The Death Star Human Resources Department Newsletter: April 3, 2026
The Shadow Lord extravagance will commence soon
Hello there
Welcome back to the Friday afternoon edition of the Death Star Human Resources Department Newsletter. It’s a pretty quick one this week, just as last week’s prophecy had foretold. Darth Maul: Shadow Lord kicks off in just a few days. The Mandalorian and Grogu kicks off in just over six weeks. Surely we’re going to get something in a month for May the 4th. Oh, and the Death Star Human Resources Department Podcast returns. It’s not a bad time to be a Star Wars fan.
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
As an area man who is a long time reader and enjoyer of The Onion, it warmed my heart to see this.
From the “story:”
“By naming the film The Mandalorian And Grogu, Disney is leaving money on the table from consumers who have no idea who Grogu is but would immediately take out their phones and buy a ticket for any movie of any genre with ‘Baby Yoda’ in its title,” said report author Heather Flynn, who cited a poll in which 81% of potential moviegoers responded “Who the hell are they? Is this a Lord Of The Rings thing?” when presented with marketing materials for the upcoming film.
The Onion actually raises an interesting question. It feels like among Star Wars, people generally use his given name of “Grogu.” But has that caught on among the general public, or in their minds, is he still “Baby Yoda?” I don’t know.
Talkin’ About Taborr
The dynamic duo of Feats N’ Faults and Death Star HR return with yet another episode of the Death Star Human Resources Department Podcast. The people demanded it, so once again Shane Elliott and I are talking about Young Jedi Adventures. But this time, we’re discussing the villains. Spoiler alert, one of the villains actually has the best character arc in the show.
Watch the podcast and then be sure to subscribe to Feats N’ Faults.
All the Maul You Can Handle
We are very, very close to the premiere of Darth Maul: Shadow Lord, dropping on April 6th. Disney has been pulling out all the stops. Behind the scenes interviews, little teasers in the way of a single scene, and a big announcement. For your consideration:
And finally…the big news. Season 1 of Shadow Lord hasn’t even aired yet, and Disney has already confirmed we’re getting season 2. And this isn’t some internet rumor, this comes straight from Cowboy Dave.
Ahead of the series premiere, creator and executive producer Dave Filoni has announced the continuation of Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord with confirmation of Season 2 in the works from Lucasfilm Animation. Season 1 debuts on Disney+ with a two-episode premiere on Monday.
Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord presents fans with a pulpy adventure that finds Maul plotting to rebuild his criminal syndicate on a planet untouched by the Empire. There, he crosses paths with a disillusioned young Jedi Padawan who may just be the apprentice he is seeking to aid him in his relentless pursuit for revenge.
Right now Temuera Morrison, Ewan McGregor, and everyone involved in The Acolyte are sending extremely angry and bewildered text to Dave Filoni wondering how their shows can’t get a second season.
Grogu Might Get an Executive Producer Credit
Something I’ve always enjoyed about The Mandalorian is in all the behind the scenes stuff that’s been released, people treat Grogu like he’s an actor instead of a puppet. I know a lot of this is just for the cameras, but it still is a lot of fun. Now that Grogu has been an A-Lister for over five years now, it makes sense that he’s old enough to participate in some of the promotional material for his movie.
Disney is pulling out all the stops for The Mandalorian and Grogu, having the little green guy join Sigourney Weaver, Jon Favreau, and Pedro Pascal for a roundtable chat. It also seems like Disney is getting Pascal in front of the cameras for the movie as well, especially after it was confirmed that at least for season 3, he was primarily just doing Mando’s voice while Brendan Wayne and Lateef Crowder did the vast, vast majority of being in costume and doing stunts.
Seems like at the way things are going, if there’s a season 4 of The Mandalorian, we’ll see a “Directed By: Din Grogu” in the credits.
This Day in Star Wars History
Quite a few birthdays on April 3rd in the Star Wars universe.
Concept artist Colin Cantwell was born in 1932. His whole Wookieepedia entry is worth the read. I think most Star Wars fans know what an impact Ralph McQuarrie had on the look of Star Wars, and Cantwell should probably be mentioned right along side him. And I say this with absolutely zero shade towards McQuarrie. Cantwell is credited with the design and name for the X-Wing and the Y-Wing, among a bunch of other ships. Also, I didn’t know this but it really feels like something Uncle George would try”
The X-Wing, like other Rebel spacecraft, originally had wheels on its landing gear. This was because George Lucas had envisioned hiring the Spanish Air Force, redressing their F-104 fighter jets as Rebel fighters, and filming them taxiing and taking off a runway. This idea was scrapped because it was deemed too expensive, and Cantwell replaced the wheels with landing pads.
Comedy writer Pat Proft was born in 1947. His only entry in the Star Wars universe is being a writer on the Holiday Special. Sure, he was a writer for movies such as Police Academy, The Naked Gun, and Scary Movie 3, 4, and 5. But The Star Wars Holiday Special might actually be the funniest one of all, even if most of the humor is unintentional.
Aussie actor Ben Mendelsohn was born in 1969. We first saw Mendelsohn in Star Wars as Orson Krennic, who was basically a project manager who was set up to fail. The scene with Krennic and Mon Mothma at the art exhibition with Kleya and Lonni is one of the best ones in Andor.
Author Paul S. Kemp was born in 1972. Kemp wrote three Expanded Universe novels, Crosscurrent, The Old Republic: Deceived, and Riptide; along with one canon novel, Lords of the Sith. Lords of the Sith is fun as it’s basically Vader and Palpatine on a road trip.
The famous cantina scene (or at least the outside of it) for A New Hope was filmed today (and yesterday) in 1976. Lucas and company turned Ajim, a port city in Tunisia, into Mos Eisley. I can only imagine what the locals thought when the movie came to town.
New Jedi Order novel Edge of Victory I: Conquest, by Greg Keyes was published in 2001. This was the book that starts Tahiri Veila’s journey. It also has what I referred to as “Boy Band Anakin” on the cover.
Voice Actor Erik Bauersfeld passed away in 2016. He voiced both Admiral Akbar and Bib Fortuna in Return of the Jedi and returned to voice Akbar again in The Force Awakens. He also voiced the good admiral in Star Wars: X-Wing and Star Wars: Battlefront: Elite Squadron. Just getting those Akbar dollars!
From the Depths of Wookieepedia
Whenever I see this warning on a Wookieepedia entry, you can almost always guarantee it’s an entry that shouldn’t actually exist.
And I’ll argue that the entry for Lux Bonteri’s wife is probably not needed. But I do think it’s accurate.
The wife of Lux Bonteri was an Imperial female. At some point she had a daughter, before she eventually married Lux Bonteri.
I don’t think anything there is conjecture. But when are we going to get the 8 episode streaming series about Mrs. Bonteri?
News From the HoloNet
Hasbro Unveils Playful Star Wars Black Series Figures for May the 4th
Hasbro goes with the meta jokes for May the 4th.
Jon Favreau to Sit for CinemaCon Chat Ahead of ‘Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu’ Launch
There’s a lifetime Death Star HR subscription for any media member who asks where the Darth Jar Jar series is.
2026’s Most Divisive Star Wars Character Could Address A Horrible Trope
Petition to refer to ripped Rotta the Hutt as “Stinky Bonds.”
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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Ya KNOW, when it comes to puppets so well-animated that people talk to them like people, we really need a roundtable with Grogu and Rygel and Pilot from "Farscape"...