tar Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is getting a new Marvel comic, and this one is aiming a lot higher than background park lore. Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge – Echoes of the Empire #1 arrives on April 22, 2026, with Ethan Sacks writing and Jethro Morales and Roi Mercado on art, plus a cover by Phil Noto. Marvel says the story sends Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and Chewbacca to Batuu in search of vital intel, where they uncover a dangerous relic that puts them on a collision course with the Empire. A Bigger Batuu Hook That setup matters because it gives Batuu something it has not always had in enough quantity: instantly recognizable Original Trilogy weight. For a lot of Star Wars fans, Galaxy’s Edge has always looked great but felt slightly disconnected from the most iconic parts of the saga. Putting Luke, Leia, and Chewie at the center of a Batuu…
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Star Wars: A New Hope Began Filming 50 Years Ago Today
Fifty years ago today, Star Wars stopped being an idea and started becoming a movie. On March 22, 1976, principal photography began on what was then called The Star Wars, with cameras rolling in Tunisia on the edge of the Sahara. Lucasfilm is marking the date today, framing it as the moment one of the most important films in modern pop culture officially went into production. The Day the Galaxy Really Started Moving That date matters because it was the point where George Lucas’ risky space fantasy became something real. By then, Lucas had already pushed through years of development, multiple screenplay drafts, studio skepticism, and the early build-out of the creative machine that would eventually become part of Star Wars legend, including Industrial Light & Magic and Ben Burtt’s sound work. But March 22, 1976 was when the project finally moved from concept art, scripts, and headaches into actual…
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…
Star Wars Outlaws and Jedi: Survivor Both Get a PS5 Pro Graphics Boost
Two recent Star Wars games just got a quiet visual lift on PS5 Pro, thanks to Sony’s latest system software update. Star Wars Outlaws and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor are both benefiting from Sony’s upgraded version of PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution, better known as PSSR. Sony says the updated tech improves image stability, fine-detail clarity, and overall consistency across supported PS5 Pro games. Both Star Wars titles were already using PSSR on PS5 Pro, which is why they now appear to be getting a boost from the newer version. This Is More Sony Update Than Game Patch That distinction matters. This is not really a case of Ubisoft and Respawn suddenly dropping big new content patches for their games. The bigger change is happening at the system level through Sony’s PS5 Pro update, which rolls out broader support for the upgraded PSSR and lets compatible games benefit from the newer…
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…
Star Wars: Dark Forces Trilogy Author William C. Dietz Has Died
William C. Dietz, the science fiction author best known in Star Wars circles for writing the Dark Forces novella trilogy, has died at the age of 80. A memorial published this week states that Dietz passed away on March 15, 2026. For a lot of Star Wars readers, Dietz was not just another tie-in writer. He was the author who helped give Kyle Katarn a life on the page through Dark Forces: Soldier for the Empire, Dark Forces: Rebel Agent, and Dark Forces: Jedi Knight—three books that adapted and expanded the story of one of the most beloved Legends-era characters. Wookieepedia’s record of his Star Wars bibliography lists those three Dark Forces books as his core contributions to the franchise. A Name Star Wars Readers Remember Dietz built a much bigger career beyond Star Wars. His official biography says he published more than sixty novels, with work translated into multiple…
Disneyland Is Quietly Erasing Another Galactic Starcruiser Detail From Galaxy’s Edge
Disneyland has quietly removed a Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser reference from Oga’s Cantina, and it looks like more than a simple background update. Reports say a Halcyon-related message on the cantina’s notice board has been replaced as part of the venue’s recent refresh. A Tiny Change With Bigger Timing On its own, this is the kind of detail most guests would never notice. But the timing makes it much more interesting. Disney has already confirmed that starting April 29, 2026, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland will expand beyond its old narrow timeline and start featuring characters from more eras of the saga, including Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa, Han Solo, and Darth Vader. That means this Oga’s Cantina change lands right in the middle of a much bigger creative reset for Batuu. What Was Actually Removed The removed notice reportedly referenced Captain Keevan of the Halcyon and called for a…
New MONOPOLY: Star Wars Heroes vs. Villains Screenshots Show Off Teams, Boards, and Galactic Locations
MONOPOLY: Star Wars Heroes vs. Villains is starting to look a lot more interesting now that fresh gameplay screenshots are making the rounds. The new images give a clearer look at how Ubisoft and Behaviour Interactive are building this one as more than a simple Star Wars skin on classic Monopoly. Ubisoft’s official description says the game uses a custom Monopoly board featuring iconic locations from across Star Wars, along with competitive 2v2 and 3v3 modes, character abilities, and new match-changing twists. It is still set to launch on June 11, 2026. The Hero vs. Villain Setup Looks Like a Core Part of the Game One of the clearest screenshots shows the overall roster setup, with heroes like Han Solo, Leia Organa, and Luke Skywalker facing off against villains including Darth Vader, Emperor Palpatine, and Boba Fett. That lines up with Ubisoft’s official pitch that players choose favorite heroes or…
From Lightsaber Duels to Podrace Maps: What Fortnite Creators Could Actually Build With Star Wars Tools
Star Wars is about to become a lot more playable inside Fortnite — and not just through another crossover event. Epic has already confirmed that official Star Wars features, templates, and assets are coming to Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN), while Fortnite’s official creator account has now started teasing that the toolset is landing this week. That means creators may soon be able to build their own Star Wars islands, modes, and mini-games inside Fortnite using official materials instead of fan-made workarounds. This Is Bigger Than a Normal Star Wars Crossover That is the key point. Fortnite has done plenty of Star Wars tie-ins before, but this is different. Epic’s State of Unreal 2025 presentation said creators will be able to “take players to a galaxy far, far away” with official Star Wars tools inside UEFN, which puts this closer to a long-term creative sandbox than a limited-time promotion. A…
Bob Iger Steps Down as Disney CEO Tomorrow — and Lucasfilm Became One of His Biggest Franchise Bets
Bob Iger is set to step down as Disney CEO in March 2026, with Disney naming Josh D’Amaro as his successor. Reuters reported that D’Amaro will take over in March, while Iger will remain a senior adviser through the end of the year. For Star Wars fans, that makes this more than just a Disney boardroom story. Iger was the CEO who pushed Disney to acquire Lucasfilm in 2012 for about $4.05 billion, a deal Disney announced officially at the time as a major long-term franchise play. Lucasfilm Was One of the Defining Iger Moves When people look back at the Iger era, Lucasfilm is going to be one of the first things they mention. Under Iger, Disney did not just buy Star Wars. It turned Lucasfilm into one of the company’s most important franchise engines across films, streaming, merchandise, and theme-park strategy. Disney’s 2024 proxy-fight materials, as reported by…
MONOPOLY: Star Wars Heroes vs. Villains Gets a Release Date, Trailer, and April Reveal Event
Lucasfilm Games has officially kicked off the rollout for MONOPOLY: Star Wars Heroes vs. Villains, and yes, this is exactly what it sounds like: a Star Wars-flavored, team-based spin on Monopoly with heroes, villains, and a full reveal still on the way. The first teaser confirms that the game launches on June 11, with the full reveal scheduled for April 29 during a May the 4th event push. Ubisoft has now published the game’s store page and a news post confirming the release window and broader platform plans. This Is Not Just Standard Monopoly With a Star Wars Skin That is the part that makes this a little more interesting. According to Ubisoft’s official description, MONOPOLY: Star Wars Heroes vs. Villains is being pitched as a dynamic team-based twist on the classic board game, with reimagined gameplay, cinematic moments, themed spaces, and dynamic elements designed to keep matches from playing…
New Star Wars Games Are About to Start Appearing Inside Fortnite
Star Wars is about to get a lot weirder inside Fortnite — and potentially a lot bigger too. Epic’s official Fortnite creator channels have now teased that Star Wars tools are landing in Unreal Editor for Fortnite this week, opening the door for creators to start building their own Star Wars games and experiences inside the Fortnite ecosystem. The official Fortnite Developers account used the line “That’s no moon… it’s a toolset?!” in a teaser post, while Epic had already confirmed back at State of Unreal 2025 that official Star Wars features, templates, and assets were coming to UEFN. This Is Bigger Than Just Another Fortnite Crossover That is the key angle here. This does not sound like another limited-time skin drop or a temporary blaster event. The bigger story is that creators are about to get official Star Wars building tools inside UEFN, which means fan-made experiences can start…
Pedro Pascal, Sigourney Weaver, and Grogu Just Turned the Oscars Into a Star Wars Moment
The Oscars got an unexpected Star Wars detour when Pedro Pascal and Sigourney Weaver took the stage with Grogu as part of a presentation tied to The Mandalorian & Grogu. Fantha Tracks highlighted the moment as a standout bit of crossover promotion, while The Hollywood Reporter noted that Weaver even played into her sci-fi legend status by “protecting” Grogu during the segment. Grogu Was the Real Scene-Stealer This probably will not shock anyone, but Grogu once again behaved like a tiny green celebrity with elite attention-stealing instincts. The Oscars appearance was not just Pedro Pascal and Sigourney Weaver showing up as presenters. It was also a reminder that The Mandalorian & Grogu has one of the easiest marketing hooks in Hollywood right now: put Grogu on stage, and people will immediately pay attention. The Hollywood Reporter specifically singled out Grogu’s appearance as one of the memorable beats from the ceremony’s…
Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord Official Trailer Has Arrived
The official trailer for Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord has landed, and Lucasfilm is clearly done playing coy. The new footage pushes Maul back into full spotlight mode, with revenge, lightsaber combat, and a much clearer sense of where this series is heading. Lucasfilm says the show begins with a two-episode premiere on Disney+ on April 6, 2026, with two episodes releasing weekly through the finale on May the 4th. The Trailer Makes the Tone Crystal Clear This is not being sold as a quiet character study. According to the official trailer coverage, Maul – Shadow Lord is a “pulpy adventure” that follows Maul as he tries to rebuild his criminal syndicate on a world untouched by the Empire. Along the way, he crosses paths with a disillusioned young Jedi Padawan who could become the apprentice he has been looking for. Maul Is Back in Full Revenge Mode The…
Matthew Willig Says He’s in The Mandalorian and Grogu, and That Is a Fun Little Casting Update for Mando Fans
Sometimes a Star Wars casting update does not arrive with a glossy Lucasfilm press release or a dramatic trade headline. Sometimes it just shows up because the actor is understandably excited and decides to say, more or less, “yeah, I’m in the movie.” That is basically what happened with Matthew Willig, who posted that he will be making an appearance in The Mandalorian and Grogu and thanked Lucasfilm for helping him fulfill “a kid’s dream.” This Looks Like More Than a Rumor at This Point The reason this one feels solid is that it is not just floating around as recycled fan chatter. Willig said it himself on social media, and Jedi News followed that up with a report tied to his upcoming Rebel Scum Con III appearance, stating that he is playing an as-yet unnamed Iktotchi character in the film. That takes this from “internet speculation” to something a…
Ludwig Göransson Just Won His Third Oscar — Which Is a Pretty Nice Flex Ahead of The Mandalorian and Grogu
Ludwig Göransson has now won his third Academy Award, taking Best Original Score for Sinners at the 2026 Oscars. That is already a big headline on its own. But for Star Wars fans, the timing makes it even better: Göransson is also the composer for The Mandalorian and Grogu, which hits theaters on May 22, 2026. So yes, Lucasfilm’s next big-screen Star Wars movie is arriving with a composer who just added even more hardware to the shelf. This Was Not Just Another Nomination According to Pitchfork, the Sinners win was Göransson’s fifth Oscar nomination and third win. The Academy’s own Scientific & Technical Awards page is obviously not relevant here, but multiple awards-night reports and winner lists all line up on the same point: he won Best Original Score for Sinners at the 98th Academy Awards. That puts him in a pretty absurd tier for a composer who still…
Exclusive Mandalorian and Grogu IMAX Footage Is Reportedly Playing in the UK, and It Sounds Like Lucasfilm Is Leaning Hard Into the Big-Screen Upgrade
One of the easiest ways to tell Lucasfilm knows The Mandalorian and Grogu needs to feel like a real movie is this: it apparently is not just pushing trailers anymore. According to Bespin Bulletin, an exclusive behind-the-scenes-style featurette has been playing at Odeon IMAX screenings in the UK over the last few days, giving audiences a little extra look at the film before its May 22, 2026 release. That alone is enough to make Star Wars fans perk up, because once studios start attaching exclusive footage to premium screens, they are not just selling a title — they are selling the idea that this thing belongs in theaters. The Reported Footage Sounds More Cinematic Than Routine Promo Filler Bespin Bulletin says the IMAX-exclusive material includes Din Djarin walking down a dark urban street at night, Din unmasked in a cave with water up to his neck, more shots of the…
The Clone Wars Cast Is Heading to MCM London 2026, and Honestly, That Is a Pretty Great Excuse to Be There
MCM London Comic Con has landed a genuinely strong Star Wars animation lineup for its May 2026 show, with a full group of The Clone Wars voice actors now confirmed for the weekend. The event will run from Friday, May 22 through Sunday, May 24 at ExCeL London, and all three days will feature Matt Lanter, James Arnold Taylor, Nika Futterman, Catherine Taber, Dee Bradley Baker, and Ashley Eckstein. That is not just one nice guest announcement. That is basically MCM looking at Clone Wars fans and saying, “Yeah, this one’s for you.” This Is a Proper Clone Wars Reunion, Not Just a Random Guest Add-On That lineup covers a lot of the core emotional wiring of The Clone Wars. You have Matt Lanter as Anakin Skywalker, James Arnold Taylor as Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ashley Eckstein as Ahsoka Tano, Dee Bradley Baker as the clone army and Captain Rex, Nika Futterman…
ILM’s Award-Winning “Lama” Tech Is the Kind of Star Wars-Adjacent Magic Most Fans Never See
Not every big Star Wars story is a trailer, a casting reveal, or somebody saying one vague sentence in Empire and sending the fandom into orbit for three days. Sometimes the interesting stuff is deeper in the machine. That is the case with Industrial Light & Magic’s layered shading system Lama, which has now picked up one of the Academy’s Scientific and Technical Awards. ILM says 2026 marks its 39th Sci-Tech Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and this one goes specifically to the team behind Lama — a production-ready layered materials system that has become a key part of how ILM builds believable digital surfaces. This Is Not a Movie Award in the Usual Sense To be clear, this is not “ILM won an Oscar for one specific Star Wars project.” This is one of the Academy’s Scientific and Technical Awards, which recognize the tools…
The Mandalorian and Grogu May Be 2 Hours and 20 Minutes Long — But Treat That Runtime Carefully for Now
A possible runtime for The Mandalorian and Grogu is now floating around online, and for once it is not coming from some random account with a blurry screenshot and too much confidence. Odeon Cinemas is currently listing the movie at 2h 20m on its film page, which is obviously the sort of detail Star Wars fans will latch onto immediately. Because the second a runtime appears, the entire conversation becomes: is that good, is that too long, is that secretly perfect, and what exactly is Jon Favreau doing with all that time? Odeon Has It Listed at 2 Hours and 20 Minutes As of now, Odeon’s listing for The Mandalorian & Grogu shows a runtime of 2 hours and 20 minutes alongside the film’s May 22, 2026 release date. If that number holds, the movie would land in a very normal modern Star Wars feature range, which makes sense for…
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…
Ludwig Göransson Says The Mandalorian and Grogu Is Going Bigger Than the Series — and Honestly, That Matters
One of the reasons The Mandalorian worked so well from the start is that it never sounded like safe, familiar Star Wars wallpaper. Ludwig Göransson gave Din Djarin a score that felt lonely, strange, dusty, metallic, and just a little mythic. It was not trying to be John Williams cosplay. It was doing its own thing. And now, heading into The Mandalorian and Grogu, Göransson is making it very clear that the movie is not just reusing the TV formula on a larger screen. Musically, at least, this thing is going much bigger. The big headline from Empire’s new coverage is the scale. In the Readly preview of Empire’s “Settling the score” feature, Göransson says the film uses a 105-piece orchestra, up from the 70-piece orchestra used for the series, and adds a 64-piece choir on top of that. He also says he had more time to work on the…
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…