Star Wars Bits: Quest of the Jedi, The Merry Rise of Skywalker, 365 Days of Star Wars Women, and More!

In this edition of Star Wars Bits:

• Talking Bay 94 Chats with ILM Effects Supervisor Roger Guyett
• 365 Days of Star Wars Women
• An Excerpt from William Shakespeare’s The Merry Rise of Skywalker
• Blast Points Podcast Celebrates the Love with New Commentaries and Bonus Episodes
• A First Look at Star Wars: The Clone Wars – Stories of Light and Dark
• And More!

Talking Bay 94 Chats with ILM Effects Supervisor Roger Guyett

Devoted to interviews with the cast, crew, and creators from the Star Wars universe, the Talking Bay 94 podcast offers never-before-heard stories from background aliens to some of the biggest stars in the universe.

This week, join host Brandon Wainerdi as he sits down with Industrial Light & Magic Visual Effects Supervisor and Second Unit Director Roger Guyett. Nominated for six Academy Awards — Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Star Trek, Star Trek Into Darkness, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Ready Player One, and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker — Guyett talks about his journey to that galaxy far, far away which began with 2005’s Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. 

Listen for discussions on sand snakes, Maz Kanata, Millennium Falcon chases, and filming on location. It’s a great companion piece to the documentary, The Skywalker Legacy, found on the Digital HD, 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD releases of The Rise of Skywalker.

While you’re at it, check out Brandon’s recent chat with Steve Sansweet, Chairman and President of Rancho Obi-Wan and former Fan Relations advisor for Lucasfilm!

365 Days of Star Wars Women

365 Star Wars includes articles about the women of Star Wars, analysis articles, reference posts about Star Wars characters, droids, planets, and creatures. Created by Amy Richau, the site highlights the incredible efforts of women in the franchise.

Head on over to her site for an interview with Star Wars Icons: Han Solo author Gina McIntyre, who also wrote Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water: Creating a Fairy Tale for Troubled Times, The Art of Ready Player One, and Little Women: The Official Movie Companion.

Other recent interviews include a conversation with Debs Paterson, director of the aforementioned documentary, The Skywalker Legacy, as well as Charmaine Chan, visual effects real-time operator on The Mandalorian and digital compositor on Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi.

For more great stuff, check out 365 Star Wars Women.

William Shakespeare’s The Merry Rise of Skywalker

William Shakespeare’s The Merry Rise of Skywalker by Ian Doescher, coming July 28,  is the final installment in Doescher’s nine-book Star Wars-as-Shakespeare series, which reimagines the Skywalker Saga as a Shakespearean drama, complete with authentic meter and verse.

Head over to StarWars.com for an exclusive excerpt of the upcoming book, in which Kylo Ren rampages through Mustafar and soon arrives on Exegol, where he comes face to face with the Emperor — all presented in Shakespeare’s classic style and theatrical dialogue.

Blast Points Podcast’s Quarantine Commentaries

Blast Points Podcast hosts Jason Gibner and Gabe Bott have generated a ton of hilarious and mind-blowing content to keep us entertained during the quarantine. In Episode 215 – Time and Star Wars (Does Anyone Really Know What Time It Is?), the duo goes through the saga and count the days in an attempt to solve the ancient mystery of how time works in the Star Wars universe.

“Is it weeks? Days?! Months?!?!? When do they nap? Sunrises? Sunsets? WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?!”

In Episode 214 – The Phantom Toys, Jason and Gabe explore the legend of The Epic Continues, a proposed 1986 expansion of Kenner’s Power of the Force action figure line. The expansion would feature original characters and vehicles, stemming from a post-Return of the Jedi plotline conceived by Kenner designers.

Following up Episode 214, check out BONUS EPISODE – Kenner Toy Commercial Commentary for 40 minutes of non-stop classic Kenner Star Wars toy commercial bliss featuring Yoda hand puppets, Bossk, and Micro Collection madness! You can sync up the podcast with the commercials and follow along with all the fun here:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJY709chKLw?feature=oembed&w=740&h=416]

Speaking of commentaries, BONUS EPISODE – Quest of the Jedi Commentary provides a loving and lively deep-dive into David Zaritsky feature-length fan film, Quest of the Jedi. A relic of the ’90s, this spiritual successor to The Thrawn Trilogy — dubbed Episode X — features Tusken Raiders, Admiral Ackbar, Boba Fett, Death Troopers, Jaina Solo, and all kinds of Expanded Universe insanity. You’ve got to see this thing to believe it!

Looking For Leia Docu-Series

Since its debut in 1977, Star Wars has revolutionized the way we watch movies, interact with our heroes, and express our fandom. From the feature films to animation, books, games, comics, and more, there’s an entry point for every generation.

Unique, heartwarming, and funny, Looking For Leia is a seven-part docu-series about women as well as non-binary fans who found identity, connection, and purpose in their love of the galaxy far, far away. Acquired by SYFY WIRE, you can watch all seven episodes online right now!

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_5ldYu-Fsg?feature=oembed&w=740&h=416]

Star Wars: The Clone Wars – Stories of Light and Dark

StarWars.com revealed the cover of Star Wars: The Clone Wars – Stories of Light and Dark, a new anthology coming August 25. The collection features 11 stories by 11 authors — Lou Anders, Preeti Chhibber, Zoraida Córdova, Jason Fry, Rebecca Roanhorse, Greg Van Eekhout, Tom Angleberger, E. Anne Convery, Sarah Beth Durst, Yoon Ha Lee, and Anne Ursu — including 10 retellings of memorable episodes and arcs and one original Nightsisters-based story.

See Star Wars: The Clone Wars – Stories of Light and Dark and more on This Week! In Star Wars:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fp_XUth1hXs?feature=oembed&w=740&h=416]

“Danger Zone” — An X-Wing Tribute

YouTube user Jackson McKay has created a kick-ass video tribute to X-Wing pilots. Lock S-foils in attack position and shove it into overdrive, because we’re headed to the Danger Zone! Using footage from the saga, this awesome montage is set to Kenny Loggins’ “Danger Zone” — the hit single from the Top Gun soundtrack— and takes us higher, further, faster into that galaxy far, far away.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkpZU6imHAo?feature=oembed&w=740&h=416]

Star Wars Galaxy of Adventures

Star Wars Galaxy of Adventures is a series of animated shorts, which you can check out at StarWarsKids.com and the Star Wars Kids YouTube channel, that reimagines some of the saga’s greatest moments and characters. Check out the latest episode below, which features Kylo Ren and the Knights of Ren go up against a small group of daring Resistance fighters!

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oX_WcRTj180?feature=oembed&w=740&h=416]

Skytalkers Podcast

On Skytalkers, diehard Star Wars fans Charlotte Errity and Caitlin Plesher talk about pressing and existing topics in the Star Wars universe in a comprehensive, three-part format. In their latest episode, The Clone Wars: Siege of Mandalore Part I, Caitlin and Charlotte discuss “Old Friends Not Forgotten,” the first episode in the 4-part Siege of Mandalore arc, which serves as the series finale of The Clone Wars. Join the duo as they dive into character emotions, story implications, and so much more!

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6UTsJ4Ci84?feature=oembed&w=740&h=416]

Speaking of The Clone Wars, go behind the scenes of “Old Friends Not Forgotten” with executive producer Dave Filoni and other cast and crew, as they discuss the beginning of the siege of Mandalore:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCzk9Ghl9WA?feature=oembed&w=740&h=416]

Star Wars in Animal Crossing: New Horizons

For all you Animal Crossing: New Horizons fans out there, there are some very talented designers creating Star Wars outfits and designs for in-game use. First up, Twitter user @StarWarsAC is paying tribute to the Mos Eisley Cantina with costumes for Greedo, Walrus Man, Snaggletooth, Bo Shek, Han Solo, and more! He’s also got a pretty legit Noa Briqualon (Wilford Brimley’s character from Ewoks: The Battle for Endor) too! You can also find his work on Instagram, and be sure to check out all his designs with the code MA-4097-3103-0491.

X-Wing Rebellion
MO-33C0-RBPJ-SWT7
Cropped Pants
Lace-up Boots#AnimalCrossing  #ACNH  #NintendoSwitch #StarWars #XWing pic.twitter.com/4YOcOquIF6

— Star Wars Animal Crossing (@StarWarsAC) April 8, 2020

Equally impressive is the output of Dobes from the island of Aeaea output. They’ve created a bunch of Animal Crossing Star Wars designs, including a whole wardrobe of Padmé Amidala, Rey, and Leia outfits! Check out their designs using the code MA-3341-3427-0800.

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