We're continuing our series of looks back at 2020 and ahead to 2021 today, this time heading over to Star Wars animated storytelling - and covering something we haven't yet on the show, the new news about The Bad Batch. Punch it!

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In what's generally an annual episode, we honor the lights we've lost from the Star Wars galaxy this year, including folks from behind the scenes who helped make Star Wars the amazing franchise it is today.

One series live, two more in the works, a bunch of rumors, a few announcements, and a lot of questions! That's the nutshell explanation of Star Wars live action in 2020 and looking ahead to 2021. We'll dig deeper today... Punch it!

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2020 started with the final movie of the Skywalker Saga in theaters, and ended with the announcement of the next movie due in theaters. We're recapping the year and looking forward to 2021 today... Punch it!

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A Lando "event series" was revealed during the Disney Investor Day, but what does that mean? That's one of the questions we're considering, while we also recap the announcement. Punch it!

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https://vurbl.com/station/3HLH3NOdMPf/

"How Star Wars Conquered the Universe" author Chris Taylor argues that Grogu should not return to The Mandalorian. The question we'll consider today is whether there's any reason for him too - and if so, what it would have to be. Punch it!

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It took an intervention of sorts to get past my concerns about how the return of Luke Skywalker could be viewed, and to reconnect with the joy my 12-year-old self would have felt on seeing his arrival. On today's episode, I'll explain/confess further, and talk about how wonderful it was - from both a left brain and a right brain perspective - that Luke's arrival seems to be the best and most logical story choice, despite anyone else's opinions. Punch it!

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Season 2 of The Mandalorian compares very favorably to season 1. To be fair, season 1 had a lot of heavy lifting to do, and did it well. Once past that, season 2 was able to soar. Punch it!

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There's a lot of time unaccounted for in the life of Luke Skywalker right now! On today's episode of the show, we're going to place his actions and whereabouts in context with The Mandalorian series. Punch it!

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There's only two ways Bo-Katan could have lost the Darksaber that would require combat to get it back. The Great Purge may factor into it. And there may another Mando with a claim on it, who we haven't seen since Chapter 3. Punch it!

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Not all the surprises in The Mandalorian's season 2 finale took place in the show itself. The mid-credits stinger revealed one more new series, "The Book of Boba Fett." To set the baseline, here's what we know so far... Punch it!

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On today's episode, we honor the life and work of Jeremy Bulloch, who helped bring the role of Boba Fett to life, creating a compelling on-screen persona that paved the way for the character's legendary appeal.

We'll share statements from Bulloch's website, from castmates, and from George Lucas himself. We'll also revisit a write-up from Alan Arnold's Once Upon a Galaxy: The Making of The Empire Strikes Back, which helps to draw a line all the way from Bulloch's performance to Pedro Pascal's in The Mandalorian.

The season 2 finale of The Mandalorian was filled with action and surprise, and also did something similar to the end of season 1 - wrapped up most of its story arcs without major cliffhangers. We'll compare the endings of season 1 and season 2, and talk about what the ending of the second season offers for storylines in season 3. Punch it!

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The Mando season 2 finale is out, but you can still get a spoiler-free dose of Star Wars joy by checking out today's show about Leslye Headland's upcoming Lucasfilm series, "The Acolyte." Punch it!

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Let's dig into the Disney Investor Day announcements about the two shows to be spun off from The Mandalorian - at least, the two we know about so far, Star Wars: Ahsoka and Star Wars: Rangers of the New Republic. Punch it!

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A casting announcement confirms an ongoing rumor, and a timeline change opens the door for some interesting crossover potential. Let's dig deeper into the Kenobi series news from Disney's Investor Day. Punch it!

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Now that it's been a few days, we can add more context to the biggest of the announcements from last week's Disney Investor Day - Star Wars: Rogue Squadron as the 2023 Star Wars movie. Punch it!

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"The Believer," Chapter 15 of The Mandalorian, has two distinct purposes: to complete a functional task (setting up the finale's confrontation) and achieve a character arc milestone. Today, the Mandalorian Briefing on season 2, episode 7. Punch it!

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Today, the second half of my conversation with Dan Zehr, host of Coffee With Kenobi and co-author of The Star Wars Book: Expand Your Knowledge of a Galaxy Far, Far Away. Punch it!

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Dan Zehr returns! The Coffee With Kenobi host joins me to discuss the journey to co-authoring his first book, The Star Wars Book, alongside Cole Horton and Pablo Hidalgo. Punch it!

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I walked into this episode with at least a dozen questions unanswered about the return of Boba Fett in The Mandalorian, but they mostly spring from one central quandary that reflects on his (alleged) bounty hunting skills... Punch it!

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In Chapter 13 of The Mandalorian, Ahsoka spoke of letting Grogu's powers "fade." If that happens to untapped Jedi powers, that affects how many people can come to Grogu's aid... Punch it!

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As further Star Wars stories have been told, Yoda's comment about Luke being "the last of the Jedi" has become more difficult to understand. I think I may have hit on a solution for it, involving the Jedi Order itself. Punch it!

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In "The Tragedy" (season 2, episode 6 of The Mandalorian - or Chapter 14, if you prefer), Grogu activated the seeing stone at the Jedi Temple on Tython! He sent a message out to the galaxy, but who's out there to answer? The shortlist, on today's show... Punch it!

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Today, the second half of my latest conversation with Amy Ratcliffe! She's back to discuss her latest book, Star Wars: The Jedi Mind. And we're going to dive deep... Punch it!

Here's where you can learn more about Amy and her work:

Instagram: https://instagram.com/amy_geek
Twitter: https://twitter.com/amy_geek
New! Newsletter: https://amyratcliffe.substack.com/
Website: https://www.amyratcliffe.com

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I'm thrilled to welcome Amy Ratcliffe back to the show! She's the author of Star Wars: The Jedi Mind, and we're going to catch up and talk about the book in the first of this two-part conversation. Punch it!

Here's where you can learn more about Amy and her work:

Instagram: https://instagram.com/amy_geek
Twitter: https://twitter.com/amy_geek
New! Newsletter: https://amyratcliffe.substack.com/
Website: https://www.amyratcliffe.com

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Crazy surprises, non-stop action, and shocking story beats fill "The Tragedy," Chapter 14 of The Mandalorian. Full spoiler alert in effect for this Mandalorian Briefing... Punch it!

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Ahsoka saying it would be better to let Grogu's powers fade than to train him is emblematic of the chronic problem the Jedi had in helping anyone in their order deal productively with fear. And I think this is a big piece of the flaw in the Jedi Order that led to its downfall - and we really haven't talked much about that aspect at all.

On today's show, we're going to talk about love and fear, about the Jedi's non-attachment approach to life, how Anakin's notion about the Jedi being "encouraged to love" wasn't just a line to seduce Padme, and how - rather than helping anyone in their order address fears in a healthy way, presumed that anyone filled with fear was a risk, instead of someone in need, someone who could learn to master their fears in a healthy way. Punch it!

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The casting for season 2 of The Mandalorian is bigger than last season, in terms of actors and characters. But are these big names just going to be one-and-done? Today, we'll discuss... Punch it!

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From movies to live-action TV, books to comics, video games to VR, and everything in between! Here's your Star Wars storytelling preview for December 2020. Punch it!

We don't cover all the categories this month, because there's not notable news in all of them, but for the refresher, here's what they are...

Movies
Live-action TV
Animation
Books
Audiobooks
Comics
Virtual Reality
Video Games
Experiential (Events/Conventions/Parks)
Merchandise

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Today, we acknowledge the Star Wars contributions of David Prowse, who struck terror into Rebel hearts as the man in the Darth Vader suit throughout the Original Trilogy. He passed away at the age of 85 on November 28th.

Read the statement from Lucasfilm, including a reflection from George Lucas, at https://www.starwars.com/news/david-prowse.

Today, the second half of my latest conversation with Nick Martorelli, executive producer for the PRH Audio adaptation of From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back. Punch it!

What follows is the full list of questions I had for him, and I think we got to all of them, though not necessarily in this order:

Aside from the source material and the stories themselves (naturally), how was the process of doing this audiobook different from the previous From a Certain Point of View audiobook?

How does the preparation for an audiobook of short stories differ from the preparation that goes into a novel?

How has the current public health situation changed your production process?

Can you talk a bit about the casting process, as far as how and where it fits into the whole project process?

Some folks, like January LaVoy and Marc Thompson, are well known to Star Wars audiences, and have “strong suits,” as it were, based on their previous Star Wars narration experience. How do you balance your casting decisions between leaning into those strengths versus applying their talents in fresh ways?

Dion Graham is an experienced narrator doing a Star Wars project for the first time, and the similarly experienced Soneela Nankani is doing her second, after Lando’s Luck. (Emily is comparatively new, too, of course, but with more recent appearances.) Can you talk a bit about the considerations for bringing in narrators who may well be unknown to a Star Wars audience?

Jon Hamm is, of course, an accomplished actor, but doesn’t do a lot of audiobook narration – this is only his fourth PRH Audio credit, and half of those are Star-Wars related. What does he bring to the table for you, from your own experienced perspective?

I’d love to learn about the process of adapting Older’s “STET!” for an audiobook, because it’s so unique on the page.

Do you have personal favorites among the stories in the collection? Or any stories that affected the way you think about Empire as a whole?

And here are the links mentioned at the end of the conversation!

Nick on Twitter: https://twitter.com/nickmartorelli

PRH Audio: https://penguinrandomhouseaudio.com

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Today, the first half of my conversation with Nick Martorelli, the executive producer for Penguin Random House Audio's version of The Empire Strikes Back's 40th anniversary short story celebration. Punch it!

What follows is the full list of questions I had for him, and I think we got to all of them, though not necessarily in this order:

Aside from the source material and the stories themselves (naturally), how was the process of doing this audiobook different from the previous From a Certain Point of View audiobook?

How does the preparation for an audiobook of short stories differ from the preparation that goes into a novel?

How has the current public health situation changed your production process?

Can you talk a bit about the casting process, as far as how and where it fits into the whole project process?

Some folks, like January LaVoy and Marc Thompson, are well known to Star Wars audiences, and have “strong suits,” as it were, based on their previous Star Wars narration experience. How do you balance your casting decisions between leaning into those strengths versus applying their talents in fresh ways?

Dion Graham is an experienced narrator doing a Star Wars project for the first time, and the similarly experienced Soneela Nankani is doing her second, after Lando’s Luck. (Emily is comparatively new, too, of course, but with more recent appearances.) Can you talk a bit about the considerations for bringing in narrators who may well be unknown to a Star Wars audience?

Jon Hamm is, of course, an accomplished actor, but doesn’t do a lot of audiobook narration – this is only his fourth PRH Audio credit, and half of those are Star-Wars related. What does he bring to the table for you, from your own experienced perspective?

I’d love to learn about the process of adapting Older’s “STET!” for an audiobook, because it’s so unique on the page.

Do you have personal favorites among the stories in the collection? Or any stories that affected the way you think about Empire as a whole?

And here are the links mentioned at the end of the conversation!

Nick on Twitter: https://twitter.com/nickmartorelli

PRH Audio: https://penguinrandomhouseaudio.com

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The worst-kept secret is out of the bag with "The Jedi," Chapter 13 of The Mandalorian (or episode 5 from season 2, if you prefer). And this episode also opens another huge door... Punch it!

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Before we get to the second half of the second season of The Mandalorian (Ahsoka, anyone?), we dig into the two big reveals from Chapter 12: The Siege. Punch it!

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On a day where gratitude is the thing, I share my gratefulness to Andy and Josh for inviting me onto their Holochronicles Podcast earlier this week to talk about The Mandalorian and Mando Monday... Punch it!

This episode features an excerpt of that conversation, and you can catch the whole thing right here!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W53utxszX6M

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The Mandalorian season 2 requires a lot less set up than season 1 did, and the creative team is using that time to maximum effect. Here's our mid-season review... Punch it!

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Sure, Lucasfilm is releasing a lot of fun, funky, and fascinating merchandise on these "Mando Mondays" following each episode of The Mandalorian, but are we learning anything more about the show as a result? Punch it!

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In the second half of my conversation with Cole Horton, co-author of The Star Wars Book, we're diving into sections of the book and the joys of bringing in details from across a range of media. Punch it!

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A three-time guest this year, Cole Horton returns to the podcast to discuss his latest contribution to the galaxy far, far away in The Star Wars Book. From DK Publishing (thanks for the review copy!), this new Star Wars reference book is not your typical DK offering - instead of the short summaries and factoid captions, this one features long-form essays that allowed Horton (along with co-authors Pablo Hidalgo and Dan Zehr) to really dig into their topics and explore deeper themes across Star Wars storytelling. Today, I'm sharing the first half of my conversation with Cole. Punch it!

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Mando returns to a renewed Nevarro, and what should be a simple clean-up job uncovers a deep, dark hole where Moff Gideon's true desires reside. "The Siege" is Chapter 12 of The Mandalorian, and this is our official briefing... Punch it!

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"The Heiress," Chapter 11 of The Mandalorian, introduces more complexity to the history of Mandalore in the past 12 years, packs big reveals, and continues a monster trend. Punch it!

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42 years later, a new Star Wars Holiday Special arrives - a LEGO one! On today's show, a non-spoiler review, and a note about the important treatment of one sequel-era character. Punch it!

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Today, I'm bringing back the second half of my Star Wars Holiday Special 40th Anniversary interview with Hollywood comedy writer extraordinaire and co-writer on the Special. Punch it!

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Happy Life Day! In honor of the occasion, I'm bringing back the 40th anniversary interview I did with Bruce Vilanch, one of the writers of the 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special. Punch it!

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Here's part two of my two-part interview with author Preeti Chhibber, and today we're going to be talking about her wonderfully inspirational "Star Wars: A Jedi You Will Be." Punch it!

Follow her exploits on Twitter at https://twitter.com/runwithskizzers, and check out her website at https://t.co/wocPTXOF8m?amp=1!

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Today, the first of a two-part conversation with Preeti Chhibber! In this half of the conversation, we'll be talking about Anakin and Padme in her Clone-Wars-inspired story "Hostage Crisis" from Stores of Light and Dark. Punch it!

Follow her exploits on Twitter at https://twitter.com/runwithskizzers, and check out her website at https://t.co/wocPTXOF8m?amp=1.

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In our last discussion about the book version of "From a Certain Point of View," the short story collection celebrating The Empire Strikes Back, we're going to look at a couple of threads we haven't covered yet... Punch it!

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Perhaps because the action gets so personal in the final act of The Empire Strikes Back, the stories in "From a Certain Point of View" short story collection related to that final act - while still interesting - are also more hit-and-miss in terms of their emotional impact. Punch it!

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Today, a sampling of the highlights from the second act of The Empire Strikes Back, as depicted through perspectives both popular and unusual, in the "From a Certain Point of View" short story collection. Punch it!

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Hoth, the search for it, the battle there, and the escape from it, are the focus of the first dozen or so tales for the The Empire Strikes Back edition of the "From a Certain Point of View" short story collection. Punch it!

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The story of The Empire Strikes Back, as told by bit players, creatures, a Force ghost, and more! Here's our non-spoiler review of the latest "From a Certain Point of View" short story collection. Punch it!

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Today, the second half of my interview with Daniel Wallace, author/co-author of more than 50 books - many of them Star Wars one! - including last month's Star Wars: The Lightsaber Collection. Punch it!

To see what Daniel will be getting up to in the future, check him out on Twitter: https://twitter.com/danwallaceMSP

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He's back, and for "real" this time! Last month, I featured an email interview with author Daniel Wallace (most recently, Star Wars: The Lightsaber Collection). Today, the first of a two-part real-time conversation. Punch it!

To see what Daniel will be getting up to in the future, check him out on Twitter: https://twitter.com/danwallaceMSP

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Less Easter eggs, more egg-related scenes by turns comedic and horrifying, permeate "The Passenger," Chapter 10 of The Mandalorian (or, season 2, episode 2).

On today's episode of the show, we'll break down all the subtle details for you, including the tribute to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, to Star Wars Rebels, the Alien franchise, and much more. Punch it!

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The Mandalorian and Baby Yoda will appear in the LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special, and if you ever needed something fun to take your mind off of things in the world, this will be it.

On today's episode of the show, we'll also talk about the logline for Chapter 10 of The Mandalorian (out today!), a real-world Mustafar, and how the new LEGO show coming November 17th could fill the void you may have felt at the end of the Skywalker Saga. Punch it!

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Ron Howard was recently asked about the prospects for a sequel to Solo: A Star Wars Story. While he was definitive in his answer, there's still an aspect or two that are worth discussing further... Punch it!

And particular credit goes to Star Wars News Net and their Resistance Broadcast podcast for starting and driving the #MakeSolo2Happen movement!

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On the one hand, The Mandalorian season 2 premiere was highly enjoyable. On the other hand, did they have to build on *that* story, or would they have been better off building a new one?

On today's episode of the show, I'm taking some time to meditate on the value of mystery and unclosed story loops in Star Wars storytelling - even as I find it enjoyable to close some of them! - and how Star Wars, in its reflexive approach to define everything, may leave little room for our own wonder and imagination to play. Punch it!

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Merch from Mando Mondays can reveal details about The Mandalorian - including the relative importance of a character to the future of the show. Today, an analysis... Punch it!

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What's coming in Star Wars storytelling in November 2020? The Mandalorian captures the headlines, of course, and the very first High Republic story debuts, "beyond" books and comics. Punch it!

We don't cover all the categories, because there's not notable news in all of them, but for the refresher, here's what they are...

Movies
Live Action TV
Animation
Books
Audiobooks
Comics
Virtual Reality
Video Games
Experiential (Events/Conventions/Parks)
Merchandise

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The Mandalorian Chapter 9, "The Marshal," has so many little winks and nods to all corners of Star Wars storytelling - and to some familiar non-Star-Wars movie tropes, too. Punch it!

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The wait is over! Mando season 2 debuted yesterday, and in addition to closing the loop on a 5-year-old and a 37-year-old story, we also found out the Mandalorian's plan for finding the Jedi. Punch it!

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To help you avoid spoilers for the first episode of season 2 of The Mandalorian, it's a safe zone episode today! We're catching up on the news about a Willow series coming to Disney+, which matters particularly to Star Wars fans because Dave Filoni considers Willow to be part of a larger "Lucasverse" with very subtle connections to Star Wars... Punch it!

Here's the official press release about it:
https://www.lucasfilm.com/news/jon-m-chu-to-direct-lucasfilms-willow-series-for-disney/

And here's the behind-the-scenes blog post I mentioned on today's show:
https://www.lucasfilm.com/news/forget-all-you-know-behind-the-story-and-creation-of-willow/

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It's nice to know that the writers and filmmakers for The Mandalorian are making connections with other realms of Star Wars storytelling, including Rogue One and The Clone Wars...

On our last deeper dive into the first season of The Mandalorian, we're considering episode #8, Redemption. Punch it!

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Nevarro - the planet from which Greef Karga runs the Bounty Hunter's Guild in The Mandalorian - has been a bit of a puzzle. Season 1's "The Reckoning" puts some pieces together. Punch it!

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The first of the new/regular Mando Mondays events happened, and while toys and merch aren't the focus of our show, what they reveal about characters and story falls right in our wheelhouse. Punch it!

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Word continues to spread about Mando's troubles with Guild, and though "The Prisoner" - season 1, episode 6 - doesn't advance the tale, it gives us insight into Din Djarin's backstory, and how he's changed over the years. Punch it!

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The Gunslinger, episode 5 from season 1 of The Mandalorian, has the least amount of season-overarching information to it, but the one piece it does have is kind of surprising. Punch it!

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In our continuing deeper dive into the episodes from season 1 of The Mandalorian, we're discussing "Sanctuary," episode 4. Which means discussing the Mandalorian's poor babysitting skills, the concept of "filler" episodes and whether this one should have that label, the passage of time in the episode, a couple of still unanswered questions, and more. Punch it!

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What do the Bondsmen's Guild, the Mandalorian covert, and the Empire remnant know about each other in The Mandalorian? We examine the details and damage today, as we dig deeper into "The Sin," episode 3 from season 1 of The Mandalorian. Punch it!

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As we approach the season 2 premiere of The Mandalorian, we're looking back at all the episodes of season 1 with the benefit of hindsight. Today, what we learned about Din Djarin's character - including his similarity to Luke Skywalker in the Original Trilogy - in episode 2, The Child. Punch it!

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As we count down to season 2 of The Mandalorian, we're examining season 1 episodes in light of the full season, to glean new insights and flag unanswered questions. On today's episode, we'll talk about The Mandalorian's rules of engagement with adversaries; his feelings about the Empire; what Chapter 1 suggests about the current status of Mandalore five years after the fall of the Empire; and much more. Punch it!

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What does the evolution of religion and government in our own world potentially tell us about how the Jedi of the High Republic era become the Jedi of the Clone Wars era?

On today's episode of the show, I'm following up on a topic we brushed across yesterday, thanks to the interview with Daniel Wallace, author of Star Wars: The Lightsaber Collection. That reignited something I've been wanting to pursue for a while, about how religion gave way to government as the dominant force (no pun intended) in people's lives and on the world stage.

I think there's a potential parallel between that evolution in our own lives and in the way that it could play out in the galaxy far, far away. Punch it!

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So, here's the deal again with Star Wars: The Lightsaber Collection:

Star Wars: The Lightsaber Collection is a comprehensive visual guide exploring the iconic and legendary lightsabers found within the Star Wars galaxy, featuring fan-favorite hilts from the Skywalker saga, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels, comics, novels, & video games.

And here's the official bio for its author, Daniel Wallace:

Daniel Wallace is the author or coauthor of more than fifty books, including The Jedi Path, Ghostbusters: The Ultimate Visual History, The World According to Spider-Man, Warcraft: Behind the Dark Portal, and The New York Times best-selling Star Wars: The New Essential Guide to Characters. His specialty is exploring the underpinnings of popular fictional universes.

I'm so grateful to Daniel Wallace and Insight Editions for making this interview possible! Today, we're going to talk more about his approach to the book, about the High Republic lightsaber included in book, and about his own particular lightsaber preferences. Punch it!

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Today, the first half of my email interview with Daniel Wallace, author/co-author of more than 50 books, including his latest for Lucasfilm, Star Wars: The Lightsaber Collection. Punch it!

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Disney just announced a big reorganization, with changes to how content is created and distributed. But what does this mean for Star Wars in general - and season 3 of The Mandalorian in specific? Punch it!

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On today's episode, I'll go over what little we know about Baby Yoda ("The Child") so far, relate it to what we knew from Legends about the actual Yoda's early life, and project it into Baby Yoda's future. Punch it!

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New info from a Star Wars reference book allows us to pin down a timeline for Din Djarin - aka The Mandalorian - and also, draw some very strong potential connections to Sabine Wren. One today's show, I'll connect those dots... Punch it!

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The writers of all eight episodes for The Mandalorian season 2 have been revealed, and unlike the director situation - which is very different from season 1 - the writing situation is very similar. Punch it!

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A new Mandalorian season 2 commercial reveals more about the ice cave, and new character posters feature a couple of Star Wars species in their graffiti...

On today's episode of the show, I'll flag what's new about the commercial, and we'll dig into some background information about a species with a red "NO" circle and slash through it - plus, one other option for where we are when we arrive on the graffitied planet. Punch it!

Here's where you can see the character posters:
https://twitter.com/disneyplus/status/1315653533186682880

And here's where you can see the new commercial:
https://twitter.com/CultureCrave/status/1315699276828176384

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In our latest "What to Watch Now" installment, we're highlighting part of a conversation with the High Republic authors about how different Jedi experience and interact with the Force.

In case you weren't aware of it, New York Comic-Con was supposed to happen this weekend, and it did ... from a certain point of view. They had a bunch of virtual panels, one of which was focused entirely on the High Republic. All five authors were there (Claudia Gray, Justina Ireland, Daniel Jose Older, Cavan Scott, and Charles Soule), as well as the architect of the initiative, Lucasfilm's Michael Siglain.

On today's episode of the show, we'll cover the notable things they revealed and discussed, and I'll point you to where in the video of the session they talked about how their Jedi characters perceive the Force. Punch it!

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Pulling information from publisher's summaries, interviews, excerpts, and more, we can actually piece together a lot about the "Great Disaster" that kicks off the High Republic publishing initiative, and in particular the events at the beginning of Light of the Jedi by Charles Soule... Punch it!

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Light of the Jedi writer Charles Soule recently talked about the process of how the timeframe of the High Republic was determined, which opens up some fun behind-the-scenes conversation...

We'll talk about that today, and also about the other publishers involved in the High Republic initiative. It's not just Del Rey, Disney LFL Press, Marvel, and IDW - there are six other publishers involved, and what they've done in the past provides clues to what they'll be doing for the formerly-known-as-Project-Luminous saga. Punch it!

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As New York Comic-Con reveals start to arrive, we're checking in on a couple of news stories about The High Republic publishing initiative that we haven't covered yet... Punch it!

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It's a milestone episode, but not for anything to do with the episode number, obviously. It happens to be my birthday, and a round-number one at that. And Star Wars, and this podcast journey with you, is still as exciting as ever. Punch it!

And if I may humbly share my birthday wish with you, it's to be able to do this show as my full time gig.

If you enjoy the podcast, and you think it's worth supporting this daily dose of Star Wars joy, there are a few ways you can help:

1. Rate the show on iTunes. As of this writing, we're at 197 ratings. It would be fantastic to break 200 today! https://sw7x7.com/itunes

2. Review the show on iTunes. Ratings are terrific, to be sure. As far as iTunes is concerned, reviews are even better, because that takes extra effort. And it helps more people find Star Wars 7x7 when they're looking for Star Wars podcasts to listen to. https://sw7x7.com/itunes

3. Tell a friend. If you like Star Wars and podcasts, chances are you know other folks who like Star Wars and podcasts. Today would be a great day to let a bunch of folks know about this show!

4. Check out my "Hyperspacing Hope" talk ... on the official TED website! Yes, my TEDx talk from last year was promoted up to the big leagues, along with several of my fellow speakers from last year's event. https://sw7x7.com/ted

5. Get the (Unofficial) Force Awakens Trivia Book on Amazon. It features 501+ galaxy-spanning questions and answers from the first of the sequel movies. https://sw7x7.com/tfa

6. Become a Patron of the show. There are shows with thousands of Patrons, and I hope to get there someday as well. For now, adding two more, or fifty-two more, would be wonderful. https://patreon.com/sw7x7

7. Sponsorship. We've had sponsors and affiliate arrangements on the show, and it's the biggest thing that's moved the needle in terms of getting closer to doing the show as a full-time affair. It's also a very particular thing, because it has to be an authentic fit between you, me, and the sponsor. If you or someone you know is associated with a brand you think would do well on the show, let's talk. https://sw7x7.com/sponsors

Thank you for indulging me in sharing my birthday wish list. :-) Now, on with the show!

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The characters in the "From a Certain Point of View" stories for The Empire Strikes Back 40th anniversary collection have been revealed! We'll run them down today... Punch it!

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Celebrating reading and encouraging literacy, Star Wars Reads is back for 2020! Today, a limited-time free book download offer leads to a discussion about the 10 YA books in the new Star Wars canon...

That free download offer is for Zoraida Cordova's A Crash of Fate, and it's available for US residents through October 9. Here's the link where you can go to pick your favorite ebook seller and get it: https://books.disney.com/book/a-crash-of-fate/

While we're at it, we're going to run down all ten YA novels in the new Star Wars canon, which are:

Queen's Peril (E.K. Johnston)
Queen's Shadow (E.K. Johnston)
Ahsoka (E.K. Johnston)
Most Wanted (Rae Carson)
Rebel Rising (Beth Revis)
Lost Stars (Claudia Gray)
Leia, Princess of Alderaan (Claudia Gray)
Poe Dameron: Free Fall (Alex Segura)
Force Collector (Kevin Shinick)
A Crash of Fate (Zoraida Cordova)

Though I won't attempt to rank them, I'll talk about which one seems to have received the best reviews overall, which one is my own personal favorite, and share a quote from Zoraida Cordova about Star Wars storytelling that particularly resonated with me... Punch it!

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It's ironic, in a way, that soap opera would pave the way for space opera. But it's happening as we speak. In the US, you have shows like General Hospital (on which Mark Hamill had a brief stint, as pictured!), Days of Our Lives, and The Bold and the Beautiful. Across the pond, you have shows like EastEnders, Coronation Street, and Hollyoaks.

These soap operas - also known as serials, funnily enough - are already back in production, with new protocols to protect the safety of cast and crew during the pandemic. Now that they've been running for three months or more without a major incident, it's time to consider the possibility that Star Wars in specific, and Hollywood in general, may be able to get back to live action production themselves very soon.

On today's show, we'll talk more about what soaps have been doing both in front of and behind the camera, and explore an altogether different way they could make it happen, which would also support the secrecy of Star Wars productions. Punch it!

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An Instagram Story on the German localized Disney+ account seems to have confirmed the presence of Rosario Dawson and Timothy Olyphant for season 2. But not all of the information you may have seen about this online is exactly accurate. And we need to talk about an elephant in the room... Punch it!

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In our latest What to Watch Now segment, we examine a couple of behind-the-scenes videos that reveal The Mandalorian's technical wizardry - and a surprising connection to The Clone Wars. Punch it!

Here are the links to where the videos referenced in this episode live:

This Mandalorian Video Illustrates Just How Wild the Production Was
https://io9.gizmodo.com/this-mandalorian-video-illustrates-just-how-wild-the-pr-1845052483

This VFX Reel Shows Some of The Mandalorian's Best Moments Coming Together
https://io9.gizmodo.com/this-vfx-reel-shows-some-of-the-mandalorians-best-momen-1844970961

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Star Wars Squadrons is out today! The fourth console game from Electronic Arts is only getting partial reviews so far, and of those, there's a lot of positives, but also not entirely so.

Looking at the early reviews also offers a rather interesting peek behind the scenes at the reviewing aspect of the video game industry, since there were only certain things that could be tested in time to get a story posted on release day. We'll talk about that, about what's covered in the reviews, and where the bright and not-so-bright spots seem to be, based on the reviews out there so far. I'll say that, on first blush, it looks like video-game-specific outlets are being harder on the story mode than more general entertainment review outlets... Punch it!

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We've divided the Star Wars storytelling media into ten distinct groups, and on today's show, we'll tell you what's coming up in October (if anything) for each and every one. Punch it!

The categories are:

Movies
Live Action TV
Animation
Books
Audiobooks
Comics
Virtual Reality
Video Games
Experiential (Events/Conventions/Parks)
Merchandise

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A Patron and long-time listener and supporter of the show reached out to ask when - if ever - there will be a DVD for season 1 of The Mandalorian. Which raises questions about how they'll be handling DVDs in general, now that Disney+ is here...

On today's show, I'll explore Tim McMahon's question in light of The Rise of Skywalker and the Clone Wars for season 6 and 7, and I'll even bring that other "Star"-related franchise into the discussion. We'll also talk about how there are literally hundreds of Mando products already, even though Mando Mondays haven't even started! Plus, I'll share the one thing I found that seems to suggest a Mando season 1 DVD is on the horizon... Punch it!

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It was the big reveal at the end of Mandalorian season 1. It's analogous to Excalibur for Mandalorians. Today, a brief history of the Darksaber, including thoughts on the gap in its timeline between Rebels and The Mandalorian. Punch it!

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With the notion of multiple seasons and rumors of familiar characters, it's looking more and more like the Mandalorian is building to something even bigger - but what? I've got a very logical answer today... Punch it!

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After seeing Christopher Nolan's "Tenet" at a drive-in, I've been thinking about another of his movies, "Inception."

If you haven't seen the movies, don't worry, none of them are spoiled in the podcast. To frame the discussion, though, I explain a piece of the setup of "Inception," which is that it's easier to extract ideas from people's minds, but to insert an idea is much more difficult. It requires that the idea be simple and easy to grasp, and one that the mind can believe it to have created by itself (rather than the mind sensing that the idea did not originate within itself).

The notion of Inception as a concept gave me a different way of looking at the story decision about Rey's lineage that I thought I'd explore with you today... Punch it!

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I was listening to the Force Toast podcast yesterday, and their conversation about the season 2 trailer of The Mandalorian got me thinking about a couple of the episodes we've done here on Star Wars 7x7 recently...

Specifically, one possibility Laura and Alyce posed about the graffitied location made me think back to the show I did about Nevarro's location in the galaxy, as well as the show I did about which Jedi Din Djarin could run into during his travels with the Child. We'll talk about those possibilities today, as well as something unusual about The Client's behavior that I wondered about during a recent rewatch of the first three episodes of season 1. Punch it!

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On today's episode, we'll discuss why and how it's easier to believe that the galaxy has forgotten the Jedi than you may have previously believed. And - more excitingly - based on the timeline, we'll talk about how the Mandalorian's search for the Jedi could logically lead him to a VERY exciting discovery. Punch it!

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As part of the Emmy Awards festivities, People magazine interviewed Giancarlo Esposito, who was nominated not just for his role in The Mandalorian, but also for his role in Better Call Saul. But naturally, they asked him about what season 2 of The Mandalorian holds for viewers.

Some of his answers, well, you *could* consider a bit spoiler-y, definitely on the mildest side. But it's what he says as, for all intents and purposes, a throw-away line that should really grab your attention. I'll be talking about that today, and about how Esposito has further opened the door to discussing the possibility of a "Mandoverse" - a series of interconnected TV shows, similar to what DC has with the "Arrowverse." Punch it!

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As part of the Emmy Awards festivities, People magazine interviewed Giancarlo Esposito, who was nominated not just for his role in The Mandalorian, but also for his role in Better Call Saul. But naturally, they asked him about what season 2 of The Mandalorian holds for viewers.

Some of his answers, well, you *could* consider a bit spoiler-y, definitely on the mildest side. But it's what he says as, for all intents and purposes, a throw-away line that should really grab your attention. I'll be talking about that today, and about how Esposito has further opened the door to discussing the possibility of a "Mandoverse" - a series of interconnected TV shows, similar to what DC has with the "Arrowverse." Punch it!

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