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

A fantastic June 2021 interview with Star Wars: the Acolyte showrunner Leslye Headland revealed that she's hired writers for the show. That, along with info about The Mandalorian, StageCraft, and the waves of The High Republic, gives us a good idea about when the show can debut. Punch it! Here's the link to the interview with Headland: https://www.avclub.com/leslye-headland-s-favorite-star-wars-is-the-star-wars-y-1847118044 ***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

First, they were just nicknames based on their mutations. Then their personalities flowered from their specialties. Now, after a season with Omega, the members of the Bad Batch have developed familial roles in keeping with those personalities. Punch it! ***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

There's a new "teaser" for the Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser "story living" experience, which we'll discuss briefly; and the initial pricing has been released as well, which is causing a stir, and I don't think it's going to stay at those levels forever. Punch it! Here's the link to that teaser: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0e8v2G6Lzo ***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

There's a smartly horrifying idea at the heart of "Hidden Danger," Justina Ireland's first short story for the High Republic story initiative. Today, we're talking about the conclusion of that story, from Star Wars Insider #204. Punch it! ***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

Hunter said Omega would never have to go back to Kamino. Famous last words, as that bit of foreshadowing leads us "Return to Kamino," episode 15 from season 1 of Star Wars: The Bad Batch. 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 most recent episode of Star Wars: The Bad Batch, we re-meet Gregor, and discover that he's defecting from the Empire but didn't need his inhibitor chip removed to do it. So how did he (and other clones) resist Order 66? 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 idea of Darth Vader appearing in Star Wars: The Bad Batch is not new by any stretch. But a recent gaming development raised the question for me again, and so I'm running down what we know about Vader post-Order 66. Punch it! ***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

On two occasions in late July, the fine folks at Disney Parks gave us new information about the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser experience. Today, we run down the top 5 reveals. Punch it! Here's the YouTube video discussion referenced in today's episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsyH2sayDEs And here's the poster reveal and discussion post: https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2021/07/take-a-first-look-at-the-poster-for-star-wars-galactic-starcruiser-at-walt-disney-world-resort/ ***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

Deep world-building, lots of action, and a cliffhanger ramping up the ride to the series finale - Star Wars: The Bad Batch's "War-Mantle" has it all. Punch it! ***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

It's the last of a series of looks back at conversations from Star Wars Celebration Europe, this time featuring Star Wars author Jason Fry. 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's new and ongoing in the world of Star Wars storytelling for August of 2021? We'll run down all the action on today's monthly preview... Punch it! Even though there's not notable news in all 12 of the categories, we'll check in on them all in this episode. Here's what they are... Movies Live-action TV Animation Books Audiobooks Short Stories Comics Virtual Reality Video Games Experiential (Events/Conventions/Parks) Merchandise Streaming ***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

In the penultimate episode of looks back at interviews from Star Wars Celebration Europe, I'm highlighting a conversation with author Cole Horton. Punch it! ***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

Today in the series of looks back at interviews from Star Wars Celebration Europe, I'm thrilled to be sharing a conversation with Amanda Jean (AJ) Camarillo. Punch it! ***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

It's day 3 of a series of looks back at interviews from Star Wars Celebration Europe, and on today's show, I'm revisiting a conversation with Full of Sith's Bryan Young. 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 a continuing series of interviews, I'm flashing back to Star Wars Celebration Europe in 2016, this time featuring Kemp Remillard, who's done cross-sections illustrations for DK Publishing's various Star Wars books. 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 celebration of the seventh anniversary of the podcast this year, I'm looking back at interviews from Star Wars Celebrations past. Today, we kick off a new set - this time from Celebration Europe, and featuring Matt Martin from Lucasfilm. Punch it! ***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

Thank you to Podcast Stardust for having me back for this year's deep dive series, focused on Rogue One! Today, an excerpt from our conversation, in which we discuss our favorite Rogue One characters. Punch it! Look for Episode #285 of Podcast Stardust on your favorite podcast app for the full conversation: Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/podcast-stardust/id1484270010 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3gPWlEwF6Yhvr37Fl736Ni?si=izz32fGXQ1-H4infdnZ8kw And their website: https://www.retrozap.com/podcast-stardust/ ***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

The big story in "Infested" (Star Wars: The Bad Batch episode 13) is the evolution of Cid's relationship with the Bad Batch, and it's all thanks to her developing - not exactly a friendship, but something like it - with Omega. 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 only Star Wars panel at San Diego Comic-Con this year (another "@Home" edition due to the ongoing pandemic) focused on The High Republic, and on today's show, we're running down all the reveals. Punch it! ***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

Today we wrap up the conversation with Ed Gross, co-author of the recently released oral history of Star Wars, Secrets of the Force. Punch it! Here's where you can find Ed on Twitter to keep up with his exploits: https://twitter.com/EdGross ***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

Ed Gross, co-author of Secrets of the Force, joins the show to talk about his "unauthorized, uncensored" history of Star Wars. Today, part 1 of 2... Punch it! And for more about Ed, you can follow him on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/EdGross ***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

We talked about the High Republic "Leveler" (and the rod that controls it) in the previous episode. Now, we dig into Star Wars Legends to determine whether we've seen either or both before. Punch it! ***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

Okay, it's been a couple of weeks since the debut of The Rising Storm, so we're moving into spoiler territory to discuss the reveal of the so-called threat to the Force itself... but which Force, specifically? 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 first four episodes of Star Wars: The Bad Batch were about getting to safety after Order 66. The second four were about establishing a new life as mercenaries. Now, let's talk about the big idea in the third set of four episodes. 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 Mandalorian wasn't the only Star Wars production to receive an Emmy nomination. And though it's fun, this other production probably didn't set out with the goal of winning awards - but it's nice to be recognized. Punch it! ***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

"Rescue on Ryloth" concludes a two-part story arc for Star Wars: The Bad Batch, with action, fun, and more foundations laid for Star Wars history. Punch it! ***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

A potpourri episode! The Mandalorian wasn't the only Star Wars creation that received Emmy nods; plus odds on more Mando wins, and a Japanese press conference about Star Wars: Visions. Punch it! Here's the IGN article about the Japanese press conference that's mentioned in the podcast: https://www.ign.com/articles/star-wars-visions-anime-jedi-rock-opera ***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

Star Wars: The Mandalorian received five Emmy nominations in the "primetime" categories. What are the chances they'll win any of them? The Vegas oddsmakers and the Hollywood trades already have some ideas... Punch it! ***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

24 Emmy nominations for season 2 of Star Wars: The Mandalorian! That's nine more than season 1. We'll break it all down here... Punch it! Here's a breakdown of how the nominations compare to last year: 2020: 1 Major, 14 Creative 2021: 5 Major, 19 Creative Arts Major: Lost Outstanding Drama Series, nominated again New category nominations for: ---Supporting Actor (Giancarlo Esposito) ---Directing (Chapter 9, Favreau) ---Writing (Chapter 13, Filoni) ---Writing (Chapter 16, Favreau) Creative Arts, by 2020 wins: Won Production Design, nominated again Won Cinematography, nominated again (2 episodes in 2021 vs. 1 in 2020) Won Sound Editing, nominated again Won Sound Mixing, nominated again Won Special Visual Effects, nominated again Won Music Composition, nominated again Won Stunt Coordination, nominated again Creative Arts, by 2020 losses: Lost Costumes, nominated again Lost Picture Editing, nominated again (4 episodes in 2021 vs. 3 in 2020) Lost Prosthetic Makeup, nominated again Lost Guest Actor, nominated again Lost Character Voice-over, not nominated again Creative Arts, new category nominations for: Outstanding Casting Period And/Or Character Hairstyling Supporting Actor Stunt Performance And by episode: The Jedi 1. Production Design 2. Cinematography 3. Costumes 4. Picture Editing 5. Prosthetic Makeup 6. Sound Editing 7. Sound Mixing 8. Writing The Rescue 1. Picture Editing 2. Period And/Or Character Hairstyling 3. Music Composition 4. Stunt Performance 5. Writing The Believer 1. Cinematography 2. Picture Editing The Heiress 1. Picture Editing The Marshal 1. Directing ***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

Ten publishers were announced as participants in the Star Wars: The High Republic mega initiative. Only five have published anything so far. So, what's the the other five? We'll take a look today... Punch it! For the record, the ten publishers are: Del Rey Disney–Lucasfilm Press IDW Publishing Marvel Comics Titan Magazines Viz Media Abrams Books b&m! Books Dorling Kindersley (aka DK) Insight Editions ***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

The Syndulla family has a large effect on Star Wars history, thanks to Hera Syndulla. Her father, Cham Syndulla, has had an influence, too, even though he's only appeared in a handful of episodes and one novel. Today, a brief Syndulla family history. Punch it! ***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

Sure, there's the big High Republic thing going on, but it turns out that Star Wars: Visions is also a multi-platform storytelling initiative. Punch it! ***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

All the feels! More surprise cameos occur in "Devil's Deal," the 11th episode of Star Wars: The Bad Batch, but there's also very little Bad Batch in the episode itself. Punch it! ***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

You could call it the third in an unofficial, unrelated modern trilogy about origins and history of Lucasfilm! It's "Secrets of the Force," coming out next week, and we're talking about an exclusive preview today... Punch it! And here's the excerpt for you to check out... https://www.esquire.com/uk/culture/a36942214/star-wars-extended-universe-merchandising/ ***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

Since this year is the 50th anniversary of Lucasfilm - and since I keep seeing this nonsense about George Lucas coming back to be President of Lucasfilm - I thought I'd take a look back at the history of Lucasfilm's six presidents. Punch it! ***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

Seven years ago today, Star Wars 7x7 began an uninterrupted run of delivering daily doses of Star Wars joy. Today, 7 lessons I've learned during those 7 years of daily podcasting. Punch it! Here are the things I talk about on today's show: 1. Your opinions are going to change over time. I started out talking about Star Wars as a kind of public trust, and I said that it belongs to the fans now. When I started this podcast, I didn't ever want to own DVDs of the prequels. I thought that I could never like a Star Wars movie as much as I liked The Empire Strikes Back. I've done a 180-degree around on those topics. I have a much deeper respect for the people who've been entrusted with telling Star Wars stories, and my sense of entitlement has been replaced by a sense of gratitude. I'm thrilled that I can watch any of the Prequels at will, and I've developed a much greater appreciation for Attack of the Clones over the years. And I'd put Rogue One right up there with The Empire Strikes Back in terms of my favorite Star Wars movies. mI've even softened up on a couple of Special Edition things. I still have a problem with Han stepping on Jabba's tail, though. 2. Animation has told some of the best Star Wars stories. Prior to 2008, Star Wars animated storytelling was Ewoks and Droids, and the Clone Wars microseries. And then came the Clone Wars movie in 2008. And in the early, early days of the podcast, I said that the less said about that movie, the better. Well, I've softened up on that one, too, but it is still the worst reviewed Star Wars movie by top critics on Rotten Tomatoes. But that was the reason I didn't watch the series until after it had concluded its Cartoon Network run AND its Netflix "Lost Missions" run. And I'm glad I finally did. The Mortis arc in season 3, the Umbaran arc of season 4, Ahsoka on the run at the end of season 5, the Clone Conspiracy in season 6, and the Siege of Mandalore in season 7 were all amazing. Rebels had a lot of strong moments, and its final season was just about perfect. And I'll still stand by my statement that Resistance was hitting its stride in the back half of season 2 before it was discontinued. 3. It isn't hard to talk about Star Wars every day. In fact, if these past seven years have taught me anything, it's harder NOT to talk about Star Wars! And thankfully, the pace of Star Wars storytelling and the publication of reference materials has only sped up over the past seven years. In the first year and a half of the show, prior to the release of TFA, there was a season-plus of Star Wars Rebels, eight novels, and four reference books. Since the release of TROS, it's 12 novels, Clone Wars season 7, Mando season 2, the Bad Batch season 1, and a lot more reference books, too, to say nothing of comics or VR or video games with story components. 4. Getting out into the real world is so awesome. I was incredibly nervous at my first Star Wars Celebration in 2015. I'd been doing the podcast for less than a year. I'm not an extrovert by nature, but I managed to work up my courage enough to meet some great people, and even some great people who were listeners to the podcast! At the time I had about 200 listeners per episode, so the odds of that happening were pretty low. Four years later in Chicago, I was meeting people I'd been engaged with online for the first time, I was having happy reunions with people I'd met at previous Celebrations, and meeting even more fans of the show. I hope to high heaven that trend continues at Celebration 2022 in Anaheim. 5. Star Wars is not divisive. I spent so much time in late 2017 and the first half of 2018 analyzing box office performance and audience polling, and talking to people analyzing social media activity and user rating vote brigading, questioning my assumptions as hard as I could at every turn. And time and again, the only thing I discovered was that it was a small subset of people who managed to make themselves very loud, and a certain tier of web-based entertainment websites that thrived on clickbait headlines and stirring up tension for traffic. The fact of the matter is, Star Wars is still beloved by the large majority of people who loved it prior to 2014. And of the people who didn't like any movie made since them, the majority haven't rejected the rest of Star Wars. They've subscribed to the "love and let love" mantra. 6. Talking about real-world stuff was the right thing to do. I know a lot of people just want to have fun when they're listening to podcasts, or they want to learn, or just otherwise escape into a world someone else is creating. And for about 99 percent of this show, I've talked about Star Wars. I broke that the first time when I talked about getting diagnosed with skin cancer in 2017, and again when I talked about getting COVID earlier this year. I also did episodes on the pandemic in general, on the Black Lives Matter protests and Lucasfilm's and John Boyega's responses, on the insurrection, and more. It was ac

Action-packed and with a healthy helping of fun to boot, Star Wars: Race to Crashpoint Tower by Daniel Jose Older also features connections with and adds breadth to multiple High Republic stories. Punch it! ***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

During the virtual Anime Expo Lite, Lucasfilm revealed the first details about Star Wars: Visions, the series of animated shorts coming to Disney+ in September... Punch it! Here's the link to the write-up we referenced during today's show: https://anitrendz.net/news/2021/07/03/star-wars-visions-anime-shorts-coming-september-22-details-revealed/ Here are all the titles and the studios creating them: Geno Studio (Twin Engine) – Lop and Ochō Kamikaze Dōga – The Duel Kinema Citrus – The Village Bride Production IG – The Ninth Jedi Science Saru – Akakiri Science Saru – T0-B1 Studio Colorido (Twin Engine) – Tatooine Rhapsody Trigger – The Twins Trigger – The Elder And here's the video preview released by Lucasfilm on Saturday! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9Gr9gKFxpE ***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

You won't necessarily learn anything new in Star Wars: Vehicle Flythroughs, but I recommend checking them out with the audio description on... 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 Star Wars: The Bad Batch's "Common Ground," our Clone Force 99 heroes face another difficult test, and Omega's particular specialty is revealed. Punch it! We'll also talk about a moment that gets glossed over pretty quickly but may well be important for future episodes; what we're seeing in this episode that we already saw in the mid-season sneak peek video; and some fun trivia about the voice actors participating in this episode... ***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

Bestseller lists, reprints, and now merch! Although we'll never know the actual sales numbers, there's a lot of evidence that Star Wars: The High Republic is very successful. Punch it! Here are links to the merch mentioned in the show (no affiliate commission or anything, just sharing): https://www.amazon.com/s?k=%22Star+Wars+the+high+republic%22&i=fashion&ref=nb_sb_noss https://outofprint.com/products/star-wars-jedi-unisex-t-shirt?_pos=2&_sid=5bf491eff&_ss=r https://www.shopdisney.com/franchises/star-wars/?srule=star-wars-the-high-republic&start=24&sz=24 ***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

Animation, comics, and a book/audiobook release are what we know for sure are coming in Star Wars storytelling this month - but shouldn't we be hearing more about Andor, and Mando season 3? Punch it! Even though there's not notable news in all 12 of the categories, we'll check in on them all in this episode. Here's what they are... Movies Live-action TV Animation Books Audiobooks Short Stories Comics Virtual Reality Video Games Experiential (Events/Conventions/Parks) Merchandise Streaming ***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

Let's talk a bit about the "Essential Legends Collection" books that were just released, and the ones coming later this year... Punch it! (Kind thanks are due to the folks at Del Rey for sending me complimentary copies of the first three novels in the Essential Legends Collection to check out - Heir to the Empire, Path of Destruction, and Shatterpoint.) ***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

The Rising Storm and Race to Crashpoint Tower are the first two stories in Wave 2 of the Star Wars: The High Republic initiative! Today, let's reset where things stand leading into this new group of stories. 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 last story we haven't covered from Wave 1 of Star Wars: The High Republic super-bonanza storytelling initiative! Including the joys of a young(er) Yoda, monsters, and serious implications for Wave 2. 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 Hollywood trades - usually reliable sources of rumor material - are reporting that Matthew Robinson is the writer of 2023's Star Wars: Rogue Squadron. But who is he? Let's check out his body of work... 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 get a big reveal about Omega, and about what's going on with the Kaminoans, along with a rousing bounty hunter fight in Star Wars: The Bad Batch episode 9, "Bounty Lost." 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 Star Wars: The Bad Batch "mid-season sneak peek" is exactly that - very little new, but intriguing nonetheless. So let's talk about clone lifespans while we're at it... Punch it! ***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

It doesn't make sense to think that, at the end of Star Wars: The Bad Batch, that the members of Clone Force 99 will only evolve to be better mercenaries. So, where is this going? Previous Star Wars animation series may provide a clue. Punch it! ***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

As we talked about earlier this week, Star Wars: The Bad Batch isn't being shy about bringing back familiar faces in cameos. So, who's next? A list of likely candidates, grouped into four categories... Punch it! ***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***