#( plays seasons of love by rosario dawson )

[lyriumsings]

mandalorian was surprisingly underwhelming tbh idk it just doesn’t have the same gravity as the first two seasons i don’t hate it at all but you can clearly see it’s kind of meandering in the name of offshooting more content off of it

[grifonecoronato]

Let the Characters on Ahsoka Season 2 Express Emotions!

(spoilers for Ahsoka, Season 1)

I enjoyed Ahsoka season 1 overall, but I have a major gripe with its directorial style.

Simply put, the performances are so needlessly wooden! This is not the actor's fault, mind you... it's the fault of the directors and showrunner.

In fact, even Rosario Dawson expressed hope that she could show more emotion in Season 2, saying:

"I think I'm hoping that there's some levity and some lightness that can kind of come to her. I really liked that kind of spunky energy she had when she first came on the scene. I know that rubbed some people the wrong way, but I really dug that. Natasha very much has that spirit and form. So, I would really like to be able to play with that a little bit." -- Dawson, FAN EXPO Canada, Toronto, 2024

I agree with Dawson. And as a case study, let's examine Sabine's reunification with Ezra.

But before we get to the reunion, let's summarise what Sabine had gone through up until then...

1. Sabine's Life Sucks

When the series starts, Sabine is in a low place in her life. She lives alone in Ezra's comunications tower outside the capital city on Lothal, with only her cat to keep her company.

All of Sabine's blood relatives are dead.

Sabine's chosen family -- the Spectres -- have either died (Kanan), are presumed dead (Ezra), or moved on with their lives, and now serve the New Republic (Hera as a General, Chopper as her trusty homicidal droid companion, and Zeb as part of the New Republic Starfighter Corp).

Sabine holds out hope that Ezra still lives, somehow. But the trail has largely gone cold.

She tried to move on with her life, and dabbled in Jedi training under Ahsoka's tutelage, but that was unsuccessful.

(side note: Ahsoka failing to train Sabine shatters both women's confidence, and is the reason she refuses to train Grogu during the events of the Mandalorian)

And then, one fateful day, Ahsoka returns with something that could point the way to Ezra's whereabouts!

2. Sabine Sacrifices So Much...

So what does Sabine do...?

She solves the map puzzle that reveals Ezra's location...

...gets into her first lightsaber fight (which she loses)...

...recovers...

...survives a space battle...

...gets into another lightsaber battle (which ends in a draw this time)...

...watches Ahsoka die...

...and makes a fateful choice to give the map to the enemy...

...is then taken to a another galaxy and meets her enemy Thrawn...

...fights raiders...

...before finally... FINALLY... reuniting with Ezra.

3. ...But It's All Worth It ... Right?

And yet, all they do is exchange two quippy lines, some bashful smiles and share a warm-yet-restrained hug...

That's it?!

Quips, smiles, and a restrained hug?!?!? After all that, she finally gets her prize... and all she gives are ℚ𝙪𝙞𝓅𝙨, 𝒔𝘮𝙞𝗹𝗲𝑠, 𝒶𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝒓𝗲𝔰𝕥𝘳𝘢𝙞𝑛𝖊𝔡 𝓱𝚞𝘨?!?!?

Natasha Liu Bordizzo is a good actress, don't get me wrong. I love her as Sabine and I know she's capable of so much. But she was given direction to be understated and play it cool.

And that was a huge mistake.

And I know that it was a directorial / showrunner note to play it that way because we get the exact same scene mirrored when Ezra and Hera are reunited at the end!!

Mother-figure and the youngest member of her pack, casually meandering toward each other after one of them was presumed dead... y'know, as you do...

4. Let Your Actors Show Some Emotion, Please!

If I were in Sabine's shoes, I would imagine the weight of the entire galaxy would be on my shoulders as I made one sacrifice after the next for the chance -- not the certainty, but the mere chance -- that it would all be worth it because I'd be reunited with my brother-in-arms.

And when it finally happened and I see him alive and well, that burden would have been lifted immediately.

I imagine I'd probably break down in tears or something. I know I'd give a much tighter, borderline aggressive and desperate hug, rather than the sort of familial greeting I offer the relatives I only sort of like at yearly events.

This was a momentous occasion! It was the absolute worst time to ask the actors to show restraint and play it cool.

[im-a-mess-that-works]

Episode 5 of the Ahsoka series was the best episode so far plot wise. I give that well deserved credit to Anakin. The plot and the music was great. Seriously. The. Music. Though. Like. Ahhhh

I loved Huyang confirming Jacen has a connection to the force. As well as, Huyang’s conversation with Hera on the ship when he called Anakin intense (He’s not wrong). Then Ahsoka reuniting with them was great. I enjoyed the part where Jacen asked Huyang if he could train him and tell him how to build a lightsaber then Huyang saying no. It was a funny moment. I always enjoyed seeing the purgills (or as the whovian in me calls them Star Whales. It doesn’t help that David Tennant voices Huyang)

My favorites part was seeing Anakin. Both in the World Between Worlds and the flashback. It was nice to see Hayden as Clone Wars Anakin. The lightsaber fight was great between Anakin and Ahsoka!

The transition between the World Between Worlds and Ahsoka in the water was very well done visually.

My only complaint again is Rosario Dawson as Ahsoka. (I’m going to complain about this for forever. They should’ve just had Ashley Eckstein play her). Other than not looking like her, her acting hasn’t been good either. I did think she did a really good job right after being rescued when she called out for Anakin though. So, maybe there’s hope for me to see her as Ahsoka. I can get over her not looking like Ahsoka if her acting is good. I also thought the actress for the younger Ahsoka looked more like a younger Rosario than a younger Ahsoka. Honestly, they both felt like a different character rather than Ahsoka.

Also, Ahsoka needs to be a brighter orange and the pattern on Hera’s lekku could be more prominent.

I just wish this series was animated instead. It would fix everything for me. I hope if they do anymore of this story after this season that it’s in an animated format. I actually prefer it in general. I think it flows better.

[mtab2260]

Hearing the sounds of the comlinks, Hera's blaster, Ryder's voice, all those little things

And seeing the shots of the grass with the tower in the distance and the loth-cats popping their heads up. As well as the gallus-looking shots of Sabine riding her speeder bike, Ahsoka's shuttle coming in...

Things may be different and the live-action with actor changes may just feel wrong just because it isn't what we know, but know that it still is the Ghost Crew and the Rebels sequel Dave promised us five years ago. It is still written and directed by the Lord and Savor Dave Filoni. It may not look the same or feel it on the outside, but it is. It is still the show we all love.

Just like with Rosario Dawson playing Ahsoka, there will be an adjustment period with Sabine, Hera, and Ezra but by the end of the season it won't be as wrong feeling, you know?

[tears-that-heal]

HUZZAH!!! I finally completed watching the Clone Wars series! It took me quite awhile since my life has so busy lately. I know, I'm so behind the times, too. Lol 😜 It really doesn't matter tho. I'm just seriously even more an Ashoka fan, now! It was her debut on The Mandalorian series that truly captured my attention, which lead me to watch the AHSOKA series. It was super great casting Rosario Dawson to play the role, and she did an excellent job. ❤️

I'll be starting the Star Wars Rebels series next, which I've been most eager to watch. I now even more wish George Lucas held onto the rights for the Star Wars Universe. Walt Disney Company; Bob Iger truly ruined the love and lore of this wonderful sci-fi franchise with their last three feature films. There's still Hope for further redemption with the success of The Mandalorian series and possibly more awesome Stars Wars series to come. I personally want to see a Season 2 of AHSOKA! 😉 Lol

[nakedmonkey]

Okay okay okay. Imagine. You're getting your first chance to be a showrunner/exec on an HBO level show. Big budget. You have basically carte blanche to cast anyone in any roles. First season. Who are your absolute dream actors you'd want guest on your show, regardless of the role but you can also write a character for that particular actor if you wanna. Who'd you pick? Like, top 5-10 and why?

This kind of popped into my head when I kept thinking how certain director/producers/casting director clearly have like their "fevs" that they keep casting in everything they do or actors they are fans/friends of so they can cast them in something tiny/cameo (hello Jodie Foster in X-Files as the voice of that tattoo aslkdajlk). Shit like that.

OMG Jiggles...the ACTUAL dream. First of all that Jodie Foster thing....lolol insane

I've actually talked to my gf about this before, and honestly, I've always dreamed of doing an anthology series that explores different queer relationships, particularly queer women, both historical and fictional, some even a blend of the two. I think we're all fascinated by The Sewing Circle of it all when it comes to Old Hollywood, and classic literature queers, and who was hooking up with who--at least I am, and it would be so cool to get to see that on screen.

For example, I love the story Chavela Vargas tells in her documentary about hooking up with Ava Gardner, and about her thing with Frida Kahlo. Realistically, this type of show would get sued so quick so it would be next to impossible to make, but if' we're dreaming...

I have considered it being like themed seasons to have a more streamlined presentation, but I think jumping from era to era from one episode to the other, while also having, say, episode 1 be about Chavela Vargas hooking up with Ava Gardner at Liz Taylor's wedding, and then episode two being about a fictional couple played by Gillian Anderson and T'Nia Miller who are about to get a divorce, would also be cool, and it would kind of cement the real theme, which is, we're all just messy people in messy relationships, and ultimately, the real theme is human connection. I literally would just pair up my favorites and put them in Situations.

Here are just some of my dream pairings, in no particular order:

Gillian Anderson x TNia Miller Christina Hendricks x Rosario Dawson Viola Davis x Elizabeth Debicki (I'll never get over Widows) Toni Collette x Merritt Wever Wunmi Mosaku x Abbey Lee Sarah Snook x Dagmara Dominczyk Lucy Liu x Zoey Deutch (if you saw that one movie they were in together you'll get it) Cush Jumbo x Audra McDonald (i've been watching The Good Fight and I just think they should kiss)

I could go on and on, but you get it. Give me a limitless budget and my choice of cast and I'd be unstoppable.

[britesparc]

Weekend Top Ten #598

Top Ten Star Wars Droids

I wanted to do something this week to commemorate the release of Ahsoka, the brand new Star Wars TV series about, er, Ahsoka. She’s the padawan who was trained by Anakin and who ended up leaving the Jedi Order just in time to not be massacred by, er, Anakin. And she’s popped up in live-action in The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett, played by Rosario Dawson. And now she’s back! In her own show! Which hopefully won’t require me to have watched a trillion episodes of Clone Wars and Rebels to understand its various nuances. Because, er, I haven’t.

Anyway: Star Wars. I’ve written a little bit before how the bloom’s come off the rose for me, and how I’m just not very arsed anymore about anything to do with a galaxy far, far away. Having said that, I’m still quite excited about Ahsoka, even though the last time I was really excited was for the slightly disappointing Obi-Wan Kenobi, which left me wondering if I could ever feel the way I felt about the second season of Mando ever again. But Ahsoka has more Hot Jedi Action and David Tennant as a droid.

Which brings me to this week’s list. Because I do love Star Wars; the history and mythology and the breadth of the films and spin-offs. And I think one of the things it does really, really well is Give Good Droid. Here’s a fun aside: Star Wars owns the term “droid”, which I just figured was short for “android”, but is technically a Star Wars Term. Anyway, Star Wars has the best of all kinds of robots, which is quite a claim to make for a Transformers fan. I think what seals the deal is how weird, outlandish, and varied they are; not just valve-headed automatons, you’ve got men-in-suit type dealios, but also humanoid robots that are impossible – hollow-limbed, skinny, composed of irregular shapes; droids that could only be droids. Then you’ve got a variety of bucket-headed contraptions, clunking around on stubby legs or wheeling about; beeping, whirring little suckers. Then there are teeny tiny things, or spider-legged things, or flying things; all sorts of robotic buddies. It makes for a wild and wacky universe, and helps sell not just the fantastical nature of Star Wars, but also the in-universe ordinariness of these things.

So this is a list of my favourite droids from Star Wars. Mostly the films, coz I’ve not really watched much of the animated series.

And, for the record, I do actually think Ahsoka looks pretty ace.

C-3PO and R2-D2: yes, of course I’m cheating and sticking them together; how could I not? Long before those two women whose names nobody knew kissed for eighteen frames of Rise of Skywalker, we had the franchise’s premier gay couple; the bickering old marrieds of Artoo and Threepio. Like a classic British sitcom double-act, Threep’s all hifalutin and priggish and big-headed; whilst his cooler, cockier other half is the real brains of the outfit. But despite their contrasting personalities and temper tantrums, there is genuine love and affection between the pair; so much so that it make the franchise’s treatment of droids feel incredibly dark.  

K-2SO: a bandy-legged, towering figure, a former “bad droid” programmed to be good but still with a rather dour demeanour. His deadpan hatred of Jyn Erso and matter-of-fact pronouncements of doom is a source of great humour, so when he does eventually show her affection it means something; his heroic sacrifice is the throat-lumpiest moment in a movie full of sad, tragic, early deaths.

B1-series Battle Droids: I’m trying to stick to individual droids but that can’t always happen; here we have the whole lot of them, those beige “Roger, Roger” dudes with their adorably droopy faces, silly walks, and delightfully clanky sound effects. I just adore them; they really took a technology that couldn’t have existed (CG characters) to make something that felt of a piece with the old, classic Star Wars universe. They were funny but also felt like a threat; the moment they unfurl from their troop carrier has real menace. Shout out, too, to their bigger brothers, the B2, with their mean-looking sunken heads and gun-arms.

L3-37: a droid with a circular head, a real sense of character, and perhaps a bit of a delusion (or perhaps not…?). Like Alan Tudyk’s Kaytoo and Athony Daniels’ Threepio, there’s a lot to love here due to the droid’s performer; Elthree feels so Phoebe Waller-Bridge. She’s funny but also adds a lot of pathos to the film, with her championing of droid rights and (again) her tragic demise. She gets to live on as, essentially, the Millennium Falcon, which is pretty cool. But at the end of the day, it’s her weirdly sexual relationship with Lando that earns her a spot; although thinking about it, everyone’s relationship with Lando is weirdly sexual.

DUM-series Pit Droids: again with the entire series, but what’s not to love about these flat-headed collapsible robo-Stooges? Dorky little dudes who get into fights, carry heavy loads, and generally dick about causing a mess. They were funny in Phantom Menace and – if anything – even funnier on Mando. I just think they’re neat.

IG-11: another one of the newer droids, and another one who’s greatness may just be down to the really cool actor playing him. But we get a few different shades here; the murder-bot whose only function is to kill; and the nurture bot who will do anything to protect his charge. Again, he’s a droid who bows out tragically, but then – sort of – comes back again. And he remains funny and deadpan, his every deliverance in a soft, staccato Kiwi accent. It’s a bit gross that they used his body as a statue though.

R4-P17: perhaps an obscure one, but I adore her; she’s Obi-Wan Kenobi’s ill-fated little astromech droid, popping up in his Jedi starfighter to help guide him round the galaxy, release a tray of pots and pans to confuse Jango Fett, and transmit a message to the Jedi Council care of “the Old Folk’s Home”, something I’ve found intriguing and delightful since 2002. She has to put up with Obi-Wan’s grumpiness and – frankly – his dose of droid-racism, as well as living in the shadow of Anakin’s droid, Artoo. She dies tragically, too, decapitated by a buzz droid; it’s not played quite as heroically as some of these other droids.

EV-9D9 and 8D8: another couple; and I may be wrong (can’t be arsed trawling Wookieepedia) but I think they may actually be a couple, too. Anyway, these are also a touch obscure, but they’re Jabba the Hutt’s fantastic torture-droids. EV (Eevee?) is the red one with the cool flappy mouth who checks Artoo and Threepio in when Luke “gives” them to Jabba; “you’re a feisty one, but you’ll soon learn some respect”. 8D, meanwhile, is the lanky white one who’s cruelly burning a Gonk Droid and pulling the arms off a protocol droid. Together, they’re an ace pair of metal bastards; and I had both toys. Yay for torture!

GNK Power Droids: Gonk Droids; these are Gonk Droids. They’re massive cuboid things with fat little square feet, farting about in slow motion making stupid comedy sounds. Apparently they’re mobile power batteries, but who cares? They’re just a box on (short) legs, with no distinguishing features, and they make a silly noise and I love them to bits.

MSE-6 series Mouse Droids: ah, of course; how could we forget the remote-controlled toasters? Talk about your world-building, the fact that these tiny shoeboxes on wheels were tear-arsing around the Death Star corridors, utterly ignored by everyone, was another major facet in establishing the lived-in nature of this universe; these kinds of small, everyday droids were utterly commonplace. They also make a funny noise, and get scared when a Wookiee roars at them, and they’re just delightful.

Blimey, ten droids already! And that’s with me cheekily sticking some together in one entry. I know what you’re all thinking: no BB-8, what a travesty. But really I’m more gutted I couldn’t find room for one of those exploding Imperial probe droids; or even better, R5-D4, the little astromech who blows a gasket in A New Hope leading to Uncle Owen buying Artoo instead. I once read a story where Arfive was the first droid to develop the Force, and he foresaw the need for Artoo to be placed with Luke, and so heroically sacrificed himself. Anyway, he turned up again in Mando, so he can’t have been too poorly. So yeah: top droids. Sorry, BB.

[theultimatefan]

Chevy Chase, Fellow ‘National Lampoon’s Vacation’ Stars to Attend FAN EXPO Philadelphia

The Griswold family may not have been able to enjoy Walley World as planned (spoiler alert!) but the stars of National Lampoon’s Vacation are set to have a great time greeting fans, posing for photo ops, signing autographs and conducting interactive Q&As at FAN EXPO Philadelphia, set for May 3-5 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. Chevy Chase (“Clark”), Beverly D’Angelo (“Ellen”), Randy Quaid (“Cousin Eddie”) and Dana Barron (“Audrey”) will make their new “family” trip to Center City Philadelphia a memorable one for fans of the 1983 hit and its sequels.

Chase transitioned from a writer to one of the breakout on-camera stars on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” in its first season in 1975-76, moving on to films like Caddyshack and Foul Play before the original Vacation, Fletch (1985) and National Lampoon’s European Vacation (1985) and Three Amigos (1986) made him one of the most prolific leads of the 1980s. He continued that success into the next decade with several new iterations of the Vacation franchise as well as family films like Man of the House and Snow Day. Chase also found new audiences with a run as a regular on the series “Community.”

D’Angelo has more than 130 film and TV roles on her resume, including Vacation and three sequels. She had starring and co-starring parts in The Miracle (1991), Eye for an Eye (1996) American History X (1998) and many others, and dozens of TV movies and guest appearances on hit shows like “Frazier,” “The Simpsons” and “Cougar Town” as well as a six-season recurring run on “Entourage.”

Quaid first gained notice for a co-starring role opposite Jack Nicholson in the 1973 light comedy-drama The Last Detail. In addition to the “Cousin Eddie” turns in Vacation, Christmas Vacation and Vegas Vacation and Amish bowler “Ishmael” alongside Woody Harrison and Bill Murray in Kingpin, Quaid has had supporting roles in such favorites as Independence Day and Brokeback Mountain. He won a Golden Globe Award and Peabody Award for his portrayal of President Lyndon Johnson in the TV Movie LBJ: The Early Years and has been nominated for Oscar, Emmy and BAFTA Awards.

Barron portrayed Griswald daughter “Audrey” in both the original Vacation and Christmas Vacation 2: Cousin Eddie's Island Adventure, among more than 40 credits. She had a three-year supporting role in the adventure series “Crossbow” and played “Nikki Witt” in the original “Beverly Hills, 90210” as well as guest spots on “Murder, She Wrote,” “Babylon 5” and “Dream On.”

The four add heft to an already top-level FAN EXPO Philadelphia roster that includes Hayden Christensen (Star Wars franchise), Rosario Dawson (“Ahsoka,” Rent), Rainn Wilson (“The Office,” “Lessons in Chemistry”), Marisa Tomei (My Cousin Vinny, The Wrestler), Adam Savage (“MythBusters”), Danny Trejo (Machete, The Book of Boba Fett), Morena Baccarin (Deadpool, “Gotham”), Alan Tudyk (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,”), Mario Lopez (“Saved by the Bell,” “Access Hollywood”), Ben McKenzie (“Gotham,” “The O.C.”), Joonas Suotamo (The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, Solo and more), Kate Mulgrew (“Star Trek: Voyager,” “Orange is the New Black”), Rose McGowan (“Charmed,” Scream), Holly Marie Combs (“Charmed,” “Picket Fences”), Felicia Day (“The Guild,” “Dragon Age: Redemption”), Emily Swallow and Gina Carano (“The Mandalorian”), and more.

FAN EXPO Philadelphia will also feature a variety of comics creators who have written and drawn many favorite stories over the past half century, exhibitors featuring classic and unique pieces from the thousands of memorable characters and scenes that Star Wars and all of its offshoots have produced, and programming panels and special events to help fans across any empire show their love of one of pop culture’s most enduring series.

Single-Day Tickets, Three-Day Passes, Ultimate Fan and VIP Packages for FAN EXPO Philadelphia are available now. Advance pricing is available until April 18. More guest news will be released in the following weeks, including line-up reveals for additional headline celebrities, comic creator guests, voice actors and cosplayers.

Philadelphia is the eighth event on the 2024 FAN EXPO HQ calendar; the full schedule is available at fanexpohq.com/home/events/.

[denimbex1986]

'...02 of 20 ‘Ahsoka’ — ‘Shadow Warrior’

(Written and directed by Dave Filoni)

Star Wars has always loved the mystic and ethereal, but the fifth episode of the latest Disney+ series is a mind-bending meld of past and present, following former Jedi warrior Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) as she suffers a near-death experience and wakes up in the Force dimension known as the World Between Worlds. There, she has a long-overdue conversation with her dead former master Anakin Skywalker (a returning Hayden Christensen), reflecting on their traumatic days together in the Clone Wars. (Ariana Greenblatt plays the younger Ahsoka.) It’s an emotional reunion and a thrilling return for Christensen, who gets to show off his acting chops and his lightsaber skills. —Devan Coggan

07 of 20 ‘Doctor Who’ — ‘The Star Beast’

(Written by Russell T. Davies, directed by Rachel Talalay)

Like the TARDIS itself, the first of the Doctor Who 60th anniversary special episodes seemed to contain more wonders than the laws of physics should allow, many of them paying homage to the time-travel show’s storied history. Written by returning showrunner Russell T. Davies and directed by fan favorite Rachel Talalay, “The Star Beast” reunited David Tennant’s Doctor and Catherine Tate’s Donna Noble for a rollicking London adventure with “new” aliens, including the Miriam Margolyes-voiced Meep, which actually dated back to a 1980 comic strip. Amongst all the nostalgic fan service, Davis even found time to introduce Donna’s daughter Rose, played by Heartstopper star Yasmin Finney, and hint at a mystery which would be played out on the two subsequent specials. As with all the best Doctor Who episodes, the result was a treat for Whovians and the perfect entry point for folks boarding that big blue box for the very first time. —Clark Collis

08 of 20 ‘Good Omens’ — ‘Every Day’

(Written by Neil Gaiman and John Finnemore, directed by Douglas Mackinnon)

Good Omens season 1 was a fairly straightforward adaptation of Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman’s beloved 1990 novel, following angel Aziraphale (Michael Sheen) and demon Crowley (David Tennant) as they worked together to thwart the apocalypse. In season 2, the unlikely pair chart a new adventure, as they start to wonder whether their millennia-long friendship might be something more. The season culminates with the emotional sixth episode, when angel and demon finally admit their feelings for each other, only to split as Aziraphale takes a new job running heaven. The episode itself is jam-packed with cameos, an over-the-top bookshop battle, and Buddy Holly needle drops, but it’s anchored by Tennant and Sheen’s emotional performances. It’s a heavenly episode with a break-up scene that leaves you feeling like hell. —D.C...'

[gffa]

FUTURE LUCASFILM PROJECTS REVEALED GET READY FOR PATTY JENKINS’ ROGUE SQUADRON FILM, AN AHSOKA TANO LIVE-ACTION SERIES, THE RETURN OF HAYDEN CHRISTENSEN AND MUCH, MUCH MORE.       Today at The Walt Disney Company’s Investor Day event, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy announced a staggering number of new films, series, and surprises that will expand the Star Wars galaxy like never before.

Rogue Squadron The next Star Wars feature film will be Rogue Squadron — directed by Patty Jenkins (Wonder Woman franchise). The story 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.       “It’s been a lifelong dream as a filmmaker to one day make a great fighter pilot film,” said Jenkins. “As the daughter of a great fighter pilot myself, some of the best memories of my life are of seeing my father’s squadron take off in their F4s every morning, and hearing and feeling the awe-inspiring power and grace. When he passed away in service to this country it ignited a burning desire to one day channel all of those emotions into one great film. When the perfect story arrived in combination with another true love of mine, the incomparable world of Star Wars, I knew I’d finally found my next film. I’m extremely honored and excited to take it on, and grateful to Lucasfilm, Disney, and the fans for extending that thrill to me.”       “Patty has established herself as one of the top directors working in the film industry today,” said Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy. “She’s a visionary who knows how to strike the balance between action and heart, and I can’t wait to see what she does in the Star Wars galaxy.”       Lock S-foils in attack position: Rogue Squadron arrives in theaters Christmas 2023.

Untitled Taika Waititi Film       A brand-new Star Wars feature with acclaimed filmmaker and Academy Award-winner Taika Waititi is in development. “Taika’s approach to Star Wars will be fresh, unexpected, and…unique,” said Kennedy. “His enormous talent and sense of humor will ensure that audiences are in for an unforgettable ride.”

Obi-Wan Kenobi Last August at D23 Expo, Lucasfilm announced the return of Ewan McGregor in the iconic role of Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi for a special event series on Disney+. Officially titled Obi-Wan Kenobi, 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. The series is directed by Deborah Chow, who helmed memorable episodes of The Mandalorian Season 1.      This will truly be a day long remembered, as it was confirmed that Hayden Christensen will be returning as Darth Vader. “This will be the rematch of the century,” Kennedy said.      “It was such an incredible journey playing Anakin Skywalker,” said Christensen. “Of course, Anakin and Obi-Wan weren’t on the greatest of terms when we last saw them… It will be interesting to see what an amazing director like Deborah Chow has in store for us all. I’m excited to work with Ewan again. It feels good to be back.”

Ahsoka After making her long awaited live-action debut in The Mandalorian, Ahsoka Tano’s story, written by Dave Filoni, will continue in a limited series starring Rosario Dawson and executive produced by Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau. Rangers of the New Republic Set within the timeline of The Mandalorian, this new live-action series from executive producers Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni will intersect with future stories and culminate into a climactic story event.

Lando Everyone’s favorite scoundrel Lando Calrissian will return in a brand-new event series for Disney+. Justin Simien, creator of the critically-acclaimed Dear White People and a huge Star Wars fan, is developing the story.

Andor  Andor, a tense nail-biting spy thriller created by Tony Gilroy, is set to arrive on Disney+ in 2022. Diego Luna, reprising the role of rebel spy Cassian Andor from Rogue One, will be joined by a fantastic new cast that includes Stellan Skarsgard, Adria Arjona, Fiona Shaw, Denise Gough, Kyle Soller, and Genevieve O’Reilly as Mon Mothma. Production kicked off three weeks ago in London.

The Acolyte Leslye Headland, Emmy Award-nominated creator of the mind-bending series Russian Doll, brings a new Star Wars series to Disney+ with The Acolyte. The Acolyte is 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.

Star Wars: The Bad Batch The series follows the elite and experimental clones of the Bad Batch (first introduced in The Clone Wars) as they find their way in a rapidly changing galaxy in the immediate aftermath of the Clone War. Members of Bad Batch — a unique squad of clones who vary genetically from their brothers in the Clone Army — each possess a singular exceptional skill which makes them extraordinarily effective soldiers and a formidable crew. In the post-Clone War era, they will take on daring mercenary missions as they struggle to stay afloat and find new purpose.      The animated series will arrive exclusively on Disney+.

Star Wars: Visions Presenting all-new, creative takes on the galaxy far, far away, Star Wars: Visions will be a series of animated short films celebrating Star Wars through the lens of the world’s best anime creators. The anthology collection will bring 10 fantastic visions from several of the leading Japanese anime studios, offering a fresh and diverse cultural perspective to Star Wars.

A Droid Story As Lucasfilm continues to develop new stories, the intersection of animation and visual effects offers new opportunities to explore. Lucasfilm Animation will be teaming up with Lucasfilm’s visual effects team, Industrial Light & Magic, to develop a special Star Wars adventure for Disney+, A Droid Story. This epic journey will introduce us to a new hero, guided by legendary duo R2-D2 and C-3PO.

[lady-griffin]

Starfire Fancasting

Rosario Dawson

Rosario’s smile is literally made of sunshine and if that doesn’t scream Starfire than I don’t know what does. Rosario is extremely beautiful, so obviously that’s a factor to why I think she would be a great Starfire. But I also think she would do such a great job with portraying Starfire’s playfulness and kindness but also her complexities and fierceness. And again, that smile – literal sunshine.

Lupita Nyong’o

Lupita is easily one of the most beautiful people ever, period. She is just absolutely stunning and I’ve lways thought of Starfire as being one of the most beautiful characters in the DC world. Lupita is an amazing actress and I think she would do a fantastic job at playing Starfire. She would not only be captivating, but bring a lot of depth to the character that sometimes DC doesn’t put in.

Anna Diop

I really love her in Titans. I would love if we actually got to see more of her, since she is apparently one of the four main characters, though you would never know that. I personally love Kory’s look in Season 2 and I think Anna does a great job at playing her, it’s a different take on Starfire for sure, but I still enjoy it. There are just moments when she smiles and I’m like yes, that’s Starfire. Do I wish she was cast as Starfire in a different (and better) live-action Titans show/movie? Absolutely. But still, Anna remains a top pick for me.

Eiza González 

Eiza’s casting is more based off looks than anything else. I personally haven’t seen her in a lot of stuff, but based on the few movies I have seen her in, I’ve enjoyed her acting and overall presence. So, based on that, I think she would do a pretty good job at playing Starfire. Also, she is clearly a very beautiful woman and when I thought of actresses to play Starfire, she just popped into my head.

Ana de Armas

I think she is a very talented and beautiful actress who would do a great job at  portraying Starfire’s many sides. Her more vulnerable, ‘innocent’ and fish out of water sides as well as her sexy, powerful and potentially ruthless sides. I also think Ana could definitely add that aspect of humor to Starfire, very easily. 

Nathalie Emmanuel

Once more, she is obviously a very beautiful woman. On top of that I think she is a talented actress who could do a great job as Starfire. 

Dania Ramirez

Aja Naomi King

Melanie Chandra

Cassie Ventura

Megalyn Echikunwoke

Logan Browning

Raven

Beast Boy

[bedlamsbard]

All right, reactions to Mando 2.05, “The Jedi”, in...semi-coherent form. Spoilers, obvs. I hated this episode, so keep scrolling now if you don’t want to see negativity.  This is not in any kind of order except stream-of-conscious.

again, I reiterate, spoilers.

again, I reiterate, this is REALLY negative.

Rosario Dawson...yikes.

how...did Bo-Katan know that Ahsoka was on Corvus? are they in contact? since when? Ahsoka seems to have been on Corvus for long enough to be a nuisance to the Magistrate (Morgan Elsbeth), but normally Ahsoka is very efficient and she just...really does not seem to be here? I did not get the impression she was planning on sticking around for any period of time.

(the same could be true for Frog Lady and Bo-Katan on Trask several episodes back. that wasn’t a convert, that was three Mandalorians hanging around the port in cloaks. I guess they could be doing that on the regular, but? would the Empire not then be more worried about being attacked by Mandalorians?)

there was only ever a very, very slim chance that I was going to be happy with any translation of Ahsoka from animation to live action.  I am on record as thinking that animation is the medium for Star Wars and that live action is always going to be a weaker medium than animation and that a lot of things that can be done in animation just cannot be translated to live action in any meaningful form.  I knew Ahsoka’s fighting style couldn’t translate to live action convincingly (here’s what I said about the mo-capped duel in TCW); it never occurred to me that they couldn’t pull off TOGRUTA given that Shaak Ti, you know, exists, and also there are so many excellent Ahsoka cosplayers.

(Consider KM Creations’ excellent silicone lekku (S7), which have beautiful movement; the cosplayer behind that is CallMeSnips and her epilogue prototype is from SWCC is in there somewhere.  I think Rei Kennex’s are latex (you can tell they don’t have much movement) but at least they’re the right length.  I think Ahsoka94′s are also latex (again with the movement); this is her Mortis vision grown-up Ahsoka.)

AND YES, THE LEKKU/MONTRALS WERE A DEAL-BREAKER FOR ME.

I feel very “you have made your bed and now you have to die in it” about that -- apparently the reasoning is for stunts and movement, but for me here’s the thing: her lekku length wasn’t optional.  This is not the equivalent of changing a hair style, which some people seem to think (believe me, I have read so many hot takes); this is like...I’m trying to think of a good comparison.  Like putting Peter Mayhew or Joonas Suotamo in a wig because Chewie’s head was too hard for the actor to see out of, or giving them normal human hands because they can’t grip with the Wookiee hands.

Also your main character wears a helmet at all times that (if it’s anything like my Mandalorian helmet) is pretty poor visibility and full body armor and THIS was your breaking point for stunts?

Ahsoka’s lekku and montrals grow as she ages. These are about S7 length; as @reena-jenkins put it, THEY DE-AGED HER HEAD.  Ahsoka fans coming in know this.  PEOPLE SAW THE REBELS EPILOGUE.

I wonder how many of the people being self-righteous about being totally fine about Ahsoka’s lekku are the same people who claim that Katee Sackhoff is too young to play Bo-Katan.

this also puts them in a weird position in regards to the inevitable merchandise: do they go with normal Ahsoka from TCW and Rebels, the one everyone is familiar with, or do they go with these stunted lekku?

(I can’t believe they’re going to make Her Universe sell merch with this Ahsoka on it. it’s not going to happen but I wish HU was going to be petty enough to not sell any nu!Ahsoka merch.)

Here is some nice art of how Ahsoka’s lekku and montral should have looked.

hoo boy were those prosthetics also just Bad.

“but the stunts” buddy I’m sure Pedro Pascal and his various stunt doubles aren’t having a great time in full armor with almost no visibility either

if you’re going to put the character in, do it right

YOU CAN’T CHEAT

look, I am really, really aural -- the best example I can give is that even though intellectually I know that Matt Lanter and Hayden Christensen both play Anakin Skywalker, I literally cannot parse them as both being the same Anakin Skywalker and for that reason TCW and the PT don’t exist for the same continuity for me.  (This also goes for Ewan McGregor and James Arnold Taylor, Natalie Portman and Cat Taber, and Samuel L. Jackson and TC Carson. I can kinda cope with the multiple Palpatine VAs. Yes, the decision to use Hayden and Sam in Ahsoka’s vision in “Shattered,” even blending into Matt’s voice from Hayden’s, threw me so badly I couldn’t take the vision seriously.)  Ashley Eckstein has a very distinctive voice, and moreover has been the only person to ever voice Ahsoka up to this point (even in the Ahsoka novel audiobook). Barring a MIRACLE I was never going to be able to parse another actress’s voice as Ahsoka’s, solely because of how my brain works.

I could probably have parsed someone else’s face because animated Ahsoka is pretty stylized but the voice thing is a huge problem for me because of how aural I am.

(I say this but when Squadrons did a more live action-style Hera -- knowing they mo-capped Vanessa Marshall I think they used Vanessa’s face for Hera’s, which is also what it looks like on the revised art and face sculpt for the Black Series Hera -- I kind of had a meltdown about it (for...weird reasons). And that was the same VA.)

(The timeskip between TCW and Rogue One, then Rebels, probably saved Saw Gerrera for me here, but he was also never a main character.)

can you believe that Sam Witwer’s Maul got more live action respect than Ashley Eckstein’s Ahsoka

I love Sam’s Maul but wow

this is particularly jarring because Dave Filoni and Ashley Eckstein always seemed like they were friends? I realize that this gets skewed by how little of their actual lives we see online, but that is the vibe that I’ve gotten from interviews and social media posts.

can you believe that TROS gave more respect to Ashley Eckstein’s Ahsoka than Dave Filoni’s Mando episode did (here is her statement on TROS.)

back in March, when the Dawson casting rumors first dropped (or leaked, as the case may be), Ashley posted a statement about it saying that she was not involved in The Mandalorian. she has over the years been very vocal about desperately wanting to play live-action Ahsoka, who is a character solely associated with her up until today, and honestly this just breaks my heart.

I am not the massive Ashley Eckstein fan that many Ahsoka fans are, but I have never heard anything bad about her (I saw her at my hotel at SWCC while I was waiting for my roommate to arrive! that’s the closest I’ve ever gotten to her, a distance of about six feet), and I really desperately hope that someone told her about this beforehand and she didn’t find out from watching the episode.

Also, while I’m here talking about Ashley Eckstein, the characterization here was extremely off, in that specific way that happens when a writer/director is working with their absolute favorite character, DAVE FILONI. I do trust Ashley to course-correct Dave on Ahsoka (in the same way we’ve heard about Sam Witwer pushing back on people about Maul), and that...was not happening here.  (I think Katee Sachoff said something similar to this about Bo-Katan in her interview last week, as well.)

how did you get Bo-Katan so right and Ahsoka so wrong

look, Dave Filoni is truly living up to George Lucas’s legacy in that he can story tell pretty well but he’s not actually that great at nitty-gritty of writing and directing. (none of the really good TCW episodes are his.)

this episode made me think of A Friend in Need (which he directed) which is not, like, a BAD episode but quite notoriously includes the Bo-Katan ass-slap and also Ahsoka beheading four Mandalorians at once.

it also includes a helpless village of oppressed and exploited Asian-coded civilians who are there mostly as background scenery so the bad guys can be bad and the heroes can feel righteous

I’ll come back to that one

the level of violence in this episode was...weird. honestly, too high? in a way that probably would not have registered if it was anyone but Ahsoka. look, I am an animated shows person. I know TCW and Rebels inside and out. I know that neither one is particularly shy about killing off faceless bad guys (though if you watch Rebels S1 compared to Rebels S4 they really dial back the amount of fatal violence the main characters commit in the last season, lol).  But this felt off for Ahsoka in a way I can’t really articulate.

why is Ahsoka attacking a random Mandalorian (her allies are Mandalorians!) who is walking through the woods WITH A BABY? WITHOUT WARNING?

part of that is just her movement -- when they animated her for TCW back in 2008, they made a deliberate decision to give her mannerisms and movement and a fighting style that a human can’t do because she isn’t human and animation can do that. which means that they hobbled themselves when they came to translating her to live action because uh a human can’t do that.

something about her lightsaber blades looked really, really wrong and I can’t put my finger on what. it’s like they just used the illuminated blades of the stunt sabers but didn’t do the extra CGI that the films do? I don’t know.

Ahsoka did a LOT of dramatic posing and what WAS that?

Dave can’t direct live action, that’s what that was

since when can you canonically convey that much information mind to mind

are Ahsoka and Grogu a dyad in the Force (I know the answer is no but also: what? what was happening?)

the only people we’ve seen who can do that sort of thing are Quinlan Vos and Cal Kestis, who both have the rare talent for telemetry, and even that’s not mind to mind communication, that’s touching a thing and going “YIKES”

you are telling me that Ahsoka Tano, whom six months ago we saw take on Darth Maul, a whole barrage of Mandalorian warriors, and her entire clone trooper battalion and walk away without a scratch, had to work up a sweat fighting one woman with a spear

you do know that we all saw TCW and Rebels right

and here’s the problem! this episode makes zero sense if you HAVE seen TCW and Rebels because (1) she doesn’t look right (2) she doesn’t fight right (3) timelines? we’ve never heard of them? (4) is Thrawn back? did you find the Chimaera? (you all do remember that Ezra and Thrawn aren’t out there alone and are in fact with a 40,000 man crewed star destroyer right) (5) did you NOT find them? (6) are you even looking? (7) this is supposed to be AFTER the Rebels epilogue unless you’ve decided to take advantage of that specific ending scene not being super specifically dated and if it’s before IT MAKES IT EVEN WORSE! because I desperately hate that epilogue and its implications EVEN AS IT IS! (8) why would you call this episode “The Jedi” when since 2013 Ahsoka’s whole thing has been not being a Jedi

to be fair I’m pretty sure S7 tried very hard to course correct that but unfortunately, they could not because the rest of canon exists

are you still trying to deny me grown Ahsoka and Rex when we know you got Temuera back for a five second shot of Boba

to be fair I would have the same aural problems with Temuera voicing Rex because that’s Dee Bradley Baker as far as I’m concerned (I reiterate that this is because of how my brain process character and sound, not anythign else)

if you haven’t seen TCW and Rebels this is a random Jedi wandering around for no specific reason namedropping a completely random person who has no prior significance unless it’s going to turn up later

this entire show has consisted of namedropping random people and things with no prior significance within the show itself and it remains entirely unclear whether they’re ever going to have significance within the show itself

look, I can buy Ahsoka not wanting to train the kid both for her stated reasons and for some implied stuff from earlier on in canon (the kids in the Ahsoka novel, the babies from Future of the Force), even what happened with Ezra, and obviously she has Plans and cannot haul a baby around with her when that baby is going to be a baby for an indeterminate amount of time

which honestly is something that ought to come up because even if Ahsoka wanted to train the kid by the time she grew old and died he might, if we were very lucky, have advanced to being essentially a pre-teen and then would be on his own again? this is also true for Din.

lol sure go cast yourself out into the Force, I’m sure there’s absolutely not a single darksider still wandering around the galaxy who might perk up at “ooh, free apprentice!”

I’m literally starting to think that this show takes place in an alternate universe where Luke and Leia either don’t exist or died at some point in the OT

me, baffled, last season: you’re telling me Cara Dune, Alderaanian, had never heard of the Jedi? was she not keeping up with whatever Leia Organa was doing? was the Rebel Alliance actually big enough that PEOPLE IN IT HADN’T HEARD OF LUKE SKYWALKER?

what...is Luke doing right now. isn’t he training Leia?

WHAT HAS AHSOKA BEEN DOING FOR TEN YEARS are we seriously supposed to believe she peaced out of the Rebel Alliance after Malachor and whatever the hell they’re going to make that out to be (honestly at this point I’m betting on “they will never touch it”)

does or does Ahsoka not know that Luke exists

hoo boy can you just see them trying to cast a younger Luke, or do you think they’d CGI de-age Mark Hamill?

oh yeah let’s go through this again in a season with someone else playing young Luke, let’s, I’m not emotionally invested in that so I’m prepared to be entertained

hasn’t Sebastian Stan been floated (even if just on Twitter) for young Luke?

why are these not-imperials on this planet. what are they doing here. what’s the point.

 why is the planet...being burned? I was half-expecting, like, normal deforestation (in terms of logging for lumber) but I’m also a bit ??? about this.

since when is beskar resistant to lightsabers, I thought cortosis was the only thing that was? whatever, it’s new canon, they can do whatever they want. (ETA: apparently that’s been true for a while; I am more a Jedi person than a Mandalorian one as far as the EU goes and my Mandalorian lore is my weakest point.)

dear god were these fight scenes bad

I did spot Morai and I appreciated the tookas

okay, I am taking the next thing out of bullet points because I was really, really upset by it, and as an Asian-American woman it affects me directly.

I was really, really shaken by the use of village of (space) Asian people who were portrayed solely as background victims to be tortured and exploited.  Star Wars has a long history of Orientalism, and some of it I can look away from and some of I can’t.  Mando especially has a very bad track record with its treatment of Asian characters (Fennec Shand), and in recent years the rest of Star Wars live action has also been pretty bad about it; I will never forget how shaken and upset I was by Paige Tico’s death at the beginning of TLJ, and Rose’s sidelining in TROS was a lot to deal with. There has also been some pretty appalling anti-Asian racism from the Mandalorian fandom that I have seen in regards towards casting rumors about Sabine (which brought me to the point of tears as recently as yesterday).

I had been braced for Rosario Dawson Ahsoka because it’s been rumored for so long, if never officially confirmed by Lucasfilm, and after they pulled the original VA for Leia from Resistance a few years ago (without ever making an official statement but it was after she made really dismissive statements during the Kavanaugh hearings) I was still really hoping they’d pull Dawson for the transphobic assault allegations, or that the rumors were false, or...something.  I was not expecting the way that they treated the Asian civilian population here.  I kept hoping that there was going to be something, and it’s like they kept almost going there with Governor Wing (you want to make either his name or his position clear in the actual episode, maybe?) but then kept pulling back, which just made the whole population victims that had to be rescued by outsiders. And exploited, and tortured, and abused in general.

And yes, I’m aware the Magistrate/Morgan Elsbeth is an Asian-American woman.  That doesn’t make it better?  Since Ahsoka presumably kills her offscreen?

(Also Diana Lee Inosanto is a stunt performer and a fight choreographer, why is that fight scene so wooden, damn.)

okay back to bullet points to wrap up

I realize I haven’t said much about Din and the kid and that’s because they didn’t...do...much? I guess if you’re actually invested in them “YAY HE HAS FEELINGS” is a major thing but I’m not

I have flashes of being invested in Din, but the problem is that I never know what the hell this show is doing because it’s all over the place.  We are 5/8 of the way into season 2 and I have no idea what it’s trying to do: they keep setting stuff up and then not doing anything with it. I can make vague predictions based on what’s set up and based on my knowledge of canon, but this show is so weirdly set up and paced that I can never tell if they’re something for A Reason, for the lulz, or for the Aesthetic.

I feel extremely vindicated by the revelation a few weeks ago that Din grew up in a cult but I also straight-up feel like I spent the past year being gaslighted about what Mandalorians were, and that’s...not a great feeling. Do I think that the show is going to do anything with that? Fuck, I don’t know. I hope so. I know what I’d do as a writer. But I can’t predict anything they’re doing and that makes me really uneasy.

jeez, at least when George Lucas was making Star Wars you knew he was doing it to entertain himself and tell a specific story rather than constantly having to go back and wonder what story lines got compromised for a project down the road.

like, is this why they did mo-cap Ahsoka in S7, to brace us for live action Ahsoka here? I know they had already filmed Mando S2 before S1 came out. WHY THEY DIDN’T THEY REUSE LAUREN MARY KIM AS AHSOKA’S STUNT DOUBLE THEN? it’s not like she hasn’t stunted in Mando before?

if this was supposed to be a backdoor pilot to a Rebels sequel...I will flip a table

I enjoyed the Bad Batch eps in TCW S7 but knowing that there’s going to be a Bad Batch show I’m now wondering if they’re only in S7 to backdoor pilot that show

how far back does this go? did they put the Legacy of Mandalore story line in Rebels S4 solely to set up for this? especially considering that that’s the one thing in S4 that actually has saga weight and then they immediately got rid of everything it accomplished to set up for this?

I presume that this is the reason they refused to release the turnaround for Ahsoka’s epilogue look two years ago. apparently it doesn’t matter given they changed her entire epilogue color scheme and also her lekku and personality.

Look -- at the end of the day, there was only about a 2% chance I was ever going to like this episode, but I was holding out for it nevertheless. I do get surprised from time to time! I liked the Bo-Katan episode! This was, however, a hot mess. And yes: a lot of the things that bother me are not going to bother other people. (I haven’t seen anyone comment on the Asian villagers, for example.)

[duchess-of-mandalore]

New pics and interview with Jon Favreau! 

Some snippets from the interview:

So what did The Mandalorian do right, that other Star Wars titles did not? Favreau believes the lower expectations of television versus movies helped give his show an edge. “I think it was the fact it was live-action Star Wars on TV for the first time," he says. "Having worked on bigger, higher-profile films, there’s a much different set of standards that you’re judged by. We’ve benefited from the smallness of our world.”

I’m glad Favreau is humble and practical enough to see this. The Mandalorian swept the world, but it wasn’t because it was objectively bigger or better-made than the movies. It was a prioritization of intriguing characters, an expansion of Star Wars culture, and of course, really good craftsmanship that we’ve come to expect in the Golden Age of Television.

Another key factor, Favreau says, was the creative input of executive producer Dave Filoni. . . . Favreau does the bulk of The Mandalorian’s writing . . . while Filoni keeps him on track as the arbiter of what works for Star Wars . . . .

“I’ll come up with ideas and sometimes Dave will say, ‘You can’t do this in Star Wars.’ Then I’ll cite examples from the movies, or Clone Wars, to try to use as a justification. I’m like a lawyer talking to a judge; I am to him as he was to George. I won't do anything without Dave's approval. And to his credit, he understands that Stars Wars needs to be fun and ever-evolving.”

My guys. I’m so happy to see this partnership continuing. Filoni doesn’t need to write everything (he can’t), but this is exactly what we need. Writers who know Star Wars (including TCW), but who are willing to have Dave sign off on the vision. 

Dave is the new master of Star Wars in everything but name. He is Lucas’s successor, and a pinnacle of what it means to craft solid well-told stories that align with all of Star Wars, not just one film or one trilogy or another. 

While Disney has not confirmed any new cast members or their characters, there's a rogue's gallery of actors who seem optimized for a Comic-Con panel reportedly coming on board: Rosario Dawson as Ahsoka Tano, Temuera Morrison playing presumably some version of a clone trooper or iconic bounty hunter Boba Fett, Katee Sackhoff as Bo-Katan Kryze, and also Michael Biehn and Timothy Olyphant as unknown characters.

While the article makes the point that no one has been confirmed, it’s interesting that this is the first official news we’ve received and Disney and LucasFilm certainly have signed off on this article. It at least bodes well for all of these rumors, though nothing is certain.

And as for that Darksaber, in the new episodes Gideon demonstrates he’s quite adept at wielding it. “It’s so exciting for me to be in a show where I can wear a cape and own it, and where I can have a lightsaber and really own it,” says Esposito.

Nothing to add except how much I love how excited Giancarlo Esposito is for this show!! I can’t wait for all the Darksaber lore!

One major visitor to the season 2 set was Lucas himself, who stopped by to watch some filming while Filoni was directing. 

Again, I’m so thankful for Filoni and Favreau and their respect for George Lucas and willingness to include him. They certainly don’t have to.

The biggest challenge [during COVID] was pulling off Ludwig Göransson’s orchestral score. “We had to have people either recording remotely, or in much smaller groups, distanced very far apart,” Favreau says. “I’m hearing the music now as we’re mixing episodes, and it’s remarkable what they were able to achieve under the circumstances.”

Can’t wait to hear this! This will feature as one of many unique aspects of filmmaking during a global pandemic!

If Favreau is correct that The Mandalorian benefited from low expectations, there will be no such grading on a curve this time. Yet nobody sounds worried. “I have no question fans are going to like this season even more — everything’sin there,” Carano says. “If you’re a Star Wars fan, you’re going to get to see things you’ve always wanted to see.”

Good to hear! And fans, please remember as well that while Season 1 was overwhelmingly well received, Season 2 will not benefit from the “newness” of the show. We’re all going to be more critical about what they’re giving us. But it sounds like they’re all confident and excited for this new chapter and I can’t wait to see what they give us!

[dontneedani]

This article about the campaign for La Borinquena came out today on comicbook.com. And it had a quote from fricking Rosario Dawson:

First of all, ROSARIO DAWSON KNOWS ABOUT AND RECOGNIZES MADI AND ROSARIO IS AN ICON AND THAT MAKES ME SO FREAKING PROUD.

Madi, get those Hollywood connections girl.

But also she mentioned interest in both directing AND producing and it looks like this campaign didn't come up out of nowhere and they have been trying to get it greenlit for a while now. I love that both Rosario and the creator Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez are completely onboard with having Madison play her. (And I actually wonder if this is the Zoom audition that Madi was talking about before?)

Although, I hope this wouldn't clash with JATP's filming schedule should there be a season 2.

Article Link

[mike-wachowski]

For the questions, 16 and 21!

hi jan :D

16: i love altered carbon (the first season), its probably my favorite show ever. ummm also the haunting series. bly manor is my favorite for sure but hill house is still fun to rewatch :) oh SHOOT and mindhunter too !!! that show rules

21: BAHAHA um gosh i want to say maybe rosario dawson but like SPECIFICALLY as mimi in rent. my mom was always playing rent when i was a kid lol

[themosleyreview]

The Mosley Review: Star Wars: The Mandalorian (Season 2)

It is rare for a first season to find its tone and vision of what it wants to be so quickly. Many fail in the first go and the rest of the series is left to pick up the slack. It is very rare for a second season to equal the same care taken in establishing the tone and expanding the vision and world it has created. This series will go down in history as one of the best examples of such rarity existing in perfect harmony. This season brilliantly expands on what made the first season so great and delivers jaw dropping surprises and revelations that I never could've possibly conceived of. It also hits on so many emotional cores in its perfectly woven storyline. The fact that it ties directly into the prequels, The Clone Wars and Rebels animated series and the Original Trilogy was truly special. This series has saved the franchise and purified the air of the toxic fumes left behind by the last film trilogy. It comes to a emotional and complete season finale that satisfies and shows a version of something that we all wanted to see.

The cast once again delivers outstanding performances across the galaxy. Pedro Pascal returns as The Mandalorian/Din Djarin and he is as electric and powerful than before. The western iconography of his character stays intact and I loved that now he is more father like with The Child. Just like in the first season, Din's paternal instinct takes over and their bond is something so powerful, magnetic and it is the emotional core of the show. Carl Weathers returns as Greef Karga and he is just as fun and charming like before. Even with his revised position as leader of the planet Navarro, he still is a business man at heart. Gina Carano returns as Cara Dune and she is even more badass than before. She has more responsibility this time around and she gets some of the best Star Wars curse words. Ming-Na Wen returns as the fantastic bounty hunter Fennec Shand and she is just as badass if not more. Bill Burr returns as Migs Mayfeld and he once again gives an excellent performance in a very tense and well written episode of the season. Timothy Olyphant joins the series as Cobb Vanth. He's always good at playing the southern sheriff type and as the marshal of a small town on Tatooine, he was perfect. Temuera Morrison returns to the franchise as the one and only Boba Fett and he was even more amazing than before. He nailed the characters' confidence, determination and brutality. He has an episode that truly is satisfying and reminds you why he is the most dangerous bounty hunter in the galaxy.

Katee Sackoff brings her animated character Bo-Katan Kryze to live action for the first time and she was perfection. Knowing the history of the character, it was interesting to see where Katee takes Bo-Katan and the inner turmoil that plagues her. There is so much to unpack with her character and I can't wait to see where we go with her. Like all of you, I have waited for the day that this character would make their live action debut and I was not disappointed. Ahsoka Tano is one of the greatest characters to be introduced from The Clone Wars animated series and her arc has become legendary. Ashley Eckstein expertly crafted the character in her outstanding vocal performance and now Rosario Dawson physically brings her to life perfectly in every way. You feel the history, elegance and power behind her presence. I won't say much more, but her debut was one of my favorite moments of the season. Giancarlo Esposito returns as Moff Gideon and he is even more cunning and smart. What makes him an outstanding antagonist is that he is very knowledgeable and hard to surprise. You assume he knows things, but you never know what his endgame could be and that makes him unpredictable. He never minces words and I love that. Such a great performance from an amazing performer.

Ludwig Goransson does it again with his astounding score. He brings back the musical themes of the first season, but gives them all such new life. The new compositions he creates are just as wondrous, regal and warm. In Chapter 9, 13 and especially 16, you hear his electronic experimentation and classic Japanese samurai overtones glaze smoothly over a sweet and delicious musical donut. He also incorporates a few themes from other films and series for certain characters is such a subtle and slick way. The cinematography this season was truly breathtaking as they draw from old westerns and classic Japanese film techniques of framing certain shots and fights. This series is truly a work of art. Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni have delivered once again the promise of making Star Wars and not showing Star Wars. It has been so long since I have actually felt this amount of excitement and joy towards this wonderful universe. This season was truly an epic, brilliant and emotionally charged masterpiece of a season with an ending that will leave you in tears. Also, don’t forget to stay for the end credits of the finale for a glimpse into the exciting future. If you agree or liked this review, let me know in the comments below. Thanks for reading!