Star Wars 7x7: A Daily Bite-Sized Dose of Star Wars Joy

New info from a Star Wars reference book allows us to pin down a timeline for Din Djarin - aka The Mandalorian - and also, draw some very strong potential connections to Sabine Wren. One today's show, I'll connect those dots... Punch it!

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The writers of all eight episodes for The Mandalorian season 2 have been revealed, and unlike the director situation - which is very different from season 1 - the writing situation is very similar. Punch it!

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A new Mandalorian season 2 commercial reveals more about the ice cave, and new character posters feature a couple of Star Wars species in their graffiti...

On today's episode of the show, I'll flag what's new about the commercial, and we'll dig into some background information about a species with a red "NO" circle and slash through it - plus, one other option for where we are when we arrive on the graffitied planet. Punch it!

Here's where you can see the character posters: https://twitter.com/disneyplus/status/1315653533186682880

And here's where you can see the new commercial: https://twitter.com/CultureCrave/status/1315699276828176384

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In our latest "What to Watch Now" installment, we're highlighting part of a conversation with the High Republic authors about how different Jedi experience and interact with the Force.

In case you weren't aware of it, New York Comic-Con was supposed to happen this weekend, and it did ... from a certain point of view. They had a bunch of virtual panels, one of which was focused entirely on the High Republic. All five authors were there (Claudia Gray, Justina Ireland, Daniel Jose Older, Cavan Scott, and Charles Soule), as well as the architect of the initiative, Lucasfilm's Michael Siglain.

On today's episode of the show, we'll cover the notable things they revealed and discussed, and I'll point you to where in the video of the session they talked about how their Jedi characters perceive the Force. Punch it!

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Pulling information from publisher's summaries, interviews, excerpts, and more, we can actually piece together a lot about the "Great Disaster" that kicks off the High Republic publishing initiative, and in particular the events at the beginning of Light of the Jedi by Charles Soule... Punch it!

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Light of the Jedi writer Charles Soule recently talked about the process of how the timeframe of the High Republic was determined, which opens up some fun behind-the-scenes conversation...

We'll talk about that today, and also about the other publishers involved in the High Republic initiative. It's not just Del Rey, Disney LFL Press, Marvel, and IDW - there are six other publishers involved, and what they've done in the past provides clues to what they'll be doing for the formerly-known-as-Project-Luminous saga. Punch it!

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As New York Comic-Con reveals start to arrive, we're checking in on a couple of news stories about The High Republic publishing initiative that we haven't covered yet... Punch it!

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It's a milestone episode, but not for anything to do with the episode number, obviously. It happens to be my birthday, and a round-number one at that. And Star Wars, and this podcast journey with you, is still as exciting as ever. Punch it!

And if I may humbly share my birthday wish with you, it's to be able to do this show as my full time gig.

If you enjoy the podcast, and you think it's worth supporting this daily dose of Star Wars joy, there are a few ways you can help:

1. Rate the show on iTunes. As of this writing, we're at 197 ratings. It would be fantastic to break 200 today! https://sw7x7.com/itunes

2. Review the show on iTunes. Ratings are terrific, to be sure. As far as iTunes is concerned, reviews are even better, because that takes extra effort. And it helps more people find Star Wars 7x7 when they're looking for Star Wars podcasts to listen to. https://sw7x7.com/itunes

3. Tell a friend. If you like Star Wars and podcasts, chances are you know other folks who like Star Wars and podcasts. Today would be a great day to let a bunch of folks know about this show!

4. Check out my "Hyperspacing Hope" talk ... on the official TED website! Yes, my TEDx talk from last year was promoted up to the big leagues, along with several of my fellow speakers from last year's event. https://sw7x7.com/ted

5. Get the (Unofficial) Force Awakens Trivia Book on Amazon. It features 501+ galaxy-spanning questions and answers from the first of the sequel movies. https://sw7x7.com/tfa

6. Become a Patron of the show. There are shows with thousands of Patrons, and I hope to get there someday as well. For now, adding two more, or fifty-two more, would be wonderful. https://patreon.com/sw7x7

7. Sponsorship. We've had sponsors and affiliate arrangements on the show, and it's the biggest thing that's moved the needle in terms of getting closer to doing the show as a full-time affair. It's also a very particular thing, because it has to be an authentic fit between you, me, and the sponsor. If you or someone you know is associated with a brand you think would do well on the show, let's talk. https://sw7x7.com/sponsors

Thank you for indulging me in sharing my birthday wish list. :-) Now, on with the show!

***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

The characters in the "From a Certain Point of View" stories for The Empire Strikes Back 40th anniversary collection have been revealed! We'll run them down today... Punch it!

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Celebrating reading and encouraging literacy, Star Wars Reads is back for 2020! Today, a limited-time free book download offer leads to a discussion about the 10 YA books in the new Star Wars canon...

That free download offer is for Zoraida Cordova's A Crash of Fate, and it's available for US residents through October 9. Here's the link where you can go to pick your favorite ebook seller and get it: https://books.disney.com/book/a-crash-of-fate/

While we're at it, we're going to run down all ten YA novels in the new Star Wars canon, which are:

Queen's Peril (E.K. Johnston) Queen's Shadow (E.K. Johnston) Ahsoka (E.K. Johnston) Most Wanted (Rae Carson) Rebel Rising (Beth Revis) Lost Stars (Claudia Gray) Leia, Princess of Alderaan (Claudia Gray) Poe Dameron: Free Fall (Alex Segura) Force Collector (Kevin Shinick) A Crash of Fate (Zoraida Cordova)

Though I won't attempt to rank them, I'll talk about which one seems to have received the best reviews overall, which one is my own personal favorite, and share a quote from Zoraida Cordova about Star Wars storytelling that particularly resonated with me... Punch it!

***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***