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

It's flashback time! Back in 2014, I did a series of episodes looking at interviews conducted with George Lucas by Alan Arnold for the seminal book Once Upon a Galaxy: A Journal of the Making of The Empire Strikes Back. Here's what you'll be hearing about in this final look back: Lucas talks candidly about the practical and creative sides of his nature, how he deals with them, how his preferred me...

Here's the thing about the month of August 2020: This is the month that would have included Star Wars Celebration Anaheim, if it hadn't been canceled due to the pandemic. So in addition to the things that would have been released this month had there been no pandemic (i.e., the first of the High Republic books) there would have been a LOT of reveals happening. And even though there's no in-person...

It's flashback time! Back in 2014, I did a series of episodes looking at interviews conducted with George Lucas by Alan Arnold for the seminal book Once Upon a Galaxy: A Journal of the Making of The Empire Strikes Back. Here's what to expect in today's episode, based on what I wrote back then: [Lucas] talks about the financial investment he made by committing to Empire. What will it take to break...

It's flashback time! Back in 2014, I did a series of episodes looking at interviews conducted with George Lucas by Alan Arnold for the seminal book Once Upon a Galaxy: A Journal of the Making of The Empire Strikes Back. Here's what I said in prep for the episode: Lucas gets personal with his discussions about how he prefers to work, what's on the line for him creatively and financially, and shares...

It's flashback time! Back in 2014, I did a series of episodes looking at interviews conducted with George Lucas by Alan Arnold for the seminal book Once Upon a Galaxy: A Journal of the Making of The Empire Strikes Back. I was a little worked up over this part, apparently. Here's what I said about it back then: In this episode's set of interview questions, Lucas talks about the directing and not di...

It's flashback time! Back in 2014, I did a series of episodes looking at interviews conducted with George Lucas by Alan Arnold for the seminal book Once Upon a Galaxy: A Journal of the Making of The Empire Strikes Back. Here's what I said about this episode at the time: Today's set of questions continues the theme of control and translating his vision to the other professionals creating the movie...

It's flashback time! Back in 2014, I did a series of episodes looking at interviews conducted with George Lucas by Alan Arnold for the seminal book Once Upon a Galaxy: A Journal of the Making of The Empire Strikes Back. Here's what I said about this episode at the time: What's more, memory is a slippery thing. We know Lucas has changed his story over the years about the movies and the process and...

We talked about the Traveler's Guide to Batuu earlier this week, and I'm thrilled to have its author, Eloc Throno - aka Cole Horton - back on the show to talk about the making of this vital Galaxy's Edge resource. (This interview was actually conducted last month, but because the book's release had been moved to July 21st, we held this interview until now - it was actually recorded on the same day...

There aren't a lot of Star Wars music videos out there! I know that's not exactly shocking, but when I checked out the recent music video of Ludwig Göransson performing the theme from The Mandalorian, the point hit home. Prior to that, I think the only other "official" music video was the one released for The Phantom Menace's "Duel of the Fates." I'll talk about those today, and as promised, here...

The allusions to the Aphra/Sana relationship in the Star Wars comics covered by the Doctor Aphra audio drama are brief and filled with attitude, but the audiobook reveals that it's at the heart of the action... Punch it! ***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.*** 

In a move that likely comes as no surprise - it was probably inevitable at this point - Disney has updated its movie release schedule. With movie theaters still closed and production still halted due to the coronavirus, there's no help for it. So the announcements came today, and with them, the news that Star Wars is moving from its previous December dates in 2022, 2024, and 2026. The good news is...

Yes, it's established that Doctor Aphra is a scoundrel. As such, it's probably wise not to trust her with anything too valuable. But as a character in the Star Wars comics on which the Doctor Aphra audio drama is based, she presents a very reliable front. In other words, she is exactly who she appears to be in those stories. But once you put her front and center, and let her tell the whole story -...

Yesterday, during the non-spoiler review of the Doctor Aphra audio drama, I mentioned that there were a couple of places in the story where, if you were not familiar with the source material (namely, the first series of Darth Vader comics for Marvel), you might find yourself a little lost. As, in, with references to things that seem to be coming out of nowhere. There's a structural reason for that...

The Doctor Aphra audiobook original builds from the source material, featuring a compelling expansion on the title character by author Sarah Kuhn, and an exuberant performance by Emily Woo Zeller. On today's episode of the show, we'll stay in non-spoiler review territory - REALLY non spoiler, as most of the conversation is about the intended audience; the evaluation of its adaptation from the comi...

The Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge Traveler's Guide to Batuu is essential reading for anyone who hopes to go to the Star Wars land at Disneyland or Walt Disney World one day - and connects to Star Wars storytelling as well. On today's show, I'll share more details from the book and its author, "Eloc Throno" - a thinly-veiled anagram for Star Wars reference book writer extraordinaire Cole Horton - includ...

When we were talking about the possibility of a sequel to Solo: A Star Wars Story the other day, there was one other rumor I failed to mention. It actually dates back to September of 2019, and involves another rumored Star Wars project that had the rug pulled out from under it. Because things with Solo didn't go as planned? Maybe so, maybe no, but the fate of another rumored Star Wars project that...

You know what we haven't talked about for a while? The Cassian Andor series, that's what! So let's check in on what's been happening there, shall we? On today's episode, we'll talk about the casting announcements we know so far - including a Star Wars connection for two of the actors whose specific roles we don't yet know - and rumors about two actors that have yet to be confirmed. We'll also talk...

So let's be clear: Up until a few days ago, the notion of a sequel to Solo: A Star Wars Story was nothing more than a boisterous fan campaign. The most visible one since the movement to get a season 7 for The Clone Wars, it should be noted. But most recently, back in March, co-writer Jon Kasdan said on Twitter: Don't think anyone's pursuing a Solo sequel at the moment ... I think a feature, at thi...

It's been a tumultuous year since the announcement of the Kenobi series at the D23 Expo in August 2019. One thing that has never wavered was, and continues to be, Ewan McGregor's enthusiasm for the series, which is awesome. One wonders if, among other reasons, it was also because he knew something we didn't. Something about one of his co-stars, for example... It didn't storm the social media airwa...

Resuming our "What to Watch Now" series from Monday, after we were so rudely interrupted by that Bad Batch series news, lol... Until now, the only place you could stream Solo: A Star Wars Story (if you didn't already buy it, that is) was on Netflix. But no more! The contract has run out, and the movie is now on Disney+. That makes it complete - every Star Wars movie is now on the service! But with...

We've been saying we were due for an announcement about Star Wars animation, and it finally arrived yesterday: The Bad Batch is getting their own series. If you watched the final season of The Clone Wars on Disney+, you finally met Clone Force 99 - or, as they call themselves, The Bad Batch. The StarWars.com Databank says: The motley crew that makes up Clone Force 99 boasts an astounding 100 perce...

Well, the Disney Gallery series on The Mandalorian is complete. Season 2 of The Mandalorian doesn't come out until October. The Cassian Andor series is still in pre-production, as is the Kenobi series, and if something new is coming later this year from the animation side of the house, we don't know about it yet. Also, the next movie won't arrive until 2022 at the earliest. So ... what, as a Star...

Kae and Jeremiah from The Fanitarium were kind enough to invite me on their show to talk about my TEDx talk, Star Wars Celebration, The Mandalorian, how podcasting has changed these last few years, and much more. On my show, I'm sharing an excerpt where we talk about Baby Yoda and what they may or may not do with his character in season 2 of the hit Disney+ series... Punch it! And as mentioned on...

"Connections" is the final episode of the Disney Gallery series about The Mandalorian, and a significant amount of time is spent discussing the concept of fan service in the series. Not only that, but it has so many visual examples of scenes, characters, species, and creatures from across the range of Star Wars stories and how they're brought in to the story of The Mandalorian - and on today's sho...

We've talked about Dave Filoni being the heir apparent to George Lucas this week, but Lucas was running the business of Lucasfilm for a good long while. So, since that's Kathleen Kennedy's job now, will it eventually be Filoni's? after all, Kennedy's contract ends in 2021, and despite years upon years of (unfounded) rumors, there's been nothing to suggest that she's going to cut her contract short...