Happy Monday, friends, enemies, and neutral acquaintances! Even before New York Comic Con this past weekend we had a lot to talk about, so I hope you’re ready for some news!

Here are five illustrations from Star Wars: Women of the Galaxy that are ready to enter your eyeballs (they are all excellent but my favorite is the one of The Daughter). The full book comes on October 30 and will have even more wonderful art.

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This past Wednesday, John Favreau posted the name and premise of the live-action Star Wars TV show on Instagram! The Mandalorian will be set “after the fall of the Empire and before the rise of the First Order” and will follow a lone Mandalorian (I know, shocking) gunfighter on the outskirts of the galaxy. The lack of gendered pronouns already has hopes up and speculation flying. And as if this wasn’t exciting enough, the next day we were given our first image from the show, along with a list of episode directors, including Dave Filoni (who will be directing the first episode), Deborah Chow, Rick Famuyiwa, Bryce Dallas Howard, and Taika Waititi (!!!!!!).

(I am excited for Taika to do a Star War)

Our very own Bria wrote about the NYCC Star Wars publishing panel for the official site! The panel covered both insights into and reveals of novels, comics, picture books, and more, including the covers for Claudia Grey’s novel Master and Apprentice, Caitlyn Kennedy and Brian Kesinger’s C-3PO Does Not Like Sand, and Who’s Who In the Galaxy, and, most definitely relevant to our interests here at Tosche Station, the announcement of Alphabet Squadron by Alexander Freed, due out June 2019, which “follows a unique team of pilots, each flying a different class of starfighter as they struggle to end the war they fought so long for once and for all.”

There are also details and insights on the tongue-in-cheek self-help books Be More Vader and Be More Yoda, the Thrawn comic, Lando’s Luck, Flight of the Falcon, Women of the Galaxy (including more art! like Ciena!), the Darth Vader comic, the Shadow of Vader comic, Han Solo: Imperial Cadet, the Age of Republic comics, the Age of Rebellion comic (the Leia issue involves Boushh!!), the Star Wars Adventures comic (now with more Prequel team-ups), and the next Choose Your Destiny book.

In toy news, yesterday at the Hasbro panel Black Series Doctor Aphra (and her droid companions Triple Zero and BT-1) and getting Black Series figures! Because I don’t need to keep my money!

Seen on #HasbroPulse: Star Wars The Black Series 6-inch Dr Aphra Figure, Star Wars The Black Series 6-inch 000 Figure & Star Wars The Black Series 6-inch BT-1 Figure (All available Summer '19) just revealed at @NY_Comic_Con. #NYCC #HasbroNYCC pic.twitter.com/Wrz76qx1lm

— Hasbro (@Hasbro) October 7, 2018

Gooooooood morning Coruscant and welcome to another edition of the Holonet Blast in which there are a lot of very cool things.

First, Kathleen Kennedy will remain in charge of Lucasfilm for another three years despite what the random YouTube channels told us about her being fired. We at Tosche Station are definitely fans and can’t wait to see what else she brings to the galaxy far, far away.

It’s honestly a toss up as to which blew our minds more in terms of future Star Wars experiences: the Millennium Falcon ride details for Galaxy’s Edge or the forthcoming Vader Immortal VR experience from ILMxLab. Personally, I would like to experience both of those right now. Please and thank you.

In Resistance news, we got an extended sneak peak of the show and my hype levels are high. Very High. Because of Hype.

A daring pilot embarks upon a secret mission against the First Order… with a lot of help from his friends in #StarWarsResistance. Premiering Sunday, October 7 at 10pm ET/PT on @DisneyChannel. pic.twitter.com/PQbCzBgZ4K

— Star Wars (@starwars) September 27, 2018

And finally, in sad news, the legendary Gary Kurtz passed away. He produced both A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back and was a key part of making Star Wars what it is. Our thoughts are with his friends and family.

It’s Monday so it must be time for a NEWSSS roundup!

This week was a bit of a “slowdown”, news-wise, but The Hollywood Reporter blessed us with some good Bob Iger #content. Matthew Belloni of THR discussed all kinds of good stuff–that is, if you think fewer Star Wars movies coming out is good. He also (unsurprisingly) touched heavily on the new Disney streaming service, which he hopes will be a direct competitor to Netflix, citing their content as a “quality play” rather than a “volume play”. There’s also a bunch of #MeToo questions and answers if you want to hear how the Big Boss of the biggest media giant is dealing with *gestures* all of that. He didn’t give us much we didn’t know about Star Wars or Marvel, but he did confirm that for Star Wars he wants to rein in how much content is coming out and how quickly it comes. As someone who actually liked Solo, I’m feeling mixed emotions, but hopefully the deliberate deceleration will bring more diversity on and off-screen.

For you Marvel-Stans out there, I’m told this week brought us an exciting trailer for Captain Marvel. My head remains firmly in the Star Wars clouds, so while I’m not a great person to form an opinion on this one, people sure seemed to be excited on Twitter!

Like I said, light news week; nevertheless, we persist.

Till next time!

Hello there! It’s time once again for our weekly roundup of news from a Galaxy Far, Far Away.

Han Solo comes home!

In the news likely to be most relevant to film fans, this week saw the release of Solo: A Star Wars Story in digital-only formats— including some services offering the film to home viewers in 4k resolution. The digital version has been released in advance of the September 25th premiere of Blu-ray and Ultra Blu-ray versions of the film.

But wait, there’s more!

In addition to the theatrical version of the film, many of the available digital versions of Solo also include much-anticipated bonus material including behind-the scenes documentary shorts and a roundtable discussion featuring director Ron Howard and several members of the Solo cast.

Deleted scenes are always a particular favorite of mine, and starwars.com treated us to a preview this week. THIS SCENE between Han and Chewbacca, featuring a snowball fight, has already worked its way onto the list of my heart’s favorite Han Solo moments. And THIS ONE showing a piece of how Han went from ace pilot wannabe to muddy Mimban foot soldier provides meaty and tension-filled context.

And that’s not all!

This week, starwars.com also gave us a special look behind the scenes of the creature department. THIS SHORT VIDEO lifts the veil over one of the most special and specialized departments responsible for making the Star Wars films what they are. The creature shop and the practical effects they provide do so much to add to the breadth and depth of the galaxy far, far away, and watching how they make that happen is a fascinating glimpse into what it’s like to be on a Star Wars film set.

Onward, to the Resistance!

With the premiere of Star Wars: Resistance less than a month away, audiences are being teased and titillated by fantastic tidbits of what’s to come. This week, USA TODAY reminds us that the show will primarily be focused on the comings and goings of a group of pilots “with a need for speed” (cue collective squeal from the crew here at Tosche Station) and takes its influences from films like Top Gun and The Right Stuff (another squeal from our end). Our staff is counting the days until the premiere– be sure to check in here for our initial reactions soon after the October 7 airing.

VIPs get first dibs on Cloud City

In a move that Lando himself would likely find fantastic, this week LEGO gave first access to the new Betrayal at Cloud City set to its VIP customers. The set, available widely on October 1, features several scenes from the famous floating mining colony featured in The Empire Strikes Back and comes in at more than 2800 pieces. If you’re a collector of Star Wars LEGO sets, or a LEGO fan in general, you’ll want to give this one serious consideration. Containing four new minifigs (Leia’s red dress!!) and two space vehicles (Slave I and a Cloud Car), there is plenty of fun and drama for all ages.

Celebration!

With Star Wars Celebration Chicago just seven short months away, ReedPop and Lucasfilm announced this week that two favorite hosting personalities will be returning to the stage for April’s convention. Both David Collins (Galaxy Stage) and Amy Ratcliffe (Behind The Scenes Stage) have confirmed their return to Star Wars‘ marquee fan event in 2019. Tickets to Star Wars Celebration Chicago are still available, but going fast. Be sure to purchase yours soon!

And in related, and also completely awesome news:

The incredible organizers of New York Comic Con have added a last minute panel to their schedule. A Celebration of Female Writers in a Galaxy Far, Far Away will be just that. Authors Mur Lafferty (Solo: A Star Wars Story) Delilah S. Dawson (The Perfect Weapon; Star Wars: Phasma), Katie Cook (Star Wars: Search Your Feelings), Justina Ireland (Star Wars: Lando’s Luck), and Amy Ratcliffe (Star Wars: Women of the Galaxy) will come together on Saturday, October 6th at 5:PM at Shop Studios to talk about all things Star Wars. Tickets to the panel are $20/person (not included with NYCC admission) and the price includes your choice of a book by one of these amazing authors (supplies are limited). A New York Comic Con badge is not required for attendance. Keep your eyes on the Tosche Station Twitter for your chance to get in for free!

That’s all the news we have for this week. Check in every Monday for the latest from the galaxy far, far away. As always, send news tips to Tosche Station and send happy Han Solo headcanons to @MandaTheGinger.

MTFBWY!!

“I am with the Resistance.” – Finn. And Kaz Xiono, probably. And an anonymous NYT op-ed writer who probably definitely isn’t Mike Pence. But, back to Star Wars.

That’s right, younglings, we have even more Star Wars Resistance news this (these two) week(s)! First and foremost, Entertainment Weekly gave us our closest look yet at Team Fireball, the ragtag band of pilots who will be gracing our screens next month, including some words from creator and executive producer Dave Filoni and our first introduction to the cast members behind our new heroes.

On top of that, StarWars.com showed us the newest poster and tagline for the animated series, and confirmed that it would debut at 10pm ET/PT on Sunday, 10/7, while executive producer/supervising director Justin Ridge confirmed that, in-universe, the show takes place about six months before The Force Awakens (leaving me wondering whether the show will extend past The Last Jedi in season two…).

But amazingly, it’s not all about Resistance this week! In addition to the release of the Solo novelization, we also got some news on exciting new upcoming books: while we already knew about Pablo Hidalgo’s upcoming look at the Scum and Villainy of the galaxy, the official site gave us a closer look at what to expect. But that’s not all – we also learned about two new books, in Dan Wallace’s Smuggler’s Guide, an in-universe manual of sorts for aspiring scoundrels in the spirit of Rebel Files and The Jedi Code, as well as an upcoming book from Brian Kesinger titled Star Wars Droid Tales: C-3PO Does Not Like Sand! While details are sparse on the latter, we can only assume that Threepio’s dislike of desert climes is a bit of programming left over from his famously ammophobic Maker.

Oh, and there was a bit of movie news this week, I guess, if that’s what you’re into. Two cast members for Episode IX revealed themselves on their Twitter accounts this week, with former hobbit Dominic Monaghan and JJ Abrams-favorite Greg Grunberg journeying to the galaxy far, far away, the latter reprising his role as Temmin ‘Snap’ Wexley from The Force Awakens. Finally, in news that is sure to be taken very well by white male Star Wars fans whose opinions should be taken super seriously so they don’t throw adult tantrums, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences (the Oscars people) announced that Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy will be the first woman to receive the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award, presented to “creative producers, whose bodies of work reflect a consistently high quality of motion picture production.” So, does that mean the Academy isn’t one of the backers of the Last Jedi remake?

That’s all for this week! Be good to each other, always stay off Twitter, and may the Force be with you.

Happy Monday, and welcome to what is sure to be another fantastic week of Star Wars content! But before we get there, let’s travel back, back in time, through the World between Worlds, to look at what happened this past week.

First and foremost (I co-host a book podcast, after all), Solo fans got another big taste of Mur Lafferty’s upcoming novelization of the film with three new excerpts (and audiobook clips) from StarWars.com. In addition to everything we already saw on screen, Star Wars fans can expect to learn even more about Qi’ra’s life between Corellia and Crimson Dawn, L3’s life after death, Enfys Nest’s alliance with Saw Gerrera (and encounter with a familiar face), and much, much more.

Next up, the first Clone Wars content in Star Wars Battlefront II is on it’s way to your consoles this week, as the Elite Corps update launches this week. Hitting the interwebs on Wednesday, August 29, the update includes a new appearance for clone troopers, new prequel era maps, the permanent return of Ewok Hunt (sidenote: I’m already terrified), and more.

Finally (ok fine, so it wasn’t that big a week after all), if you’re hoping to see the Tosche Station staff (and I guess some other Star Wars stuff) at Star Wars Celebration Chicago next April, you better act fast – 5-day and Saturday tickets are already sold out, and Friday tickets are right behind them!

That’s it – we made it through a whole journey through the past and didn’t even get attacked by an old man and his weird flaming Force whip thing. That’s a win in my book. See you next week, and may the Force be with you.

Happy Monday and boy oh boy do we have some Star Wars news for you. First, Disney announced the dates and whooooole lot of other information about the next D23 which will be held August 23-25, 2019. Tickets go on sale later this week and if you’re interested in going, check out the link above.

We also got our first excerpt from the Solo novelization (out September 4th!) which also includes an audiobook excerpt too. You can find half of the Tosche Station staff sitting in a prayer circle and chanting, “Give us Fel!” for the next few weeks.

Secrets of the Empire, the amazing VR experience, got an upgrade recently and now produces a Wanted Poster for you at the end with your blaster accuracy and the bounty on your head. I’m going to be bitter for at least a few more days that this wasn’t a thing when I was there in May.

Finally, the BIGGEST news this week was the Star Wars Resistance trailer! The show premieres on Sunday, October 7th at 10pm on the Disney Channel. I would like it in my eyeballs right now.

And that’s all we’ve got for this week! (Come on, what more do you want? We got you a new Star Wars trailer!)

It’s time for another weekly roundup of Star Wars news with the Holonet Blast! With Episode IX filming happening in earnest across the pond, expect a lot of tweets and updates from the set, accompanied by a rush of speculation about WHAT EVERYTHING MEANS. Last week, JJ Abrams showed us a picture of Finn in a vest? Maybe? This week, Brian Hezza tweeted about BB-8’s first day filming, while Mark Hamill teased followers with pictures of his dog, Millie, and himself in Prague.

1st shooting day for the little guy! So excited to be ‘rolling’ once again with @jjabrams and all the gang far, far away! Here’s to a fantastic shoot. #StarWars #IX #BB8 #puppeteer pic.twitter.com/Uoy4rb6XKA

— Brian Herring: Roly Poly Timey Wimey! (@BrianHezza) August 7, 2018

#CzechHerOut Millie was all smiles because the #MagicalMillieTour speculation was finally over! She also loved the fact that the city's name rhymes with her species… 🐶#ADogInPrague pic.twitter.com/IR5a9rB8po

— Mark Hamill (@MarkHamill) August 10, 2018

Yes, I did spend a ridiculous amount of time wondering if Mark Hamill is filming scenes for IX in Prague, or if he was there for personal reasons before traveling to Pinewood. I have a brand, and I must stick to it.

While most of my attention is full-speed ahead of Episode IX, I’m also looking forward to Mur Lafferty’s novelization of Solo: A Star Wars Story, due in September. Barnes and Noble revealed their exclusive two-sided poster, featuring Han and crew on one side and Enfys Nest and her marauders on the other. There’s no guessing which side is my favorite.

That’s it for this week’s Holonet Blast. Here’s hoping we get more updates from the set next week. I need something to sustain me for the next year and a half.

The end has begun.

Yeah, I felt like being melodramatic on a Monday – so sue me. However, sometimes I have feelings, and the start of filming for the last film in the Skywalker saga… yeah, that counts. Director JJ Abrams inaugurated the event with this super revealing set photo, which, if you squint, tilt your head about 70 degrees to the right, and look closely, you can see that (MAJOR SPOILER WARNING)

Finn might be wearing a vest.

That wasn’t the only Star Wars production news this week though – those of us waiting with baited breath for the galaxy far, far away to return to the small screen got glimpses of what’s coming up, as well. Polygon Pictures, a Japanese animation studio, announced that they’re the brilliant minds behind the animation of this fall’s Star Wars Resistance, and a New York Times article about Disney’s upcoming streaming service revealed that the first season of Jon Favreau’s upcoming series, set to take place 3 years after the Battle of Endor, will run for 10 episodes, with a budget of $100 million. But, you know, keep talking about how Star Wars is dead etc. etc.

Meanwhile, Timothy Zahn’s excellent novel Thrawn: Alliances debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list, making Zahn the first author to have not one, but two Star Wars novels occupy the top spot (the first being 1991’s Heir to the Empire). Congrats to Zahn on this well-deserved honor – now will you all go out and read Alliances? Seriously, do it. And finally, in a bit of bittersweet news for the fandom, Jeremy Bulloch, the original Boba Fett, announced his retirement from attending conventions – but his dented helmet and slightly overeager trigger finger on those disintegrations will live on forever.

That’s it for this week – see you next week, and may the Force be with you.