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

The Obi-Wan Kenobi series takes place eight years after Revenge of the Sith. That's one of the very few things we know about it, and it's taking place during a year in the canon timeline that we don't know a lot about.

But... we do know a few things. One Star Wars novel takes place entirely during that year, and another begins in that year. Wookieepedia reminds us of a couple of ongoing events that cross through that year. But most importantly, there's actually a story about Obi-Wan rescuing an eight-year-old Luke Skywalker which takes place during that time.

On today's episode, I'll run down what we know about that year in Star Wars history, including the story of Obi-Wan's daring rescue of Luke. Punch it!

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There are a lot of reasons why you might not be able to make it to Galaxy's Edge right now, but that doesn't mean you can't experience some of the magic!

On today's episode of the show, I'll be talking about the experience of finding and enjoying videos of ridethroughs. There are no spoilers for the storylines of the rides in this episode, but we'll talk about whether there are other aspects of watching the videos that might make up for the ride getting spoiled for you... Punch it!

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So on the one hand, you have rumors and leaks and spoilers. On the other hand, you have simple logic. A few months ago on the show, in talking about the High Republic announcements, I wondered where Yoda was in all of this. He was prominently absent from any of the reveals, but he would have been in his 700s during that time, so he would have to play a role in the story, right?

Just logic, no sources. And it turned out to be right (though I probably wasn't the only one to think of it, to be sure). Lucasfilm recently announced that Yoda would be the main character in Daniel José Older's IDW comic series, Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures. On today's episode, I'll share quotes from the news story, and flag how a couple of those comments could tell us something about whether Yoda will appear in other stories, and also whether there's a parallel with American history that presages the fall of the Galactic Republic. Punch it!

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On the heels of a rumor about a Mandalorian trailer being pulled at the last minute, we talk about how rumors are handled here, overall and also pertaining to the Mandalorian season 2 trailer. That will involve discussions about media planning at big corporations, which Peter Sciretta at /Film rightly notes is meticulously planned out well in advance.

So, at best, it's unfortunate timing that the debut date of the Mandalorian was announced on the very same day that John Boyega's interview with GQ dropped, where he talks about the difficulties of being a Black man in Hollywood (and his whole life) in general, and about Star Wars in specific. At best, it's unfortunate timing, and here's hoping that's all it is. Punch it!

That said, the interview with John Boyega is not to be missed. Read it here: https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/culture/article/john-boyega-interview-2020

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On the occasion of the publication of the first novel in the new Thrawn trilogy - Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendency (Book I: Chaos Rising) - author Timothy Zahn took to his Facebook page to share some behind-the-scenes details. Here's an excerpt:

With the post-REBELS era still locked down, Del Rey and LFL came up with a plan for me to write three books set in the Chiss Ascendancy that would predate Thrawn's arrival in the Empire. By the time I heard about these discussions, everyone was already on board, which meant I didn't have to pitch or plead or cajole. All I had to do was say yes. (Or rather, "Heck, yes.") Even better was the fact that I was being given three books right from the get-go, the first time since the original Thrawn Trilogy that had happened.

On today's episode of the show, we'll talk about how his comments dovetail with recent Star Wars author interviews here on Star Wars 7x7, and what that post-Rebels era lock down could be about. For the record, the only other time I've heard of an era being locked down was when George Lucas told everyone to stay away from the Clone Wars, because he had future stories he wanted to tell within that era... Punch it!

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With all the things that *could* have happened if Celebration Anaheim had happened, there's a lot of potential for Star Wars surprises in September, in addition to what we already know... Punch it!

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Star Wars Celebration Anaheim would have taken place this past weekend. There would have been major reveals throughout, so it seemed logical that there would be a bunch of reveals over the past few days, even though the in-person event wouldn't be able to go on...

Well, it didn't work out that way. The most hotly anticipated reveal - a trailer drop for season 2 of The Mandalorian - didn't happen, but it's hard to imagine a world where it *won't* happen in the near future. After all, the show is supposed to debut season 2 in October, so it's gotta be soon, right?

In the meantime, another conference, this one entirely virtual, also happened to be taking place this past weekend. It was gamescon (yes, stylized in all lowercase), and there were three gaming reveals from Lucasfilm these past few days. One involved a Galaxy's Edge pack being added to The Sims 4, and another centered on LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga. But the biggest news was a new gameplay trailer for Star Wars Squadrons, with new details about the story. That's what we'll focus on today... Punch it!

And here's that trailer, worth it for Leia's speech in the first minute alone: https://youtu.be/5zEjIEP1038

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Today, the rest of our conversation with Alex Segura, author of Poe Dameron: Free Fall! We'll talk about Zorii Bliss, Babu Frick, and much more... Punch it!

And here's where you can check out Alex online:

Website: http://www.alexsegura.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alexseguraofficial Twitter: https://twitter.com/alex_segura

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We've talked about Poe Dameron: Free Fall on the show in previous episodes, and today, I'm thrilled to share with you the first half of my conversation with its author, Alex Segura!

Here's Alex's short bio:

Alex Segura is an acclaimed writer of novels, comic books, and podcasts. He is the author of Star Wars Poe Dameron: Free Fall, the Pete Fernandez Mystery series (including the the Anthony Award-nominated crime novels Dangerous Ends, Blackout. and Miami Midnight), and the upcoming Secret Identity (Flatiron Books). He has also written a number of comic books, most notably the superhero noir The Black Ghost, the YA music series The Archies, and the "Archie Meets" collection of crossovers, featuring real-life cameos from the Ramones, B-52s, and more. He is also the co-creator/co-writer of the Lethal Lit crime/YA podcast from iHeart Radio, which was named one of the best podcasts of 2015 by The New York Times. By day he is Co-President of Archie Comics. A Miami native, he lives in New York with his wife and children.

In this first half of the conversation, you'll get to hear about Alex's history with and love of Star Wars; how the opportunity to write Poe Dameron: Free Fall came his way; details about Poe Dameron's character; and much more. Punch it!

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All stories in Clone Wars: Stories of Light and Dark are inspired by Clone Wars episodes, but one story is a full original, and we'll talk about that one today.

Or, to be more specific: For all the stories in that collection, 10 of the 11 focus on a particular episode or story arc from the TV series, and they each center on a character who appeared in that episode or story arc. Each of those 10 stories digs deeper and expands the story.

The 11th and final story, "Bug," also deepens and expands on its inspiration. But unlike all the others, it focuses on brand-new characters, and doesn't run concurrently with its source material. Punch it!

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