The Death Star Human Resources Department Newsletter: January 17, 2025
When in doubt, call the Owl-Cat.
Hello there
It’s Friday so welcome back to another edition of the Death Star Human Resources Department Newsletter. It’s a shorter than usual newsletter this week. I’ve been a little under the weather and needed a little dip in the old bacta tank.
Skeleton Crew wrapped it this week and it was quite the finale. And I do a rundown of all the possible new movies and TV shows in a galaxy far, far away. I’ll be back next week with a full newsletter.
This Is Where The Fun Begins
We had snow last week here in Dallas. Unfortunately my part of town didn’t really get a whole lot of snow. I saw parts of the suburbs got some snow, friends posting pictures of their younglings building snowmen and stuff like that. When I went to get lunch, I saw a few kids trying to sled, only there wasn’t enough snow and the little bit we got was too wet. Not like this guy.
Maybe next year we’ll get enough snow that it’s worth putting on a Snowtrooper costume.
Skeleton Crew: The Real Treasure is Friendship
On Tuesday morning, I threw out a wild idea for the season finale of Skeleton Crew that I posted here on Substack Notes:
Just a reminder. It’s the the official policy of the Supervisor to post spoilers. So if you haven’t watched the season finale of Skeleton Crew, or any of Skeleton Crew for that matter, and you don’t want to know what happens, I’d skip ahead to the next section.
My idea was they’d get a message to Khy’mm the Owl-Cat from episode 3 who A) doesn’t like Jod and B) has a line of communication with the New Republic. Since we know Mando and Grogu are in the pirate-fighting business these days, the New Republic would sub-contract the At Attin rescue out to our favorite bounty hunter and his son. And Mando’s ship would be able to get through the Great Barrier since it’s pre-Empire. It’s not a perfect theory, but I thought it was pretty good and would certainly lead an entertaining conclusion and we’d probably get some pretty good Grogu memes out of it. I mean, the kids playing with Grogu? That’s gold right there!
You know what, I was wrong. And I’m perfectly happy that I was wrong. Skeleton Crew ended exactly how it should have. This morning I got a text from a good friend, the Crazy Old Hermit Who Lives Beyond the Tarrant County Line. It just said “Skeleton Crew…” and had this gif.
He’s not wrong, folks. He’s not wrong. Not every finale needs a twist like the finale from season 2 of The Mandalorian. Sometimes all a story requires is the main characters to come together, the good guys win, and the bad guys get what’s coming to them. You really don’t need anything more than that. I appreciated that all the crazy fan theories were just that, theories. Wim’s mom wasn’t the Supervisor. Neither was Tak Rennod. Jod didn’t train at the Jedi Temple. Sure, the Supervisor was a droid but a lot of fans had guessed that one.
Skeleton Crew was the right show at the right time. Star Wars is in a weird place right now. It’s been 5 years since the last movie, which was…not the best one. We’ve still got basically two more years until the next one. That’s a long time in the Disney Star Wars universe. The last show, The Acolyte was surrounded by controversy. Some legitimate, some in bad faith. But either way there was very little room to discuss the show itself when it got wrapped up in the larger culture war. And even if The Acolyte had been allowed to exist and just stand on its own, it was a dark show. Like there were cool moments, but outside of maybe Bazil trying to throw down with Mae, there weren’t a lot of fun moments.
But Skeleton Crew was fun. It didn’t have the darkness of The Acolyte or the bleakness of Andor. Every week we got an adventure with the kids, a maybe Jedi, and pirates. As the audience, we got to experience the Star Wars universe through the eyes of people who had never seen it. As fans, we’ve seen everything from Coruscant to Endor. From Hoth to Jakku. We even got a new galaxy in Ahsoka. If you’re into the books or video games, you’ve got to experience everything from the Old Republic to post-Empire. But Wim, Fern, Neel, and KB haven’t got to see anything. All they’ve known is At Attin. So when they get the Onyx Cinder space-worthy and get through the barrier, they’re experiencing the galaxy for the first time and we get to do it along with them.
All the promotional material for Skeleton Crew called it “Goonies in Space.” I even made the joke that I was legally obligated to use that reference every time I wrote about the show. It really was a throwback to 80’s movies. A self-contained adventure where the kids got to be kids and have a wild ride. I don’t know if we’re going to get a season 2 of Skeleton Crew. If we do, that’s great. If we don’t, we’ll always have 8 episodes of getting to experience the galaxy far far away for the first time.
Looking Over The Horizon
If there’s one thing Star Wars has been known for since the Mouse House took over, it’s been the, uh, flexible nature of the TV shows and movies. Stuff gets announced, only to disappear into the void. Sometimes it returns, sometimes it doesn’t. It’s easier to get to Exegol without a Sith Wayfinder than it is to keep track of all the Star Wars projects. So, as far as I can tell, here’s what we have to look forward too.
TV Shows:
Andor season 2. Confirmed. As of right now, this is the only new live action Star Wars movie or TV show that we’re getting in 2025. Release date is April 22, two days after the end of Star Wars Celebration 2025.
Star Wars Visions season 3. Confirmed for 2025 but no date yet. Normally I’d say we might get it for May the 4th, but that would overlap with Andor.
Ahsoka Season 2. Confirmed but no release date. Filming is supposed to start in a couple months, which would likely mean a release date sometime in the 2nd half of 2026. Especially depending on how much, if any, crossover there is with The Mandalorian and Grogu movie.
Book of Boba Fett season 2. Temuera Morrison really wants this to happen. Disney has not said anything officially one way or the other, but it doesn’t seem very likely.
Obi-Wan Kenobi season 2. Ewan McGregor wants it to happen. Back in October McGregor said Lucasfilm is “exploring ideas.” This seems more likely than Book of Boba Fett, but still feels like someone at Lucasfilm probably just said “oh yeah, Ewan. We’re for sure thinking about it. We’ll call you when we’re ready.”
The Mandalorian season 4. I had just assumed that Mando season 4 was going to be replaced by the movie. Then there were a couple articles last week that said season 4 is “in development” but if it happens, it will be after the movie. Seems fair to assume if the movie is a success we’ll get another season. If it’s not, the movie might be the last go-round of Mando and Grogu.
Skeleton Crew season 2. The show was written as a one and done. Or at least even if there were ideas for another season, it was written as a self-contained season. In an interview, the show’s creators say there is a plan that would move the timeline up to match the kids’ ages. Thus solving the “Stranger Things problem” where due to the length of time that’s passed, the kids are supposed to be in high school but Eleven looks like she’s ready for a midlife crisis.
Movies:
As of right now, Disney has 3 release dates saved for Star Wars movies. May 22, 2026, December 18, 2026, and December 17, 2027.
The Mandalorian and Grogu. Confirmed with a release date of May 22, 2026. Filming has been completed.
Rey New Jedi Order. Well…it’s complicated. It had been thought this was going to be the December 2026 movie. In 2023, it was announced that Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy was directed a film about Rey trying to rebuild the Jedi Order that would take place after Rise of Skywalker. As of October, the 2nd screenwriter had left the project and as far as I can tell no new writer has been announced. Also, it’s now unclear if this will be part of the possible Skywalker Saga continuation (discussed below). The movie will happen, if for no other reason that Disney has a lot invested in making Rey the face of the movies. And I’m sure they’d like it to happen sooner rather than later. I would have picked this one as the December 2026 movie, but that would mean they’d need to start filming very soon.
The Dave Filoni Mandoverse movie. The guy in the cowboy hat is going to make a movie tying up The Mandalorian, Ahsoka, and maybe Skeleton Crew and Book of Boba Fett. It’s possible this is the December 2027 movie, as both the Mando movie and Ahsoka season 2 should be done. The only thing I can really see holding it back would be if Filoni decides season 4 of The Mandalorian is necessary.
Rogue Squadron. No release date. One of the cancelled then brought back to life movies. Patty Jenkins is still set to direct. IMDB has Matthew Robinson listed as the writer. Other sources have Jenkins as a writer as well.
Lando. No release date. Lando went from a TV series with Justin Simien as the writer/showrunner to a movie written by Donald and Stephen Glover. It seems like Simien got a raw deal, he claims he was never told that he was no longer involved, it just happened.
Dawn of the Jedi. No release date but is confirmed although that’s an assumed but not official title. The James Mangold directed movie will take place 25,000 years before The Phantom Menace and will tell the story of the first Force users. The co-writer is Beau Willimon, who wrote the “One Way Out” episode of Andor. This isn’t the same as as the Legends book by Tom Lebbon that shares a title.
Untitled (and unwritten) Taika Waititi film. Supposedly is on “indefinite hold.”
Shawn Levy film. No release date or title. However there are reports it will start filming this fall. No plot yet, only that Levy wants to do something new and unique.
Simon Kinberg trilogy. Initial rumors immediately after the announcement was these movies were going to be Skywalker Saga Episodes X, XI, and XII and would focus on Rey training the next generation of Jedi. Which of course sounds suspiciously like the Rey New Jedi Order movie. The Rey NJO movie is a lot closer to…well…not really completion but at least a lot closer to getting started. If Kinberg’s movies are intended to be a Rey Skywalker Trilogy, the standalone Rey movie might be a bridge between Rise of Skywalker and Episode X.
A Droid Story. This was announced at the 2020 Disney Investors Day Announcement as an animated story with R2 and 3PO and a new friend. As far as I can tell, there hasn’t been any news since. Honestly, as much as I love R2 and 3PO, if we’re telling a Droid’s story, I want 8 episodes on Chopper.
Rian Johnson trilogy. It’s not officially dead. But I wouldn’t hold my breath.
Did I miss anything? I didn’t add Rangers of the New Republic because that’s deader than Darth Maul Palpatine Asajj Ventress the first Death Star.
Great Moments in Star Wars Merchandising
I’ve mentioned on here a few times that I used to be really into craft beer and homebrewing. When I got out of that, I switched my beverage snobbery to coffee. Now, I’m not as a bad as I was with beer. But also every time we use AirBNB and they just have a Keurig, I die a little inside. That’s a long way to get to I got this beauty from my Sithter and brother-in-law, better known as Red Leader.
R2 was a server droid on Jabba’s barge. It only stands to reason that he could be a coffee droid as well.
This Day in Star Wars History
Three births to mention on January 17th.
James Earl Jones was born in 1931 in Arkabutla, Mississippi. Arkbutla also sounds like a planet, although I am going to assume it’s a Native American word. Jones was raised by his grandparents in Dublin, Michigan as they had moved there during the Great Migration. His life and career are way too huge to limit to one paragraph here, so I’ll say what I said back in September when he passed. Star Wars wouldn’t be Star Wars without James Earl Jones.
Genndy Tartakovsky was born in 1970 in Moscow. Tartakovsky was the creator and director of Star Wars: Clone Wars. These were the 3-5 minute shorts that aired on Cartoon Network from 2003 - 2005. If you haven’t seen them, highly recommend it. They’re currently on Disney+ and you can watch all 3 seasons in a couple hours.
Kelly Marie Tran was born in 1989 in San Diego. Tran played Rose Tico in The Last Jedi and technically reprised the role for Rise of Skywalker, although her character was basically an after thought in Episode IX.
From the Depths of Wookieepedia
I am pretty sure by this point, the randomizer on Wookieepedia knows me and knows what I like. Because this week it only took 3 clicks to get something interesting, and what did I get? Something food related, of course. This week we’ve got Rancor Aid.
Rancor Aid was a drink developed by escaped Nightsister slaves on the planet Dathomir. It was a tasty beverage made from the skin of local Rancors that replenished the body's electrolytes.
So…it’s Brawndo but in the Star Wars universe.
News From the HoloNet
RUMOR: Ewan McGregor Will Reportedly Reprise His Iconic Role As OBI-WAN KENOBI In AHSOKA Season 2
You like Force ghosts? I hope so, because you’re gonna get Force ghosts.
‘Star Wars’ and ‘Harry Potter’ Actor Warwick Davis to Receive BAFTA Fellowship
Justice for the Ewoks.
Star Wars Deserves The Baldur's Gate 3 Treatment
So…this would be the perfect vehicle to give us Knights of the Old Republic III.
Star Wars fans lose it as Jar Jar Binks makes his long-awaited return
I really doubt anyone is “losing it” over Jar Jar ending up in a remastered PS1 game. But you do you, clickbait headline writer.
12 Star Wars Collectibles and Toys That Are Worth a Small Fortune
Check your basements. Maybe you’ll be able to retire early.
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.
Man... even for a Star Wars fan, the list of announced Star Wars projects is exhausting.
‘Skeleton Crew pulled off The Goonies ending with surprise, style, and joy. The five year old in me, sitting between, ‘Empire and ‘Jedi, loved this show.