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

In our final deep-dive episode for The Rise of Skywalker: Expanded Edition (the novelization and audiobook, and thanks again to Penguin Random House Audio for sending me a review copy), we're going to reveal the answer to the biggest question of them all - how did Palpatine survive his fall at the end of Return of the Jedi?

On top of that, we're going to address the issue of how that factors into Rey's parentage; how the process may give you flashbacks to an episode of The Mandalorian; and cover some odds and ends, including ships named in the Battle of Exegol, what Ben said to Rey as a Force ghost after he died, the holo Chewie had stored in his quarters, how the "Jedi voices" scene lacks details but includes a line that may mean Ahsoka Tano is still alive in this era, and a mystery that isn't solved by either the movie or the novelization. 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 The Rise of Skywalker: Expanded Edition, we're treated to some of Ben Solo's childhood memories. Funny thing is, the memories aren't *his*, per se. They're other people's memories of him as a boy. On today's episode of the podcast, we'll listen to excerpts from the audiobook version of the novelization (thanks again to Penguin Random House Audio for sending me a copy of it!) that reveal those memories.

Along the way, we'll also talk about Luke reaching out to Leia as a Force ghost - and which other Force ghosts have done the same - a more detailed explanation for why Rey tires out during her Kef Bir battle with Kylo Ren, the symmetry of Luke's and Leia's final outreach, and Kylo's/Ben's reflections on the truth of his existence after Rey stabs, heals, and ditches him. Punch it!

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

Yes, Rey is a Palpatine. Yes, Rey is a very powerful Force user. And yet, it comes as a surprise when she suddenly manifests Force lightning while she's battling with Kylo Ren for control of the First Order transport on Pasaana - you know, the one in which she thinks Chewie's being held prisoner.

Well, one of the great things that The Rise of Skywalker: Expanded Edition novelization does is take us inside Rey's head during that confrontation. (Thanks again to Penguin Random House Audio for sharing a copy of the audiobook with me for review purposes.) What Rae Carson does with this scene will absolutely enhance your next viewing of the movie, and we'll talk about why 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.***

Anthony Daniels once described The Rise of Skywalker co-writer Chris Terrio as someone deeply steeped in Star Wars lore (I'm paraphrasing, but that's certainly the gist of it). Well, to explain how Palpatine managed to survive the events of Return of the Jedi, they had to go back about 4,000 years into Expanded Universe (now known as "Legends") history to come up with one of the tools of the Sith lord's continued existence.

On today's episode, we'll talk about Kylo's first encounter with Palpatine as depicted in the "Expanded Edition" novelization (and thanks again to Penguin Random House Audio for sending me a copy to explore with you), which is a big deal, because at this point - as we'll talk about in this episode - there's currently no other source of information on Palpatine in the time of the sequel movies. Punch it!

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

Remember that briefest of brief scenes in The Rise of Skywalker where we get to see Luke training Leia on Ajan Kloss? Well, the "Expanded Edition" novelization gives us more details about Leia's time training with Luke - lessons she learned that she still uses decades later, as well as one specific training session that bears a resemblance to Luke's own training with Yoda in The Empire Strikes Back.

Thanks to Penguin Random House Audio, who kindly sent me a copy of the audiobook version to review and discuss with you, I'll be sharing clips of those moments on the show today. Punch it!

And if you want in on the free audiobook deal we have with Audible, head to http://sw7x7.com/audible to get it!

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

When I was researching what other Star Wars podcasters were doing as I was preparing to launch my own, one of the ones I particularly admired was Coffee With Kenobi. And so it was a particularly special moment to finally meet host and co-founder Dan Zehr - better known as "Dan Z" to his listeners and fans - at Star Wars Celebration Chicago.

He was kind enough to say yes to the one-question interview last year, and this year he said yes to answering a handful of questions as part of the Star Wars POP! feature here on the show. In case you need the refresher, "POP" stands for "Podcasters on Podcasting," and in today's episode, Dan opens up about his podcasting history, his inspirations, and much more. Punch it!

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

"Dangerous Debt" is season 7, episode 7 of the Clone Wars series, and the third of a four-part story arc. Interestingly enough, the main thrust of this third part is much the same as the thrust of the third episode in the Bad Batch arc - having been pinned down by the enemy in one fashion or another, our heroes need to escape.

And although the escape goes better for Anakin, Rex, Echo, and the Bad Batch than it does for Ahsoka and the Martez sisters, "Dangerous Debt" turns out to be the more compelling of the two. On today's episode, I'll explain why, and also explain how my feelings in that regard have nothing to do with THAT scene - you know the one I'm talking about. If it hadn't been in the episode, I still would have thought it to be deeper, more emotionally layered and nuanced. But with the addition of our surprise guests, the story got even richer and deeper.

And now that those characters have been introduced, it makes one wonder whether the "Together Again" title for next week's episode refers to Anakin and Ahsoka, as we'd previously thought, or if something else big is going to happen... Punch it!

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

Still not confirmed by Disney or Lucasfilm or anyone else, but Variety is hearing from multiple sources that Joby Harold has been selected as the new writer for the Obi-Wan Kenobi series at Disney+. Indie Wire is hearing the same thing from their sources - but we never know if Indie Wire's sources are different from Variety's sources, do we? But I digress...

On today's episode, we'll talk about this choice, because it does seem like an unusual one. Based on his career, it seems as though Harold has more experience in a producer/executive producer role than as a writer. And the series already has an executive producer in Deborah Chow (she's more than just the director for all the episodes). We'll also talk about the status of the production, because Variety's report mentioned something I didn't recall seeing anywhere before.

And lastly, we'll take a moment to honor Andrew Jack, the British dialect coach who also appeared as General Ematt in The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi. He passed away earlier this week at the age of 76, due to complications from the coronavirus.

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

We've covered the Rosario Dawson/Ahsoka Tano news in depth, and as of today, there's nothing new to report. But there have been a couple of other casting rumors for The Mandalorian season 2 out there - some well sourced and some less so, some featuring characters returning from season 1 and some brand new to the show. On today's episode, I'll dig into all of them, and evaluate how likely these new bits of news are going to wind up true. Punch it!

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

Remember when Disney reset the Star Wars canon storyline in April 2014? Well, the High Republic publishing initiative - formerly known as Project Luminous - is set to do it again. The clues have been in front of us for years, with the reveal about the "World Between Worlds" in season 4 of Star Wars Rebels, and most recently with the reference to it (also called a "Vergence Scatter") in The Rise of Skywalker Visual Dictionary.

We also know that the bad guys in Project Luminous, the Nihil, can manipulate hyperspace, and the whole storyline begins with a big hyperspace-related event. What I can reveal to you today is that the hyperspace event cracks open the World Between Worlds, which leads to all sorts of chaos - and even an alternate reality spilling out into the galaxy far, far away!

As a result, different versions of the heroes will emerge, and these versions aren't very nice. In fact, I've managed to get concept art for these sort-of "mirror image" characters, which I show in the video version of the show, and on the show notes page for this episode.

You can learn more about this shocking development, and what it means for the Star Wars canon timeline, on today's episode. Punch it!

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

Oh, and ... HAPPY APRIL FOOL'S DAY!!! :-)