The Death Star Human Resources Department Newsletter: April 11, 2025
Andor, Ahsoka, and existentialism. But not at the same time.
Hello there…
…and welcome back to the Death Star Human Resources Department Newsletter. There’s a lot going on the galaxy far, far away right now. Andor drops in less than two weeks. Star Wars Celebration kicks off in Japan a week from today. There’s cryptic hints that season 2 of Ahsoka has started filming. Plus, two of my great loves, Star Wars and The Onion, are joined together.
This Is Where The Fun Begins
One of the first websites I really remember from back in high school when this new-fangled World Wide Web because a thing was The Onion. Surely, if you are on the internet you are familiar with their work. It’s a satirical newspaper who all too often will get mistaken for real life. Especially ones in the political realm where The Onion’s “stories” just confirm their belief. The most famous of these was probably Louisiana Congressman John Fleming who fired off a Facebook post without checking his sources. In the last couple years, Google’s AI was recommending people eat one small rock per day, seemingly having been trained on The Onion article recommending the same thing. All that as lead up to post this, an Onion article sent to me by the media droid VI-DE0 FL0.
I truly laughed out loud at the headline. The story itself is what The Onion does so way. Take a mundane event and add just a little twist to it.
The 40-year-old logistics coordinator confirmed he had paid the sex worker Misty, as she mononymously identified herself online, a sum of $385 to meet him at a nearby Rodeway Inn where he arrived with his own physical copy of the 1977 film in 4k Ultra HD, a Blu-ray player, and an HDMI cable and adapter to connect to the motel TV. Although he paid her for two hours of service, Broder stated that the prostitute dozed off barely 30 minutes into the movie.
Rookie mistake. As the run time for the 4k Ultra HD Blu-Ray version of A New Hope is 124 minutes. Although I guess it depends how badly you want Misty to see the credits.
Many years ago, the editor and head writer of The Onion came to Dallas and did a talk. It was partly about how their process works, but mostly “in character” as if The Onion was to be taken seriously. Honestly most of what they did was just go to the next slide on their presentation. It was like the time I saw The Chemical Brothers in concert and they just sat there and pressed keys on their laptops. The talk was at the Winspear Opera House, which as you can safely assume from the name, usually hosts slightly more upscale events. A lot of the people in the crowd were season ticket holders who I assume just got tickets as part of their yearly package. And let me tell you, the little old lady sitting next to me was NOT amused. Even less amused than Misty watching A New Hope.
This Is Where The Fun Begins, Pt 2
There was a Los Angles Lakers versus the Dallas Mavericks game a couple days ago on the 9th. Normally not a big deal, but it was the first game back in Dallas for Luka Dončić after the Mavs traded one of the best players in the world to the Lakers for a less than stellar return, to put it mildly. In the first half, Luka tore through the Mavs defense like Vader just tearing through the Rebel troops at the end of Rogue One. My large Slovenian son finished with 45 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, and 4 steals. That’s a hell of a line. So this popped up on Reddit today.
Yakking it up About Star Wars
Earlier this week, friend of Death Star HR, fellow Michigander, and all-around enjoyer of nerd-related things
invited me to pop in on his podcast so we could talk about the state of Star Wars.
It was a lot of fun. We had a wide-ranging discussion on everything from what we think the general vibe of Star Wars is, how to review shows among all the bad faith criticism out there, and what we hoped we might see in the future. Because after all, rebellions are built on hope. So give it a listen, and if you’re not subscribed to Eric’s newsletter,
, make sure you sign up.Andor Season 2 Continues to Tease
This week Disney gave us not one, but two Andor teasers. As they tend to do. We are less than two weeks out from the premier. The Mouse can't risk that we Star Wars fans are wasting out time thinking about back issues of Bantha Tracks (see this week’s From the Depths of Wookieepedia) or that maybe Celebration will have an entire panel on Mister Bones. They won’t. But don’t think about that. Only think about Andor.
The first teaser is called “Do Or Die.” Which is fitting. As always, it’s a mix of footage we’ve already seen with a few seconds of new stuff.
The second one is called “Purpose.” This is a trick Disney has done in the past where they mix in some footage from older movies or TV shows to give you the through-line. Ahsoka had one of these before it was released. It was nice to see Jyn Erso again.
Do my eyes deceive me or is this the first instance we’ve seen where Cassian and K-2SO are together?
First three episodes drop April 22nd. Still plenty of time to get that season 1 rewatch in.
Lights! Camera! Ahsoka Season 2!
As Eric and I discussed today, the future of Star Wars on streaming is a little unclear. There’s season 2 of Andor in a couple weeks. There’s season 2 of Ahsoka somewhere out in another galaxy, and then after that? Who knows ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ But we at least know we’re getting another around of Ahsoka. And it’s even started filming. Or at least according to an Instagram story from Eman Esfandi aka Ezra Bridger.
So sure, that picture is more of a suggestion than solid confirmation. It’s not like it’s a pic of Esfandi and Mary Elizabeth Windstead in costume with a caption that says “first day of shooting!” but at this point, any news is good news. The suggestion that season 2 has begun filming made the rounds on social media, but the only real confirmation, or something close to confirmation was Esfandi’s post.
No release date for season 2 yet, it certainly seems likely that if they’ve starting filming in April 2025, we can expect it sometime next year. Maybe Disney would do a one-two punch of The Mandalorian and Grogu movie in May followed by Ahsoka a month or so later?
The Happiest Place on Earth Has Been Relocated to Japan
By the time you read Death Star HR next week, Star Wars Celebration will have started. Or haven’t started yet. Or maybe be finished. I’m not sure. This year Celebration is in Chiba, Japan. Which from what I can tell on the map is located outside of Tokyo. And with it being in Japan, I have to figure out time zones. I really haven’t written anything about Celebration, it’s not that I’m not interested. It’s just that I can’t go, and every time I start to read stories about it, I then start looking up flights to Tokyo and checking how many points I have.
Looking over the panels, I saw two that jumped out as you’ll probably see something really cool if you’re there.
The Mandalorian & Grogu has finished filming, I haven’t read anything about how far along they are in the editing process, so no idea if you’re going to see finished or raw footage. But either way everyone is going to get some kind of sneak peak from Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni “and special guests.” Nothing yet on the guests, hopefully it’s someone in a Grogu costume just causing trouble. Probably will have to check your phones at the door.
I realize that the Andor panel does not specify that it’s season 2. Maybe they’re just reshowing season 1. But if that happened, I think you’d have a riot on your hands that makes Narkina 5 look like a tea party. Andor is done so they can show as much or as little as they want. The description for the Andor panel says Tony Gilroy, Diego Luna, “and cast” will be there for a sneak peak. My guess is it’s not a full episode but way more footage than anyone has seen. And again, the Imperial Security Bureau will be checking phones.
Is anyone in the Death Star HR family heading over to Japan for Celebration? I’d love to hear from you if you drop. Drop me a comment or shoot me an email.
Star Wars Episode IV: For One Night Only
Question for all the Star Wars fans reading this: when is the last time you’ve watched the Original Trilogy. No, not the version currently streaming on Disney+. No, not the version you have on your Blu-Rays. But the old school, non-Special Edition version of Star Wars. Han shoots first. Nobody steps on Jabba. Maybe more importantly, you’ve got the original dialog for Palpatine in Empire Strikes Back. Really, ask yourself, when’s the last time you’ve seen that version of Star Wars? I bet for a lot of us, it’s been a long time.
Back in December 2023, I wrote about what I called being Special Edition Pilled. I had purchased a Return of the Jedi soundtrack on vinyl and realized I had more or less forgotten what “Lapti Nek” sounded like, which made me realize it’s entirely possible I haven’t see the Original Trilogy in non-Special Edition format since the mid 90’s.
Uncle George has famously commented that the Special Editions represent his vision of what Star Wars is supposed to be. And from a certain point of view, I’d say who are we to argue. Lucas loves technology, in the 70’s and 80’s the technology didn’t exist where he could make Star Wars on film look like the Star Wars in his head. On the other hand, Han didn’t shoot first because Lucas lacked the technology to make Greedo shoot first. I’ve also always assumed that part of the deal when he sold Star Wars to Disney was that if Disney wanted to show the Original Trilogy in the theaters, it had to be the Special Edition. Because neither Disney nor Lucas are dumb. The 40th anniversary of A New Hope was in 2017. If Disney had done a one weekend only screening of the non-SE OT, it would have sold out. Thousands of Gen Xers such as myself would have overlooked just how much our back was going to hurt the next day from 9 or so hours in movie theater seats and bought those tickets to see Yub Nub on the big screen. That didn’t happen. And the only conclusion you and draw is there was a paragraph in the however many page contract forbidding it. Quite honestly, I’m surprised Skeleton Crew was allowed to reference the Star Wars Holiday Special.
All that to say, for some lucky people in London this year, on June 12th, or 12 June as they say across the pond, the 1977 theatrical version of Star Wars (before it was called A New Hope) will be screened twice on the opening night of the British Film Institute’s Film on Film Festival.
An unmissable treat for Star Wars fans. A long time ago, George Lucas’s original space fantasy set in a galaxy far, far away was released in 1977, captivating countless imaginations for generations to come and forever shifting popular culture. Film on Film presents Star Wars exactly as experienced by audiences on its original release, screening from one of the precious handful of dye transfer IB Technicolor prints produced for the first British release, preserved in the BFINational Archive.
The 50th anniversary of A New Hope is only a couple years away. Maybe those of us here in the US or maybe Star Wars fans around the world could get to see the theatrical version then? I’m not going to hold my breath, but it would be cool, and Disney does love money.
However, anyone attending the Film on Film Festival and hoping to end their evening with the Ewok song will be out of luck.
The BFI said Lucasfilm and Disney had granted permission for the original version to be screened. There are no plans to show the original cuts of The Empire Strikes Back or Return of the Jedi.
Come on, Disney. Give us Yub Nub!
Things My Wife Has Said About Star Wars
It’s been a while since we’ve had one of these. Mostly because I’m stuck in a no-win situation. I can either try to engage with Emperor Palpatine’s #1 Fan about Star Wars, much to her annoyance and my delight. But that just gives her chances to troll me. Or I can just not annoy her about the galaxy far, far away. However, that means she wins. And marriage is all about winning. And EP#1F does a good season of humor, so I sent her a link to The Onion story.
This is what happens when I try to share something I love…
This Day in Star Wars History
Turns out that April 11 is something of a busy day in the Star Wars universe. Some birthday, some books, and we revisit an old friend from last week.
Actor Jay Benedict was born in 1951. You may remember Benedict from last week’s This Day in Star Wars History, as he passed away on April 4th, 2020. When I saw that Benedict was listed again, I assumed with was one of the birthday errors you sometimes see on Wookieepedia. But nope. One other role from Benedict that I thought about mentioning last week but didn’t, he portrayed the Judge for the reenactment scenes in the PBS documentary Judgment Day: Intelligent Design on Trial. The documentary looks at the 2005 Kitzmiller v Dover case out of Pennsylvania concerning whether teaching intelligent design in public schools is constitutional.
Author Greg Keyes was born in Meridian, Mississippi; a city I have driven through many times. In the Star Wars world, Keyes wrote three of the New Jedi Order novels, Edge of Victory I: Conquest, Edge of Victory II: Rebirth, and The Final Prophecy, which is the penultimate book in the series. He also wrote a New Jedi Order novella, Emissary of the Void. Per his website, Keyes “is famous for his tetralogy ‘The Age of Unreason,’ a steampunk/alchemical story featuring Benjamin Franklin and Isaac Newton.”
I normally don’t mention the comics here, simply because I don’t know a lot about the Star Wars comics. But given that the Droids series from Dark Horse had its first issue on this day in 1995, that seems worth mentioning. According to the publishers summary, a “newly-deputized Artoo-Detoo and See-Threepio” are chasing a criminal on Nar Shaddaa. Not sure about our favorite droid duo as law enforcement. Cue KRS-One’s “Sound of da Police.”
Speaking of first issues, the first book the canon Thrawn series, simply called Thrawn, by Timothy Zahn was published in 2017. The first three books cover the not yet a Grand Admiral Thrawn joining the Empire and his rise to a Grand Admiral. And then after that, there’s the Ascendancy Trilogy, just in case you need even more of Thrawn’s back story. For completely unrelated reasons, I thought about this tweet.
Surfs up on Csilla. Source. Celebration Chicago kicked off on this day in 2019. The Wookieepedia page is light on details, but given that it was spring 2019, I would have to assume the big reveal was some announcement or footage for the first season The Mandalorian. Next Celebration that’s in the US, or maybe next one that’s easier to get to than Japan, Death Star HR will be there.
From the Depths of Wookieepedia
I skipped past this one, and then went back. This week we’ve got Bantha Tracks #33. Bantha Tracks was the Star Wars fan club newsletter that was published from 1978 to 1987. The first four issues were simply titled Official Star Wars Fan Club Newsletter and the remaining 31 issues were called Bantha Tracks. Today’s, #33 was the 2nd to last one published.
What caught my eye and made me stop instead of clicking past was that somehow we’re combining Howard the Duck and Jean-Paul Sartre. I had to read Sartre in high school and can tell you exactly three things about him.
He’s French.
He’s a big deal if you’re into existentialism.
Hell is other people.
I’m sure there’s a lot more to Sartre and there’s a lot of very smart people on Substack who could probably tell me. If they can tie in Howard the Duck, now that would be interesting. If you want to go through back issues of Bantha Tracks, you can find the complete history at the Jedi Temple Archives.
News From the HoloNet
The Best Star Wars Novelization Is Getting a New Special Edition
Was kinda meh if I needed a Revenge of the Sith novelization with a fancy cover, but after reading “the text has ‘over 150 annotations’ from Stover, giving readers a rare glimpse into the mind of the author who made us think differently about this story.” I’m sold.
I am 100% here for Dark Side Padme.
I Still Want Rian Johnson’s Star Wars Trilogy
So do I…so do I.
Andor's five-season plan was axed due to "desperation," "Diego's face"
“The face that cancelled five seasons” would certainly be something to be known for.
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.
Thanks again for coming on the pod!
RIP Diego's face ... lmao