodes off the ground had clearly impacted long-term commitments to the show. In a later breakdown of the show’s origins, Diego Luna would reveal he too signed onto Andor under the perception that it would be a five-season show.

Gilroy would explain a month later specifically why those lengthy plans had been so drastically altered. The grand scope of Andor took so long to realize and bring to life that, while shooting the first season, Gilroy realized bringing five Andor seasons to life was going to be impossible. After all, Luna would naturally age over the years it took to make just a single season of 12 episodes. Eventually, trying to pass off Andor as a prequel to the 2016 movie Rogue One while starring an older Luna would be lunacy; condensing it down into two seasons was the best solution for everyone’s sanity.

[Related: Rogue One Star Still Has “Unfinished Business” With Star Wars, But Will They Return in Andor? ]

What Will Andor Season 2 Entail?

Andor’s second season will now compress all the years between Andor season one and Rogue One into 12 episodes. Gilroy even revealed while promoting Andor’s inaugural season that the program’s final scene would lead right into Cassian Andor’s first burst of screentime in Rogue One. There’s a lot of material to cover in this season, but it sounds like Gilroy, Luna, and company are all dedicated to giving Andor a grand finale.

Gilroy’s flexibility with condensing Andor will understandably frustrate some Star Wars fans who would gobble up as many Cassian Andor yarns as these writers could conjure up. Certainly if this show existed in the 1990s, Andor would just keep running and running until the ratings dropped through the basement. However, Gilroy’s comments over the last three years have made it definitively clear that Andor has a finite lifespan of two seasons. Given that the second season directly leads into Rogue One, there’s no chance for a reprieve here.

Limiting a TV program to just two seasons would’ve sounded like madness back in the day. Then again, most TV shows of past decades didn’t have budgets and grand scopes as expansive as Andor’s! At least Star Wars fans can now gird themselves for Andor: A Star Wars Story’s inevitable conclusion and pray this final season is half as good as the show’s first.

Andor is now streaming on Disney+.

The post Andor: Why Star Wars Is Ending the Hit Show After Season 2 appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Game of Thrones actor Rory McCann, who played The Hound on the hit fantasy series, has joined the cast of Ahsoka Season 2. Per The Insneider (later confirmed by The Hollywood Reporter), McCann is set to portray Baylan Skoll, replacing the late Ray Stevenson, who passed away in May 2023. Baylan, a former Jedi turned mercenary, is one of the primary antagonists of Ahsoka Season 1, working alongside Morgan Elsbeth and the Nightsisters in their search to find Grand Admiral Thrawn.

The Hollywood Reporter‘s report notes that no directors or production start date for Ahsoka Season 2 have been set. However, it was previously indicated cameras would begin rolling on the Star Wars show at some point in April. It’s unknown if that’s still the case, but McCann’s casting would indicate the creative team is gearing up to start filming in the near future.

Months after Stevenson’s death, Ahsoka showrunner and Lucasfilm chief creative officer Dave Filoni addressed Baylan Skoll’s future, admitting at the time the studio was in a “wait-and-see pattern.” Season 1 left the character’s story open-ended, as Baylan parted ways with his apprentice Shin Hati to follow his own path on the planet Peridea. The finale sees him come across statues depicting the Gods of Mortis, powerful Force-users who famously appeared on animated series The Clone Wars.

[Related: Star Wars’ Latest Retcon Makes Ahsoka’s Continuity Even More Complicated]

Over the course of Season 1, Baylan became one of the more fascinating characters in Star Wars lore. After seeing the Jedi Order he was once apart of be destroyed during the Clone Wars, he desires to break the destructive cycle of light vs. dark that’s permeated throughout galactic history. Ahsoka Season 2 plot details are being kept under wraps for now, but McCann’s involvement all but confirms the show will continue Baylan’s arc, delving more into his plan. Shin, Ahsoka, Sabine, and Huyang are also on Peridea as Season 1 closes, so it’s possible Baylan will cross paths with them again.

Lucasfilm could have opted to resolve Baylan’s story in a different medium, but recasting the role was arguably the most logical option. Baylan is such an integral part of Season 1 that it would have been jarring if Season 2 dropped this thread completely. The character’s last scene in the finale is designed to tease what’s next; it was likely crafted with future appearances for Baylan in mind. And since audiences responded very well to the character, there was interest in seeing more of him on-screen. It’ll be exciting to see how Ahsoka Season 2 handles Baylan’s connection to the Mortis Gods.

Of course, Stevenson’s performance was a main reason why Baylan resonated with audiences. The actor was able to craft a compelling figure different from what audiences have seen before, and it’s unfortunate fans won’t be able to see Stevenson add more to Baylan’s legacy. McCann has large shoes to fill as he inherits the role, but he’s a talented actor in his own right, and he’ll surely do the part justice. Everyone involved with Ahsoka Season 2 understands the magnitude of recasting Baylan and will ensure they get it “right,” honoring Stevenson’s turn while paving a new path forward.

The post Game of Thrones Star Set to Replace Late Ray Stevenson in Ahsoka Season 2 appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Star Wars: The Acolyte contained visions of a future that would never come to pass. The eight-episode Disney+ series introduced twin sisters Osha and Mae Aniseya (Amandla Stenberg) — one a former Padawan of the Jedi Master Sol (Lee Jung-jae), and the other a Sith apprentice of the masked Stranger (Manny Jacinto) — the result of a vergence in the Force capable of creating life. The daughters of the Force-wielding witch Mother Aniseya (Jodie Turner-Smith), killed by Sol 16 years earlier on Brendok, converged on their home planet in “The Acolyte” episode, which ended with the sisters switching places as Osha accepted a role as the Stranger’s acolyte.

Master Vernestra (Rebecca Henderson) covered up the truth with a lie told to the Senate tribunal, then went to the mind-wiped Mae to help her track down her pupil who turned to the dark side. Osha took her sister’s place at the Stranger’s side, suggesting the story was to continue in another chapter of the High Republic era.

But in August 2024, just a month after that season 2-teasing finale, Disney canceled The Acolyte after one season. Nevertheless, the show’s characters continue to appear in the ever-expanding Star Wars galaxy: fan-favorite Jedi Knight Yord and Padawan learner Jecki are starring in a new YA prequel novel after Marvel Comics featured the Wookiee Jedi Kelnacca in a one-shot comic book last summer.

And now Osha, Mae, and Mother Aniseya will feature on a series of Marvel Black History Month variant covers in February (see them below). The covers — which will adorn issues of Marvel’s Star Wars: The Legacy of Vader and Star Wars: The High Republic – Fear of the Jedi — will also spotlight Vail from the Star Wars: Outlaws video game and original Star Wars trilogy and sequel trilogy hero Lando Calrissian.

The artists are Mateus Manhanini (Marvel’s Storm), Karen S. Darboe (Bloodline: Daughter of Blade), Ernanda Souza (Black Panther), and Ken Lashley (Venom War: Wolverine).

“We were happy with our performance, but it wasn’t where we needed it to be given the cost structure of that title, quite frankly, to go and make a season 2,” Disney Entertainment Entertainment co-chairman Alan Bergman later explained of the decision not to renew The Acolyte. “So that’s the reason why we didn’t do that.”

The series proved divisive among fans: on Rotten Tomatoes, The Acolyte‘s audience rating is just 19 percent compared to critics’ 72 percent.

“Of course I’m very sad about the show being canceled, and I’m sad about us not being able to give people invested in it more,” Stenberg shared on social media, “[but] I still just feel a lot of levity and joy around the fact that I got to experience it and that people loved it and that people were so responsive.”

STAR WARS: THE LEGACY OF VADER #1 Black History Month Variant Cover by Karen S. Darboe

On sale: Feb. 5

STAR WARS: THE HIGH REPUBLIC – FEAR OF THE JEDI #1 Black History Month Variant Cover by Mateus Manhanini

On sale: Feb. 19

STAR WARS: AHSOKA #8 Black History Month Variant Cover by Ernanda Souza

On sale: Feb. 19

STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER ADAPTATION #1 Black History Month Variant Cover by Ken Lashley

On sale: Feb. 26

The post Star Wars Spotlights The Acolyte Characters After Disney+ Series Cancellation appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew seems to be winning over the fans who have checked it out – and a lot of the show’s charm comes from having Jude Law in the lead role of Jod Na Nawood, an unscrupulous pirate who’s fallen on hard times. There are still many questions surrounding Jod (like if that’s even his real name), but one of the biggest mysteries has been the nature of his special powers. Jod impersonated a Jedi at first – a lie he sold to the young protagonists of the show by demonstrating Force-use abilities like telekinesis as evidence of his Jedi training.

The penultimate episode of Skeleton Crew made it pretty clear that Jod hasn’t even had the most basic Jedi training needed to handle a lightsaber properly. However, if Jod Na Nawood is indeed a non-Jedi Force user, then he’s (low-key) a game-changer for the Star Wars franchise.

Jod Is Everything OT

Assuming that Jod Na Nawood is indeed a Force-user who never received Jedi training, he represents the union of the two male character archetypes from the Original Trilogy: Luke Skywalker and Han Solo. Untapped Force potential; roguish charmer and ne’er do well who may turn out to have a heart – it’s all there. With Jude Law’s charisma helping sell the character to mainstream viewers, Jod is already cementing himself among Star Wars’ best breakout characters.

…And that is a major hurdle for the Star Wars franchise to get over.

[RELATED: Skeleton Crew Just Honored A Star Wars Franchise Tradition]

Since Star Wars: The Last Jedi ended on the divisive note that anyone (not just a Skywalker) can be a potential Force-user hero – and the fandom has been debating that point, ever since. However, a different kind of Force user being at the center of a popular Star Wars TV series is proof of concept that the franchise can do a wider variety of things with that fantastical concept, without overpowering the other fun, adventurous, or at times scary elements of the galaxy far, far, away.

If you aren’t watching it (yet), Star Wars: Skeleton Crew follows “four kids who make a mysterious discovery on their seemingly safe home planet, then get lost in a strange and dangerous galaxy. Finding their way home — and meeting unlikely allies and enemies — will be a greater adventure than they ever imagined.”

The series features the main (young) characters of Wim (Ravi Cabot-Conyers), Fern (Ryan Kiera Armstrong), KB (Kyriana Kratter), and new fan-favorite Neel (Robert Timothy Smith). Jude Law plays Jod Na Nawood, a “charismatic Force-user with a mysterious past.”

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew is streaming on Disney+.

The post Star Wars: Skeleton Crew’s Jod May Be A Game-Changing Character for the Franchise appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Disney+ is one of the more popular streaming services currently on the market, boasting a lineup of big-name franchises like Star Wars, Marvel, and Pixar, along with offerings from ESPN and Hulu. It’s hard to argue that you don’t get a lot of content for your Disney+ subscription. However, many users may not realize you get even more bang for your buck with freebies. Sure, you’re already paying for Disney+, but there are added benefits you don’t even know about since they’re not heavily promoted. And if you’re a Star Wars fan, you’re even more inclined to learn about these secrets lying inside your Disney+ subscription.

We’ve pinpointed seven of the secret benefits that come free with your Disney+ subscription. Along with enjoying your favorite TV shows and movies, there are extras you probably aren’t aware of inside your Disney+ account. We’re talking deleted scenes, special commentary, IMAX versions, and so much more. Star Wars fans, in particular, will want to pay close attention since many of the extras come from the intergalactic franchise.

Star Wars Deleted Scenes

Have you ever wanted to see what Star Wars scenes made it on the cutting room floor? If so, then Disney+ is the streamer for you. Disney+ has deleted scenes from the Star Wars original trilogy, prequel trilogy, and sequel trilogy all in one place. The streamer groups the Star Wars timeline in chronological order, meaning you can start with tales from the High Republic in Star Wars: The Acolyte and then move on to the most recent movies like Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

[RELATED: Three of the Most Popular Movies on Disney+ Are Rated R]

These deleted scenes are found under the “Extras” section of each Star Wars movie page on Disney+. Though they usually run under one minute long, they offer a look at scenes shot for the feature films but were left out for one reason or another. Sometimes it can come down to run time, and other instances sees these scenes changing a story that no longer warrants the scene in question.

IMAX-Enhanced Marvel Movies

The Marvel Cinematic Universe looks better than ever on Disney+ thanks to the magic of IMAX. Marvel Studios has gone back and added IMAX-enhanced versions of solo movies like Iron Man, Black Panther, Doctor Strange, as well as team-up movies like Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. Normally viewers would only be able to watch something in IMAX by going to their local movie theater. But now this can happen just by opening the Disney+ app at home.

IMAX-Enhanced features IMAX’s expanded aspect ratio for some or all scenes as they originally looked on the big screen. That means instead of having the black bars at the top and bottom of the screen, some scenes have the expanded aspect ratio so they take up the entire screen.

Commentary From Directors and Actors

One of the best ways to watch a movie is through the bonus commentary, where the creators and actors behind the films sit down and discuss it while the movie plays out. The viewer gets to see the movie and hear the commentary voices as they provide behind-the-scenes details you can’t find anywhere else. Many of the Star Wars and Marvel movies come with this type of commentary as an option under the “Extras” section.

Listen to filmmakers Rian Johnson, Joe and Anthony Russo, Christopher Markus, and Stephen McFeely as they talk over some of the biggest and most successful movies made in the modern era.

Sing Along With Your Favorite Disney Movies

Disney is known for the catchy musical tunes and songs that are littered throughout its movies. From Frozen to Encanto to The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast, Disney+ subscribers can now sing right beside these animated and hybrid hits. The musical versions of these films dropped in 2022, with newer entries being added as they make their way to Disney+

These “Sing-Along” editions are separate entities inside Disney+, alongside the original versions of the films. Disney+ encourages subscribers to follow the on-screen lyrics and sing along to their favorite songs.

Score-Only Version of Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Another musically inclined option on Disney+ is to stream Star Wars: The Last Jedi. But instead of running its commentary track or deleted scenes, viewers can tune in and watch a version of the Rian Johnson-directed film but only with the musical score playing. That means no dialogue or sound effects to be found. This is even more unique than the Sing-Alongs we mentioned earlier, since there won’t be the familiar lightsaber or blaster sound effects we’ve all grown accustomed to over decades of Star Wars storytelling.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson came up with the idea of the Score-Only version. He wanted a way to celebrate composer John Williams’s masterful work on the Star Wars movies. There’s also over 70 minutes of unreleased music found in the edition.

Making-of Documentaries for The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker

It’s Star Wars again with another intimate angle for two of its most recent movies. The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker both have special feature-length documentaries to wrap up the Skywalker Saga. Rian Johnson helmed the middle chapter, The Last Jedi, with J.J. Abrams coming back to complete the trilogy he started with The Force Awakens.

The Director and The Jedi is the title of The Last Jedi‘s documentary as Rian Johnson goes into the process of joining the Star Wars franchise. The Skywalker Legacy goes behind the scenes on the making of The Rise of Skywalker.

Specials Filmed Inside Disney Parks

Disney is known for its parks and attractions that thousands of fans flock to each year. There are specials and documentaries filmed inside those Disney Parks, from Disneyland Resorts, Walt Disney World, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, and more. It’s another unique look at how some of your favorite Disney locations bring that magic to visitors.

Examples of these series and specials include Epcot Becoming: Inside the Transformation, The Imagineering Story, Magic of Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and Behind the Attraction. So the next time you’re aimlessly scrolling Disney+, you can’t use the excuse that you can’t find anything entertaining to watch. Disney+ is full of interesting nuggets just waiting to be explored.

The post 7 Secrets Your Disney+ Subscription Includes for Free appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew waited until Episode 7 to participate in the franchise’s longest running gag. This week, we heard Nooma (Geneva Carr) deliver the classic line: “I have a bad feeling about this,” as many other Star Wars greats have before her. Read on for more but fair warning: there are spoilers ahead!

Fans across the galaxy will need to update their supercuts this week. Nooma, Neel’s mother, gave them a fresh take on the classic “I have a bad feeling about this” catchphrase, as she was interrupted and unable to finish the line. It still counts in the annals of Star Wars history, which go back nearly half a century now. For those unaware, “I have a bad feeling about this” has become memetic within the fandom since the release of A New Hope in 1977.

You may recall the first delivery of this line — as the Millennium Falcon approached the Death Star, Luke Skywalker (Mark Hammill) muttered: “I have a bad feeling about this.” A few scenes later as the walls of the trash compactor began to close in, Han Solo (Harrison Ford) was a bit more fatalistic as he said: “I got a bad feeling about this.” Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) got to take the line for a spin in The Empire Strikes Back when the Falcon landed inside the belly of a space slug, and C-3PO (Anthony Daniels) rephrased it again in Return of the Jedi as he and R2D2 walked into Jabba the Hutt’s palace.

[RELATED: New Star Wars Rumor Reveals Surprising Characters Could Join Dave Filoni’s Movie]

All the utterances of this line have been tallied up by fans in various places online. It’s present in all nine films in the Skywalker Saga, as well as Solo: A Star Wars Story and Rogue One. It’s repeated many times in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels and once in Star Wars Resistance. On Disney+, the line has been included in Ahsoka, The Acolyte and now Skeleton Crew. Meanwhile, its use in books, comics and video games is extensive, especially when counting the Legends timeline and all of its content.

It’s hard to say how and when exactly the phrase became self-referential. Lucas wrote the screenplay for A New Hope himself, but handed those duties over to Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan for the rest of the original trilogy. He wrote the prequel trilogy, though shared co-writing duties with Jonathan Hales on Attack of the Clones. The sequel trilogy is much more scattered, with Kasdan notably credited on The Force Awakens.

It’s easy to imagine that many writers in the franchise were paying homage to Lucas, though some fans online also mock him, calling this line trite and predictable. For most, it’s the kind of harmless Easter egg that provides a little casual continuity as this franchise morphs and grows through different technology, corporate owners and creative hands.

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew is streaming now on Disney+. The final episode of the season premieres there on Tuesday, January 18th.

The post Star Wars: Skeleton Crew Finally Contributes to a Franchise Tradition appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew Episode 7 has debunked the idea that pirate captain Jod Na Nawood (Jude Law) was ever a Jedi. The mystery of the Jedi connection has been one of the running subplots of Skeleton Crew since Jod first showed up onscreen, but the show has also been dropping breadcrumbs of doubt on Jod’s story. In Episode 7, longtime Star Wars fans got visual confirmation that Jod was a conman.

Jod Is No Jedi

In Star Wars: Skeleton Crew Episode 7 “We’re Gonna Be in So Much Trouble” Jod and his pirate cohorts chase the main cast of kids – Wim (Ravi Cabot-Conyers), Fern (Ryan Kiera Armstrong), KB (Kyriana Kratter), and Neel (Robert Timothy Smith) – back to their hidden homeworld of At Attin. After piercing the planet’s protective barrier and reaching the surface, Jod finally makes his double-crossing moves, killing would-be pirate king Brutus (Fred Tatasciore) and coercing the kids into pretending he’s a Republic emissary so he can steal At Attin’s mythical treasure: thousands of secured vaults full of Republic credits.

In the scene where Jod turns full villain on Wim and Co., he finally pulls out the lightsaber he found in legendary pirate Rennod’s vault. However, any fan who has ever watched an actual Jedi in a Star Wars project could immediately see that Jod didn’t know how to handle the energy sword at even a padawan level. In fact, Jude Law should be commended for nailing the physical acting of a man pretending to be an experienced lightsaber-wielder, when he has no idea what he’s doing. It spoke volumes without making any heavy-handed “reveal” about Jod’s lie – which isn’t necessary, given how the entire episode is dedicated to having the proverbial mask slip off and Jod’s true nefarious face being revealed. But for the Star Wars fans who pay attention to all that lightsaber choreography, seeing Jod handle the sword was as telling as any confession.

[RELATED: How Skeleton Crew May Connect to a Major New Star Wars Movie]

What Are Jod’s Powers, Then?

Jod has shown multiple times that he can affect objects through what is seemingly Force use – but could viewers’ eyes deceive them, just like the kids’ did?

The Skeleton Crew character synopses list Jod as a “Force-user,” which could very well be the case: we know Star Wars (at least The Last Jedi) has been toying with the idea of the galaxy having more Force-users who never became Jedi. That said, the franchise also has a long-established history of characters – usually ne’er do well characters – who use technological devices that simulate Force abilities or replicate their effect.

The most famous example in the franchise is Doctor Chelli Aphra, the artifact-heisting genius who is the breakout star of modern Star Wars comics. Aphra’s body is laced with cybernetics for splicing and other defensive/offensive abilities, and many of her storylines involve running into other characters who are also either coveting or using ancient tech artifacts meant to either combat Force users like Jedi and Sith or provide artificial access to Force abilities. So that tech does exist in the Star Wars franchise – but the explanation of Jod’s trickery doesn’t need to be that complicated.

If we’re going over the details with a fine-toothed comb, all of Jod’s supposed examples of “Force abilities” have been cases where he used them to affect metallic objects (such as a set of jail keys or handcuffs). It suggests that Jod may have some cybernetic implant or is carrying some device that allows him some measure of magnetic manipulation. It’s the kind of cheap trick and sleight-of-hand that would fit the character of an unscrupulous pirate: a means of making a small man seem larger-than-life, or a weak man seem like he has greater power than he ever will.

The question now is how Star Wars: Skeleton Crew will use this subplot of ‘Fake-Jedi-Jod’ to affect the characters in the show – or Jod himself. Will faking Force abilities and mishandling a lightsaber long enough make Jod reconsider his moral failings? Or are the Jedi going to become a metaphor for childhood naivete about heroic or benevolent powers in the world that can save us – before we grow up and learn we must be active participants in “saving” ourselves?

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew is streaming on Disney+.

The post Star Wars: Skeleton Crew Basically Confirms Jod Isn’t a Jedi appeared first on ComicBook.com.

After concluding the saga of Indiana Jones, and bringing the enigma known as Bob Dlyan to the big screen, director James Mangold will be turning his attention to a galaxy far, far away. He’ll also be turning back the clock on that galaxy thousands of years. Mangold has been tapped to direct a new Star Wars movie that will take place in the era known as the Dawn of the Jedi, exploring the origins of the Force and the people who wield it.

This may seem like a surprising place to set a new Star Wars film, especially when so much of the franchise is currently focused on the years surrounding the New Republic, but that change appears to be the biggest reason Mangold was drawn to the story. While speaking with MovieWeb, Mangold opened up about the excitement that comes with a Star Wars playground largely untouched by the rest of the franchise lore.

“To me the two aspects that are really important are the freedom to make something new, which Beau [Willimon] and I, in relation to Star Wars, are working on a script and we’ll see what happens,” Mangold explained. “It’s just a matter of do we find a way on the page to say something original. Part of the reason the Star Wars movie would be taking place 25,000 years before any known Star Wars movies take place. It’s an area and a playground that I’ve always [wanted to explore] and that I was inspired by as a teenager. I’m not that interested in being handcuffed by so much lore at this point that it’s almost immovable, and you can’t please anybody.”

[RELATED: The 10 Most Powerful Star Wars Characters Ranked]

His words about exploring Star Wars came as part of a larger conversation regarding Mangold’s career, which has constantly jumped between all sorts of different genres. The filmmaker said that he enjoys being able to challenge himself by jumping into different playgrounds with his various films.

“My entire career, I really enjoy changing what I’m doing,” he said. “I don’t think I’m changing myself… but I like to throw myself into things that people don’t expect, or that I don’t expect, more importantly, in terms of surprising myself or challenging myself. It’s honestly partly about luck. I’ve been afforded the chance. I can work in different genres because people will finance it.”

Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi doesn’t have a release date at this time, but it is in active development over at Lucasfilm. We don’t know yet whether that will be Mangold’s next movie, or if he’ll first jump over to DC Studios for his Swamp Thing adaptation.

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This week’s episode of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew featured a reference to one of the most horrifying moments in the prequel trilogy. Seeing a lightsaber drawn against younglings at the Jedi temple was bad enough, but in Skeleton Crew, the children are the main characters and protagonists. Read on for more but fair warning: there are spoilers ahead!

Skeleton Crew has put its four main characters in a lot of danger so far — sometimes fun and whimsical escapades, sometimes truly harrowing scenarios. Along the way, it has kept us guessing about the motives of their guide, Jod Na Nawood (Jude Law), but now his malice seems to be confirmed. The episode ended with Jod approaching the children and their parents, igniting his lightsaber in the process. It didn’t take long to fans to compare this to the moment when Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) ignited his lightsaber before a group of younglings in Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith.

This moment has become a meme among star wars fans in the last two decades. It comes shortly after Anakin pledges himself to Darth Sidious and the dark side. His turn towards evil happens pretty quickly, as the scene implies that he personally murders a room full of children without actually showing the violence. We don’t know any of these younglings, but the killings still feel hauntingly personal as one of the kids gets a line of dialogue. Assuming that Anakin will defend them from the invading clone troopers, he says: “Master Skywalker, there are too many of them! What are we doing to do?”

[RELATED: This Theory About Skeleton Crew’s Mysterious Supervisor Makes So Much Sense]

Incidentally, this young Jedi initiate does have a canonical name — Sors Bandeam, an anagram of the name of the child actor who played him, Ross Bandeam. The character’s sparse backstory was first shared in The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia, and Bandeam himself later wrote about his experience in a Q&A session with fans on Reddit.

Still, the threat hits harder for characters we’ve followed closely like those in Skeleton Crew. We’ve been warned since Episode 3 that Jod was not a heroic figure, but it’s a new low to see him wield one of the most dangerous weapons in the galaxy against the kids he has been guiding and protecting. However, with one more episode to go, it’s easy to imagine that we’ll change our minds about Jod at least one more time by the end of the season.

Revenge of the Sith and Skeleton Crew are streaming now on Disney+. The season finale of Skeleton Crew premieres on Tuesday, January 14th.

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Over the course of the nearly 50-year history of Star Wars, fans have earned exciting insight about the birth of the galaxy far, far away. In the age of the Internet and streaming, fans have more access than ever before to the iconic development of the franchise, with Lucasfilm being so aware of the interest in pulling back the curtain on the process that each season of a new TV series will also get a behind-the-scenes deep dive on Disney+. Not only that, but social media means that members of the cast and crew can share unique anecdotes at a moment’s notice, allowing fans to appreciate the saga in an entirely new light.

Still, no matter how much information about the making of the movies can be gleaned from falling into internet wormholes, there have been a wealth of fascinating documentaries that run the gamut of chronicling the entire galaxy far, far away to focusing on one significant (or notorious) corner of the series. Whether you’re a relative newcomer to the franchise or you’ve been with it since the start, below you’ll find a handful of documentaries that are sure to offer new perspectives on one of the greatest franchises in sci-fi history.

Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy

Originally released in a box set of the original trilogy on DVD in 2004, Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy explores the creation of the original trilogy of films and features insight from all of the key members of all three films. Given the subject matter and the timing of the documentary’s development, Empire of Dreams is arguably the definitive documentary chronicling every monumental step in the journey of the first three films, from George Lucas conceiving of the narrative to the filming to the cultural impact of all three entries, serving as the most engaging opportunity to learn about the movies.

In addition to Empire of Dreams documenting key moment’s in the trilogy’s history, the movie itself is an impressive piece of filmmaking, as it manages to make audiences question whether or not Lucas’s gambles would pay off for him, even though we already know the impact of the saga and its tremendous success.

A Disturbance in the Force

While Empire of Dreams chronicles how the saga was created out of nowhere and became a cultural legacy, A Disturbance in the Force is almost the exact opposite.

In 1978, CBS wanted to get in on the Star Wars game and got Lucas to agree to let them develop a variety show, which would become the infamous The Star Wars Holiday Special. The event brought back all of the key figures in the franchise, including Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, and Carrie Fisher, but also injected comedic sketches, musical numbers, and the fictional celebration of “Life Day,” a holiday celebrated by Wookiees.

The Star Wars Holiday Special only aired once and had an infamous reputation for decades, given that it never earned an official home video release, forcing fans to track down bootleg copies of the debacle. A Disturbance in the Force feature interviews not only with individuals who helped make the special, but also a number of hilarious Star Wars fans who all try to make sense of the affair. Given that the special itself will never be released, no matter how many times filmmakers turn elements of it into official canon, watching this documentary is the next best thing.

I Am Your Father

Villains don’t come any bigger than Darth Vader, thanks to the nefarious schemes he enacted, the vocal performance of James Earl Jones, and the towering stature of actor David Prowse. It was a team effort to make the Sith Lord so unsettling, and while everyone involved in the project knows it was a collaboration, Prowse’s efforts have largely been overlooked in the decades since Vader was unleashed.

I Am Your Father serves as a documentary honoring Prowse’s career before, during, and after his work in Star Wars, but also comes with some emotional significance. Star Wars: Return of the Jedi famously ends with Luke Skywalker unmasking Vader, and while Prowse was led to believe he would film this scene, actor Sebastian Shaw instead conveyed the character’s dying moments. In addition to the documentary exploring Prowse’s melancholy about the situation, the filmmakers also allowed Prowse himself to film his own version of the scene to close the frustrating chapter of his life.

Elstree 1976

Many of the documentaries on this list feature interviews with the most important players in the franchise, but Elstree 1976 takes an entirely different approach. Rather than focusing on the main cast and crew, the documentary instead focuses on the people who existed in the margins of the movie, whether they be extras who had small parts or had smaller, though still pivotal, roles behind the scenes.

Named after the studio where Star Wars (before it had the A New Hope subtitle) was filmed, the movie highlights how even being a tangential part of the seminal project changed the lives of participants, while others carried on with their careers unimpeded. Similarly, the documentary serves as a reminder of how, while the major players in the franchise have deservedly earned acclaim, it was truly a team effort to bring the ambitious adventure to life.

The Director and the Jedi

In 2015, J.J. Abrams delivered audiences Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and while the movie earned positive reviews and broke countless box-office records, some fans derided the experience for being a bit too familiar and a bit too safe. Filmmaker Rian Johnson aimed to push the series into uncharted territory with Star Wars: The Last Jedi, effectively dividing the Star Wars fandom forever.

While some fans loved seeing Johnson’s storytelling in the galaxy far, far away, detractors claimed that Johnson knew nothing about the sci-fi saga and aimed to “ruin” elements of not just the sequel, but also the franchise as a whole. Watching the behind-the-scenes documentary The Director and the Jedi likely won’t cause any audiences to change their minds on liking The Last Jedi, but it does showcase how much passion, excitement, and love Johnson brought to his story, regardless of what online trolls have to say. The documentary even includes the moment in which Mark Hamill, who was vocal about his disagreement with Johnson’s direction for Luke Skywalker, learns that the title of the film represents Luke and viewers can see the emotional impact such a reveal takes on the performer.

Honorable Mention: The Beginning: Making Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace

George Lucas is understandably considered the be-all, end-all storyteller for the Star Wars saga, and rightfully so. 16 years after delivering audiences Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, one of the most monumental events in sci-fi cinema was his return to the series for a prequel trilogy.

There’s a lot to like about Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, but fans of all ages can largely agree that the prequel trilogy doesn’t live up to the original movies. While The Director and the Jedi showcases how much thought went into all of Johnson’s decisions, The Beginning serves almost as a counterpoint, as fans can watch Lucas make a number of decisions about the first prequel that would ultimately be elements that earned the most criticism.

Most notably, the documentary features Lucas reacting to the first cut of the movie, as he expressed things like, “It’s a little disjointed … it’s bold, in terms of jerking people around. I may have gone too far in a few places.” Of course, this is just his reaction to the initial pass, but with the divisive nature of both The Last Jedi and The Phantom Menace, this documentary reminds you that even the creator of the saga isn’t infallible.

The post 5 Star Wars Documentaries That Will Change How You See the Saga Forever appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Star Wars has never seemed interested in fleshing out the rules and limitations of the Force, but at the center of nerd culture, it hasn’t always had a choice. Over the years, some characters have clearly risen to the top, making power-scaling for this franchise surprisingly straightforward. Star Wars characters’ abilities definitely grow on a narrative basis when the story demands it, and the movies are generally pretty good about making these leaps believable. The TV shows are usually the same, and even the novels and comic books are pretty consistent, though the video games can skew the balance quite a bit. What’s perhaps even more important is how Star Wars maintains perspective.

Even when characters pull off something unprecedented, we’re left to believe that there is still infinite unrealized potential in this vast galaxy. That’s really the strength of a “soft magic system” like the Force, and it’s why this franchise has room for the 10 heavy hitters below. Read on for the top 10 strongest characters we’ve met so far.

#10 – Kylo Ren

Kylo Ren naturally lands on this list as a grandson of Anakin — meaning he is only two generations removed from an immaculate birth. Although he fights for the dark side for most of the sequel trilogy, he displays impressive control of his emotions as his actions clearly leave him with conflicting feelings. That helps make him an interesting character, but it also helps make him extremely powerful.

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Kylo — or Ben Solo — has some impressive Force feats to his name including helping to kill both Snoke and Palpatine as part of a Force dyad with Rey. He is still the only character we’ve seen use the Force to catch a blaster bolt in the air, which raises some unanswered questions about what blasters are and how the Force can be used directly on light and energy. On the other hand, he loses some fights that were clearly in his favor and his dalliance with the dark side clearly occludes his skills of perception, which is why he’s at the lowest position on this list.

#9 – Rey Skywalker

The other half of Kylo’s dyad, Rey Skywalker is a skilled Force user and a fast learner. She balances the heroic part of a Jedi’s role with the trickster aspect quite nicely, often relying on her enemies to underestimate her. However, by the end of the sequel trilogy, she displays some powers that rival anything we’ve ever seen before — all with minimal training or even studying.

Rey may even rise on this list in the years to come if she returns in new Star Wars movies, as planned. Last we saw her, she had helped finish off the First Order and was planning to begin building something new. If she can contribute to lasting peace in the galaxy, she might be more powerful than anyone else on this list.

#8 – Bendu

Bendu was a megalithic being introduced in Star Wars Rebels: Steps Into Shadow, and he appeared in four more episodes after that. Although not a Jedi himself, Bendu met with Jedi Knight Kanan Jarrus and his Padawan Ezra Bridger and counseled the two of them from a place of authority. His wisdom hinted at his attunement with the Force, and at first, he refused to participate in any violence. Outside of combat, Bendu displayed some of the clearest precognition we’ve ever seen in a Force user, along with powerful empathic abilities that extended to both the light and dark sides.

When Bendu was finally pushed to defend himself, his Force abilities coupled with his immense physiology made him an absolute tank. He was able to weather direct blasts from AT-ATs and rifles. When it came time to strike back, Bendu changed form into a massive storm that stopped Grand Admiral Thrawn and his forces in their tracks. In the end, he vanished into thin air — perhaps changing his form once again or perhaps using some kind of local teleportation we’ve never seen anywhere else.

#7 – Darth Revan

Many of the characters on this list come from the video game franchise Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic — and with good reason. In an age when both the Sith and Jedi were more numerous and more active, there were bound to be a few stand-out practitioners among them, including Darth Revan. The protagonist of the first game was a genius tactician, a fierce warrior, and another wielder of immense precognition.

Revan began as a Jedi who was essential to winning the Mandalorian Wars, but after the fighting was over, they disappeared. They returned later as a Sith, looking to install a new Sith Empire in power over the galaxy. Revan was then betrayed by an apprentice, proving the Jedi’s point that emotional attachment often clouds judgment.

#6 – Darth Nihilus

Introduced in Knights of the Old Republic II, Darth Nihilus was imbued with immense power when he mysteriously survived an extinction-level attack on the planet Malachor V during the Mandalorian Wars. His new power came at a cost — he would now crave Force energy, and consuming it could draw the life force right out of anyone he stood nearby. This made him formidable even for fellow Force-users, as their attempt to manipulate the Force might simply make Nihilus stronger.

Even if you’ve never played the Knights of the Old Republic games, you’ve likely seen images of Nihilus online — especially in recent years. Many fan theories suggested that he would be the main villain of Rise of Skywalker, and to this day fans hold out hope for his return in the new canon timeline.

#5 – Darth Sidious

Darth Sidious — a.k.a. Emperor Palpatine — pulled off the boldest coupe the galaxy has ever seen. His feats are all the more impressive considering the near-extinction of the Sith, and the necessity to operate in the shadows. The fact that Palpatine was able to spend so much time around the most powerful Jedi of his era without being detected is hard to believe by itself, let alone to be pulling strings in the background all along.

As for his powers on display, we got to see Palpatine throwing things around, wielding a lightsaber, and casting Force lightning plenty of times in the series, though there is nothing too unique to comment on. He narrowly survives a duel with the Jedi’s greatest swordsman of the time, Mace Windu, and he fights the next entry on our list to a standstill as well. In the sequel trilogy, we also see that Sidious came closer than anyone else to truly conquering death.

#4 – Yoda

Master Yoda oversaw the training of young Force users and the direction of the Jedi Order for centuries, including several of the other characters on this list. Many of his greatest feats are now relegated to the Legends timeline, but even his canon abilities earn him this number-four spot. Yoda is estimated to have trained about 20,000 Jedi personally in his lifetime, all while working on behalf of the order.

Loyalty to the order may have been Yoda’s greatest weakness, as he blames the complacency of the Jedi for the rise of Darth Sidious. Still, he clearly found peace in hermitage at the end of his life, as well as the ability to become one with the Force after death and manifest as a Force ghost for years to come.

#3 – Anakin Skywalker

Anakin Skywalker, the Chosen One, briefly known as Darth Vader, is immensely powerful at every point of his life. He rose from slavery to become a Jedi Knight and Republic General, and he is shown to be thoughtful and studious in his apprenticeship. After a lifetime of war and grief, it’s hard to even blame Anakin for giving into the temptation of the dark side for nearly half of his life.

Anakin was born with no father, and Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn believed he was conceived by the will of the Force itself. Anakin’s Force-enhanced reflexes made him an exceptional duelist and pilot, while his unusually strong Force sensitivity granted him even greater telekinesis than others in his order. Of course, his real exceptional power was the strength of his convictions — he wanted the power Sidious promised so badly that he forced himself to fight his best friend and mentor nearly to the death, yet when the veil was lifted by his son Luke, he used the last of his strength to take down the man who had manipulated him.

#2 – Luke Skywalker

Once again, Luke Skywalker gets extra points here for learning quickly and under pressure, without the benefit of a vast Jedi order to shelter and train him. Luke overcomes the youthful urge to dive headfirst into the war and pursue the path of the Jedi — and to great effect. He becomes an incredibly calm, level-headed presence by the end of the original trilogy with abilities that rival any of the temple-trained knights we’ve seen in prequels.

The sequel trilogy maintains this trajectory for Luke, indicating that he may have been happier in peacetimes as a Jedi scholar or philosopher. However, when pushed by Rey, he pulls off one of the most impressive stunts of the entire franchise, casting an illusion across the galaxy to fool his former apprentice. If that weren’t enough, Luke was the catalyst that finally helped turn his father away from the dark side and defeat the Empire.

#1 – Tenebrae

Finally, we need to return to Knights of the Old Republic for the strongest Star Wars character we’ve ever met — the Sith Emperor Tenebrae. This despot maintained control over the galaxy for over a millennium, in part by transferring his consciousness into new host bodies making him functionally immortal, and in part by dominating the minds of thousands of Sith for years at a time.

The games say that many of Tenebrae’s powers were lost to history — both for the Sith and the Jedi, and we’ve certainly never seen mind control or compulsion on this scale anywhere else in the franchise. However, in the end, Tenebrae was defeated thousands of years before the main story of Star Wars, and we may never see his like in the current timeline.

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Star Wars may have earned its astronomical popularity thanks to George Lucas’ original movie trilogy, however, the animated projects have kept fans interested, due largely in part to their extensive list of characters. While some of those characters have made the leap to live-action, smany have yet to do so. The successful live-action debuts of animated fan-favorites Cad Bane in the 2021 Disney+ show The Book of Boba Fett and Ahsoka Tano in 2023’s Ahsoka season 1 prove that transitioning characters from animation to live action is an endeavor worth pursuing for Star Wars in the future and there are plenty of characters fans would love to see make the leap. Here are several prominent figures who currently rank as the best possibilities for adapting to live action.

Asajj Ventress

Introduced in Star Wars: The Clone Wars season 1 and additionally featured in seasons 3, 4, and 5, Asajj Ventress ranks among the best Star Wars animated villains. The Sith assassin was born a Nightsister on Dathomir and later became a Jedi Padawan before turning to the dark side of the Force and undergoing Count Dooku’s training. Ventress clashed with Ahsoka, Anakin, Obi-Wan and company numerous times throughout The Clone Wars, and she subsequently appeared in the animated series Star Wars: The Bad Batch, meeting her end in Season 3 in a sacrificial death. Nika Futterman voiced the character in both projects.

Ventress could debut in live action as a supporting character in Ahsoka season 2 or a different upcoming project that takes place during her arc. Her fierce nature would make her a worthy foe of any main character, or she could even lead her own prequel series. Even though she is no longer alive in Star Wars canon’s present day, plenty of projects address narrative gaps, and the return of Ventress would undoubtedly thrill Star Wars fans.

Captain Rex

Captain Rex stands as one of the most eminent Clones in Star Wars in animation or live action. The Kamino-born trooper fought in many battles during the time of the Galactic Republic, earning the undying respect of those around him, including his fellow clones, as well as their Jedi allies. He was voiced by Dee Bradley Baker. The character technically already featured in live action when Temeura Morrison portrayed him in Ahsoka season 1, but the appearance was an incredibly brief cameo, so it’s hard to consider it a true debut. Such a prominent animated character deserves a bigger role in live action. Perhaps Ahsoka season 2 will grant him the opportunity to make a proper entrance.

Hondo Ohnaka

The Weequay pirate captain Hondo Ohnaka, voiced by Jim Cummings, remains a fan-favorite character from Star Wars: The Clone Wars thanks to his humorous, egotistical personality. Across his appearances in The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels, Hondo doesn’t consistently align with the Jedi, Sith, Republic, or Separatists. Rather, his self-serving nature prompts him to always seek the best deal to benefit his own interests. The outlaw notably captured Count Dooku and attempted to obtain a ransom payment from the Republic. At one point, Hondo wan an ally to the Jedi Ezra Bridger, but later betrayed him. Given his wide variety of contacts and experiences across the galaxy, Hondo Ohnaka would be a versatile character to use in live action.

Honorable Mention: Cal Kestis

Cameron Monaghan’s Cal Kestis serves as the playable protagonist in the Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor video games. A survivor of the Order 66 massacre, Cal became as Jedi Knight during the Empire’s reign, lying low as a scrapper on the planet Bracca before Inquisitors forced him out of hiding. Throughout the two games’ narratives, Cal dedicates himself to preserving the Jedi Order as he evades capture by the Sith and Empire’s forces.

As a result of much time spent with the character, gamers and Star Wars fans have grown attached to Cal and would love to see him appear in a live-action movie or TV show. There are multiple Star Wars movies in the works, many without known titles or storylines. Thus, it’s entirely possible that Lucasfilm and Disney plan to bring Cal to live action at some point in the future. The best part is that Monaghan would likely reprise his role in live action, so there’s no need to go through a lengthy casting process.

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew is currently airing on Disney+. Andor season 2 will premiere on the streaming service on April 22, 2025, while The Mandalorian and Grogu will hit theaters on May 22, 2026. Ahsoka season 2 is in development with no release date announced yet.

The post 3 Star Wars Characters We Really Need in Live Action appeared first on ComicBook.com.

The vast network of characters featured across Star Wars‘ nine main saga movies and five Disney+ shows provide plenty of promising candidates on which the franchise could base future TV series. Ever since the launch of Disney+ in 2019, Lucasfilm has taken the opportunity to shine a brighter spotlight on a variety of characters, both new and old. The Mandalorian‘s three seasons delved into the world of Mandalore, introducing a myriad of figures around Pedro Pascal’s Din Djarin and Grogu. In a different vein, Disney+’s Obi-Wan Kenobi series filled the narrative gap between Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars: A New Hope, focusing on the titular character’s struggle as one of the last living Jedi following the takeover of Emperor Palpatine.

After appearing in Star Wars’ existing properties, several franchise characters franchise would work best as the subjects of future Disney+ shows.

Bo-Katan Kryze

After first appearing in the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars in 2012, Katee Sackhoff’s Bo-Katan Kryze debuted in live-action and assumed a more advanced role in The Mandalorian seasons 2 and 3. Working alongside Din Djarin, Bo-Katan took possession of the Darksaber and reclaimed her homeworld of Mandalore, overcoming her fraught past and signaling the rebirth of the planet’s people.

The forthcoming 2026 movie The Mandalorian and Grogu is slated to conclude the Disney+ show’s storyline, however, a later spin-off show focusing on Bo-Katan’s rule of Mandalore following The Mandalorian Season 3 would allow Star Wars to continue exploring this fascinating realm of the franchise and to further build one of its most satisfying recent character arcs.

Darth Maul

Although Star Wars tends to center its projects on heroes rather than villains, crafting a future TV series around a fan-favorite Sith Lord would be far from a bad idea. Darth Maul’s first appearance came in 1999’s Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, in which he was portrayed by Ray Park and voiced by Peter Serafinowicz. The apprentice of Darth Sidious sought to eliminate the Jedi Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson), his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor), and Queen Padmé Amidala of Naboo (Natalie Portman). Maul suffered critical injuries in the film’s final showdown involving the aforementioned Jedi, however, he did not die as many viewers had assumed. The skilled Dathomirian Zabrak warrior only counts one other live-action appearance, as he briefly appeared in 2018’s Solo: A Star Wars Story as a crime lord serving as the Crimson Dawn’s leader. Sam Witwer took over the voice role of Maul in the film.

Despite his short live-action tenure, Maul was subsequently featured in the animated shows Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels; the latter saw him finally met his demise at the hands of Obi-Wan in Season 3. Accordingly, a Maul-centric Disney+ series would have to exist as a prequel. The most compelling aspect of Maul’s unaddressed story remains his rise to becoming a force-sensitive Sith Lord. This type of story, similar to Anakin Skywalker’s transformation from a Jedi to Darth Vader, promises to fascinate audiences. Star Wars has previously bestowed previously underused villains with a solo project, as Boba Fett was the primary figure in the 2021 limited series Star Wars: The Book of Boba Fett. So, Darth Maul’s popularity combined with his limited involvement in live-action Star Wars properties would make him a perfect character on which to focus a villain-based Disney+ series.

Yoda

Ranking high among Star Wars’ most iconic and recognizable characters, Yoda features as a major supporting figure in both the original and prequel film trilogies, as well as in several animated shows like Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels, and Star Wars: Forces of Destiny. The little, green man has been voiced by Frank Oz in live-action, while Tom Kane has served in the role for Yoda’s animated appearances. Yoda’s presence permeates the Star Wars franchise, yet his path to becoming the galaxy’s oldest and most powerful Jedi Master remains largely unexplored. Thus, a live-action prequel series detailing Yoda’s past would certainly intrigue fans, even though its appeal primarily relies on nostalgia.

Moreover, The Mandalorian‘s Grogu, who belongs to the same species as Yoda, has stolen the hearts of Star Wars fans. Thus, traveling back in time to explore the life of Yoda could capitalize on the existing fervor surrounding the newer character often referred to as “baby Yoda.” Instead of returning to Obi-Wan, Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), or other overused personas, Star Wars would be wiser to grant Yoda a new chapter in the franchise’s wide-ranging catalog.

The new Star Wars series Skeleton Crew is currently airing on Disney+. Andor Season 2 will premiere on the streaming service on April 22nd. The Mandalorian and Grogu will open in theaters on May 22, 2026.

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Now this is a welcome update. Jake Lloyd, the former child actor who played the young Anakin Skywalker in 1999’s Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, told journalist Clayton Sandell he’s feeling “pretty good” nearly a year after his mother opened up about his struggles with mental illness. Lloyd, 35, provided Sandell with the update weeks after successfully competing an 18-month stay at an inpatient mental health facility in Southern California. As of January 2025, Sandell reports, Lloyd continues to receive treatment at a new rehabilitation facility where he’s free to come and go whenever he wants.

“[I’m feeling] pretty good, considering these 20 years of time that have come to an end,” Lloyd said. “I can now accept taking on continued treatment, and therapy, and my meds. Everyone’s been very supportive.”

RELATED: Star Wars Cut A Major Phantom Menace Ending Twist, Now Revealed 25 Years Later

Lloyd was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in 2008 and suffered what his mother called a “full-blown psychotic break” in March 2023. In the update, Lloyd’s mother, Lisa Lloyd, told Sandell that her son has been making progress because he’s overcoming a medical condition called anosognosia. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, anosognosia can be caused by schizophrenia and makes it so that someone is unaware of their own mental health condition or unable to accurately perceive their condition.

The former actor, whose credits include episodes of ER and the 1996 film Jingle All the Way, added that “good things” have come from being admitted to mental health facilities for treatment. Hitting what he called “rock bottom” was necessary to “honestly take part in treatment, honestly take your meds, and honestly live with your diagnosis.”

“I don’t have the time for feeling volatile,” he added of taking medication. “It is very much a cushion.”

In Sandell’s 2024 interview with Lisa Lloyd, she said her son was “doing much better” and “relating to people better and becoming a little bit more social” 10 months into an 18-month stay at an inpatient program at a mental health rehabilitation facility.

She also cleared up rumors that the initial reception to The Phantom Menace contributed to her son’s mental illness and ultimately drove him to quit acting. “It would have happened anyway,” she said of Jake’s schizophrenia diagnosis. “I believe that it was genetic. And his psychiatrist also agrees that Jake was going to become schizophrenic.”

Lloyd, then 8, was unaware of any backlash to The Phantom Menace “because I didn’t let him online,” she said, revealing that her son “loves all the new Star Wars stuff,” including the Disney+ series Ahsoka. “People think Jake hates Star Wars. He loves it.”

“People say he quit [acting] because of Star Wars. Well, that’s not true. It didn’t have anything to do with Star Wars,” Lisa said of Jake, whose last acting credit was voicing Anakin Skywalker in the 2002 video game Star Wars: Racer Revenge. “It had more to do with our family. And we were going through a divorce. Things were unsettled and kind of rough. And Jake didn’t seem to be having a lot of fun auditioning anymore.”

As for Jake potentially appearing in a future Star Wars project, potentially as a cameo like his Phantom Menace co-star, Jar-Jar Binks actor Ahmed Best, Lisa said, “Jake loved filming Star Wars. He had so much fun. I would love for him to get well enough to be able to do a little bit of something, and I’m sure he would maybe like to do that. He couldn’t at this point, but you never know how much he’s going to improve. So we’ll see.”

When Sandell informed Lloyd of the online support for the Anakin Skywalker actor that followed the 2024 update, Lloyd said in the new interview, “The experience I’ve had with the fans is immediately therapeutic. Right now, it’s still therapeutic. It’s helpful for people and healthy. It isn’t something I’d shy away from.”

“I really do appreciate the time that’s been taken on us,” Lloyd added. “I’m very appreciative.”

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Star Wars: The Phantom Menace broke the internet. Like subsequent motion pictures like Prometheus or Cats, the backlash to this feature took over the interwebs and forever changed how people talked about movies, for better and worse. Today, opinions on The Phantom Menace are a lot more nuanced, with an appreciation for its storytelling ambitions and its 35mm photography being increasingly easier to find online than another rant about Jar Jar Binks. However, there’s still no denying that The Phantom Menace is one of the weaker points in Star Wars history, especially when one focuses only on theatrical motion pictures.

However, there’s also no denying that The Phantom Menace and the other two Star Wars prequels had some outstanding trailers. The franchise’s grand imagery really lends itself to striking trailers made up of out-of-context shots, as even later trailers for titles like The Rise of Skywalker can attest. The Phantom Menace’s original teaser trailer especially is a work of art that, decades later, still stands as the very best Star Wars trailer ever.

What Is The Phantom Menace Teaser?

Released back in November 1998, The Phantom Menace’s teaser trailer offered audiences their first glimpse at the Star Wars universe in a little over 15 years. This teaser begins on a grand mythic note, with on-screen text declaring things like “every generation has a legend” and “every journey has a first step.” In between these words, striking images fill the screen, like a wide shot of Padmé standing alone by a gigantic window, gazing at her Naboo home.

After the distant sound of Darth Vader’s breathing is heard, that famous Star Wars theme strikes up and the imagery immediately becomes more exciting. Suddenly, sequences like Anakin’s podrace and various lightsaber duels are the focus. Lengthy glimpses at familiar characters like Yoda and new faces like Darth Maul also dominate the second half of the trailer. There’s a grand ambiance to this whole teaser that deftly mixes the familiar with the promise of exciting new frontiers in Star Wars storytelling.

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Better yet, this visual-oriented Phantom Menace teaser sidesteps some of the film’s problems. Chiefly, the excessive expository dialogue that would become infamous in the final feature is absent here in favor of letting short bursts of dialogue and vivid action carry the day. Meanwhile, devoid of their later established personalities, brief glimpses of figures like Watto and the Gungans stimulate the imagination. In the context of this teaser, these fleetingly seen entities can be anything you want them to be. Plus, letting the teaser’s rhythm be dictated by John Williams music was an inspired choice. His compositions can make anything exciting.

The Greater Historical Feats of Phantom Menace’s Teaser

The Phantom Menace’s teaser is already a superb piece of work just on its own merits. However, delightful little flourishes associated with its debut back in November 1998 have only helped to enhance its reputation. Take, for instance, the tales about how scarce this trailer once was. Reportedly, this teaser was only shown on select theatrical screenings of movies like Meet Joe Black. In a pre-social media era dominated by dial-up, the big screen was the only place to really experience The Phantom Menace’s teaser. Folks would show up for Meet Joe Black just to watch the trailer and then leave.

Whatever movie came next, no matter how star-studded it was, was superfluous. All people really wanted was to see footage from a Star Wars movie on the big screen. Meanwhile, it’s important to consider how mind-blowing this teaser must’ve been in 1998 on many levels. Seeing characters like C-3PO and Yoda again couldn’t have been anything short of magnificent and soul-stirring. Then, there were the first glimpses of fully CG characters like Jar-Jar Binks and Sebulba strutting around live-action environments. Considering 1998 was the year Lost in Space delivered the digital abomination Blarp, the Phantom Menace teaser’s brief reveals of new CG figures must’ve been a revelation.

Most of all, though, The Phantom Menace’s teaser extracted a lot of emotional power from promising that it was the start of something new. Even though we all know how the Star Wars prequel journey went, there’s still something moving about returning to this teaser and gazing upon a trailer rife with potential. All these years later, The Phantom Menace teaser still beckons viewers to gather around and listen to its promises of exciting tales rich in origins for beloved mythic figures. The final film couldn’t live up to all that potential, but at least we’ll always have this extraordinary and surprisingly poignant teaser.

The post The Best Star Wars Trailer Is From the Worst Movie in the Franchise appeared first on ComicBook.com.

As Star Wars: Skeleton Crew continues its run on Disney+, rumors suggest characters from the show could be set to appear on the big screen. In a Patreon post, insider Daniel Richtman, aka DanielRPK, notes “I hear characters from Skeleton Crew will appear in the Filoni crossover film.” The project being mentioned is presumably the upcoming New Republic era movie, which is set to be directed by Dave Filoni. Announced during Star Wars Celebration Europe 2023, the film will serve as a culmination of storylines introduced in shows like The Mandalorian and Ahsoka.

Richtman’s post did not indicate which specific Skeleton Crew characters might be featured in the movie. The show follows Wim, Neel, Fern, and KB, a group of four children who get lost in the Star Wars galaxy. On their journey to get back home, the kids cross paths with Jod Na Nawood, a pirate pursuing treasure. Richtman’s claim is vague enough that it could be in reference to one of those principal players or one of the many supporting characters the crew have encountered.

No release date for Filoni’s film has been announced. Back in June, Lucasfilm’s chief creative officer offered an update on the movie’s progress, stating that he was working on writing Ahsoka Season 2, which is reportedly set to begin production in April. That would indicate Ahsoka Season 2 is a higher priority at Lucasfilm, while the studio figures out its movie slate. The Mandalorian & Grogu (which Filoni co-wrote and produced) is the next Star Wars film on tap, premiering in May 2026.

[Related: This Is the Best New Star Wars Character Since Baby Yoda (And It’s Not Even Close)]

Debuting in early December 2024, Skeleton Crew emerged as a much-needed critical hit for the Star Wars franchise. Reviews praised the show’s young cast and tone reminiscent of classic Amblin productions like The Goonies and E.T. – the Extra-Terrestrial. Despite the positive word-of-mouth, Skeleton Crew has not been renewed for a second season yet. Series co-creators Jon Watts and Christopher Ford have brainstormed ideas for a continuation, building in a time jump to account for the child actors aging.

Considering how popular the likes of Neel and others have become, it wouldn’t be surprising if Lucasfilm was interested in bringing back Skeleton Crew characters in future projects. And since the show takes place during the same New Republic era as The Mandalorian and Ahsoka, it wouldn’t be far-fetched if Filoni’s movie was where that happened. The key, of course, would be finding a way to integrate the returning faces in a way that feels organic. Star Wars has been guilty of leaning on fan service in the past, and it would be a shame if someone from Skeleton Crew appeared in a manner that wasn’t meaningful. The movie will likely have a lot on its plate to balance, and a cameo just for the sake of it could run the risk of being distracting.

Something else to consider is that Skeleton Crew has felt refreshing because of its lack of connections to the other Star Wars shows. Despite obviously being part of a larger franchise, Skeleton Crew‘s story stands alone, and folding the series into an overarching narrative could undercut what makes it so unique (which, admittedly, could happen in one of the show’s remaining episodes). As entertaining as it would be to see Neel or Jod Na Nawood interact with Din Djarin or Ahsoka Tano, perhaps Lucasfilm will decide to keep Skeleton Crew in its own corner of the galaxy and just move forward with a Season 2. With so much unknown about Filoni’s movie, it will be interesting to see how rumors like this ultimately pan out.

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Once Disney announced a new trilogy of Star Wars movies would start hitting theaters in 2015, the internet went wild with speculation over who could possibly headline these features. After all, these films would be among the biggest ever made and provide all kinds of exposure to a new generation of younger performers. Across a trio of motion pictures that began with The Force Awakens, a bevy of now-known quantities like John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Kelly Marie Tran, Naomi Ackie, and countless others all got their big breaks in Star Wars Sequel Trilogy installments.

Believe it or not, though, these actors and other Sequel Trilogy stars were nearly passed over for other actors. The lengthy casting process for these three Star Wars movies saw a lot of different actors getting connected to various high-profile roles. Today, it’s hard to imagine anyone but Daisy Ridley portraying a character like Rey. Once upon a time, though, in a galaxy not so far, far away, other performers were considered for this protagonist and other Sequel Trilogy characters. Behold, alternate casting choices for this collection of Star Wars movies!

Jessica Henwick as Rey

Before Daisy Ridley took on the role of Rey, it felt like every young lady in the film industry was being eyeballed for the Sequel Trilogy lead role. In early 2020, Iron Fist and The Matrix Resurrections veteran Jessica Henwick revealed that she was one of those candidates for the part. To pursue the role, Henwick underwent a grueling multi-month audition process that ultimately didn’t yield a role. While losing out on Rey had to be crushing at the time, Henwick’s done just fine for herself in the years since thanks to roles in features like Glass Onion and The Royal Hotel.

Jesse Plemons as Finn

At the dawn of 2014, Jesse Plemons was on the cusp of a career revolution. After breaking out as Todd Alquist in Breaking Bad, he was poised for stardom. The question was, what kind of stardom would he achieve? In one timeline, that involved playing Finn in the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy. In March 2014, Plemons was listed alongside eventual Finn performer John Boyega as one of the finalists for the role. Eventually, Plemons lost out on the part, which allowed him the freedom to take on a variety of memorable supporting roles in movies like Game Night, Bridge of Spies, and The Irishman in the rest of the 2010s.

[Related: You Won’t Believe These Actors Were Once Rumored For 2015’s Fantastic Four Movie]

Eddie Redmayne as Kylo Ren

Today, it’s impossible to separate Adam Driver from the role of Kylo Ren. Given that the team behind The Force Awakens went to great lengths to work around Driver’s Girls commitments to secure him the part, it’s clear J.J. Abrams and Co. also saw him as an ideal new Star Wars baddie. Before Driver, though, Eddie Redmayne was a candidate for the part. His similar age and physical build to Driver, not to mention him being hot off Les Miserables in the early 2010s, made him a no-brainer for being a potential Kylo Ren. Of course, Driver (and his proclivity for shirtless scenes) embraced the role in the end. For those craving Redmayne as a maniacal cosmic baddie, may I suggest Jupiter Ascending?

Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Rose Tico

Seeing as she was the most prominent new hero in The Last Jedi, the role of Rose Tico was a heavily sought-after part before Kelly Marie Tran secured it. Among the many names floated for the role was Gugu Mbatha-Raw. She was so deeply connected to the part that it was even reported in September 2015 that she’d been outright cast in The Last Jedi! This, of course, never came to pass and Tran eventually secured the role of Rose (to her eventual dismay). Gugu Mbatha-Raw would finally act in a grand Disney sci-fi epic with her two-season role on the TV program Loki.

Joaquin Phoenix as DJ

Though Benicio del Toro left a tremendously fun impression in his The Last Jedi role of DJ, he was not the first pick for this part. Originally, Joaquin Phoenix was approached to take on this morally unpredictable schemer. Phoenix’s extensive history playing loathsome and complex figures in various indie movies made him seem ripe for tackling DJ. Phoenix and his adverseness to big-budget projects, though, never joined forces with The Last Jedi. This paved the way for del Toro’s Star Wars debut.

Matt Smith as an Unknown Rise of Skywalker Character

Matt Smith’s presence in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker was incredibly bizarre. Initially announced as being cast in the project (before Smith denied this development), the actor would eventually confirm in late 2021 that he indeed had been cast in one incarnation of TRoS. Smith refused to offer up what specific character he would’ve played but did tease that his role would have had significant repercussions for the entire Star Wars saga. Rampant online rumors have suggested Smith was eyeballed to play a slew of different characters ranging from Palptaine’s offspring to the Son of Mortis character first seen in the Clone Wars cartoon. Though no specifics have ever been officially revealed on who he would have played, it’s still fascinating to consider how close Smith got to a major Star Wars role.

Funny enough, Smith had the same thing happen with his role in the Terminator franchise, which would’ve seen him playing a human-machine hybrid of the franchise villain, Skynet, after the failed reboot that was Terminator: Genisys.

You can stream Star Wars content on Disney+.

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Star Wars: Skeleton Crew has been a while ride so far. Its “Goonies meets Star Wars” sensibilities has created an exciting adventure full of great characters and engrossing mysteries. From what At Attin’s Great Work is to who Jod Na Nawood is, Skeleton Crew has succeeded where other recent Star Wars series have failed by keeping fans guessing what’s coming next. The last several episodes have been building up a new mystery in the background — the identity of At Attin’s mysterious Supervisor. Some fans have come to the conclusion that the Supervisor is none other than legendary pirate Tak Rennod.

Tak Rennod was the focus of the last three episodes, beginning with the crew’s trip to At Achrann and their journey to his lair on Lanupa, which saw them run afoul of Jod’s old pirate gang. Many fans got the idea that Rennod was the supervisor from the At Achrann episode, where it’s revealed that Rennod had discovered the coordinates to At Attin from At Achrann’s equivalent of the Supervisor’s tower. There is actually a lot of evidence for this theory, especially if one has been paying attention to the show.

The Clues So Far

The best place to start is the beginning of the show and the children finding the Onyx Cinder. The Cinder is buried in the woods outside of the capital of At Attin, but it’s not buried very deep at all. This could easily point to it being a rush job — Rennod landing the ship and quickly burying it. This would hide the ship and allow him to leave quickly if things didn’t work out. The next clue is subtle, but it does seem a little too convenient the more you think about it.

Wim was found by a sentry droid in the ravine where the Onyx Cinder was buried. That’s a very strange place for there to be any kind of official droid from the city. The most likely explanation is that it was sent to patrol that area of the woods, to make sure that no one found the ship buried out there. The only person with the authority to do that would be the Supervisor. Now, this doesn’t automatically point to the Supervisor being Rennod, but it does point to the Supervisor at least knowing about the ship and Rennod.

[Related: This Is the Best New Star Wars Character Since Baby Yoda (And It’s Not Even Close)]

After the children leave the planet, their parents ask to see the Supervisor, a request that is denied. However, Fern’s mom Fara seems to have a pretty important role on At Attin. If there’s anyone who can get an audience with the Supervisor, it should be her. There’s really no reason for the Supervisor to reject them, unless for some reason they are hiding their identity from the people of At Attin. That feels like something a pirate like Tak Rennod would do.

The show has established that out of the nine Jewels of the Old Republic, eight of them were found and destroyed. A likely series of events goes like this: Tak Rennod and his crew come across one of them, most possibly At Achrann. Each of these planets — which the show has implied were mints for the Old Republic — are a perfect duplicate of the others. Rennod and his crew round the Supervisor’s Tower, known as the Fallen Sanctum on At Achrann, and found the coordinates to all nine Jewels. Rennod would know that the other worlds had been found and At Attin wasn’t, so he copied those coordinates and destroyed them.

This would lead to him and SM-33 killing the rest of his crew, with 33 programmed to kill anyone who tries to find the coordinates, and heading to At Attin. Rennod would have learned about the nature of the Jewels from the Fallen Sanctum and could have bluffed his way to the Supervisor’s Tower, possibly by saying he was an agent of the Republic, and killed the Supervisor, taking their place. Seeing as how Jod and all the pirates know who Rennod was, this would have taken place in the not too distant past, which is why the Supervisor wouldn’t want to meet with the kids’ parents; they may have known the old Supervisor from public appearances.

Tak Rennod As the Supervisor Is the Perfect Ending To Star Wars: Skeleton Crew

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew has kept the surprises coming, so there will almost certainly be one final twist. Revealing Tak Rennod as the Supervisor is the best way to end the story. The secret of At Attin has been the biggest mystery of the show so far, so taking that mystery and combining it with the pirate plot would bring the narrative full circle.

On top of that, there’s just too much evidence for it not to be case. A lot of it is kind of circumstantial, but it all points in the direction of Tak Rennod having survived the trip to At Attin and taking over. At Attin knows nothing about the galaxy since the fall of the Republic, and that may be because Rennod kept it from them, all so he can keep his treasure planet to himself. It’s possible that none of this is the case and it’s all a coincidence, but there are too many clues to ignore.

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew airs on Disney+ on Tuesdays at 9 p.m. EST.

The post This Theory About Skeleton Crew’s Mysterious Supervisor Makes So Much Sense appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew works so well for a couple of reasons. It has some excellent mysteries, fun Star Wars-style adventures by way of the Goonies, and, most importantly, amazing characters. Star Wars is at its best when its stories are exciting, but without great characters, there’s nothing to care about. Skeleton Crew gives fans that. Wim, Neel, Fern, and KB are wonderful, and they play well off mysterious scoundrel Jod Na Nawood, SM-33, and the many characters they’ve encountered in their quest to get home to At-Attin.

Wim, Neel, and Fern have all gotten their chance to shine, with KB playing something of a background role. However, all of that changed with Episode 6, titled “Zero Friends Again,” which shows exactly what happens when KB is pushed too far. This humanization of someone who up until now seemed like little more than a flesh droid has given many an all-new appreciation for KB, revealing her to be one of Star Wars’ most underrated characters.

KB Is a Unique Character in the Star Wars Mythos

Of the four main characters, KB is the most striking. Sure, the Ortolan Neel wasn’t human and drew the eye, but there was something about the cybernetic KB right from the start. Neel is completely adorable, despite being obviously alien. KB, though, is human and somehow seemed the least human at the same time. A big reason for that is the fact that her eyes are covered – if eyes are the portal to the soul, then we never got to see into KB’s soul until “Zero Friends Again.”

KB, played expertly by Kyriana Kratter, is reminiscent of Lobot, a bit character from The Empire Strikes Back. Lobot is Lando Calrissian’s assistant on Bespin who has cybernetic implants, allowing him to interface with computers and use their onboard tech for a variety of uses. KB showed these abilities off immediately, helping Fern with her speeder bike in the first episode, and using her implants several other times throughout the show.

KB is basically a background character in a lot of ways for the first five episodes. She’s Fern’s sidekick, quietly supporting her best friend. In many ways, she feels like a droid, and it wasn’t until “Zero Friends Again” that she feels like an actual person. She stops listening to Fern and decides to follow Wim, whose plan seems less risky to her. Fans learn that her implants are actually quite finicky and require a lot of maintenance, her fear for her well-being influencing her decision. KB showed some spine, showing that she isn’t just Fern’s droid. She is a person and has her own mind.

[Related: I’m Worried That Star Wars: Skeleton Crew Will Have a Last-Minute Twist]

KB only did what Fern said because she never had any other friends. It’s easy to imagine that her implants kept the other kids from wanting to be her friend, and Fern gave her a chance. KB tried her best to make herself useful, constantly supporting Fern and doing anything she needed because she just wanted someone to like her. Her character in “Zero Friends Again” felt so real, so vulnerable both emotionally and physically, and that’s something that’s set her apart from other Star Wars characters.

It’s rare to find something that the audience can actually understand in Star Wars. Sure, everyone likes to pretend they’re Luke or Rey or Cassian Andor or Han or Leia, but all of those characters, in their own ways, are extraordinary. There are some things that fans can empathize with, but these heroes are on another level. KB may have droids parts grafted to her body, but she’s also vulnerable. There’s a sadness to her, a loneliness that so many people can understand. She’s arguably the most real character Star Wars has ever put up on the screen in a lot of ways, and that makes her completely unique in the Star Wars universe.

KB Helps Ground Star Wars: Skeleton Crew

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew is inspired by classic films like Goonies and Stand By Me. The reason these films have stood the test of time is because generations of kids can still see themselves in the characters. In order for Skeleton Crew to join those classics in the pantheon of great entertainment, the characters have to feel real. So far, the show has done a pretty good job of doing that, and KB represents the most realized character of them all.

Wim and Fern are the big personalities of their group. Neel and KB have been the sidekicks. Both of them have gotten a chance to shine, but KB feels the most real. Everyone knows someone like her – a person who has a hard time making friends and will do anything to make people like them. Some of us are KB. Seeing her on-screen in “Zero Friends Again,” both physically and emotionally vulnerable in a way that no other character has been so far, was powerful.

The episode’s name comes from KB’s fear that Fern would stop being her friend due to the constant maintenance her cybernetic implants need. However, Wim’s simple declaration that he and Neel are her friends is such a beautiful moment. KB realizes that she’s more than a follower, she’s special in her own right. It’s perfect and it shows that Skeleton Crew‘s creators know exactly what they’re doing. KB is a great character and hopefully everyone sees it after this episode.

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew airs on Disney+ on Tuesdays 9 p.m. EST.

The post This Skeleton Crew Character May Be One of Star Wars’ Most Underrated appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Through six of its eight Season 1 episodes, Star Wars: Skeleton Crew has done a lot to stand out from the crowd. This swashbuckling space pirate series shares more in common with The Goonies than The Mandalorian, and that’s what makes it such a great experience for Star Wars fans. Not that there’s anything wrong with The Mandalorian, but we needed something refreshing from Star Wars, something new that hasn’t been bogged down by the franchising of it all.

Skeleton Crew has been exactly that, but there’s a fear I can’t quite shake as the finale approaches in a couple of weeks. This show has been so perfectly detached from the rest of the Star Wars franchise, which has not been the M.O. for the Dave Filoni/Jon Favreau era to this point. So far, everything has had to tie into something else, pushing one of the grander narratives of the Star Wars franchise, and keeping anything from feeling wholly original. Is Skeleton Crew going to suffer the same fate?

Let me rephrase that a bit: Is Skeleton Crew going to deliver some big, out-of-nowhere twist in the final episode that ties the entire story into another Star Wars thing?

The whole show takes place at the start of the New Republic, around the same time as The Mandalorian, and it’s a miracle those two shows don’t have any shared DNA yet. What worries me more than The Mandalorian, though, is that this whole At Attin situation is actually going to have something to do with the grand story of the Empire.

Not to pile onto The Rise of Skywalker, because it has gotten plenty of well-deserved criticism over the last five years, but do you remember how ridiculous it felt when everything we’d been watching for two movies suddenly tied back into Palpatine? Just when it felt like the sequel trilogy was breaking into its own territory, everything came crashing back to the familiar.

It would be a real shame for the same thing to happen to Skeleton Crew, but it’s a possibility that can’t be ruled out just yet. At Attin has been revealed as the last Old Republic mint, which appears to be the reason everyone is so obsessed with finding it. If that’s all that’s happening in Skeleton Crew, it’s great news, because that doesn’t need to tie into anything else from the franchise’s past for it to work on this show.

[RELATED: Skeleton Crew Debuted Its First Lightsaber (and it Was Hilarious)]

The fear right now is whether or not the ability to produce currency is the only secret being hidden on At Attin. Think about all the mysterious “data analysis” taking place on that planet. And then there’s the faceless supervisor, who has been only mentioned to this point but looms large over the planet’s activity.

Could that supervisor be a leftover officer of the fallen Empire? What if At Attin is at the center of the birth of the First Order? These are the thoughts that keep me up every Tuesday night.

Those things would obviously be a whole let better than secret plot about bacta resurrections and cloning techniques, but neither is ideal. Skeleton Crew is a really special thing, and it has the opportunity to keep being that special thing for any number of seasons. The galaxy is Skeleton Crew‘s oyster right now — anything is possible! We’ve been introduced to a corner of the Star Wars universe that is largely untouched by what has come before. Just think for a second about how rare that is.

The last thing I want to see is that opportunity wasted on yet another failed attempt to mine nostalgia for a few more dollars. Star Wars is at its very best when it’s trying new things. That’s exactly what Skeleton Crew is doing, and it would be best if the brain trust at Lucasfilm just got out of the way.

The post I’m Worried That Star Wars: Skeleton Crew Will Have a Last-Minute Twist appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Star Wars is ringing in the new year with an old favorite. Tuesday’s Skeleton Crew episode 6 is directed by Bryce Dallas Howard, who made her television directorial debut on 2019’s The Mandalorian (“Chapter 4: Sanctuary”). Howard went on to helm the season 2 episode “Chapter 11: The Heiress” — which marked the live-action debut of Katee Sackhoff’s fan-favorite Mandalorian, Bo-Katan Kryze — and season 3’s “Chapter 22: Guns for Hire,” the episode that featured superstar cameos (Jack Black and Lizzo as Captain Bombardier and the Duchess) and ended with Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) relinquishing the Darksaber to Bo-Katan.

The Howard-directed episode of The Book of Boba Fett, 2022’s “Chapter 5: Return of the Mandalorian,” was the only chapter of the season to receive 100% on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes (from 22 reviews). The episode followed the lone bounty hunter after Din left Grogu with the Jedi Luke Skywalker in The Mandalorian‘s season 2 finale, and notably depicted the Great Purge of Mandalore in live-action for the first time.

[RELATED: All the Star Wars: Skeleton Crew Easter Eggs and References You Might’ve Missed, From Captain EO to Pirates of the Caribbean]

For her third Star Wars series, Howard is a veteran among newcomers to the galaxy far, far away: Skeleton Crew‘s two-episode premiere was directed by series co-creator Jon Watts (the MCU Spider-Man movies), followed by back-to-back episodes from David Lowery, the director of The Green Knight and Disney remakes Pete’s Dragon and Peter Pan & Wendy.

Oscar-winning directing duo Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, the Swiss Army Man and Everything Everywhere All at Once filmmakers collectively known as the Daniels, helmed the “Can’t Say I Remember No At Attin” episode, and Jake Schreier (Beef and Marvel’s Thunderbolts*) directed the “You Have a Lot to Learn About Pirates” episode that aired on Dec. 24. Still to come is an episode from Twisters director Lee Isaac Chung, who helmed a season 3 episode of The Mandalorian, and the Watts-directed finale.

“I remember when I was working on season 3 of Mandalorian and doing the pre-viz, the Third Floor team — who animates and creates all of the [pre-visualization] — they were working on Skeleton Crew,” Howard recalled during a filmmaker round table. “And I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, how is it?’ [They said], ‘It’s so good!’ And so there was already buzz on campus about it.”

Critics would agree: Skeleton Crew went on to score 93 percent approval from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, higher than almost every Star Wars movie and TV show so far. Set in the timeline of The Mandalorian, the series follows four kids — Wim (Ravi Cabot-Conyers), Fern (Ryan Kiera Armstrong), KB (Kyriana Kratter), and Neel (Robert Timothy Smith) — as they search for their home planet, the mysterious At Attin, with the Force-using scoundrel Jod Na Nawood (Jude Law), a.k.a. Captain Silvo, a.k.a. Crimson Jack, a.k.a. Dash Zentin, a.k.a. Professor Umiam Gorlox, a.k.a. Jodwick Zank…

Skeleton Crew episode 6 premieres Dec. 31 on Disney+, followed by the penultimate episode on Jan. 7 and the finale on Jan. 14.

The post Star Wars: Skeleton Crew Is Bringing Back A Fan-Favorite Mandalorian Director for NYE Episode appeared first on ComicBook.com.

A major figure that fans of the original Star Wars know well has passed away, with news today that actor Angus MacInnes died last week. Though his name may not immediately be recognizable, Star Wars fans may instantly know “Gold Leader” from 1977’s Star Wars – Episode IV: A New Hope. News of Angus MacInnes’ death was confirmed today by his family, who posted a statement on social media. MacInnes’ family revealed the Canadian actor died on December 23rd, and “left us peacefully, surrounded by his family and love.” They added, “His work touched countless lives, and he took great pride in being part of these stories that continue to resonate with audiences worldwide.”

“For Angus, the fans of Star Wars held a special place in his heart. He loved meeting you at conventions, hearing your stories, and sharing in your passion for the saga. He was continually humbled, delighted, and honoured by the admiration and passion of the fans and convention community.”

MacInnes’ Gold Leader character was credited with this title in the original film, but would later be given the callsign “Dutch” and, eventually, a full name in the Star Wars canon (Jon Vander). Gold Leader played a pivotal role in the attack on the Death Star in the first movie. MacInnes reprised his role for 2016’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which used archive footage of his character from the first film, though he did record a new line. The character would return to Star Wars in the animated series Star Wars Rebels, where he interacted with fan-favorite Hera Syndulla. MacInnes didn’t return for that appearance of the character, he was instead voiced by Yuri Lowenthal.

In addition to his appearance in Star Wars, MacInnes had an extensive career on the big screen with over 80 credits to his name. The first film that MacInnes’ appeared in was in Norman Jewison’s dystopian classic, Rollerball, which gave way to multiple appearances across the sci-fi genre including an episode of Space: 1999, Superman II, Judge Dredd (1995), and Guillermo del Toro’s Hellboy.

“Angus was more than an actor—he was a kind, thoughtful, and generous soul who brought warmth and humor into the lives of everyone who knew him,” the family’s statement ocncludes. “He will be deeply missed by his family, friends and fellow actors but also by his fans around the world – his family thank you all.”

Our thoughts are with his family during this time.

The post Star Wars: “Gold Leader” Angus MacInnes From A New Hope Dead at 77 appeared first on ComicBook.com.

We all know Rotten Tomatoes isn’t the end-all, be-all of film reviews, but it has become a very important starting point for a reason. The site is a review aggregator, collating movie reviews and scores and distilling them into a simple binary of “fresh” or “rotten.” However, because film criticism is not a science, the scores can be pretty surprising at a glance.

If you search a movie online, you’ll likely see its Tomatometer score, represented as a percentage. That number is not the overall rating of the film — it’s the percentage of reviews that were considered positive overall. You have to dig a bit deeper into the site to see the movie’s average score, represented on a scale from 1 to 10. Most critics agree that no movie is perfect, so while you may see movies that are 100 percent “fresh,” you’ll probably never see one with an average rating of 10 out of 10.

That said, neither of these numbers can tell the full story. Movies themselves are very contextual, and so are the reviews. Most of the reviews you’ll see accounted for on Rotten Tomatoes came out around the same time as the movie itself, but some movies age well and are more beloved years after their release. On the flip side, some movies find their audiences years late and their scores change drastically — for better or worse. The scores can also be skewed by the overall number of reviews counted. Some movies suffer from obscurity, and other movies thrive on it.

It’s not news that Rotten Tomatoes is imperfect, but it’s interesting to get into the specifics. Below are 10 movies with Rotten Tomatoes scores that are either surprisingly low or surprisingly high, and our best guess as to why.

Tommy Boy – 39 Percent

The distance between the average critic’s score and the average audience member’s score is often the most interesting part of Rotten Tomatoes, and the 1995 comedy Tommy Boy is the perfect example. Somehow, it is only 39 percent positive out of 44 trusted critics, yet on the Popcornmeter it is 90 percent positive with over 250,000 user-submitted ratings. Given the movie’s legacy and that of its star Chris Farley, it’s clear that film reviewers three decades ago couldn’t see the full picture.

The Mighty Ducks – 27 Percent

These days, anyone who talks about The Mighty Ducks seems to love it, so how does the movie have only 27 percent positive ratings on Rotten Tomatoes? For one thing, the site only has 30 trusted reviews for this classic, and for another, we have to attribute at least some of this movie’s legacy to nostalgia. Still, the tides may be changing slowly but surely for the Ducks thanks to retrospective reviews. Out of all the scores counted up through 2009, only one was fresh, but since then positive reviews have trickled in from those who can judge the movie in hindsight.

Batman – 77 Percent

Superhero movies have evolved a lot over the years, but through it all the 1989 Batman starring Michael Keaton has remained a crowd-pleaser. Considering how often it is referenced and held up a positive example, it has a surprisingly mediocre score at 77 percent fresh. That’s counting 141 trusted critics, and the average rating matches up at 7 out of 10. These aren’t negative scores by any means, but they’re definitely surprising in comparison to this movie’s larger-than-life legacy.

The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift – 38 Percent

Maybe Tokyo Drift deserves its 38 percent positive rating if you’re judging it as a movie, but if you’re judging it as a Fast & Furious movie specifically, it deserves better. Fans might have a knee-jerk reaction to this score if they’re not seeing the context, especially if they just got into this goofy franchise recently. However, it’s worth remember that at the time, Tokyo Drift was disappointing to fans who wanted to see more Dom and Brian. In hindsight, however, it’s a fun stand-alone episode and a shining example of early-2000s nostalgia.

National Treasure – 46 Percent

Again, National Treasure‘s legacy has only improved since its release, to the point where a 46 percent fresh score seems wrong. The Popcornmeter feels more fair — 76 percent positive out of over a quarter million user-submitted reviews. Those don’t seem to be ironic or blindly positive scores, either — fans gave the movie an average of 3.8 out of 5 stars, while critics have given it just 5.3 out of 10. However, this is a special case where movie fans are looking for something a little silly and hokey.

The Beekeeper – 71 Percent

If you saw this year’s action thriller The Beekeeper starring Jason Statham, my condolences. This movie could have been fun, silly and cartoonish, or it could have been yet another John Wick rip-off. In either case it would have been a forgivably average experience. Instead, it played outrageous premise too earnestly while undercutting its serious moments with very specific but uninspired worldbuilding. Along the way, it betrayed the creators’ social and inter-generational biases, and they were not pretty.

Somehow, The Beekeeper is an overall success. It grossed $152.7 million against a $40 million budget, and even more shockingly, it has “generally positive reviews.” It has a shocking 71 percent fresh score on the Tomatometer, with an average rating of 5.9 out of 10 out of 181 reviews from verified critics. In fairness, the movie is certified rotten among RT’s “top critics, at 57 percent positive with an average score of 5 out of 10. However, the real tragedy is the audience score — over 2,500 verified RT users gave The Beeekeeper 92 percent positive, with an average rating of 4.5 out of 5. All in all, it’s not a ringing endorsement for the state of film discourse online.

Thor: The Dark World – 67 Percent

At ComicBook we focus on superhero content, so we know that Marvel fans will generally identify Thor: The Dark World as the weakest Thor movie and perhaps even the worst movie in the MCU. Keeping that in mind, the movie’s 67 percent fresh score is at least a little surprising. It may not be a critical darling, but it’s high enough to make one question the general negativity in the comments about this movie among fans.

It’s even more surprising when you note that this is not the lowest score for an MCU movie on Rotten Tomatoes. The ones lower than this are Thor: Love and Thunder at 63 percent, The Marvels at 62 percent, Eternals at 47 percent and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania at 46 percent. There are some interesting implications here — those low score are all from more recent movies in the MCU’s Multiverse Saga, when the idea of “superhero fatigue” really started to hit the discourse. It will be interesting to see if any of these movies are redeemed in years to come, and why.

Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker – 51 Percent

Once again, the score for the end of the Skywalker Saga simply seems too generous. A whopping 522 trusted critics submitted their reviews for this aggregate, and some of them must have been contrarians for it to be this high. The average rating is 6.1 out of 10, and at least we can say the movie is certified rotten. Hopefully it’s low enough that Disney is planning to do things very differently when the Star Wars franchise starts moving forward in the timeline once again.

Step Brothers – 54 Percent

Comedies don’t seem to do well on RT, as even the beloved 2008 blockbuster Step Brothers couldn’t be certified fresh. The movie has an average rating of 5.6 out of 10 among 203 critics, and a surprising number of them have come in gradually in recent years.

Sharknado – 77 Percent

Finally, there’s nothing more shocking on Rotten Tomatoes and the scores for movies that were made ironically. The infamous Sharknado is certified fresh with 77 percent positive scores in reviews from 22 trusted critics. They haven’t praised the movie blindly, as it has an average of 6.4 out of 10. However, it’s even more surprising when looking at RT’s “top critics” — The movie is actually 100 percent fresh there with an average rating of 9 out of 10 among 8 critics.

As always, fans must make up their own minds about every movie, from award show bait to made-for-cable disaster films. At the same time, reviews can be a very interesting — especially for discussions that come after seeing a film rather than as advertisements ahead of time. You can share your own thoughts on platforms like Rotten Tomatoes to keep the conversation going.

The post 10 Movies With Rotten Tomatoes Scores That Feel Completely Wrong appeared first on ComicBook.com.

The movie side of the Star Wars franchise is a bit in flux at the moment, but there are some projects that fans are excited to see become a reality. One such project is Shawn Levy’s in-development Star Wars film, which is still shrouded in mystery. In an interview with IndieWire, Levy spoke in depth about his latest blockbuster Deadpool & Wolverine alongside Ryan Reynolds, but he did also provide an update on his Star Wars project, confirming who he is working with to bring the project to life.

“Because ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ was so fulfilling, I’m quite happily open to whatever’s next. And yes, there’s a ‘Star Wars’ movie that I’m developing, actually with our “Adam Project” screenwriter Jonathan Tropper. You never know what’s going to become undeniable and get made next,” Levy said.

There’s not much to go on regarding what the film will be about or when in the Star Wars timeline it will take place, but Levy has provided some key insight into how he’s viewing this project. In a previous interview with the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Levy spoke of the project and what he hopes to avoid, which is a “Star Wars movie that is redundant” or a film that “has to serve another movie.”

When asked what Star Wars means to him Levy said, “I’ll say that the experience of crafting this story has forced me to think about that question. Because there’s only so many times that Star Wars movies can revisit the same section of the timeline, and so it’s really forced me — because I don’t want to do a Star Wars movie that is redundant to others, nor am I interested in doing one that has to serve another movie.”

[RELATED: Deadpool & Wolverine Director Shawn Levy Teases “Really Exciting” Idea for His Secret Star Wars Movie]

“I really wanted to craft something that felt organic to me, both in tone and characters, so I think that there is certainly the Force and a connection to something bigger than our individual selves. And the way that that can make us powerful, those themes, combined with visual delight and wish fulfillment, that’s Star Wars to me,” Levy said.

Levy’s comments certainly point to something that is more standalone in nature, and it also seems that it won’t tie into the Skywalker saga. At the moment, the future feels a bit scattershot regarding the franchise plan for film, so we could see any of the previously announced projects start to take hold and rocket to the front of the line.

In addition to Levy’s project, there is the highly anticipated Jon Favreau directed The Mandalorian & Grogu film, which will be set after The Mandalorian season 3. Then there are several announced projects from Dave Filoni, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, and James Mangold, and each one features a different setting and focus.

Filoni’s film is supposed to be during The New Republic, while Obaid-Chinoy’s film is built around Rey Skywalker. Then there is Mangold’s film, which is supposed to be all about the dawn of the Jedi. It remains to be seen if any of these projects end up actually making it to the screen, but at least we know that Levy’s project with Tropper seems to be moving along.

Which Star Wars project are you most excited for? You can talk all things Star Wars with me on Bluesky @KnightofOA!

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Disney+ finally answers the age-old question: What happens when a Star Wars superfan actually gets their hands on a real lightsaber? The answer is exactly what you’d expect. In Episode 5 of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, viewers witness perhaps the most relatable lightsaber moment in the franchise’s history when young Wim, a self-proclaimed Jedi enthusiast, discovers the legendary weapon in Captain Tak Rennod’s treasure vault. Rather than channeling his inner Luke Skywalker, however, the boy’s first attempt at wielding the iconic blade goes comically awry, proving that not everyone is destined for Jedi greatness.

The scene unfolds during a tense confrontation where Jod Na Nawood threatens Fern with a knife, insisting she yield the captain’s position. Attempting to play hero, Wim brandishes the newly discovered lightsaber – only to ignite it in the wrong direction, pointing toward the ground. Overwhelmed by the reality of holding an actual Jedi weapon, he quickly deactivates it and tosses it aside.

This refreshingly authentic moment stands in stark contrast to previous Star Wars entries, where characters like Rey and Finn seemed to master lightsaber combat almost instantly. Mastering a lightsaber requires far more skill than most people realize, as evidenced by the extensive training required for actors in behind-the-scenes footage. The moment even recalls a famous behind-the-scenes photo of Mark Hamill looking directly into his lightsaber hilt during the filming of A New Hope.

[RELATED: Skeleton Crew Rotten Tomatoes Score is Higher Than Almost Every Star Wars Movie and TV Show]

Despite his lightsaber mishap, Wim’s bravery shines through. His inexperience with the lightsaber didn’t diminish his courage – he still dared to confront a Force-sensitive Jod who held his friend hostage. The scene takes on additional significance as the episode progresses. The lightsaber, a blue-bladed weapon, ultimately ends up in Jod’s possession.

The mysterious character, who has cycled through names including Crimson Jack, Captain Silvo, and Dash Zentin, demonstrates remarkable Force abilities throughout the series, whether precisely floating objects through the air or manipulating light sources with ease. His expertise with the lightsaber and knowledge of Jedi philosophy – including quoting Qui-Gon Jinn’s famous line “Your focus determines your reality” – has fueled speculation about his potential identity as a surviving Jedi.

Set against the backdrop of a treasure hunt on the spa planet Lanupa, the episode marks a significant turning point in the series. The young adventurers’ search for their home planet At Attin gains new urgency with the revelation of a mysterious “mint” that produces credits on a mass scale. This discovery prompts Jod to reveal a darker side, challenging Fern’s leadership of the Onyx Cinder.

The episode has earned praise for its blend of classic Star Wars elements – including appearances by Hutt characters, Muun aliens, and the thoughtfully crafted, kind-hearted character Cthallops. With three episodes remaining in the season, Skeleton Crew continues to distinguish itself within the Star Wars universe by grounding fantastical elements in relatable human experiences – even if that means watching a superfan fumble with their dream weapon.

Skeleton Crew is now streaming on Disney+.

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Star Wars: Skeleton Crew Episode 5 finally tells us why At Attin is so sought after — or at least, starts to. The episode titled “You Have a Lot to Learn About Pirates” shows the crew finding an old pirate treasure trove with the coordinates to their home world, as well as the reason for going there. Read on for more, but fair warning: there are spoilers ahead!

This week, Skeleton Crew took us to the planet Lanupa, where Captain Tak Rennod’s treasure was hidden under Skull Ridge Mountain. It wasn’t easy for the kids and their Force-wielding escort to sneak in there, but once they did they easily found the coordinates to At Attin. The children also learned that their home planet is the last remaining Mint of the Old Republic, meaning it can literally manufacture limitless treasure.

This ties up a few loose ends and brings the whole story into greater focus, in some ways. We saw how valuable the children’s money was as soon as they left the Barrier hiding At Attin. Other pirates simply didn’t believe that Old Republic credits were their “lunch money.” Of course, there are plenty of questions left in this story as well — from narrative cliffhangers to worldbuilding mysteries.

[RELATED: This Is the Best New Star Wars Character Since Baby Yoda (And It’s Not Even Close)]

For one thing, At Attin is only one of eight planets known as the “Jewels of the Republic.” In Episode 3, we heard that the other 3 were destroyed at some point, but we don’t have any details or confirmation of that. We can probably assume that minting currency is only part of the “Great Work” of these eight worlds, but we still don’t know anything about the rest of it. We also don’t know how or why this Great Work continued throughout the reign of the Empire and into this New Republic era. We don’t know if the Empire was aware of these Jewels, and if so, why they were left alone.

As for this story, we seem to be inching closer to one of the most tantalizing msyteries — Ja Na Nawood’s identity. This week’s episode ended with him igniting a lightsaber, but as far as we know he is not a jedi and he does not seem to have completely pure motivations. That may be the most important thing to uncover if the children are to get home by the end of this story.

Skeleton Crew is streaming now on Disney+. New episodes premiere on Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET.

The post Star Wars: Skeleton Crew Confirms a Major Detail About Its Big Mystery (But It Goes Deeper) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

The Star Wars universe has produced more than a dozen movies and TV shows across nearly five decades, featuring hundreds of actors along the way. Mainstays such as Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Hayden Christensen, and Ewan McGregor have taken part in numerous projects over decades, while newer additions like Pedro Pascal and Daisy Ridley have been set up as major players in the scheme of Star Wars’ present and future. In the 46 years since Star Wars: A New Hope kickstarted George Lucas’ famed franchise, only one performer has appeared in every single movie. The actor, who plays one of Star Wars’ most iconic non-human characters, has also shown up in four TV series.

The actor in question is Anthony Daniels, the voice of C-3PO. An overly anxious gold-plated droid, fluent in many languages, C-3PO was created by young Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd) in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. The character formed an inseparable bond with the astromech droid R2-D2, and the two accompany one another during many major moments in the saga’s timeline. As a result of his lengthy Star Wars acting career, Daniels has cemented himself as one of the linchpins of the sci-fi fantasy franchise.

Which Star Wars Projects Has C-3PO Actor Anthony Daniels Featured in?

Daniels began his tenure as C-3PO in 1977’s A New Hope, reprising his role in 1980’s Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back and 1983’s Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. In the original trilogy, C-3PO crosses paths with Luke Skywalker (Hamill) on Tatooine when he and R2-D2 are tasked with bringing a copy of the Death Star plans to Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness). From then on, the two droids follow Luke, Obi-Wan, and Leia Organa (Fisher) during their quest to defeat the Empire. Daniels returned to voice C-3PO in 1999’s The Phantom Menace, 2002’s Star Wars: Attack of the Clones, and 2005’s Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. In the prequel trilogy, C-3PO and R2-D2 serve as companions to Anakin (Christensen) and Obi-Wan (McGregor) in the buildup to Anakin’s transformation into Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine’s (Ian McDiarmid) rise to power.

For a third run in the Star Wars saga, Daniels came back in 2015 for Star Wars: The Force Awakens. He reappeared in 2017’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi and 2019’s Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. The sequel trilogy sees C-3PO and R2-D2 assist Rey (Ridley) with taking down the First Order. After having his memory wiped out several times, C-3PO has it fully restored by the end. Daniels also featured as C-3PO in the spinoff films Rogue One: A Star Wars Story in 2016 and Solo: A Star Wars Story in 2018. He made his TV debut as C-3PO in Star Wars: The Clone Wars beginning in 2008. Daniels appeared in one episode of the animated Star Wars Rebels in 2014. The actor additionally featured in the live-action shows Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi in 2022 and had a cameo in Star Wars: Ahsoka in 2023.

What Anthony Daniels’ Star Wars Appearances Reveal About C-3PO’s Importance to the Franchise

While other characters such as Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, Yoda, Obi-Wan, and R2-D2 have reached icon status, C-3PO’s presence in every Star Wars movie demonstrates the character’s immense value to the universe at large. The droid’s personality often serves as a form of comic relief, as C-3PO frets about the perilous scenarios he and R2-D2 frequently find themselves in. Having lived through the rise and fall of multiple ruling forces, C-3PO has the knowledge to assist other, more mortal, characters in achieving their goals. In spite of his limited mobility and breakable nature, C-3PO has overcome setbacks again and again, proving to be one of Star Wars’ most resilient figures.

As for Daniels’ Star Wars future, the star is not currently confirmed to appear in other projects. Still, it’s hard to imagine that his time in a galaxy far, far away has concluded. Daniels will most likely be involved in Ahsoka season 2 and the upcoming Star Wars movie centered on Rey and the New Jedi Order following the events of The Rise of Skywalker. C-3PO is a mainstay in the Star Wars universe, and fans will rejoice at the chance to see him in more projects going forward.

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The Acolyte star Manny Jacinto has revealed three seasons of the Star Wars show were planned prior to its cancellation. The actor appeared during a Fan Expo panel hosted by Collider, where the topic of his time in the galaxy far, far away was brought up. When discussing The Acolyte — which was cancelled after a single season — Jacinto shed some light on showrunner Leslye Headland’s vision for the series, outlining what she had in mind when The Acolyte started.

“I remember Leslye’s dream was for us to do three seasons, not just this one … But there’s something about having a finite ending to things that makes it so much more special,” Jacinto said. “So, yeah, I don’t know if I’d do it or not, but you know, three seasons and a movie would have been incredible, and I know we had so much more to explore with that second season.”

Debuting over the summer, The Acolyte marked the Star Wars franchise’s first on-screen depiction of the High Republic era, telling a story set roughly 100 years before The Phantom Menace. While the show earned positive reviews from critics, it quickly became one of the most divisive Star Wars projects in the Disney era, and it was officially cancelled back in August. Recently, Disney Entertainment co-chairman Alan Bergman shed light on why that decision was made, stating The Acolyte was too expensive to greenlight a second season. The show’s only season had a budget of over $230 million for eight episodes.

[Related: The Acolyte Deserved Better]

Prior to The Acolyte‘s cancellation, Headland expressed hope for additional seasons. In particular, the showrunner was interested in featuring more of Darth Plagueis, following the Sith Lord’s surprise cameo in the finale. According to Jacinto, Plagueis was “definitely” part of the plan if Season 2 had gotten the go-ahead. Plagueis was just one of several lingering Acolyte plot threads that will seemingly go unresolved now; the finale also boasts an appearance from Yoda — something Headland fought for during development.

Considering how the Acolyte finale transpired, it isn’t surprising the creative team envisioned a blueprint of multiple seasons, and it’s frustrating Headland & Co. won’t be able to see that plan come to fruition. In addition to following up on the Plagueis and Yoda cameos, it would have been exciting to see more of Jacinto’s Qimir, aka the Stranger, who quickly managed to become a fan-favorite character thanks to the actor’s compelling performance. As Jacinto has alluded to, Season 1 only scratched the surface; Qimir stood to become even more interesting with additional development, especially since the finale ends with him united with Osha on the dark side. That dynamic would have been fascinating to watch unfold with Plagueis entering the picture.

It’s also a shame that the first on-screen foray into the High Republic era was cut so short. Many of the Star Wars movies and TV shows are condensed into a brief period of time on the franchise timeline and primarily stem from the original trilogy. While the Plagueis and Yoda cameos served as some connective tissue to the Skywalker saga, The Acolyte largely stood on its own with a narrative far removed from what had come before. As Lucasfilm struggles to figure out the next slate of Star Wars movies, the High Republic could have been a realm to further explore different stories, expanding the property’s rich lore. Acolyte characters will appear in published materials, but it remains to be seen if Lucasfilm rolls the dice on another High Republic on-screen project.

The post Star Wars: The Acolyte Star Reveals How Many Seasons Were Planned Before Cancellation (And We’re Furious) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Star Wars has a long, proud, history of introducing characters who go on to become beloved icons of the fandom. There was a long stretch where Star Wars failed to give fans characters that could rival the likes of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Chewbacca – or even those cuddly Ewoks – then came The Mandalorian in 2019, which gave Star Wars its biggest breakout hit character in decades with Grogu (aka “Baby Yoda”). Now, there’s another new Star Wars character who is quickly gaining fans and generating big buzz – and it’s all thanks to the new Star Wars: Skeleton Crew series on Disney+!

Skeleton Crew’s Neel is Star Wars’ New MVP

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew tells the story of a group of kids from the mysteriously isolated planet of At Attin. Through a series of bumbling circumstances, the kids find an old crashed pirate ship and re-activate it, taking an unexpected hyperspace jump into the far sectors of the galaxy, with no clear path home. One member of that group of youngsters is a kindly blue-skinned, elephant-like alien named “Neel,” who has quickly become the symbol of a pure-hearted return to what made Star Wars such a milestone in so many kids’ lives.

The great thing about Neel is that he’s the kind of character Star Wars has lacked for a long time: the noble everyman. Star Wars: A New Hope will always be the definitive film in the franchise because it takes a seemingly normal kid (Mark Hamill’s Luke Skywalker) and reveals to him that he has a great heroic destiny to fulfill in the galaxy. It’s a quintessential hero’s journey story unweighted by any concerns of canon or lore (for the most part). Ever since then, Star Wars has had to carry that franchise weight, and almost every new character we meet (including Grogu) is either a product of that lore, or is in some way beholden to it.

Not Neel though!

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew‘s cast of main characters are almost all coded to echo some other aspect of the franchise: Wim (Ravi Cabot-Conyers) is a wannabe Jedi; Fern (Ryan Kiera Armstrong) is a wannabe Han Solo; KB (Kyriana Kratter) is a human-droid hybrid character, meant to represent certain non-neurotypical communities. Neel is, truly, the first Star Wars character – possibly since Luke – who is a perfect slate for the audience to grasp onto – no special powers, agenda, or faith – just a normal kid lost in a crazy galaxy, trying to get home to his family.

Granted, at the time of writing this, Skeleton Crew‘s back half episodes could expand further on Neel’s character, revealing some kind of thematic echo with characters or storylines we’ve seen before. But after Episode 4, “Can’t Say I Remember No At Attin”, many fans are charmed and delighted with the fact that there’s a lovable Star Wars character they don’t have to see a handful of movies or watch/read a bunch of other content to appreciate – a character that any and everyone can love, as a “good” person worth rooting for.

Who Plays Neel In Star Wars: Skeleton Crew?

Neel may come off as a simple everyman character – but he’s actually quite a tricky feat of production!

Actress Kacie Borrowman provides the physical performance art to create Neel. Borrowman uses a combination of on-set performance wearing a costume that includes a fully animatronic headpiece, as well as facial motion capture to heighten the character’s performance mannerisms and expressiveness. Actor Robert Timothy Smith then records the vocal performance of Neel, giving the character his quirky, childlike voice.

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew streams on Disney+.

The post This Is the Best New Star Wars Character Since Baby Yoda (And It’s Not Even Close) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Alan Bergman, co-chair of Disney Entertainment, recently sat down with Vulture and revealed that the exact reason why a second season for Star Wars: The Acolyte wasn’t greenlit, and why it won’t happen any time soon. Despite solid reviews from critics and strong initial ratings, the viewership declined throughout The Acolyte’s run and was met with a lukewarm response from audiences. According to Bergman, the choice came down to one simple metric, the cost. The executive specifically revealed: “We were happy with our performance, but it wasn’t where we needed it to be given the cost structure of that title, quite frankly, to go and make a season two. So that’s the reason why we didn’t do that.” Despite solid reviews from critics and strong initial ratings, the viewership declined throughout the series’ run and was met with a lukewarm response from audiences.

The Acolyte was very divisive among fans, many of whom took issue with its diverse cast, accusing it of having an overtly progressive political agenda. This controversy prompted many to assume that this was perhaps the reason behind the show’s cancellation. Even with many fans embarking on numerous efforts to save the show from a premature ending – including starting a petition – they were not enough to convince Disney to sign off on another season. As the series cost more $230 million, Disney executives were most likely hoping for a warmer reception among audiences before deciding whether or not to continue the series.

[RELATED: Star Wars: The Acolyte Star Teases More Plagueis Had Series Continued]

Created by Leslye Headland, The Acolyte took place about a century before the events of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. The series chronicled Jedi Master Sol and his former Padawan, Osha Aniseya, investigating the murders of other Jedi Masters. However, the more they delve into the mystery, the more they discover how vulnerable the Jedi’s place in the galaxy is as the Dark Side grows in power.

For this series, Headland wanted to question the status quo of the Star Wars universe while also exploring its untold past, telling IGN “Why would this happen this way? Why did Qui-Gon make the decision that he made? How [did] Darth Sidious become chancellor without Yoda, one of the most powerful Jedi who ever lived, knowing about it? I think that those are questions that were just all still hanging out there. So that’s where I think you start.”

Before news of the show’s cancellation, Headland had numerous plot ideas for a potential season 2, expressing interest in featuring more characters from the High Republic era of Star Wars canon. Unfortunately, not only was The Acolyte canceled before Headland could develop these concepts further, but it also left fans with several major questions that are unlikely to be answered anytime soon, such as Darth Plagueis’ plan, the Stranger’s Sith name, Mother Koril’s fate, and more.

Despite The Acolyte‘s cancellation, Disney has several more shows lined up, including Andor season 2, Ahsoka season 2, and Star Wars: Visions season 3 – if they continue to be popular among fans, will that convince Disney executives to give The Acolyte another shot? Or maybe to address its unresolved plot points in other series?

The post Star Wars: The Acolyte Season 2 Potential Addressed by Disney Exec appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Disney Entertainment co-chairman Alan Bergman has confirmed that The Acolyte’s fate was sealed by its hefty budget rather than its divisive reception among Star Wars fans. In an interview with Vulture, Bergman explained the decision to end the series after its eight-episode run. “We were happy with our performance, but it wasn’t where we needed it to be given the cost structure of that title, quite frankly, to go and make a Season 2. So that’s the reason why we didn’t do that,” Bergman admitted.

The series initially showed promise, launching on June 4th of this year with an impressive 4.8 million views on its first day, marking Disney+’s biggest series premiere of the year. Within five days, viewership reached 11.1 million globally. However, momentum faltered after the show’s strong Nielsen ratings debut at No. 7 (488 million minutes viewed). Despite climbing to No. 6 the following week, the series dropped from the Top 10 in Week 3, only returning for its finale with the smallest viewership numbers (335 million minutes) of any Star Wars series conclusion on the platform.

Lead actor Amandla Stenberg addressed the cancellation on Instagram Stories (via Deadline), “There are many folks out there that I want to acknowledge and I want to show appreciation and love and support for, so that’s why I’m hopping on here to talk about this, which is that our Star Wars show has been canceled.” They continued, “I’m gonna be transparent and say that it’s not a huge shock for me. For those who aren’t aware, there has been a rampage of vitriol that we have faced since the show was even announced, when it was still just a concept and no one had even seen it.”

Despite the controversy, Stenberg maintained a positive outlook, “Even though, of course I’m very sad about the show being canceled, and I’m sad about us not being able to give people invested in it more, I still just feel a lot of levity and joy around the fact that I got to experience it and that people loved it and that people were so responsive.”

Meanwhile, Bergman expressed optimism about the franchise’s newest addition, Skeleton Crew.

“We’ve seen some growth on that,” he noted. “As you said, the reviews have been excellent on Skeleton Crew, so we’ll have to see how that all plays out as it moves forward.”

The executive also provided updates on other Star Wars projects, confirming, “Andor Season 2, which we’re really excited about. It is excellent. I’ve watched all the episodes, and it is a fantastic season.” He added that “Ahsoka Season 2, which Dave Filoni is leading” is coming, along with “a number of additional series that are in development.”

Looking ahead to theatrical releases, Bergman highlighted “Mandalorian, which is coming out Memorial Day of ’26,” along with “a number of films that we are developing.” He emphasized, “When we’re ready, we’ll be making announcements as to what those are.” The Acolyte’s mixed reception — reflected in its 78% Rotten Tomatoes score — and subsequent cancellation highlights Disney’s continuing efforts to balance creative ambition with commercial success in expanding the Star Wars universe.

The post Disney Exec Reveals Why Star Wars: The Acolyte Was Cancelled (And Addresses Skeleton Crew’s Fate) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

When you buy through our links, Comicbook may earn an affiliate commission. Last year, The Disney Store launched Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge lightsaber hilt replica that was inspired by the Jedi Knight Stellan Gios from The High Republic series of novels. It was a fantastic set that came with the hilt, a comic book, crossguard blades and a wooden display box, so it was no surprise when they blew through the 5000 unit limited edition release despite the $325 price tag. However, if you missed out on that set we have some very good news, and you’re hearing about it first here on Comicbook.

The Stellan Gios Legacy Lightsaber Hilt is now available here at The Disney Store in a more affordable package priced at $179.99. Just keep in mind that he cutoff to receive orders via free standard shipping by Christmas Eve is Thursday, December 19 at 2pm PT / 5pm ET. Details about the hilt can be found below, including a gallery of images.

This time around the Stellan Gios hilt won’t include the wooden box or the comic book, opting for a standard hilt case with a lined interior and a Rebel Alliance Starbird insignia. The hilt itself appears to be the same, complete with crossguard blades and the ability to fold up. It will also produce sound effects and illuminate blue when a lightsaber blade is added. As is generally the case with Disney Star Wars lightsaber hilt replicas, you’ll need to purchase the blade separately. A full breakdown of the features can be found below.

Stellan Gios Legacy LIGHTSABER Hilt Features

• Created especially for Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort
• Lightsaber Hilt inspired by Stellan Gios in the Star Wars saga
• Includes hilt case with hinged lid and lined interior
• Rebel Alliance Starbird insignia on front of case
• Guard folds up
• Push switch on hilt to activate Lightsaber noises and illuminate an attachable Lightsaber Blade in blue, sold separately
• Battery case in handle
• Coordinates with our Lightsaber Clip, Lightsaber Blades, Lightsaber Sheath and Lightsaber Hilt Stand, sold separately
• Inspired by Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Walt Disney World and Disneyland
• Requires 3 x AAA batteries, included
• Aluminum / zinc / metal / ABC / POM / PVC
• Hilt: approx. 13” x 2 1/2” x 9 4/5” (at guard)
• Package: approx. 16 3/4” x 7 1/2” x 4 1/3”
• Order yours here at The Disney Store

What Is Star Wars: The High Republic – Fear of the Jedi About?

“This February, the galaxy-spanning finale of Phase III of The High Republic begins in STAR WARS: THE HIGH REPUBLIC – FEAR OF THE JEDI, a new ongoing series written by New York Times bestselling author Cavan Scott and drawn by acclaimed artist Marika Cresta (Doctor Aphra).

Just announced at the Star Wars: Stories From a Galaxy Far, Far Away panel at San Diego Comic Con, STAR WARS: THE HIGH REPUBLIC – FEAR OF THE JEDI will be the latest Marvel Comics venture into the fascinating world of The High Republic storytelling. Scott, one of the era’s story architects who penned several of Marvel’s previous The High Republic projects, returns to deliver this stunning conclusion to the groundbreaking Phase III of The High Republic storyline, set during what was considered the Jedi Order’s Golden Age.

WHAT SCARES THE JEDI? As fighting within the Nihil Occlusion Zone intensifies, Jedi Master Keeve Trennis is set upon a path that will change her life forever. Guest-starring The Acolyte’s Wookiee Jedi Master, Kelnacca, alongside fan-favorite characters from Star Wars: The High Republic novels, audio dramas and comics!”

The post Star Wars Stellan Gios Lightsaber Hilt Replica Is On Sale Now appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Xbox One, Xbox Series S, and Xbox Series S users have 24 hours to grab a popular Star Wars game for free, however, those interested will need to meet some requirements. The new free Xbox game hails from 2017, a year where games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, PUBG, NieR Automata, Super Mario Odyssey, Persona 5, Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, Resident Evil 7, What Remains of Edith Finch, Cuphead, Divinity: Original Sin II, Horizon Zero Dawn, Hellblade, Injustice 2, Assassin’s Creed Origins, Nioh, Pyre, Tekken 7, and Forza Motorsport 7 all released.

It was a pretty memorable year, which also treated Nintendo fans to the Nintendo Switch, complete with the best launch lineup in video game history. Meanwhile, 2017 even had something for Star Wars fans. In 2017, there weren’t as many Star Wars games releasing as there is now nor in the past. It was a slower time for Star Wars video games. In this slow time though, there was the revival of the Star Wars Battlefront series. The first game released in 2014, and was followed by Star Wars Battlefront II in 2017. And this game can be now be downloaded for free on Xbox One, Xbox Series S, and Xbox Series X.

As noted, there are some requirements to meet though. More specifically, those on any of these consoles will need either an EA Play subscription or an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription. In addition to this, the offer is only available for 24 hours.

Unlike Xbox Game Pass games though, which are locked to an active subscription, this is a free game download. In other words, even if your Xbox Game Pass or EA Play subscription lapses, you will maintain your free access to Star Wars Battlefront II.

Developed by DICE and published by EA, Star Wars Battlefront II was a contentious release at the time due to its usage of loot boxes, which were a very hot button topic throughout the Xbox One and PS4 generation. Not only were there loot boxes, but unfair gameplay advantages to be had via loot boxes. Suffice to say, the game was not well received, as evident by its 66 on Metacritic. Despite this, it sold appreciably thanks to the power of the IP, which hadn’t been run into the ground by Disney yet.

RELATED: Star Wars Stellan Gios Lightsaber Hilt Replica Returns On December 19th

The free download on Xbox is specifically for the Celebration Edition of the game, which comes with the base game plus the following: more than 25 Hero Appearances, more than 125 Trooper and Reinforcement Appearances, more than 100 Hero and Trooper Emotes and Voice Lines, and more than 70 Hero and Trooper Victory Poses.

For more Xbox coverage — including all of the latest Xbox news, all of the latest Xbox rumors and leaks, and all of the latest Xbox deals — click here.

The post Xbox Users Have 24 Hours to Get Popular Star Wars Game For Free appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew has served viewers up some tantalizing mysteries. The show’s premise — Star Wars filtered through The Goonies — has proven fertile ground for puzzles that have drawn fans in. The biggest mystery in the show — what exactly is the deal with At Attin — has had more light shed on it, starting with Episode 3. The children and Jod Na Nawood — their scoundrel “bodyguard” — learn from an owl-like alien named Kh’ymm that At Attin was one of the “Jewels of the Old Republic,” nine worlds that were hidden away from the rest of the galaxy by an unknown party. However, of these nine worlds, eight of them were found and destroyed, at least according to Kh’ymm. The group is able to get what they believe are the coordinates to At Attin and escape New Republic fighters that Kh’ymm called on Jod.

Episode 4 takes the young heroes to a world that seems like At Attin from orbit. However, when they land, they’re treated to something very different from home. The planet is wrecked, and soon the kids and Jod are pulled into a battle between two clans — the Troix and the Hattans. They learn that this world isn’t At Attin, but At Achrann. They learn about a place called the Fallen Sanctum, and eventually make their way there after Jod finds a solution to the latest problems between the Troix and Hattan. However, what they find there reveals more facets to the mystery of At Attin and the other “Jewels.”

The Fallen Sanctum Raises as Many Questions as It Does Answers

The Fallen Sanctum is immediately familiar to the kids, because it matches the Supervisor’s Tower on At Attin. At Achrann is basically a perfect copy of At Attin in every way, besides the battle damage, giving the impression that the “Jewels of the Old Republic” — Episode 4 names five more of them besides At Attin: At Achrann, At Aytuu, At Arissia, At Aravin, and At Acoda — were created to be exactly alike. This gives the impression that the “Jewels” were some kind of experiment, but it’s hard to know what kind. It could be a sociological experiment — At Attin is a peaceful world based on bureaucracy and At Achrann is torn apart by the war — but this doesn’t seem likely.

The main reason why it probably isn’t is because of the two clues viewers have been given. In Episode 3, Kh’ymm revealed that the other “Jewels of the Old Republic” were found and destroyed. However, that doesn’t mean that the planets were blown up completely like Alderaan was in the original trilogy. These worlds were rumored to be full of treasure, and whoever found them would have wanted to get the treasure, not destroy the world. They would, however, destroy as much of the planet’s infrastructure, leaving the people of the worlds to fend for themselves. This could easily explain At Achrann’s situation: the people there lost their entire civilization because they were attacked and replaced it with one based on survival.

[RELATED: Star Wars: Skeleton Crew Featured Surprise Cameo From a Spider-Man 2 Star]

The other one is even simpler — if At Achrann was meant to be a planet of war and At Attin was meant to a world of peace, why copy everything so exactly? If At Achrann was meant to be a world of war, there would be no reason to copy the infrastructure and architectural details to the level that they did. However, one need only look at the name the nine worlds were given — the “Jewels of the Old Republic” — to be given a huge clue about what they are: treasure worlds for the Old Republic and repositories of culture. Perhaps someone could foresee the downfall of the Old Republic and created the “Jewels” in order to create a place to hide wealth and to preserve the political systems of the Old Republic. These worlds could have been meant to give survivors of whatever befell the galactic government the tools to recreate the Republic.

The top room of the Fallen Sanctum contains the coordinates and names of the other “Jewels,” but At Attin’s coordinates were destroyed. SM-33, the droid that the children found on the ship that took them off At Attin, reveals that he destroyed the coordinates and then killed everyone else in the ship’s crew who saw them other than the captain. This mysterious captain ordered 33 to forget the coordinates and to kill anyone who tried to get him to remember them. The day is saved for the group by Neel distracting the droid and Jod turning it off, but this whole sequence gives the mystery of the show’s plot another layer. However, there may be a simple answer to this — At Attin’s supervisors was the captain of the ship.

The Supervisor May Have Been Trying to Hide At Attin From Other Pirates and Keep It for Themselves

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew takes place in the New Republic era. The “Jewels of the Old Republic” have a technology level that points to perhaps the High Republic era of the Republic. At some unknown point between their founding and the New Republic era, eight “Jewels” were found and attacked. It’s impossible to know when, but it was certainly before the formation of the Empire. SM-33 and the ship kids found are definitely old, but Jod recognizes the controls, so it probably isn’t from too far in the past but definitely pre-Imperial. SM-33 and his captain got to At-Achrann at some point after it was originally destroyed — 33 references that the world was full of warriors even back then — so the captain isn’t the one who destroyed At Achrann, at least.

The captain is almost certainly the Supervisor. This could go one of two ways — the Supervisor knew the other “Jewels” were destroyed and went to each of them and destroyed the coordinates, hiring spacer crews and disposing of them or the captain found At Achrann, realized the other “Jewels” were found and destroyed, and went to At Atinn, destroying the coordinates to keep it for themselves. On At Atinn, this captain was able to get to the Supervisor, possibly by bluffing about being from the Republic, perhaps taking the post of Supervisor because they were a “Republic official,” or killed the Supervisor and has taken their place. A big clue for the latter is that the safety droid refuses Fern’s mother’s request to have an audience with the Supervisor after the children leave the planet. Maybe they don’t want anyone to know what they look like? Episode 4 deepened the mystery of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, and where it could go next is anyone’s guess.

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew streams on Disney+ Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET.

The post Star Wars: Skeleton Crew’s Biggest Mystery Just Got Even More Interesting appeared first on ComicBook.com.

When you buy through our links, Comicbook may earn an affiliate commission. Time to hit lightspeed and head for a galaxy far, far away! Star Wars is on the mind thanks to Hasbro, who have unveiled their final Black Series and The Vintage Collection releases for Lucasfilm’s Gift the Galaxy 2024 campaign. This year’s holiday promotion is going out with a bang with the Star Wars The Black Series Phase 1 Clone Trooper & Super Battle Droid set and the Star Wars: The Vintage Collection Anakin Skywalker 3-Pack. You’re about to see them first here at Comicbook.

Both new drops focus on prequel series events with the Anakin Skywalker set offering three figures that follow his transformation into Darth Vader. The Clone Trooper & Super Battle Droid set is inspired by Star Wars: Attack of the Clones and is ideal for army building. You can take a look at all of the details for each of these figure sets below. Note that pre-orders will begin December 18 at 1PM ET here on Hasbro Pulse for Premium members and for the general public beginning at 2PM ET. Both sets will also be available here at the Disney Store at a later date. Speaking of The Disney Store, keep in mind that the Stellan Gios lightsaber hilt will return on December 19th. Details are available here.

• Star Wars: The Vintage Collection Anakin Skywalker 3-Pack / $49.99 / See at Hasbro Pulse: Standing 3 ¾-inches tall, the Vintage collection provides 3 new Anakin Skywalker figures, walking fans through the Jedi’s fall and transformation into the Sith Lord, Darth Vader. Each figure includes some fabric, flexible clothing, accurate lightsabers and outfits to the films, and Darth Vader (Redeemed) even includes an interchangeable arm and lightning effects – a call back to his turning point in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi.

• Star Wars The Black Series Phase 1 Clone Trooper & Super Battle Droid / $39.99 / See at Hasbro Pulse: Standing 6-inches tall, these figures come straight from Star Wars: Attack of the Clones. The Phase 1 Clone Trooper includes a removable helmet as well as his long-range blaster. The Super Battle Droid includes a blaster effect part that attaches to the end of his arm.  

More Star Wars News 

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew premiered on Disney+ back at the beginning of the month, and the show, which takes place during the New Republic Era, has not shied away from referencing the prequels. In the premiere episode of the series, an endearing piece of creative slang was used that first appeared in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. When Anakin shows off his podracer to a friend ahead of the Boonta Eve race, the friend replies by saying, “This is so wizard, Ani.” The groan-worthy attempt at unique slang has now become endearing to the generation of fans that grew up watching the film.

In the premiere of Skeleton Crew, Wim says the same thing about the hoverbike ridden by his soon-to-be cohort, Fern. He tells her that the bike is “totally wizard,” proving that the slang from Tatooine has persisted throughout the galaxy.

The post Hasbro Star Wars Multipacks Wrap Up Gift The Galaxy 2024 (Exclusive) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Star Wars: Episode VIII — The Last Jedi premiered on December 15, 2017, and the franchise has never been quite the same since. The movie was divisive in its time and remains an object of criticism to this day — even if other Star Wars movies are hated even more. Seven years later, taking a broad look at the response to this movie can illuminate the course Star Wars has taken and help us speculate about where it will go next.

It’s not uncommon to hear fans generalize these days, saying that the sequel trilogy as a whole is bad, so it’s easy to forget that Episode VII — The Force Awakens met with an overwhelmingly positive response from critics and casual moviegoers. The long-awaited sequel was lauded for revitalizing the franchise, and for drawing attention forward rather than back, as so many prequels had done. In hindsight, fans dislike that The Force Awakens had so much in common with A New Hope, among other critiques. Back in 2017, however, The Last Jedi had a lot to live up to.

Unlike its predecessor, The Last Jedi did not borrow heavily from The Empire Strikes Back, setting out to tell its own tale. It is set largely on a fleet of Resistance ships, where General Leia’s organization is fleeing the First Order. It also follows Rey on a quest to find Luke Skywalker and gain a deeper understanding of The Force, while a C-plot follows Finn, Rose and BB-8 on a fruitless attempt to sabotage the First Order.

[RELATED: New Star Wars Rumor Reveals Lucasfilm’s Future Movies Hinge on Rey]

Divisive is an Understatement

Movies are often labeled “controversial” if there’s a variety of different responses to them, but rarely is the range as wide as that of The Last Jedi. While some Star Wars fans hate this movie with a fiery passion, many others love it just as hard. In 2017 and 2018, it was not uncommon to hear this movie touted as the best Star Wars movie since Return of the Jedi. In fact, the reviews from professional critics were skewed overwhelmingly positive – The Last Jedi has a 91 percent positive score on Rotten Tomatoes with an average rating of 8.1 out of 10.

This ostensibly positive response only seemed to infuriate the movie’s detractors more online. There were review-bombing campaigns, vote-brigading in online polls, and some even created social media bots to amplify their negative opinions. In the years that followed, many critics have speculated that these kinds of tactics successfully fooled the studios into believing The Last Jedi was hated more widely than it truly was, perhaps influencing some of the decisions that followed.

Bigotry

It’s undeniable that sexism, racism and general bigotry played a huge role in the negativity around The Last Jedi. Some fans were already grumbling about the trilogy’s protagonists being a woman and a Black man, and this movie introduced Rose (Kelly Marie Tran) as another leading protagonist. Sadly, outrage at these casting choices led to extreme harassment for the actors playing those characters – and others – changing the way franchise stars interact with fans for years to come.

the studios have been accused of acquiescing to the “vocal minority” of fans when it comes to this movie, but thankfully women and people of diverse races have continued to get roles in the Star Wars franchise. Still, we can’t say that this had no lasting impact on the franchise – John Boyega famously complained that he felt his character’s role in the final movie was minimized, while Tran’s character was left out altogether. Meanwhile, there could be many other talented actors, crew and creators who chose not to spend their time on Star Wars due to this kind of vitriol.

Fan Theories

Another broad reason often given for the blowback to this movie is the prevalence of fan theories. After The Force Awakens, many fans had developed very detailed theories about what would come next and had become attached to those stories, expecting to see them come true. If they didn’t, they were left disappointed, feeling that the movie had failed to follow through on its set-up. This was particularly true for those who believed Rey’s parents had been Force-users, and those who believed they had figured out the backstory for Supreme Leader Snoke.

In both of those cases, the revelations in The Last Jedi were hastily reversed in The Rise of Skywalker. The results of those reversals are hard to track, but in general, The Rise of Skywalker was unsatisfying to most fans, whether they loved or hated The Last Jedi. The franchise hasn’t seen a reversal or retcon quite like these since then, and hopefully it never will again.

Looking Ahead

In retrospect, the most surprising development in Star Wars over the last seven years is a return to prequels and “interquels,” with a refusal to look forward. The sequel trilogy started strong and drew in record-breaking audiences because it promised to advance the story, rather than building backstory or putting on episodic spectacles.

Since 2019, we’ve been flooded with new Star Wars content – primarily TV streaming series released directly to Disney+. However, most of these take place years before The Force Awakens, including The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, Obi-Wan Kenobi and so on. Even the currently-running Skeleton Crew takes place in this part of the timeline.

The studios have announced plans for movies that take place after The Rise of Skywalker, but progress has been slow and faltering. This year, they announced that Daisy Ridley would reprise her role as Rey in Star Wars: New Jedi Order, but back in October the screenwriter left that project and the studio set out to look for a new one. With the script still underway, there’s no telling when we might see this part of the timeline for ourselves. Other plans to take the story ahead are even more nebulous.

That’s not to say that prequels are a bad choice for Star Wars – the franchise’s worldbuilding could use all the help it can get, and the past offers more chances for Jedi to participate in the story. Still, for the series to recapture the energy and fervor it had between The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi, it will need to promise something new and exciting once again. To do that, it needs to be bold enough to risk criticism and to stay the course even when things get rough.

The post The Last Jedi Was Released 7 Years Ago Today (and Star Wars Has Never Been the Same) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew has surprised fans with its heartwarming tale of childhood wonder, which the franchise arguably lost over the years as it overfocused on canon and interconnectivity. In addition to gifting audiences with a sense of awe, the new Disney+ series also does a fantastic job introducing quirky characters in every new episode, from the grumpy pirate robot SM-33 (voiced by Nick Frost) to a cast of wildly creative aliens. In addition to their memorable visuals, Skeleton Crew’s aliens also stand out for the talented voices Disney chose to bring them to life. For instance, an Arrested Development star voices the new fan-favorite Kh’ymm. As for Benjar Pranic, the pirate is voiced by Alfred Molina, Doctor Octopus in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2.

Benjar Pranic’s single scene (so far) shows his fateful encounter with Jude Law’s Jod. In the scene, Jod sneaks back into the pirate outpost to retrieve SM-33. On the droid depot, he meets Benjar, who fondly remembers when Jod, aka Captain Silvo, used to rule the pirate crew. However, even though Benjar is displeased with Brutus (voiced by Fred Tatasciore), he’s still loyal to the chain of command, so he alerts the guards of Jod’s escape.

Even though Jod is a minor character in Episode 3 of Skeleton Crew, Molina lends his gravitas to the pirate alien. The star’s brief appearance also marks a welcome reunion behind the cameras. In 2021, Molina returned to the role of Doc Ock for Spider-Man: No Way Home under the direction of Jon Watts. As it turns out, Watts is the co-creator of Skeleton Crew. Disney loves to keep talented people around, so it’s nice to see Watts and Molina together in the Star Wars playground after they helped shatter box office records in the MCU.

[Related: Star Wars: Skeleton Crew Drops Another Hilarious Phantom Menace Easter Egg]

What’s Star Wars: Skeleton Crew About?

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew represents a significant departure from traditional Star Wars narratives, emphasizing personal growth and discovery over galactic politics. Set in the same timeline period as The Mandalorian, the series follows four young adventurers who find themselves lost in the vast expanse of space after discovering an ancient pirate ship on their home planet of At Attin. The nostalgic blend of coming-of-age storytelling and space adventure has done wonders for the Skeleton Crew, quickly breaking some Rotten Tomatoes records for the franchise.

Skeleton Crew was born from the creative partnership of Jon Watts and Christopher Ford, who serve as co-creators and co-showrunners of the series. The duo’s collaboration extends back through several successful projects, including Clown, Cop Car, and the MCU’s Spider-Man trilogy. The series is also graced with four show-stealer young protagonists: Wim (Ravi Cabot-Conyers), a dreamer grappling with his father’s absence; Fern (Ryan Kiera Armstrong), pushing against her mother’s overwhelming expectations; KB (Kyriana Kratter), a brilliant tech enthusiast with overprotective parents; and Neel (Robert Timothy Smith), the reluctant adventurer who joins the quest to support his best friend. 

Together, the cast and crew have managed to recapture the magic of the original trilogy by doing their own thing instead of retracing the exact steps of George Lucas. Should the rest of the season keep the same pacing, Skeleton Crew will likely become a new fan-favorite chapter in the space opera saga.

New episodes of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew premiere Tuesdays on Disney+ through January 14, 2025.

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Director Gareth Edwards’ 2016 film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story introduced a cast of brand new characters to the Lucasfilm universe — including several that have not yet appeared in the prequel series Andor. In the movie, which takes place one week before the events of Star Wars: A New Hope, Felicity Jones’s Rebel soldier Jyn Erso teams up with Diego Luna’s Cassian Andor to discover the Empire’s secret Death Star plans. Jones recently addressed the possibility of reprising her role. “There’s unfinished business there,” the actress told Variety while promoting her new film The Brutalist. “I think in the right circumstance if you put Jyn in the right story, then why not?”

Interestingly, Jones expressed a similar desire to rejoin Star Wars four years ago. “I just keep saying that reincarnation is totally possible in the Star Wars universe,” Jones told The Hollywood Reporter in October 2020, alluding to her character’s likely demise at the end of Rogue One. “So, I feel there’s unfinished business for Jyn, for sure.”

Star Wars is no stranger to resurrection, as the franchise famously brought back Emperor Palpatine in 2019’s Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Still, it would seem a greater possibility for Jyn to appear in Andor, given that the show’s events occur during her lifetime. Andor season 2’s will include the return of Cassian, Syril, Bix, Luthen, and more. As for new additions to the cast, none have been made public as of now.

Although Jones has not been confirmed to be making an appearance in Andor season 2, her return is not completely out of the question. Season 1’s story concluded with the uprising against the Imperials on Ferrix. Despite the fact that Cassian does not meet Jyn until years later in Rogue One, Andor’s final season could integrate a smaller side plot involving the earlier days of Jones’ character.

Andor, starring Luna as Cassian and set five years before Rogue One, aired its first season on Disney+ in 2022. Season 2 is currently scheduled to premiere on the streaming service in April 2025. The series has surrounded Cassian with new characters such as Adria Arjona’s Bix Caleen, Andy Serkis’ Kino Loy, Faye Marsay’s Vel Sartha, and Stellan Skarsgard’s Luthen Rael. Other new faces introduced in Andor include Kyle Soller’s Syril Karn and Denise Gough’s Dedra Meero. Luna’s Cassian, Genevieve O’Reilly’s Mon Mothma, Forest Whitaker’s Saw Gerrera, and Duncan Pow’s Melshi are some of the few recurring characters between Rogue One and Andor after season 1. Thus, it’s possible that season 2 could feature the return of Jyn Erso.

The post Rogue One Star Still Has “Unfinished Business” With Star Wars, But Will They Return in Andor? appeared first on ComicBook.com.

A new Star Wars Outlaws update is live on PC, PS5, Xbox Series S, and Xbox Series X. The update, which has been titled Update 1.5.0 for the simple fact that it is the fifth update to the 2024 Star Wars game. And according to Ubisoft, the update has “a myriad of performance improvements and adjustments.” In addition to this, Frame Generation and DLSS options have been updated as well.

On PS5, the new Star Wars Outlaws update takes up roughly 6.7 GB of space, while the Xbox Series X|S version takes up 7.1 GB of space. It is unclear why the file sizes between the two machines are different. The same is also true for the update on Ubisoft Connect, 6.3 GB, and the update on Steam, which is 7.5 GB.

Below, those interested in knowing more about the update can check out the entire and official patch notes for it.

Star Wars Outlaws Update 1.5.0 Patch Notes

General Gameplay

• Balanced damage done to ionized enemies
• Fixed an issue with NPC collision area in syndicate districts that prevented shooting in some situations
• Smoothed NPC transitions for going in/out cover
• Fixed an issue where capital ships would not spawn in space
• Improved enemy AI when detecting grenades and when Kay is hidden in smoke
• Fixed an issue where enemies would take cover behind hollow fences
• Fixed an issue where fast travelling on Akiva to the Abandoned Hideout could cause an infinite loading screen
• Fixed an issue where the Wanted status would not decrease in certain areas
• Fixed an issue where some NPCs would get stuck in combat areas in an Imperial compound on Toshara
• Fixed an issue where VFX would impact the entire screen when shooting outdoors from an indoors location

Performance

• Fixed an issue that caused performance drops when aiming the camera straight down with RTDXI enabled

Graphics

• Fixed an issue with flickering lights at the bottom of the screen on consoles

UI, HUD and Settings

• Updated options for Frame Generation and DLSS
• Improved detection when ‘in-combat’ state
• Fixed an issue where item descriptions would not show in the loadout menu
• Fixed an issue where intention icons no longer appeared above NPCs

Audio

• Fixed combat music not playing in syndicate territories in cities
• Lowered Nix’s footsteps volume
• Fixed missing contract VO’s
• Improved music playback in The High Roller quest
• Improved Flyer creature foley playback
• Improved VO loudness issues on localized versions of the game

Cinematics

• Improved quality of ‘The Deal’ cinematic in Wild Card
• Fixed an issue where characters could get stuck in a T-pose during the sabacc tournament in Wild Card

Camera

• Fixed an issue where Kay’s head would face a different direction than the camera

Worlds, Fauna and Flora

• Improved the takeoff animation of the aglis flyer on Toshara
• Added additional flee animation and audio to scurriers on Tatooine
• Fixed an issue with terrain blending on Tatooine

Photo Mode

• Enabled option to toggle cinematic lens effect
• Fixed an issue where Nix could be seen clipping through Kay’s chair if photo mode is activated when planting a card during sabacc in Wild Card

Accessibility

• Fixed an issue where in-game objects would not change color when switching between colorblind presets
• Fixed an issue where simple numerals in sabacc would not show correctly
• Fixed an issue where swapping a button for ‘On Foot’ would also change it for the Speeder and Trailblazer
• Fixed an issue where you could get stuck in the Custom Control screen when using a mouse and keyboard
• Fixed an issue where the gadgets wheel could not be opened after switching the input to toggle
• Fixes for various high contrast mode bugs and inconsistencies
• Narration on the map screen now reads distance to points of interest

Sabacc:

• Fixed an issue when leaving a sabacc game if an enemy is playing the ‘Embargo’ or ‘Direct Transaction’ could prevent continued play at the table
• Fixed an issue where Kay’s left hand would suddenly disappear whilst ‘auto-success’ was enabled when using the magnetic dice
• Fixed an issue where suspicion states were not registering correctly when caught cheating
• Fixed an issue where SFX would play/trigger at incorrect moments  

Miscellaneous

• Fixed an issue where some NPC clothing was clipping
• Fixed an issue with random floating objects
• Fixed an issue where defeating enemies using the ‘Blast’ or ‘Pulse’ Power module would not count towards the Power Surge Ubisoft Connect Time-Limited Challenge

PS5 Pro

• In addition to the ‘Quality (60FPS)’ mode, the three base PS5 options of ‘Quality’, ‘Performance’ and ‘Balanced’ are now selectable graphics options
• An ‘Upscaler Type’ toggle has been added allowing you to use either PSSR or FSR

MAIN & SIDE QUESTS (beware of spoilers)

Canto Bight

• Beginnings
  • Fixed an issue where Kay would be unable to speak to vendors or Preeban after winning a fixed Fathier race

Toshara

• Codebreaker
  • Fixed an issue where a player could get stuck behind an energy barrier after reloading a save
• Tosharan Treasure Intel
  • Fixed an issue where the intel chain does not start after reading the IWM datapad
• The Wreck
  • Fixed an issue where Kay could get stuck navigating a narrow passage
• Contracts
  • Fixed an issue where a slicing terminal will already show as unlocked if completing a contract for a second time

Tatooine

• The Hotfixer
  • Fixed an issue where Kay could get stuck by using the speeder boost to jump into the Sarlacc pit

Akiva

• Viper
  • Fixed an issue where the viper droid could not be damaged once it reached half health
• Contracts
  • Fixed an issue where a ‘Spy on Pyke District’ would fail on completion
• The Veteran
  • Fixed an issue where players were able to access the quest area prematurely
• The High Roller
  • Fixed an issue where Kay was not able to talk to Lando’s associates after the shootout

Kijimi

• Passenger
  • Fixed an issue where the quest fails when the pirate ship hyperjumps and the mission cannot be complete after a reload
• The High Roller
• Fixed an issue where Kay is not able to interact with Avrar to get Lando’s token

Wild Card – Story Pack

• Wild Card
  • Fixed an issue where the mission would not complete if the player is at the maximum Wanted Level
  • Fixed an issue where collecting the intel on the shuttle would not register and progress the quest
  • Fixed an issue where the quest marker does not appear above the shuttle when pressing up on the D-pad
• The Game
  • Fixed an issue where the mission wasn’t automatically tracked in the journal once completing the prior quest
  • Fixed an issue where a platform was incorrectly placed when escaping from the Morenia
  • Fixed an issue where a player could get stuck in a dying loop sequence at the end of the quest
• Double Down
  • Fixed an issue where the quest item could disappear if not picked up at the Western Camp before defeating enemies at the Southern Camp
• All In
  • Fixed an issue where actions would not be registered when resuming the game from a pause during a cutscene

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It’s official: Grogu is the cutest alien in the galaxy. Ever since the Force-sensitive foundling (colloquially known as “Baby Yoda”) made his debut in the Disney+ series Star Wars: The Mandalorian as the ward of the helmeted Mandalorian Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) in 2019, fans have wanted more of the adorable alien and his bounty hunter dad. And now, with The Mandalorian & Grogu movie headed to theaters in 2026, Disney and Lucasfilm have launched the anime-style shorts series Grogu: Cutest in the Galaxy.

The shorts, available via the official Star Wars Japan Instagram account, star “the cutest character in a galaxy far, far away with a new look that combines designs and colors that pay homage to Asian pop culture,” per a press release.

Grogu: Cutest in the Galaxy is a series of new original digital shorts “filled with the charm of the mischievous, humorous, and adorable” breakout character of The Mandalorian.

RELATED: Skeleton Crew Rotten Tomatoes Score Is Higher Than Almost Every Star Wars Movie and TV Show

Star Wars Japan will post up to two of the original Grogu shorts per month at 19:00 Japan Standard Time on Fridays. The first two shorts, which also feature the Mandalorian and a Loth-cat, are available to watch online now.

Disney also launched a Grogu: Cutest in the Galaxy merchandise collection at Tokyo Comic Con 2024, including plushes, figures, fashion and food items, and more. The Grogu-themed merch and other Star Wars goods can be shopped on the official Tokyo Comic Con website and Disney Store Japan.

Grogu (グローグー) and the Mandalorian (マンダロリアン／ディン・ジャリン) will next appear in The Mandalorian & Grogu, which will mark the first Star Wars feature film since The Rise of Skywalker in 2019. Series creator and showrunner Jon Favreau is directing the film starring Pascal, Sigourney Weaver (the Alien and Avatar films), and Jeremy Allen White (The Bear and The Iron Claw) reportedly as Rotta the Hutt, son of Jabba the Hutt.

“I have loved telling stories set in the rich world that George Lucas created,” Favreau said when announcing the theatrical feature. “The prospect of bringing the Mandalorian and his apprentice Grogu to the big screen is extremely exciting.”

Added Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, who produces alongside Favreau and Lucasfilm chief creative officer Dave Filoni (Star Wars: Ahsoka), “Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni have ushered into Star Wars two new and beloved characters, and this new story is a perfect fit for the big screen.”

Plot details remain under wraps, but The Mandalorian season 3 ended with the clan of two settled on Nevarro. After accepting Carson Teva’s (Paul Sun-Hyung Lee) offer to work for the nascent New Republic on a case-by-case basis, the Mandalorians Din and Grogu will work as “independent contractors” hired to hunt down Imperial remnants in the galaxy’s lawless Outer Rim territories.

New animated Grogu: Cutest in the Galaxy shorts premiere monthly on the Star Wars Japan Instagram. The live-action Mandalorian & Grogu movie will open in theaters May 22, 2026.

The post Star Wars: The Mandalorian’s Grogu Gets Anime-Style Short Series Ahead of New Movie (And It’s the Cutest) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

This week’s episode of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew introduced a new character named Kh’ymm that has fans excited for several different reasons. For one thing, the owl-like creature is voiced by Alia Shawkat, and she seems perfectly suited for the role. For another, Kh’ymm’s species may be the latest bit of Star Wars worldbuilding revived into Disney’s continuity.

Fair warning: there are spoilers ahead! Skeleton Crew took our heroes from the pirate haven Port Borgo to an observatory where Ja Na Nawood (Jude Law) looks up his old acquaintance Kh’ymm. She did her best to get Jod arrested by the New Republic authorities, but she extended her friendship to the kids he was traveling with. Shawkat is perfect to deliver this character’s no-nonsense attitude, even if it is a far cry from her time as the mischievous Maeby Fünke on Arrested Development. In the end, Jod and the children escape from her planet, but Kh’ymm offers to help the children in the future if needed. It seems likely that we’ll see her again.

Die-hard fans of the franchise are particularly pleased to see a member of Kh’ymm’s species on screen. She seems to be a Sharalian, which is a type of being originally developed for A New Hope in 1977 and included in the concept art book The Star Wars Portfolio. Artists later re-worked this design for the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars, but even there, they were cut from the final episode. They were finally named in the Blu-ray release of The Clone Wars Season 3.

[RELATED: Star Wars: The Mandalorian & Grogu Adds Villain to Cast (and They’re Connected to Thrawn)]

Deep cut character designs aside, many fans on social media celebrated seeing Shawkat join the Star Wars franchise this week. The actress has done a little bit of everything over the years, but is still best known for sitcoms and comedies. Hearing her distinct voice in a galaxy far, far away just made long-time fans happy.

Skeleton Crew is weaving quite a web of mysteries so far, and any unraveling that has been done so far is thanks to Kh’ymm. We now know that the main characters’ home planet, At Attin, is intentionally hidden and segregated from the rest of the galaxy – apparently by choice. We also know that the children are told very little about the worlds outside, including the very existence of the Empire and the recent battles fought to topple it. The four of them hadn’t heard that Alderaan was destroyed.

Meanwhile, the identity of Nawood is clearly important to the story going forward. The Force-wielding smooth-talker now claims he is not a Jedi, which seems believable since he was recently the captain of a pirate crew going by the name Silvo. However, Kh’ymm seems to know him by a third name, Crimson Jack, so there is a lot to unravel in his past before we can say for certain.

Skeleton Crew airs on Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET on Disney+. The three episodes released so far are streaming there now.

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