Tag: Star Wars

Bubba Wallace and Mark Hamill unveil Star Wars-themed paint scheme for NASCAR season finale

Gotta love a Star Wars-themed NASCAR paint scheme.

Bubba Wallace’s paint scheme for the last race of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season is straight out of a galaxy far, far away.

With the help of Star Wars actor Mark Hamill, Wallace unveiled the No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota’s final paint scheme of the season for Sunday’s championship event at Phoenix Raceway — though Wallace and the No. 23 team were previously eliminated from contention. And it’s an awesome silver and black Star Wars-themed ride with strong Millennium Falcon vibes.

Highlighting sponsor Columbia’s new Star Wars collection, Wallace shows up to Hamill’s door in the reveal video, dressed in a fire suit resembling the design of X-wing pilot suits from the franchise, including a look Hamill wore as Luke Skywalker. Hamill compliments Wallace’s outfit before tossing him the “keys” to the No. 23 Toyota.

“Remember, Bubba, the force will be with you — always,” Hamill says at the end.

A great paint scheme reveal, especially for Star Wars fans, who might be a bit jealous of this car’s look, including self-described aspiring Jedi Ryan Blaney.

Update: Wallace’s 23XI Racing teammate, Tyler Reddick, has a Star Wars-inspired ride too.

Ahsoka ends with returns, cliffhangers and reasons to trust Dave Filoni

Shoutout to Force Ghost Anakin. And always trust Dave Filoni.

SPOILER WARNING AHEAD FOR ALL STAR WARS CONTENT!

“Today, victory is mine. Long live the Empire.”

“Ezra is where he needs to be. And so are we. It’s time to move on.”

Ahsoka came to its conclusion Tuesday night, but it’s unclear whether that was a season finale or the final chapter of the series.

Regardless, Episode 8, The Jedi, The Witch, And The Warlord, was a real banger. Directed by Rick Famuyiwa (Dope, The Chi, The Mandalorian), we witness each of the show’s key characters take the next steps in their journeys. For fans of Rebels, this is the show that we’ve always wanted: one that added depth and context to some of our favorite animated characters and took them on new adventures. It was apparent that that every step, every detail and every episode was crafted with care by showrunner Dave Filoni, and it was extremely satisfying.

A quick recap…

Ezra Bridger makes a new lightsaber akin to that of his master Kanan Jarrus with some help from Huyang, just in time to fight off some ZOMBIE STORMTROOPERS. Ahsoka Tano and Morgan Elsbeth run back their duel from Season Two of The Mandalorian, and despite Elsbeth’s new weapon (more on that in a bit) the result is the same. Sabine Wren finally uses the Force in two crucial moments, saving her own life and giving Ezra a lift to join Thrawn on his Star Destroyer for another blast between galaxies. Huyang swoops in to rescue Sabine and Ahsoka, but the trio can’t quite catch up to Thrawn’s ship before he jumps back through hyperspace.

Shin Hati joins the bandits of Peridea, while Baylan Skoll is last seen standing on a mountain-sized structure resembling the likeness of the Mortis God, the Father. Neither Shin or Baylan are featured much in the episode – and unfortunately, it might be the last glimpse we get of Baylan because of the untimely death of the great actor Ray Stevenson.

Thrawn and the Great Mothers take their Star Destroyer to Dathomir, while Ezra steals a Stormtrooper suit – just like how his master used to – and escapes in a shuttle, arriving at a New Republic outpost where he is reunited with Chopper and Hera.

Ahsoka, Sabine and Huyang take refuge on Peridea with the same creatures Ezra had befriended. As the episode closes on a few cliffhangers, we get one more look at Hayden Christensen’s Anakin Skywalker as a Force Ghost, flashing a smile in approval of his former padawan.

Here’s what else we learned from the finale:

The Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic remake may be in trouble

The Star Wars KOTOR remake’s development may be in trouble, after PlayStation removed the Star Wars game’s announcement tweet and trailer

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Update: 12 p.m. EDT

A Sony representative told Kotaku that the KOTOR remake trailer was delisted as standard practice following a dispute over licensed music playing in the trailer. While the Sony rep didn’t say what the issue was, it’s possibly a result of Disney owning the Star Wars theme.

Original Story:

The Star Wars KOTOR remake’s development may be in a bit of trouble, after PlayStation quietly removed the announcement tweet and trailer from 2021 (thanks, Kotaku). A September 2021 PlayStation Blog post highlighting the Star Wars game’s features and improvements is still live on Sony’s site with no alterations, except that the embedded trailer is marked “private.”  

The news comes roughly a year after Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier reported that developer Aspyr had delayed the KOTOR remake to at least 2025. Studio leadership was reportedly dissatisfied with a vertical slice – a demo meant to give a broad impression of the game and its various parts – and fired the project’s art and design directors.

Those developments happened one month after Aspyr brought Saber Interactive on board, a studio known as much for its own games as for its work as a third-party support team.

What happened over the last 14 months and where development stands now is anyone’s guess.

Mass Effect maker BioWare first launched Knights of the Old Republic on the original Xbox in 2003, with a PC release shortly after. The classic RPG and its sequel reappeared on modern consoles, including the Switch in 2021, with Aspyr handling their ports and the re-release of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.

Assuming the KOTOR remake does launch at all, it’s meant to be a PS5 console exclusive, at least for a while.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

Ahsoka, Episode 7: Yes, the Skywalkers still have a presence in this Star Wars show, too

While not appearing, Senator Leia Organa lends a hand in the latest episode of ‘Ahsoka’ on Disney+.

SPOILER WARNING AHEAD FOR ALL STAR WARS CONTENT!

Episode 7 of Ahsoka was an action-packed one, featuring a minefield, lightsaber clashes, dark magic, and our hero jumping from her ship in an effort to save her friends.

A quick recap…

With the help of Senator Leia Organa (yes, more on her in a moment), General Hera Syndulla avoids discipline from New Republic leadership for disobeying orders. Before she leaves, she tells Mon Mothma that concerns about Grand Admiral Thrawn’s return are legit. Meanwhile, Ahsoka Tano and Huyang continue their journey with the purrgil towards Peridea. After navigating their way through a mines and a debris field, Ahsoka and Huyang arrive on the surface of Peridea, where Thrawn has just learned through an Inquisitorial database that Ahsoka’s master was indeed Anakin Skywalker.

“If she’s anything like her master,” Thrawn tells Morgan Elsbeth, “she’ll be unpredictable and quite dangerous.”

Sabine Wren and Ezra Bridger are traveling across Peridea and it seems like she has just told him about Lando Calrissian and the Battle of Endor, the Emperor’s death and the fall of the Empire – catching him up on all he’s missed over the past decade. Sabine also confirms to Ezra that she did train under Ahsoka as her apprentice for a bit. Meanwhile, Baylan Skoll watches from afar. He senses that his ambitions are diverging from those of his apprentice, Shin Hati, and sends her to go kill Sabine and Ezra. However, as he watches his apprentice hunt, he is confronted by Ahsoka.

A lightsaber duel ensues, but Ahsoka gets away from Baylan unscathed with an assist from Huyang. She rushes toward Ezra and Sabine, who have engaged Shin as Night Troopers arrive and surround them. As Thrawn moves chess pieces, he realizes that Baylan may not be totally aligned with his plan. As Sabine, Ahsoka and Ezra – who displays a wildly impressive grasp of the Force – begin to easily pick off Troopers, Thrawn instructs them to retreat and instead accepts a short-term loss for what he hopes is a long-term win. Shin refuses Ahsoka’s help and escapes.

Just one episode remains.

Here’s what else we learned this week:

New Fortnite update adds Star Wars’ Ahsoka and her lightsaber

The latest Fortnite update adds Ahsoka to the multiplayer game’s battle pass, along with new lightsabers and even Force powers

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The latest Fortnite update adds Ahsoka to the multiplayer game’s battle pass, along with new lightsabers, Ahsoka quests, and even limited-time Force powers. The update is live now, and it’s bringing ranked Zero Build mode along for the ride as well.

Ahsoka’s Fortnite debut has a few different facets. If you purchase the new battle pass, you can complete Ahsoka’s quests and unlock her outfit and accessories, including Ahsoka-themed back bling, emote, harvesting tool, and wrap. The quests will remain active until the end of the season.

You might not get the Ahsoka outfit without the battle pass, but you can still celebrate Star Wars in a different way. Ahsoka will appear as a hologram on the island, and you can interact with it to visit a Jedi training program. It magically spits you back out armed with a white lightsaber and some new Force powers. 

Your fancy new Force powers include:

  • A faster sprint
  • Double jumping
  • Force push

The Force push ability works on other players as well as objects, so you can shove them into the storm, off a cliff, or into some equally disadvantageous situation. These last until the end of the match, and the holograms will appear until the end of the current Fortnite season.

Elsewhere in the new Fortnite update, you can play ranked solo Zero Build mode again, though with a slightly staggered matchmaking timetable. Matchmaking is open all the time for people in ET zones and Europe, though players in Australia, Brazil, and other U.S. time zones will have to play at certain times. Epic has the full details on the Fortnite website.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

Ahsoka, Episode 6: Are Baylan Skoll and Grand Admiral Thrawn on the same side?

Grand Admiral Thrawn and Ezra Bridger finally join the party in Ahsoka, but we have to wonder, what motivates Baylan Skoll?

SPOILER WARNING AHEAD FOR ALL STAR WARS CONTENT!

Last week on Ahsoka, we got flashbacks and a heavy dose of Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker.

This week, our titular character wasn’t around too much as the camera focused on Baylan Skoll, Sabine Wren and, yes, GRAND ADMIRAL THRAWN, who has finally made his live-action debut.

If you’re unfamiliar with this mastermind strategist sporting blue skin and deep red eyes, he made his debut in the extended Star Wars’ universe in the 1991 novel by Timothy Zahn, Heir to the Empire. He quickly became a cult favorite among fans and was later officially brought into canon by Dave Filoni when he appeared in the animated series Rebels. Here, he is played by the same actor who voiced him in that show, Lars Mikkelsen (House of Cards, The Witcher, Headhunter). During the peak of the Empire’s reign, Thrawn was a brilliant and ruthless military leader with a keen sense of how to think several steps ahead of the Rebel Alliance. That is, until Ezra Bridger uses the purrgil to send himself and Thrawn into another galaxy for nearly a decade, bringing us to this episode.

A quick recap:

The purrgil are escorting Ahsoka and Huyang on an intergalactic mission as the search for Sabine, Ezra and Thrawn continues. Meanwhile, Sabine awakes on the Eye of Sion just as it exits hyperspace and approaches the planet Peridea, which, according to Morgan Elsbeth is the ancient home-world of the Dathomiri (the species Darth Maul belongs to). Baylan Skoll, however, says that Peridea is a “graveyard” and the end of the migration route used by the purrgil. Both could be true, as Elsbeth says her people were the first to harness the power of space whales and ride them.

Baylan, Sabine, Elsbeth and Shin Hati take a transport to the surface level of Peridea where they are greeted by three witches of Dathomir. The witches, unsettled by the Jedi vibes Sabine gives off – despite her inability to actually harness the Force – send her into solitary confinement while Baylan, Shin and Elsbeth await the arrival of Grand Admiral Thrawn. Soon, a Star Destroyer appears, stocked fully with Stormtroopers. No, wait – Night Troopers?

The troopers bring Sabine before Thrawn, who tells her she is free to go search for Ezra, but warns her: He may be dead, and once Thrawn’s ship leaves, Sabine may be stranded on this planet. Sabine mounts a beast of some sort – a Howler – and begins her search. Thrawn then reveals his larger plan for Sabine: Should she find Ezra, he intends to send Baylan and Shin after the pair to kill them. Thrawn also makes it clear to Elsbeth that his goal is to escape this galaxy, and he does not care if Sabine, Ezra, Baylan or Shin are left behind.

After fighting off a group of bandits with her lightsaber, Sabine follows a group of some alien species – something resembling a turtle called “Noti” – back to their encampment. Waiting for her there is a bearded Ezra Bridger. The two exchange a few barbs, then embrace in an emotional hug.

The Great Mothers – those witches – then inform Thrawn that another Jedi is on the way to Peridea.

Here’s what else we learned from the episode.

Donald Glover’s Lando Calrissian project is actually a new Star Wars movie, according to Stephen Glover

A Lando Calrissian movie, y’all. It’s happening. Donald Glover and his brother Stephen are working on the project for Lucasfilm.

Star Wars fans have long wanted for more content focused on Lando Calrissian, a well-connected and smooth-talking smuggler and old friend of Han Solo who later becomes a general for the Rebel Alliance. A lot of folks have wanted more of Lando since he first appeared in The Empire Strikes Back where he was played by the great Billy Dee Williams. Younger Star Wars fans joined the call for more Lando in 2018, when Donald Glover took on the role in the prequel, Solo: A Star Wars Story.

It seems like another story featuring the sophisticated gambler is on the way – just not in the form we thought.

Back in July, reports said that Donald and his brother Stephen Glover were developing and writing a series centered around Lando for Disney+, taking the project over from Justin Simien (Dear White People, Haunted Mansion) who had been attached to it since 2020.

But this week, we got more clarification about how the project is unfolding when Stephen Glover – a writer an executive producer for FX’s Atlanta – sat down with Meadowlark’s Pablo Torre on his new podcast, PABLO TORRE FINDS OUT.

The ears of Star Wars’ fans perked up when Glover said this to start the podcast:

“It’s not even a show… The idea right now is to do a movie.”

A Lando Calrissian movie, y’all. It’s happening.

Glover wasn’t just talking about an aspiration either. Lucasfilm confirmed to Variety that, indeed, a Lando movie is in the works, with the Glovers attached as writers and with Donald expected to reprise the role of laid-back, cape-wearing schemer.

Talking to Torre, Stephen Glover, however, seemed to indicate that momentum on the project has slowed down a bit because of the ongoing strikes for writers and actors in Hollywood.

“But, that’s thing, right now, because of the strike, it’s kinds of like telephone, all of the information, like coming out.”

Star Wars fans waited a long time for an Ahsoka show, and even longer for a Boba Fett show. As long as the strikes continue, they’ll have to have a bit more patience for Lando to get his own time to shine on the big screen.

Whenever the Lando movie lands, it’ll be the first Star Wars film to hit the big screen since 2019’s Rise of Skywalker, the final chapter in the sequel trilogy. Since then, Disney and Lucasfilm has kept Star Wars content on Disney+ in the form of live-action shows and cartoons. Other films are in the works too though, including one from James Mangold.

While the Glovers are attached to the Lando project, a director hasn’t been announced. Hiro Murai has worked often with the Glovers though, directing 26 episodes of Atlanta and the 2019 film Guava Island starring Donald Glover and Rhianna. He’s also directed episodes of Snowfall, Barry and Station Eleven, and served as an executive producer on The Bear.

In the meantime, as we wait for more details about the project, folks can check out the full episode of PABLO TORRE FINDS OUT with Glover below, which also includes a brief discussion about Method Man rapping from the perspective of The Riddler:

Episode 5 of Ahsoka was a real treat for fans of the Star Wars prequels and ‘The Clone Wars’

From space whales to flashbacks to the Clone Wars, this episode of Ahsoka had everything.

SPOILER WARNING AHEAD FOR ALL STAR WARS CONTENT!

“She is tenacious.”

“So was her master.”

“Yeah? What was he like?”

“Intense.”

The fifth episode of Ahsoka was a real treat for fans of the Star Wars prequels and the folks who love The Clone Wars cartoon series. We see Ahsoka reunited with her master, running alongside Clone Troopers, slicing separatist droids in half, and then using the Force to talk to space whales.

A quick recap: With Jacen and Chopper, Hera arrives on Seatos and sees no signs of her friends, Ahsoka and Sabine. She does find Huyang, who is seen holding Sabine’s Mandalorian helmet. Meanwhile, in the World Between Worlds, Ahsoka catches up with ANAKIN FREAKING SKYWALKER, who says he is there to finish her training. The two begin sparring, and just when Ahsoka thinks she has surpassed her master, he shatters the floor beneath her, sending her back into her teenage body and into a Clone Wars-era flashback battle. The training soon turns adversarial as Anakin’s saber turns red. Ahsoka wins the duel and spares Anakin – and then he smiles and says, “there’s hope for you yet,” as he disappears after teaching his pupil a final lesson. Ahsoka returns to the real world and is found floating in the seas of Seatos by X-Wings scanning the area.

When Ahsoka awakes, she taps into the Force to figure out what happened to Sabine after she fell into the ocean. Hera is informed by Mon Mothma that the New Republic fleet are on the way and that she and Ahsoka should return to Coruscant immediately. Defiant again though, Hera and Ahsoka (the latter of whom has by now donned a white robe) find a pod of purrgil, and one of them takes Ahsoka and Huyang to find Sabine and Ezra in another galaxy far, far away.

The flashback scenes were incredibly satisfying, and Ariana Greenblatt (who you might have recognized from Barbie or as a young Gamora in Avengers: Infinity War) was fantastic as a teenage Ahsoka.

Here’s what else was notable about the episode, other than, of course, seeing Hayden Christensen reprise his role as Anakin again:

Starfield mod brings Star Wars to Bethesda’s space game

A new Starfield mod doubles down on the space game’s interstellar conflicts by adding actual Star Wars to the mix

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A new Starfield mod doubles down on the space game’s interstellar conflicts by adding actual Star Wars to the mix, or at least one iconic part of it: Stormtroopers. The Galactic Civil War Conversion mod from NexusMods user kboykboy swaps United Colonies’ security officer uniforms with Stormtrooper armor, so instead of a few dozen harmless-looking Vanguard officers roaming New Atlantis and other UC areas, you’ll see a wave of Stormtroopers coming for you (thanks, GamesRadar).

The mod is currently only usable on Starfield‘s PC version.

The mod is extra suitable if you dig into Starfield’s lore, which is, rather bafflingly, tucked away in an easily missable museum exhibit in the Vanguard’s headquarters. The short version is that the United Colonies and the Freestar Collective once clashed over settlement rights on planets in the settled systems – Starfield speak for the range of habitable planets that humans could live and work on. 

Starfield pushes you toward joining the Vanguard early, but if you speak to anyone there – even your Starfield companion Sarah Morgan – you quickly get a picture of a military force that was far from benevolent, one that, at times, even crossed the line into tyranny. Hence the Stormtrooper mod.

The modder plans on expanding their creation in the near future by replacing Freestar Ranger outfits with Rebel-inspired gear and giving everyone some Star Wars weaponry, though there’s no timeframe for when these updates might be ready.

Meanwhile, if you’re after a more practical mod, check out the StarUI Starfield mod, a creation that streamlines the Bethesda game’s rather clunky interface and makes life a lot easier.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

Star Wars fans absolutely loved seeing this iconic character in Ahsoka: Episode 4 (SPOILER!)

He’s back, looking a whole lot like he did in “Revenge of the Sith.”

SPOILER WARNING AHEAD FOR ALL STAR WARS CONTENT!

Episode 4 of Ahsoka was an action-packed one that featured the awesome destruction of some droids, three lightsaber duels, witchcraft, and a special kind of blast into hyperspace that Star Wars fans have never seen before. An unfortunate truth about Sabine Wren’s family was revealed, Hera disobeyed orders – again – and Ahsoka met a familiar face.

That’s right, y’all.

He’s back.

After losing a duel with Baylan Skoll on the planet Seatos, Ahsoka awakes in what looked like The World Between Worlds, something fans of Rebels are very familiar with. After getting her bearings and standing up, she hears a voice.

“Hello, Snips.”

“Master?”

“I didn’t expect to see you so soon.”

And indeed, she turns around and sees Anakin Skywalker, played by Hayden Christensen – with what looks like some help from de-aging technology.

As Skywalker, Christensen looks pretty similar to how he appeared in Revenge of the Sith, with dark robes, a brown belt, his robotic and black right hand, brown boots and shoulder-length hair. Simply put: He looks great.

Anakin flashes a smile as Ahsoka stands shocked and in disbelief. As the scene cuts to black – ultimately ending the episode – a score similar to John Williams’ “Vader’s Theme” plays.

This is Christensen’s second appearance as Anakin in a live-action Star Wars show. He previously reprised the role in Obi-Wan Kenobi. And it’s the first time Star Wars fans have seen Anakin and Ahsoka together since Season 2 of Rebels, when she fought him at an ancient Sith temple on Malachor.

Fans also learned in this episode that Baylan – a former Jedi – knew Anakin well before the rise of the Empire.

He tells Ahsoka, needling her just before their climatic duel: “Everyone in the Order knew Anakin Skywalker. Few would live to see what he became. Surely, that must leave a mark. Is that why you walked away? Abandoned him?”

All signs point to Episode 5 of Ahsoka featuring a whole lot more of Christensen as Anakin. And if Tuesday night was any indication, fans are going to love that episode too.