Star Wars Bits: Sabine Wren, Taika Waititi, Tales From The Galaxy's Edge, War Of The Bounty Hunters, And More!

In this edition of Star Wars Bits:

In the June 18 edition of Star Wars Bits, I mentioned an Illuminerdi report that Barriss Offee, the female Mirialan Jedi Knight who fell to the dark side during the events of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, could appear in Star Wars: Ahsoka. The source of Illuminerdi's report was a casting grid, which listed "Barriss" as a role for a female actor of Asian ethnicity between the ages of 20-30. I also mentioned that, given what we know about the previous casting grid and its use of codenames, the listing could be a red herring for the Star Wars Rebels character Sabine Wren.

As it turns out, this would seem to be the case according to The Hollywood Reporter. Buried in an article about the newly released What If...? series from Marvel Studios, writer Aaron Couch reports:

"Now, [Rosario] Dawson is leading a live-action Ahsoka spinoff for Disney+, with sources saying Lucasfilm is looking for an actress to star opposite Dawson as Mandalorian warrior Sabine Wren."

An updated casting grid I saw in July, provided by scooper Daniel Richtman, didn't list the "Barriss" codename but featured a "Second Lead" with three names attached: Lana Condor, Tati Gabrielle, and Havana Rose Liu. I believe these women are the frontrunners for the role of Sabine Wren.

Many fans have lobbied for Indian-American actress Tiya Sircar, who voiced the character on Rebels, to play Sabine in her live-action debut, however, it would appear that she is not in talks for the role at this time. When it comes to bringing animated characters to live-action, Lucasfilm is 50/50 on keeping the same actors: Rosario Dawson replaced Ashley Eckstein as Ahsoka Tano in The Mandalorian, while Katee Sackoff reprised her role as Bo-Katan. If LRMonline's report is true, Mena Massoud is playing Ezra Bridger in Ahsoka, replacing Taylor Gray, while Lars Mikkelsen, who voiced Grand Admiral Thrawn on Rebels, will be playing the blue-skinned Chiss once again.

Throughout the history of Star Wars, iconic characters like Obi-Wan Kenobi and Han Solo have been portrayed by multiple actors. Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader, the most pivotal character in the entire saga, has been played by James Earl Jones, David Prowse, Sebastian Shaw, Jake Lloyd, Hayden Christensen, Matt Lanter, Spencer Wilding, Daniel Naprous, and others. I'm sure whoever is cast as Sabine Wren will do an excellent job at bringing the beloved character to life. In Favreau & Filoni I trust.

Last year, it was announced that Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok, Jojo Rabbit) will co-write and direct a Star Wars movie for release in 2024. The New Zealand filmmaker, who also helmed an episode of The Mandalorian, wrapped production on Thor: Love and Thunder and will be focusing on his Star Wars script next, according to WIRED:

"It's still in the 'EXT. SPACE' stage. But we've got a story. I'm really excited by it because it feels very me."

About the story and his idea for the film, he added:

"I tend to go down that little sincerity alleyway in my films. I like to fool the viewer into thinking 'ha it's this' and then them going, 'Damn it, you made me feel something!'"

ILMxLAB recently revealed a teaser trailer, key art, and new plot details for Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy's Edge — Last Call, the final installment of ILMxLAB's virtual-reality series coming this fall to Oculus Quest.

"In Last Call, Batuu's resident grouchy antiquities dealer Dok-Ondar will look to players, once again in the role of a droid-repair technician turned adventurer, to secure some valuable relics; in their adventures, fans will encounter at least two new characters — Lens Kamo and Baron Attsmun."

Baron Attsmun is described as an ultra-wealthy industrialist who sells cybernetic parts throughout the galaxy while Lens Kamo is an Indiana Jones-type; a treasure hunter whose only goal is to keep ancient artifacts out of the wrong hands.

Check out StarWars.com for an interview with director Jose Perez III that sheds more light on this upcoming VR adventure.

Marvel's epic crossover event continues with Star Wars: The War of the Bounty Hunters #3, from writer Charles Soule and artist Luke Ross, with a cover by Steve McNiven. The galaxy's biggest players are in a bidding war over the highly sought-after Han Solo, still frozen in carbonite, at Crimson Dawn's auction on the ice planet Jekara.

Meanwhile, in Star Wars #16, written by Soule with art by Ramon Rosanas and a cover by Carlo Pagulayan, the action escalates further when Qi'ra, leader of Crimson Dawn and Han's old flame, faces off against Darth Vader!

The War of the Bounty Hunters #3 and Star Wars #16 are both available for pre-order ahead of their August 18 release. You can check out an exclusive preview of the issues at StarWars.com.

Also, StarWars.com has a fantastic rundown of all the cool comics that await readers in November, including Star Wars: The High Republic: Trail of Shadows #2, Star Wars: The High Republic #11, Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #16, Star Wars: Bounty Hunters #18, and Star Wars: Darth Vader #18.

In his "Meanwhile..." segment, The Late Show host Stephen Colbert talks about the sky-high rates at Disney World's new Star Wars-themed hotel, Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser.

Have you checked out the Star Wars Thrifting YouTube channel? A true scavenger girl, Silver visits flea markets and thrift stores in search of Star Wars treasures.

On This Week! in Star Wars, host Kristin Baver breaks down all the latest Star Wars news:

And that's it for this edition of Star Wars Bits! If you have something cool from the Star Wars universe that should be included in this column, reach out on Twitter!