#Thrawn's story is not one Filoni should be telling

[shieldmaiden-tabris]

Alright at this point no Star Wars writer other than Timothy Zahn should be allowed to touch Thrawn in current canon. Don't look at him, don't think about him, none of that. Don't even breathe in the blue man's direction. If you don't understand the fundamentals of his character, namely the primary force that drives and motivates him to do things, then do not have him do things!!! Create your own character to be the big bad!! Leave him alone.

[just-prime]

Tales of Squandered Potential

Oh hello again everyone who follows me for my Star Wars ranting!

So! Tales of the Empire. The Hat Man is at it again.

Episodes 1-3 : The Path of Boredom

As expected, all of the Morgan stuff was not my thing. She was boring in Ahsoka, she was boring here. The entirety of the three episodes just hammered home "this lady is angry" in a way that felt overdone because there is no arc. There's no growth, no interest, no nothing. It all just feels like Filoni trying to retroactively make his one dimensional character that gets killed off in the stupidest way possible feel super badass. However because we know that she gets killed in the stupidest way possible, everything falls flat and none of it feels earned. It also doesn't actually answer any of the many many questions that Ahsoka raised about her. She's just there, standing in front of a fire. That's all she does.

Thrawn is there for all of about two seconds, and every moment of it is painful, because here's the thing. WE KNOW WHAT THRAWN WAS UP TO AT THIS TIME!!! We have the book that explains all of Thrawn's many exploits as an admiral. This is only more evidence for the idea that Filoni has never actually picked up any of the canon Thrawn books. Which we kinda already knew, but this is all but confirmation. As I've previously said, and will continue saying, Filoni needs to contextualize Thrawn as a 100% big bad otherwise his Heir to the Empire fanfilm won't actually feel earned, so he is systematically destroying any and all nuance that Thrawn has had to make sure that new viewers only ever see him as an unredeemable evil.

And I know that there are a lot of you out there who are holding out for the possibility that this is all a misdirect by Thrawn! That this is all part of his grand plan to go back and help the Ascendency, and that he's lying to everyone about his intentions. But the sad truth is that Filoni doesn't give a rats ass about anything other than cartoonishly evil Thrawn which means we're never getting Eli, or Karyn, or Hammerly or any of the characters from the six fantastic canon books that Timothy Zahn so lovingly created. That was made very clear with Filoni's prioritization of Admiral Pellaeon, who for those who don't know is actually in the new canon Thrawn books too! He wasn't just left behind in Legends, Zahn brought him back into canon too! But again, being the Legends fanboy that he is, Filoni doesn't care about where Pellaeon should be canonically, so instead he's just shoehorned into the episode for no other reason then Filoni likes him.

Episodes 4-6 : The Barriss Content

Soooooo, why didn't Barriss get a full fucking season to herself??? I get the idea behind the 15 minute episodes, but it really makes it hard to tell any sort of cohesive story. It works far better as a snapshot of a couple of days in someone's life. So unfortunately, while I did enjoy them, Barriss's episodes felt really rushed and I found it really hard to tell when things took place. How long was she at the Inquisitor training center? Was it a day? Was it a month? Really would have been interested in actually seeing the inner workings but it all has to get brushed over in favor of her becoming an Inquisitor. A seemingly intentionally not named Inquisitor which makes me feel like they've run out of early Inquisitor names. Unless there's a trial period before you get a proper number? I don't know it was just one of those things that niggled at me. Another thing that niggled at me (which was also mentioned by the wonderful artist @stealingpotatoes, go give her art some love) is that her design is kinda boring as fuck? Like, you have Birdy-Mc-Skullface right there with such a neat design and yet all Barriss gets is a motorcycle helmet with very slight voice modulation.

But I digress. The fact that Barriss commits herself to the Inquisitorium via a ritualized fight to the death, and then goes "wait, the red light saber wielding, all black wearing, Darth Vader serving inquisitors aren't here to help people?" before immediately bailing is so funny to me. This girl cannot for the life of her commit herself to an organization without becoming disillusioned within 1-3 business days.

I'm not sure how I feel about it all being about Lyn? I was very much rooting for her to totally die in the ice shafts instead of what felt like a very last minute redemption arc?

Though speaking of the last episode...HOLY SHIT OLD BARRISS IS FUCKING HOT. *coughs* Excuse me. Anyway. I would have loved to see more of what happened in between eps 5 and 6. Seeing how she and the jedi kid escaped the planet, and where the two of them did after than in the very hostile Empire would have been a facinating story watch play out. Also, who is this female friend that Barriss is referring to when she sends the child away? Is it Ahsoka??? If it is...WHY WOULD YOU NOT SHOW US THAT REUNION??? Like I get the whole point of this is to set up Barriss to make the jump to live action like every single other Filoni character is curseddestined to do, but also you've had people waiting years to find out what happened to Barriss and it feels like they burned their biggest story possibility on a throwaway reference. Did she find Ahsoka? Did Ahsoka find her? When did they find each other? Was it pre-Rebellion? Was it after Ahsoka was already functioning as Fulcrum? Given that we now know the Fulcrum name originated from Anakin, did Barriss recognize the name and seek this mystery person out? I don't know it just feels again like more wasted potential.

Final Thoughts

Fuck this animation is good now! Can we get a new writer?

Like, even for the shit I was annoyed by, the entire show just looks fabulous. It makes me really really wish that ANYONE other than Filoni could make content in this style. Let the writers of Jedi: Fallen Order and Survivor do a Merrin episode or a baby Cal episode. Or the people doing The Acolyte, let them do Tales of the High Republic! Let anyone other than Filoni have a chance to create within the world of Star Wars animated content.

[illuminatedquill]

Sabine x Ezra/Anakin x Padme:

It's Like Poetry, It Rhymes

I'm already falling I couldn't help it, didn't think of the risk I got a problem, problem when I look in your eyes You're mine and you know it I'd still do it even if we were cursed Won't you be my problem? It's okay with me if it hurts - BANKS, Under the Table

George Lucas has a phrase that I always come back to regarding his work: "It's like poetry, it rhymes."

He said this in reference to Luke's battle with Vader in the Emperor's Throne Room aboard the second Death Star. During the climax of the duel, Luke faces the same choice his father did so many years ago.

And Luke chooses differently. Instead of killing Vader, he tosses aside his weapon and chooses to stop fighting. He wins the battle without violence and claims the mantle of Jedi Knight, which helps Anakin return to himself fully and turn on the Emperor.

For this post, I'm using this phrase to another interesting similarity within Star Wars: the relationship between Sabine Wren and Ezra Bridger having echoes of the doomed romance of Anakin Skywalker and Padme Amidala.

There's no way that Filoni is not aware how he's setting these two up.

Sabine, clearly, has resemblances to Ahsoka's former master; it doesn't surprise me that Ahsoka immediately cut Sabine's training short after the Purge of Mandalore.

Sabine is messy, angry, reckless, impulsive, and obviously depressed after experiencing so much trauma in her life. Despite her efforts to keep up appearances that everything's fine with her, we can tell in the Ahoska premiere that she still keenly feels the loss of Ezra and her family.

Anakin was the same way. We know his story; I won't re-hash it here.

Because of Sabine's inability to reflect on her problems - much like Anakin - they tend to influence her decisions. She can't focus on what needs to be done, versus what she wants to be done.

Love versus duty. The age old conundrum.

She should have destroyed the map to Thrawn. She didn't. She could not face returning to a galaxy without Ezra Bridger in it.

Anakin prevented Jedi Master Mace Windu from finishing Palpatine because he wanted the knowledge to save Padme from death.

Anakin's decision, I also want to remind, led to Padme's death being realized. In doing what he did to prevent it, he ended up causing it to come true.

Sabine's decision to save Ezra . . . well, we've yet to see how Filoni plays this out. But I think there might be a similar outcome here; some sort of consequence for Ezra due to Sabine's actions.

The galaxy - both times - shifted on its axis and began to spiral towards darkness. The Empire rose. Thrawn returned.

The seeds of darkness have already been planted in Sabine. Her decision to hand over the map to Baylon was a failure of temptation. And once you go down the path of the dark side, it's incredibly hard to turn away. Yoda told this to Luke and he failed to heed his advice until it was almost too late.

Lucas, with Luke and Vader, had them face the same dilemma in their respective journeys to show how different their choices would be and how their characters, despite being so much alike, were ultimately different.

So Filoni, with Sabine and Ezra, is - at least in my point of view - doing the same. He's going to have these two reckon with what Sabine did only for them to choose differently than what happened with Anakin and Padme.

We never really saw Anakin and Padme reconcile after his fall. That's the tragedy of their relationship.

But with Sabine and Ezra, there's still hope. They can choose better and not end up cursed like their predecessors.

For one, Ahsoka is literally right there. I'm uncertain as to how much she knows about the reason for Anakin's downfall but if she does know (or Anakin's Force ghost reveals it to her) then she's perfectly armed with the knowledge to make sure Sabine doesn't follow the same path.

Sabine and Ezra also have much more of a personal history with each other. Their foundation is built on stronger material than Anakin and Padme's. There's a lot of trust and respect and love already built into it.

But, admittedly, Sabine's actions threaten to unmake that relationship. I've talked about it before in a previous post; that she could end up losing Ezra due to her selfishness.

And that's not even mentioning the reactions from Hera. Hera, thinking of her son, Jacen, and her desire to raise him in a galaxy not at war. Now it's being threatened by Thrawn's return.

All because of Sabine's need to save Ezra.

I really don't know how, but I'm excited to see Sabine and Ezra work it out. Because we've never seen a proper redemption arc in Star Wars. Anakin was redeemed, yes, but he died shortly afterwards.

Sabine has to put in the work to make up for what she did. She's already started on the path by staying behind with Ahsoka instead of going home with Ezra, but being open to the Force now means that there's only more trials and temptations ahead.

I can't overstate how worried we should be for Sabine. She messed up so badly before being able to tap into the Force. And now she has it.

I know she's on the path to set things right but that temptation will never go away. It will only be amplified, going forward, and I'm sure that there will be more opportunities for abuse considering the inevitable conflict between Thrawn and the New Republic.

And then there's Ezra, of course. Her desire to keep him safe.

Because he wouldn't sit on the sidelines, even if he wanted to. Sabine's actions, like it or not, have involved him in ways that he cannot understand. He'll be at the center of this fight.

I expect Sabine is going to experience some troubling visions soon. I'm thinking similar to what Luke faced in the cave on Dagobah, or even what Anakin saw during his encounter with the Mortis gods.

There's nowhere to hide anymore now that she's stuck on Peridea.

The Force, I'm sure, is going to have a lot to show Sabine about herself that's been hidden away. I hope she's ready.

Much as I want to see these two together and living happily, it can't happen until Sabine and Ezra work through these issues together.

Because if they can't, well . . . we've seen how that story ends.

[lorrainestea]

Morgan Elsbeth: The Scarecrow

If you follow any of my blogs - this one or @sarcasteacdraws - or just find the Morgan Elsbeth tag under my posts, you probably noticed I often connect my posts with Morgan with song lyrics by Tobias Sammet and his music project "Tobias Sammet's Avantasia". Even from the pieces of lyrics you can make a picture about his work, but I wanted to make a deep dive in one specific album (or more wise trilogy) - The Scarecrow, because the similarities between this story and Morgan Elsbeth's journey are insane.

Tobias composed three albums known as "The Wicked Trilogy" - The Scarecrow, Anger of Babylon and The Wicked Symphony. The trilogy tells the story of the main character simply known as Scarecrow. Scarecrow comes through a lot of pain because of tragic love, he is unhappy, broken hearted, on the bottom of his strength and probably in the darkest places he's ever been. Besides pain, depression and sadness he also feels rage and anger. And this is where Mephistopheles comes to a scene - he uses Scarecrow's weaknesses against him, promises glory, strength and revenge if he offers his soul. And Scarecrow agrees. At first you can hear in the songs how he enjoys the feeling of power in the delusion this will lead to happiness again. By the end of the trilogy Scarecrow realizes he made a horrible mistake. In the moment of weakness he traded himself for something as vain and unstable as power and glory. This battle is lost for him.

Morgan lost everything - her family, home, people and even her own heritage when the magic of Nightsisters left her. She was left scarred forever, she carried the trauma ALONE as there was no one who would understand. People who should take care of her let her down. It left so much pain and she wanted revenge. Rage and contempt were Morgan's guidance aside with her ambitions.

So yes, she is a perfect Scarecrow.

And who is Mephistopheles then?

It's simple - Thrawn.

Thrawn saw in Morgan an opportunity when no one else gave her a chance. He showed a real interest in what she wanted to achieve and thanks to his brilliant mind, he somehow made Morgan trust him and give him her devotion. Both Mephistopheles and Thrawn are smart enough to in final get what THEY want by supporting Scarecrow's/Morgan's hate and encouraging them to act in their rage. They feed the anger so it became an attachment and both Scarecrow and Morgan are stuck in place, blinded by their hate instead of finding how to heal.

In the song "The Toy Master" (sung by Alice Cooper - Mephistopheles and Tobias Sammet - Scarecrow) there is a part where Mephistopheles says: "I'm dealing in pain" which is a great parallel to Thrawn's line "Offer accepted" when Morgan offers her anger. And later there a verse in which Scarecrow responds "It's their turn to crash and burn" and again, parallel to "My world has been burning since I was a child, why this one should be different?"

It Tales of The Empire sadly is no deep dive in Morgan's and Thrawn's relationship so this is more of my theory and point of view. However it would actually make sense, don't you think? Thrawn is clever and think is much larger spectrum than the other Imperials. He sees in Morgan a potential - as long as her desire for revenge and the old pain buried under her anger live. She is basically willing to do anything, even risk it all and build a hyper space ring to travel in another galaxy because she believes Thrawn is alive. Her devotion makes her believe in him and his survival even though everyone else thinks she is just crazy.

And later on Peridea Morgan also realizes she maybe lost everything, same as Scarecrow lost his soul. For some reason (Filoni explain!) Thrawn left her behind and sends Morgan to death. She dies knowing she never felt peace again and she will never find it, she will never turn her pain in bringing her people back, she will never have a chance to finally let go of her attachment and that she probably served as another insignificant piece of Thrawn's mastermind plan. Who else would have the ability to help in such a hopeless situation then obeying, devoted, loyal Nightsister he let taste power and glory for some time?

And no, I'm not saying Morgan would achieve nothing without Thrawn - she was already a Magistrate when they met, but I think if he never got her a chance, maybe she would find a new purpose as she would slowly heal. Perhaps she would stop living in the past as she would realize causing pain to others can't change what happened and it can't change anything now.

Both Scarecrow and Morgan are tragic characters that can't be excused for causing so much pain to others, but they can be understood - they were hurt and the smart game master encouraged them to stay this way.

[rosheendubh]

just as point in fact…no one ever paired Tywin Lannister and dad-bod in the same sentence…

—Just sayin’…a mid-60s/maybe early 70s, lean, mean, ruthless, pragmatic, cunning, disciplined, battle-machine. He walked into that throne room when Cersei was about to kill herself, and her son, with more presence than Filoni’s rendition of Thrawn (no fault to Lars, but he was both not well cast, and not well directed) could to an entire ISD hanger’s worth of Fart-Gas Zombies held together by red duct tape chanting his name…which is also quite out of character, whether from Legends/canon EU books. Thrawn’s characterization with Zahn is many things, but excessive displays of aggrandizing isn’t one of them (cue: the apologetics for “but 10 years in Exile”)…it also doesn’t help that none of the actors look like they’re taking their lines seriously (and with the over-long, melodramatic pauses, long-range 10000 yard stares, and ChatGPT level dialogue, who can blame them?—no honestly, I’ve seen ChatGPT dialogue that sounded exactly like that exchange between Sabine and Ahsoka on the ship, with her training…down to the actual tags/and descriptors), and move through the space around them so stiff and hesitant, you can tell no time was taken to smooth out scenes largely cast on green-screen between the production team, and the actors. Which is why, even the action bits appear awkward, and without much dynamism.

—To each their own, but this portrayal of such a pivotal character is definitely Filoni’s (horridly, but only IMHO) misconstruction. —and as for Ezra and Sabine’s reunion…*wah-wah-wah*—whaaaa??? Anyone recall Sansa and Jon Snow’s embrace after ALL THE ABSOLUTE SHITE they’ve survived over the years? I will still rewatch that moment—ya’ll should too. It’s very cathartic compared to Gazoo-moment everyone was rewarded with, between Ezra (“Hey, Girl, Waz’Up-Word”)-lost-boy-for-a-decade-SpaceAladdin, and Sabine (I’m supposed to be in my late 20s/30?-with the emotional maturity of a teen who just lost cell phone privileges-so flipping annoying-you wish Shin actually had gutted her and decapitated her…omg—how do people think she’s *sooo awesome*—and goes shrill on a Wolf-Horse for…reasons?? Oh, dramatic tension, she’s a very tortured and *fiery* warrior…I’m a woman, and a feminist, but this ain’t how ladies should be written…this is how fanboys think STRONGFEMALECHARACTERS act…take a pass, go watch EmilyBlunt in ‘TheEdgeofTomorrow*…).

—GoTs has A LOT OF ISSUES (mostly with S7/S8 of GoT, and its early Season1 episodes were admittedly…difficult. For a while, I called it LotR with T&A$$…but by that SeasonFinale, as Daenerys stepped out of ashes with 3 lil’Bebe Dragons, and Jorah kneels to her, vowing that line, “Blood of my Blood”—a line that could have fallen in flat-trope-tripe—hell no, hello, Drama Hook. We were on Team Dany…). —Genera differences aside, Team Filoni needs to take some lessons from what the GoTs writers/producers learned as they re-vamped (apparently, an even worse original filming of S1E1 of GoTs, that went back to the drawing board, it was so awful…so urban legend/DenofGeek alleges)—get fresh eyes to look at what you’re doin’ dudes…and maybe someone who’s read the actual source material. But isn’t in love with it—like Gilroy. I still think that’s why ‘Andor’ carried such a different essence—and a much needed sophistication for how science-fiction, and SpaceOpera ought to land. Fuck, go read some DeathStalker too, if you’re looking for bombast with tropes, and a good time. Watch bloody ‘The Expanse’. Someone mentioned, if Filoni required a lesson on how to communicate back-story as a balance between narration, and scene progression, to bring a largely uninformed audience up to speed on a Universe/World building Plot mythos with which most audience isn’t familiar, watch the first 15 minutes of ‘Serenity’. And maybe the entire Season of ‘Arcane’?. —which leads to the ultimate conclusion, Thrawn shouldn’t have been used by Filoni at all in ‘Rebels’. They needed a BigBad, and he ought to have just contrived his own generic Imperial of the Week. Which is what he did. And named it Thrawn. And yes, I know, supposedly he consulted Zahn. I’m more convinced, Zahn is diplomatic, and either felt (as he’d mentioned a few years ago), he was done writing Thrawn’s arc, and so, resigned his BlueManArtLovingAdmiral to the Disney drain of EU archives from which Disney borrows when it can’t be bothered to create its own original characters; or, he’s going to quietly retcon Thrawnius back into Zahn shape—given the rumors of recent months where he seems to have reconsidered revisiting Thrawn/Chiss arcs. Who knows? —My suspicion with ‘Rebels’ (of which, I completely can figure out the story-line, *secret*—it’s not that complicated for anyone who’s read any sort of children’s literature, or young adult books through their youth. Yes, I’ve tried watching episodes—it’s a cartoon made for kids—would’a loved as a kid…probably/maybe? As an adult, I’m wondering what other fodder people read and watch to consider this *quality*). I think what no one admits is, the animated series needed a big name from popular Lore to draw viewers, so there was computer-animated, cartoon-Thrawn…Filoni’s Disney Imperial. —okay, soap box rant done—we all have our OPs. I’m holding out for Andor/S2, but after that, cancelling Disney+. Actually, might even cancel before, and just renew when Andor/S2 comes out…

[dalekofchaos]

My biggest problems with Filoni’s Star Wars

I'd say my biggest critiques of Filoni's Star Wars would be

Complete change in Anakin's character from AOTC to the character he is portrayed as in TCW. We NEVER see Anakin knighted, so he should not be given a Padawan. Nor do I think Anakin is capable nor do I think the Council would trust Anakin with a Padawan.  Honestly the change in Anakin's character felt like giving into RLM's complaints about Anakin and just turned Anakin into a mix of Luke and Han, but that’s not Anakin. 

Lightening the skin of the clones and Boba and not bringing back Temmura to voice the clones, The whole whitewashing of the Clones is downright disgusting.

Constantly retcons. Kanan’s backstory. Ahsoka’s novel has recently been retconned. This is getting ridiculously mean spirited, it’s like the man has no respect for the canon novel/graphic novel writers. 

Everything about Barriss. A Muslim coded character who was loved in the EU. And what does he do? From someone who was Anakin’s temporary is deaged to be Ahsoka’s, makes her willing to be okay for dying for the Jedi and having her bomb the Jedi Temple. I hope this was just him being tone deaf, but if intentional, oh boy yikes.

EVERYTHING ABOUT GRIEVOUS

EVERYTHING ABOUT MANDALORE AND THE STUPID RETCON OF THE FETTS BEING MANDALORIAN(YES I KNOW ALMEC IS AN ASS, BUT THIS WAS DIRECT FROM FILONI AND PABLO HIDALGO)

Minor nitpick but changing Obi-Wan's armor from the awesome design from the micro series to what he has from TCW. It’s like going from Gucci to Walmart.

Erasing Alpha 17 and Captain Fordo

The Bad Batch. It again enforces the whitewashing of the clones and could've easily been Delta Squad, since they are essentially the same fucking characters.

Bringing back Maul. Maul served a purpose. Sure George regretted killing him off too soon and I do think he should have been the Vader of the Prequels. But god, the way they hammered him in TCW, Rebels and Solo? Good god it's ridiculous.

The same damn story in EVERY Star Wars story. It's less noticeable in TCW and Rebels. It's good for The Mandalorian, but The Bad Batch just makes it clear he only knows how to tell one type of story. Grumpy man is forced to take care of small sunshine child.  What's next? Book of Boba Fett doing it with Boba and Dash?

Abundantly clear he did not care about Boba Fett and used Book Of Boba Fett as a prop for The Mandalorian. Boba Fett doesn't do Boba Fett type things. He's a crime lord that doesn't do any crimes. He's outwitted by everyone in the show and instead of reaching out to characters Boba knows like Bossk, IG-88 etc, we need Din. And instead of focusing on flashbacks with Jango that focuses on his Mandalorian heritage, again we get proto-Mando season 3.  It honestly would've been better to keep Grogu out of TBOBF cause now people are forced to watch it to see how Din reunites with Grogu instead of watching The Mandalorian season 3. If he didn't want to write for a show about Boba Fett, then he shouldn't have written a show about Boba Fett. 

Ahsoka living through all 3 trilogies. The Jedi are supposed to be all extinct by the time of the Empire, Obi-Wan and Yoda should be the only survivors. Ahsoka lives beyond Order 66, throughout the Galactic Civil War and Filoni plays favorites and literally uses time travel to bring her back. Then apparently she lasts beyond the Galactic Civil War(why did she not meet Obi-Wan, Yoda, Luke or Leia?) Like fuck it is convoluted that she's survived this long. Hell, I will also say that Ezra, Cal and Cere should be dead too. Thrawn's fleet should have crushed the Rebels on Lothal and Vader should have killed Cal and Cere in Fallen Order.  No one but Obi-Wan, Yoda and the Twins should be left alive from the Jedi. Luke is the Last Jedi for a reason. I came up with an emotional death for Ahsoka in Order 66,  Rex kills her and then Rex kills himself. But for sure if Ahsoka survived  Order 66, she should have died against Vader in Twilight Of The Apprentice. She should have died against Vader, it would solidify him as the monster that he is at this point in time: the one that can only be saved by his son who in turn would be saved by him. It took away all the tension and emotion by using World Between Worlds in bringing Ahsoka back. Filoni pulled a Moffat by having a dead character come back to life an episode/season later. Kind of insulting. Like imagine if Leia used WBW to prevent Alderaan’s destruction or imagine if Luke used it to stop Anakin’s fall. Yes it would be satisfying to prevent a tragedy, but for story purposes it takes away the tension and the monstrosity of the Empire. I think it would have been a good end if she was killed by Vader. In their fight she even says "I won't leave you, not this time!", but then time travels out of them and never tries to go to him again. I don't really know what they'll do with her, she isn't mentioned once in the sequels by Luke, so seems unlikely they met up. I don't think there is much they can do with her, not to mention its now dumb that she didn't turn up in the OT.  Better she get killed by Vader in a poignant death scene. With her lamenting she couldn't give Anakin a proper burial with Padme much less kill Vader. Then Ahsoka appeared in THe Mandalorian. Good moment, but you are telling your new audience they need to watch your animated shows in order to even know who this character even is. Also it’s kind of insulting Ahsoka lived this long. And honestly Ahsoka living past Order 66 and past the Galactic Empire is the epidemy of refusing to let go and let your oc die. I've said countless times how Ahsoka has surpassed her expiration date and I stand by my point. For Ahsoka to survive all the way up to TROS is both baffling and insulting and it implies that Ahsoka stood by and did not help Luke with Ben. It implies she stood by and did nothing while The First Order was reigning and only waited until the last minute for the Emperor to return. Like Filoni confirmed she wasn't a force ghost, so it's just baffling she lived this long and Filoni should've just let go. She outlived the Empire AND the Skywalkers since Filoni said Ahsoka isn’t dead(good god man let her go) It's clear at this point that Dave Filoni doesn't know when to let go of her as a character. I like her, but It's kind of insane to me that she's now a part of all 3 eras of Star Wars. George Lucas wanted Ahsoka to die at the end of The Clone Wars, but Filoni somehow convinced him that she should live. Ahsoka Tano is a lot like The Simpsons. Great at first, but now I just roll my eyes at her existence. Ahsoka has been overexposed and it shows. She's a great character, but she's just become as overexposed as Maul was.

I also would include these videos about Filoni to my critiques

[fellshot]

I am not really looking forwards to the Ashoka Tano series for a few reasons.

First I don’t like the character that much. But it seems like I’m really supposed to. On the surface, I feel like I should like a woman Jedi badass. But I don’t and considering how often she pops up in other characters’ story arcs and that each time she supersedes the other characters rather than taking a back seat, it feels like Rose Tyler from Doctor Who all over again. The “I’m a Jedi, but only when it’s convenient” is very frustrating. I feel like if you have a Light Side Force adept who isn’t a Jedi, you should really lean into it because it sounds like an interesting development for character and worldbuilding.

Second, I haven’t been able to get through Clone Wars partially because the Tartovsky series exists and I have it in its original narrative format, but also because who in their right mind would ever give Anakin Skywalker, walking disaster a padawan? For me, it is beyond my suspension of disbelief. I can’t do it. It doesn’t help that people tell me that the first 3ish seasons are rough going. That is emphatically not encouraging. Rebels season 1 was rough going too but at least it was funny and at least one of those idiots (usually Hera) had a working brain cell at any given time.

Third, it kind of looks like they are going in an Heir to the Empire direction. Which is okay I suppose, but feels like overly eager fanboys who never bothered with any Thrawn novels after the first three, if they even read past the first one. Later there’s an imposterThrawn storyline that seems like it would make a hell of a lot more sense in the current canon (such as it is). But it also seems like we are approaching a major point of no return divergence between bookThrawn and tvThrawn. Timothy Zahn has done a really awesome job of reconciling the two as much as possible, but I don’t think that Filoni is up to continuing it at all. Zahn made a very clear and fundamental difference between Empire/Republic space and the Unknown Regions and how they see their Force sensitives which I find very interesting and great, but given how Ashoka is usually written will probably get overlooked or hijacked to grow her journey to being something or other. Does she have any personal goals at all? To be fair, this seems like a generic Jedi character issue, but I don’t see it getting addressed on screen in any meaningful way.

Fourth, Ezra deciding that he had to stay to help someone (or several very young someones) in the Unknown Regions makes way more sense for his character than hers. A large chunk of the Rebels storyline is him fighting to free his home from Imperial control. Ashoka doesn’t have that kind of connection to place or people and it would be fine for her character if it was left that way , but it very much looks like Ezra’s motives (and Sabine’s) are being hijacked and reassigned to Ashoka. Which is really frustrating if you want to have development for both characters that is different. She needs to do her own work and not crib off someone else’s.

All that being said, if I end up hearing that Ar’Alani shows up and kicks all of the ass (as she fucking should), I will probably give the Ashoka series a shot. There will probably be another delighted squeefest of “it’s Chissmas!!” on social media if such a thing happens. I am totally here for that.

[hahaha1d0that]

If you’d like to read my thoughts about Grand Admiral Thrawn in the Ahsoka show and everything, I’ll put it below :)

So it’s obvious that Thrawn is going to be a major villain in the Ahsoka series. But, will he will be in multiple Star Wars projects?

My dad thinks that Thrawn is going to be a Thanos-type character, appearing in multiple projects across several years, behind everything and in the shadows, leading up to a big finish. This makes a bit of sense, assuming Filoni and Favreau are planning a big collective story with The Mandalorian/ The Book of Boba Fett/ Ahsoka/ Rangers of the New Republic. The last two are perfect places to integrate Thrawn’s character. (If the rumors about Hera Syndulla being a leading character in ROTNR, then this would be REALLY epic)

Based on the fact that Thrawn is the Magistrate’s “master,” I think it’s pretty safe to say that at the time of the Ahsoka series, Thrawn is still a bad guy.

The Ahsoka series will be set after ROTJ, obviously, so the Empire has fallen. But, as we’ve seen, some Imperial officers were keeping the Empire alive. What if Thrawn helps to start the First Order? He’s certainly smart enough to do the whole thing himself and he’d have the respect of the ex-imperials.

But how? If he’s actively giving the Magistrate orders and stuff, then he’s alive and (hopefully) not with Ezra. We know Ezra absolutely cannot be dead because then the show would have no real plot and it would be a disappointment. Yes, Ezra was previously tempted to the Dark Side, but it’s impossible to believe that he went full evil and served the Empire. So what is the goal of Ahsoka asking for Thrawn’s location if the goal is to find Ezra? I don’t know

If Ezra and Thrawn survived, was there a fight? Did they simply part ways? Did they help each other to survive or something? I guess we’ll see

Now I will admit, I have not read the Thrawn books nor have I read any comics, so I don’t really know what I’m talking about, but I think it’s possible for Thrawn to be redeemed.

He is one of the few Star Wars villains that is not evil by nature or anger. Thrawn is a very neutral person that bases his choices on reason. He joined the Empire in a deal with the Emperor. In exchange for his service as a skilled military tactician, the Empire would not harm his people, the Chiss, or invade his planet, Csilla. Prior to this deal, Thrawn was exiled by his people. The fact that he joined the Empire to protect them, despite his differences, could show his selflessness. Or, from a certain point of view, his ability to sense what will benefit him the most. Instead of being a prisoner and an exile, he would become a well-respected officer. In the Rebels finale, he even said “Who deserves what is irrelevant. What matters is who has power” in response to Ezra telling him he didn’t deserve to have the artifacts in his collection. This can possibly be excused with the fact that the Empire indoctrinated everyone, but still.

However, Thrawn was never one to be unnecessarily cruel to Rebels or subordinates within the Empire. He never used slurs or offensive adjectives commonly used by Star Wars characters (ex: “Rebel scum”), simply letting his words and intelligence do the intimidating.

He also doesn’t tolerate the disrespect of art or culture (including race/species), as we saw when Slavin called Hera’s kalikori a “piece of Twi’lek trash” and Thrawn kinda lost his sh*t and growled in his face (as he should). I imagine this is partially because he was one of the only non-human officers within the Imperial ranks and he knows how it feels to feel inferior because he wasn’t human. This might be motive to leave the Empire, but his will is probably stronger than that.

From everything I’ve seen, I believe that Ezra might be able to convince Thrawn to leave the Empire. Thrawn failed Palpatine when his TIE project was ruined by Pryce, Ezra refused to be seduced to the dark side, and the RebeI’s took victory on Lothal. With the Chimera being sent to the unknown regions, wouldn‘t the Emperor think Thrawn was killed and Ezra sacrificed himself to do so? He has a perfect opportunity to do whatever he wants, free of regulations and orders. Why would Thrawn go back? The Emperor wouldn’t be happy with him even if he did prove his loyalty.

Based on Thrawn’s characteristics, I can see 3 possible explanations for Thrawn leaving the Empire:

Palpatine didn’t follow through on his end of the deal

Thrawn/Palpatine died

He saw no logical reason to continue to serve or he was convinced it was illogical to serve (like Wanda’s Vision vs Hayward’s Vision in the Wandavision finale)

I just think it’d be neat to see Thrawn turn his back on the Empire, even if it’s unlikely.

Yes, I spent too long writing this and it’s still not that comprehensible because I’m scatter-brained

[servinglemonade]

The Mandalorian Season 2 Review

BEWARE: SPOILERS AHEAD FOR THE MANDALORIAN SEASON 1 AND 2

Hi everyone, it has been a while since The Mandalorian finished up its second season, and to be honest, I kind of miss waking up at 9 AM on Friday to watch this show. Now, I loved season 1 and have watched it multiple times already. I was so excited for season 2 and to see more of Mando/Din and The Child and where their story would go. I never would have thought season 2 would go the way that it did. It was incredible and even better than I thought it would be. This Is The Way. Keep on reading to find out my opinions for every episode this season!

And again, beware... SPOILERS AHEAD

Chapter 9: The Marshal (dir. Jon Favreau)

I enjoyed the first episode back in the world of The Mandalorian. The first thing I noticed about this episode was the run time. Its a 54 minute episode, the longest we have gotten so far. I liked that it was so long, since we had been waiting on the second season for about a year and the episode overall was enjoyable. Being back on Tatooine was great since it is one of my favorite planets in the Star Wars universe. I liked seeing more of the Tusken Raiders and loved that battle scene with the krayt dragon. One thing I loved from that was the change in aspect ratio! When the krayt dragon opened its mouth, the ratio changed to IMAX/full screen. That was amazing and such a good choice for it. It just made it more cinematic. And of course, who can forget that Boba Fett tease at the very end of the episode! Fun fact, I never really liked/enjoyed Boba Fett. In the Original Trilogy, he does not do much, he is just kind of there and then ‘dies’. So I never really got the hype. But, oh, I am going to talk about Boba Fett later. In conclusion, chapter 9 was a nice episode. 

Favorite moments: Mando taking out the krayt dragon like a BOSS, Mando talking with the Tusken Raiders in their language, The Child in his little pouch on Mando’s speeder bike with his ears flapping in the wind.

Overall: 7.5/10

Chapter 10: The Passenger (dir. Peyton Reed)

This episode was more of a side quest but hey, if it is nice, I do not mind. This is a fun episode but those spiders at the end... They just reminded me of those spiders in Rebels season 2/3 and I HATED those things. However, the action scene was very thrilling. I loved the beginning of the episode, where some guys try to take The Child from Din and he tricks them. The Child running into his arms again and Din messing with the guy that took his jetpack was great. The episode mostly takes place on this ice/snow planet, which I always enjoy in anything Star Wars! This episode also introduced us to Frog Lady, who was a nice addition to the gang.

Favorite moments: Din fixing the Razor Crest and then telling The Child he should help him and the final action scene. 

Overall: 7.5/10

Chapter 11: The Heiress (dir. Bryce Dallas Howard)

This episode felt like a Clone Wars or Rebels episode and I LOVED IT!!! This was so good. I was quite surprised to see Bo-Katan show up here, she was great and I enjoyed seeing her in live-action. The action scenes, on the boat and on that imperial ship, were especially incredible and really well done, so props to Bryce! There was also an important storyline here regarding Mando and his Creed vs. other Mandalorians. Since we know Bo-Katan and other Mandalorians keep removing their helmet and Din never does, I wondered why. This finally gets adressed here and I loved seeing it unfold and how this storyline kept unfolding as the season went on. And of course, at the end of the episode, we got THE ASHOKA TANO NAME DROP! Confirming that we would be seeing her this season. I am a huge Ahsoka fan and she has become one of my favorite Star Wars characters, so I was excited to say the least.

Favorite moments: Mando crash landing the Razor Crest in the water, Frog Lady reuniting with her husband, Bo-Katan, and Mando telling The Child to stop playing with his food

Overall: 8.5/10

Chapter 12: The Siege (dir. Carl Weathers)

But before we see Ahsoka, a little detour. However, a short, sweet, and fun detour, directed by none other than Greef Karga himself! Yes, this episode saw the return of season one’s Greef Karga, Cara Dune, and the Mythrol (the blue guy from season 1). Nonetheless, the star of the episode was The Child with his blue cookies haha. The beginning of the episode was so funny with Din trying to tell The Child were to put the wires in and then them eating together. Din even showed a little bit of his face, with The Child trying to take a peek, so adorable. Additionally, I really liked being back on Nevarro and seeing how Greef Karga and Cara cleaned up the town. Once again, the action here was fantastic and Carl Weathers did a great job. The final action scene was amazing and showed how great of a pilot Din is. In this episode, I also really felt the bond between Din and The Child and how much it has grown over time! OMG, almost forgot... We learn more about Moff Gideon wanted with The Child, he used his blood and the midi-chlorians to create what looked like clones?! Crazy, AND they put a tracker on the Razor Crest, which got me very anxious about the next episode.

Favorite moments: The Child and the wires (aka me in Among Us), The Child in school and stealing blue space macarons, and the trio from season 1 back together and kicking ass

Overall: 8.5/10

Chapter 13: The Jedi (dir. Dave Filoni)

This was magical. Purely magical. Dave Filoni... Oh my goodness, what a legend. He understands Star Wars in a way no else but George Lucas does. From the action, to the samurai and western infleunces, to the emotion, everything was perfect. So, in this episode Din finally finds Ahsoka Tano, one of the few Jedi that are left. The episode wastes no time to introduce Ahsoka. Her entrance in the forest was amazing, the way she uses the force and her lightsabers, just ugh, amazing. Now, I really like Rosario Dawson as Ahsoka but it took some getting used to since Ahsoka originally is an animated character. However, she looked great here. I loved the scene where Ahsoka was communicating with The Child through the force and we learn his backstory!! His name is Grogu and was trained at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant by many masters and was hidden during Order 66. The way we learned all of this was so natural and I really did not see it coming. It was great. I really like the name Grogu, it fits him haha. The little training session with Grogu was fantastic and showed how much Din cares about Grogu. Ahsoka tells Din she cannot train Grogu because of his attachements and how that can lead him to the dark side. She even references Anakin!!!!!! Omg, the feels. Mando and Ahsoka team up to fight the Magistrate of the town and this fight was fantastic. Manda and Ahsoka are both so cool and have some great moments. Then, when we thought this episode could not get any better, Ahsoka teases what is to come as she name drops GRAND ADMIRAL THRAWN!! Now, if you have not watched Rebels, this might mean nothing to you. But I gasped so loud when she said it, good stuff is coming for the Ahsoka show!!!! When Mando had to say goodbye to Grogu, I thought no... They are not going to do it, are they?! But Ahsoka sticks to her gut and says she cannot train Grogu. Instead, she sends them to the remants of an ancient Jedi temple where Grogu can choose his path. And so Mando, Grogu, and Ahsoka part ways. I just loved this episode. Also a special shout-out to Ludwig Göransson’s score. He has been fantastic for season 1 and 2, but the score at the very end of this episode, just captured the magic and beauty of this one. He is so talented! 

Favorite moments: all of Ahsoka’s action scenes, Ahsoka vs. Mando, Din learning Grogu’s name and he keeps saying it, the Trawn name drop, Ahsoka referencing Anakin, and Din and Ahsoka traing Grogu

Overall: 9.5/10

Chapter 14: The Tragedy (dir. Robert Rodriguez)

This was a short but action packed episode, oh my goodness. It just kept going at some point, which was very thrilling to watch. This episode saw the return of Boba Fett and Fennec Shand, which was surprising. Now, like I said, I have never been a fan of Boba Fett. However, we was a badass in this episode with some very cool moments! I also loved that in the bts of season 2 Temuera Morrison talked about how he brought in some of his Maori traditions into Boba’s fighting style, which was very awesome to see. Okay, back to the rest of the episode. So, it starts out with Mando messing with Grogu and his name a little bit on the Razor Crest. He actually laughed, which is something we had not seen yet. He then trained with him for a bit and told him how proud he was of him and how he is special... Sooo soft! So then, they get to the seeing stone and of course Mando is an actual rookie and has no clue what any of this Jedi stuff (as he calls it) means, which is understandable of course. But I just thought it was very funny to watch. Boba and Fennec show up, a lot of Stromtroopers show up, and they have to fight their way out of that nasty situation. It was really cool!! All of them had awesome moments.  Then, when everything has calmed down a bit, Moff Gideon’s dark troopers show up and take Grogu from Mando. I just- I can’t... Another thing that happens is the Razor Crest getting blown up! Holy shit, I was shocked. So Mando is left with no ship, no Grogu, and has to get him back. So, Boba and Fennec promise to help him. Very action packed, and tragic episode.

Favorite moments: Din knowing nothing about the Jedi, the whole bit in the Razor Crest with Din and Grogu being cute, Fennec being a badass, Boba being a badass, Grogu beating those Stormtroopers in his cell, and Moff Gideon being as vilanous as ever (gotta love Giancarlo Esposito)

Overall: 8.7/10

Chapter 15: The Believer (dir. Rick Famuyiwa)

I LOVED this episode. Rick Famuyiwa did it again!! Okay, so Mando, Boba, Fennec, Cara, and Mayfeld (from season 1) go to this Empirial base to get the coordinates of Moff Gideon’s cruiser so they can get Grogu back to his dad (yes, I said it, because it’s true!). So they want Mayfeld to come because he knows stuff about the Empire and I did not really like him in season 1. However, I thought he was really nice here. He even had some funny lines. I loved the action scene on the transport with Mando fighting those pirates they encountered. It was really weird though, not seeing him in his Beskar armor. So they inflitrate the base and Mayfeld’s old superior is sitting where they have to get the coordinates, so he cannot go in, Mando wants to go but here is the twist... It is a facial scan (insert suspenseful sound). So, he goes in, tries it with his helmet on, and that obviously does not work. So he removes his helmet. This was so powerful, he was willing to let other people see his face to save Grogu. It just shows how much he cares, and I loved to see it. The whole scene without his helmet was so suspenseful. I was stressed while watching it. Pedro Pascal is such a good actor, he was selling it! Mayfeld was so cool about it though. He had been messing with Mando having his helmet on the entire time and when he eventually took it off, he was really respectful about it. Another thing I thought was fantasic this episode was Mando treathening Moff Gideon with a little message. He basically used the same message Gideon told him last season when he was looking for Grogu, but now Mando used it on him. He even said that Grogu means more to him and Gideon will ever know. Oh my gosh!!! In conclusion, after this episode, I could not wait for the finale. 

Favorite moments: Din removing his helmet, Din realizing his blaster was jammed so he just yeeted it to the pirate instead, Mayfeld and Din talking to the Empirial guy in the cantine, Mayfeld calling Din ‘Brown Eyes’, and Din’s message to Gideon.

Overall: 9/10

Chapter 16: The Rescue (dir. Peyton Reed)

Where to begin?! Oh my goodness, SO MUCH happened during this episode. Mando adds Bo-Katan and Koska Reeves to his crew to get Grogu back. They agree, since this is Bo-Katan’s chance to take back the darksaber from him. So Boba Fett distracts Gideon’s people for the rest of the crew to sneak on board. So we had Cara, Fennec, Bo-Katan, and Koska just kicking these stromtrooper’s asses and it was stunning to see. Mando goes to look for Grogu but encounters the dark troopers and they were ruthless. I honestly thought he was going to get hurt or something. Thank goodness he had that Beskar speer, so he yeeted them out of the ship and made his way to Grogu. Only to find Gideon standing there with the darksaber. He is like just take him, I got his blood. Of course, it is a trap and he attacks Mando. We get an epic fight between Gideon with the darksaber and Mando with his speer. It was so cool and Mando wins! He then walks back to the crew with Gideon in handcuffs, wielding the darksaber, and Grogu in his hand. Bo-Katan sees it and looks shocked since she now cant get it from him since it needs to won in battle as Gideon reminds everyone (he was obviously enjoying this), which I completely forgot. Then just says I yield, take it. She cannot just accept, which makes Din the rightful ruler of Mandalore (CRAZY!!!). This was left with no answers, so I am hoping that this will be explored during season 3!!. The dark troopers get back to the ship and they need a miracle now. Out of nowhere, one single X-Wing shows up. I knew it was a Jedi, but who? Of course, Luke crossed my mind, but I was like, NO WAY. So I thought, it could be Ezra from Rebels (he also has a green lightsaber). However, there was no way someone that powerful was Ezra, it had to be Luke. I will never forget it, my heart was beating so fast, I was crying, and the suspense was just, oh my. The hallway scene was fantastic. Then the jedi reveals his face, and it is Mark Hamill back as Luke Skywalker in all his glory. The CGI was impressive, although when he started talking, it looked a little off. Anyway, now Din has to say goodbye to Grogu and he lets him see his face. This was such a beautiful moment, it made me cry even more. This show is incredible, however this just proves that when you strip away all the cool stuff and guest appearances, this show is about Din and Grogu’s relationship, which in the end, is my favorite thing about the show. It was so emotional. Grogu then leaves with Luke and R2 (!!!), and that concludes season 2! This finale was just incredible, and what made it even more emotional was Pedro’s perfromance. He is fantastic! Again, the score this season was so good but in the finale, Ludwig outdit himself! So beautiful and emotional. 

Favorite moments: the whole thing, not even going to try to pick just a few

Overall: 10/10

So that is season 2 of The Mandalorian!! I have to say, after the shit year 2020 was, Mando Fridays made it a little better. I cannot wait to see it continue. I think it will be after The Book of Boba Fett with Boba and Fennec (looking forward to that!). This ended up way longer than I intended, oh well. I hope you enjoyed reliving Mando season 2 with me! Now I kind of want to watch it again...

This Is The Way.

XO

Yenai

[starlady38]

The Mandalorian, Chap. 13 - “The Jedi”

Corralling my thoughts with bullet points under the cut. Not very positive.

Her lekku just aren’t the right fucking length. That is not optional. This show’s budget is $15M/episode and they couldn’t get the lekku to look right? WTF.

One of my questions after the Rebels finale was whether Ahsoka still carried lightsabers. Now my question is…is she a Jedi (again)?

TCW S7 made me think that she would have gone back, in a way that was actually somewhat difficult to square with her insisting constantly in Rebels that she wasn’t a Jedi. 

Doth the lady protest too much? The Bendu also called her a “former Jedi Knight” in an unfilmed scene, so.

It’s completely impossible to tell anything from this episode of course because the show is maniacal about not telling anyone anything, but there were a lot of opportunities for Ahsoka to deny being a Jedi and she didn’t take any of them.

Her being a Jedi (again) after her vision quest or whatever in the Sith temple on Malachor would actually fit with the ending of TROS, which I do my best to ignore, but that one thing (which is literally heretical but that’s another story) did happen and it would make sense.

I had assumed that the end scene of Rebels was ROTJ +0-4, but now I think that this episode actually takes place before it?

I guess the question is whether Ezra and Thrawn are still stuck together wherever. We have no information about that, but if they are and Ahsoka is looking for Thrawn, well, there you go.

I do think it makes some sense for Ahsoka to be sensitive to Force-wielders having emotional ties, but her lines about attachment contradict everything else we’ve seen in previous canon about her! Particularly Rebels, where Kanan and Ezra are acknowledged as Jedi by her and they obviously have attachments. Make it make fucking sense.

If it was just a way to continue the Mandalorian’s endless fetch quests, well, just fucking say “sorry I can’t train him, I’m on my own quest” or whatever.

Putting the kid up on a plinth in a random ruined temple and seeing whatever Force-wielder shows up seems like a bad idea! But that’s just me.

It also seems like the Mandalorian should have explicitly said, “Hey this child has been an Imperial test subject,” even if he hasn’t put together that the Imperial remnants are trying to create Force-wielders by transfusing midichlorians into them. That is something that it seems like Ahsoka would want to know!

I said when this show started that it would be funny if they were rewriting the Thrawn trilogy in reverse, and…maybe my joke was on the money??

Star Wars stop hiring transphobes

I don’t think Filoni is a terrible director, and it’s obvious that Lucasfilm is going to continue letting him do whatever, regardless of people’s complaints about giving other creatives a chance. But I do think you can tell his preference for static images coming out of animation in this episode in particular.

Does Ahsoka know Luke Skywalker is alive? Why had Cara Dune never heard of him? Bedlamsbard has remarked that this show seems like it takes place in an AU where Luke and Leia never existed and honestly you can’t disprove that contention using the show itself!

Why not just send Grogu to Luke Skywalker, weird CGI be damned. Star Trek cast a young Spock recently, it can be done.

Why in god’s name did they not get Ashley to at least dub her voice. Or just have Ashley perform her!

If it was because of fight training, I have to say…those fight scenes weren’t great. I get that reverse wielding is very difficult, but those fight scenes were bad. Ahsoka defeated Darth Maul without a scratch on her, twice, and I’m supposed to believe a rando with a staff disarmed her? Please.

Dear Dave Filoni, having Asian main characters in other media does not mean you get a pass on the racial politics of cowed Asian villagers menaced by white people with guns.

I SAW THE PHANTOM MENACE TEN TIMES IN THE THEATER AND I WILL NOT STAND FOR THIS YADDLE ERASURE.

[smokeybrand]

Rise of the Skywalker

This sh*t with Lucasfilm is wild to witness. I’m not really one to buy into entertainment gossip but i am emotionally invested in Star Wars. I’m an Eighties kid, man. Star Wars helped to shape our childhood growing up. Vader is one of my all-time favorite antagonists. Ahsoka has grown to rival him in my heart as a beloved character. As a cat who creates, myself, i can’t help but adore the passion and creativity i n the entire world lore around the Skywalker legend. I mean, look at everything built around those first three films. Just taking Legends into account, you have the absolutely excellent Shadows of the Empire and the Thrawn trilogy. More than that, and probably one of the best game franchises ever realized, you have The Knight of the Old Republic. F*ck, dude, Revan? Nihilus? Bastila? Kreia? HK-47? This is Bioware at it’s finest, save Mass Effect 2. And then Disney cam in and f*cked it all up.

Kathleen Kennedy has been a poison to the franchise, and not because of her identity politics. Look, you can work in your ideals and messages without being so goddamn heavy-handed with it but this chick, and her “writer’s group.” can’t craft a story to save their lives. That’s the problem here. Not Rey or Finn or Poe. Not Holdo or Rose Tico. Not even Snoke. It’s how these characters were presented, it’s how the writing shaped them. I’ve written at length about how Rey was a missed opportunity and, according to the original leaked treatment, that misstep was more like an outright face-plant The Rey that was to grow throughout the Sequel trilogy, culminating in a battle between a fully realized, Jedi Knight Rey and a fully realized Sith Lord Ren, should have been the Last Jedi we got. Instead, we got what we got and it shattered the credibility of the entire franchise. Star Wars, the most successful franchise in cinematic history until the MCU came through, was on life support. Forty years of solid, narrative storytelling, ancillary material, and fan passion, squandered because the chick in charge wanted to instill everything with her identity politics, using something she had no creative credit toward, co-opting the shine of another, to secure her legacy. And she did just that; Kathleen Kennedy was the person who almost killed Star Wars. Kennedy’s legacy of failure, secure. But then, a new hope. Jon Favreau, the progenitor of the MCU, stepped forward and saved Star Wars with his show, The Mandalorian.

John Favreau is a great creator. Dude not only gave us Iron Man, but Chef, Swingers, and Elf. He gets the content but, more than anything, Favreau understands how to craft a goddamn story. He was appointed to The Mandalorian and given creative control by, at the time, CEO of Disney, Bob Iger. Favreau, in partnership with the genius pariah, Dave Filoni, architect of Star Wars: Clone Wars, Rebels, and the best f*cking character created in the modern era, Ahsoka Tano. With theses two at the helm, Mando returned to the true essence of a Star Wars tale. They created their own pocket universe, one with the evolution of the Mandalorian culture and sprinkled with shenanigans of an adorable, and marketable, Baby Yoda. That first season gave us amazing characters like Din Djaran, Cara Dune, Greef Kaga, and Moff Gideon. That first season of Mando saved the franchises and that is not an exaggeration. It felt like Star Wars. The characters were rich and developed. More than anything, the stories told were absolutely excellent. The funny thing about that? Mando isn’t expected to succeed like it did. No, everyone, including Kennedy, thought it was going to fail. She fought, tooth and nail, against what Favreu was trying to created, sabotaging him at every turn. But he was able to complete his show and the fandom received it with utmost fervor, eclipsing anything Kennedy and her idealouges every created. Then season two dropped.

I’m not going to sit her and say that the narrative for Season two was better than the first. It wasn’t. But that’s because season two of The Mandalorian was a love letter to the fans. Favreau and Filoni had a hit on their hands with Mando and, more importantly, they made Star Wars profitable again. This gave the two of them a margin of creative freedom that expanded into something truly marvelous. That second season of Mando was able to dig deep into the lore, introduce fan favorite characters like Ahsoka Tano and Bo-Katan Kreyze, reintroducing Boba Fett while giving him a bad-ass second in Fennec Shand, while expanding the universe for spin-offs and delivery a franchise altering return of a Jedi Knight, Luke Skywalker! Kennedy spent her entire sequel trilogy, discrediting and marginalizing the old trilogy, typified by the complete destruction of Luke in The Last Jedi, only for Mando to overturn, redeem, and empower Luke with a two minute gauntlet of Force awesomeness that rivaled the utter dominance displayed by his father at the end of Rogue One. That tidbit about Vader? Yeah, Kennedy fought against that, too. The Mando came through and proved that fallowing Lucas’ path was the true way of the Star War and Chepek agreed. We now have this entire blueprint of shows birthed from this one season, that will build toward an Avengers-level event. Ahsoka, Rangers of the New Republic, and The Book of Boba Fett will all culminate in a cinematic experience, most likely a theatrical film, based around Thrawn. And, more to the point, people are excited about this sh*t. People are looking forward to this sh*t. People want this sh*t. What they don’t want is more of Kennedy’s politics and bullsh*t hot-takes, masquerading as Star Wars canon. Case in point, the abject failure of The High Republic.

Before Favreau and Filoni came through and saved Star Wars, Kennedy had this entire idea for a full-on Star Wars universe, built upon token diversity and f*cking Space dinosaurs. There was a pitch meeting that showed a literal checklist and story was the third or fourth option. How the f*ck is story not the first thing on the list for an actual narrative you’re writing? Why the f*ck isn’t the Writer’s group, not putting story first, in a narrative they’re constructing by committee? That is the genesis of The High Republic. In the time that Youtube preview hit the fandom with all the force of a wet fart, Mando came through and proved no one wants that sh*t. Then season two came through and rived people want more Luke and more Lucas Star Wars, weeks before The High Republic, the jumping off point for Kennedy’s original vision for “New Star Wars” was supposed to launch. Yeah, that launch ain’t go so well. The High Republic is out, right now, and you can buy it. No one is buying it. They’re all paying for Disney+ memberships to watch Mando sh*t on everything Kennedy has done or will do. Disney announced a whole slate of Star Wars shows and material. One of which is The Acolyte, a spin-off from The High Republic tarring Brie Larson and written by Leslye Headland. The Acolyte is going to bomb for the same reasons The High Republic is bombing; No one wants to be preached to and that’s all these woke, blue hairs, want to do. I know that because they’ve told you as such.

The Force is Female. All of that sh*t with Pablo Hidalgo. The recent controversy of Justina Ireland telling people not to buy The High Republic if they don’t agree with her politics. The fact that Kathleen Kennedy has been trying to get Favreau fired for “sabotaging” her High Republic launch by redeeming Luke and galvanizing the entire fandom. The thing about this, though, is the fact that everything Kennedy has crated, is creatively bankrupt. Everything Favreau and Filoni have built with Mando, has been genuine, organic, and fun. Just to be clear, i actually like Brie Larson. I think she’s an excellent actress with very valid opinions. I think the sh*t she wants to make should be made. I don’t think she should co-opt a long running franchise with decades of lore and a ravenous fandom who are already on the outs with the current management of their beloved franchise. I can’t say i like Headland but i did adore her Netlfix show, Russian Doll. that sh*t was hilarious and dope. I don’t think her type of film making lends itself to Star Wars, however, for he same reason i don’t think Larson should have a show in the fandom either. Having opinions is fine. Installing those opinions in your writing is fine. Installing your opinions in an established property is not fine. You can do that, Back Panther was able to integrate that sh*t successfully, but they did it nuance. It didn’t get clumsy and ridiculous until the end. Kennedy’s writing group started with the awkward preaching. Those weren’t the droids yo were looking for, bro.

Ultimately, The High Republic is going to fail, as will the rest of Kennedy’s Star Wars legacy. Favreau is already working toward altering her most precious OC, Rey Palpatine. There are plans in the works to make her a Kenobi going forward, redeeming the most egregious of Darth Kennedy’s transgressions, something that wouldn’t even be necessary if they had followed the original treatments JJ left for them going forward. Rey Palpatine should have been Rey Skywalker. She should have been Luke’s daughter. She should have been trained by her pops and took that discipline into the final film where she and her cousin would have a proper reckoning. Rey should have been a proper character with an established legacy. Kennedy decided otherwise and in that hubris, she failed. She has failed, not because she is a Femanzi or has an eye toward activism or an agenda to push. Kennedy has failed because she decided to heavy-handedly force those politics down our throats with no nuance or grace, by slighting everything that came before with malicious intent, while bolstering her analogous creations with the worst kind of writing and non-existent development. Favreau succeeded by weaving a compelling tale, that mirrored the Hero’s tale which has been the bread-and-butter of a great Star Wars narrative, filled it with realized characters who became fast fan favorites, staunched in the lore that came before. He respected the genesis and built something great from it, while revering the stuff which came before. Kennedy thought she was bigger than the franchise. Favreau understands he is in service to it. That’s the difference, That’s why Mando is succeeding and The High Republic has been laid low.

[gffa]

ardid replied to your post: Scattered Star Wars thoughts: - I am so close to...

I think the problem with Thrawn: Treason is that the action take place to close to the end of Rebels and Disney here is keeping its cards with too much zeal. I really enjoyed the irony and the parallelisms between the grallocs and the purrgils and my final “feel” about the novel is that the last part Zahn was dividing the pieces (Faro, Ronan, even Savit!) before the true battle (or story). Despite what I said my personal ranking is Thrawn > Treason > Alliances.

I really do agree that I think the biggest problem with Treason--and, frankly, a lot of the books that have come out in the last year, year and a half--is exactly that, that Disney is keeping its cards too close to the vest that nothing can actually happen anymore. Going back to read the books that were put out 4-5 years ago, it’s sort of startling how much actually happens in those books.  Dark Disciple actually told the fates of characters!  Stuff happened in the Aftermath trilogy that affected the major characters and the New Republic!  Bloodline actually gave us concrete info on the story!  Catalyst actually managed to bridge the Clone Wars and the Empire in a way that really helped build up Rogue One!  Phasma was a legitimately interesting background for the character! Compare that to any book that has come out in the last year and the stakes have been massively dropped re: plot.  Even by many of the same authors--Leia: Princess of Alderaan had a fair amount of this (so much less worldbuilding than I was hoping for, for a book about Leia’s younger years, I know so little more about Alderaan than when I started!) and Master and Apprentice had basically zero worldbuilding that had any real impact.  Black Spire continues Vi’s adventures, but it feels so disconnected from the main storyline that I still haven’t been able to finish the last third of it.  The other Galaxy’s Edge stories have all felt like they have even less impact.  (This doesn’t make them inherently bad books, btw, especially since I recognize that this is a thing that’s happening all over the place, re: the lack of much that’s concrete!  I legit enjoyed many of them!) Some books can take this and run with it--Pirate’s Price doesn’t need impact to be a super delightful, fun romp where old faves meet even older faves in hilarious clashes.  Spark of the Resistance is the same, it’s a cute story set between the movies, it’s all about the characters being adorable together.  Alphabet Squadron and books like Join the Resistance or Adventures in Wild Space can tell stories with real stakes about the characters within those novels, set close enough to the action (even if they can’t impact that action) that they work. The problem with Treason is that it gets caught up in the problem a lot of books are facing--they can’t actually set anything into stone when it comes to the big name characters, not even for the OT or even PT characters, in case someone else wants to do something later on down the road.  Thrawn can’t actually go anywhere past the end of Rebels because Filoni hasn’t told us his fate yet.  Leia can’t actually discuss anything about her son’s fall because The Rise of Skywalker might tell that story and The Rise of Kylo Ren hasn’t come out yet. I get that Lucasfilm is in a difficult position here, because they want to keep things as consistent as possible and these stories take years to get told sometimes, but they also want to crank out a lot of books to keep the SW hype going, even while the movies are ongoing.  And no one author probably should be able to totally define a character or place or group or whatever. I don’t have an answer for this and, hell, they’re probably doing a vastly better job of this than I could possibly do--I’m still here and still eagerly picking up the books!  I think part of my dissatisfaction is that, especially for awhile there, there was SO MUCH that was about constantly establishing new characters instead of giving us stories about the characters we already care about.  (And then some about established characters came out and they were lackluster because they were caught up “can’t actually really do anything with the character”.) Treason got a lot of that, it was set at a point in the story where not much explosive plot stuff could even happen, it couldn’t go past the end of Rebels, and it didn’t dig into the characters’ motivations enough to make up for that.  So, I still like it better than Alliances (which I’m mostly cranky about because I had trouble seeing Anakin in the writing, also forever mad about Padme’s role), but until Filoni tells us what happened with Thrawn and Ezra, I’m not sure I’m going to be able to be much more invested in future Thrawn books.  I’ll be happy to be proven wrong, though! And I guess we’ll see if the tone of books changes after authors have some time to incorporate TROS into their writing/are freer to actually make stuff happen.

[starwarshyperdrive]

I’m concerned about the Star Wars canon

I’ve always been a huge Star Wars fan but didn't follow the old EU (extended universe) because it was too convoluted and well.. a bunch of gobbledygook (granted there were some good bits in it, who doesn’t love the Thrawn trilogy even though he is pretty much a different character now), so I actually welcomed the new canon. Start over with a clean slate and make sure everything is connected, makes sense and feels Star Warsy. So far the story group has done a decent job, even though there were some questionable bits and pieces. As hardcore Star Wars fan and apologist I can force myself to get behind a lot of things and I was cool with the Bendu somehow, but the Clone Wars Mortis arc, as well as space whales and the world between worlds really rubbed me the wrong way. A lot of people are celebrating Dave Filoni as savior of the true Star Wars spirit and he is certainly an inspired artist and nice guy but I once again have to wonder whether or not some of the comic bookish stuff REALLY fits the Star Wars universe. Yeah I know ‘it’s a huge universe bla bla’ but do we really have to accept everything?

Someone recently described hardcore fans (such as myself) as a ‘cult’ and Star Wars Celebration to a religious ceremony and if I’m being honest and self-reflective I can’t really argue against it, but that’s also why you always need to check yourself and not just ‘swallow’ everything without questioning it. Keep a critical eye. Things like time travel and other super hero stuff ( I haven’t seen any of the recent Marvel or DC movies) have no place in Star Wars. Of course Star Wars is for everyone, but does that then also mean we need a Star Wars romcom, a Star Wars coming of age movie ..or ..?  I don’t know..porn? Leave that to fan fiction. 

Star Wars was always more about mythology, some sort of buddhist Excalibur and I am seriously concerned that at some point the ‘people in charge’ will forget that and it will become a shallow bubble gum entertainment focus on ‘what is selling at the moment’. A good example are - again - all the super hero movies picking up on trends. I don’t want a Thor Ragnarok Star Wars movie with a Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack. Don’t make everything the same. Keep Star Wars unique. Keep ‘that Star Wars tone’.

‘XY doesn’t UNDERSTAND Star Wars’ is an overused and abused phrase and in so many ways pointless as there are many facets to Star Wars especially now that we have generations of fans who grew up with the prequels, the Clone Wars, Rebels or even Resistance - I should point out that I actually liked Resistance because it’s not tempering with the mythology - but the lore has been laid out in the original trilogy and everything needs to acknowledge that. We cannot have some Terminator-franchise kind of disaster a la ‘Ezra traveled back in time and actually was there with Yoda on Dagobah’ or what not. 

By now it’s common knowledge that - despite what they say - there has been no overall plan for the sequel trilogy, which is quite concerning and feeding into my concerns that it’s all downhill from here (after The Rise of Skywalker and the Mandalorian or course). I know a lot of people who vehemently defended The Last Jedi when it came out, mostly as a reaction to all the stupid hate it got for the wrong reasons and I am one of them myself, but most of them are admitting now that there is something off about the movie. It is written into a corner and not picking up on the clues given in The Force Awakens. It has some amazing scenes and I will keep defending it, but there are some scenes that just don’t feel right and leave a bad aftertaste. I frequently rewatch all the movies and besides Attack of the Clones it’s the only one where I think ‘Now I have to endure THAT bit again’. I go to a lot of Q&A and it’s interesting to see how people who have worked on the movie feel the same. Even if you 100% loved it and it’s your favorite movie ever, let’s be honest - the humor is completely out of place. Fart jokes in The Phantom Menace > Your Mom jokes. And it’s just too long. Of course we all want MORE Star Wars, but where does it end. Would you go and see a 6h movie? If you are a good filmmaker you should be able to say what you want to say in the same about of time as the other movies. But that’s just my personal 2 cents. It just felt like someone who was hellbent on doing his own thing for the sake of doing his own thing and not for the sake of the story. Don’t get me wrong. It was a great idea to (spoiler alert) kill off Snoke that casually, so the movie has redeeming qualities that save it for me. Then again, as a Star Wars fan I WANT to like it. I still watched it 13 times or so. I was in the room for the trailer reveal at SWCO. I want to take ownership and be part of the hardcore fan community, but they shouldn't bank too much on it. I still want a good movie. I’m not gonna be meek and mild about something contradicting the core mythology. Ryan Johnson is allegedly still doing his trilogy and then there is the Benioff and Weiss trilogy. They didn’t exactly do a great job wrapping up Game of Thrones and left fans in awe about how the show ended and have not really proven that they can handle a franchise well either. Will all off them have free rein and just go to town on a Star Wars story as they please? Am I the only one who finds this a bit odd?!

I trust JJ Abrams to do the right thing and I hope my trust is not misplaced. I think the allegations of The Force Awakens being a A New Hope reboot are misplaced as there are also a lot of similarities to The Phantom Menace, so.. if you’re a fan you know what comes next.. ‘it rhymes, it’s like poetry’. So it makes sense. So I think ‘he gets it’..

My main concern in the new canon overall. I made an effort to get all the publications of the new canon, but the books and comics already started to get weird again. Star Wars always had a slight alien but yet familiar vibe and some stories feature people smoking cigars, drinking coffee in the morning and doing other stuff never depicted in Star Wars before. How long until someone gets a Star Wars burger at Star Wars McDonalds or orders Star Wars pizza while watching Star Wars HoloNetflix. I’m sorry. That’s ridiculous. It’s not automatically Star Wars just because you use Star Wars terminology like death sticks or Nerf steaks. Watch the movies and make an effort.

 And now the novelizations of the movies are apparently not considered ‘hard canon’ anymore because the authors didn’t know the direction the next movies are going, so the clues and hints may be completely useless. So why do I force myself through some really not very good books then (others are great, no generalization here)? That’s quite alarming. Wasn’t the entire reason they got a story group to avoid that? What’s with all the loose ends?  That's also why I think they will shy away from using canon characters in the movies (for the most part). Its easier to have a self contained canon universe where you can introduce Purge Troopers in a comic and then have them in a video game. I once read an interview with one of the Star Wars authors who invented a character and then got told ‘give him that name / make him this person’ instead of having this particular character in mind from the start. This is how you lose consistency. I’m well aware that over hundreds and thousands of years that’s EXACTLY how ancient history was written, which is why there are flood legends all over the world and why Jesus and Mithras are pretty much the same person, but they DID NOT HAVE A STORY GROUP and ancient mythology hasn’t been written over a course of a few years.

At the same time it’s interesting how there seem to be purists who are very determined to bring that original Star Wars vibe back. Like Jon Favreau with The Mandalorian. And like I said earlier about Resistance. Its so much easier to do that if you stay away from the mythology. It’s really tricky and so much could go wrong. The stuff introduced in Rogue One like Guardians of the Whills and the temple of Kyber is a perfect example how it’s done. Some of the stuff in the Clone Wars and Rebels is the complete opposite, so I’m really curious to see how Dave Filonis involvement in The Mandalorian pans out. He is really great with stuff like Mandalorians, Clones and I even came to accept Ashoka after reading the book and seeing her all grown up as Fulcrum, but I’m very skeptical when it comes to his ‘mystical side of the force’ interpretations.

In conclusion I know that I sound like a preacher and George Lucas repeatedly stated it’s ‘just for 10 year old kids’ but tell that to all the dead Bothans.

Please just don’t ruin Star Wars.

[littlebitwriter]

12 DAYS OF STAR WARS: AN ORIGINAL FANBOY-DRIVEN BLOG SERIES “EPISODE 5: INFINITIES: WHAT IF BRUCE TIMM AND PAUL DINI MADE A STAR WARS ANIMATED SERIES”

What struck this idea I have expressed in the title, was when I glanced on Paul Dini’s Wookieepedia page his opening quote says "After a few years working staff and freelance for various studios in LA, I got the opportunity to work on some Saturday Morning Star Wars-based series for Lucasfilm. The restrictions were very tight on animation, and while I enjoyed working at beautiful Skywalker Ranch in Marin County, I was sorry we were not able to cut loose and really do a Star Wars-style action show. I got my wish years later when I scripted several episodes of the new Clone Wars series, so I guess it all evened out."

This made me think ‘what if’ Paul Dini and his comrade Bruce Timm who both have worked on Batman: The Animated Series in the 1990s made a Star Wars show for Disney +. I know this sounds ridiculous and crazy and probably would never happen but it would be such a dream come true for not only me but for these two creators. Both of these creators always wanted to tell stories set in a galaxy, far far away sadly for Timm he almost had the opportunity in a Star Wars comic but it sadly didn’t happen. As opposed to Paul Dini who got to work on the Ewoks and Droids series as well as the modern-day Clone Wars cartoon but ‘what if’ Dini got to write this action-packed Star Wars show featuring the original cast from the Original Trilogy filling in the gaps between A New Hope or Empire Strikes Back, or Empire Strikes Back and Return of The Jedi, or post Return of The Jedi potentially adapting the classic Thrawn trilogy or the iconic comic Dark Empire in animation or possibly taking the best of each of the storylines and doing their own thing with it. This would be the same model as they produced the DC Animated Universe shows of Batman, Superman, Batman Beyond, Justice League, etc. where they took what made the iconic characters and lore so great and did new and exciting things and delivered top-notch storytelling. What if now Paul Dini and Bruce Timm worked on an animated Star Wars show with the OT characters we all know and love. However doing it potentially with an all-new voice cast which I’m sure people would not be happy with but it is what it is.

My dream cast for the series would have Will Friedle (the voice of Terry McGinnis in Batman Beyond) as Luke Skywalker, magnificent voice actress Tara Strong as Princess Leia Organa-Solo, Josh Keaton (The Spectacular Spider-Man, Green Lantern) or Nathan Fillion (Malcolm Reynolds in Firefly) as Han Solo. I think that cast as the triad of Original Trilogy characters with the writing of Paul Dini and Bruce Timm would make for a great Star Wars experience.

Imagine a writer’s room with Paul Dini, Bruce Timm, Dave Filoni, Glen Marikami, Christopher Yost, Eric T. Carrasco, etc. You have the makings of a freaking amazing Star Wars animated series called none other than Star Wars: The Animated Series. Doing seasons of the show that explore the gaps between the movies (like the Marvel Star Wars comics) and moving beyond the OT exploring the adventures of Han, Luke and Leia during the time of The Mandalorian to pave way for the Sequel Trilogy of films (2015-2019). In my mind this is an idea I desperately want to happen and I’d love to show run it, “DISNEY, PLEASE, PLEASE CALL ME!” Haha, Don’t worry I’m kidding. In all seriousness Paul Dini, Bruce Timm and company should make a Star Wars cartoon because it would be Emmy Award winning and would potentially be one of my favorite Star Wars things since the OT.

Make it happen Disney :)

- LilBitWriter 12/17/19

[bcbdrums]

Another unpopular opinion

If you’re not into the Star Wars animated universe, stop reading now. If you are, this is about the ending of Rebels.  With a big preamble.

It’s also expected that if you’re reading this, you’ve seen Rebels and will get all the references.  I say that because...I never know when my elementary school students will find my online presence (seriously...I dread the day when a kid comes up to me and says they’ve found me anywhere online).  Moving on...

Let me start by saying I’ve never been a huge Star Wars fan.  Saw the original trilogy when I was age 7, and it was WAY too much for me at that age.  Also didn’t help that we watched it all in one sitting... (Just finished visiting my great grandma, literally walking out the door as she turns the TV on, SW is playing and my dad turns around, walks back in and sits down on the sofa and doesn’t move for the next several hours.  Apparently he hadn’t seen it since it first came out, and this was the 90′s.)  Then Episode I came out when I was 12 years old and, per George Lucas’s direct statements that SW is for 12 year olds...Ep. I is still my favorite to this day.  I quote Jar-Jar regularly.  But that’s a different unpopular opinion and not the topic of this post.

Anyway, Eps II and III came out, watched them, and then SW basically went out of my life.  I didn’t have cable and so even though I was aware of it I couldn’t watch CW on cartoon network.  Fast-forward now to Ep. VII, Rogue One, Ep. VIII, and Solo.  I had the same “it’s a good movie” feeling about VII that I’d had about II and III, I thought Rogue One was better, and then we came to VIII.  As I left the movie theater I realized...I’m not sure if I like this movie (another topic to leave for another day).  But Luke’s death got me a bit fixated on SW in general, so my journey into SW began.

I decided to rewatch EVERYTHING chronologically to decide if I liked Ep. VIII.  Started of course with my fave, Ep. I and went from there.  And then I remembered there was an animated series I had never seen...  I watched CW and I LOVED it.  It’s incredible, and I’m so so excited that it’s coming back, even if for only 12 episodes.  So after CW I watched III, and then realized again...there’s yet another animated series I haven’t seen or really heard anything about.  I looked into Rebels.  And let me tell you, text posts don’t advertise it well.  I expected to hate it based on the written word.  Thought the animation looked stupid based on stills from the show.  But, when I commit to something I do it.  So it was time to watch Rebels.

It took me awhile to get over the lack of animation quality (I prefer CW), but by the end of the pilot episode I was hooked.  Incredible characters, well-acted, well-written, well-developed, and a totally believable world.  Not since Ep. I had I been drawn into the SW universe so completely and loved it so much.  So, it went on.

Sadly I did get spoiled regarding the ending of season 2 due to the SW wiki.  And that terrible spoiling made me swear-off reading about things I want to watch before I watch them.  I will never be spoiled again.  But anyway...as I’m binging this series I realize...it’s not done yet!  It’s still being produced!  And what episodes remain, you ask?  “Jedi Night” was the next one to premiere.

So for the first time in my life I got on Disney XD and watched Jedi Night the day it came out, and the subsequent episodes as well.

And then like anybody who obsesses over fiction, I immediately took to tumblr.  And through the rest of the series I was consistently shocked by the hate and denial pouring out.  Now, I guess I shouldn’t be, since all anyone seems to pour out is hate.  But it was even more shocking to me because really...that ending was great.

We all knew from the beginning that Kanan was doomed.  Even he knew it.  And I don’t mean because of Yoda, I mean because he would have showed up later if he was still around.  It would have been a far worse ending for him to a) be a coward and not continue helping the rebellion, or b) be entirely out of character and only help a tiny group of rebels.  Neither are viable options and are worse, because they would destroy the character we came to love.

We watched Kanan grow over the series.  He got over his hatred of clones, he got over his fear of the universe trying to kill him, AND he actually began believing in the cause and coming back to who he was (a Jedi, in case you forgot).  Seeing him fight for the rebels and actually believe in it for himself, not just because of Hera, was great.  Which brings me to the secondary aspect of his character development--a Jedi in love who does it right.

That’s got to be the best love story I’ve ever seen.  And...there’s nothing else to say about it.  It was perfect.  Well done, Filoni and crew!

So I ask you, should Kanan have regressed into this...universe-fearing, hate-in-his-heart, living-in-denial person, ignoring who he is and either just sticking with one tiny group, OR leaving the rebellion entirely?  It would be entirely out of character.  And realistically doing that would mean leaving Hera as well, because of who HER character is.  She’s in that rebellion for the long haul.  And to change her story and make her...go settle with Kanan somewhere and forget the rebellion (like that clone...the other human who married a twi’lek...some french-sounding name), or again just be in a small part of it...that would be extremely and obviously out of character for Hera.  The whole series is her trying to make the rebellion bigger.  And we know from the finale, she was fighting in Rogue One while pregnant!  There’s no way she would have gone for less.

Point is, for Kanan to have lived would have killed the story because it would have required either he or Hera to be out of character, which is far, far worse than a character getting a hero’s death.

Star Wars has never been a story about happy endings.

Kanan’s death seems to be the biggest thing people hate, but I will briefly mention Ezra and the purrgill.  The entire series has spent deliberate time on his special Force-connection to nature, so the purrgill’s arrival in the finale, while surprising, was more of a... “what!?  oh, of course!” moment for me.  Ezra calling on animals to help is entirely in character for him.

I actually expected Ezra to die, but having his and Thrawn’s fates being unknown is outstanding.  So we do get a bit of a happy ending in that way.

And to those displeased with the fact that the last battle wasn’t Rogue One, well...again, have you really been watching the show?  That wasn’t part of the story for THESE characters.  And what would that have done, really?  We already have another outstanding story in Rogue One.  Making the Rebels characters somehow...instrumental to that story’s success would cheapen the story of Jyn, et al.  And similarly, just putting the Rebels crew there and NOT having them be instrumental is cheapening to them.  These characters needed to end THEIR story, not someone else’s.

For those interested, I continued my SW binge but haven’t yet brought myself to watch Ep. VIII again.  But CW and Rebels I’ve already rewatched twice!  Quality entertainment.  Outstanding acting, and outstanding storytelling.  The Rebels ending was great.  

You’re free to not like something.  But could you talk about it in a way that’s...less hateful and more intelligent?

[aion-rsa]

Star Wars Movie and TV Release Date Calendar

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

The future of Star Wars is secure. The end of the Skywalker Saga didn’t mean the end of the story of the galaxy far, far away. It just meant countless new possibilities, both on the big and small screens. In fact, Disney has already announced more than a dozen live-action and animated projects that explore other corners of the Star Wars universe, from adventures starring the brave X-wing pilots and clone troopers on the front lines of countless wars to tales of bounty hunters and even the Sith. And plenty more in between!

This post is where we’ll keep track of all the upcoming Star Wars movie and TV releases as they’re announced and release dates are set. Hit the links in each entry to read articles that tell you more about what you need to know about all these new Star Wars adventures!

Stream your Star Wars favorites right here!

First up are the movies but scroll down for TV release dates…

Upcoming Star Wars Movies

Rogue Squadron

December 22, 2023

Director: Patty Jenkins

Disney confirmed during an Investors Day presentation in Dec. 2020 that the first Star Wars movie to follow The Rise of Skywalker is Rogue Squadron, a movie that “will introduce a new generation of starfighter pilots as they earn their wings and risk their lives in a boundary-pushing, high-speed thrill-ride, and move the saga into the future era of the galaxy.”

Wonder Woman‘s Patty Jenkins will direct, making her the first woman to helm a Star Wars movie. We’re very excited about this!

Read more about Rogue Squadron here.

Untitled Taika Waititi Star Wars Movie

TBA

Director: Taika Waititi

Writer: Taika Waititi and Krysty Wilson-Cairns

After his stint directing (and voice acting) on The Mandalorian, Taika Waititi will return for a big screen offering!

“Taika’s approach to Star Wars will be fresh, unexpected, and…unique,” said Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy in a statement in 2020. “His enormous talent and sense of humor will ensure that audiences are in for an unforgettable ride.”

There’s very little in the way of actual details right now, not even a release date yet, but we’ll be keeping a careful eye on this as it develops.

Untitled Kevin Feige Star Wars Movie

TBA

Writer: Michael Waldron

Marvel Cinematic Universe steward Kevin Feige has been the last decade building a multi-billion-dollar superhero blockbuster powerhouse for Disney, so it’s no surprise the House of Mouse is giving the producer a crack at its other big sci-fi franchise. Feige is developing a new Star Wars movie with Kathleen Kennedy, and Loki creator and head writer is penning the script. And that’s all we know about this sure-to-be-massive Star Wars picture.

Untitled J.D. Dillard Star Wars Movie

TBA

Director: J.D. Dillard

Writer: Matt Owens

Reports of a new Star Wars movie from Sleight director J.D. Dillard and Luke Cage writer Matt Owens first hit the internet in Feb. 2020. We don’t know much about this movie or when it’ll premiere. Could this be an exclusive Disney+ movie?

Read more about this movie here.

Rian Johnson’s Star Wars Trilogy

TBA

As far as we know, The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson is still working on his own Star Wars trilogy. All we know about these movies is that they will take place in previously unexplored areas of the Star Wars universe, and will kick off a brand new saga of films completely unrelated to the Skywalker story. We wrote in more detail about what that might mean for the franchise right here.

On the other hand, maybe Johnson’s recent comments about what a mistake it is to pander to fans are an indication that his relationship with Disney has soured. He also happens to be working on multiple sequels for a little franchise called Knives Out. Those are probably taking up a bit of his time, no? Read more about this new Star Wars trilogy here.

Upcoming Star Wars TV Shows

After the success of The Mandalorian, it should come as no surprise that there are way more Star Wars TV series coming to Disney+ in the next few years. Here’s what you have to look forward to…

Visions

Sept. 22, 2021

Animation Studios: Kamikaze Douga, Geno Studio, Studio Colorido, Trigger, Kinema Citrus, Science Saru, and Production IG

This new anime anthology series is one of the most unique Star Wars projects yet. Lucasfilm has brought in several big Japanese animation companies to produce their own takes on the galaxy far, far away. The nine short film collected in Visions cover many different corners of the universe, from tales about the Jedi and Sith to the adventures of a cute little droid, each with its own distinct art style. Boba Fett is in there, too! More like this, please.

Lego Star Wars Terrifying Tales

Oct. 1, 2021

Director: Ken Cunningham

Writer: David Shayne

Starring: Jake Green as Poe Dameron; Raphael Alejandro as Dean; Dana Snyder as Graballa the Hutt; Tony Hale as Vaneé; Christian Slater as Ren; Trevor Devall as Emperor Palpatine; and Mary Elizabeth McGlynn as NI-L8

Loved last year’s Lego Star Wars Holiday Special and want more of that, please? No? Too bad. We’re getting more Lego Star Wars shenanigans this year, but this time Poe and BB-8 must confront the spooky season. The premise actually doesn’t sound all that bad: after the events of The Rise of Skywalker, Poe and his trusty droid must make an emergency landing on the volcanic planet of Mustafar, where they’ll venture deep into Darth Vader’s old castle and encounter and ancient evil that must be stopped. Could be good!

The Book of Boba Fett

Christmas 2021

Executive Producers: Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni & Robert Rodriguez

Starring: Temuera Morrison, Ming-Na Wen

Boba Fett is back and getting his own spin-off series set within the timeline of The Mandalorian. The show will also star Boba’s new partner, the deadly assassin Fennec Shand!

The Book of Boba Fett has wrapped filming and is slated to premiere in Christmas 2021. Robert Rodriguez, who directed Boba Fett’s return in The Mandalorian season 2, will exec produce alongside Favreau and Filoni.

The Mandalorian Season 3

2022

Executive Producers: Jon Favreau & Dave Filoni

Starring: Pedro Pascal, Carl Weathers, Gina Carano, Katee Sackhoff

The Mandalorian season 3 went into pre-production in 2020 and is set to film in Fall 2021, now that work on The Book of Boba Fett is complete. That means we won’t see this one until the second half of 2022 at the earliest.

The Bad Batch Season 2

2022

Director: Brad Rau

Writers: Jennifer Corbett & Matt Michnovetz

The Bad Batch is set directly after the events of Order 66. The rise of the Empire has led to the destruction of the Jedi, and as we learned in the first action-packed season, the imminent end of the clone army. Grand Moff Tarkin wants to replace the clones with a new, more obedient human army and Clone Force 99 isn’t too happy about it. Now on the run from the new galactic order, Hunter, Tech, Wrecker, Echo, and new member Omega must find their new place in a galaxy that no longer seems to want them.

The first season ended on a massive cliffhanger that could have huge implications for storylines coming up in the live-action universe. We can’t wait to see what season 2 has in store.

Read more about The Bad Batch here.

Obi-Wan Kenobi

2022

Director: Deborah Chow

Writer: Hossein Amini, Joby Harold

Starring: Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen, Moses Ingram, Joel Edgerton, Bonnie Piesse, Kumail Nanjiani, Indira Varma, Rupert Friend, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Sung Kang, Simone Kessell, and Benny Safdie

Ewan McGregor is finally returning to the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi in a series set between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. The Jedi Master has settled into his life as an exile on Tatooine, where he’s watching over Luke Skywalker from afar. Will his next adventure take him off-world or is he going to have to protect a defenseless village from raiders Toshiro Mifune style?

Here’s what we know about the plot: “The series begins 10 years after the dramatic events of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith where he faced his greatest defeat, the downfall and corruption of his best friend and Jedi apprentice, Anakin Skywalker turned evil Sith Lord Darth Vader.”

Hayden Christensen is returning to play Vader, which is very exciting!

Andor

2022

Writer: Tony Gilroy

Starring: Diego Luna, Alan Tudyk, Genevieve O’Reilly, Stellan Skarsgard, Denise Gough, Kyle Stoller

There’s a Rogue One spinoff series starring Rebel secret agent Cassian Andor coming to Disney+! According to the press release, “The rousing spy thriller will explore tales filled with espionage and daring missions to restore hope to a galaxy in the grip of a ruthless Empire.” This sounds very good.

This series was set to film in early 2020, but Covid-19 pandemic delayed the show. It finally wrapped filming in August 2021.

The Acolyte

TBA

Executive Producer & Writer: Leslye Headland

Russian Doll co-creator Leslye Headland is developing a new series called The Acolyte, which is set during the High Republic era, a time period that predates even The Phantom Menace. The series is said to be “female-centric” and seems to be a darker Star Wars story than what we’re used to seeing on screen.

Lucasfilm describes the show as “a mystery-thriller that will take the audience into a galaxy of shadowy secrets and emerging dark side powers in the final days of the High Republic era.” Sounds intriguing!

We have some theories as to what the show could be about here.

Ahsoka

TBA

Executive Producers: Jon Favreau & Dave Filoni

Writer: Dave Filoni

Starring: Rosario Dawson

Described as a limited series that continues the story of Ahsoka Tano after the events of The Mandalorian season 2 episode “The Jedi,” Ahsoka will likely bring the beloved hero one step closer to finding her missing Jedi friend Ezra Bridger and taking down Grand Admiral Thrawn once and for all.

Rangers of the New Republic

TBA

Executive Producers: Jon Favreau & Dave Filoni

We don’t know anything about this show except that it’s set within The Mandalorian timeline and will “intersect with future stories and culminate into a climactic story event.” It sounds like Star Wars may be on its way to having its first big TV crossover.

That said, recent reports suggest this show’s been put on hold due to the dismissal of Gina Carano, who was said to star on the show as Republic marshal Cara Dune. At the very least, it’ll likely be a while before we finally see this one.

Lando

TBA

Writer: Justin Simien

The smoothest scoundrel in the galaxy is finally getting his own event series on Disney+. It’s currently unclear whether this series will follow the younger Lando played by Donald Glover or the original one played by Billy Dee Williams. Maybe it’ll star both?!

A Droid Story

TBA

This animated TV movie will follow C-3PO and R2-D2 as well as introduce a new hero to the Star Wars galaxy. That’s all we know at the moment!

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