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

"Metamorphosis" is the 11th episode of #TheBadBatch season 2, featuring another genre exploration, a callback to the Clone Wars, the first talk of a major breakup, and the foundation for a tense finale. Our breakdown review today...  Punch it! ~*~*~*~*~*~ Be sure to subscribe/follow the show on your favorite podcast app! If you have an extra minute, a rating or review on Apple or Spotify would be...

Atonement and redemption are two of the key story arcs - or themes, if you prefer - for Din Djarin, Green Karga, and Bo-Katan Kryze in #TheMandalorian season 3. They're each at different points in those journeys. But there's an even deeper idea at work this season, too. Punch it! ~*~*~*~*~*~ Be sure to subscribe/follow the show on your favorite podcast app! If you have an extra minute, a rating or...

"The Apostate," #TheMandalorian season 3 debut, arrives with thrills, drama, and comedy. It reminds us of what we love about the series, while doing some heavy lifting on the season setup and taking a couple of confusing turns. Punch it! ~*~*~*~*~*~ Be sure to subscribe/follow the show on your favorite podcast app! If you have an extra minute, a rating or review on Apple or Spotify would be super...

March is going to be HUGE for Star Wars storytelling! The start of Mando season 3 and the end of Bad Batch season 2 will grab the headlines, but there's a lot more in store. Join us for our monthly preview...  Punch it! As with each of our monthly previews, we're looking at storytelling in these 12 categories: Movies Live Action Animation Books Audiobooks Short Stories Comics Virtual Reality Video...

An "apostate"? Has Din Djarin actually *renounced* the Children of the Watch? We'll talk about this surprising word choice, and number of other moments from social media clips in advance of #TheMandalorian season 3 premiere. Punch it! ~*~*~*~*~*~ Be sure to subscribe/follow the show on your favorite podcast app! If you have an extra minute, a rating or review on Apple or Spotify would be super hel...

It's the last Mando Monday before #TheMandalorian season 3 premiere! Today, we're looking at the Marvel Comics adaptation of season 1, highlighting five takeaways for clues, reminders, and questions as we head into Chapter 17. Punch it! ~*~*~*~*~*~ Be sure to subscribe/follow the show on your favorite podcast app! If you have an extra minute, a rating or review on Apple or Spotify would be super h...

Today, we wrap up the conversation about Star Wars trailers in general and the Rebels Season 3 mid-season trailer with Senior Editor Kevin Yost from Lucasfilm. (He's been working on Bad Batch stuff most recently, too...) And here's the trailer that inspired this conversation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upN-7ALj2OU ~*~*~*~*~*~ Be sure to subscribe/follow the show on your favorite podcast app!...

Excitement for #TheMandalorian is ramping up to fever-pitch levels, and the trailers and social clips only add fuel to that fire. So I got to thinking about this conversation with "Trailer Dude" Kevin Yost from Lucasfilm, and it seemed great to reshare Part 1 today. Punch it! And here's the trailer that inspired this conversation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upN-7ALj2OU ~*~*~*~*~*~ Be sure to...

From war profiteering to deregulation and workers' rights, from veterans affairs to mercenaries and manipulations, season 2 of #TheBadBatch is shaping up to rival Andor as politically-themed Star Wars storytelling. Punch it! ~*~*~*~*~*~ Be sure to subscribe/follow the show on your favorite podcast app! If you have an extra minute, a rating or review on Apple or Spotify would be super helpful, too....

"Retrieval" is the 10th episode from season 2 of #TheBadBatch" and features one of the most breathtaking moments of the series thus far, along with a complex story that builds on the successes of the previous episode. Punch it! ~*~*~*~*~*~ Be sure to subscribe/follow the show on your favorite podcast app! If you have an extra minute, a rating or review on Apple or Spotify would be super helpful, t...

There's some pretty revealing stuff in the Empire magazine joint interview with Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau, when you started connecting some of the pieces from their separate answers. Today, the last of our looks at Empire's Mando special feature. Punch it!   ~*~*~*~*~*~ Be sure to subscribe/follow the show on your favorite podcast app! If you have an extra minute, a rating or review on Apple or...

A brief oral history of Grogu's development for #TheMandalorian appears in the new Empire magazine feature on the show. And it includes info you won't find in the "Art of the Mandalorian" book, either. Highlights today...  Punch it! ~*~*~*~*~*~ Be sure to subscribe/follow the show on your favorite podcast app! If you have an extra minute, a rating or review on Apple or Spotify would be super helpf...

Quotes from Pedro Pascal, Katee Sackhoff, Emily Swallow, and Carl Weathers in Empire magazine's #TheMandalorian feature open up some new and intriguing story possibilities for us to consider on this latest Mando Mondays installment. Punch it! ~*~*~*~*~*~ Be sure to subscribe/follow the show on your favorite podcast app! If you have an extra minute, a rating or review on Apple or Spotify would be s...

Today, the second half of our conversation with Director Jose Perez III and CG Supervisor Ronman Ng from ILMxLAB, talking about the creation of Tales From the Galaxy's Edge ahead of its "Enhanced Edition" release on Playstation VR2. Punch it! Here's where you can find ILMxLAB online: Twitter: https://twitter.com/ILMxLAB Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ilmxlab/ Website: https://www.ilmxlab.com...

Tales From the Galaxy's Edge - Enhanced Edition is bringing the full experience of the original action-adventure virtual reality experience and "Last Call" follow-up to PlayStation VR2! As part of the press junket, I got to interview Director Jose Perez III and CG Supervisor Ronman Ng, and the first half of our conversation is here. Punch it! Here's where you can find ILMxLAB online: Twitter: http...

You can read "The Bad Batch" as a story about adult male emotional availability (or lack thereof), and how that plays out when a bunch of guys suddenly become a dad and uncles to a pre-teen girl. And that reading got more nuanced after "The Crossing." It's deep dive day...  Punch it! ~*~*~*~*~*~ Be sure to subscribe/follow the show on your favorite podcast app! If you have an extra minute, a ratin...

"The Crossing" is episode 9 from #TheBadBatch season 2, an emotional growing pains story that also puts them another step closer to breaking away from Cid and mercenary work. Punch it! ~*~*~*~*~*~ Be sure to subscribe/follow the show on your favorite podcast app! If you have an extra minute, a rating or review on Apple or Spotify would be super helpful, too. :-) Like YouTube? Subscribe here: https...

On last week's Disney investor call, folks sure sounded happy to hear Bob Iger back in the saddle. He discussed upcoming changes to content production, and on today's episode, we'll talk about what that means for Star Wars live-action storytelling. Punch it! ~*~*~*~*~*~ Be sure to subscribe/follow the show on your favorite podcast app! If you have an extra minute, a rating or review on Apple or Sp...

Live-action romance in the Disney Lucasfilm era? Not so much! For love stories in the galaxy far, far away, you've gotta go to the novels. Today, we're highlighting seven romantic tales for Valentine's Day. Punch it! ~*~*~*~*~*~ Be sure to subscribe/follow the show on your favorite podcast app! If you have an extra minute, a rating or review on Apple or Spotify would be super helpful, too. :-) Lik...

The teases from Empire magazine make it clear we're getting a lot of Mando politics and culture in #TheMandalorian season 3! So for this Mando Mondays installment, we're going to do a brief explainer on Mandalorian houses and clans. Punch it! ~*~*~*~*~*~ Be sure to subscribe/follow the show on your favorite podcast app! If you have an extra minute, a rating or review on Apple or Spotify would be s...

A few weeks ago, we examined what we knew about the Empire's transition from clone trooper to stormtrooper. "Truth and Consequences" built on some of those ideas, and also made them more complex. Let's dive deeper today...  Punch it! ~*~*~*~*~*~ Be sure to subscribe/follow the show on your favorite podcast app! If you have an extra minute, a rating or review on Apple or Spotify would be super help...

Things done by the creative team behind #TheBadBatch in "The Clone Conspiracy" reflect some of the great choices they've been making throughout season 2 so far. We'll discuss that today, starting with the unique focus in episode 7 on clone officers. Punch it! ~*~*~*~*~*~ Be sure to subscribe/follow the show on your favorite podcast app! If you have an extra minute, a rating or review on Apple or S...

The "AND" is super important in the title of "Truth and Consequences," episode 8 from season 2 of #TheBadBatch. Unlike in #TheCloneWars season 6, the truth does get out - but like last time, Palpatine turns it into a W anyway. Punch it! ~*~*~*~*~*~ Be sure to subscribe/follow the show on your favorite podcast app! If you have an extra minute, a rating or review on Apple or Spotify would be super h...

Right up there with the best of The Clone Wars for political intrigue and thrilling suspense, "The Clone Conspiracy" is the first of a two-part mid-season banger from #TheBadBatch. Our breakdown starts today...  Punch it! ~*~*~*~*~*~ Be sure to subscribe/follow the show on your favorite podcast app! If you have an extra minute, a rating or review on Apple or Spotify would be super helpful, too. :-...

Yes, for more than two years during its development, "Return of the Jedi" was actually being called "Revenge of the Jedi." But the "Return" name was more prevalent than we may remember - and so was "Blue Harvest." Punch it! ~*~*~*~*~*~ Be sure to subscribe/follow the show on your favorite podcast app! If you have an extra minute, a rating or review on Apple or Spotify would be super helpful, too....