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

The Mandalorian Season 2 trailer is finally here! We're addressing the biggest questions, including: Who is Sasha Banks playing? Why are we back on Tatooine? And for all that they hinted at, what are they still hiding? Punch it!

Here's the trailer, in case you want to see it again...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eW7Twd85m2g

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

In The Mandalorian, we know that Imperial remnant leader Gideon is a "Moff." But what does that even mean? How do you get to be a Moff, let alone a Grand Moff? We'll untangle it all today... Punch it!

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

Between the Entertainment Weekly cover story and previous interviews, Giancarlo Esposito has given us some VERY intriguing hints about Moff Gideon and season 2 of The Mandalorian... Punch it!

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

The new monthly issue of Entertainment Weekly is out! It's the Fall TV Preview, and The Mandalorian landed the cover. Here's what we're learning about the new season... Punch it!

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

From even before the release of The Force Awakens, Lucasfilm was teasing us about Rey's identity. One of pre-release commercials featured Maz Kanata and Rey speaking in voiceovers - Rey answering Maz's identity question by saying "I'm no one."

Then, it turns out she's "someone" - a Force user with serious natural ability, and with her potential seemingly unlocked by Kylo Ren.

She continues to insist that she's a nobody in The Last Jedi, even in the face of Luke Skywalker's repeated pestering, also supporting the notion that there's going to be a reveal somewhere. And there is, and it's the no-one reveal. She's exactly who she said she is.

Then we have The Rise of Skywalker. And Daisy Ridley herself has had a few things to say about how the story went from her being a nobody to being a capital "S" Somebody in a recent interview. We're talking about that on the show today, and how those heritage decisions reflect on the development of both the Original and the Sequel Trilogies. Punch it!

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

Almost entirely, the audiobook version of every new Star Wars novel is the same as the written version. In fact, I don't think there's a single Star Wars novel that has appeared as an "abridged" version in audiobook form.

That said, there are a couple of things about the text version of Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendancy (Book I: Chaos Rising) that don't appear in the audiobook version. On today's episode, for the audiobook review of Chaos Rising, I'm going to flag the differences, and discuss how and whether they affect the experience of the story as an audio performance. (Ultimately, there are a couple of things that, if you know them in advance, make for a less confusing experience.)

We'll also talk briefly about narrator Marc Thompson's performance as well as the rest of the production, and also about one element that - though small - really has the potential for sending a tingle through your skin. And it's one I missed when I went through the text version... Punch it!

(And thanks once again to Del Rey and Penguin Random House Audio for sharing advance copies of both versions of the novel with me, to review and talk about with you!)

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

Turns out the novel Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendency (Book I: Chaos Rising) tells us exactly when the "present day" events of the novel take place - and they tie in to another Thrawn novel. On today's episode of the show, we're going to go a bit into spoiler territory. Specifically, we'll talk about which previous Thrawn novel crosses paths with this new one (and, more to the point, which *part* of that other novel). We'll also talk about the spoils of the mission from that other novel, and how it leads to the other shoe dropping in the latest story. Punch it!

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

In addition to the world-building that happens in Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendency (Book I: Chaos Rising), we're also learning more about how certain people connect with the Force in their worlds.

On today's episode, we're going to talk about the "sky-walkers" (yup, that's what they call them!) and Pathfinders (different from the SpecForce Pathfinders of the Rebel Alliance) we meet in Chaos Rising; how they interact with the Force; how that relates to the overall movement away from Jedi/Sith storytelling with this trilogy; and whether it opens the door for further Force abilities to appear. Punch it!

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

What does a 1999 film written by Lem Dobbs and directed by Steven Soderbergh have to do with the new Star Wars novel by Timothy Zahn? And why is this new novel, Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendency (Book I: Chaos Rising), not just the start of a new trilogy, but also a spiritual sibling with one of its predecessors, Thrawn: Alliances?

I promise it will make sense when you listen or watch the non-spoiler review on tap for you today... Punch it!

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

We know very little about the Obi-Wan Kenobi series, especially when compared to what we know about the Cassian Andor series. For one thing, Ewan McGregor is the only officially announced cast member for that series, whereas about half a dozen have been conformed for the Cassian series.

That said, there's still a lot about the time the Cassian series is supposed to take place that we don't know, but we do know a little. I'll summarize stories and details we know about 5 BBY today, including a milestone in the life of a character who will become VERY important to Cassian in the future; the recruitment of a final member into one of the most famous Rebel cells; and when a certain droid may have joined all the fun. Punch it!

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