Ronnie Posted December 19, 2020 Posted December 19, 2020 Ranking the season I'd probably go: 1. The Passenger - I'm sure I'm in the minority, I just really enjoyed the tone and weirdness of it all + the New Republic bits were awesome 2. The Marshal - Just had a really epic feel to it, loved the whole concept and it was beautifully directed 3. The Jedi - Another beautiful episode, great tone to the whole thing 4. The Heiress - Less about Bo-Katan, more Trask in general + frog lady and man + the freighter attack was cool 5. The Tragedy - Great action, fun moments 6. The Believer - Mayfeld brought some personality to the show, and character depth. Plus seismic charges and Pedro Pascal. 7. The Rescue - The episode itself felt a bit by the numbers but I'm slowly appreciating it more I think. Once I accept the change in direction I'll like it more I think 8. The Siege - It was decent enough, but I'm not a fan of Greef Carga much, nor Cara Dune.
Cube Posted December 19, 2020 Posted December 19, 2020 Spoiler One think I am enjoying is the amount of SHIELD actors that seem to be cropping up. The imperial pilot in the final episode...he's really good at playing characters you love to hate. The co pilot was also a SHIELD villain. One of the imperial officers (the one who killed himself) is also a recurring SHIELD villain (along with a few more minor ones that have popped up). Not to mention the wonderful Ming Na-Wen 1
bob Posted December 20, 2020 Posted December 20, 2020 On 19/12/2020 at 1:40 AM, Ronnie said: Spoiler Spoiler Can we please ditch Fennec/Ming Na for real this time? Such a useless, stiff, personality-less character that adds absolutely nothing. This show is crying out for some personality. Stoic Fett, stoic Fennec, stoic Mando, stoic Bo-Katan, throw in Gina Carano's terrible acting (admittedly a bit better this episode) and, Din apart, you've got a recipe of why should I care about any of them. Watching these characters talk to each other is just painful and it seems to be getting worse. Anyway, I didn't like this episode very much. Maybe rewatching it will help. Gideon started off well but in the end lost all intrigue and menace. Everything just felt really weirdly paced and the action wasn't up to much. It got meaningless when they slaughtered stormtrooper number 15 these pat few weeks, let alone number 100. It's just too over the top and loses all meaning. Same with Luke, it was cool seeing him mow down a few death troopers, 30 of them though? It just gets silly after a while. Not a fan of Luke's inclusion, at all. It was done well enough I thought, but it feels way too early to be including him like that. I was hoping this show would stand on its own two feet, but it seems they feel they need constant crutches like Ahsoka, Fett and now Luke. I've been a huge fan of season 2 overall but I feel like they're really muddying the waters here. This show is about Din and Grogu, not Fett, not Bo-Katan, not Luke. Boba Fett's spin-off show, whatever. More senseless slaughtering. Let him and Fennec stay on that show and get some proper likeable characters in for season 3 of Mando please. Meh, need to re-watch it again. I did like Cara Dune struggling with her gun, some much needed levity and charm. Edit: I seem to be in the minority because everyone online seems to be going crazy for the episode, which is great to see at least. Agree with most of this. They really should have kept Bill Burrs character around, since he's the only charismatic one in it. Needs less stoicism. Spoiler And this episode just confirms to me that Star Wars fans start having withdrawal symptoms if they don't have a cameo for more than 20 minutes. It felt really cheap to have Luke (or any Jedi) come in and save the day. Why couldn't they have Mando or Baby Yoda or any of the other superfluous characters do something?
Ronnie Posted December 20, 2020 Posted December 20, 2020 (edited) You might want to spoiler tag most of that @bob I've mellowed a lot on the episode to be fair, my issue with the characters is still there as ever, but the cameo worked for me once I readjusted my expectations for the show. Season 3 could do with not being a cameo-fest though for sure. But I do think all the cameos made sense to the story, which is all that matters really. This one in particular made sense given the storyline, it had to happen. I was just surprised it was so soon. Edited December 20, 2020 by Ronnie
Julius Posted December 21, 2020 Author Posted December 21, 2020 The Book of Boba Fett officially announced on the Twitter account, with the show's logo:
Ronnie Posted December 21, 2020 Posted December 21, 2020 (edited) Quote As teased in a surprise end-credit sequence following the season finale of The Mandalorian, the legendary bounty hunter’s journey will continue in The Book of Boba Fett. Jon Favreau, executive producer of The Mandalorian, confirmed today on Good Morning America that the new series is currently in production and will arrive December 2021, only on Disney+. The Book of Boba Fett will be set within the timeline of The Mandalorian and star Temuera Morrison as the titular bounty hunter, along with Ming-Na Wen as Fennec Shand. Robert Rodriguez — who directed Chapter 14 of The Mandalorian, a thrilling installment that reintroduced Boba Fett to the Star Wars galaxy — joins Favreau and Dave Filoni as executive producer. Boba Fett made his big-screen debut in 1980’s Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, becoming an instant fan favorite thanks to his visually arresting armor and cool demeanor. Jeremy Bulloch, the original actor inside the armor, passed away last week — but his legacy, including all he brought to Boba Fett, goes on. The Book of Boba Fett will carry that legacy forward. Season 3 of The Mandalorian will go into production next year. Edited December 21, 2020 by Ronnie
Julius Posted December 21, 2020 Author Posted December 21, 2020 Also, just to clarify, The Mandalorian Season 3 isn't going to be releasing next Christmas; The Book of Boba Fett is what Kathleen Kennedy was referencing when saying that the next chapter would release at that time. Looks like you were right, @Ronnie Bit of a shame in my opinion - and that phrasing they used for an Investors Meeting seems risky at best! - but doesn't seem like we'll be waiting too long after then, seeing as the show's already in pre-production. I'm thinking we probably get it somewhere between late Q1 and early Q2 2022? That year is going to be stacked. We could then get Cassian in late Q2/early Q3, Obi-Wan Kenobi firmly in a summer blockbuster position in Q3, and then Ahsoka and Rangers of the New Republic later that year too, if they wanted to fill that year up completely, and not to mention we'd probably be getting a second season of The Bad Batch - if they plan to do one - in that time too.
Ronnie Posted December 21, 2020 Posted December 21, 2020 (edited) 31 minutes ago, Julius said: Bit of a shame in my opinion - and that phrasing they used for an Investors Meeting seems risky at best! - but doesn't seem like we'll be waiting too long after then, seeing as the show's already in pre-production. Yeah from his interview it sounds like season 3 won't be long after Boba Fett, so potentially not as big a wait as I suggested, maybe like you say could be earlier in the year. I'm just glad we're getting a season 3, the panicked fan speculation didn't last long thankfully. Frankly with 10 other shows in the works, Mando was never going to hold onto the Christmas slot forever. I think it's smart to give other tentpole series their time in "Star Wars Nov/Dec". Edited December 21, 2020 by Ronnie
Cube Posted December 22, 2020 Posted December 22, 2020 Thinking back on the final episode, while I did enjoy it, I do think there was one big flaw. Spoiler It didn't really have an ending. It just stopped. Din, Gideon and Bo Katan were mid conversation about the Darksaber and the future of Mandalore when you-know-who popped up and took Grogu with him. Then the credits start. Gideon is supposedly going with Dune (although we don't know for certain), we have no idea what is happening between Din and Bo. Presumably Boba comes back to pick Fennec up. Then there's Din himself. The entire story so far has been about him and Grogu. Now his task is complete. Boba now owes him nothing, he doesn't seem to get on with Bo nor has he shown any care regarding Mandalore (the planet or the title). His clan is effectively gone. He also has no ship. There's not really anything to point in the direction of where the show is heading. The only plot thread sort of hanging is Mandalore, but I can't imagine a season about Din reluctantly becoming the leader of all Mandalorians. It also impacts Grogu being taken, as it just feels like he will return somehow next season. I personally would have kept the episode the same, but as the first half of a two-parter. Have the second part be Din being dropped off, and taking on a mission in order to get a new ship, a mission involving rescuing a kid. Throughout it he's go to talk to Grogu, with him not there. By the end, he decides that he wants to dedicate his life to returning lost/kidnapped kids to where they belong. Bo can let him go, but say that she will return to get the Darksaber properly (he has no reason to fight her now, she needs to wait until he has a reason to fight). So we have a threat, Din has a purpose and they've created a story where Grogu has a clear impact without needing to involve him in the future. Right now, it just seems like there isn't much of a reason for a season 3.
Ronnie Posted December 24, 2020 Posted December 24, 2020 (edited) Present for 11 year old nephew sorted! (Well, this and Star Wars Squadrons on Xbox) It's my first time baking, as you can tell Also... Spoiler Asked him what he thought of Mando chapter 16, he said he liked it, but was hoping the Jedi would have been Ezra. Edited December 24, 2020 by Ronnie 1
Ronnie Posted December 25, 2020 Posted December 25, 2020 Just watched the LEGO Holiday Special, thought it was brilliant. Lots of fun :-)
Julius Posted January 4, 2021 Author Posted January 4, 2021 High Republic launch stream is taking place in just over an hour, at 17:00 GMT. Took a year or two off from the books, but it might be time I jump back in...
Ronnie Posted January 4, 2021 Posted January 4, 2021 Looking forward to it. One of my favourite YouTubers, Star Wars Explained said Light of the Jedi was one of his favourite SW books ever, so the whole thing sounds promising.
Ronnie Posted January 4, 2021 Posted January 4, 2021 All looked and sounded good, big initiative for Lucasfilm! My only concern is that these Jedi all sound a bit too perfect. Nothing to do with the tedious Rey argument, I love Rey as a character, but hopefully the various leads have plenty of depth. Anyway, I'm about to order Light of the Jedi. Not a big novel-reader but I'll give this a go.
Ronnie Posted January 10, 2021 Posted January 10, 2021 One third of the way through Light of the Jedi and it's fantastic. Couldn't put it down. Charles Soule's writing is so good. Definitely needed to make notes though as there's a LOT of new characters to learn. Refreshing to have a new time period to fall in love with. It also means meaningful things can happen, as opposed to new canon books that felt a bit safe and only there to pad out the films.
Julius Posted January 11, 2021 Author Posted January 11, 2021 Totally out of the blue: Lucasfilm Games. Quote Lucasfilm’s legacy in gaming stretches back decades. And with Lucasfilm and the galaxy far, far away entering a new and unprecedented phase of creativity, so will the world of Lucasfilm Games — developed in collaboration with the finest studios across the industry. StarWars.com is thrilled to reveal that Lucasfilm Games is now the official identity for all gaming titles from Lucasfilm, a name that encompasses the company’s rich catalog of video games and its eye toward the future. To mark this new era, Lucasfilm Games has launched social channels on Twitter (@LucasfilmGames) and Facebook (@LucasfilmGames), which will deliver breaking news and more directly to fans. You can watch a special sizzle reel celebrating the history of games from Lucasfilm below; the Lucasfilm Games logo, featured above, will appear in all future Lucasfilm Games titles. So it's not quite LucasArts, but still, with only a couple of years left on the EA deal, I'll be very surprised if this isn't fleshed out to be something more than just a logo in a few years' time. Possible even a licensing arm for their games, maybe?
Ronnie Posted January 11, 2021 Posted January 11, 2021 (edited) EDIT: Damn, beat me to it by seconds 4 minutes ago, Julius said: developed in collaboration with the finest studios across the industry Hopefully that doesn't just mean the EA studios and they're looking to take the games side of things a lot more seriously. Edited January 11, 2021 by Ronnie
bob Posted January 11, 2021 Posted January 11, 2021 I look forward to the inevitable branch of the company that sells books based on the games they make: Lucasfilm Games Books. And of course, the company that distributes the OSTs for the games: Lucasfilm Games Music. 1
Julius Posted January 11, 2021 Author Posted January 11, 2021 5 minutes ago, Ronnie said: EDIT: Damn, beat me to it by seconds. juliusshotfirst.gif Quote Hopefully an indication they're going to be taking gaming a lot more seriously than what EA have managed to put out in 7 years. Yep, for sure. Not counting mobile and expansions to The Old Republic, what we got with Battlefront, Battlefront II, Jedi: Fallen Order and Squadrons is a very poor turnaround, and with only 2 years left on their deal, I kind of doubt EA are working on much besides sequels to all three of their current Star Wars output: Battlefront III, Jedi: Fallen Order II, Squadrons II. And I'll be honest with you: what we've ended up with in Battlefront has been nothing but disappointing - yes, even with the progress made with Battlefront II after launch - when compared with the ambition of Free Radical's cancelled Battlefront III game from the late 2000's. For me, the games have ended up all style, and very little substance, though looking back at EA's last few years, that seems bang on. I know we've talked about the possibility of Lucasfilm having their own licensing arm for games before Ronnie, do you think they might be preparing for that? And just to indulge in some speculation of my own here: while EA maintain exclusive rights to publish Star Wars games until 2023, there's little else that we know about the agreement, which makes me wonder if we might end up with games being developed elsewhere in preparation of the floodgates crashing open come 2023 or thereabouts. I think that's the most interesting possibility out of all of this, because when you think about it, why else would you announce this now? Because you've already started talking to folks elsewhere - and perhaps even development has broken ground to some extent - about what you want after the EA deal is over. Otherwise, the EA deal is basically going to end up running until 2025/2026 on a normal AAA development schedule if development can't start elsewhere until then. Guess we'll have to wait and see. Time for me to start dreaming about post-EA Star Wars games, which feels really good. 1
Cube Posted January 11, 2021 Posted January 11, 2021 Hopefully the management is very different to post-2005 LucasArts, who let multiple great developers die and produced the rather poor Force Awakens and terrible Force Awakens 2, Star Wars Kinect and some low budget kids games. At least EA's Star Wars period wasn't as bad as that.
Ronnie Posted January 12, 2021 Posted January 12, 2021 Good point on the difference between publishing and developing @Julius, you would hope studios wouldn't have to wait until 2023 to start work! The franchise is so diverse there's so many different types of games that can be made, and opening it up to non EA studios would suit that perfectly. Story Group's Matt Martin's tweet a few weeks ago... I know there's probably some PR speak in there but it does sound like they're ramping up.
Ganepark32 Posted January 12, 2021 Posted January 12, 2021 Spent the last week watching through The Mandalorian for the first time and having just finished the second season earlier today, I have to say that I loved it. I haven't watched anything Star Wars in years. Not seen any of the new films, nor any of the extended universe material in the form of The Clone Wars cartoon or such. Probably the last time I saw anything Star Wars was watching Episode 6 probably 10 years ago or more. I've only recently played through Jedi Fallen Order and have Squadrons on the go as my ventures into Star Wars as of late but the show was fantastic. Sure, I missed out on little nods or the significance of characters here or there but overall, I thought it was really well done. I much preferred the second season's extended plot rather than the compartmentalised feel of the first season as it allowed Mando and The Child space to grow in their relationship, which I felt was done well. Production wise, they've done a great job making it look the part, with maybe a few instances where dome of the CG doesn't come off great or where its very clearly sets with green screens. What they've done woth the puppetry for The Child and the additional CG work on top of that was great as it gave it the feel of the original trilogy, that distinctly Star Wars feel that the prequels lacked and I'm sure the sequels will have with the heavy use of CG. I think perhaps one of the strongest points for the show is the music. I was listening to the Play, Watch, Listen podcast hosted by Alanah Pearce the other week and they talked about how the show has probably done more for the property music wise than anything since the original John Williams score. They did a really good job with the music of giving it that frontiers, almost Western feel (I've seen that banded around as a way of conceptualising the show and I'd definitely agree that it does feel like a sci-fi Western) but still making it feel like Star Wars, at least to me but the again I've been away from the property for years. As a fan of KotOR, I loved getting to hear more of the expanded universe and particularly from the perspective of the Mandalorians, something only touched on slightly in that game but the purge of Mandalore hadn't happened by the time that game was set IIRC. And Pedro Pascal did a great job as Mando and giving life to that character and the creed of the Mandalorians. Hell, even Bill Burr, who I'm not a fan of, was great as were much of the extended cast. Did feel weird to hear Richard Ayoade voicing a character as I didn't feel like it fit the mood of the Heist episode. So yeah, really enjoyed it. The ending to the second season felt a bit trite but I'd already seen what was to happen so I guess I wasn't as let down by the awkward CG for the reveal there but it could've done with maybe maintaining a slight distance from the films. Now to wait till next year for season 3. Not much else to watch on Disney+ till then other than The Book of Boba Fett in December. 1
bob Posted January 12, 2021 Posted January 12, 2021 or where its very clearly sets with green screens. No green screens were used at all actually. I get your point about obvious CGI, but they actually used revolutionary technology where they projected live CG backdrops behind the actors in real time. It's very interesting, and I would recommend the documentary they made about it.
Julius Posted January 12, 2021 Author Posted January 12, 2021 Yeah, like @bob mentioned they used real-time CGI screens powered by Unreal Engine 4 a lot of the time for those backgrounds, officially dubbed 'Stagecraft' and unofficially dubbed 'The Volume' during production. It's definitely worth watching the BTS stuff on it, it's really interesting stuff. Though I still agree with you @Ganepark32, it looks really rough at times, especially in sandy environments I found, as well as with some of the droids and movement (start of the first episode felt a bit like Star Tours at times). Never mind how deep into the uncanny valley they go with some of the faces at times! Either way, glad you seemed to enjoy it for the most part
Ronnie Posted January 12, 2021 Posted January 12, 2021 Spoiler-ing this just in case people don't want to read into leaks/rumours Spoiler I'm somehow both really disappointed and also hopeful and intrigued. I trust them to pull it off, but they really need to nail the casting and tone of the show. Ezra and Sabine are miles from the tone of Mando, so I hope the performances and screenplay reflect that. I'd be fully onboard if they get Tiya Sircar back.
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