Something happened this week that no one — and I mean no one — could ever have expected.

Ewan McGregor set foot on a Lucasfilm stage, and his first words weren’t “hello there.”

It’s like they’ve never even been on the internet before.

But, I digress. Arguably the biggest news coming out of this weekend’s D23 Expo was confirmation of the long-rumored Obi-Wan Kenobi TV series, which will start filming next year and air on Disney+. It will join a streaming lineup featuring The Mandalorian and a still-untitled show starring Diego Luna as Cassian Andor and Alan Tudyk as K-2SO, both of which we also learned more about, including the first trailer for Jon Favreau’s wild western:

A complicated profession, indeed.

Arguably, though, The Mandalorian might not have even been the biggest highlight of the weekend (depending on what Star Wars project you’re most excited about right now), as Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy and The Rise of Skywalker director JJ Abrams unveiled the first poster for the upcoming end of the Skywalker saga, and treated panel attendees to a sizzle real that featured, among other things, an image of Rey holding a double-bladed red lightsaber. The footage will be available to the public on Monday (likely right now, to be honest), so get those conspiracy engines up and running!

Are you tired of reading this news post yet? Cuz I’m tired of writing it. And yet, we continue on, because we have hope. There was even more unveiled at D23 Expo, including a first look at Vader Immortal: Episode II, the follow up to May’s inaugural at-home VR experience that launched on the Oculus Quest (though no release date was forthcoming). We also got introduced to the Halcyon, and Chandrila Star Line luxury cruiser that will play host to Galaxy’s Edge’s most exclusive attendee experience and allow parkgoers at Walt Disney World to completely immerse themselves in the galaxy far, far away. As if that wasn’t enough, D23 Expo also gave the world our first look at the newest First Order special forces trooper: the Jet Trooper. Oh, and the final season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars will be coming to Disney+ in February, 2020.

And that was just everything since Friday. Earlier in the week, we were treated to:

• A look at the international roll-out schedule for Disney+ later this year
• A second excerpt from Delilah S. Dawson’s upcoming novel Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge: Black Spire, which comes out this Tuesday 8/27
• A sneak preview at this week’s Age of Resistance comics from Marvel, featuring Poe Dameron and General Hux
• The news that the evidently-not-failing-and-about-to-be-rebranded Galaxy’s Edge has been named one of TIME Magazine‘s World’s Greatest Places for 2019

Ok, time to go drink a protein shake to recover from this ridiculously long news post. The things we do for you people.

Do you enjoy announcements about future announcements and dates? Then boy howdy will you enjoy this week’s Holonet Blast!

First and foremost, mark your calendars for August 23 – that’s when we’re most likely to see a sneak peak of The Mandalorian, airing at D23 Expo along with a discussion with Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni, and other special guests. One might expect a trailer or some sort of public footage coming out of that event, based on the fact that the series launches a few months later, so fingers crossed!

But before you put down that pen (you wrote this on a physical calendar, right? Do people still have those?), go ahead and circle December 5 and January 17, too – that’s when the all-new “Rise of the Resistance” attraction will open in Galaxy’s Edge at Walt Disney World and Disneyland, respectively. We still don’t know a ton about Rise, other than the fact that, in contrast to Smuggler’s Run which takes place primarily in the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon, this new experience will involve movement, VR, and more. It also places Batuuans in the heart of the action during a battle between the Resistance and the First Order. Start saving those credits now!

Finally, we got our first look at Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker‘s iconic new trooper. Rogue One had Death Troopers, The Last Jedi had Praetorian Guards, and TROS will have Sith troopers. Attendees at next week’s San Diego Comic-Con 2019 will get a full look at the armor in person in the Lucasfilm pavillion, while the rest of us can scour eBay for the exclusive merch from Funko, Hasbro, and others. No word on whether or not these troopers are, in fact, the Senate.

That’s it for this week – stay hydrated and wear sunscreen, my friends.

As we start in with this week’s Holonet Blast, of course the biggest news out of Star Wars this week was the passing of Peter Mayhew, who portrayed the mighty Chewbacca in 5 films, at age 74. There are no words that can do justice to the life, joy, and wonder that Mr. Mayhew brought to the Star Wars universe, so all I will say is that all of our lives were better for him being in them, and, if it fits with your chosen belief system, he’s with Carrie Fisher again now.

Photo from StarWars.com

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There’s no possible way to segue gracefully, so: on to book news. As fans around the galaxy celebrated May the 4th, the big reveal this weekend was the full lineup for Lucasfilm Publishing’s Journey to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker series of tie-ins to the final installment of the Skywalker saga. And a big reveal it was, including:

• Resistance Reborn, a novel by Rebecca Roanhorse (author of Trail of Lightning, a big hit among our Tosche Station writers) that will detail how Poe, Rey, Finn, Leia, and more rebuilt the Resistance after the events of The Last Jedi.
• Force Collector, a YA novel by Kevin Shinick exploring the life of a young Force sensitive teen just before The Force Awakens – might he be a future member of whatever future order Rey seems destined to start?
• Spark of the Resistance, a middle-grade book by Justina Ireland of Lando’s Luck and Project Luminous fame
• Comics, reference books, children’s books, art books, and much, much more!

And if that wasn’t enough books for you, we also got a first look at the beautiful cover of Galaxy’s Edge: A Crash of Fate, a YA novel by Zoraida Córdova coming in August.

https://twitter.com/zlikeinzorro/status/1123233694221627392?s=19

Finally, if you really just hate reading (which, interesting choice of activity for you to be doing right now, then), we got a treat for the ears this week, as well, with the release of the entire symphonic suite written by the maestro John Williams for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disney Land and Walt Disney World.

That’s it folks – hope you had a wonderful May the 4th. Live your lives well enough to deserve a hug from Chewie.

Search no more, dear reader, for the schedule has been bestowed unto thee.

That’s right – the full schedule of panels for Star Wars Celebration Chicago is out, and we’re already panicking over the panels that overlap with one another. A tradition unlike any other. Whether its details on the new VR experience Vader Immortal: Episode I that you’re looking for, or you want to see a sneak preview of The Mandalorian, the Celebration Stage will have you covered. But when will you need to get in line? How will the lottery system work? Well, we kind of know those details thanks to StarWars.com, but the Tosche Station team takes no responsibility if, say, these rules change with no notice and no one actually makes it clear to the attendees. Remember kids, communication is key.

Don’t care about the panels? Just going for the experience? Well, we’ve got you covered there too, with these previews of the collectibles and merchandise that will be available at the show store – with more sure to come in the next few weeks leading up to April 11. And hold onto your sand, because the Chosen One himself, Hayden Christensen, will be gracing SWCC with his presence. We truly, deeply love him.

What’s that – you don’t care about Celebration news? LIES! DECEPTIONS!

Ok fine, there’s something for you this week  as well – never let it be said that we aren’t here for our readers. We got a sneak preview of some of the high-tech functionality coming to Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland and Walt Disney World via your mobile devices. We got a (gorgeous) cover, a new release date, and a new synopsis for the upcoming novel from Del Rey, Galaxy’s Edge: Black Spire by Delilah S. Dawson, which revealed that old friend Vi Moradi is indeed bringing her presumably-still-unfinished knitting project to Batuu. And finally, a hearty congratulations to The Star Wars Show for earning another Emmy nomination, this time for their hilarious Arrested Development-style recap of A New Hope.

And just think, we aren’t even at Celebration yet. Hold onto your butts.

Happy Monday, Star Wars fans! (Yes, it’s Monday, and I absolutely didn’t forget that I was supposed to write this over the long weekend. No you shut up)

Juuuuuust a bit of news last week, but none bigger than this:

It feels impossible, but today wrapped photography on Episode IX. There is no adequate way to thank this truly magical crew and cast. I’m forever indebted to you all. pic.twitter.com/138AprtFuZ

— JJ Abrams (@jjabrams) February 15, 2019

That’s right – the still-untitled Star Wars: Episode IX has wrapped principal photography, and every single one of us was crying. Still no word on… you know… what we should actually call the movie, but one would presume that’s coming between now and Star Wars Celebration Chicago in April.

Besides that lovely bit of goodness to start your week, we also got some exciting book news in the galaxy far, far away, including our first look at Master and Apprentice, the upcoming Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan novel from Claudia Gray. We also saw the announcement of a new art book, The Art of Star Wars Rebels, coming out this October and sure to grace my coffee table just as soon as my wife stops sobbing over all the Kanera pictures. And, they are bringing back Legends… in a small, non-hyper-masculine-douchebaggery way, with a new Marvel one-shot that continues the classic Legends Star Wars comic from the 1980s and 1990s. Including all your favorite Legends characters, like that green Trix rabbit (please direct all hate tweets to @ChrisSedor).

Speaking of Star Wars Celebration Chicago, you can be sure that it will be quite a royal affair with Ian McDiarmid, the legend behind Emperor Palpatine himself, among the newly-announced guests. And finally, Bria got a visit from the Ghost of Cons Yet to Come, who informed her that Triple Force Friday is coming on Friday, October 4, and while we don’t have much information on what to expect, specifically, we do know that it will include merchandise inspired by Episode IX, DIsney+’s The Mandalorian, and Jedi: Fallen Order, the video game from EA that is allegedly still coming out this year.

*deep breath* See, just a tiny bit of news this week, nothing to worry about. We’re fine, we’re all fine here, thank you. How are you?

Welcome to another exciting week of Star Wars news…. oh… what’s that, nothing actually happened this week?

Turns out it’s not just us little people who take a break for Thanksgiving, everyone ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

The only news we got was an announcement of some of the artists and authors who will be appearing at Star Wars Celebration Chicago next year – a list that is sure to grow as we get closer to the big event. I, for one, am already looking forward to freaking out over whatever new books they announce at the publishing panel.

And, honestly? That’s it. Hope you all (at least, any American readers) had a lovely Thanksgiving eating food, spending time with your loved ones, and being excited about Star Wars because it’s great, and we should always be excited even if nothing’s happening. Happy Monday, and here’s a picture of my pet hamster as filler for the rest of this post.