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  • First Look, Release Date Revealed for Lucasfilm’s Next Star Wars Streaming Series

    First Look, Release Date Revealed for Lucasfilm’s Next Star Wars Streaming Series

    As fans continue to digest Lucasfilm’s latest Star wars streaming series, The Acolyte, the studio has turned its attention to its next project. Via People Magazine and official Star Wars social media accounts, Lucasfilm has provided the first look at Star Wars: Skeleton Crew.

    Co-created by MCU Spider-Man trilogy director Jon Watts and and Spider-Man: Homecoming writer Christopher Ford, Skeleton Crew follows four kids on a journey through the galaxy far, far away. Child actors Ravi Cabot-Conyers (Wim), Kyriana Kratter (KB), Robert Timothy Smith (Neel) and Ryan Kiera Armstrong (Fern) will star alongside Jude Law, who plays Jod Na Nawood, in the new series which will make its streaming debut on December 3rd in Disney Plus.

    “It is a fun place to be, the universe of Star Wars,” said Law, adding that “seeing children in that environment in a Star Wars environment is thrilling and very, very unique.”

    When four kids make a mysterious discovery on their seemingly safe home planet, they get lost in a strange and dangerous galaxy. Finding their way home, meeting unlikely allies and enemies will be a greater adventure than they ever imagined.

    -Official Synopsis, Star Wars: Skeleton Crew

    Being part of the Star wars universe means joining one of Hollywood’s longest running shared narratives in mid-stream. Skeleton Crew is set during New Republic era (home to The Mandalorian and Ashoka) and according to Law, “there are great references to old films and recent episodes and series. There’s a lot of originality and I hope that will bring the feeling of fun to those who watch it.“

    The series has been compared to Richard Donner‘s 1985 classic, The Goonies, and based on Law’s comments, that seems like a fair comparison. all in constant state of confusion and jeopardy and challenge.” He adds that Skeleton Crew is “very much a piece about working together and overcoming fears and overcoming…perhaps [one’s] opinion of oneself or one’s own weaknesses in order to succeed.” Sounds like a bit of Jedi wisdom being shared by Law, though he’s not the only help the kids will have along the way.

    In addition to Law’s Nawood, the kids will be added in their journey by “the first mate of a mysterious ship,” according to Watts. That first mate will be “a rusty old, cranky droid” known as SM-33. Voiced by Shaun of the Dead star Nick Frost, SM-33 “sort of reluctantly helps the kids along the way,” says Watts while nothing Frost’s voice work was “fun” and “perfect.” It’s not Star Wars without a droid!

    With D23 just a week away, fans might expect a teaser trailer for the series to be right around the corner.

    Skeleton Crew wil begin streaming on Disney Plus on December 3rd.

    Source: People.com

  • ‘Rogue One’ Star Confirmed to Return for ‘Andor’ Season 2

    ‘Rogue One’ Star Confirmed to Return for ‘Andor’ Season 2

    Nearly two years after it debuted on Disney Plus, Lucasfilm’s Andor remains the standard for a Star Wars streaming series. Set five years before the events of Rogue One, Andor dove into the earliest days of the Rebellion and boldly did so with an all-new cast of characters outside of the series’ lead, Cassian Andor, once again portrayed by Diego Luna. Recently, Luna teased that Season 2–which will cover the four years between Season 1 and Rogue One–would feature cameos from Rogue One characters and now it seems one has been revealed.

    The scale of the show is so huge. Directors work in blocks of three episodes, so we did four blocks [in Season 1] of three episodes each. We looked and said, ‘Wow, it’d be really interesting if we come back, and we use each block to represent a year. We’ll move a year closer with each block.’ From a narrative point of view, it’s really exciting to be able to work on something where you do a Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and then jump a year.

    –Andor creator Tony Gilroy on the structure of the show’s timeline.
    In an interview with The Playlist, Alonso Ruizpalacios, who is one of several directors to have worked on Andor Season 2, revealed that Ben Mendelsohn is set to reprise his role as the villainous Orson Krennic.

    While discussing Season 2 of the streaming series, Ruizpalacios said he was excited to have worked with “heavyweights” such as “Stellan Skarsgård, Forest Whitaker, and Ben Mendelsohn.” While the return of Krennic makes plenty of sense, it’s the first news of Mendelsohn’s return; in fact, the actor had previously indicated that he did expect to be involved in the show. “As for being contacted by Lucasfilm for a new project, I can tell you that no, I have not been approached for something like this,” Mendelsohn told Bad Taste in February 2024. “And yes, it would be great to see him again somewhere, but for now, everything stops here,” he continued.

    But as far as I’m concerned, I would be very willing to explore it further and significantly in that world. I never expected to play a character like that, but then again, I never expected to become an actor, either. For me, they are all wonderful things. I think Krennic has a tremendous amount of things left to give to the audience. What you need to understand about a character like Krennic is that, if he had the chance, he would have tried to take over the entire game, and it seems to me that this aspect has not yet been explored sufficiently.

    -Ben Mendelsohn on returning as Krennic, Bad Taste, February 2024

    Series creator Tony Gilroy has already stated that the last shot of Andor Season 2 will be set immediately before the opening of Rogue One. “Our final scene of the show is no secret. It’s going to be [Cassian] walking across the tarmac to get in the ship to go to the Rings of Kafrene to go meet Daniel Mays’ [the character Cassian kills in the opening of the film], he’s going there.” So where does Mendelsohn’s character fit in? As a member of the Republic’s Strategic Advisory Cell, Krennic was involved in the planning of the Death Star from its earliest days, suggesting that the work of his former colleague, Galen Erso, be utilized in weaponizing the DS-1. While Rogue One provided a flashback to Krennic’s tragic encounter with Erso after the former had failed in his work, Andor Season 2 leaves plenty of room to tell more of Krennic’s story and could even see him interacting with other high-level members of the Empire such as Tarkin or Thrawn. Whatever the case, we’ll have to wait quite some time before we find out as Andor Season 2 isn’t expected to hit Disney Plus until 2025.

    Source: The Playlist, Bad Taste

  • ‘Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures’ Sets Season 2 Release Date

    ‘Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures’ Sets Season 2 Release Date

    Debuting on May 4th, 2023 as part of Lucasfilm’s Star Wars Day celebration, the animated Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures proved to be “a wholesome adventure series set in an ever-expanding universe that provides a wonderful jumping-on-point for young Star Wars newbies.” Set during the High Republic era and centered around Younglings Kai Brightstar, Lys Solay and Nub and their friend, Crimson Firehawk pilot Nash Durango, Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures set its own course for adventure in Season One and was very well received. With the first 25 episodes available on Disney Plus and playing daily on Disney Jr., the series has largely been a hit for Lucasfilm and now we have word on when the next round of adventures will debut.

    Season 2 of Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures will debut on Disney + and Disney Jr. on Wednesday, August 14th with new shorts arriving on both outlets on August 2nd. The second half of Season 2 will debut sometime in 2025.
    (L-R): Kai Brightstar (voiced by Jecobi Swain.), and Lys Solay (voiced by Juliet Donenfeld) from “STAR WARS: YOUNG JEDI ADVENTURES (Season 2)”, exclusively on Disney+ and Disney Junior. © 2024 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™. All Rights Reserved.

    Set 200 years before The Phantom Menace, during the High Republic era, Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures follows Jedi younglings Kai Brightstar, Lys Solay, and Nubs as they study the ways of the Force, explore the galaxy, help citizens and creatures in need and learn valuable skills needed to become Jedi along the way.

    -Official synopsis for Young Jedi Adventures

    According to an official release from Disney, in addition to continuing to follow the Youngling’s adventures with Jedi Master Zia, Season 2 will introduce a new character to the series.

    Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures Season 2 follows the younglings as they continue their training and embark on even bigger missions across the galaxy. Helping to lead the younglings on these missions is Master Zia’s new Padawan, Wes Vinik, and his astromech R0-M1. As they continue their training and grow in the ways of the Force, the young Jedi will travel to new planets with new and old friends and encounter adversaries like The Ganguls, who are growing in their pirate ranks…

    Ahead of the release, the first episode of a new digital series, Fun with Nubs, has been released and is available at StarWarsKids.com and at the Star Wars Kids YouTube channel. New episodes are set to debut each Friday.


  • Star Wars Creative Grand Admiral Provides Positive Update on Season 2 of ‘Ahsoka’

    Star Wars Creative Grand Admiral Provides Positive Update on Season 2 of ‘Ahsoka’

    Dave Filoni’s new role as Chief Creative Officer at Lucasfilm certainly keeps him quite busy. The role allows Filoni to be “involved at the inception phase” and “help [Lucasfilm creative teams] tell the best story that they want to tell.” If that were all Filoni was doing with his time, he would find himself with a full plate; however, the Star Wars: The Clone Wars creator also has many more stories of his own he’d like to tell in the best way possible, including more chapters in the lives of some of his most beloved creations.

    Among those creations, it’s clear that Ahsoka Tano has carved out a large place in Filoni’s heart. Her story has been carefully curated over more than 15 years, including headline her own Disney Plus series in 2023. While the finale of Season 1 saw the former Padawan of Anakin Skywalker stranded on the extragalactic planet Peridea, far away from her home galaxy, it still ended on a hopeful note and with a very clear indication that Season 2 was right around the corner. In January 2024, Lucasfilm made it official, announcing that a second season of Ahsoka was in development under the watch of Filoni. Not much has been said of the project since but recently, in an interview with Josh Horowitz, Filoni gave an encouraging update on the sophomore season.

    When asked by Horowitz if Filoni had produced a script for his live-action, New Republic-era film (which was announced at Star Wars Celebration 2023), the CCO indicated that Season 2 of Ahsoka was taking up the bulk of his time. “Because I’ve been writing [Ahsoka Season 2], things have clicked and I have a much better idea about where things are going to go,” explained Filoni, before teasing his film a bit by saying, “I will say, I have an opening I really like quite a bit, I’m very excited about it for that picture. I’m excited about the potential of just doing it.”

    “Right now, my focus is clearly on [Ahsoka]” said Filoni before adding, “as well as the rest of the galaxy and how it’s spinning.” The rest of that galaxy currently consists of projects such as The Mandalorian & Grogu (which Filoni said has been “fun to dive into“), Daisy Ridley’s New Jedi Order-era film and James Mangold’s Dawn of the Jedi-era film, which has been described as a “biblical epic” about the “first Jedi to wield the Force.” Of course, like with any studio, there are also multiple projects at different stages of production about which nothing is known which will also take up part of Filoni’s time; however, it seems clear that the future of Star Wars is in great hands with Filoni leading the way for a new generation of stories and storytellers.

  • First Reactions to ‘The Acolyte’ Give the High Republic Series High Praise

    First Reactions to ‘The Acolyte’ Give the High Republic Series High Praise

    Lucasfilm’s latest Star Wars streaming series, The Acolyte, premiered in London on May 23rd, with attendees having the opportunity to see the first two episodes. Meanwhile, select journalists were sent a screener package that included the first four episodes. After the screening, fans and critics took to social media to share their initial reactions to the upcoming show.

    The High Republic Era Kicks Off with a Bang

    The Acolyte provides Star Wars fans with the first live-action look at the High Republic era, a time when the Jedi were at their zenith as protectors of the galaxy and the Sith were long since believed to be extinct. Long-time media personalities such as Screen Rant’s Joseph Deckelmeier and Peter Sciretta felt the new setting provided a fresh perspective on the galaxy far, far away.

    Star Wars Noir

    Star Lee Jung-jae, who plays Jedi Master Sol, said The Acolyte fits into the “detective genre.” For several critics, the noir nature of the series was a highlight.

    The Cast Carries the Show

    While maybe not quite on the same scale as Game of Thrones, the main cast of The Acolyte is fairly large. While it’s sometimes tough on an audience to have so many characters to get to know, it sounds as though the great writing by showrunner Leslye Headland has made that quite a bit easier.

    The first two episodes of The Acolyte debut on Disney Plus on June 4th.

  • This Is Most Definitely the Way: Sigourney Weaver in Talks to Join ‘The Mandalorian & Grogu’

    This Is Most Definitely the Way: Sigourney Weaver in Talks to Join ‘The Mandalorian & Grogu’

    The cast of The Mandalorian already counts modern-day sci-fi queen Katee Sackhoff as one of its key characters in Bo-Katan Kryze. Now, as the streaming series prepares to make the jump to the big screen comes word that the OG sci-fi queen is in talks to step into a role in the galaxy far, far away.

    According to Jeff “The In” Sneider, Sigourney Weaver is in talks to join Lucasfilm’s next Star Wars movie, The Mandalorian & Grogu.

    Weaver’s potential role in the Jon Favreau-helmed flick was not revealed though it is reportedly a “key role.” The Mandalorian & Grogu will begin production soon ahead of a scheduled May 22, 2026 release.

    Source: The Insneider

  • New Stills from ‘The Acolyte’ Reveal Margarita Levieva’s Character

    New Stills from ‘The Acolyte’ Reveal Margarita Levieva’s Character

    As part of their Star Wars Day celebration on May 4th, Lucasfilm released a second trailer for the upcoming Disney Plus streaming series, The Acolyte. While much of the buzz around the new look at the project centered around the reveal of an apparent Sith Lord–likely the series’ big bad–it also gave the audience its first look at Margarita Levieva, though you’d be forgiven if you didn’t catch her right away.

    (L-R): Mother Aniseya (Jodie Turner-Smith) and Koril (Margarita Levieva) in Lucasfilm’s THE ACOLYTE, exclusively on Disney+. ©2024 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.

    According to a pair of stills published after the Star Wars Day trailer for the series, Levieva is playing a female Zabrak named Koril. Her cranial horns would seem to establish her as an Iridonian Zabrak rather than being from the segment of the population that relocated to Dathomir. Koril is seen to be part of the mysterious coven of witches led by Jodie Turner-Smith’s Mother Aniseya who “value their independence and the preservation of their beliefs and powers.”

    Levieva was cast in the project in December 2022 in what was reported by Deadline to be a guest role.

    About Star Wars: The Acolyte

    In Star Wars: The Acolyte, an investigation into a shocking crime spree pits a respected Jedi Master against a dangerous warrior from his past. As more clues emerge, they travel down a dark path where sinister forces reveal all is not what it seems….

    The series stars Amandla Stenberg, Lee Jung-jae, Manny Jacinto, Dafne Keen, Charlie Barnett, Jodie TurnerSmith, Rebecca Henderson, Dean-Charles Chapman, Joonas Suotamo, and Carrie-Anne Moss.

    Leslye Headland created the series, based on Star Wars by George Lucas, and serves as an executive producer along with Kathleen Kennedy, Simon Emanuel, Jeff F. King and Jason Micallef. Charmaine DeGraté and Kor Adana are the co-executive producers. Rayne Roberts, Damian Anderson, Eileen Shim and Rob Bredow are the producers.

    Headland also directed the premiere episodes (Eps. 101 & 102). Directors Kogonada (Eps. 103 & 107), Alex Garcia Lopez (Eps. 104 & 105) and Hanelle Culpepper (Eps. 106 & 108) round out the directing duties on the series.

    Award-winning composer Michael Abels, known for his work on Get Out and Us, scored Star Wars: The Acolyte.

    The thrilling, suspenseful live-action series launches on Tuesday, June 4, with the first two episodes, exclusively on Disney+.

  • ‘Tales of the Empire’: Barriss Offee Voice Actor Teases the Potential for an Overdue Reunion

    ‘Tales of the Empire’: Barriss Offee Voice Actor Teases the Potential for an Overdue Reunion

    Tales of the Empire, the second installment in Lucasfilm’s Star Wars animated Tales series, is now streaming on D+ which means fans can finally learn the fate of Barriss Offee. One of the more controversial characters to emerge from the later season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Offee’s disillusionment with the Jedi. Order ended with an attack on the Temple which she tried to pin on her close friend, Ahsoka Tano.

    While her 3-episide arc in Tales of the Empire begins with her heading further down a dark path, Offee finds herself redeemed and at peace with herself by the final episode. In that episode, Offee references an old friend who is neither named nor seen and it’s hard not to imagine she wasn’t talking about Ahsoka. Given the exact time period in which the final episode was set is unknown (only that Offee had certainly aged significantly) there are certainly some storytelling gaps yet left to fill. Additionally, despite having been stabbed by the Fourth Sister, Offee’s fate was left uncertain as the episode wrapped. With so many things left unknown, could an reunion between Offee and Tano happen?

    While she wasn’t giving away any secrets, actress Meredith Salenger, who voiced Offee in Tales of the Empire, addressed the possibility.

    “All I’m gonna say is, this was three episodes, so we don’t know what happens,” said Salenger. “I hope things happen, I believe she would like to have a reunion with her to hash things out and, perhaps, apologize, I don’t know. That’s my personal thought but it’s all up to Dave [Filoni] and I would love to see Bariss chatting with Ahsoka again. I think they’d have a lot to talk about.“

    Both Offee and Tano had their issues with the Order and found themselves on divergent and sometimes dark paths before returning fully to embrace the light. Despite their differences and Offee’s betrayal, it’s certain the two adult characters would have quite a bit in common. Whether in a second season of Ahsoka or another project down the road, it’s a reunion fans of Star Wars: The Clone Wars would love to see.

    Tales of the Empire is now streaming on Disney Plus.

    Source: Comic Book

  • Jon Watts Reveals Release Window for Star Wars ‘Skeleton Crew’

    Jon Watts Reveals Release Window for Star Wars ‘Skeleton Crew’

    After originally being planned as a 2023 release, Lucasfilm’s Star wars steaming series Skeleton Crew found itself bumped into 2024 as Disney reshuffled their D+ slate following Bob Iger’s return and the Hollywood strikes. With so much Star Wars content ahead of it in line, it was clear the Jon Watts‘ project was destined for the second half of the year. Now, thanks to Watts, fans can narrow down the release window even more.

    While taking part in a panel at CCXP, Watts shared that Skeleton Crew was slated to hit Disney Plus around Christmas.

    Barring any surprises, Skeleton Crew will be Lucasfilm’s fourth streaming series of 2024 following the recently wrapped final season of The Bad Batch, the six-episode anthology series, Tales of the Empire, and The Acolyte. Set in the same New Republic era as The Mandalorian and Ahsoka, Skeleton Crew stars Jude Law and Kerry Condon and features an impressive list of directors including The Daniels, Jake Schrier, Bryce Dallas Howard and, of course, Watts.

    With Watts sharing the news, it’s worth watching social media tomorrow, May 4th, to see if Disney follows up with some official news on Skeleton Crew as part of their Star Wars Day celebration.

  • ‘The Acolyte’ Showrunner Compares It to an Emmy-Nominated Mystery Series

    ‘The Acolyte’ Showrunner Compares It to an Emmy-Nominated Mystery Series

    Lucasfilm’s next Star Wars streaming series, The Acolyte, will be the first live-action project set in the High Republic Era which openedup a lot of storytelling possibilities for showrunner Leslye Headland. The first trailer for the project didn’t give too much away but it did make it clear that the series will see the Jedi investigating a mysterious enemy. According to Headland, fans should expect a slow burn as the story unfolds and compared it to another project of hers that was the subject of very high praise.

    “The Acolyte is a mystery,” said Headland. “It’s similar to Russian Doll, which was really about giving the audience information episode by episode, this spiral of storytelling.” Russian Doll, which was co-created by Headland, was a huge hit for Netflix and was nominated for multiple Primetime Emmy Awards which makes any comparisons to it welcome.  “This is a much larger landscape,” said Headland, “but it similarly tackles the idea of, ‘Your eyes can deceive you.’ You’re going to think the show is one thing, but then it’s going to gearshift into something else, and then do it again.”

    The Acolyte is still a Star Wars show and no matter how early in the timeline it’s set, it’s still set in the familiar galaxy far, far away created by George Lucas and it seems that galaxy is something Headland is very familiar with. “It’s a show packed with everything I wanted to explore: I wanted EU [Expanded Universe] stuff in there, references to the original trilogy, The Phantom Menace, the Disney sequels…it’s absolutely packed. Because you never know, you may not get the chance again,” she explained. Headland also explained that paying homage to Lucas through camera work and designing the High Republic era. “Chris [Teague] and I talked a lot about honoring George Lucas’ camera moves,” she said. “I would say the original trilogy became our touchpoint for how to craft the world, while the Episode I-ness of the show is a bit more thematic.” It certainly sounds as the the series is in very good hands.

    The Acolyte will begin streaming with a two-episoses premiere on June 4th.

    Source: Games Radar