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…
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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…
Shawn Levy Says Star Wars: Starfighter Is Now in the Edit Room
Star Wars: Starfighter has moved into a very important phase of production: the part where the footage stops being potential and starts becoming an actual movie. Speaking to Variety at the Breakthrough Prize Ceremony, director Shawn Levy said he is currently editing the film, describing himself as being in the “beautiful sanctity of the edit room” while shaping the movie ahead of its 2027 release. As Levy put it, “We don’t come out until next year,” adding that he is in the “dark quiet of the edit room finding the best possible shape for the film.” The quote comes from Variety’s recent interview with Levy. That is not exactly a flashy reveal, but it is the kind of update that makes the project feel more real. Earlier official coverage from StarWars.com’s original announcement of Star Wars: Starfighter confirmed that the film stars Ryan Gosling, is directed by Shawn Levy, and…
Jon Favreau Used Apple Vision Pro to Build Mandalorian & Grogu for IMAX
Jon Favreau has revealed one of the stranger and more interesting bits of tech behind The Mandalorian & Grogu: he used Apple Vision Pro to preview how the movie’s IMAX shots would actually look in a theater-sized frame. In an interview clip highlighted by multiple outlets, Favreau said they built software so he could put on the headset, sit in a virtual IMAX auditorium, and view the full aspect ratio while lining up shots. That is a pretty smart solution to a very real movie problem. Favreau’s explanation was simple: if you are making an IMAX movie, watching footage on a normal monitor is not the same thing as seeing what audiences will actually get on a giant screen. He said the team layered custom software on top of Apple Vision Pro so he could review takes as if he were already in an IMAX theater, then judge framing based…
Martin Scorsese’s Mandalorian & Grogu Cameo Is Very Real
Of all the names you might expect to pop up in a Star Wars movie, Martin Scorsese was probably not near the top of the list. But according to SFX magazine, via comments from director Jon Favreau, the legendary filmmaker really does have a cameo in The Mandalorian & Grogu, where he voices an alien shopkeeper seen in the film’s trailer. And honestly, that is already one of the strangest and best little details attached to this movie so far. Kathleen Kennedy made it happen Favreau says the cameo came together thanks to Kathleen Kennedy, who knew Scorsese personally and was able to reach out directly. According to Favreau, Kennedy “called him up,” Scorsese said yes, and Favreau then got to direct him himself. That alone is a pretty wild sentence in Star Wars terms. It is not every day you get one of cinema’s most famous directors stepping into…
Mark Hamill Says Star Wars Is in Good Hands With Dave Filoni
As Star Wars edges closer to its 50th anniversary, Mark Hamill is doing what very few people connected to this franchise can do: looking backward and forward at the same time. In a new USA Today interview, Hamill reflected on the sheer weirdness of hitting the half-century mark since the original movie began filming in 1976, admitting the milestone makes him “feel old.” That part is pure nostalgia fuel. But the more interesting bit for where Star Wars is heading now is what he said about Dave Filoni. Hamill is clearly backing Filoni According to coverage of the interview, Hamill said he “can’t think of better hands” for Star Wars than Filoni’s, and pointed to one big reason why: Filoni learned directly from George Lucas. Hamill said Lucas was a mentor to Filoni, which in his view means Filoni understands George’s creative sensibility in a way that really matters for…
Filoni Had the Most Dave Filoni Answer Possible to Sam Witwer’s Starkiller Worry
Sometimes Star Wars lore is complicated. And sometimes Dave Filoni hears a problem, tilts his head for a second, and turns it into a very Star Wars answer. In a new StarWars.com interview tied to Maul: Shadow Lord, Sam Witwer recalled worrying that his performance as the Son of Mortis sounded too much like Starkiller. Filoni’s response was basically: that is fine, because Starkiller is deeply tied to the dark side, and the Son is the dark side. So if they sound alike, that actually tracks. It is one of those explanations that sounds slightly insane for three seconds and then starts making annoying amounts of sense. A very Star Wars problem with a very Star Wars solution Witwer told StarWars.com that when he first played the Son in The Clone Wars, he did not arrive with a strong take on the character and started to worry he was slipping…
Star Wars Zero Company Wants Squad Tension, Not a Personal Power Fantasy
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…
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…