The Star Wars Thread

[Julius]

8 minutes ago, Happenstance said:

 

Kind of funny to me how it's been nearly 2 years and a lot of the key shots in this trailer - thumbnail included - were in the Andor S2 trailer shown at Celebration in London 

Been feeling the call of an Andor rewatch lately, I'm taking this as the sign that I should go ahead with those plans. 

I've loved a lot of Star Wars shows - live-action and not - and have mixed feelings on some others, but if Andor S2's quality is in line with S1's and the ending can deliver, I think it's safe to say that I might have a new favourite when this is all said and done. 

Feel sorry for any of you who have struggled to get into it when trying to in the past, because once you push beyond the first couple of episodes, the show goes on to show you the very best of what Star Wars could be like in this day and age. And it's glorious. 

[Julius]

More info from the official site, as well as the official poster. We will be getting an arc/three episodes dropping every week! 

Quote

Creator and executive producer Tony Gilroy has shared that this season will follow Cassian’s journey in the four years leading up to the events of Rogue One, with the 12 episode story unfolding in four weekly chapters of three episodes each.

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Andor Season 2 stars Diego Luna, Stellan Skarsgård, Genevieve O’Reilly, Denise Gough, Kyle Soller, Adria Arjona, Faye Marsay, Varada Sethu, Elizabeth Dulau, and Alan Tudyk, with Ben Mendelsohn and Forest Whitaker. The series was created by Tony Gilroy, who also serves as an executive producer along with Kathleen Kennedy, Sanne Wohlenberg, Diego Luna, Luke Hull, and John Gilroy.

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Tony Gilroy wrote the first three episodes, with Beau Willimon writing episodes 4-6, Dan Gilroy penning episodes 7-9 and Tom Bissell putting pen to paper for episodes 10-12. The directors for the series are Ariel Kleiman (Eps. 1-6), Janus Metz (Eps. 7-9) and Alonso Ruizpalacios (Eps. 10-12).

A chapter/arc consisting of three episodes per week is the exact perfect way to release this. Hell. Yes. 

I'm so ready 

[Julius]

Revenge of the Sith will be back in theatres from 25th April to commemorate the film's 20th anniversary:

Poster is lovely as always from Matt Ferguson:

Got to imagine they're given away at Celebration – wonder if they'll be given away at viewings too? I'll be looking to cop one for sure...still need to look out for TPM's from last year still for the 25th! Can't wait to see what TFA's looks like later this year for the 10th?! 

Elsewhere, THR are reporting that Kathleen Kennedy is looking to step down as President of LFL and retire:

A lot going on all of a sudden – and we've still got 2 months yet until Celebration! 

[FalcoLombardi]

Apparently she isn't retiring?

Also, I ended up going to a coffee shop that had a Star Wars theme/memorabilia this morning. Kaibur Coffee. Good coffee and breakfast sandwich. Cool owner too.

[Julius]

Special look at Andor S2:

And the poster: 

 

Andor S2 might just be about to cement Andor + Rogue One as the defining achievement of the Disney era. I can't believe we're getting the Ghorman massacre! 

Edited March 5 by Julius

[Hero-of-Time]

 

[Julius]

Started my Andor rewatch on Sunday, figured I'd take it slow and just watched the first episode. 

So anyways, I got up to the end of Episode 6 last night. Yeah, I stand by everything I've said before in terms of glowing praise for the show. It's tough to determine how I'd rank it personally amongst all of Star Wars purely because of nostalgia for other shows and films, but I'm definitely rewatching this time asking myself "this is the best made Star Wars since Empire, right?" It's just that brilliant. I'll be honest, it's also probably the only time outside of Rebels that I've cared about the Rebel cause – and there's so much more nuance and depth added to that cause in Andor. 

Now, I do agree with the sentiment that the first arc (Episodes 1-3) is a slow build, but I think it's super important that it is because of how clearly it defines the characters and state of the galaxy. By the end of Episode 3 it feels like the stakes have been raised and there is a sense that there's something special to the show. 

The second arc (Episodes 4-6), though, for me, is when the show seriously finds its footing and is incredibly blatant in both how Star Wars and un-Star Wars this show is going to be. A New Hope? What hope? You seriously feel the struggle and the stakes starting from this arc, in a way which I think is similar to how they were felt in the final act of Rogue One. There's a desperation and chaos and seriousness to what is happening which adds much-needed depth to the GFFA at this point in the timeline. Some wonderful visuals in these episodes, too. 

To anyone who hasn't watched the show, or has tried to and bounced off the first few episodes, I urge you to stick with it or return to it as and when you have the time and curiosity to sit through it all – yeah, I'm saying commit to the whole thing, not just the start, because I'm saying the show is simply that good. Just trust me on this. 

Can't wait to get back to it. S2 is going to be awesome 

Edited Wednesday at 08:52 PM by Julius

[Julius]

Finished the third arc of my Andor rewatch. 

One of the greatest arcs in all of serialised Star Wars, one episode of which might genuinely be my favourite episode of Star Wars television, it's just that damn brilliant. The whirlwind of emotions I felt watching this the first time came teeming back this time. Forgot that those speeches were in the same episode, much less back-to-back. What a flex. 

Two episodes left of this rewatch, and I'm just stunned. I don't really fully settle on things until a rewatch - so many 10's I give on a first viewing/experience have an asterisk of "*but we'll see if it holds up at some point in the future!" - and that same rule applies for Star Wars. Because of this, I'm generally careful about overhyping things in the heat of the moment – I remember finishing the show for the first time when preparing for Celebration in 2023 and saying to my friends "I'm not saying it's for sure better, but it's at least as good as Mando". 

Well, with two episodes to go, yeah, it's a damn sight better in so many ways, largely in that it feels so different and distinct and yet is so unapologetically still Star Wars. They're doing very different things but this care and attention to writing and character feels like it hasn't been the centre of Star Wars since, genuinely, probably Empire? And I do genuinely think this is the best made Star Wars anything since 1980. Others can disagree; I'll think they're wrong. 

My favourite surely underrated moment of the show so far is during a torture scene there's a totally throwaway cutaway shot which will mean nothing to so many...

...door closes on the torture scene, camera snaps to the floor, boots trample through the shot and the camera pans up to follow.

You know, something a little like this? 

Like, what an Easter Egg that is. Seriously. Love it. I live for stupid nods like this and hints of leitmotifs (can't wait for S2 to hopefully bring some Rogue One themes back with the characters we know are returning), because I'm a weirdo. 

Talking to a friend of mine about it and I'm just left wondering how many other shows have as excellent a first season as I think Andor does. In Star Wars, a lot of shows have tended to pick up more/peaked in quality as the show has gone (The Clone Wars in S3/4, Rebels in S3, Mando in S2), but it doesn't feel like there's a huge amount of space above the level of quality Andor S1 reaches for it to climb from. Even outside of Star Wars I think of some of my favourite shows and it's much the same way, middle or final seasons are typically where a lot of shows really come into their own, and Andor just kind of hits that stride in its first season? Crazy. 

Anyways, yeah, go watch this show if you haven't. Plan a rewatch ahead of S2 releasing next month if you have. 

[Julius]

Oh yeah so anyways after my post I immediately continued and finished Andor  just couldn't leave it where it was! 

11/10, would - and will - Andor again. This show has so much to say, that last episode  

...well, besides that post-credits, still not the biggest fan of that as it's just a little too on the nose for my liking 

5 weeks or so now until S2 kicks off? Seriously cannot wait 

Right then, now that I'll be staying subscribed to Disney+ for a little while (at least until Andor S2 is done), might be time to catch up on some other shows...

Edited yesterday at 11:56 AM by Julius

[Julius]

Celebration panels for next month in Japan have been announced:

Curious to see what gets livestreamed. 

The big blockbuster panels for me are:

• Mando and Grogu – no clue how much they show here. Is there enough cobbled together for a trailer? I'd hope so. Probably going to be Celebration-exclusive, though.

• Lucasfilm Animation's 20th anniversary – possibility of a new series announcement? 

• Andor S2 – imagine the first arc might get shown to attendees?

• Ahsoka – S2 announcement...maybe? Feels like it could be a repeat of the Kenobi panel in 2023 where nothing new gets announced, but should still be a great time! 

• Bit Reactor/Respawn turn-based strategy game panel – FINALLY!

• 50 Years of ILM

• Closing Ceremony – where we going next? I think they might skip next year in favour of building anticipation for a 50th in 2027, probably in the US (Anaheim would be closest to *everything*). That being said, it's the 50th, and I could see them wanting to share the love in some way; it'd be really neat to have multiple venues around the world, I'm just not sure how that would work in terms of guests and reveals. 

Bunch besides this I'd be curious about too, like Doug Chiang's panel, an hour with Oscar Isaac, and screenings of the Clone Wars and Rebels finales (DUDE, THESE WITH A CROWD?!). 

I'm shocked that there isn't a 20th anniversary panel for Revenge of the Sith or a 10th anniversary panel for The Force Awakens, I have to imagine it's simply a case of it being staged in Japan this year which has made it a struggle to get as many guests. The lineup of panels, at a glance, I think looks light – or, at least, lighter – than in 2022, and obviously we had a bunch of bombshells in 2023 during the Lucasfilm Showcase.

I think what this really highlights is how little progress it feels like there has been on the projects announced in 2023, and with the 50th just 2 years away, I imagine there's a sense of wanting to time things for announcement/release in 2027 in a way which would make it too early to announce/show some things off here. It is also only a 3-day Celebration vs the 4-day experiences of 2022 and 2023. 

That being said? People are going to be in Japan. I'm sure that'll more than make up for any perceived shortcomings of this year's Celebration, and I'm sure it'll be a wonderful time