January is shaping up to be a focused, old-school month in Star Wars: The Old Republic. No experimental gimmicks, no seasonal noise — just two proven events that reward time spent actually playing the game. If you’re logging in after the holidays and wondering when it’s worth committing a few evenings, this is your roadmap. Bounty Contract Week Returns The first event of the year brings back one of SWTOR’s most replayable PvE loops. Bounty Contract Week runs from January 6 to January 13, beginning and ending at 12:00 PM GMT, and is available to characters level 15 and up. The Bounty Brokers Association once again opens its doors, offering contracts that send players across the galaxy to track down criminal targets. Each day, you can accept: These missions often take place on different planets, encouraging travel and variety rather than repetitive grinding. Completing five standard contracts unlocks Kingpin missions,…
Author: gingetattoo
A Month of Star Wars Mornings Is Coming to Los Angeles — And the Timing Matters
There’s a quiet, deliberate kind of magic in watching Star Wars on the big screen before the year really gets going. No hype cycles. No spoilers. Just a darkened theater, a familiar score, and a story you already know—but somehow still want to revisit. That’s exactly what’s happening in Los Angeles this winter. Starting Saturday, January 3, 2026, the Ted Mann Theater on Wilshire Boulevard is hosting a steady run of Star Wars theatrical screenings—one film per week, all beginning at 11:00am. It’s a simple idea, executed well, and it lands at a very specific moment in the franchise’s timeline. What’s Screening, and When The program opens with The Empire Strikes Back on Saturday, January 3, followed by Return of the Jedi on January 10. From there, the schedule moves backward and forward across the saga: Every screening starts at 11:00am. No evening rush. No marathon fatigue. Just a consistent…
Why the Sith Didn’t Win Either
The Sith finally won. After a thousand years of secrecy, manipulation, and patience, they achieved total victory. The Jedi were wiped out. The Republic collapsed. The galaxy fell under the control of a single Sith Lord. And within a single generation, that victory destroyed them. The fall of the Jedi is often treated as the great tragedy of Star Wars. But what’s less discussed is the uncomfortable truth on the other side of that collapse: the Sith didn’t truly win either. They conquered everything—and built nothing that could last. Total Victory, No Future From the Sith perspective, the end of the Clone Wars was perfection. The Jedi were gone. Opposition was crushed. Power was absolute. There was no rival order, no balancing force, no institutional resistance left standing. But the Sith victory had a fatal flaw: it was designed to end with one person. There was no succession plan.No shared…
Why the Jedi Were Doomed Long Before Order 66
Order 66 didn’t destroy the Jedi.It revealed how fragile they had already become. When clone troopers turned on their generals, it felt sudden—shocking, brutal, absolute. But the truth is harder to accept and far more uncomfortable: the Jedi Order had been drifting toward collapse for years. The purge wasn’t the cause of their downfall. It was the final consequence of choices the Order had already made. To understand why the Jedi fell, you have to stop looking at the clones—and start looking at the institution. The Illusion of an Unbreakable Order At the height of the Republic, the Jedi appeared stronger than ever. Thousands of Knights and Masters served across the galaxy. Their Temple stood at the heart of Coruscant, both spiritually and politically. They advised the Senate, mediated conflicts, and carried the authority of a thousand generations. From the outside, the Order looked stable. Eternal, even. Inside, it was…
Tony Gilroy Pushes Back on Claims That Andor Is a Left-Leaning Show
Andor has often been described as one of the most politically grounded Star Wars series ever made. That framing has led some viewers to label it as explicitly left-leaning. According to Tony Gilroy, that interpretation misses the point. In a recent interview, Gilroy addressed the assumption head-on, making it clear that while his own political beliefs lean left, Andor was never designed to argue for a specific political program. Why This Conversation Keeps Coming Up Andor arrived at a moment when audiences are primed to read politics into everything. The show deals with authoritarian power, surveillance, bureaucracy, and rebellion—topics that naturally invite real-world comparisons. But Gilroy’s position is that Andor isn’t interested in policy debates. It’s interested in pressure. That distinction matters, especially as Star Wars storytelling has increasingly been filtered through modern political lenses rather than narrative intent. What Gilroy Actually Said Speaking on a podcast interview, Gilroy explained…
“Betrayal and Despair” Brings a Dark New Musical Chapter to Star Wars: The Old Republic
Some updates announce features. Others quietly deepen the soul of a game.“Betrayal and Despair” falls squarely into the second category—and that’s why it matters right now. Freshly released from the worlds of Star Wars: The Old Republic, the new track underscores a truth longtime players already know: SWTOR’s storytelling still lives and dies by its music. What Was Released—and Who Created It “Betrayal and Despair” is a newly composed piece for SWTOR by Gordy Haab, Marco Valerio Antonini, and Samuel Joseph Smythe. That lineup alone sets expectations. Haab’s work has long been associated with modern Star Wars music that respects John Williams’ legacy without mimicking it. Antonini and Smythe bring a more contemporary, cinematic game-music sensibility—leaning into mood, texture, and restraint. The result is a track that doesn’t rush to impress. It sits with the moment. Where This Fits in SWTOR’s Ongoing Story Star Wars: The Old Republic takes place…
How Old Is Darth Maul? His Real Age Explained in Star Wars Canon
Few Star Wars characters feel as timeless—and as confusing—as Darth Maul.He first appeared as a near-silent Sith assassin in The Phantom Menace, seemingly died, returned years later driven by obsession, and eventually met his final end far from the galactic spotlight. That long, fractured journey raises a surprisingly common question: how old is Darth Maul, really? In Star Wars canon, Darth Maul is roughly 52 years old at the time of his final appearance. The answer isn’t complicated—but it does require looking at where Maul appears across the Star Wars timeline. Darth Maul’s Birth Year (Canon) In official Star Wars canon, Darth Maul was born around 54 BBY (Before the Battle of Yavin). That places him firmly in the final decades of the Republic, growing up in the shadows long before the rise of the Empire. As a child, he was taken by Darth Sidious and trained in secret, molded…
Ahsoka Season 2 Will Dive Deeper Into the Nightsisters of Dathomir
One of Ahsoka’s most intriguing elements wasn’t a Jedi, a Sith, or even a familiar legacy character. It was the Nightsisters of Dathomir—and Season 2 is set to take them much further. According to Jane Edwina Seymour, who portrays Mother Lakesis, the next season will explore the Nightsisters “more fully and deeply” than before. That’s not a throwaway promise. It hints at a shift in focus that could reshape how this corner of Star Wars mythology is understood on screen. Why This Matters Now Season 1 of Ahsoka introduced the Nightsisters less as background lore and more as active players with their own agendas. They weren’t relics of The Clone Wars or Rebels. They were alive, strategic, and clearly operating on a long game. Season 2 appears ready to pay that setup off. For fans who’ve followed the Nightsisters across animation, novels, and games, this is the first time live-action…
Ben Burtt Becomes Lucasfilm’s First-Ever 50-Year Service Award Recipient
Some people define a franchise with a face.Ben Burtt defined Star Wars with sound. Lucasfilm has honored Burtt with its first-ever 50-year Service Award, marking half a century of work that didn’t just support the galaxy far, far away—but quite literally gave it a voice. This isn’t a ceremonial milestone. It’s a recognition that without Burtt, Star Wars as we know it simply wouldn’t exist. Why This Matters Now As Star Wars approaches its own 50th anniversary, Lucasfilm is quietly shifting focus from characters and eras to the people who built the foundation. Awarding a 50-year Service Award for the first time sends a clear message: legacy isn’t just about stories on screen. It’s about the craft behind them. And no one represents that craft more completely than Ben Burtt. The Sounds That Built a Galaxy Burtt didn’t just design effects. He created a language of sound that modern cinema…
Crashed Fortress: SWTOR’s New Music Track Turns Ruin Into Momentum
A new Star Wars: The Old Republic music track has landed — and it’s one that quietly does a lot of heavy lifting. “Crashed Fortress”, composed by Gordy Haab, Marco Valerio Antonini, and Samuel Joseph Smythe, is the latest standalone piece released from SWTOR’s ongoing soundtrack output. On the surface, it’s “just” another ambient track. In practice, it’s a tightly constructed example of how SWTOR still uses music to shape player behavior, pacing, and emotional tone more than a decade into its life. If you care about how game music actually functions — not just how it sounds — this one is worth your attention. Why this track matters right now Most MMOs front-load their best musical ideas early, then coast. SWTOR has done the opposite. Recent standalone releases like Crashed Fortress suggest an intentional effort to keep the game’s sonic identity evolving alongside new environments and story beats. This…
Using Musick.ai to Shape Music Ideas
You sit before an empty track, headphones on, the clock ticking steadily. Ideas hover, but none are audible, and opening the DAW feels heavier than beginning the work itself. Sample libraries, virtual instruments, effect chains—all await your attention, yet none answer the pressing question: “Is this idea worth pursuing?” In that suspended moment, AI Music Generator lets you move from thought to sound in seconds, producing an initial audible sketch you can assess, iterate, or discard without spending hours. It occupies the space where your intention meets immediacy, where silence becomes something perceptible, allowing you to gauge potential before committing to the full process. I. What Musick.ai Actually Is It is not a full production environment. It is not a replacement for structured composition or human decision-making. You use it in the space between a vague creative impulse and something you can hear. It occupies the threshold where your idea…
What the KOTOR II Switch Lawsuit Really Revealed About Fan Mods and Value
A legal dispute over a Star Wars classic took a surprising turn this week when new details emerged about a lawsuit involving Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II on Nintendo Switch. At the heart of it was a familiar fan project — the Sith Lords Restored Content Mod — and an argument from the publisher’s side that could set an interesting precedent for how fan work is viewed in legal and commercial contexts. A DLC That Never Delivered, and a Lawsuit That Followed When Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II – The Sith Lords was ported to the Nintendo Switch in 2022, the announcement trailer hinted that the Restored Content Mod — a comprehensive fan-made effort to reintroduce unused story content — would be included as official DLC. But that DLC never materialized. As documented in newly revealed court filings, players who bought the game expecting…
SWTOR Developers Talk Darth Nul With Samantha Béart — and Why Galactic Threads Hits Differently
Sometimes the most revealing Star Wars conversations aren’t about plot twists or patch notes. They’re about voice, intent, and how a character finds their shape. That’s exactly what happens in a new developer sit-down video, where the Star Wars: The Old Republic team chats with Samantha Béart, the actor behind the enigmatic Darth Nul. The conversation arrives alongside Game Update 7.8, “Pursuit of Ruin,” and the release of Galactic Threads—and together, they underline why SWTOR’s storytelling still has bite in 2025. Why this matters now Update 7.8 isn’t just another content drop. It’s part of a longer arc where SWTOR has leaned into character-driven tension rather than spectacle-first storytelling. Darth Nul embodies that shift. She isn’t loud. She isn’t explained away. She lingers. Hearing the developers and Béart unpack how that presence was built gives players a clearer sense of why recent SWTOR storylines feel more deliberate—and more replayable—than they…
How Industrial Light & Magic Shaped The Force Awakens — Ten Years Later
Ten years on, Star Wars: The Force Awakens doesn’t just feel like a movie that restarted a saga. It feels like a technical turning point. To mark the film’s tenth anniversary, Industrial Light & Magic has revisited its Oscar®-nominated visual effects work on the 2015 release — offering a closer look at how the galaxy was rebuilt for a new era without losing its soul. Why this matters now Anniversaries tend to focus on characters and story. This one shifts the spotlight to craft. The Force Awakens arrived with a difficult mandate: make Star Wars feel tangible again after years of increasingly digital spectacle, while still delivering modern blockbuster scale. ILM’s work was central to pulling that off — and a decade later, its influence is even clearer. What was revisited The newly released retrospective highlights ILM’s effects pipeline on Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which earned an Academy Award®…
Ahsoka Season 2 Release Date: Why Disney Still Hasn’t Announced One
If you’re searching for an Ahsoka Season 2 release date, you’re not missing an announcement. There simply isn’t one. Despite strong viewership, a confirmed continuation, and months of fan anticipation, Disney and Lucasfilm have yet to lock in — or publicly acknowledge — a release window for Season 2 of Ahsoka. And that silence is exactly why questions around the show’s future timing have surged. Here’s what’s actually going on, what Disney’s latest release slate tells us, and why the absence of a date may be more intentional than alarming. Is There an Official Ahsoka Season 2 Release Date? No. As of now, Disney has not announced a release date — or even a release year — for Ahsoka Season 2. There has been no formal confirmation tied to Disney+, no press release, and no placement on Disney’s publicly updated content slate for 2026. While Lucasfilm has acknowledged that the…
New Star Wars: The Old Republic Track “Betrayal and Despair” Arrives
A fresh piece of music from Star Wars: The Old Republic has just arrived, and it’s exactly the kind of score that underscores why this game’s soundscape stands out. The new track is titled “Betrayal and Despair,” and it was composed by Gordy Haab, Marco Valerio Antonini, and Yitong ET Chen — three names with deep ties to Star Wars music and interactive storytelling. What’s been released The track was recently posted to the official Star Wars: The Old Republic YouTube channel, giving players and fans a full listen: True to its title, the piece leans into somber themes with emotional weight and sweeping orchestration. It’s atmospheric, cinematic, and unmistakably Star Wars in tone — but crafted for the unique rhythms of an MMO. Who put it together This new track wasn’t written by a single composer, but by a trio: Together they’ve delivered a piece that reflects conflict, loss,…
Andor Season 2 Named Best Television Series of 2025 by IGN
This isn’t a popularity contest win. It’s a credibility one. Andor Season 2 has officially been voted Best Television Series of 2025 by IGN, placing a grounded, politically charged Star Wars story at the very top of the year’s TV landscape. And that matters more than it might sound. Why this matters right now Awards season conversations often orbit prestige dramas, genre standouts, and cultural heavyweights. Star Wars television hasn’t always been part of that discussion. Andor just forced its way in. IGN’s recognition lands as Season 2 closes the book on Cassian Andor’s journey, confirming that the series didn’t just start strong — it finished with authority. What IGN recognized IGN’s Best of 2025 honor reflects the full scope of what Andor accomplished in its second and final season. The show leaned harder into political tension, moral compromise, and the personal cost of rebellion. It trusted silence as much…
SWTOR’s Executive Producer Check-In Sets the Tone for 2026
SWTOR doesn’t shout about its future. It checks in, takes stock, and keeps moving. That’s exactly what Keith Kanneg’s Q4 2025 Executive Producer letter does — a grounded look at where Star Wars: The Old Republic stands after a busy fourth quarter, and how the team is thinking about 2026. For a live MMO more than a decade old, that kind of transparency still matters. What was just released BioWare has published its Q4 2025 Executive Producer update, written by Keith Kanneg, outlining what the SWTOR team has been focused on over the past quarter and what players can expect looking ahead. This isn’t a trailer or a roadmap packed with bullet points. It’s a status report — part reflection, part direction-setting — aimed squarely at the people still logging in. What the update covers The letter looks back at SWTOR’s fourth quarter of 2025, touching on ongoing development work,…
Lucasfilm Wins Key Court Ruling Over Peter Cushing’s Likeness in Rogue One
Nearly a decade after Rogue One reignited debates about digital resurrection in Hollywood, a UK court has delivered a decisive ruling that still echoes across Star Wars — and the wider film industry. Lucasfilm has successfully had a legal challenge dismissed over its use of Peter Cushing’s likeness as Grand Moff Tarkin. The decision doesn’t just close a long-running dispute. It clarifies where the legal ground currently stands as studios navigate the ethics and legality of bringing legacy characters back to the screen. What happened A UK Court of Appeal has ruled in favor of Lucasfilm, striking out a lawsuit brought by Tyburn Film Productions over the digital recreation of Peter Cushing in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Tyburn claimed that a 1993 agreement with Cushing — tied to an unrelated, unrealized project — gave it rights connected to the visual effects use of his likeness. On that basis,…
Star Wars Fans Take the Fight to NYC to Save The Hunt for Ben Solo
This isn’t a hashtag. It’s a billboard. Star Wars fans have taken their campaign to the streets of New York City, launching a public, real-world effort to revive a shelved project called The Hunt for Ben Solo. And by choosing Times Square and other high-visibility spots, they’re making sure the message is impossible to ignore. What happened — and why now Over the past few weeks, fans have organized a coordinated campaign in NYC calling on Disney and Lucasfilm to reconsider The Hunt for Ben Solo, a proposed standalone Star Wars film centered on Kylo Ren after The Rise of Skywalker. The campaign includes a Times Square billboard, physical posters styled like missing-person notices, and in-person fan meetups. It’s not tied to a convention or a release window. The timing is intentional: the effort follows renewed attention around the project after Adam Driver publicly confirmed that a Ben Solo film…
Star Wars: Starfighter Has Wrapped Production — And Now the Real Work Begins
Lights, cameras… wrap! 🎬Director Shawn Levy has officially confirmed that principal photography on Star Wars: Starfighter has wrapped, meaning the next major theatrical chapter in the Star Wars saga is now moving into post-production and getting polished for its big debut. With the cameras down and editing underway, fans can now look ahead to Starfighter’s planned release — May 28, 2027 — marking one of the most anticipated theatrical entries in the franchise in years. A Fresh Star Wars Story, Built from Scratch What makes Starfighter particularly interesting isn’t just the wrap announcement — it’s the kind of movie it promises to be. Unlike many recent entries that revisited familiar characters, Starfighter is designed to be a stand-alone adventure. That means new faces, new corners of the galaxy, and a story that isn’t tied directly to past trilogies or sagas. Director Shawn Levy has emphasized that the film isn’t a…
Joonas Suotamo Reflects on The Force Awakens at 10 — “My Life Changed Forever”
Ten years after Star Wars: The Force Awakens brought the saga roaring back to the big screen, Joonas Suotamo, the actor who stepped into the towering role of Chewbacca, is looking back with equal parts gratitude, awe, and a few well-earned goosebumps. In a heartfelt anniversary post, Suotamo shared how walking onto the set of The Force Awakens quite literally changed his life—and how the emotion of that moment still hasn’t faded a decade later. Stepping Onto the Falcon According to Suotamo, one moment stands above the rest: meeting Harrison Ford just before stepping into the Millennium Falcon. For any Star Wars fan, that’s already a “pinch me” scenario. For someone about to help relaunch the entire franchise? That’s history pressing down on your shoulders—in the best possible way. Suotamo recalls not just the excitement, but the emotion on set. Cast and crew members were deeply aware that they weren’t…
Star Wars: The Force Awakens Turns 10 — The Movie That Brought the Galaxy Back
Ten years ago today, Star Wars: The Force Awakens hit theaters and did something many thought was impossible: it made Star Wars feel like a global event again. Midnight screenings. Sold-out IMAX shows. Lightsabers in parking lots. That familiar opening crawl sending chills through packed cinemas. For a moment in December 2015, the entire pop-culture universe seemed to stop and collectively whisper, “Chewie… we’re home.” And honestly? It really felt that way. The Weight of a Galactic Comeback When The Force Awakens released, Star Wars hadn’t had a new theatrical film in a decade. The prequel era had ended, George Lucas had passed the torch, and expectations were… let’s call them intense. J.J. Abrams’ mission was clear but daunting: The result was a movie designed not to reinvent the saga, but to reignite it. And it worked. Rey, Finn, Poe — A New Hope, Literally One of The Force Awakens’…
Missing Sebulba While Waiting for Galactic Racer? Beyond Victory Has You Covered
Let’s be honest: if you’re even mildly excited about Star Wars: Galactic Racer, there’s a good chance you’re also wondering one very specific thing — when do we get Sebulba back? The galaxy’s most infamous podracing menace may not be tearing up the track just yet, but Star Wars: Beyond Victory is stepping in with something arguably even more dangerous: a Solo-era heist, with Sebulba right in the middle of it. And somehow, that feels exactly right. Back to the Galaxy’s Shadier Lanes Beyond Victory is set around the time of Solo: A Star Wars Story, an era that thrives on chaos, questionable deals, and people who smile while planning to double-cross you. This isn’t a story about heroes or destiny. It’s about survival, credits, and knowing when to run. Putting Sebulba at the center of a heist setup immediately tells you what kind of experience this is aiming for….