Star Wars 7x7: A Daily Bite-Sized Dose of Star Wars Joy

It's true - Saw Gerrera planned an attack with his Partisans that nearly killed Princess Leia at 16 years of age. Oh, not intentionally of course! But still. I'm digging into this in today's podcast, as well as talking about Saw's intended target, and the uncomfortable observations he was making about Leia prior to his assassination. Punch it! ***I'm listener supported! Go to http://Patreon.com/sw...

It's a good bet that Leia is going to wind up on or near Crait during the events of The Last Jedi. But it won't be her first time there. In fact, her first time there would have happened 37 years before the events of The Last Jedi, considering what we learn from the new novel Leia: Princess of Alderaan. Punch it! ***I'm listener supported! Go to http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to donate to the Star Wars...

"Watch Monday Night Football on Monday October 9th- for no reason in particular." That's the tweet that launched a thousand blog posts about the possibility that Mark Hamill was telling the truth - we're going to get the final trailer for The Last Jedi on 10/9. He's since deleted it, saying "I have no idea. Disney will announce when they are ready. #WaitForVIIITrailer." But can that genie go back...

As I mentioned in yesterday's podcast, the novel Leia: Princess of Alderaan is thick with connections to other media, and meaningful encounters. Today, I'm talking about one of each. Leia conducts her first humanitarian mission, which happens to be to Wobani, the prison planet on which we see the adult Jyn Erso for the first time in Rogue One. We also get to witness the veiled threats in the first...

Admit it - based on the two images you've seen of Laura Dern as Resistance Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo, you've constructed an idea about her character in your mind. She's gotta be tough as nails to work in an organization with Leia and get up to that rank, right? Well, when she's introduced in Leia: Princess of Alderaan, she'll absolutely shatter your expectations. Punch it! ***I'm listener supporte...

15 character descriptions were revealed via the "Find the Force" app inside the official Star Wars smartphone app during the Force Friday II weekend. In many cases, the information in those descriptions was the same as what was posted to the StarWars.com Databank in August. But in some cases - like with Maz Kanata, Chewie, Leia, and others - we got new information. Punch it! ***I'm listener suppor...

Today on the podcast: Star Wars news bites! These are brief Star Wars news stories that weren't big enough to warrant a whole episode dedicated to them. Up today: news related to actor Paul Bettany, director John Landis, and Renaissance man Jon Hamm. Punch it! ***I'm listener supported! Go to http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to donate to the Star Wars 7x7 podcast, and you'll get some fabulous rewards for...

John Boyega, a few months ago, said something in an interview that someday will be referred to as him famously saying, "Star Wars will always be the star of Star Wars." And its that insight that ties in so well to the apparent problems behind the scenes with Colin Trevorrow. No, Boyega wasn't speaking about Trevorrow when he said it. It just happens to line up very well with comments from two anon...

Surprise! GQ magazine has landed moments with not one, but two iconic Star Wars actors. For the American edition, Harrison Ford is the cover story feature. Among the topics discussed, a question of whether Han Solo is, indeed, dead. For the British folks, Mark Hamill was named "Icon of the Year," and in addition to celebrating him and other honorees, they also recorded a video with some of his car...

Not only was the cover of the Canto Bight novella collection revealed on Wednesday (featuring two new Star Wars vehicles), the descriptions of the four novellas were also revealed. Is it more like "Before the Awakening" or "Tales From a Galaxy Far, Far Away: Aliens Volume 1? I'll dig into that, as well as which character from the four novellas we have the best chance of seeing and noticing on the...

From hating the First Order at a young age to a "tragic past," we're learning more about Kelly Marie Tran's character Rose Tico from The Last Jedi in the new fun reference book, "Star Wars Made easy." Also on the show today: gorilla walkers, Canto Bight, "space horses," and much more. Plus, a further update on the news of J.J. Abrams taking over the mantle of Episode IX. Punch it! ***I'm listener...

Lucasfilm made the safe choice by re-hiring Force Awakens director/co-writer J.J. Abrams to be the new director/co-writer for Episode IX. As opposed to Larry Kasdan, the newly announced co-writer with Abrams will be Chris Terrio, who won the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for Argo, and who also has his name attached to Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Punch it! ***I'm listener supported! Go to h...

Star Wars Made Easy, from DK Publishing, came out on September 1 as part of the "Journey to the Last Jedi" Force Friday II publishing initiative. Clear, concise, and filled with information that entertains without overwhelming, it also contains a few gems about The Force Awakens - and The Last Jedi, too. Punch it! ***I'm listener supported! Go to http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to donate to the Star Wars...

With 256 days left before the premiere of the as-yet-untitled Han Solo movie, Ron Howard is posting photos of a rougher part of the galaxy - bar fights and all. Plus, I've got a theory about someone who could be making a cameo appearance in the movie, based on some recent social media activity. Don't worry, it's not a spoiler-y kind of thing... Punch it! ***I'm listener supported! Go to http://Pat...

The description of the Elite Praetorian Guard in the StarWars.com Databank includes a curious choice of verb tense as it relates to Supreme Leader Snoke. That's the first topic I'm covering on today's podcast, in which I'm rounding out the coverage of the Force Friday II toy reveals, and also talking about (with fair warning to avoid it if necessary) what "DJ" might stand for, according to the Aue...

Where were we, before we were so rudely interrupted by the departure of Colin Trevorrow from Star Wars Episode IX? Ahh, yes, we were looking at the new entries in the StarWars.com Databank together - specifically, new entries related to The Last Jedi. Let's get back to that, shall we? On tap today: much ado about Crait. Punch it! ***I'm listener supported! Go to http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to donate...

You can understand - sort of - why you'd see stories questioning whether Lucasfilm is in trouble. With all the directorial upheavals happening, and with a voracious entertainment news cycle built on clickbait and anxiety, it's almost a given. But there are many, many reasons to relax and repeat after me: "In Kathleen Kennedy I trust." Punch it! ***I'm listener supported! Go to http://Patreon.com/s...

Only two names are being bandied about by "inside sources" to replace Star Wars Episode IX director/co-writer Colin Trevorrow. However, there are a lot of other websites posting claims about who else would/could/should be considered as a replacement director. I'm digging onto all of that here, as well as opining on why it's high time to get a woman on board to direct a Lucasfilm project. Punch it!...

With a short and sweet statement on StarWars.com, Lucasfilm again rocked the Star Wars fandom with the announcement that they were parting ways with Colin Trevorrow, the director and co-writer of Star Wars Episode IX. This one came as a surprise - there'd been no inside sources claiming anything was wrong prior to the announcement. (The foofaraw over Trevorrow's flop with "The Book of Henry" was e...

The action figures for Luke Skywalker are decidedly unaccessorized - he comes with nothing but his clothes and his robot hand. Not even a glove for it! But there's something about his belt that should make you oooh and aaah for a moment. Would Hasbro ever do a mail-in campaign for people to get his lightsaber after the fact? Seems like a lot to do for a tiny play piece, but I wonder... And also to...

In the Sphero app (for controlling the BB-8, R2-D2, and BB-9E droids), there's a whole series of datascreens that reveal information about Supreme Leader Snoke's flagship, "Supremacy." I'm digging into those reveals today, and connecting them to what's depicted on the BB-8 mega-playset that opens up to reveal a First Order facility. (There's a throne room for Supreme Leader Snoke, more locations w...

In an interview with CTV News (think of it as the CNN of Canada), I talked with host Todd van der Heyden about the business of Force Friday and the hopes of Star Wars fandom for The Last Jedi. Plus, a couple of ships and their names have been revealed, from an official and unlikely source. Punch it! ***I'm listener supported! Go to http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to donate to the Star Wars 7x7 podcast, a...

When Force Friday arrived, I didn't have to go it alone this year. I reached out to Bryan Fontaine of Jedi Scavenger (a collecting-focused podcast), which is also part of the Brick City Blockade podcast network. He happened to be coming to the same Toys R Us at which I'd been going for the past two years... Punch it! ***I'm listener supported! Go to http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to donate to the Star W...

What's it like to attend a midnight opening at Toys 'R Us for #ForceFriday? I'll give you the vibe, share what I've learned about the Crait battle, and give you a preview of the reveals coming down the pike over the next few days. Punch it! ***I'm listener supported! Go to http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to donate to the Star Wars 7x7 podcast, and you'll get some fabulous rewards for your pledge.***  Che...

Turns out the similarities in the promotional timeframes from Rogue One weren't as easy to apply as a template to The Last Jedi. With yet another Force Friday promo partner announced yesterday, all the momentum is clearly on driving awareness for the event, and not for the movie directly - which is what a trailer would be for. So, what's different this time around? And what can we expect for the r...