Star Wars Bits: Star Wars Celebration, The High Republic, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Darth Vader, Podcast & YouTube Round-Up, And More!
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In this edition of Star Wars Bits:
- Star Wars Celebration Updates
- Jude Law cast in "Star Wars" Project?
- Writers for "Obi-Wan Kenobi" Revealed
- Marvel's Upcoming "Star Wars" Comics
- And More!
Star Wars Celebration updates
StarWars.com recently announced that Star Wars Celebration will kick off on Thursday, May 26, with a panel featuring Lucasfilm's current roster of live-action filmmakers — along with some special guests — to discuss upcoming "Star Wars" adventures, including "Obi-Wan Kenobi," "Andor," and "The Mandalorian." Our friend Bespin Bulletin has heard that a trailer for "Andor" will debut during this panel.
On Saturday, May 28, there's "Mando+ : A Conversation with Jon Favreau & Dave Filoni." In their first Celebration appearance since the premiere of "The Mandalorian," Favreau and Filoni (and some special guests) will look back at the first two seasons of the show and what comes next for Din Djarin and Grogu.
In other Celebration news, more celebrity guests have been announced for the event, including Giancarlo Esposito, Joonas Suotamo, Daniel Logan, Katee Sackhoff, Carl Weathers, Emily Swallow, Michelle Ang, and more. Also in attendance are the writers behind "Star Wars: The High Republic" — Claudia Gray, Justina Ireland, Daniel José Older, Cavan Scott, and Charles Soule. Visit StarWars.com for more info!
Star Wars Celebration Anaheim 2022 will be held May 26-29, 2022, at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California.
Jude Law cast in Star Wars project?
DeuxMoi, a popular Instagram account that shares celebrity gossip, is reporting that Jude Law has been cast in an upcoming "Star Wars" project. The post reads:
"A prime British early-2000's film stud is adding to his recent nerdgasm resume (Marvel, Wizarding World). Recently cast in an unannounced 'Star Wars' extended universe Disney+ show."
After his roles in "Captain Marvel" and "Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald," fans deduced the "film stud" is Jude Law. As our friend Bespin Bulletin points out, the unannounced series could be the upcoming "Grammar Rodeo" (working title) series, which recently began pre-production in Culver City, California ahead of its June shoot. Adding fuel to the fire of speculation, The Illuminerdi recently reported that "Grammar Rodeo" was looking to cast a male in his thirties or forties for an unknown role in the series.
Little is known about "Grammar Rodeo" other than it's set during the High Republic era and focuses on a group of pre-teens. According to Bespin Bulletin, "filming on the series will run from June until December, with 'Spider-Man: No Way Home' director Jon Watts in talks to direct an unspecified number of episodes and Jon Favreau onboard as a producer."
Writers for Obi-Wan Kenobi revealed
Following the announcement that "Obi-Wan Kenobi" will now premiere its first two episodes on Friday, May 27, the writers for the highly anticipated series have been revealed by the Writers Guild of America:
- Episode 1 — Teleplay by: Joby Harold and Hossein Amini and Stuart Beattie, Story by: Stuart Beattie and Hossein Amini
- Episode 2 — Teleplay by: Joby Harold, Story by: Stuart Beattie and Hossein Amini
- Episode 3 — Written by: Joby Harold & Hannah Friedman and Hossein Amini and Stuart Beattie
- Episode 4 — Written by: Joby Harold & Hannah Friedman
- Episode 5 — Written by: Joby Harold & Andrew Stanton
- Episode 6 — Teleplay by: Joby Harold & Andrew Stanton and Hossein Amini, Story by: Stuart Beattie and Joby Harold & Andrew Stanton
Joby Harold is known for his work on "Army of the Dead" and "King Arthur: Legend of the Sword" while Hossein Amini's credits include "Drive" and "Snow White and the Huntsman." Stuart Beattie's filmography includes "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl," and "Collateral."
Hannah Friedman worked on "Trolls: The Beat Goes On," and "Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp" — she also wrote on the upcoming "Willow" series from Lucasfilm. Finally, there's Andrew Stanton, who has written (and directed) a bunch of Disney and Pixar movies, including all four "Toy Story" films, "A Bug's Life," "Monsters Inc.," "Finding Nemo," "Wall-E," and the live-action "John Carter."
Marvel's upcoming Star Wars comics
In "Star Wars" #22, written by Charles Soule and illustrated by Ramon Rosanas, with a cover by Carlo Pagulayan, Crimson Dawn's Qi'ra and General Leia Organa have a face-to-face while Chewbacca tries to save Han Solo from Jabba's Palace.
Also, in "Star Wars: Darth Vader" # 22, written by Greg Pak and illustrated by Raffaele Ienco, with a cover by Paul Renaud, Sabé and Ochi of Bestoon travel to Naboo to confront Darth Vader.
StarWars.com has an exclusive preview of both issues, which arrive April 13 and are available for pre-order now on ComiXology.
Star Wars Podcast Round-Up
In addition to their Attack of the Clones Year series, a year-long monthly tribute to the 20th anniversary of "Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones," Blast Points Podcast has an interview with Lee Whittaker, the actor who played Luke Skywalker in the Japanese stage show "The George Lucas Super Live Adventure."
"Sure, we've talked about the incredible, legendary epic Japanese stage show 'The George Lucas Super Live Adventure' before but this week it's a dream come true as we talk to the one and only Lee Whittaker who actually played LUKE SKYWALKER in the actual GLSLA! Lee was 20 years old and flew off to Japan to be Luke Skywalker onstage in front of George Lucas and wow, he has some incredible stories. How did he get the role? What was it like doing the shows? What is the legacy of 'The George Lucas Super Live Adventure?' And so many more! Lee is amazing and this episode is one not to be missed." Listen here.
On Talking Bay 94, host Brandon Wainerdi has a couple of amazing new episodes with Lucy Autrey Wilson and Martin Rezard. Wilson was the first permanent employee of Lucasfilm, rising through ranks to eventually become Director of Publishing. A sculptor and creature designer, Rezard has worked on many "Star Wars" movies, from "Attack of the Clones" and "Revenge of the Sith" to the new Disney films.
On Skytalkers, Charlotte and Caitlin discuss Claudia Gray's "Star Wars: The High Republic: The Fallen Star."
"At long last, Caitlin and Charlotte finally read 'The Fallen Star' by Claudia Gray, Phase 1's final adult novel in 'The High Republic' series. We give our impressions of the book, then move into a deeper conversation about symbolism and the (many) deaths in this book. Finally, we read and react to book quotes and highlight some of our favorite moments. Spoilers abound! All this and more on this episode of Skytalkers." Listen here.
Pink Milk is a podcast where hosts (and husbands) Bryan and Tom talk "Star Wars" through a queer lens. This week's episode is about characters who have come back from the dead!
"In 'Star Wars,' nobody is ever really dead, is a statement that I've heard a lot over the past few years but personally, I've never understood where that came from. I can think of a few characters who we thought were dead and came back, but I can't really think of that many. So, tonight we're talking our favorite characters that have come back from the dead!" Listen here.
The Resistance Broadcast is the official "Star Wars" podcast of Star Wars News Net. Check out their latest episode, in which they speculate on the upcoming "Lando" series.
"The Star Wars Disney Plus Series 'Lando' was finally acknowledged, sort of, by Donald Glover, as we talked about Monday. But now it's time to head to speculation nation and wonder what other familiar characters could appear in the series? Could we see Han Solo (Alden Ehrenreich), Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo), Qi'ra (Emilia Clarke), or others? We also discuss other 'Star Wars' topics in Will of the Force like, will young Luke show any signs of his strong connection with the force in the 'Kenobi' series? That and more including your submitted tweets!" Listen here.
Hosted by Gerry Cable and Scotty Jayro, The Bombadcast is all about positivity in the fandom and creating a connected community. Their latest episode asks the all important question, "Was 'Morbius' bombad?" Listen here.
Around the Galaxy is a "Star Wars" fan talk show. Every week, Pete Fletzer brings you conversations with authors, personalities, actors, creators, and super-fans talking about their "Star Wars" journey. Joining Pete in the latest episode are effects legend Howard Berger and author Marshall Julius.
"Creature effects legend Howard Berger and author Marshall Julius have teamed up to create the quintessential movie creature behind the scenes book called 'Masters of Make-Up Effects: A Century of Practical Magic.' Berger has worked on over 800 films and TV projects, has won an Oscar for his work on ' The Chronicles of Narnia' and an Emmy for 'The Walking Dead.' His IMDB is basically a list of every genre property you've ever seen. Marshall and Howard join us to talk about the book and the influence 'Star Wars' had on them throughout their lives." Listen here.
Join Silver and Cat on Into the Garbage Chute where they dumpster dive into every corner of the galaxy far, far away and the fandom it attracts. Check out their latest episode where they discuss Carrie Fisher's 2016 memoir, "The Princess Diarist." Listen here.
On Scavenger's Hoard, Rachael and Kirsty discuss the Academy Awards and the upcoming "Obi-Wan Kenobi" series. Listen here.
Sistas with Sabers is a podcast made for and by Black female fans of "Star Wars." It's a safe space for Black female fans to connect, support each other and share their experience with the world. For their latest episode, listen here.
Star Wars: Queen's Hope
Star Wars Explained has a review of E. K. Johnston's new book, "Star Wars: Queen's Hope." Also, check out their video "Queen's Hope: 25 Fun Facts, Easter Eggs, Legends Connections, and More!"
Live Action Star Wars: Duel of the Fates
Our friends Ralph and James over at Live Action Star Wars are joined by Chrysanthe Tan (Star Wars Music Minute) to discuss the "Duel of the Fates" music video that premiered on MTV's "Total Request Live" in 1998.
Hot Toys KX Enforcer Droid
Justin's Collection has a preview video of Hot Toys' "Star Wars: The Book of Boba Fett" KX Enforcer Droid sixth-scale action figure.
Mighty Jabba's Collection
Mighty Jabba's Collection has a new video all about an obscure 1983 Italian store display of Jabba's Palace and a modern recreation of it.
Stan Solo Custom Bantha
RetroBlasting has a review of the custom vintage Kenner-style Bantha by Stan Solo Customs.
This Week! in Star Wars
Finally, on This Week! in Star Wars, host Kristin Baver gives us the lowdown on all the latest news from that galaxy far, far away.
"This week in Star Wars, we get hyped for a star-studded Star Wars Celebration Anaheim panel spotlighting The Mandalorian and the upcoming 'Obi-Wan Kenobi' and 'Andor' Disney+ series, relive our favorite 'Star Wars' moments with the brick-tastic 'LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga,' and crack open the final installment in E.K. Johnston's Padmé trilogy with 'Queen's Hope.' Plus, we go back 22 years when George Lucas signed off on the use of a new digital camera for 'Star Wars: Attack of the Clones.'"