The Death Star Human Resources Department Newsletter: November 22, 2024

Skeleton Crew is almost here. The new Rey movie is not.

Nov 22, 2024

Hello there

Happy 11 days until Skeleton Crew and welcome to this week’s Death Star Human Resources Department newsletter. We’re so close to Skeleton Crew’s release and there’s two new videos to take a look at. On the flip side, there’s not great news about whatever is going on with the next Rey movie or movies. The Death Star HR Book Club returns, and I fell for some Star Wars clickbait.

This Is Where The Fun Begins

I love it when two of my favorite things come together…

“Can I offer you a nice egg in this trying time?” Source.

If you don’t know where this is from.

From the Editor’s Desk

Last week, while talking about the 5th anniversary of The Mandalorian, I noted that the great thing about season 1 was anyone could watch it with limited Star Wars knowledge, and that even my parents did. After publishing, I received a text from Darth Dad that he watched both seasons 1 and 2 of The Mandalorian.

The Death Star Human Resources Department Newsletter regrets the error and have sent the fact-checking department to the spice mines of Kessel.

The Skeleton Crew Media Blitz Starts Now

There’s less than two weeks until the premiere of Skeleton Crew, and honestly it feels like Disney hasn’t been giving the show the full-court press treatment that say Ahsoka or The Acolyte got. Maybe the uneven reviews and not great streaming numbers of those two shows are causing Disney to take things a little slower here. Maybe Disney is considered what’s supposed to be a fun show about kids and pirates will get sucked into the never-ending and all-consuming cultural war. Or maybe they’re just waiting for Thanksgiving to drop a new round of trailers. But either way, we got a little bit this week.

First up was a round table with, going left to right across your screen, Jake Schreier, Chris Ford, Jon Watts, Bryce Dallas Howard, and David Lowery. Howard is by now a regular in the Star Wars streaming universe, having directed an episode in each season of The Mandalorian along one for Book of Boba Fett and providing the voice of Yaddle in Tales of the Jedi. Everyone else is new to the galaxy far, far away. Ford and Watts are credited as the creators and writers on six of the eight episodes with Watts directing the premiere and the finale. Lowery is the director of two episodes while Howard and Schreier each directed a single episode.

It’s your standard pre-release puff piece, for lack of a better way to put it. They all talk about how great each other, and how great the other writes and director who weren’t were. Among those not at the roundtable, Myung Joh Wesner wrote the remaining two episodes. Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, who per wikipedia are just simply “The Daniels” directed one episode and Lee Isaac Chung directed the remaining episode. And everyone says nice things about them. And, while I’m sure they’re contractually obligated to say they like each other, it does come off as they genuinely had a good time on the set. I’ve mentioned this a few times, if there’s one thing Star Wars has been missing lately, it’s been fun. Andor is a bleak warning about fascism. The Acolyte was the darkest Star Wars series we’ve seen. Even The Mandalorian is more serious than fun. Yes, there are some fun moments, at least in The Acolyte with Bazil and The Mandalorian with Grogu, but they are not fun shows. There aren’t even fun moments in Andor, the Empire has outlawed joy. What makes me hopeful is the behind the scenes footage of the child actors clearly having a blast getting to be part of this universe. And if the kids are having, it’s going give a good vibe for everyone.

The second video this week was just a little teaser trailer called “Let’s Go.” There’s a little bit of new footage and it mostly sure what parents with Younglings know. It’s tough to get a group of kids to go somewhere in a timely manner. Doesn’t matter if you’re trying to get them off to school or trying to escape from a gang of murderous pirates. Kids are going to do what they’re going to do at their own pace.

Skeleton Crew premieres December 3rd on Disney+

And of course, I thought I was being proactive for a change and getting Death Star HR wrapped up Wednesday night so I wouldn’t have to do anything but a quick edit on Thursday. And Disney decides to drop two new videos on Thursday afternoon. One another behind the scenes. The other is a quick teaser trailer. Enjoy.

Waiting Just a Little Longer For the Rey Movie

The Rey New Jedi Order movie is being delayed, again. While it never had an official title. Or a script. Or an actual release date, none of those things are enough to stop it from getting delayed again. The Wrap reports that Disney has pulled the December 2026 Star Wars movie.

Disney has pulled the untitled 2026 “Star Wars” movie from the release calendar, the company announced on Friday.
The film is being replaced by “Ice Age 6,” which will release on Dec. 18, 2026. Although unconfirmed, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy was supposed to direct a film about rebuilding the new Jedi Order 15 years after the events of “The Rise of Skywalker,” which has Daisy Ridley attached to reprise her role as Rey.

It’s of course not clear if Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s Rey movie will continue as planned or if it will get lumped into the rumored Rey trilogy that may or may not be three more Skywalker Saga movies. Stay tuned.

All We Know is That We Know Nothing

If you’ve been a reader of the Death Star Human Resources Department Newsletter long enough, you’ve probably picked up on that there’s a handful of sites I often use when looking at stories about what’s happening in the Star Wars universe, either to offer my own take on the news or just to link down in the News From The HoloNet. I supposed you’d call these “fan sites.” I prefer “nerd news” but that’s just me thinking I’m clever. Occasionally, these sites border on the ridiculous. I guess nobody is immune from the clickbait economy. But when I see a headline like “New Theory Suggests That Anakin’s Father Was Wicket the Ewok” then I know it’s a slow news day but they have to churn something out. I don’t want to dunk on these stories, I mean they are getting paid to write about Star Wars which is something I’d like to do. Or it’s just AI slop. Who can say these days.

Anyway, all that is to say I got suckered by some clickbait earlier this week. From Inverse no less, which I generally think is a little higher quality on the Nerd News scale. The headline: “Here’s Everything We Know About Star Wars Episodes 10, 11, and 12”

I’m thinking, OK cool. Maybe there are some new details released. This is something I’d like to know about and something that will be good for Death Star HR. Always think in terms of what can be content. Actually don’t, thinking that way will warp your brain. But based on the headline, this sounds like a good article. So how does the story start?

As this update is relatively new, there’s not much concrete information just yet. But here’s everything we know about this new batch of Star Wars sequels — Episodes X, XI, and XII — and what we can expect from them.

Not off to a promising start. Maybe there’s information about a release date, or the plot?

here’s no word yet on when the new Star Wars sequels will be released, as they’re still in a very early development stage.
Lucasfilm hasn’t confirmed what the new films will be about, as Kinberg is only just starting to develop the trilogy. That said, insiders close to the studio have confirmed that the films will take place after Episode IX. Whether these new sequels will follow the immediate aftermath of the struggle between the Resistance and the First Order or take place after a major time jump remains to be seen.

Hmmm, not much information there either. OK. Simple question. Who’s in the movie?

Kinberg’s trilogy doesn’t yet have a plot, much less a cast list.

That wasn’t exactly helpful either. Alright, let’s try an easy one. How many movies are there going to be in the trilogy? And in what order are they going to be released?

Lucasfilm is developing three new installments of the Skywalker saga. After Episode X comes Episode XI, and whatever story Kinberg develops could be resolved in Episode XII.

In case you were wondering, there will be three movies in the trilogy. And they will in fact be in numerical order. Just in-case you were worried Episode 10 was going to be followed by Episode 12.

The Death Star Human Resources Department Book Club: New Jedi Order #9

Remember the Death Star HR book club? It’s been a minute. I’ve never been actually been a part of a book club, I’ve always treated reading as a solitary hobby. Do most book clubs start strong and then just kinda fade away before you finish the series? Because that’s what I’m going with

Nine books down. Still have 10 more to go.

Title: Star By Star
Series: New Jedi Order. Book #9
Author: Troy Denning
Date published: October 30, 2001
Pages: 605
Status: Legends
Summary in less than 20 words: The Solo kids lead a Jedi spring break road trip that isn’t very fun. And Borsk goes boom.

Since there have been quite a few new readers since the last book club entry, just a reminder it is official Death Star Human Resources policy to post spoilers. So if you’ve been trying to avoid what happens in a 23 year-old series of books, you might want to skip this section.

When I first announced that I intended to read all of the New Jedi Order books earlier this year - a plan that clearly isn’t going to happen - a Death Star HR reader left a comment that with the NJO books you had a few tent-pole books and a bunch of filler books to flesh the story out. I know the word “filler” has a negative connotation to it, and that’s not really my intention. It’s rather the books follow the same basic idea has most Star Wars books, especially the ~~Expanded Universe~~ Legends books. There’s some crisis on a new planet, the Jedi or whoever the main character of the book goes to investigate, there’s an adventure, and everything is wrapped up in a few hundred pages. Most of the books are more or less go the same. The Yuuzhan Vong are threatening a new planet. The New Republic tries to stop fighting among themselves long enough to fight back. The situation looks dire but then one of the main characters will figure something out and save the day. Rinse and repeat.

Honestly, I had been feeling that the NJO books were a bit of slog because of this. Sure, the series starts with a bang by dropping a moon on Chewbacca, but since then it’s more or less been the same. Some books have been better than others, some have done a decent job of expanding a character or adding some new wrinkles to the Vong. But with Star By Star, we finally get a big book (literally it’s double the size of most Star Wars books) where stuff happens.

I’ve generally avoided talking too much about the plots when doing the book reviews, I am still trying to find the right balance, even after a year and a half of doing Death Star HR, of discussing the book versus discussing my reaction to it. But since I haven’t done a book club entry in a while, a little catchup may be in order. It’s been approximately two years since the Yuuzhan Vong invasion of the galaxy, and things aren’t going great for the New Republic. Borsk Fey'lya, the Chief of State is barely holding Senate together. The Yuuzhan Vong have threatened if the location of the secret Jedi base is not revealed, they’ll blow up all the starships filled with refugees. And to make things worse, the Vong have created Voxyn, a creature that’s half Vornskr. If you’re an old school Expanded Universe fan, you remember the Vornskrs from Heir to the Empire. They’re animals that hunt using the Force and have a bad attitude towards the Jedi. Oh, and the Yuuzhan Vong are invading Coruscant. This is a big one.

Most of the book focuses on the Jedi and their attempt to destroy the Voxyn. Through some nifty detective work, the Jedi figure out that the Voxyn queen was on Myrkr. Another Thrawn Trilogy planet. Anakin Solo, along Jaina, Jacen, Lowbacca, and a bunch of other assorted Jedi decide they’ll fake getting captured by the Vong, steal a ship, and head to Myrkr to kill the queen. This being Star Wars, things never go as planned and while the strike team accomplishes their mission, it comes a big cost. Anakin dies. Jacen gets captured. Several other Jedi don’t survive either. War is indeed hell.

The Voxen plot probably takes up half the book total. We’ve also got Yuuzhan Vong Warmaster Tsavong Lah is having a bit of a problem. He really needs to capture the Solo twins. Unfortunately that’s easier said than done. So why not take on a simpler task, like invading and capturing Coruscant? The Vong manage to capture the capital but at a heavy cost. All the main characters, Luke, Mara, etc. escape. Normally I’d maybe do an eye-roll emoji here about how of course they escaped, but as I’ve said I give the NJO books for upping the stakes. And almost everyone gets to live to fight another day…errr…book.

The Good:

Well, I’ve been saying for a while that the stakes of the New Jedi Order books weren’t high enough. Denning really ups them this time. Anakin dies, which was a nice twist since it felt like the books were setting Anakin up to emerge from the older twins shadow and really be a leader. Borsk Fey'lya dies as well in a heroic sacrifice which isn’t enough to stop the Vong from capturing Coruscant. There’s an attempted kidnapping of Ben Skywalker, Luke and Mara Jade’s infant son. We’re at the midway point of the NJO books, so it’s a good setup for the 2nd half of the series.

The Bad:

The Jedi Strike Team tracking the Voxyns took a while to complete. I get why, they needed to set up some dramatic tension for Anakin to get killed off and for Jacen to get captured. But I feel like you could have trimmed 50 pages and made things move just a little quicker.

Wildcard:

Honestly, Borsk Fey'lya blowing himself up and taking 25,000 Yuuzhan Vong warriors along with him was a bit of a shack. Fey'lya was another character introduced in the Thrawn Trilogy and he’s always been an easy one to root against. While he is on the side of the New Republic and therefore a “good” guy, Fey'lya always embodied the worst of politicians. A liar and a manipulator, Fey'lya looked out for himself first, his fellow Bothans second, and then if there was some time left he’d think about the New Republic. He was there to be Leia’s counterpoint. The Dark to her Light. Fey'lya wasn’t a darksider, he operated more in the gray area.

This Day in Star Wars History

November 22nd is a pretty busy day for birthdays in the Star Wars galaxy. And it’s even people you’ll recognize. Not just someone who gets a Wookieepedia entry for being the assistant to the assistant that once brought Peter Mayhew his lunch while filing Return of the Jedi.

Paul Brooke was born in 1944. You best know him as the crying Rancor keeper at Jabba’s Palace in Return of the Jedi. Can’t blame him, losing a pet is really hard.
Brother to Grand Admiral Thrawn, Mads Mikkelsen was born in 1965. This was the Galen Erso Mikkelsen, not other one.
He was mentioned a couple months ago in this section for his passing, but Michael K. Williams, best known as Omar on The Wire, was born in 1966. Williams was supposed to play Dryden Voss in Solo and had filmed some scenes, but due to scheduling conflicts wasn’t able to do the reshoots and was replaced by Paul Bettany.
Leeanna Waisman was born in 1979. She was featured in Attack of the Clones as Zam Wesell, the bounty hunter/assassin that Jango Fett sub-contracts the Senator Amadala job too. I’m pretty sure I had the LEGO set for her ship, and since Zam was a shapeshifter, half of her LEGO head showed her human face and you’d spin it 180 degrees and it should her Clawdite face.
Han Solo was born in 1989. No, not the Han Solo you’re thinking of. The other one. It’s Alden Ehrenreich’s birthday. I think everyone can agree Donald Glover as Lando was the best part of Solo, but honestly I thought Ehrenreich did a good job. Especially considering the role he was asked to play, bringing new life into an icon roll played by an iconic actor.
On this date in 2005, Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader was published. This title was featured in the Death Star HR Book Club back in August 2023. It’s a good one, and more importantly it covers how Vader goes to the bathroom while in his suit.

From the Depths of Wookieepedia

Yousa ever be wonderin whats da Gungans makin’ their funny bubble buildings out of? Well, this week the mystery is solved. It’s Bubble wort extract. As I mentioned before, I used to be big into craft beer and homebrewing. And not to get too into the weeds here, but wort (pronounced wert) is part of that word. It’s basically un-fermented beer.

Unfortunately, this entry isn’t about Gungan Ale. Rather its about the Gungan bubble cities.