This Week, In a Galaxy Far, Far Away: Looking Back at The Force Awakens Hype, Igers Comments, and Will We Get a Big December Star Wars Announcement?

Happy Sunday, and welcome to another edition of 'This Week, In a Galaxy Far, Far Away'. First of all, thank you to everyone who has been keeping up with this weekly series of articles recapping the latest in the Star Wars galaxy. I've been having so much fun writing them, and your support for the last edition has encouraged me to keep them coming! Please share with your friends if you enjoy it, and don't be shy: Let me know what works, what doesn't, and pitch any ideas you may have.



It's been a relatively quiet week in the Star Wars galaxy, at least compared to last week, but we still had quite a few of interesting quotes from several people tied to the franchise. Let's break it all down, beginning with three headlines you may have missed.


<h2>Three Things That May Have Flown Casual</h2>

• Legendary VFX artist Marc Thorpe, who worked on The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, and Indiana Jones, passed away last week. Our condolences to his family and friends. He will be missed.
• Everyone wants a job: Vanessa Marshall said at this year's Fan Expo in San Francisco that she'd love to play Mara Jade in live-action. I found this especially interesting since George Lucas famously hated the character. For that reason, I don't see Dave Filoni ever introducing her, but maybe I'm wrong! Let me know your thoughts below. Also, Godzilla Minus One director Takashi Yamazaki wants to make a Star Wars movie (I mean, who doesn't!) Have you seen that film, and do you think he'd be a good fit? Let me know your thoughts!
• We got an exclusive look at Dark Horse's Hyperspace Stories #12 this week, check it out here.

<hr />


<h2>Quote of the Week</h2>


Bob Iger doesn't want Disney to become a (insert your best Ron DeSantis impression) 'woke-ocracy.' Before we move on, allow me to ask those who will fire up the comment section complaining about this topic to please start your reply by defining the term 'woke,' just so we are all on the same page. (Warning: Comments are moderated and those filled with misogynist, racist, homophobic, or overall hateful remarks will be taken down.)



Iger, who apparently didn't get the memo that he's causing a PR nightmare every time he opens his mouth these days, recently appeared at The New York Times DealBook Summit this week, where he had an interesting chat with NYT's Andrew Ross Sorkin. Iger voiced some noteworthy opinions about the current state of Disney -- he even took up the chance to (very politely) throw Bob Chapek under the bus a couple of times.



When asked about complaints regarding Disney 'going woke' in recent years, Iger said the following:

He's obviously referring to projects like The Little Mermaid (which, as I argued in my review on Movie News Net, should have leaned more into the fact that they had a Black lead), and perhaps most importantly Strange World (which I also think lacked the necessary marketing). However, this comment may also have Star Wars ramifications in the not-so-distant future.



I am already preparing myself for a big marketing push focused on The Acolyte being the most diverse Star Wars project ever -- and though that is something to be celebrated, I am not a fan of selling a movie or TV show on the ethnicity or sexual orientation of its lead actors. It can feel like a cheap move and one we've seen a lot of in recent years (e.g. come see Blue Beetle, the first Latino-led superhero movie! Well...) I'd rather a movie or show be sold on a good and most importantly, fresh story, which The Acolyte seems to have.



Iger's comments are especially relevant when it comes to The Acolyte. He signed off on its development in the final days of his first tenure, but it was under Chapek that Headland started casting it with mostly minority actors. I don't expect the main narrative of the show to focus on inclusiveness, but will Iger believe they should have focused on 'entertainment over messaging' if the show fails on Disney Plus? (Which, for the record, I don't think will happen.)







<hr />


<h2>Nine Years Ago This Week in Star Wars...</h2>


We'll talk about holiday gifts from Lucasfilm in a minute, but it was fun to look back this week at the first big one from Disney. Barely two years after they acquired the company from George Lucas, Disney released during Thanksgiving 2014 the first-ever teaser trailer for The Force Awakens, featuring our first look at Rey, Finn, Poe, and Kylo Ren (and his crossguard lightsaber). People screamed, minds were melted, and 13 months later the film grossed over $2 billion at the box office.



The hype was unreal. 2015 was a time to be alive as a Star Wars fan. It's clear the brand is not in the same position today, even if I've been clamoring for another film in theaters for years. However, as I mentioned during this Thursday's episode of SWNN Live!, Lucasfilm sure knows how to put together a great trailer. Those fans we've lost since, we may never get back, especially for a film led by Daisy Ridley's Rey, and maybe that's okay.



But come on, those of us who are excited will lose our minds over it, and those who are on the fence will probably be swayed by a great promo. I'm especially looking forward to the marketing hype, perhaps even more than the actual film. And most importantly, some of those who don't know what's happening will be sold because they were seven years old when The Force Awakens came out and they grew up with Rey.







Speaking of The Force Awakens, we had the first statement from Adam Driver on Star Wars this week in two years. It's crazy to think that, since I joined Star Wars News Net back in April 2020, this is the second time we've run a quote from him on the site. He said:

I like this quote a lot, because we often tend to think of Adam Driver as the first person who was eager to get off of the Star Wars train, who maybe thought of it as a vehicle to greater things. And while there is some level of cynicism through which we can interpret this quote, I choose to believe that he, as the meticulous actor he is, was truly on the fence because he was equally excited and terrified to join such a beloved franchise. He, perhaps more than anyone in those films, made the role his own -- mostly because of the sheer physicality he brought to it. I don't think we'll get him back as Ben Solo, ever, which is another reason why those films will be even more special to me.







<hr />


<h2>Will We Have a Star Wars Holiday Gift?</h2>


Ever since Disney bought Lucasfilm back in 2012, we've had at least one major piece of news from the franchise every holiday season, except for 2018. That ranges from the release of new theatrical feature films or Disney Plus series in December, to the announcement of a full lineup of shows and movies in the now-infamous Disney Investors Day 2020 (I'll have a lot more to say on this on next week's edition, so stay tuned!)



Last year, it may not have been that significant, but we got a brief showcase from Disney Plus of their 2023 programming, which included the first looks at Ahsoka and Skeleton Crew. As we enter the first week of December, it's time for us to start speculating on what this year's 'gift' may be. Is it going to be a major piece of news, like reporter Jeff Sneider recently hinted at in The Hot Mic podcast, or perhaps a brand-new look at some of the series coming out next year?



I tend to lean towards the second option, mostly because I can't quite fathom what the news at this point in time may be. The company is trying to recover from the fallout of the strike and is probably reviewing the first draft of Steven Knight's script for the Daisy Ridley-led feature film. That film, which is tentatively expected to start shooting next year, is still early on in the process to be ready to announce any casting news...other than, maybe, John Boyega's return? Even that seems unlikely at this point, and it's still too early for them to have decided on a title or a logo.



L to R: Director Rian Johnson on the set of Star Wars: The Last Jedi with John Boyega (Finn) and Oscar Isaac (Poe Dameron). Photo: David James..©2017 Lucasfilm Ltd. All Rights Reserved.



However, Disney Plus does like their 'next year' teases, and it seems like a good time to get some of that. At least, in 2023 they didn't fool anyone with their 'Disney Plus Day' fiasco. Jennifer Corbett, head writer and EP of The Bad Batch, recently teased that progress is full steam ahead -- likely because they were able to wrap voice recordings pre-strike and they've had some time to get ahead of the in-franchise competition. Even putting aside an overall streaming platform ad that includes the third and final season of the The Clone Wars spin-off, I could see a release window announcement and the public release of the teaser trailer we got to see at Star Wars Celebration.



However, this also seems like the perfect time to start promoting The Acolyte. We don't need much, not even the one-minute teaser that was exclusive to the convention -- much like Ahsoka last year, we would be happy with just a quick money shot inside a larger Disney Plus ad. The same goes for Andor season 2.



And what of Skeleton Crew? This is the big question at Lucasfilm at the moment. The company has been especially cautious with its public messaging about it post-Celebration. I didn't get to see the trailer in London, but the word that came out of that panel was that it was more kid-oriented than most of the recent live-action projects. Are they concerned about it, especially following a mixed reception to The Mandalorian season 3?







I do believe they have a lot of faith in The Acolyte and Andor, and even though I'm not super excited about Skeleton Crew, having a show led by Jude Law as a Force-wielder and with an episode directed by the Daniels (Everything Everywhere All at Once) should be enough to at least generate some internal hype. The show filed a Copyright application in July, right before the SAG-AFTRA strike started, in which they said they planned to have it finished by December. That tells me that, before the summer, they didn't have plans for significant reshoots.



Did they maybe change their thinking? Another possibility is that they are counting on the family appeal of the show, and they want it to come out during the holiday season. Perhaps they couldn't make it in time for the end of 2023 and have decided to sit on it for a few more months. (Yes, this is wishful thinking.)



<hr />


<h2>Jocasta Nu's Reading List</h2>

• Star Wars News Net: Jay Goodearl highlights some recent concept art designs from the High Republic posted by StarWars.com this week.
• Screen Rant: Molly Brizzell goes deep into how The Mandalorian season 3 seemingly fixed a continuity error tied to Din's backstory. Was that intentional, unintentional, or was it never an issue? You let me know!
• MovieWeb: Oscar Isaac's Poe Dameron could have been a great character, but Kyle Kruske thinks he was tanked by poor writing. While I am a fan of the sequels, it's hard not to see how the focus was mostly put on Rey and Kylo, while other characters didn't get as much time spent on their arcs.
• SlashFilm: This isn't particularly new, but Bryan Young thought it'd be a good time to revisit some of the quotes from George Lucas and Dave Filoni about how the Force, and midichlorians, work.
• Movie News Net: Shameless, non-Star Wars plug here, but feel free to check out my review of Netflix's May December, now available to stream!

What did you think of the latest edition of “This Week, In a Galaxy Far, Far Away”? Let me know your thoughts and suggestions down below in the comment section. You can also send them, or reach out with any information tips, directly via our Contact page.



Have a great week!



Click HERE to check out and comment on this topic on our main site