The Star Wars Holiday Special returns and some Mandalorian Season 3 news

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.

THE STARS OF THE HOLIDAY SPECIAL

The LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special is coming at us in just about a month, and a new poster debuted this week, alongside some breaking news about the voice talent bringing this special to life.

Billy Dee Williams (Lando Calrissian), Kelly Marie Tran (Rose Tico), Matt Lanter (Anakin Skywalker), James Arnold Taylor (Obi-Wan Kenobi), Tom Kane (who will reprise the role of Yoda and play Qui-Gon Jinn), and Dee Bradley Baker (the Clone troopers) will all be playing in this LEGO world. How any of it will fit is anyone’s guess. Since it’s a LEGO production, it’s sure to be hilarious.

Perhaps the most shocking announcement came when it was revealed that Anthony Daniels would be reprising the role of C-3PO for his second Star Wars Holiday Special. The first time Star Wars took a crack at a holiday special, it didn’t go well. Nov. 17, 1978, might have been the worst (best?) day in Star Wars history. You can witness how bad it was here, though Daniels has hope this time.

The LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special hits Disney+ on Nov. 17.

THE MANDALORIAN SEASON THREE

The Mandalorian’s third season appears on track to start production before the end of the year, per this interview with Jon Favreau in Variety. The show's novel method of production — most of the show is filmed in front of massive rear-projected LED screens — means it wouldn't be too complicated to follow necessary safety protocols to prevent the spread of COVID-19. With the virtual sets and many characters who wear some sort of mask in the first place, there shouldn’t be a problem adapting. And there’s no doubt the show is a hit that would deserve a third season.

Favreau also talked about the possibility of bringing Mando to the big screen. He’s open to it, but there’s no rush for it. 

Another interesting from this article are tidbits from Pedro Pascal. There were rumors that he’d walked off the show halfway through the second season, but the article seems to debunk that — and Pascal is a fan of the current Mandalorian TV experience. “I think that the work is so beautiful that I would love for that to be held by a big-screen experience,” Pascal told Variety. “But it seems to work so well that also I’m not sure it’s something that I would want corrupted by any kind of change, you know? I mean, I certainly know that the challenge can be met. It’s not like these people don’t have the experience. If anybody can do it, they can!”

In the meantime, new posters for Season 2 (which starts in just a couple of weeks) have been released, and they offer little hints for what we might see in the upcoming episodes. One interesting thing? Graffiti in the backgrounds. The only existing Star Wars character with some link to graffiti is Sabine Wren. Could this merely be a coincidence? Only time will tell.

The Mandalorian’s second season begins airing on Disney+ on Oct. 30.

OBI-WAN KENOBI TO BEGIN SHOOTING IN MARCH

COVID-19 delayed the production of the much-talked-about Obi-Wan Kenobi limited series for Disney+, but it seems as though the delay will soon be over. On a recent appearance on The Graham Norton Show, Ewan McGregor, who brought Kenobi to life for the prequel films, mentioned that production would begin in March of 2021.

This is only a one-year delay from the original start date.

There’s still no word on when this series would make its way to Disney+, but if we can extrapolate from The Mandalorian’s second season, which began shooting just a few weeks before the first season aired, it might be April of 2022. It could go faster or slower, too, depending on a lot of factors.

HE’S DEAD SON, ACCEPT IT

Pablo Hidalgo’s new book, Star Wars Fascinating Facts, confirms that George Lucas had intended for Luke Skywalker to die in Episode VIII.

Putting Luke in that mortal peril makes a lot of sense for any storyteller familiar with Star Wars storytelling. In both The Phantom Menace and A New Hope, the mentor is killed and taken away from the apprentice figures. Han took the place of that sacrifice in The Force Awakens, but Luke still died in The Last Jedi, like it or not. And, while there were many vocal people who didn't like that Luke was so dark and despairing when he reappeared in the sequel trilogy, the book also confirms that Lucas would have pretty much done the same thing.

Just more proof that Rian Johnson was on the right track and on the same wavelength as the master himself.

BEHIND THE SCENES OF THE SPECIAL EDITIONS

I know the Special Editions can be controversial among some sectors of fandom, but the alterations Lucas made, with a few notable exceptions, largely improved the viewing experience. And the restoration and addition technology at the time was nothing short of stunning.

Here’s a 30-minute documentary that takes you into that wizardry.

It’s bizarre to think that more time has passed between this and now than when we were watching the original behind-the-scenes documentaries from A New Hope in 1997 when this was released.

Time flies.

Until next week, may the Force be with you!