The Mandalorian reportedly adds Katee Sackhoff and Phil Tippett returns!

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.

KATEE SACKHOFF RETURNS?

Katee Sackhoff has been a key player in the animated Star Wars landscape for quite a while. She made her debut as Bo-Katan in the fourth season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars more than eight years ago. Since then, her character made the leap to Star Wars Rebels and took on a place of importance in Mandalorian culture, leading her people against the Empire and wielding the Darksaber as she did so. She then featured prominently in the series finale episodes of The Clone Wars just this month.

Ever since the Season 1 finale of The Mandalorian, when Moff Gideon emerges from his TIE fighter with Bo-Katan’s Darksaber, everyone has been wondering if she might show up on that show.

It looks like we may have our answer.

/Film is reporting that Katee Sackhoff will be making the leap to live-action as Bo-Katan in the second season of The Mandalorian. 

Even though Lucasfilm has not confirmed this news, other outlets are reporting the same thing from their sources. And it seems as though Sackhoff might have been dropping hints on her Twitter that seem to indicate this as a possibility.

This tweet was definitely in the timeframe in which Season 2 was shooting.

There are many ways her character could fit into this story. Season 1 proves that the filmmakers aren’t afraid of using flashbacks to tell pieces of the story and she might appear in a segment that gives us a window into the “Night of a Thousand Tears” during the Mandalorian purge that Moff Gideon referenced. It could also mean that she’s coming back for her Darksaber to unite Mandalore once more. Anything is possible.

We’ll know for sure how she figures into The Mandalorian — if at all — when the second season premieres on Disney+ in October.

PHIL TIPPETT RETURNS!

In an interview with the MinnMaxx Show, legendary VFX artist Phil Tippett revealed that he would be working on the second and third seasons of The Mandalorian.

Tippett, who worked on the original Star Wars trilogy and became famous for his go-motion animation techniques, is fairly blasé about the whole affair:

“It’s fine. I’ve kind of been there, done that," he said. "A lot of the guys I work with, it’s really exciting for them. They kind of missed the boat. They were kids when Star Wars and Robocop came out and that’s what they wanted to do: practical stuff.”

What it is he'll be doing is anyone's guess. This isn't the first time he's been brought back into Star Wars, either. He animated the holochess sequences for The Force Awakens. 

Whatever it is, I'm sure it will be exciting.

VOTE ON THE NEW BLACK SERIES FIGURE

Hasbro Pulse is leading a vote to determine what the next Black Series Archive Collection figure is going to be. 

With so many great characters and figures to choose from, I don’t know how you’d pick just one. Voting is open for the next week and you can do so here.

KRENNIC ON REBELS?

According to the recently released book, The Art of Star Wars Rebels, we were this close to getting Director Krennic on the show. In fact, they even fashioned a model for him for the cartoon and everything. Krennic, for those who don’t remember, was the villain in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, the over-eager engineer who was instrumental in constructing the first Death Star.

This news asks the question: Were there plans for more seasons of Rebels that would take us all the way up to Scarrif? If so, could we still get those stories? Anything is possible. 

REVENGE OF THE SITH AT 15

Next week, Revenge of the Sith hits its 15-year milestone and what better way to celebrate that than to go back to the original theatrical trailer for the film?

An interesting thing to note about this trailer: it gives the entire movie away. It shows us Vader in the suit, it gives us imagery from Order 66, it shows how Palpatine has been manipulating Anakin. Everything. In retrospect, there wouldn’t be any surprises left for moviegoers after watching the trailer. But, that simply speaks to the power of it. It still hit so hard that learning its secrets beforehand couldn’t ruin the movie.

Revenge of the Sith. Great movie. 

Until next week: May the Force be with you!