The Death Star Human Resources Department Newsletter: August 22, 2025
This is now a Jaxxon T. Tumperakkis newsletter
Hello there
Good morning, or whenever you read this, and welcome back to the Death Star Human Resources Department Newsletter. We’ve got a fun one this week. A combination of baseball and Star Wars is always fun for me. Chancellor Valorum has passed away. We’ve got a new LEGO show coming soon and it’s bringing one of my favorite characters back. And I do…well it’s not a deep dive…but a medium-sized dive on one of the weirder Expanded Universe characters we’ve seen.
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
Last weekend was Fan Expo Chicago, and Darth Vader himself took some time away from signing autographs and listening to people tell him that they have the high ground to throw out the first pitch at a Chicago Cubs game. Tough to tell from this camera angle, and I couldn’t find a better one but I’m pretty sure he at least got the ball over the plate.
Hayden and his daughter also got to partake in the Cub’s tradition of leading the crowd in “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” at the 7th inning stretch with his daughter. Or at least they tried to, before getting interrupted by a flyover from a fighter jet.
And the Cubs were nice enough to make sure Hayden’s jersey had the correct number.
Chancellor Valorum Has Become One With the Force
English actor Terence Stamp passed away on Sunday, August 17th. He was 87 years old. Stamp is probably best known for playing the villain General Zod in the Superman and Superman II movies. Stamp’s Wikipedia page shows quite an interesting life and career. He attended every World Cup match in 1966 where England won it all, provided voice acting in the video game Halo 3, was on the album cover of The Smith’s “What Difference Does it Make?” single, and played Terry Stricter, head of an organization that is NOT AT ALL based on Scientology in the criminally underrated movie Bowfinger.
But this is a Star Wars newsletter, so for Death Star HR, Terence Stamp was Supreme Chancellor Valorum in The Phantom Menace. While Valorum is on paper the head of the Republic, he’s almost a powerless figurehead. Unable to stop the blockcade of Naboo thanks to endless bureaucracy and sub-committee hearings. Even though he wants to help, he eventually gets ousted when Queen Amidala calls for a vote of no confidence. To be fair, Palpatine was manipulating everybody. But I just don’t see why the people of Naboo elected a 14 year old as their queen. That just seems like a bad idea.
Friend of Death Star HR
has a nice piece on Stamp over at Ahch-Tu Baby with a great story about what it was like working with George on The Phantom Menace.
Some of the story I already knew, some of it I didn’t. The part I knew was the “direction” that Lucas gave Stamp.
…Stamp asked Lucas to explain his president -- what's he like?
""Lucas seemed rather astounded to be asked that. He paused, thought about it, then said, "He's a good man . . . but beleaguered . . . a bit like Clinton.' That was it! No more direction. And no contact with actors.''
That’s the famous George Lucas directing style!
Stamp also was not a fan of all the green and blue screen work in the movie. I’ll suggest you read Matthew’s piece for the full story, I don’t want to just copy and paste what he did. Plus you should be subscribed to Matthew as well. To a certain extent, I get Stamp’s gripes. I think at some point in your life as you’re aging, you find the level of technology that you are comfortable with and you decide “this is it.” When I was younger and a little more tech savvy, I would get annoyed having to show Mom Mothma how her phone worked or something like that. Now? I’m good with what I know and I refuse to learn anything new.
The character of Chancellor Valorum didn’t appear again in either Attack of the Clones or Revenge of the Sith, but did pop back up in the animated Clone Wars series for an episode (Stamp did not provide the voice) and gets mentioned during some background chatter in the first season of Andor.
Rest in peace, Mr. Stamp. You will be missed in our galaxy and the one far, far away.
StarFighter Gets Its Villain
I had thought I had already mentioned this, but I guess now. Star Wars: Starfighter the upcoming Shawn Levy movie staring Ryan Reynolds and Mia Goth is getting a third name to add to the marque, Matt Smith. Smith, probably best known for playing the Eleventh Doctor (I think I’m supposed to capitalize that) in Doctor Who and less known for playing Patrick Bateman in the American Psycho musical joins the team. It’s unknown who he’ll be playing, other than that his role is supposed to be as a villain.
The film will shoot this fall and is set to bow on May 28, 2027. While exact details are vague on who Smith will be playing, sources say it will be one of the villain roles. Casting has been gearing up on the project over the past couple of weeks, with Levy meeting with a number of actors for this key role; sources say execs made the decision to go with Smith to play the next great villain in the Star Wars universe.
Well, not just any old villain, but the next great villain. No pressure there. There were rumors back in 2018 that Smith was going to play a young, presumably Clone, version of Palpatine in Rise of Skywalker but that obviously did not happen. Instead Ian MacDiarmid stepped back into his role and chewed every single bit of scenery on Exegol. Starfighter is set five years after The Rise of Skywalker. Hopefully he’s not finally getting to play that younger version of Palpatine.
He was a Doctor and he’s playing a villain. I think “Doctor Evil” would be a good name for his character. Has anyone done that?
Time to Rebuild the Galaxy, Again
About a year ago our Mouse House overlords blessed with with LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy. Why do I say blessed us? Because as far as I’m concerned, Rebuild the Galaxy is proof that Darth Jar Jar is canon1.
The plot of Rebuild the Galaxy, if you can call it that is Sig Greebling is a nerf herder with secret Force powers. He accidentally removes the Cornerstone from a Jedi Temple, causing the LEGO Star Wars galaxy to get weird. Sig and Jedi Bob have to try to fix it. That is really about it. It’s mostly just an excuse to put characters you know it funny situations. Vader is a Jedi, not a Sith. There’s an army of Geonoisan Jedi and an army of Ewok bounty hunters. You’ve got Darth Rey2 and Darth Rose Tico. The show ends with the Landolorian and Grogu. It’s mostly just fun visuals.
Well, get ready because next month we’re going to be returning to the LEGO upside down galaxy far, far away with a sequel. LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy: Pieces of the Past.
This time around, there’s a new bad guy. Solitus (SP?) wants to unmake the galaxy. So it looks like everyone is going to have to put aside their petty Jedi vs Sith differences and work together to stop him. And maybe they’ll learn that the real Cornerstone of the galaxy is friendship.
Few random thoughts:
Pretty sure that Revan at the 1:03 mark with the purple and red lightsabers. As I wrote a while back, Revan is canon. So it would work.
Darth Jar Jar is back! Did he get the Clone Wars Darth Maul spider legs in the last movie? I honestly can’t remember.
The Bombad Sith Lord. There’s even some new styles. Ahsoka is shown as a Brickheadz figure instead of the traditional LEGO MiniFig.
The Porgs as Purrgil. I love it.
The rabbit looking character at the end? Yeah, he’s real. Whenever I talk about the Star Wars comics just being bonkers, Jaxxon is what I’m talking about. He’s also apparently back into canon which I did not know.
Yes this is a real Star Wars character.
LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy: Pieces of the Past drops September 19th at Disney+.
Great Moments in Star Wars Merchandising
Are you a fan of Star Wars LEGO but have been thinking to yourself “I really wish they’d come out with a set I have no room for, has 9,000 pieces for me to lose, and it costs more than a car payment.”? Well, fear not because your dreams have been answered. LEGO Set 75419 UCS Death Star has 9,023 pieces and a suggested retail price of $999.99 Republic Credits US dollars.
There are a few other LEGO Death Stars which are more spherical. This one is more suited for something like Diorama-Rama, giving me an excuse to post a Simpsons clip related to Star Wars.
That clip of course does not have the classic “I bent my Wookiee” line, but hey. It’s still a good one.
If you buy this new Death Star, you’re going to get lots of minifigs.
The new leak also confirms Rogue One and Andor’s Orson Krennic is one of the many included minifigs. Others include Ben Kenobi, Luke Skywalker in his Stormtrooper disguise, R2-D2 and C-3PO, the Emperor, a bunch of Imperial higher-ups seen in A New Hope, and Darth Vader. Oh, and I think I spotted a Sim Aloo figure in the images included on the back of the box. (Though a different leak simply refers to him as an “Imperial Dignitary.” Boo!)
It even looks like Chewbacca, Principal Skinner’s favorite, is in included. If anyone in the Death Star HR family ends up getting this big ass Death Star, let me know. I’d love to see pictures.
This Day in Star Wars History
Three births, a death, and a premiere to mention in the Star Wars universe on August 22.
Producer Rick McCallum was born in 1954. For someone who has a lot to do with Star Wars, his Wookieepedia entry is surprisingly short. McCallum was a long time collaborator with Uncle George, acting as the producer for the Special Editions and the Prequels. He also said Star Wars fans are “deranged.” Which, if the shoe fits…
Voice actor Stephen Stanton was born in 1961. Stanton has been pretty active in Star Wars animated shows, appearing in The Clone Wars, Rebels, Resistance, and The Bad Batch. His biggest role was voicing Tarkin. He also voiced Mas Amedda, Nightbrother #2, and everybody’s favorite Coruscanti cabbie, Jay Igno.
Madison Ellen Lloyd Broadbent was born in 1991. Madison was the younger sister of Jake Lloyd and she appeared in the parade at the end of The Phantom Menace in an uncredited role. She tragically passed away in 2018.
Neil Hanvey passed away in 2016. Hanvey was an English Star Wars fan who, along with his family, started an online petition to see Rogue One before it was released. Hanvey was diagnosed with cancer in 2013. Director Gareth Edwards screened Rogue One for Hanvey on August 20th, 2016, making him the first person to see Rogue One.
The unofficial fifth season of Rebels, under the title Ahsoka, kicked off on this day in 2023 with a two episode premiere. I rewatched Ashoksa recently. It’s still flawed in parts but overall quite enjoyable and really has me looking forward to the 2nd season. The show does start off with a bang, with Baylan Skoll and Shin Hati rescuing Morgan Elsbeth. The “we are no Jedi” line was perfect.
From the Depths of Wookieepedia
I always rely on the Wookieepedia randomizer for this section. There’s an option on Wookieepedia where you click and it gives you a random entry. Sometimes I have to click a bunch of times to get a good one to you. Often you get something that just doesn’t work here. A well-known character, a random issue of a comic, or something obscure but lacking that certain je ne sais quoi that is required for the perfect From the Depths of Wookieepedia entry.
This week though, we’re going with a character that has never been featured but A) I’ve always wanted to write something about him and B) I really feel like he embodies the spirit and what I’m always going for with a From the Depths of Wookieepedia entry. So this week, we’re going with Jaxxon, or as he’s officially named in canon: Jaxxon T. Tumperakki. For this FTDOW, I’m going to focus on Jaxxon in Legends, because it’s a lot more interesting. Per his “biography:”
Jaxxon was born on the planet Coachelle Prime to a small family by Lepi standards. One of thirteen children, Jaxxon was the most rambunctious of the bunch and had dreams of seeing the larger galaxy. However, his family was quite conservative, keeping a quiet house, and his mother had hopes that Jaxxon would grow out of his restlessness and settle down, hopefully to marry a nice girl and father a large family. Despite his mother's hopes, Jaxxon remained uncontrollable, and even before his teenage years, he had spent a decent amount of time in the planet's juvenile remand centers. As the odd one out among his family, Jaxxon decided to go off-world. At the age of twelve, he stole a poorly-guarded freighter and headed for parts unknown.
So basically, it’s an excuse for me to use this gif again
But instead of Dawson doing a very bad Texas accent, imagine it’s a giant space rabbit.
Jaxxon was created by Roy Thomas and Howard Chaykin for the Star Wars Marvel comics, specifically issue #8. He actually made his debut in 1977, the same year that A New Hope was released. He’s considered one of the first characters created outside of the ones who appeared in the movies. An Expanded Universe O.G.. Jaxxon only lasted for a few issues. A flashback appearance in #11 and a cameo on #16. But after that he was gone. According to Thomas, Uncle George “hated” the character and Lucasfilm sent word to Marvel that the “green bunny” better not show up again. Jaxxon would appear sporadically here and there starting in 2001, but it was more or less limited to getting mentioned in some articles or a background appearance in the comics.
I’m not sure I’ve ever actually met someone who has any kind of opinion about Jaxxon. Wookieepedia suggestions he was more or less viewed as a Jar Jar Binksian type of character. Someone viewed as a bit of a clown that super serious Star Wars fans didn’t care for. And Jaxxon doesn’t even have the benefit of secretly being a Sith Lord. I don’t know, I like the grittiness of Andor as much as anyone. But Star Wars is inherently silly. It’s a story about space wizards with lasers swords and weird creatures from a galaxy far, far away. There’s room for the Cassian Andors and the Jaxxon T. Tumperakkis in the Star Wars universe.
Disney brought Jaxxon back into canon in 2015, he pops up occasionally in various comics. Somehow, and I cannot explain this at all, Jaxxon has more canon appearances than Revan. Come on, Disney. Let’s fix that.
News From the HoloNet
Not far far away—This Star Wars toys mega-collection can be seen right here in KC
Road trip! Kansas City is low-key a pretty great city. Lots of fun pictures in the article as well.
Mark Hamill Thought ‘Star Wars’ a Parody Script At First
Mark, you’re thinking of Spaceballs.
The Acolyte star hopes the scrapped Star Wars show one day "finds new life" like the prequel
I’ve been saying for a while that season 2 of The Acolyte would work great as an animated show.
Tony Gilroy sounds pretty depressed by how much Andor "rhymes" with reality
We all are, Tony. We all are.
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.
Yes, I know the LEGO Star Wars shows are “technically” not canon. Just let me have this!
Dark Rey should have been a thing in the Sequel Trilogy.
Jaxxon brings back some memories... of the green, anthropomorphic space rabbit of my childhood, Bucky O' Hare! I loved the cartoon show, toys, and arcade game. Who else remembers? I got into that in the early 1990s, but the character was created first for a comic book around 1977-78, which is around the same time as Jaxxon. Hmmm... maybe it's one of those weird creative coincidences.
Before I go, Jeff, I thought we could play an anagram game: you take a proper noun and rearrange the letters to create a description of that person. For example:
Alec Guinness= genuine class
Ok, how about you try... Jeremy Irons.
Seeing Darth Revan in that clip was *chef kiss*