Star Wars Bits: Deconstructing The ‘Star Wars Rebels’ Finale, Scanning Donald Glover, And Excerpting The Solo-Centric ‘Last Shot’
In this edition ofStar WarsBits:
Beware of spoilersfor the last few episodes ofStar Wars Rebels!
TheStar Wars Explainedchannel put together an insightful review of the penultimate week’s episodes ofStar Wars Rebels, “Wolves and a Door” and “A World Between Worlds.” The video offers a theory as to why Ezra couldn’t enter the portal to save Kanan even if he decided to do so, and charts a path for Ahsoka after she returns to Malachor based on Dave Filoni’s artwork from some Topps trading cards.
After last week’s episodes, Nerdist postedan illuminating interviewwith Dave Filoni about Ahsoka’s long-awaited return. In the interview, Filoni talked about a C.S. Lewis book that influenced the idea of portals between worlds and shed some light on how the rescue of Ahsoka came to pass: “The only thing Kanan really engineers, that I think is questionably a little bit selfish, is he engineers the rescue of Ahsoka,” Filoni said. “Kanan’s correcting that thing where she otherwise dies. Now she’s back in play which is, I think, a good thing because she’s an interesting character.”
Star Wars Explainedalso published a video that syncs up the voices heard in “A World Between World” with the visuals from the source footage. Chills: I HAZ THEM.
Before the airing of theRebelsseries finale, Filoni sat down withCollider Jedi Council leader Kristian Harloffto discuss the series, the process of collaborating with otherStar Warscreators, Filoni’s metaphorical ascension from a Padawan to a Master, and much more.
After the airing of the series finale, at a special screening on the Disney lot in Los Angeles, Filoni sat down with several cast members fromRebelsto deconstruct the last few episodes in an emotional conversation moderated by Amy Ratcliffe. Plus: Taylor Gray (Ezra) finds out where babies come from! Check out the video above or on the Skywalking Through Neverland podcast’sYouTube channel.
As pointed out by Twitter userKevin Rubio(among others),Rebelsbrilliantly mirrors the opening and closing shots of the series. Narrative symmetry is a beautiful thing, my friends.
In an interview withThe New Yorker, Donald Glover offered an eerie glimpse into the sci-fi future of our dreams-slash-nightmares by revealing that he is now officially “scanned” into the Lucasfilm database. He added: “Who’s to say that at some point they won’t take that scan and say, ‘Let’s make another movie with Donald. He’s been dead for fifteen years, but we can do whatever we want with him.'” Hey, at least it’s not carbonite.
The recently released novelization ofThe Last Jedi, written by Jason Fry, contains a ton of new details about cut scenes, backstories, and the inner lives of certain characters. One big reveal, regarding Leia’s final words to Chewbacca at the end ofThe Last Jedi, will leave you needing a fuzzy and comforting Wookie hug of your own. Hit upMovieWebfor those four words and more.
Aninternational trailerforSolohas been released, and while it mostly recycles the same footage we saw in the Super Bowl trailer, there are a couple new angles of the Millennium Falcon. A new poster (that has not yetbeen accused of plagiarism!) has also been unveiled, and can be viewed atHeroic Hollywood.
We may never know exactly how much the change of directors affectedSolo: A Star Wars Story, but we do know that new director Ron Howard was forced to replace actor Michael K. Williams with Paul Bettany when Williams was unavailable to make it to set for reshoots. In an interview withEntertainment Weekly, Williams recognized that the situation was “an odd turn of events,” but he certainly sounded regretful that audiences will never get to see his scenes. “What saddens me most is I was very proud of the work that I did. What I believe I have created with Emilia Clarke and Woody Harrelson and Alden [Ehrenreich]… I thought it was some great work.” Fingers crossed for a make-up role in a subsequentStar Warsproject!
Do you aspire to be more like Grand Admiral Thrawn? (ie, collect more Mandalorian art, not murder more species in the name of the Empire, obviously.) Well, you’re in luck: ANOVOS is selling a wearable replica of Sabine Wren’s colorful helmet fromStar Wars Rebelsfor only (Please hide my wallet) $499. You can pre-order the helmethere. DM me for my address so you know where to send it.
Moar collectibles! The second wave of Funko Pop! figures fromThe Last Jedihas been announced, and if you don’t absolutelyneedminiature models of Kylo and Rey fighting Praetorian guards in Snoke’s throne room then I honestly don’t know what you’re doing with your life. More Pop! figures fromThe Last Jedican be viewed at the link above.
If you’ve been thinking thatSolo: A Star Wars Storyshouldsound more likeGuardians of the Galaxy, editor Kristian Repshus hears you. Repshusre-cut theSolotrailerto the tune of Blue Swede’s “Hooked on a Feeling,” and the result is pretty glorious. Check out his version of the trailer above.
StarWars.comhas an exclusive excerpt from Daniel José Older’s upcoming Han Solo-centric novel,Last Shot. The book takes place a couple of years afterReturn of the Jediand teases an intriguing Han and Lando adventure. But first, as we can see inthe novel’s excerpt, Han must learn to manage his stay-at-home-dad duties. What are the chances that baby Ben Solo sleeps through the night? Never tell Han the odds!
If the excerpt has piqued your curiosity, Random House haspublisheda detailed summary of the novel, which hints at a potential villain for theSolofilm…
Jump ahead a couple of decades, and Han’s original portrayer, Harrison Ford, is neck-deep in his new persona as a grumpy old man who yells at kids to get off his lawn. Though at times Ford reflects graciously on his time playing the notorious smuggler, he also tends to disparage anything associated with his “legacy.” When asked by theNew York Timeshow he felt about “passing the baton” to John Boyega’s Finn after Han’s death inThe Force Awakens, Ford replied, “I don’t know that I thought of it that way at all. I was there to die. And I didn’t really give a rat’s ass who got my sword.”
British filmmaker Marc John is suing Lucasfilm for “blocking” an interview with Darth Vader actor David Prowse, one that he claims would have aired live in 1,200 theaters and would have netted him 1.35 million pounds. Sure, dude, just be careful not to choke on your aspirations. Check outBBC.comfor more info on this bonkers case.
Mark Hamill is having a little bit of trouble releasing Luke Skywalker into the Force. At the Oscar Wilde Awards ceremony (AKA the “Irish Oscars”), Hamill shared a theory with theBBCabout Luke’s whereabouts: “I refuse to believe that he’s gone. My theory is he just teleported to somewhere else and left his robe behind. He teleported to a nudist colony, that’s what I’m hoping.” All joking aside, this sounds like an epic sequel toThe Leftovers…
Tighten your VR gear, nerds: ILMxLAB and The VOID have announced that the insanely cool, hyper-reality experienceStar Wars: Secrets of the Empirewill be opening in a new location in London on March 29. Clickhereto reserve your tickets and begin your mission to infiltrate the Empire. Godspeed, Rebels!
