The Death Star Human Resources Department Newsletter, September 5, 2025
A giant animatronic Chewbacca will heal the nation.
Hello there
It’s Friday so welcome back to the Death Star Human Resources Department Newsletter. It’s both a longer one and a shorter one this week. Shorter, in that I really only wrote about two things, the upcoming The Mandalorian and Grogu movie, and how I finally finished reading The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire and how it’s more than a little unsettling to read a book chronicling the rise and fall of a fascist state when all one has to do is turn on the news and they can witness the same thing. Longer in that I still managed to spit out 3,200 words when my goal this week was to keep it around 2,000 or so. The editor (if there ever was such a thing here) has been fired. Oh, and there’s a giant Chewbacca that you can buy.
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
The NFL season kicked off yesterday. Where Da Birds either beat or lost to Da Boys, I’m writing this before the game is over, hard to see, the future is. What does this have to do with Star Wars? Well, two things. First off, the Emperor Palpatine of professional sports, one Jerry Jones, owns the Dallas Cowboys and currently is on the receiving end of whatever monkey paw curse he used to win those Super Bowls in the 1990’s. And second, former Ole Miss/current New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart is a huge Star Wars fan. Going so far as to model his eye black after Anakin’s scar. Jaxson Dart even sounds like a Star Wars character. It’s no less Star Wars-y of a name than Dash Rendar.
Can Jaxson Dart make Star Wars cool for Gen Z? Can he bridge the long-standing divide between jocks and nerds? Could Jaxson Dart be the chosen one?
The Mandalorian and Grogu Teasers Start Now. Well, Soon
Star Wars returns to the big screen next year, more specifically May 22, 2026. The Mandalorian and Grogu is going to be the first new Star Wars movie since The Rise of Skywalker in 2019. For older Star Wars fans, going 7 years between movies isn’t a huge deal. There were 14 years between Return of the Jedi and the Special Editions, and another two years on top of that between Episodes VI and I1. We’re still about 8 months out, so I don’t think we’re going to see the Disney media machine ramp up yet, look for that to come after the new year. But Destination D23 took place recently, and we got a little more info, including a little clip, for the upcoming movie.
I’m sure the footage has leaked and I did a little digging to see if I can find it. But searching for “Mandalorian and Grogu trailer” just turns up page after page of AI generated video slop that are not the actual trailer but worded to try make you think they are so you’ll click. Generative AI is so awesome! I’m not about to click on every one just on the off chance I actually get the leaked footage.
According those in attendance, there were a handful of scenes:
The footage kicks off with a group Snowtroopers getting ready to defend themselves from a threat we soon learn is Din Djarin. He uses all kinds of tools to just take everyone down with ease, from his flamethrower to knives to a blaster and more. It was a very exciting scene that, like we said, very much felt like that iconic scene from Rogue One.
It then cut to one of the AT-ATs exploding and falling off a treacherous and snowy path in the mountains, and it's an epic look at how The Mandalorian translates to the big screen.
Sigourney Weaver was also seen on-screen with Grogu trying to steal her snacks, Zeb popped up for a moment, and Grogu is even seen using the Force to handle a GONK-like droid and dodging one of its tires in a wonderful way.
The last shot was of a Hutt in an arena who just may be the one played by Jeremy Allen White, and it ends with what looked like Grogu eating something like popcorn in excitement.
After a little searching, /r/StarWarsLeaks has some that you can see here. I would guess maybe a teaser trailer around Thanksgiving or Christmas followed by the real media blitz in mid-March to early April.
The Death Star Human Resources Department Book Club
It’s been a couple months since there’s been an entry in the Death Star HR Book Club. After I finished up the New Jedi Order series, I said I had 4 Star Wars books to left to read for the year and then I was finally going to take a break and read some books that have been piling up on my shelf that don’t involve lightsabers. The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire is the third one I “had” to read and it’s been one that I’ve wanted to read ever since I first heard about it last year. The hook was it’s a Star Wars history book. But it’s written as an “in galaxy” Star Wars history book. As far as I know, it’s the first book written in this style and honestly I don’t know why it took Star Wars so long to do something like this. This is not the first “in-universe” book, as Wookieepedia puts it. But it’s probably the highest profile one. Chris Kemphill, the author here, was also one of the authors for Battles That Changed the Galaxy, published in 2021.
While there’s not much in the way of “new” information in The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire, there are references to other Star Wars movies/TV shows/books that theoretically could be spoiled. Proceed at your own risk.
Title: The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire
Series: Stand alone
Author: Dr. Chris Kempshall, writing as Resistance historian Beaumont Kin.
Date published: July 9, 2024
Pages: 375
Status: Canon
Summary in less than 20 words: An in-world account of just how bad things can get and how we can have hope for the future.
The book is as advertised, it’s a history of the rise and fall of the Empire. Palpatine thought that the Galactic Empire would last forever. It really lasted 24 years. And Dr. Chris Kempshall, writing as Beaumont Kin2 is here to give us the chronicle. Kin was played by Dominic Monaghan in The Rise of Skywalker and was actually introduced in the Star Wars Adventures comic book series. In our galaxy, the book was published in 2024. In the galaxy far, far away, it’s 35 ABY, shortly thereafter the events of The Rise of Skywalker. Kin is on Exegol, digging through the wreckage and the files of the First and then the Final Order to try to give the rest of the galaxy of just what ol’ Palpatine was up to and maybe how it could be avoided in the future.
The book breaks itself into four parts. The rise of Skywalker Palpatine and how he turned his one man show3 into the Empire. How the bureaucracy functioned and how Palpatine used both the Imperial Security Bureau (of Andor fame) and Imperial Intelligence to further his goals. It talks about Imperial society, how certain worlds like the Core Worlds were favored over the Outer Rim. And how Palpatine ran the galactic economy with the purpose of creating Death Stars, at the expense of the rest of the Empire and its citizens. Nevermind that worlds like Jedah and Cynda were essentially plundered for their resources. The book was written before season 2 of Andor came out, otherwise Ghorman would have been on the list as well.
Once you get to chapter 9 you start seeing a lot more names you’re familar with. Tarkin, Vader, Mas Amedda, and everyone’s favorite blue Grand Admiral, Thrawn To be clear, the book does a great job of blending characters and events we already know into the narrative without ever feeling like it’s just running through a list of references. Kin covers the Imperial legal system4, discrimination within the Empire, and finally Palpatine and Tarkin’s preferred method of dealing with dissent: genocide.
The first half of the book is for the Sickos, the people who have seen Rebels several times and who understand references to Lothal. While the second half of the book is by no means lacking in detail, it could more easily be read by Normies who have just seen the movies. Part 3 covers the Original Trilogy and Part 4 covers the Sequel Trilogy. Note, there isn’t much in the book about the Prequels, largely just in the first chapter or two covering Palpatine and the Clone Wars. It’s not just a retelling of the movies though. Did you know that Imperial military moral was undermined after the Battle of Hoth? Or all the ins and outs of the Imperial Remnant’s in-fighting after the Battle of Endor? Kin also does a good job examining the failures of the New Republic that allowed the First/Final Order to take hold. We see a little bit of this in Ahsoka, with the facility on Corellia staffed by former Imperials who took, but did not take seriously, a loyalty oath to the New Republic.
Speaking of the rise of the First Order, from a certain point of view, a good chunk of Star Wars media over the last 6 years is there to justify the choices made in the Sequel Trilogy. I’m not here to re-litigate the Sequel Trilogy, but from a certain point of view, there are a lot of shows that seem to exist to explain away Palpatine (or his clones) return and why the Sequel Trilogy was more or less the Original Trilogy with a more evil Empire.
I’m not going to rehash every chapter of the book because that’s not interesting for you, the reader and really it isn’t that interesting for me the writer. If you are into Star Wars books at all, I really suggest checking this one out.
I often say that Star Wars is inherently political, because it is, but I very rarely discuss how the politics of our galaxy are reflected in the politics of the Star Wars universe. That’s by design. It’s not that I worry I’ll end up in the gulag or I’ll lose subscribers or something like that. It’s that there’s plenty of bad news out there, and reading, watching, and writing about space wizards with laser swords is quite frankly, a nice distraction from the dumpster fire that is the failing state of America.
That being said, it is impossible as a reasonably informed American to read this book and not compare what happened in the Star Wars universe to what is currently happening in our country. Just these examples from the first chapter about Palpatine himself set the tone for the book.
You can’t read those highlighted parts and not think of President Trump. Well, maybe you can. And if you can, I wish to know what’s going on in your reality and how I can live in it as well. The underlying goal of the Empire was to rule by fear. Someone came up with a name for it after the fact, the Tarkin Doctrine. For lack of a better way to put it, the current administration in the White House runs on fear. You need to be afraid of cities, or vaccines, or immigrants, or whatever the fear de jour is. Often it’s a caravan of migrants that is breathless talked about for months, and then forgotten as soon as the election is over.
Uncle George was a child of the 60’s He lived through Vietnam and Watergate. Two events that would imprint on a person that maybe, just maybe, unchecked executive power isn’t a good thing. Lucas isn’t thought of as a political filmmaker or story teller. But it’s pretty well known, at least among the Sickos, that he drew from the Vietnam War for the Original Trilogy, especially the Battle of Endor in the forest. And spoiler alert, the American military was NOT the model for the Rebel Alliance. George didn’t stop with the Original Trilogy either. Everyone knows Padme’s famous line in Revenge of the Sith. The line was apropos in 2005, and arguably even more so today.
Things are bad out there. But there’s always hope.
The Good:
The book is extremely readable. How many of us suffered through boring textbooks in high school or college? Here Kempshall does a great job of writing in the style of a history book, but still one that is entertaining and engaging.
It’s something different! 98% of Star Wars books follow the same plot. There’s a threat to the Republic/Jedi/Rebellion/New Republic. Our heroes investigate. Things look bleak. But then our heroes are able to triumph! If it’s a multi-book series, like the recently read New Jedi Order, sometimes the good guys will lose in a few books but still come through in the end.
The Bad:
The footnotes. Not that I didn’t like the idea, but they felt distracting on the page. And I never knew if they things referenced were something made up for the book, or an actual book you could buy in the real world.
Like I said above, the book hits a little too close to home.
Wild Card:
The 501st exists even in the Star Wars universe.
I’m not a fascist, I just like the look. I rewatched Ahsoka last month and commented to a friend that the New Republic look like a bunch of dorks. Say what you will about the Empire and the First Order, at least they had a sense of style.
Perhaps there’s some recency bias involved, but I really would put The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire in my top 5 Star Wars books list. Go check it out.
Great Moments in Star Wars Merchandising
On a lighter note, Star Wars internet was abuzz this week about the possibility of a giant Chewbacca statute for Christmas. The leaked shots showed it had fur, instead of molded plastic to look like fur. Although I skeptical the product was real, especially since you wouldn’t want something with fur if you live someplace with snow. I figured it was someone having a goof with an AI image generator. Turns out, to paraphrase Seinfeld, it’s real and it’s spectacular.
Now that Skeleton Crew has sort of made the Holiday Special canon, I think they need to lose the Santa hat and candy cane, and give Chewie here some red Life Day robes.
This Day in Star Wars History
Two births to mention in the galaxy far, far away on September 5th. Well, actually the births took place in our galaxy. But you know what I mean.
Stuart Freeborn was born in 1914. Freeborn was the makeup supervisor for the Original Trilogy and the Holiday Special. He was considered by some to be “the grandfather of modern make-up design” for the movies. He turned Peter Mayhew into Chewbacca, and created Yoda has a mashup of his face and the face of Albert Einstein. Along with Star Wars, he also worked on The Bridge Over the River Kwai (with Alec Guinness), 2001: A Space Odyssey, Dr. Strangelove, and the first 4 Superman movies.
Baby Yoda aficionado Werner Herzog was born in 1942. Herzog appeared in 3 episodes in season 1 of The Mandalorian, as an Imperial warlord who really wanted to get his hands on Grogu. Fun fact, Herzog can read Latin and Ancient Greek. I’ve mentioned a few times on Death Star HR that I’m a fan of The Texas Theatre, the best theater in Dallas and the only movie theater in existence involved with the JFK assassination. Herzog is also a fan of The Texas Theatre.
From the Depths of Wookieepedia
Got a good one this week. And by a good one I mean one where there’s actually very little information but it’s from a category I like so maybe I can just riff on it. It’s a well-established part of Death Star HR lore that music/bands are one of my favorite categories for From the Depth of Wookieepedia. And this week, we’ve got the Frozen Wampas.
OK, that’s not much to go on. The two bandmembers mentioned, Neelo and Fawn, are in a young-adult canon novel. But I don’t see anything on Wookieepedia about what time of music the Frozen Wampas played. Just seeing the name, I immediately thought about Hoth and freezing cold, which made me think Norwegian Black Metal. But that’s not a very family friendly genre, definitely not something that would be playing at the Black Spire Outpost. Since they’re a duo, maybe they have more a White Stripes vibe to them.
News From the HoloNet
The headline is pretty much the whole story.
Second Construction Project Now Underway in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge
Maybe the new ride is Palpatine’s Operation Cinder Simulator.
Darth Vader's lightsaber to be auctioned off. How to place a bid.
Step 1: have a lot of money.
Jon Rahm admits he's a 'Star Wars' fanatic during Ryder Cup team unveiling
I don’t follow golf so I have no idea who Rahm is. He says he’s a big Jar Jar fan. But is he a Darth Jar Jar believer?
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.
Only in Star Wars does Episode 1 follow Episode 6.
The name of a Star Wars character and not LSU’s backup QB.
One man and one Gungan, if you believe in Darth Jar Jar. As we do here at Death Star HR.
Still waiting on a Law & Order: Coruscant spinoff.
My morning job is at Home Depot. I have seen inflatable Santa Yoda there and I think Grogu as well. If I see Santa Chewie, I will take a picture and if I'm feeling bold, I will be in that picture. 🙂