Force Material: A Star Wars Podcast

This week, we're taking a break from the Galaxy Far, Far Away to take a deep, spoiler-filled dive into Avengers: Endgame!

We begin this week's spoiler-heavy pod by discussing our favourite moments from the film, before we explore what life is like for the citizens of the MCU after Endgame, what the events of this film mean for the MCU going forward, and whether the MCU will ever resemble the world outside our window again.

Finally, we debate whether The Rise of Skywalker has any chance of clearing the bar set by Endgame!

The Rise of Skywalker is upon us, and the speculation is on! This episode, we break the trailer down shot-by-shot and dive deep into what it might all mean for the future of our favourite franchise.

Is Rey connected to Palpatine? Will Kylo be redeemed? Is JJ's vision compatible with Rian's? And which Skywalker is rising, exactly?

From haunted helmets to Japanese arts and craft, we go all-in with the answers and share our wildest theories in this special episode of the Force Material podcast!

This week, we're partying like it's 1999 with our feature-length commentary track for Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace!

The 20th anniversary of The Phantom Menace and the upcoming reunion panel at Star Wars Celebration had us feeling nostalgic, so we decided to strap in and break down the good, the bad and the ugly of this landmark film.

We discuss our earliest memories of The Phantom Menace; how public sentiment turned against the film (and eventually turned back); the influences that shaped the film; the influence of The Phantom Menace on today's blockbusters; the great Star Wars vs The Matrix debate of 1999; and much, much more!

This week, we break down how the Nazis have influenced the Empire, the First Order —and the Rebellion.

This episode is all about how Triumph of the Will — an infamous propaganda film made by Nazis, for Nazis, starring Nazis — influenced George Lucas in the creation of Star Wars, and the wider influence that Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany have had on the Star Wars films over the years.

We begin by discussing Triumph of the Will; director Leni Riefenstahl's relationship with Hitler; and the enduring power of the film as an effective piece of propaganda (02:05).

Then we move on to the impact of Triumph of the Will and the Nazis on George Lucas and his portrayal of the Empire (08:21) and the Rebellion (17:45); and their influence on The First Order (22:31). 

Finally, we look at the parallels between Emperor Palpatine and Adolf Hitler's rise to power (27:52).

This week, we explore how 2001: A Space Odyssey influenced Star Wars — and what separates these two classic films from each other.

We begin with George Lucas' thoughts on 2001 (04:34), before breaking down the shared influences that Lucas and Stanley Kubrick had in common (05:34).

Then we lay out the influence that 2001 had on Star Wars (10:24), before we talk about the crucial differences between these two classic movies (20:30).

Finally, we chat about our experiences of watching 2001: A Space Odyssey over the years, and attempt to unpack some of the mysteries of Stanley Kubrick's enigmatic sci-fi masterpiece (26:39).    

Star Wars has always been political. This week, we explore how President Richard Nixon and the Vietnam War inspired George Lucas to create Star Wars!

We discuss how close George Lucas came to serving in Vietnam (02:52), and how the Vietnam War and Lucas' aborted attempt to make Apocalypse Now influenced Star Wars (03:51).

We look at Richard Nixon's opinion of Return of the Jedi, and how the disgraced President influenced the creation of Emperor Palpatine (10:30), and the parallels (or lack thereof) between the Emperor and Donald Trump (13:00).

Finally, we consider how the Emperor is viewed by the denizens of the galaxy far, far away, and how that compares with history's view of Nixon (23:27).

We're back from hiatus to catch up on all the news, rumours and meltdowns that went down while we were away!

We begin by addressing the Episode IX title speculation (01:33), whether the frustration of fans is justified, and our initial reactions to previous Star Wars titles.

In our spicy 'sealed section' (16:37 - 33:35), we discuss a slew of possible Episode IX leaks and spoilers. Skip this part of the podcast if you want to go into the film unsullied!

Then we round up all the news that's fit to pod about The Mandalorian (34:54) and Galaxy's Edge (40:57), before we rip into EA over their handling of the Star Wars license (43:33). 

A chat about Claudia Gray's upcoming novel, Master and Apprentice, turns into a discussion of the Liam Neeson situation (51:40), before we wrap things up by taking a look at the Star Wars Celebration guest list (01:00:45), and the much-ballyhooed Vader fan film (01:03:28).

Force Material will return... 

In our final episode of 2018, we take a peek at the presents Lucasfilm has placed under the tree for 2019!

There's plenty we can't wait to unwrap in 2019, and we're getting a head start this episode with our Episode IX predictions; a look ahead at The Mandalorian and Cassian Andor; and Galaxy's Edge and Star Wars Celebration hype!

Finally, we look even further into the future to consider the big question — will there be a new Star Wars movie in 2020?

Thanks for listening — we wish all of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, and we'll see you in 2019!

In honour of Superman: The Movie's 40th anniversary, we explore the connections between Star Wars and Superman!

This week, we discuss the actors (and one memorable prop) that appeared in both Star Wars and Superman (02:07); Darth Vader's contributions to Superman: The Movie (05:12); how both films endeavoured to bring credibility to the genre (10:33); and how Count Dooku missed out on a key role in Superman (18:06).

We look at the way Star Wars production designer John Barry brought Krypton to life (21:08); the influence of Norman Rockwell on Smallville and the parallels between Smallville and Tatooine (24:25); and the magic of John Williams (26:14).

We talk about how Superman: The Movie depicts journalism and fits into wider cinematic trends of the '70s (29:58) and the influence of Superman: The Movie on modern superhero films (38:04).

Finally, we hash out whether or not Superman: The Movie still holds up 40 years after its release (40:37); celebrate the genius of Christopher Reeve (50:02) and Margot Kidder (52:55); explain the original ending of the film (01:02:32); debate Superman's notorious trip back through time (01:07:26); rate our favourite versions of Superman, Lois Lane and Lex Luthor from other media (01:14:47); and have our say on who should play Superman next (01:22:33)! 

Bonus content! We stop in for a quick chat about the new Star Wars Galaxy of Adventures shorts, on the new Star Wars Kids channel!

You can watch the shorts here if you live in the States, and here if you live outside the States.

Our next 'real' episode, exploring the connections between Star Wars and Superman: The Movie, will drop this weekend!