'Star Wars: Resistance' Season 2 Begins Right Where Season 1 Ended (And Everything Else We Learned At Star Wars Celebration)
Fans attending the Star Wars: Resistance panel at Star Wars Celebration were the first to get a sneak peak at the first episode of the second season.
Executive producers Justin Ridge, Athena Portillo, and Brandon Auman were joined by cast members Christopher Sean, Suzie McGrath, Scott Lawrence, Myrna Velasco, Donald Faison, and Bobby Moynihan. The early portion of the panel was devoted to the roots of the series, the look, and the timeline.
During the panel, cast members shared some thoughts on their character,s but also what it means to be a part of the Star Wars universe. With SNL alumni Bobby Moynihan being in the cast, it also meant a reference or two to Drunk Uncle.
Season 2 Timeline
Moderator David Collins, a sound engineer on the show, wanted to know about season 2. Where are we expected to be in the timeline when season two begins?
"I can safely say that like The Force Awakens into The Last Jedi, which is continuous, our season one and season two is also continuous," executive producer Justin Ridge confirmed.
Collins next asked about the status of Tam Ryvora. When we last saw Tam, she was leaving the Colossus on a First Order ship. Ridge danced around the question for as long as he could until letting fans know that they could see for themselves in the premiere of the second season's first episode. To say that everyone was applauding and on their feet wouldn't be an understatement because the Galaxy Stage – the largest outside of the Celebration Stage – was roaring.
The Beginning
The process as a whole for Star Wars: Resistance dates back to 2015, when the first character designs were created. Executive producer Justin Ridge spoke about the early beginnings of Star Wars: Resistance and how Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars: Rebels creator Dave Filoni kickstarted it:
"This was actually an idea that Dave Filoni had a while back. You've heard of him? Okay. He had this idea percolating about what was happening before the events of The Force Awakens. One day in his office, he called me in. He's like, 'Padawan, come over here.' He's called me Padawan a while. So I go into his office and he shows me this early concept art for Resistance. It was some early drawings that ABC, our art director on the show – Amy Beth Christenson – she's incredible. And some concept art from PTI, who is one of the studios we work with to animate the show. He's like, 'What do you think of this?' 'That looks amazing!' He's like, 'Okay.' And I leave. Later on, he calls me in and he's like, 'How would you like to show run this show?' I was beyond honored that he was trusting me basically with the keys to this new car. 'Okay, here you go. Crash it. Have fun.' I was just beyond honored"
The Look
The production team went into detail about the look of the series and how it evolved. They knew they wanted an anime influence, but "still have it feel like Star Wars", according to Ridge, who added "It all feels like its unified."
Brandon Auman also serves as the head writer for the series and spoke about what they wanted to do in terms of a timeline:
"It was very intimidating. We broke the first set of stories at Skywalker Ranch, which I'm sure you guys have heard of. We got together with a bunch of writers and Justin and Athena. We just started talking about what would it be like six months to a year before The Force Awakens? What would happen? What is the state of the galaxy? What's going on? It's kind of a time of peace but it's also–there's some things boiling under the surface. The First Order is starting to rise so we talked about Poe and the different characters that we want to bring in. Leia, obviously. We really just kind of spun it from there."
Spoiler alert for anyone who has yet to watch the first season finale, but the panel also revealed that the Colossus was always going to be ship – it was part of the plan all along.
Myrna is on Brand
As far as cast members go, Myrna Velasco says she is very similar to her character, Torra Doza. The actress' wardrobe selection was even very much on-brand with regards to her character. Growing up, Velasco had wanted to serve in the air force and this character allows her to live that dream:
"It's not going to happen because I have a problem with rules. Being Torra Doza – I want to go to space all the time. I want to fly all the time. She gets to say the things that I'm too nervous to say all of the time. I'm just so honored to get to play this cool, cool chick that knows her stuff, that cares about her friends and wants her friends – and that, I totally get."
It's eerie how similar Myrna is in real life to Torra, so much so that Auman joked that they motion capture her. As far as playing the character, it also helps that both Velasco and Jason Hightower, who plays Captain Doza, are both of Mexican-American heritage. They speak Spanish to each other all the time.
Star Wars: Resistance will return later this year.