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.