One of the more interesting things about Star Wars Zero Company right now is that it does not sound interested in giving players the usual galaxy-saving ego trip. According to narrative director Aaron Contreras, this is not a “personal fantasy game,” and that may end up being one of its smartest decisions. That line came out of a new PC Gamer interview, where Contreras explained that Hawks — the former Republic officer leading Zero Company — is not meant to be some lone chosen-one figure swaggering through the Clone Wars with a magic answer for everything. Instead, the fantasy is leadership: managing a squad, handling clashing personalities, and making hard calls when there is no clean outcome. That fits the official pitch for the game, which casts Hawks as the head of an unconventional outfit of professionals for hire in the twilight of the Clone Wars. Zero Company is currently…
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Sam Witwer Says Maul: Shadow Lord Was Built for Newcomers — and Compares Maul to Jack Torrance
Sam Witwer has now said the quiet part out loud: Maul: Shadow Lord is not just a reward for longtime Clone Wars diehards. In a new YouTube interview, Witwer said the series was shaped so even people with little or no Star Wars background can jump in and understand it, which is a pretty revealing statement about what Lucasfilm seems to want this show to do. That matters because Maul has never exactly been a beginner-friendly character. His timeline is messy, his rage is old, and half his best material is spread across movies, animation, and a surprise live-action cameo. But Witwer said Shadow Lord was constructed “with an eye toward” new viewers, with the story designed to explain itself rather than demand homework first. That lines up with the official setup for the series, which places Maul on Janix in the early Imperial era as he tries to rebuild…
Maul: Shadow Lord Season 2 May Have to Wait as Lucasfilm Juggles Other Star Wars Projects
Lucasfilm is already looking beyond Maul Maul: Shadow Lord has not even finished its first run, and Lucasfilm is already being asked about Season 2. That is usually a good sign. The less reassuring part is the answer. Executive producer Athena Yvette Portillo says the studio has other Star Wars projects in development and in progress, which suggests any second season may depend on both audience response and what else Lucasfilm wants to get moving first. Portillo did not say Season 2 is off the table. Quite the opposite. Her comments leave the door open, but they also make it clear that Maul: Shadow Lord is not the only thing on Lucasfilm Animation’s radar right now. That makes this feel less like a renewal update and more like a polite reminder that Maul is part of a bigger pipeline. That distinction matters, because headlines like this can get stretched fast….
Star Wars Zero Company Wants to Prove Tactics Games Do Not Have to Feel Cheap
Star Wars Zero Company is already getting the obvious shorthand treatment as “Star Wars XCOM,” but the latest comments from director Greg Foertsch suggest Bit Reactor is aiming at something broader than just solid turn-based combat. In a new PC Gamer interview, Foertsch said he has “an axe to grind” with the idea that tactics fans should accept thin stories, rough presentation, or clunky controls as the price of depth. His pitch is simple: strategy games can be smart, stylish, and emotionally engaging at the same time. That matters because Zero Company is not being sold as a dry systems-first war game with a Star Wars coat of paint. Officially, EA describes it as a single-player turn-based tactics game set in the twilight of the Clone Wars, with players stepping into the role of Hawks, a former Republic officer leading an elite squad of mercenaries from across the galaxy. It…
Star Wars Zero Company Director Thinks Old-School PC Genres Are Back Because Consoles Couldn’t Carry Them Properly
One of the more interesting things coming out of the Star Wars Zero Company press cycle is not just what the game is, but what Bit Reactor thinks it says about the wider industry. In a new PC Gamer interview, creative director Greg Foertsch argued that a lot of classic PC-first genres went quiet for years because the industry got “enamored with consoles” in the 2000s, while certain types of games simply did not make that transition well. That is a pretty sharp way of explaining why genres like turn-based tactics, CRPGs, RTS, and grand strategy suddenly feel alive again. Officially, Zero Company itself is a single-player turn-based tactics game set in the Clone Wars, with players leading Hawks and an unconventional squad across tactical operations and investigations. The Key Idea Is Not Just “PC Genres Came Back” Foertsch’s actual point is more specific than simple nostalgia. He told PC…
Jeremy Allen White Says Finding Rotta the Hutt’s Voice Was Freer Than Playing Bruce Springsteen
Jeremy Allen White has now given one of the better descriptions yet of what makes The Mandalorian and Grogu such a strange swing. Speaking in Empire-backed coverage surfaced this month, White said playing Rotta the Hutt gave him “a bit more freedom” than playing Bruce Springsteen, because Springsteen’s voice is so instantly recognizable. Rotta, by contrast, gave him more room to experiment — including, in his words, the fact that “my speaking voice changes [as Rotta].” That is a weird comparison on paper, but it actually tells you a lot about what kind of performance this is. Rotta Is Clearly Not Being Played as a Joke That matters because White is not just voicing some throwaway CGI creature. Lucasfilm has already confirmed that he plays Rotta the Hutt in The Mandalorian and Grogu, the upcoming theatrical Star Wars film opening May 22, 2026. Official material has also made it clear…
Dave Filoni Says Maul: Shadow Lord Will Finally Bring Some of George Lucas’ Maul Plans to Life
One of the most intriguing things Lucasfilm has said about Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord is not about a trailer shot or a release date. It is about George Lucas. In the official reveal coverage for the series, Dave Filoni said he and Lucas had discussed Maul’s future over the years, and that Shadow Lord became a way of honoring some of those original ideas and finally bringing part of that unseen future to light. That is a big statement for a character whose post-Phantom Menace life has already been one of the strangest and richest arcs in modern Star Wars. For the wider rollout, characters, and earlier reveals, check out our Maul: Shadow Lord complete guide. This Makes Shadow Lord Feel Bigger Than Just Another Spinoff What makes Filoni’s quote land is that it frames the series as more than a simple Maul comeback vehicle. In StarWars.com’s official…
Phil Lord’s New Solo Comment Suggests Han Was Meant to Be More Than a One-Off
A throwaway line from Phil Lord may have just reopened one of the strangest “what if” questions in modern Star Wars. During a recent Happy Sad Confused interview with Josh Horowitz, Lord said one benefit of not being “on the hook for making like three Han Solo sequels” was that he and Chris Miller could go make original franchise material instead. It was not framed like a big reveal, but it landed like one. Because if you take that line at face value, Lucasfilm’s plan for Solo may once have stretched well beyond a single movie. That Is a Bigger Han Solo Plan Than Fans Ever Officially Heard About The key detail here is the wording. Lord did not say “maybe there could have been more.” He said “three Han Solo sequels,” which strongly suggests there was at least some version of a longer-term roadmap in the air when he…
Maul: Shadow Lord Is Taking Inspiration From Heat — and That Might Be the Best News Yet
If Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord needed one more reason to look dangerous in the best possible way, here it is: writer and co-developer Matt Michnovetz says Heat was a key influence on the series.In a new interview, Michnovetz called the Michael Mann crime classic “a good touchstone for Maul,” framing the show around a noir-ish underworld atmosphere instead of a cleaner, more traditional Jedi-vs-Sith setup. If you want the broader picture around the series, release rollout, and earlier reveals, check out our Maul: Shadow Lord complete guide. This Is Exactly the Kind of Comparison Maul Should Be Getting Honestly, this makes a ton of sense. If you are building a show around Maul in the early Empire era, the obvious temptation would be to go full revenge opera and just let him glare at people in dark corridors for 10 episodes. That might still be fun, but it…
BB-8 Puppeteer Says Sequel Backlash Is Repeating Prequel History
Brian Herring, the puppeteer and performer behind BB-8 in the sequel trilogy, thinks Star Wars fans have seen this cycle before. In a new interview with Gamereactor, Herring argued that the sequel trilogy is “no more polarising” than the prequels were when they first landed, suggesting today’s online backlash says as much about generational turnover as it does about the films themselves. Herring has long been closely tied to modern Star Wars on screen, with StarWars.com previously spotlighting his work bringing BB-8 to life. The Internet Changed the Volume, Not the Pattern Herring’s basic argument is pretty sharp: people angry about the sequels are often too young to remember how intensely fans pushed back against the prequels when those films arrived. His point is not that everyone has to like Episodes VII-IX. It is that the reaction pattern feels familiar, only louder now because every debate gets amplified online. In…
Ryan Gosling Says One Star Wars: Starfighter Scene Was “One of the Most Fun” He’s Ever Done
Star Wars: Starfighter is still keeping most of its secrets locked down, but Ryan Gosling just gave away a very telling little detail about the movie’s creature work. Speaking in a recent interview, Gosling said he visited the creature shop early during production so he could see what was being built and figure out ways to interact with those creations in the film. According to him, he ended up spotting one “very special” creature that had originally been meant as a background character, asked if he could have a scene with it, and that moment turned into “one of the most fun scenes” he has ever done. He also said the team later gave him a model of the creature as his wrap gift, and that it is now sitting in his house. A Small Quote That Says a Lot That is not a plot reveal, but it is exactly…
Hayden Christensen Says His Daughter Still Hasn’t Watched His Star Wars Movies
Hayden Christensen says his daughter still has not really watched his Star Wars movies, and the reason is honestly kind of perfect. Speaking at GalaxyCon, Christensen said she knows he plays “a significant character,” but has still not properly seen the films. According to him, the issue seems to be pretty simple: she knows he becomes Darth Vader, she knows Darth Vader is a bad guy, and she does not want to watch her dad as the villain. A Very Star Wars Parenting Problem It is one of those stories that only really works in Star Wars. For most actors, telling your kid you played an important movie character probably sounds pretty straightforward. For Hayden Christensen, it apparently comes with the added complication that the character eventually becomes one of the most famous villains in film history. That makes this less about franchise legacy and more about a kid understandably…
Kelly Marie Tran Reflects on The Last Jedi Backlash Nearly 10 Years Later
Nearly a decade after Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Kelly Marie Tran is reflecting on the backlash she faced after joining the sequel trilogy — and the biggest change now is how she sees it. Speaking recently about that period, Tran said the hardest part at the time was believing the abuse meant she did not belong. Looking back now, she says the thing she did not understand then was simple: it was not her fault. She also said that after ten years of therapy, support groups, and personal work, she believes she would experience it very differently now. A Star Wars Wound That Never Really Left the Conversation Tran joined The Last Jedi in 2017 as Rose Tico, becoming the first Asian American woman in a leading role in a Star Wars film. In the aftermath, she became the target of racist and sexist harassment online, a response that…
Ryan Gosling Says Star Wars: Starfighter Will Use Practical Puppets
Ryan Gosling has confirmed that Star Wars: Starfighter will feature practical puppets, dropping one of the most reassuringly Star Wars details fans could have hoped to hear this early in the film’s rollout. The comment came during press for Project Hail Mary, when Gosling was asked whether the upcoming Lucasfilm movie would include practical puppets. His answer was brief, slightly cautious, and very on-brand: “Yes… I think I can say that.” That may sound like a tiny production note, but in Star Wars terms, it is not. Puppets, animatronics, suits, and tactile creature work are part of the series’ visual DNA, from the Mos Eisley cantina to Yoda, Jabba, the porgs, Neel in Skeleton Crew, and just about every weird little alien that makes the galaxy feel lived-in. Star Wars has a long history of blending practical creature effects with digital work, and Lucasfilm has continued highlighting that mix in…
J.J. Abrams Says He Wishes General Hux Had a Bigger Role in the Sequel Trilogy
General Hux may be one of the sequel trilogy’s clearest missed opportunities. That conversation is back after J.J. Abrams praised Domhnall Gleeson at the Oscar Wilde Awards and said, “I wish he had a larger role in what we did.” Abrams presented Gleeson at the 20th Oscar Wilde Awards in Hollywood this week. A Quote Star Wars Fans Will Immediately Understand It is a small quote, but it says a lot. Hux was introduced in The Force Awakens as a major First Order figure, with clear tension opposite Kylo Ren and enough presence to feel like a long-term villain. But by the time The Rise of Skywalker arrived, the character’s arc had narrowed sharply. Why Hux Still Gets Talked About Part of the reason fans still bring up Hux is simple: the setup was stronger than the payoff. Back in 2020, Domhnall Gleeson said he wished General Hux had “stuck…
Mercedes Varnado Says Koska Reeves Wasn’t Originally in The Mandalorian Script
Some Star Wars characters arrive with years of canon behind them. Koska Reeves did not. According to a recently resurfaced behind-the-scenes comment from Mercedes Varnado, her The Mandalorian character was not originally in the script. She said Jon Favreau did not initially have a role for her, but later found a way to create one. Koska Reeves Was Created for the Series That detail makes Koska Reeves more interesting than ever, because she was not pulled from older Star Wars canon. When she debuted in Chapter 11, “The Heiress,” she was introduced as a brand-new Mandalorian character made for The Mandalorian, not an existing figure from The Clone Wars or Rebels. Why the Character Worked So Well What makes this reveal stand out is how natural Koska felt on screen. She showed up as part of Bo-Katan’s crew and immediately looked like she belonged in that world. There was no…
Ryan Gosling Says Star Wars: Starfighter Has Its Own Great Story — and That Is Exactly What Fans Need to Hear
There is a very specific kind of Star Wars quote that instantly makes people nervous. It usually sounds like someone involved in a new project saying, “Trust us, it’s special,” which is Hollywood code for “we are not telling you anything useful yet.” Ryan Gosling’s new comments about Star Wars: Starfighter land a little better than that, mostly because they hit the exact concern a lot of fans already have. Speaking to Collider, Gosling said the film has “such a great story on its own,” that the characters are amazing, and that Shawn Levy has the tone locked in. That may not be a plot reveal, but it is a smart reassurance for a movie that really does need to prove it can stand on its own two feet. The “On Its Own” Part Is the Real Headline That is the phrase that matters most here. Not just that Gosling…
Sigourney Weaver Says Colonel Ward Goes Way Back With Leia — and That Suddenly Makes The Mandalorian and Grogu More Interesting
For a while, Colonel Ward felt like one of those Star Wars movie characters who exists mostly as a name, a uniform, and a lot of fan speculation. Sigourney Weaver was in, the trailers showed her looking important, and everyone more or less assumed she would be the serious New Republic authority figure who sends Din Djarin off to deal with a mess. Which, to be fair, still sounds true. But Empire’s new coverage adds one much better detail: Ward apparently has history with Princess Leia. And just like that, she stops feeling like generic “new character in a control room” material and starts feeling like someone with real roots in this era of Star Wars. Colonel Ward Is Not Just Some Random New Republic Officer According to the new Empire details relayed by Jedi News, Weaver says Colonel Ward and Leia “go way back.” That is the kind of…
Empire’s Mandalorian and Grogu Coverage Just Made the Movie Feel a Lot More Real
For a while, The Mandalorian and Grogu has had that slightly weird Star Wars-project energy where everyone knows it exists, everyone knows it is important, but it still somehow feels a little abstract. Not anymore. Empire’s May 2026 issue is a full-on world-exclusive preview, built around new imagery and interviews with Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni, Pedro Pascal, Sigourney Weaver, and Jeremy Allen White, and it is very clearly the point where this thing stops feeling like “that Mando movie coming at some point” and starts feeling like an actual event. Empire’s issue went on sale March 12, and Lucasfilm’s official film page still has the release date locked for May 22, 2026. Pedro Pascal Apparently Found Out About the Movie the Same Way We Did The funniest detail to come out of the new coverage might be that Pedro Pascal was not sitting on some giant secret master plan all…
Katee Sackhoff Won’t Confirm Bo-Katan for The Mandalorian and Grogu — But She Says Fans Haven’t Seen the Last of Her
You can always count on Star Wars red carpet interviews to give you the most carefully engineered non-answer in the galaxy. That is exactly what happened when Katee Sackhoff was asked about Bo-Katan Kryze and whether she shows up in The Mandalorian and Grogu. Sackhoff did not confirm it. She did not deny it either. Instead, she pulled the classic “can’t confirm or deny” move — which, in Star Wars terms, is basically the franchise equivalent of waving a beskar key in front of the fandom and then sprinting away. But here is the part that actually matters: she also said fans have not seen the last of Bo-Katan. And honestly? That is the real story here. Bo-Katan Is Not Exactly a Side Character Anymore At this point, Bo-Katan is way past being some deep-cut Clone Wars favorite that only animation nerds argued about online. She is one of the…
Jon Favreau Says Rotta the Hutt Is Basically the Adonis Creed of The Mandalorian and Grogu
There are a lot of ways to describe Jabba the Hutt’s kid. Slimy heir. Underworld legacy act. The galaxy’s weirdest case of nepotism. But Jon Favreau just reached for a much more unexpected comparison. In a new Empire spotlight on The Mandalorian and Grogu, Favreau compared Rotta the Hutt to Adonis “Donnie” Creed, the Creed franchise boxer who has to build his own identity while carrying the weight of a famous family name. Favreau’s quote gets right to the point: what does it do to a character when he is trying to establish himself while being known first and foremost as Jabba the Hutt’s son? That is actually a pretty smart angle. Rotta Is Not Just Back — He Is Apparently in “Top Form” Favreau’s comments suggest Rotta is not returning as some throwaway easter egg for people who remember The Clone Wars. According to the new details pulled from…
Star Wars Outlaws: Low Red Moon Gets a Behind-the-Scenes Spotlight From Mike Chen and the Game’s Own Voice Cast
Not every Star Wars tie-in gets to feel this connected to the thing it is spinning out from. Star Wars Outlaws: Low Red Moon was already an interesting release because it digs into the past of Jaylen Vrax and ND-5, two characters who left a real impression in Star Wars Outlaws. Now the book is getting a fresh round of attention thanks to a new feature spotlighting author Mike Chen along with Jay Rincon and Eric Johnson, the voices behind ND-5 and Jaylen in the game itself. That alone makes this more than just another “expanded universe” side story. It makes it feel like a proper extension of the Outlaws world. Why Low Red Moon Feels Different There is no shortage of Star Wars books, comics, and side stories floating around the galaxy, but Low Red Moon has something a little more specific going for it. Instead of circling the…
Werner Herzog Says Jon Favreau Personally Invited Him to Play The Client in The Mandalorian
Werner Herzog showing up in The Mandalorian as “The Client” is still one of those wonderfully weird Star Wars casting choices that somehow works perfectly. Now, Herzog has explained how it happened—and it turns out he didn’t audition, compete, or chase the role at all. He was simply invited. “I Never Competed for That Part” In a recent chat (via CinemaBlend), Herzog said Jon Favreau personally asked him to join the series—because Favreau is a genuine fan of Herzog’s films and wanted more people to recognize him on sight: “Well, I never competed for that part. I was invited by Jon Favreau… because he loves my films, and he said people have to see what this man looks like.” That’s such a Favreau move: “I love your work, please come be an Imperial bureaucrat with terrifying vibes.” Herzog Was Also Blown Away by the Tech Herzog also praised how The…
Star Wars: Starfighter Actor Daniel Ings Teases a “Punk” Vibe — and a “Tremendous” Ending
If you’re worried Star Wars: Starfighter is going to be another overly polished, committee-built space opera, actor Daniel Ings just dropped a description that suggests the opposite. In an interview highlighted by ScreenRant, Ings says the upcoming 2027 Star Wars movie has a “punk feel” and that the ending is “tremendous.” That’s… a pretty spicy choice of words for a franchise that usually lives somewhere between mythic fairytale and military sci-fi. What does “punk Star Wars” even mean? “Ings calling it punk” can be read a few ways (and yes, fans are already doing the “define punk” discourse speedrun): And honestly? That vibe would make sense for Starfighter if the movie is truly trying to stand on its own without leaning on legacy characters as a crutch. The “tremendous” ending tease lands in… interesting timing The reason Ings’ comment is turning heads isn’t just the hype — it’s the context….