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

The penultimate episode in our series of looks back at interviews from Star Wars Celebration Anaheim in 2015 features the inimitable and endlessly energetic Chris Pirillo. 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're in the home stretch of a series of looks back at conversations from Star Wars Celebration Anaheim, and today we're featuring prolific podcaster Meg Humphrey. Punch it! ***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

Not only does Jordan White share his "Why Star Wars?" answer here from Celebration Anaheim in 2015, he also shares the moment he found out that Star Wars was coming back to Marvel - and that he'd be the editor. Punch it! ***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

Sarah Woloski of Skywalking Through Neverland and Fangirls Going Rogue is the latest interviewee in our series of recollections about Star Wars from Celebration Anaheim in 2015. 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're at the halfway point in our series of blasts from the past! Here's the first of multiple conversations with Star Wars sound and music master David W. Collins. Punch it! ***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

Welcome back for another flashback from the interviews at Star Wars Celebration Anaheim in 2015! Today, I'm sharing the first of what would become many conversations on the show, with Star Wars author and Nerdist managing editor Amy Ratcliffe. 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 a ride it's been! Matt Martin has gone from social media maven for Star Wars to a key member of the Lucasfilm Story Group since this interview from Celebration Anaheim in 2015. 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, day 2 of a fun look back at interviews from Star Wars Celebration Anaheim in 2015, this time featuring Fangirls Going Rogue's Tricia Barr, who's also a Star Wars author 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.***

Once upon a time - in 2015 at Star Wars Celebration Anaheim, to be specific - I interviewed Justin Bolger, who's had an amazing journey since then. 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 our latest "What to Watch Now" segment, we check out some memorable moments from the first half of season 3 of the Clone Wars "2D" cartoon from back in the day. 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 a new "potpourri" episode, we're following up on a couple of new news items, including a long-awaited VR announcement and a Hollywood trades rumor about a Kenobi cast addition. Punch it! ***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

Did you know? The Greater Good audiobook is as long as Victory's Price, even though the hardcover book is fifty pages shorter! There's a good reason why, and we'll discuss that and more 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.***

There's a line from the Batman movie The Dark Knight where Harvey Dent talks about the heroes and villains of stories. And what he says is the exact opposite of what's happened with Thrawn in the new novels. Punch it! ***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

Thrawn fans will have more to love from Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendancy: Greater Good, and may find the expansion of the novel's focus beyond the titular Chiss to be, in its way, even more compelling. 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 our latest Mando Memo, we talk about the levels of characters (main, recurring, featured, guest) as a way in to talk about some characters we haven't yet discussed... 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 today's Spinner Sunday installment, we take a look at the conclusion of the High Republic short story "First Duty" and use it as a jumping-off point for a brief meditation on the types of stories you can tell within Star Wars. Punch it! ***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

Last week on our "What to Watch Now" segment, we talked about the first season of the "vintage" Clone Wars. Now, let's talk about season 2. Punch it! (Here's the mantra from Luminara Unduli I thought was noteworthy, which she recites as Barriss Offee assembles her lightsaber on Ilum:) The crystal is the heart of the blade The heart is the crystal of the Jedi The Jedi are the crystal of the Force The Force is the blade of the heart ***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 rumor that the long-lost Star Wars Detours series is not only coming to Disney+, but with extra episodes. Today, some background and what else I'm hearing about this... Punch it! Here's where the current story originated from... https://www.thevulcanreporter.com/exclusives/star-wars-detours-disney-plus-release/ ***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

About 900 episodes ago, I made some predictions about Clone Wars season 7. (Logic? Sound. Results? Mixed.) But the actual results of season 7, and what's happened since, may indicate how Lucasfilm is approaching new stories to come. Punch it! ***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

NFTs - "non-fungible tokens" - are becoming quite the rage. They basically take a digital item and make it "the" one official version of the item. The NBA is making a mint with it - will it happen with Star Wars? Punch it! ***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

Wave I of Phase I of The High Republic mega-story epic is almost complete! Today, we recap what's included in Wave I; preview the first titles in Wave II; and note two new authors as well as two missing ones. 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 we learn about Ahsoka Tano from season 2 of The Mandalorian comes more by inference than direct knowledge. And that may tell us a bit about Bo-Katan and Grogu, too. 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 another Spinner Sunday installment, we look at a story about Darth Maul trying to keep his rage in check prior to the events of The Phantom Menace - and doing very poorly 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.***

In our latest "What to Watch Now" segment, we start to look at the "Star Wars Vintage" additions to Disney+, starting with season 1 of Star Wars: Clone Wars. Punch it! We'll be talking about the genesis of that series, the chief story and side stories of season 1, how a certain side story is now canon again, and more... ***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

A fully non-spoiler update, which includes talk about the unauthorized aerial on-location set photos; plus a look at the previous work of the show's writers and directors, and what that suggests for the kind of show Andor will be. Punch it! And if you want to see them, here's the link to those aerial photos: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-9401607/Star-Wars-Andor-filming-takes-place-Buckinghamshire-village.html ***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

Rumors about the Ahsoka series and questions about who's responsible for finding Ezra Bridger fuel this episode, and maybe we've been thinking the wrong way about that Rebels finale... 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 VERY unauthorized drive through an on-location set, purported to be for the Obi-Wan Kenobi series, opens up a conversation about how Disney+ series are filmed, and where... Punch it! ***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

Sarah Kuhn, Emily Woo Zeller, and the full Penguin Random House Audio cast and crew did a great job expanding the Doctor Aphra comics story into an audiodrama last year. I wish I could say the addition of the script release made it feel like a "both" rather than an "either/or." I'll explain on the show 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.***

Fennec Shand tripled her episode appearances in season 2 of The Mandalorian! Not only did we learn a bit more about her, we've also learned that she's going to play an even bigger role in Star Wars storytelling. Punch it! ***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

Did you know that 2021 is Lucasfilm's 50th anniversary? I feel like I just clued into it finally with the Del Rey "Essential Legends" announcement. But they've been talking about it since last December... Punch it! ***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

Old movies and cartoons on Disney+, new books and comics, and a couple more things to talk about in our monthly preview of what's coming to Star Wars storytelling this month. Punch it! We don't cover all the categories this month, because there's not notable news in all of them, but for the refresher, here's what they are... Movies Live-action TV Animation Books Audiobooks Comics Virtual Reality Video Games Experiential (Events/Conventions/Parks) Merchandise ***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

The April Fool's Day episode is one of my favorites of the year! On today's show, I'll break down what was real and what was fake from yesterday's "reveals." Punch it! In case you're interested, here's a look back at the episodes I did for previous April Fool's Days: 2020: Episode 2,098: BREAKING: Project Luminous Resets Star Wars Canon http://sw7x7.com/episode-2098-breaking-project-luminous-resets-star-wars-canon/ 2019: Episode 1,732: "Special Edition" Phantom Menace Re-Release Details http://sw7x7.com/episode-1732-special-edition-phantom-menace-re-release-details/ 2018: Episode 1,367: Yoda, Luke, and the Secret Within the Jedi Library http://sw7x7.com/episode-1367-yoda-luke-secret-within-jedi-library/ 2017: Episode 1,002: Pablo Hidalgo to Lead Hasbro's New Transformers Story Group http://sw7x7.com/episode-1002-pablo-hidalgo-lead-hasbros-new-transformers-story-group/ 2016: Episode 637: Breaking: Episode VIII to Film on the International Space Station! http://sw7x7.com/episode-637-breaking-episode-viii-to-film-on-the-international-space-station/ 2015: Fun fact about the show - this was the first April Fool's Day in the show's history, and I didn't do an April Fool's Day episode! Obviously, I rectified that in subsequent years. :-) ***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

Since the 2014 reboot, Lucasfilm has been bringing elements of the Star Wars Holiday Special (Mando's rifle, Chewie's family, Life Day) back into the canon. Here's what they plan to do next. Punch it! ***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

Saw Gerrera! Captain Rex! Omega? So many surprises in the new Bad Batch trailer, plus a little more mystery, and a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment with Hunter and Fennec that may shed light on her role. Punch it! ***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

No loose ships on this starship! The cast of the Obi-Wan Kenobi series was announced yesterday, and of the ten newly confirmed folks, only one had been previously rumored. Punch it! ***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

If there's one character about whom there are more unanswered questions than any other in The Mandalorian, it's Boba Fett. That said, the mystery of his boots seems to have been solved... 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 second half of my conversation with Victory's Price narrator January LaVoy, we talk about the difference in working on Star Wars versus anything else, and the discussion goes in an unexpected and important direction. Here's her official bio: An Audiofile Magazine "Golden Voice" since May 2019, January has an extensive body of work in both narration and commercial voiceover. With hundreds of audiobook titles to her credit, she has received more than thirty Earphones Awards, eighteen Audie Award nominations (including seven wins), and was named Publishers Weekly's "Audiobook Narrator of the Year" for 2013. Her voice has been heard in national campaigns for products such as Revlon, Toll House, United Health Care, Dannon, Asthma.com, Home Depot, and Obama for America. January's tweets are protected, but she does screen and welcome new followers: https://twitter.com/justjanuary And you can also keep up with her work at JanuaryLaVoy.com! ***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

January LaVoy is an award-winning audiobook narrator, and she's here to talk about her work on Victory's Price, the conclusion of Alexander Freed's Alphabet Squadron Trilogy. Punch it! This is the first of a two-part conversation, and in this part, we'll be talking about conventions (the live event kind), her process in preparing for narration in general and Victory's Price in specific, her take on the story of Victory's Price, and the characters she found fun or challenging to perform... Here's her official bio: An Audiofile Magazine "Golden Voice" since May 2019, January has an extensive body of work in both narration and commercial voiceover. With hundreds of audiobook titles to her credit, she has received more than thirty Earphones Awards, eighteen Audie Award nominations (including seven wins), and was named Publishers Weekly's "Audiobook Narrator of the Year" for 2013. Her voice has been heard in national campaigns for products such as Revlon, Toll House, United Health Care, Dannon, Asthma.com, Home Depot, and Obama for America. January's tweets are protected, but she does screen and welcome new followers: https://twitter.com/justjanuary And you can also keep up with her work at JanuaryLaVoy.com! ***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

Yes, Bo-Katan needs to take the Darksaber from Din Djarin in legitimate combat. But he doesn't want to fight her. So who's going to fight for the right to rule Mandalore, and how will that affect our Mando? 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, we're covering it all in today's episode, because it's all tidbits of news that, by themselves, wouldn't warrant a whole show. 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 which we discuss profit sharing among the Mandalorians, as well as the "not publishing" of two Mandalorian books "at this time" for "scheduling" reasons - and what that may actually mean. 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 learned precious little about the Way of the Mandalore in season 1 of The Mandalorian - and we learned that rules were made to be broken in season 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.***

In the first of our Mando Memo looks at Din Djarin - aka The Mandalorian - we note that in season 2, he did practically no bounty hunting work! So today, we commence with an examination of his finances. Punch it! ***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

"Starlight: First Duty" by Cavan Scott is a new High Republic story that introduces us to a lot of major players on the Starlight Beacon, and becomes a shocking mystery at its cliffhanger... Punch it! ***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

Surprise! Some classic Star Wars content - no longer "canon," but still - is coming to Disney+ next month. We'll talk about when, and what, and also what's still missing. Punch it! ***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

Gone since 2016, back in a new form in 2021! The Star Wars character popularity tournament returns - I'll look at previous winners and the new version today. Plus, an amazing Legends story bracket vote... Punch it! The story on the LEGO Star Wars Minifigure Madness event is here: https://www.starwars.com/news/the-lego-star-wars-minifigure-madness-tournament I'm guessing these characters for the winners ... and I'd love to see your predictions, too! Light Side bracket: Grogu Droids bracket: R2-D2 Dark Side bracket: Darth Vader Allies & Adversaries bracket: The Mandalorian Finalists: Grogu and The Mandalorian Winner: Grogu Also, check out the "The Best Star Wars: Legends Story of All Time" brackets by @LukeIsAmazing on Twitter - Round 3 of the "Tom Veitch & Kevin J. Anderson Group" is happening now: https://twitter.com/lukeisamazing/status/1372546026406563840 ***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

Since we talked about the luckiest non-major characters in Star Wars live-action stories yesterday, it only seemed fitting for today to nominate characters as the unluckiest of the bunch. Punch it! ***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Without picking any "main" characters, who would you say are the luckiest characters in live-action Star Wars stories? I've got my nominations, and I'd love to hear yours. Punch it! ***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

Here's what new over the past few weeks about the Kenobi series, which also - we can't help it! - gives us reasons to discuss the Andor series, The Book of Boba Fett, and season 3 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.***

Moff Gideon, as we know, was a member of the Imperial Security Bureau during The Great Purge of Mandalore. And when you know what the ISB was responsible for, you begin to understand the greater danger Moff Gideon really presents. Punch it! ***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***