The Death Star Human Resources Department Newsletter: March 8, 2026
The Din Grogu media blitz starts now.
Hello there
It’s a very special Sunday edition of The Death Star Human Resources Department Newsletter. Why are you getting this Sunday? Last week was a busy one here at Death Star HR HQ. But, better late than never. This week there’s new photos from The Mandalorian and Grogu, an update on what we’re getting on IMAX, a new Star Wars book that should be very interesting, and a completely expected update about The Book of Boba Fett.
As always, thanks for reading Death Star HR. If you’re reading this and you’re not a subscriber, I’d love it if you entered your email below and smashed that subscribe button. There’s also an official Death Star HR Instagram and an official Death Star HR YouTube page as well and I’d love it if you subscribed there as well.
This Is Where The Fun Begins
“I have friends everywhere” has joined the Star Wars lexicon, up there with “may the Force be with you” and “this is the way.” Last week the Minnesota United soccer team revealed an Andor-themed tifo head of their home opener.
I also learned that those large banners are called tifo’s. Learn something new every day.
Din Grogu Gets His Magazine Spread
We’re only about ten weeks away from The Mandalorian and Grogu. Now that official trailer has been released, we’re likely to get the drip drip drip of news and info. Nothing like the trailer, likely nothing else that gives too much of the plot away. But just enough to make sure you don’t forget the movie is coming out and Disney tends to have the habit of releasing them after the weekly Death Star HR has dropped. No doubt this is Filoni messing with me for my continued Darth Jar Jar activism. Meesa won’t be silenced, Dave!
The latest attempt to keep Mando and Grogu at the forefront of your brain comes from their cover and story in Empire Magazine.
It doesn’t look like the full article is out yet. Right now, like the movie, we’re just getting the teaser for the article. It doesn’t give us too much new information. Nothing we didn’t already know or that could be reasonably inferred.
“It only felt like the ending of a particular chapter,” Pedro Pascal tells Empire. The same finale also saw Mando agree to take on missions solely for the New Republic at Adelphi Base. “They open up the opportunity for him to continue his best work as a bounty hunter, but just working for the good guys,” says Pascal. “Combining skill and morality. Whereas when we meet him first, it’s simply skill, and beskar, and [the Mandalorian] Creed. Through his relationship to Grogu, there is an expansion of his heart and a disarming of his armour, so to speak, that leads him to fight for what he knows is right.”
I said this a few weeks ago and it still seems reasonable to me. Mando is working for the New Republic tracking down Imperials. The Hutt Twins make a deal with the Imps that if they can get rid of Mando, the Imperials will look the other way on their criminal activities. And the twins then outsource the “dealing with Mando” job to Embo, who we first saw in the latest trailer. It doesn’t sound like Moff Gideon will return. But again, this is still Star Wars. Nobody ever dies except for Ben Solo.
One other thing worth nothing. In our age of A.I., Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni seem to want to lean into the practical effects for this movie.
It’s that sense of heart that Filoni and director Jon Favreau hope to translate to the big screen. Yes, the action will be bigger for cinemas. There will be massive practical sets, puppetry galore, stop-motion courtesy of Phil Tippett’s studio.
So this makes me happy. Because I do think the day is coming, possibly sooner rather than later, where a major studio is going to try to pass off a movie they made using a prompt. It won’t be something as big as Star Wars. It will be something small and under the radar, as a test balloon. That being said, we got a new picture of the practical effects.
I’m not going to lie, if you told me that was a new Black Series figure that Hasbro was releasing for the show, I’d believe you. I like practical effects, but having them indistinguishable from the action figures might not be great. Or it’s an endorsement of just how good of a job Hasbro is doing with the Black Series figures. Who can say.
The full article, which hits newsstands March 12th, will have interviews with Pedro Pascal, Jeremy Allen White, Sigourney Weaver, and some new photos we haven’t seen.
Wedge Antilles In His Own Words
I have mentioned this a few times, but if you’re a Star Wars book reader and you haven't yet read The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire by Dr. Chris Kempshall, you really need to. Stop what you’re doing, read the book, and come back in a week after you’ve finished it.
You’ve finished? OK, welcome back. For those who haven’t read it, Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire is an “in world” book. Dr. Kempshall, writing as Resistance historian Beaumont Kin is basically a history book that covers exactly what the title says it does. The rise and fall of the Palaptine regime. It really is a top tier Star Wars book. Immensely readable, full of interesting information, and unfortunately all too applicable to the failing state that myself and my American readers live in.
Dr. Kempshall is back, and this time he’s channeling Red 2.
Kempshall announced his new book, Star Wars: Star Pilots, an in-universe oral history told by pilots who fought in crucial battles throughout the saga. Kempshall revealed that this book isn’t “written” by a historian, but is actually by Wedge Antilles, the longtime Rebel and Resistance pilot who can be seen throughout the original and sequel trilogies. He was a Red Squadron pilot during A New Hope’s Battle of Yavin, flew as Rogue Three in The Empire Strikes Back, and led Red Squadron in Return of the Jedi. He didn’t stop flying after that, having had a cameo in The Rise of Skywalker.
This is going to be good. Star Wars: Star Pilots currently has a release date of October 6, 2026. Mark your calendar.
Size Matters Not, Except on the Big Screen
We already know that The Mandalorian and Grogu is getting an IMAX release. Now we’ve learned that both the 50th Anniversary release of A New Hope and Star Wars: Starfighter are getting an IMAX release as well.
Almost all the movies are either based on existing property, sequels, or remakes. It’s possible all of them are since I have no idea what “Children of Blood and Bone” or “Panic Carefully” are. I get that you’re not going to have prestige dramas on IMAX. I don’t know, I guess it’s just the state of Hollywood these days.
I’m guessing this is an effort by Disney, and the other studios, to fight back against streaming and trying to get butts in the seats at the theater and get people off their couch. I’m not surprised that Starfighter is getting the IMAX treatment. I am a little surprised with a A New Hope, but either way I’m here for it. Time to figure out where the IMAX theaters in Dallas are.
Temuera Morrison is Still Stuck in the Sarlacc Pit
I don’t think it’s controversial to say The Book of Boba Fett was a bit of a mixed bag. Honestly, it might be worth a rewatch since I’m pretty sure I rewatched it shortly after the season wrapped up, and haven’t watched an episode since. The most common criticism is that it’s actually The Mandalorian season 2.5. A whole episode with Mando and Grogu was certainly a choice, and I think a very unexpected one for viewers. I’m sure it also caused some confusion for more casual viewers who may have tuned into season 3 of The Mandalorian and were very confused as to A) why Mando and Grogu were reunited and B) why does Mando now have a Naboo starfighter?
The confusing moments and less than stellar reviews tend to overshadow what were some pretty cool moments. I know there are people who felt the Sandpeople scenes went on too long, but in retrospect it was pretty interesting. The scene with the Pyke spice train was cool; as was seeing Cad Bane in live action, even if he was kind of wasted. Temuera Morrison was doing the best he could.
And honestly, there’s a pretty good argument that The Book of Boba Fett wasn’t exactly set up to fail, but there was a pretty narrow lane for the show that would have received a positive response. The Boba Fett show that a lot of fans wanted to see was arguably already made and it was called The Mandalorian. For years, Star Wars has sold us on the idea that Boba Fett was this almost unstoppable badass. He was the lone gunslinger, The Man With No Name but in the Star Wars universe. Someone who kicked ass, took names, and looked cool doing it. Think about the first second1 time we met Boba Fett:
Darth Vader has assembled a crew of the most dangerous scum bounty hunters in the galaxy to find the Millennium Falcon. And Vader singles out Boba Fett as being extra dangerous. Plus, Fett just looks cool. Dengar was wrapped in toilet paper, Bossk was just a big lizard. But Boba Fett, dude looks COOL. And while Boba Fett kind of went out like a punk in Return of the Jedi, there’s tons of Expanded Universe were Fett goes back to being the ultimate badass. In one of the few comic books I’ve reviewed, Boba Fett fights the Dark Lord of the Sith and fights him essentially to a draw.
Instead of Boba Fett traveling around the galaxy kicking ass and taking names, we got an over-the-hill Boba Fett cosplaying as Don Corleone, random appearances from Mando, Grogu, Ahsoka, and Luke, and an extended digression on the ways of the Sand People. That’s not exactly what people were expecting or hoping for.
All that to say, it’s not exactly surprising that Disney isn’t rushing to film The Book of Boba Fett season 2. Despite Temuera Morrison and Daniel Logan’s lobbying efforts. Last year Morrison and Logan urged fans to send a fax to Disney. I described it as “Temuera Morrison is Still Trying to Make Fetch Happen,” where Morrison said:
“No,” Morrison said frankly. “I think we really have to treasure those moments now. All of you need to send a fax, or a letter, or an email, to those powers that be at Lucasfilm. I'm sure they'd love to hear from everyone. Please give Daniel Logan and Temuera Morrison another chance and put them somewhere.”
All this to say, we got an update from Morrison and it’s about what you’d expect.
The actor reportedly caught a bit of flak from Lucasfilm after telling fans to “send a fax, or a letter or an email” lobbying for more Boba Fett in 2025. “I was only joking. I’m at a convention, and I say stupid things,” Morrison tells Inverse. “Then I’ve got [Lucasfilm] ringing me: ‘Look, you’ve been put on the shelf, Boba Fett. We might open up the jar later.’”
As I said before, I honestly feel a little bad for Morrison. Or at least as much as I can for someone who got to put on the Mandalorian armor. He clearly enjoyed his time playing both Jango and Boba Fett.
It’s bittersweet, but Morrison looks back on his time on the Boba Fett set fondly. “It was a big deal for me,” he continues. “When you do a series like Boba Fett and work with Ming-Na [Wen], I started to think, ‘Man, this is it. I’m away. Season 2, 3, 4.’ But at the end of it, we had a great time. I was honored to be brought back after all that time.”
There’s probably an element where he wants, maybe not a redo, but considering the mixed reception Morrison would probably like a chance to make another season and give the fans something they really want. Unfortunately, it’s just not in the Sabacc cards. I’ve had a thought for a while now that all streaming shows should be self-contained because a season 2 isn’t guaranteed. Disney went from movies to streaming and now they’re back to movies. Even for a giant company like Disney, there’s only so much money to go around. And while there isn’t an official cancelation notice from Disney, it sure sounds like The Book of Boba Fett is stuck in the Sarlacc pit, only this time there’s no escape.
The Death Star Human Resources Department Book Club
First Expanded Universe series of the year is done.
Title: The Swarm War
Series: The Dark Nest Trilogy
Author: Troy Denning
Date published: December 27, 2005
Pages: 357
Status:
LegendsExpanded UniverseSummary in less than 20 words: The war against the Bugs is over and Luke realizes that letting Jedi do whatever they want might not work.
It’s no secret if you’re a long time, or short time, subscriber of Death Star HR that I’m a huge fan of The Simpsons. There is an alternate universe where instead of writing about Star Wars, I’m reviewing a classic Simpsons episode every week. I think every Simpsons fan has the little throwaway gags that make them laugh every time. This is one of mine and I promise I do have a point here.
It makes me laugh every time. The episode itself, “Bart’s Inner Child” features James Brown, Phil Hartman (R.I.P.) and Albert Brooks as self-help guru/snake oil salesman Brad Goodman. After Goodman’s lecture and encouraging everyone in Springfield to be more like Bart and do what they feel like, the whole town goes to hell, as Springfield often does, because nobody feels like doing their job.
What does this have to do with Star Wars? Well, at the end of the New Jedi Order books, Luke Skywalker thinks maybe the Jedi need to change their ways, a New Jedi Order, if you will. The previous Jedi Order was rigid, dogmatic. You either did things The Jedi Way™ or you weren’t a Jedi. It really gets back to the idea if the Force is “god”, then the Jedi are just one sect of the religion. The New Jedi Order as dreamed up by Luke gets relaxes the dogma and allows a Jedi to follow the Force as they see fit.
Unfortunately, this ending up leading to some problems in the galaxy far, far away, namely that you had a bunch Jedi heading off to the Unknown Regions, becoming part of the Killik hive mind and potentially under the influence of a Dark Jedi/Killik. Like I’ve said before, there’s a lot going on with The Dark Nest Trilogy. Because Luke let all the Jedi just go all hippy-dippy and use the Force however they want, the Jedi Order has fractured. Luke has to get them all on the same page if they’re going to stop a Dark Jedi/Killik from starting a war that envelopes the whole galaxy. To do this, Luke has to reassert himself as the leader of the Jedi Order, after learning an important lesson.
Of course, the one Jedi they can’t get back on the same page is Jacen Solo, to be fair he did get waterboarded by the Yuuzhan Vong so he has an excuse for being a little different. Jacen wants to do the very un-Jedi like thing of killing Raynar/UnuThul. The former Jedi who merged into a Killik and now leads the hive mind. Or at least the light-ish side of the hive mind. You still have the Dark Jedi bug out there. Luke is of course opposed to straight up murder, because even if Luke let the other Jedi run off to the Do As You Feel Festival, he’s still one with the Jedi code. Luke manages to kill the Dark Jedi Bug while convincing the Light Jedi Bug to abandon the Bug Life. War is avoided. The Killik go back to just being a hive mind without a Dark Jedi causing mischief. The Chiss decide not to go to war. The galaxy is safe…at least until the next book.
I think I said this when I talked about the middle book, the series ended on a much stronger note than when it started. The first book…I wouldn’t call it a mess but it felt like there was just too much going on. The second book narrowed the focus and the number of characters that got page time and it made the books better. There was better flow, there wasn’t as much trying to keep track of everyone, and it just made for an easier read. Would I recommend the Dark Nest Trilogy? Eh, it depends. If you’ve read the New Jedi Order books and want to continue on in the Expanded Universe then yes, absolutely. You could read these without reading NJO, but it wouldn’t make as much sense. Likewise, there are events in these books that set up a major plot point for Legacy of the Force, the next series of books.
The Good2:
The idea of a hive-mind that can somehow suck the Jedi in was a good idea. Also it was a good move after NJO and the Yuuzhan Vong to come up with a new enemy and not just go back to Jedi/New Republic vs. Sith/Imperial Remnant. I have wondered if Denning was influenced by Starship Troopers which had come out before these books.
If you’re a fan of Star Wars realpolitik, this might be for you.
New Republic ChancellorGalactic Alliance Chief of State Cal Omas is up to all sorts of shady doings to try to bring the Jedi Order under Galactic Alliance control.It’s been 14 years of Expanded Universe novels, but Leia finally is officially a Jedi.
The Bad:
As I said, while like the idea of the Killik hive mind, I did not buy that so many Jedi would get sucked into it.
Wildcard:
Tarfang! An Ewok smuggler with the death sentence on more than 10 systems, this Ewok is my new Glup Shitto. And not only is Tarfang basically a Chihuahua who gets to use a lightsaber, he also becomes a member of the Galactic Alliance Intelligence Service. Look, if Dave Filoni ever called me up and said we’ll make whatever series you want, Darth Jar Jar will always be number one. But Tarfang’s adventures might be number two.
That’s it for the Dark Nest Trilogy. I’ve got two canon books I’m going to read next, The Living Force followed by Mastr of Evil and then it’s back to the Expanded Universe with the Legacy of the Force series.
This Day in Star Wars History
We’ve got some fun ones today, March 8th. A couple names you’re sure to recognize and maybe one actor who you don’t know, but certainly has a good story from his time in Star Wars.
Mickey Morton was born in 1927. Morton was a triple threat in the Star Wars Holiday Special. He played Malla, aka Mrs. Chewbacca. He played Tork, the bouncer at Bea Arthur’s cantina, and he assisted with Gormaanda, the four-armed Julie Child. Looking over his IMDB page, it looks like Morton was the very definition of a character actor. It doesn’t look like he ever had any leading roles but appeared in everything from The Monkeys to The Man From U.N.C.L.E. to WKRP in Cincinnati to Growing Pains. He does hold the distinction of being the first person to appear in both Star Trek and Star Wars.
Voice actor Bob Bergen was born in 1964. Bergen has appeared in 18 Star Wars video games along with The Clone Wars, Resistance, The Bad Batch, and Young Jedi Adventures. He’s considered the official “audio double” of Mark Hamill.
Mr. Michelle Gellar, better known as Freddie Prinze Jr., was born in 1976. Prinze voiced Kanan Jarus in Rebels and he’s in end of Rise of Skywalker where Rey hears all the Jedi of the past.
Long time actor Max von Sydow passed away in 2020. Sydow is probably best known for playing Father Merrin in The Exorcist. He had one appearance in the Star Wars universe, playing Lor San Tekka who is killed by Kylo Ren at the beginning of The Force Awakens.
The second episode of The Mandalorian season 3 was released in 2023. “The Mines of Mandalore” featured just that. Traveling to Mandalore and going to the mines. I remember being somewhat confused when this episode aired…errr…streamed because it really seemed like the whole plot of the season 3 was Mando going to Mandalore to atone for taking his helmet off. And then, he’s in the living waters of Mandalore and Bo-Katan is swimming with the mythosaur and we’ve still got six more episodes.
The Star Wars: Fun With Nubs web series episode “Nubs Gets A Tummy Ache” is released in 2025. It’s not subtle. Nubs eats too much and gets a tummy ache. Sorry for spoiling it.
From the Depths of Wookieepedia
So if you read enough random Wookieepedia entries as I have, you get almost a Force sensitivity about some things. Like you can see an entry’s title or the name of a character and you just have a pretty good idea about what it’s going to be about. Case in point, this week’s entry is Bon Sequors. I landed on Mr. Sequors through another character’s page. And as soon as I saw the name, I knew he was going to be some Lando Calrissian-esq dandy. And sure enough, I was right.
Bon Sequors was a dashing Human male who dressed in fine clothing and wore a blue cape. Sequors was sympathetic to the Alliance, but was not an official member. He had many friends who were, and as such tended to help them out as much as possible.
The name isn’t quite as on the nose as death-stick dealer Elan Sleazebaggano (who’s name was an Uncle George special) but still, they might as well have named the character “Fancy Pants” and just gotten it over with.
News From the HoloNet
Werner Herzog on joining The Mandalorian: “people have to see what this man looks like”
If you want to visit the only movie theater in America with a connection to the JFK assassination, you can also see Werner Herzog.
Disney Removes Violence From ‘Star Wars’ as ‘Mandalorian and Grogu’ Made Child-Friendly
Honestly I wouldn’t give this article a click because the headline is 100% clickbait. Disney toned down some of the violence in The Mandalorian and Grogu trailer to show it before a kids movie. The headline wants to imply changes are going to be made to the movie so you’ll rage click. But, if you do click. Go read the comments. Because they’re so incredibly dumb that you can’t look away.
Lucasfilm Confirms New Name for Original ‘Star Wars’ Trilogy
The Original Trilogy is now the Center Trilogy. OK. I get why they are doing this. Actually I don’t. There’s no reason for this and all it’s doing is giving more ammunition to the shouty parts of the fanbase that are pre-disposed to hate anything Disney does. Complete unforced error, it’s just Sideshow Bob stepping on the rakes.
The new ‘Star Wars’ store in San Francisco is already a tourist destination
Road trip! Haven’t been to San Francisco in years. Always had a good time there, but I have to imagine it’s different now that the Tech Bros have completely taken over.
I am certainly hoping we get a 4K Blu-ray release of the Original Trilogy or at least of A New Hope after it’s back in theaters. But we’re certainly not going to get one before February 2027.
That’s it for this week. If you like what I’m doing, please subscribe. I’ll catch you next week, and may the Force be with you.
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The real introduction of Boba Fett was in The Star Wars Holiday Special. Now you have no excuse not to watch it.
The Good/Bad/Wildcard entries are more for the whole series than this specific book.