Star Wars behind-the-scenes stories are often at their best when they sound completely made up. A puppet becomes cinema history. A trash can becomes a droid. Someone waves a stick in a parking lot and suddenly it is the most emotional lightsaber duel of your childhood. Now we can apparently add this one to the pile: Katee Sackhoff says a fan-made Bo-Katan helmet was used for a shot in The Mandalorian because the professionally designed helmet did not fit her head. That is not just a funny production detail. That is Star Wars in its purest, weirdest form. According to the clip shared from Sackhoff’s appearance, the issue came down to fit. The official production helmet was built with professional precision, but Bo-Katan’s live-action look created the kind of practical problem that glossy streaming shows usually hide very well: armor is cool until a human being actually has to wear…
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George Lucas Knew Adults Would Fight the Prequels. The Kids Were the Point.
For years, the standard story about the Star Wars prequels was simple. Older fans were angry. Critics were cruel. Jar Jar became a punchline. Hayden Christensen took far more heat than any young actor ever should. And the internet, still discovering its full power to be awful in public, decided that The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith were a betrayal of “real” Star Wars. But according to Ian McDiarmid, George Lucas saw a lot of that coming. Speaking at Spacecon 2026, McDiarmid said Lucas knew older fans from the original trilogy era might be picky about the prequels. But Lucas also had a different target in mind: kids. Or, as McDiarmid recalled Lucas putting it, “if an 8-year-old is happy,” he had done his work. That one line explains the prequel trilogy better than 25 years of shouting ever did. The Prequels Were Never…
Manny Jacinto’s Favorite Star Wars Movies Say a Lot About Why Fans Love the Weird Stuff
Manny Jacinto has picked his favorite Star Wars movies, and honestly, the man has range. The Acolyte actor, who played Qimir/The Stranger, recently said his top choices outside of his own show are Rogue One and The Phantom Menace. On paper, that sounds like two very different corners of the galaxy. One is grim, grounded, tragic, and ends with Darth Vader turning a hallway into a horror movie. The other gave a generation podracing, battle droids, Naboo politics, Darth Maul, and the eternal childhood thrill of going way too fast on Nintendo 64. Somehow, the combination makes perfect sense. Rogue One Is the Easy Pick, But for Good Reason Jacinto pointed to Rogue One partly because of the stunt team connection to The Acolyte, but also because of that Darth Vader hallway scene. Fair. That scene has become one of the most talked-about Vader moments in modern Star Wars because…
Cody Rhodes Just Explained The Last Jedi Better Than Half the Internet
Star Wars: The Last Jedi discourse is apparently the Sarlacc pit of fandom. You think it is over. You think everyone has escaped. Then someone says “Luke Skywalker” online, and suddenly we are all back in the sand screaming again. This time, though, WWE star Cody Rhodes has entered the arena with one of the better defenses of The Last Jedi we have heard in years. According to GeekTyrant, Rhodes explained that his love for the film is deeply personal and oddly wrestling-related. The short version: he did not want Luke Skywalker returning as a shiny action figure version of himself. He wanted the broken old legend with one final meaningful punch left in him. And honestly? That is a much better way to understand the movie. Luke Was Never Going to Be 1983 Forever A lot of the anger around The Last Jedi comes from one expectation: Luke Skywalker…
Brendan Wayne Has the Perfect Answer to Toxic Star Wars Fandom
Brendan Wayne has spent years helping bring Din Djarin to life inside the Mandalorian armor. So when he talks about Star Wars fandom, it is not coming from someone standing outside the blast doors throwing rocks. He is part of the machine. Part of the myth. Part of the helmet. And his latest comments about toxic Star Wars fans hit harder than a whistling bird to the ego. Speaking to MovieWeb, Wayne addressed the strange habit some fans have of pulling against the franchise they claim to love. His sharpest point was simple: “They didn’t ruin your Star Wars. It’s our Star Wars.” That is the whole argument, really. Criticism Is Not the Problem Let’s be clear before someone ignites a comment-section lightsaber. Criticism is fine. Star Wars fans can dislike a movie. They can argue about The Last Jedi. They can roll their eyes at a plot choice, hate…
Manny Jacinto’s Qimir Return Comment Shows the Acolyte Problem Lucasfilm Can’t Ignore
If Lucasfilm ever brings Qimir back, Manny Jacinto sounds interested. But not at any cost. Speaking to Collider, The Acolyte star Manny Jacinto was asked what he would say if Dave Filoni asked him to return as The Stranger. His answer was not the usual “I’d love to come back, call me, please let me hold the cool helmet again” response. Instead, Jacinto made one thing very clear: for him, there is no Stranger without Leslye Headland. That is the interesting part. Because Qimir was not just a breakout character because he looked good in a mask and ruined a few Jedi’s week. He worked because The Acolyte built him as something strange, seductive, dangerous, wounded, and not easily filed under “standard Sith guy.” Qimir Was The Acolyte’s Biggest Unfinished Weapon Whatever people think of The Acolyte as a whole, Qimir became the character almost everyone wanted to talk about….
Tony Gilroy Wants Star Wars to Stay Ambitious, Wild, and Adventurous
Tony Gilroy may be finished with Andor, but he clearly still has opinions about where Star Wars should go next. And honestly, good. In an Associated Press video interview, the Andor creator was asked about the future of the franchise under new leadership. His answer was short, clean, and very Gilroy: “I’d like to think that they’ll stay ambitious and wild and adventurous.” That is not a bad mission statement for Star Wars right now. Andor Proved Star Wars Can Still Take Big Swings Andor worked because it did not feel like Star Wars checking boxes. It did not chase cameos every five minutes. It did not stop the story to wave at the audience. It took the galaxy seriously, built its politics carefully, and trusted viewers to care about ordinary people being crushed, radicalized, and pulled into rebellion. That made it different. And different is exactly what Star Wars…
Ashley Eckstein Is Right: The Clone Wars Helped Save Star Wars
Before Star Wars became a Disney+ machine with Mandalorians, Ahsoka, Grogu, Boba Fett, Thrawn teases, animated spin-offs and enough interconnected lore to make a Jedi archivist quietly resign, there was a much stranger period. There was just The Clone Wars. Ashley Eckstein, the voice of Ahsoka Tano, recently reflected on that era during a Clone Wars cast reunion, saying that when the show was on the air, it felt like Star Wars might genuinely be over. As covered by GeekTyrant, Eckstein said the animated series was basically the only Star Wars thing keeping the flame alive before Disney bought Lucasfilm. And honestly? She has a point. The Clone Wars Arrived When Star Wars Felt Finished It is easy to forget now, because modern Star Wars never really stops moving. There is always another series, film update, game rumor, book release, comic arc, convention panel, or suspiciously marketable alien child waiting…
Skeleton Crew Season 2 Just Got a Tiny Bit More Hopeful
Star Wars: Skeleton Crew is not officially back for Season 2. But it may not be dead in space either. Kerry Condon, who played Fara in the Disney+ series, has given a small but hopeful update on the show’s future. Speaking to ScreenRant, Condon said: “I mean, I heard maybe possibly, but I don’t know. You never know in this business, but I really hope so, because the kids were great.” That is not a renewal. It is not a production start date. It is not the Lucasfilm logo appearing over a surprise trailer while everyone screams into their caf. But for a show that has been sitting in the uncertain corner of the Star Wars galaxy, “maybe possibly” is at least better than silence. Skeleton Crew Still Has a Strange Little Charm Skeleton Crew was always an odd fit in the modern Star Wars machine. It was not a…
Dave Filoni Says He’s Becoming Lucasfilm’s Little Obi-Wan
Dave Filoni has found a very Dave Filoni way to describe running Star Wars. Not “brand architect.”Not “content overseer.”Not “the guy trying to stop the galaxy from collapsing under the weight of canon spreadsheets.” No, Filoni sees himself a little differently. Speaking to USA Today, via AOL, the Lucasfilm creative chief described his role as helping bring out the best in the people around him and being “a little Obi-Wan” when creators need guidance through the galaxy. Honestly, that may be the most Star Wars management quote ever given. The Mentor Role Fits Filoni Almost Too Well Filoni has always been a slightly unusual figure in modern Star Wars. He began as George Lucas’ animation apprentice on The Clone Wars, became one of the key voices behind Rebels, helped shape the Disney+ era through The Mandalorian and Ahsoka, and is now one of the central creative leaders steering Lucasfilm into…
Fate of the Old Republic Director Says AI Is “Creatively Soulless”
Casey Hudson is building a new Old Republic RPG, but apparently he is not asking a chatbot to write the soul of it. The Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic director has made it clear that Arcanaut Studios is not using AI to build its upcoming Star Wars RPG. In comments first reported from Bloomberg and picked up by Windows Central, Hudson said he is “really unimpressed” with AI and called it “creatively soulless.” That is a sharp line in a games industry increasingly obsessed with automation, cost-cutting, and pretending the phrase “AI pipeline efficiency” does not sound like something a villain says before building a moon-sized laser. Human-Made RPGs Still Matter Hudson’s stance matters because Fate of the Old Republic is not just any licensed game. It is being positioned as a spiritual successor to Knights of the Old Republic, one of the most beloved narrative RPGs ever…
Jon Favreau Has Big Plans for Grogu After The Mandalorian and Grogu
Grogu is not just getting a movie. He may be getting a future. Jon Favreau has revealed that he has “a lot of plans” for Grogu creatively after The Mandalorian and Grogu, and the reason is very simple: this little green chaos child is not built for a one-movie arc. His species lives for centuries. His training is weird. His identity is split between two of Star Wars’ most myth-heavy traditions. In a new GamesRadar / Total Film interview, Favreau said Grogu is “on a path to be both a Jedi and a Mandalorian,” while also making choices and growing under a strong teacher. That is a very small sentence carrying a very large amount of future merchandise. And story. Mostly story. Grogu Is Built for the Long Game The most interesting part of Favreau’s comments is not just that he wants more Grogu stories. Of course he does. Lucasfilm…
Dave Filoni Says Star Wars Has a Plan — Just Not a Spreadsheet
Dave Filoni is not promising a Star Wars assembly line. Good. We have enough factories in this galaxy already. In a new Collider interview, Filoni was asked about the future of Star Wars under his creative leadership, and his answer was less “here are 14 release dates and a logo wall” and more “there is an architecture, but the stories come first.” That may sound vague if you are looking for a Marvel-style phase chart. But for Star Wars, it is probably the healthier answer. The Future Is Being Architected Filoni said he is currently “looking at the stories and the potential” while planning what he would like to do. He also said he believes in having “an overarching idea” before figuring out how many projects fit into that shape. The key part is not just that Star Wars has a broader plan. It is that Filoni is trying to…
EA Killed a KOTOR-Style SWTOR Reboot That Lucasfilm Had Already Backed
There was almost another great lost Star Wars game. Not a rumor. Not fan fiction. Not one of those “what if” forum ghosts that refuse to die. Former Knights of the Old Republic lead designer and Star Wars: The Old Republic director James Ohlen has revealed that he once pitched a full SWTOR reboot called Star Wars: The New Republic — and it had serious support before EA’s board killed it. That is the kind of sentence that lands like a thermal detonator if you care about BioWare-era Star Wars. The SWTOR Reset That Almost Happened In a recent interview with PC Gamer, Ohlen said that around 2015 he spent roughly six months building a pitch for a total relaunch of The Old Republic. The project was called Star Wars: The New Republic. And this was not some half-baked napkin idea. Ohlen said he put together a design document, presentations,…
Jon Favreau Almost Gave The Mandalorian Its Own Holiday Special
Somewhere in a better, weirder timeline, The Mandalorian got its own holiday special and Peli Motto was apparently essential to the operation. In a new ComicBook interview promoting The Mandalorian and Grogu, Jon Favreau revealed that he once kicked around the idea of doing a new Star Wars Holiday Special built around Din Djarin’s corner of the galaxy. And yes, he even dropped one beautifully specific detail: “I don’t know how you would do it without Peli Moto,” referring to Amy Sedaris’ gloriously chaotic Tatooine mechanic. Honestly? He may be right. This Was Apparently a Real Early Idea Favreau said the idea came up back in the first season, before The Mandalorian had even aired. He was also careful to cool expectations immediately, saying there are no plans for a live-action holiday special and that it was something they “jokingly talked about.” But this does not sound like a random…
Grogu’s Jedi Path Is Getting Weirder, and That’s Good
Grogu is not becoming a normal Jedi. Thank the Force for that. The little green chaos goblin at the heart of The Mandalorian and Grogu may still meditate, use the Force, and make everyone in a ten-mile radius emotionally vulnerable. But Jon Favreau is making it increasingly clear that Grogu’s future is not simply “tiny Luke Skywalker, but with better ears.” In a new Total Film interview, reported by GamesRadar, Favreau says Grogu is “not on the typical Jedi path of a youngling,” even though he has trained with some remarkable teachers. That includes Luke Skywalker, his time at the Jedi Temple, and possibly Yoda before everything in the galaxy became Order 66-shaped misery. That matters because The Mandalorian and Grogu is not just about a kid with powers anymore. It is about what happens when a Force-sensitive child is raised outside the usual Jedi system — by a Mandalorian…
The Mandalorian and Grogu Is Trying Not to Be Homework
Star Wars is heading back to theaters, and Jon Favreau seems very aware of one dangerous trap: making the audience feel like they need to revise for an exam first. The Mandalorian and Grogu arrives in cinemas on May 22, 2026, marking the franchise’s first big-screen release since The Rise of Skywalker. But while the movie grew out of plans for The Mandalorian Season 4, Favreau is now framing it as something more self-contained — a film that still fits the wider Mando-era story, but does not require every viewer to arrive carrying a Disney+ viewing spreadsheet. In a new Total Film interview, reported by GamesRadar, Favreau says Dave Filoni remains “closely in step” with the movie, even though the shift from streaming season to theatrical release changed the shape of the story. That distinction matters. A Movie Cannot Feel Like Episode 25 Television can be dense. It can reward…
Fate of the Old Republic Won’t Be a 200-Hour Monster
The next big Old Republic game may not be designed to eat your entire adult life. Frankly, that already sounds a little heroic. In a new Bloomberg report about the company backing Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic, director Casey Hudson makes one thing very clear: this is not being built as another endless RPG treadmill with a lightsaber taped to the front. His key line? “Bigger isn’t necessarily better.” That is a small sentence with a lot of weight behind it. In an RPG landscape where “value” is often measured in hundreds of hours, endless side quests, and maps covered in icons, Hudson’s approach sounds almost rebellious: make a Star Wars RPG people can actually finish — and then give them a reason to come back. A Star Wars RPG You Might Actually Finish The Bloomberg piece focuses on former NetEase executive Simon Zhu, whose new GreaterThan Group…
Sam Witwer Says Maul: Shadow Lord Season 2 Has Pressure – Good
Sam Witwer knows Maul better than almost anyone in Star Wars. That is exactly why his latest comments about Maul: Shadow Lord Season 2 are worth paying attention to. The first season did not just bring Maul back for another round of snarling, scheming, and red-lightsaber therapy. It reframed him as a broken would-be liberator, a criminal strategist, and a dangerous mentor figure for Devon Izara. Now Season 2 has to deal with the fallout. In an interview with The Direct about Maul: Shadow Lord Season 2, Witwer said fans will not have to wait “too, too long” for the next chapter, adding that the team feels real pressure to keep discovering new things with the story. That is probably the best possible sign. A comfortable Maul story would be a bad Maul story. Maul Is Not Just Angry Anymore The smartest thing Maul: Shadow Lord has done is avoid…
Pedro Pascal Wants to Keep Playing Din Djarin After The Mandalorian and Grogu
Pedro Pascal is not ready to hang up the helmet. Or, more accurately, he is not ready for everyone involved in wearing the helmet to hang it up. Speaking during a London Q&A attended by GamesRadar+, Pascal said he hopes to continue playing Din Djarin beyond The Mandalorian and Grogu, calling the role the longest creative relationship of his career. As he put it, he would like to keep going “for as long as my body, or as many bodies as we put into the suit, can take it,” according to GamesRadar+. That is a very Pedro Pascal way of saying: yes, the Mandalorian business may continue. Din Djarin Is No Short-Term Gig Anymore Pascal first stepped into the role when The Mandalorian premiered in 2019. Seven years later, Din Djarin has become one of modern Star Wars’ most recognizable characters — even though the show’s central joke remains that…
Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni Are About to Talk MandoVerse Future
The future of the MandoVerse is apparently about to become a very real conversation. Jon Favreau says he plans to sit down with Dave Filoni next week to discuss what comes after Star Wars: The Mandalorian & Grogu. That does not mean a new movie, show, or fourth season has been announced. But it does mean the two main architects of this corner of Star Wars are preparing to talk next steps — and that is enough to make the rumor engines start coughing smoke. Speaking during a roundtable attended by MeriStation, Favreau said he is currently focused on promoting The Mandalorian & Grogu, while Filoni is busy working on Ahsoka. But once they are both back in the United States, the two will reconnect and discuss the future. MeriStation quotes Favreau as saying that after they meet next week, “we’ll sit down and talk.” The Movie Was Not Always…
Guillermo del Toro Quietly Helped Shape the Hutts in The Mandalorian & Grogu
Guillermo del Toro did not direct a Star Wars movie. He did not get to make his long-rumored Jabba the Hutt film. But somehow, beautifully, he still ended up near the Hutts. Jon Favreau has revealed that del Toro receives an acknowledgment credit in The Mandalorian & Grogu after giving creative suggestions about the Hutts featured in the film. In an interview with Vandal, Favreau explained that del Toro had spent a lot of time thinking about Hutts because of his own abandoned Jabba project, and that he shared ideas with the Mandalorian & Grogu team. The Hutt Expert Star Wars Almost Used This is one of those behind-the-scenes details that feels small at first, then immediately gets more interesting the longer you stare at it. Del Toro has history with Hutt material. Back in 2023, The Hollywood Reporter reported that the filmmaker confirmed he had worked on a now-scrapped…
Gina Carano Says She Spoke With Favreau and Filoni After Lawsuit Settlement
Gina Carano is back in the Star Wars conversation — though not, at least officially, back in Star Wars. The former The Mandalorian actor has revealed that she spoke with Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni after her lawsuit with Disney and Lucasfilm was settled. In a new Entertainment Weekly report on Carano’s Mandalorian comments, she described the January Zoom call as a “let’s touch base” conversation and said it was important for her to “mend whatever” and make sure everyone was good. Cara Dune Is Not Confirmed to Return Before anyone fires up the rumor engines at full power: there is no official announcement that Cara Dune is returning. Carano played Cara Dune in the first two seasons of The Mandalorian, before Lucasfilm cut ties with her in 2021 after controversial social media posts. Disney and Lucasfilm later settled her lawsuit, and Entertainment Weekly notes that Lucasfilm’s settlement statement said…
The Mandalorian & Grogu Finally Lets Pedro Pascal Fight Helmet-Off
Din Djarin taking his helmet off is not exactly a casual Tuesday in The Mandalorian. It usually means vows, trauma, emotional breakthroughs, or Grogu looking at him with those enormous “please ruin the internet” eyes. But in The Mandalorian & Grogu, it sounds like Pedro Pascal is not just getting helmet-off drama. He is getting helmet-off action. During recent press for the movie, Jon Favreau revealed that Pascal filmed “great set-pieces” with his helmet off, adding that the team leaned into Pascal’s physicality for some very specific reasons. As Favreau put it, Pascal was a competitive swimmer, so they got him in the water — and after seeing his combat work in Gladiator II, they also had him fighting without the helmet. Vis dette opslag på Instagram Et opslag delt af Omelete (@omelete) Din Djarin, But More Pedro This Time That is a pretty big shift for a character built…