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.