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A new Mandalorian show, plus The Clone Wars' final arc begins
Time again for STAR WARS WEEKLY, the SYFY WIRE series that rounds up the most important news of the week from a galaxy far, far away. Think of us as your own personal Star Wars Holocron.
DISNEY GALLERY: THE MANDALORIAN
Disney announced a brand-new television show starting May 4 (aka "May the Fourth") of this year, something we all wanted but didn’t know it. Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian is an eight-episode behind the scenes look into the making of The Mandalorian.
The press release promises that the series will tackle a lot of topics, including “the filmmaking process, the legacy of George Lucas’ Star Wars, how the cast brought the characters to life, the series’ groundbreaking technology, the artistry behind the show’s practical models, effects, and creatures, plus the creative influences, the iconic score, and connections to Star Wars characters and props from across the galaxy.”
One also wonders if it might offer any hints for what we might see in the second season of The Mandalorian — and that alone makes it must-see Disney+ viewing for any Star Wars fan. And the way the title of the show is structured, it leads one to believe that we’ll be getting more Disney Gallery shows that look at other Disney or Star Wars properties. Let's hope they turn their eyes to an exhaustive look at making the Star Wars prequels next.
Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian premieres on the unofficial Star Wars day, May 4, on Disney+.
THE SIEGE OF MANDALORE BEGINS
The moment we’ve all been waiting for is here: the conclusion of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. And it all culminates in the Siege of Mandalore arc.
Today’s episode might be one of the finest this show has ever produced and it brings to light all of the reasons they chose the arcs that preceded it. It’s heartfelt, it’s moving, and it’s beautifully lit and rendered. If you’re a Star Wars fan and you’ve been sleeping on The Clone Wars, it’s never too late to jump in. These episodes are going to be waiting for you when you get there and they are going to have been worth it.
One interesting thing to note about this particular episode, "Old Friends, Not Forgotten," is how it rhymes in very specific ways to The Clone Wars theatrical film. Dave Filoni was definitely a student of George Lucas. The similarities between Ahsoka’s introduction to the show and her reintroduction in this episode are purposeful and stunning and readily apparent to those who know what to look for.
New episodes of Star Wars: The Clone Wars premiere on Disney+ on Fridays, except the series finale of The Clone Wars, which will come out a few days early on May 4.
DAISY RIDLEY OPENS UP
Daisy Ridley opened up about her experience with Star Wars and The Rise of Skywalker specifically on the most recent episode of The DragCast podcast.
Ridley said that 98 percent of the fan feedback has been amazing, but January 2020, just after the release of The Rise of Skywalker, was tough. “January was not that nice," she said. "It was weird, I felt like all of this love that we’d sort of been shown the first time around, I was like, 'Where’s the love gone?'"
She went on to talk about how if she did have social media (she quit social media previously), she wouldn’t tweet about films she didn’t like. (Some wise words there, perhaps.)
Ridley says she’s proud of her work in Star Wars and she should be. She was wonderful in the films, especially The Last Jedi, and deserves all the accolades. You can listen to her on The DragCast here.
OBI-WAN KENOBI SERIES GETS NEW WRITER
Variety is reporting that Joby Harold has been tapped to do a polish on the Obi-Wan Kenobi television scripts.
This is the first time Harold, who is known for producing films like Edge of Tomorrow and King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, has written for a television series of any kind. (He’s also, for what it's worth, been tapped to relaunch the Transformers series of films.) On Kenobi, he replaces Hossein Amini, who parted ways with the project earlier this year. There’s no indication what work on the script still needs to be done, but Ewan McGregor said repeatedly on the press circuit for Birds of Prey that this was all business as usual.
It’s also important to note that there’s no official word on this. Variety is the only source behind it, and Lucasfilm hasn’t confirmed or announced anything.
NEW CASSIAN CAST
Those weren't the only rumors to come from Variety this week. There's more. It seems as though two actors, Stellan Skarsgard and Kyle Soller, are in “final negotiations” to join the untitled Cassian Andor television show.
Skarsgard spent quite a bit of time in the Marvel Universe as Dr. Erik Selvig in the Thor films. He recently won an Emmy for his work in Chernobyl. He’ll next be seen in the Dune update, alongside Star Wars alum Oscar Isaac. Soller’s career is less well-known. He’s starred in some British television. This would definitely be his highest-profile gig to date.
There’s no release date for this Cassian Andor show, though rumors suggest it was deep in pre-production before the world shut down for coronavirus concerns.
CORONAVIRUS READING
Speaking of the coronavirus, stars of Star Wars have been doing their part to help pass the time.
Joonas Suotamo, the man who played Chewbacca in the most recent batch of Star Wars films, took the time to read Chewie and the Porgs from home:
And Rey herself, Daisy Ridley, read BB-8 On the Run for all of us.
These are just charming and I hope they don’t go away, even after the lockdown is over. We all need more of this in our lives.
Until next week: May the Force be with you!
