Author Archives: Thomas
This will surprise literally no one. The mythological Rey movie has now been removed from the release schedule according to the Hollywood Reporter. Star Wars was originally supposed to have two movies in 2026. The Mandalorian & Grogu in May and the Rey movie in December. But with the latter still not having a script and not a writer – yet again (this is the second time now) – it was inevitable that the movie would be removed from the schedule. There simply would be no time anymore to finish the movie in time for a December 2026 release. Click through for a discussion!
Mandatory photo of Rey crying
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The headline says it all. Earlier today an official release date for Andor season 2 was given. Nothing else was said and no trailer was released. My guess is that marketing for Andor will only begin once Skeleton Crew has finished to avoid any confusion and overlap.
Are you excited for season 2 of Andor? Will anyone who initially did not watch Andor season 1 watch season 2?
As of now Andor will be the only new Star Wars on Disney+ in all of 2025. Nothing else for 2025 has been announced. Which means Andor will be the last new Star Wars before The Mandalorian and Grogu movie hits theaters in May 2026.
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According to Deadline (a reputable trade magazine with actual inside sources) Lucasfilm is at it yet again… according to Deadline’s sources Kathleen Kennedy hired Simon Kinberg to make an all new trilogy of Star Wars movies, he will be the sole writer and producer (alongside Kennedy). According to the article there is some dispute about whether Kinberg will write episodes X-XII of the Skywalker saga or make an all new trilogy. Deadline’s sources told them it’ll be actually Episodes X-XII.
Now, Lucasfilm themselves have not announced anything, Kennedy did not walk out on some stage and talked about this new project. But you can usually trust Deadline to be correct when they post these things on their front page.
Kinberg has worked for Star Wars before, he was co-creator and writer for Rebels, he’s also the person who wrote the horrific Dark Phoenix X-Men movie and he’s also the one who wrote the 2015 Fantastic Four movie. So let’s just say my confidence in Kinberg is not particularly high. Even if other works like the RDJ Sherlock Holmes movie were received a lot better.
But since this is Lucasfilm let’s just all have a good laugh and wait for the inevitable report by any of the Hollywood trades that Kinberg no longer works on yet another trilogy. He can join Rian Johnson, Benioff & Weiss, Taika Waititi, Leslye Headland, Colin Trevorrow, Damon Lindelof, Steven Knight, Patty Jenkins et al in the clubhouse soon!
Why is Kathleen Kennedy still in charge over at Lucasfilm, planning nonsense things?
Read the original report by Deadline here!
Another day at the Lucasfilm offices
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The clown show that is Lucasfilm these days has a new trick: “the vanishing screenwriter”. I’ll make it quick, the fabled Rey movie has lost yet another writer. First it was Damon Lindelof and a writing partner who were “let go” over creative differences… then Kathleen Kennedy hired Steven Knight – the man who co-developed “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire” and is the showrunner/writer of Peaky Blinders – and 18 long months after that they still have nothing. According to reports Kennedy liked none of the treatments submitted by Knight. Knight himself has done many things, just nothing for Star Wars, he is working on the Peaky Blinders movie, he is busy creating a new studio in Hollywood. So if you followed the news it won’t be a surprise that Knight is now no longer attached to the Rey movie.
According to Variety Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy is still attached to the project, Yeah, sure.
Part of me wants Lucasfilm to go through with this and to deliver the biggest Star Wars disaster of all times. The sensible part of me wants them to come to their senses and to stop this before it can potentially end Star Wars for good. But if they want to go ahead… my advice is, hire Leslye Headland, surely a movie about a woman needs a female writer? You may as well end Star Wars spectacularly.
What are your thoughts?
Another day at the Lucasfilm offices
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Earlier today everyone’s most favorite toy company – aka Hasbro – posted their numbers for the last quarter. Wall Street did not like it all that much, and shares dropped by several points following the report, even though Hasbro made money, they report an operating profit of $302 million.
But then again, revenue for the quarter is down 15% compared to the respective 2023 quarter, and year to date revenue is down 18% even. Hasbro becomes more and more Magic The Gathering, the Company. Wizards of the Coast and digital gaming keep Hasbro afloat. Consumer products revenue keeps declining however, i.e. classic toys. And what about Star Wars? For the first time in ages the brand does get a mention in the presentation and Hasbro even talked about Star Wars in the earnings call where they answer questions of analysts. Let’s just say it’s not pretty. Click through to learn more!
Spoiler…
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On Reddit I came upon a photo of a toy shelf at – what seems to be (not confirmed) – Ollie’s and I want to share it here because it’s utterly hilarious.
And yes, this is anecdotal, do not take any of this too seriously, but still… click through for a chat about the state of Star Wars in 2024.
One lone 5th Brother keeps this from being true perfection.
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Ewan McGregor mentioned at a LA Comic Con panel that Lucasfilm is “exploring” a season 2 of Obi-Wan Kenobi. Ewan is eager to return as Obi-Wan and also stated previously that he would like to return as the fan favorite character.
Now while Obi-Wan Kenobi had decent ratings, it is the #2 Star Wars show overall on Disney+, fan reception was “mixed” at best. But that doesn’t mean Lucasfilm could not – in theory – learn from their mistakes, hire better writers, more experienced directors / showrunners and give fans an Obi-Wan Kenobi series that deserves the name. The first season detracted from the experience too much with Leia and Reva, any potential season 2 should have a laser sharp focus on the actual main character.
Anyway, what are your thoughts here? Would you like to see a second season of Obi-Wan Kenobi? Or do you think Lucasfilm is ultimately incapable of making any good content these days?
One things is clear, there aren’t many options left for Lucasfilm. For all we know The Mandalorian is over, it will never return to Disney+ and at best be a movie series going forward. Skeleton Crew will flop, this is almost inevitable. Andor will not be a crowd pleaser next year, even if it’s great. Ahsoka is just “meh” and the show suffers from a boring main protagonist with the charisma of a wet towel, also, many feel that Ahsoka will result in a discount store Thrawn trilogy. In short: Lucasfilm needs something that attracts people again. And Ewan McGregor, despite the first season of Obi-Wan Kenobi, is the biggest name they still have, who is reasonably young and who can carry a series, without the use of CGI or deepfakes. While a potential Cal Kestis series could also turn out great, it’s unproven how successful this show can be. And Lucasfilm definitely needs more than just one series in the near future. Because after Ahsoka season 2 in potentially 2026 there is literally nothing.
The last best hope for Star Wars on Disney+?
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Daniel Richtman aka DanielRPK on X posted a few more Star Wars tidbits… I’ll make it quick: according to him Lucasfilm is developing a Star Wars series based on the Fallen Order video game franchise with main character Cal Kestis. The third and final game is currently in development and could be released in 2026/27. With Ahsoka possibly seeing a 2026 release it would mean the Cal Kestis series could be ready for a 2027 release. As far as projects go this is probably the safest bet after the disastrous The Acolyte. Both “Jedi” games sold more than 40 million copies combined and Cal Kestis is a very popular character with a roster of equally popular companions. And Lucasfilm could give fans yet another show set during the OT/Rebels/Andor timeline.
DanielRPK also reports that The Mandalorian will end with the 2026 movie (to which I say, if this movie made 1 billion at the box office there would certainly be a sequel), the show will also not return to Disney+. But the character will appear in other projects (certainly the Filoni movie with Ahsoka).
And that’s it for today. Would you like to see a Cal Kestis series? He’s a Jedi, he fights the Empire, his girlfriend (as of Survivor) is one of the best liked female characters, Nightsister Merrin (before Ahsoka retconned it all she was the last surviving Nightsister), all the actors in the game could and would certainly appear in the series as well, it would be more OT era nostalgia, they could use Darth Vader (he appears in the games) and various other OT era characters. So on paper it really sounds like the safest bet. And Lucasfilm absolutely needs something that can replicate the overnight success that was The Mandalorian on Disney+. Neither Andor nor Ahsoka (not even mentioning the 2024 shows) are able to fill that role.
You are about the enter the Star Wars Rumor Zone!
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Rumors are spreading (the source seems to be DanielRPK on X who has a mixed track record) that the Rey movie is now on hold. Because they still have no script after all this time and the treatments by writer Steven Knight were never met with approval by Kathleen Kennedy.
Make of that what you will… the source seems to be someone who at times is right about things, other times not so much. But one thing is certain: the movie that was supposed to start filming in 2024 will not begin filming this year.
If the higher ups at Disney have some sense left – and before you say anything, they seem to have, given what we know about the production of Inside Out 2 and just hours ago it was revealed that Disney gets rid of the CCO of their animation department, the animation studio that brought the world such wonderful flops like Strange World and Wish. Jennifer Lee, the now former CCO, says she wants to focus on filmmaking full time instead, and she will work on the next two Frozen movies… so she still has a job (on paper), but is no longer in charge of animation (Lee was basically the Dave Filoni of Disney animation). Anyway, so if they have some sense left Disney will give the Rey movie the Rian Johnson Star Wars trilogy treatment. They must know how high the chances are that a movie by an activist feminist director and a sequel to the sequels will bomb spectacularly. And Kennedy may have played her last trump card with The Acolyte which was an outright disaster on Disney+. They let her do this pet project of hers… and it actually harmed Star Wars. This of course after Indiana Jones 5 only not becoming the biggest Disney movie flop of all time because The Marvels managed to perform even worse.
Poor Daisy – she deserves better
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A new rumor has surfaced regarding the future of Star Wars at Hasbro. I thought about whether or not to even talk about it, since the source is the usual YouTube rumor mill in the shape of “the future ruler of earth” aka “Overlord DVD”. And before you groan or shake your head… I think this rumor, even if untrue, at least warrants a discussion. Also, this is supposed to be fun, as in “let’s just speculate”. Because even if untrue, there are some things we know for sure that make it at least plausible.
So what is the rumor? Allegedly Hasbro is so fed up with Star Wars that they want out of their contract and sell the license off, which, according to the report, is still good for another five years. But sales have declined so much that it’s no longer worth it for Hasbro.
Click through to read my thoughts on this.
Apply the usual truckloads of salt, you know the drill
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During an investor’s day event video game publisher EA revealed a few interesting numbers about their Star Wars games. And while many feel Star Wars is at an all time low right now, after The Acolyte, the numbers EA revealed prove that the brand can still be popular. As long as Lucasfilm is not involved too much…
Click through for more details!
Pretty popular
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Several all new figures were revealed for The Black Series at PulseCon today!
- Prince Xizor
- Clone Commander Bacara
- BX Commando Droid
- Dagan Gera (Jedi Survivor)
- Luke Skywalker (Farmboy)
- Princess Leia (A New Hope)
- Armorer Roleplay helmet
Luke and Leia are brand new figures!
Xizor, Bacara, the Commando Droid and Armorer helmet go up for pre-order today, 4 pm ET for Pulse Premium members, 5 pm ET for everyone else! Release is in spring 2025! They are fan channel / Amazon / Pulse exclusives.
Dagan Gera, Luke and Leia go up for pre-order on September 18th at 1pm ET, so not today!
It’s interesting that nothing was revealed for Star Wars Outlaws, but that instead a figure for now 17 month old Survivor was revealed.
UPDATED: Photos of the figures added! Click through for the pictures!
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It’s time to review Star Wars Outlaws. The stats tell me I spent 84h30m in this game since launch. And I enjoyed almost every minute of it. Yes, I like this game. No, I LOVE this game. It’s all I ever wanted from a Star Wars video game. It’s an almost perfect recreation of original trilogy era Star Wars, open world, several planets and you get to see and experience many of the most favorite locations you can think of.
And on top of that the main character Kay is a relatable, very likable woman who is flawed, not perfect, makes mistakes, but perseveres, learns, trains and gets better and never gives up hope. I would say she’s – with Merrin from the Jedi games – by far the best female Disney era Star Wars character and quite honestly one of the best female Star Wars characters in general. Do not believe the hate for her.
And while the online narrative surrounding the game is outright bizarre I urge you all to please forget about all what you may have or may not have heard for a moment and to just see the game for what it is. The very first open world single player Star Wars game. Set during the original trilogy, shortly after Empire Strikes Back and before Return of the Jedi, it offers what people are asking for incessantly these days: good old escapism. In Outlaws you can forget about it all and imagine what it’s like to live in the Star Wars galaxy. In one word, it’s “fun”.
Disclaimer for the certain few… no, I am not on Disney’s payroll (it would be hilarious to even suggest it), no, I was not invited to Disneyland (I wish!), no, Ubisoft does not even know I exist, so they never sent me a review copy, in fact, I paid for the game with my own money.
It feels like home
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Today is the global rollout for the early access of Star Wars Outlaws. In the US early access begins at midnight on the East Coast and 9 pm on the West Coast. Other time zones accordingly.
In Europe early access begins at 23:00 local time in the UK and 24:00 (midnight) in Central Europe.
In Australia you can play earlier than in other parts of the world, early access begins also at midnight local time, which means Aussie fans can already play this game (it’s 4:45 am in Sydney as I write this).
So the US / America is one of the last territories to get access to the game, expect spoilers if you use social media.
The review embargo was lifted earlier today and most reviews by YouTube gaming channels that matter (i.e. who I think just focus on the game itself, not some agendas or politics, channels like ACG, Mortismal Gaming etc) are mostly positive, virtually all reviews say Outlaws 100% nails that Star Wars feeling and that the open world feels very alive, some are not as much in love with the stealth focus in this game, but most reviews I watched gave it something in the range of 7 up all the way to 9 out of ten. Only one reviewer (Youtuber MrMattyPlays) absolutely hated his experience. Mainstream gaming websites gave outlaws something in the 7-8 range as well. But I never read reviews by them anymore and just ignore them entirely.
I have pre-ordered the gold edition, I will play the game in a little more than three hours from now. I guess I’ll sleep again next week then. Expect a full review on JTA once I have fully finished the game. So probably over the weekend or maybe early next week. Outlaws is apparently a much leaner game than previous open world efforts by Ubisoft (looking at Assassin’s Creed Valhalla here), if you beeline the main campaign you can finish the game in something like 15-20 hours, a full run where you do everything will of course take considerably longer, probably something in the 50 hour range.
Did you pre-order either the gold or ultimate edition to get early access? Will you buy the game at all once it’s in general release come Friday?
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Deadline just released an exclusive article about the cancellation of The Acolyte. With Deadline being a reputable Hollywood trade magazine with actual industry sources there is zero doubt about the veracity of their report. The least watched live action Star Wars Series on Disney+ ever that cost 180 million to make and which also had the lowest watched Marvel or Star Wars series/season finale on Disney+ ever (less viewers than Ms Marvel even) will not get a second season. As reported in my Nielsen article from a few days ago The Acolyte series finale had not even one quarter of the audience of The Mandalorian season 2 finale and performed worse than the Ms Marvel series finale even, which is a new absolute low point. An overwhelming number of fans ignored the series and refused to watch it. News of the cancellation breaks mere days after Nielsen reported their series finale numbers for The Acolyte, of course internally Disney knew about the viewership weeks ago.
And with that Leslye Headland and The Acolyte will both become obscure footnotes in Star Wars history. The woman who tried to destroy the Jedi and wanted people to root for psychopathic murderers she identified with and considered her “avatar” will never work for Lucasfilm again. And quite frankly – the best Disney could do is to give The Acolyte the Willow treatment and to erase the show from existence or at least to officially label it non canon.
And with that I think we will finally never have to talk about The Acolyte again. Let’s forget about it all. And to the twelve people who wanted a season 2: welcome to the real world!
One final question remains: why does the woman who greenlit both Willow and The Acolyte on Disney+ (two of the worst flops on Disney+) and is reponsible for the massive box office disaster that is Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny still have a job?
Read the exclusive Deadline article here!
Dead!
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Lo and behold, after weeks of absence The Acolyte did manage to enter the Nielsen Streaming Charts for original shows with its last episode. The numbers are however nothing Lucasfilm can be happy about. In fact, the numbers are abysmal. Click through for all the details!
The series is as dead as Sol
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The D23 studio showcase is happening right now. If there will be any news about upcoming Star Wars movies or shows this is the panel we will get them. Will there be trailers? Will there be announcements for new shows? Will an Acolyte season 2 be announced? I will try to keep you up to date! As of now all we got is a sizzle reel that had about 2 seconds of brand new footage from Andor season 2! And Cassian looks all smart and is either attending one of Mon Mothma’s lavish parties or he’s about to infiltrate a casino. Either way, you have never seen Cassian like this! I do hope Disney will at least give a release date for Andor season 2 that is a bit more specific than “2025”. Click through for more!
Inside this article you will find the Skeleton Crew trailer! A first official poster for the show, some info on Andor season 2 and The Mandalorian & Grogu movie (Din gets a new Razor Crest)!
UPDATE: Andor footage was finally uploaded by someone! Watch it while you can (just click here)!!! Disney is known for taking down these things very quickly! This is mostly a behind the scenes look with Gilroy and some actors talking about the new season. But there’s also some more actual footage towards the end. You see both Krennic and K-2SO in the trailer!
Watch the full sizzle reel on CineGeek’s X account!
Andor season 2 – AI enhanced screenshot of a mobile phone video of the sizzle reel
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I’ll make it super quick. The Acolyte is not on the top 10 Nielsen Streaming charts, not in the overall top 10, not in the original series top 10, it’s nowhere to be found. In fact, a brand new Star Wars series with an all new episode is now even outperformed by a show which released its currently most recent episode two years ago. A job well done, Leslye Headland and Kathleen Kennedy! You really turned a once successful phenomenon on Disney+ into a bad joke no one is watching. This is with episode 7, the second flashback episode, added. Click through for a short discussion!
In search of the modern audience
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I won’t bore you with all the financial details in this article about Disney’s quarterly earnings, I will focus mostly on everyone’s favorite streaming service: Disney+. Overall Disney beat expectations, total segment operating income increased 19% to now $4.225 billion (Disney’s quarterly income is basically what Hasbro’s total annual gross revenue is). Theme parks are somewhat slowing down because of inflation, classic linear tv is still on the decline. But let’s take a look at Disney+! So click through for more!
Bob Iger’s favorite pastime
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The Lando series is officially dead. If anyone remembers: this series was originally announced in 2020. Alongside other projects like “Rogue Squadron” (giggle), “Rangers of the New Republic” (snort) or “Droids” (huh?!?).
Deadline quotes series director / showrunner Justin Simien who told them the project is not moving forward at Lucasfilm.
Simien said this to Deadline:
“It was pretty developed. There was a Bible. There was concept art. There were scripts. But it just wasn’t meant to be.”
No particular reason was given for the cancellation of the project. Last year it was still said that Glover and his co-writer want to turn the series into a movie instead. No word about that here anymore. And let’s be honest: a Lando movie would tank hard. He’s a supporting character who works in the greater context of a Star Wars movie, but few would be eager to watch his solo adventures. It’s certainly for the best we will not get a Lando solo project.
And Kathleen Kennedy can add one more failed/cancelled project to her impressive list of things she announced which then never happened.
Now all we really wait for is Deadline reporting that Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy is livid that sexist and misogynist Disney dared to cancel her Rey movie and how this is an outrage.
If only Lucasfilm had had this kind of foresight they show with the Lando series for The Acolyte…
Leave all the usual funny remarks in the comments section if you feel like it. Maybe someone can post an updated list of Kathleen Kennedy’s Star Wars projects that never materialized.
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I’ll make it quick. Because at this point it really is beating a dead horse. The Acolyte with episode 6 (the Qimir bathing episode) failed to enter the Nielsen charts. Which comes as no surprise, since the show dropped out of the charts after its third episode (week 2). This corroborates Luminate’s all new streaming charts where The Acolyte also dropped out.
House of the Dragon meanwhile has 1,296 million minutes and Amazon’s The Boys is listed with 1,125 million minutes as the #2 original series. Disney has only one real highlight, but it’s not even a Disney+ show, the FX series (for Hulu) The Bear is #1 on the original shows charts (all episodes were released on the same day), this is the second success story for FX/Hulu this year after Shogun. Disney+ proper only has three entries, the usual suspects: Bluey (again, not even a Disney IP), Moana and because of the successful sequel also Inside Out.
It will be interesting to see what subscriber numbers Disney will report for its streaming service in the upcoming earnings report next week.
Dead as a doornail
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We had some leaked images before, but about 4 months before Skeleton Crew will come to Disney+ Lucasfilm is slowly gearing up its marketing efforts for the next Star Wars series. They released a couple of official photos from the show and some basic info. Skeleton Crew was ready for release in 2023 but was delayed because of Bob Iger’s new content strategy, filming ended in January 2023, this has been sitting in the vault for some time already. Click through for the images!
This is an old leaked set photo… inside the article you see it after post!
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Last Thursday Hasbro presented their Q2 numbers. Chris Cocks is full of praise of course. Even though consumer products declined by another 20% and as far as partner brands are concerned…. abysmal performance. Click through for a short summary and overview!
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Let’s make it quick. The Acolyte failed to enter the Nielsen charts in week 4, just like last week. This means the big lightsaber battle episode and Qimir reveal interested very, very few people. I talked about it last week what this means for Star Wars and how embarrassing it really is for a once successful and popular franchise. But it all adds up, GI Joe HasLabs utterly wipe the floor with current Star Wars offerings (almost 11k backers now), and now the streaming shows cannot even remotely compete anymore with other genre shows like House of the Dragon (1,047 million minutes) or The Boys (1,179 million minutes). A job well done, Ms Headland and Ms Kennedy!
No one cares
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Well….
The following Black Series figures were revealed at SDCC by Hasbro:
- Vernestra Rwoh
- Bazil (sorry, I can hardly contain myself)
- Cassian Andor (all new figure, all newly tooled)
- Dedra Meero
- Ahsoka Tano (Peridea)
- Imperial Armored Commando (The Mandalorian)
- IG-12 and Grogu (The Mandalorian) – DELUXE set
All items are mainline releases. The Acolyte figures will be released in spring 2025, the other figures will come later this year in the fall. Andor figures will get their pre-order dates later. Everything else will be available for pre-order on Saturday at 5 pm ET.
Maybe it’s time to become a GI Joe Collector.
Click through for the update with additional info and photos!
Ollie’s Exclusive
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