Star Wars Weekly: Pinpricks of Light (13/01/25 to 19/01/25)
Skeleton Crew reaches its conclusion and rumor season begins...
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about Star Wars’ relationship with the word “try.”
It’s at the centre of one of the saga’s most famous quotes when Yoda instructs Luke to use the Force to lift his X-Wing out of the Dagobah swamp in The Empire Strikes Back.
“Alright, I’ll give it a try,” Luke says to the aged Jedi Master.
“No,” replies Yoda. “Try not. Do or do not, there is no try.”
Luke, of course, fails the test and can’t lift his ship out of the bog. At which point, the diminutive Yoda raises his hand and lifts the X-Wing. Luke watches on in awe. Once his ship is safely on dry land, he says to Yoda,
“I don’t believe it.”
“That,” says Yoda, “is why you fail.”
The message of the scene is clear. Luke never believed he could lift his ship, so when he tried, he didn’t fully commit. When he said he’d try, he expected to fail, and so he did. It was his perception of his abilities and limitations that held him back, rather than skill.
So when Yoda says not to try, he is telling Luke to commit in his mind. Trying, in this case, means you aren’t giving it your all. You are simply going to do something, because you have the ability, or you won’t.
From this point on, “Try” became something of a dirty word in Star Wars. Characters who “tried” were chastised, like Luke, for not fully committing themselves to what they were doing. You simply did or did not; there was no trying.
And then, in 2022, Andor was released.
In the season one finale, “Rix Road,” a young Cassian Andor listens to the manifesto written by Karis Nemik (who was killed earlier in the season in the Aldhani raid). Nemik lays out the path as he sees it for resistance against the Empire. He writes,
“Remember that the frontier of the Rebellion is everywhere. And even the smallest act of insurrection pushes our lines forward (…) And know this, the day will come when all these skirmishes and battles, these moments of defiance will have flooded the banks of the Empire's authority and then there will be one too many. One single thing will break the siege. Remember this. Try.”
For the first time since 1980, the word “Try” is used as a positive in Star Wars. Because what Nemik is saying is that it is better to try and fail to stand up to the Empire than to not try at all. Even failure in the moment can lead, often in unexpected ways, to success down the line. If no one ever stands up to the Empire, the Rebellion never gets off the ground.
What Yoda and Nemik are saying are not in opposition to each other. Both are asking those listening to them (character and audience) to commit. If you don’t believe you can do something or that you can make a difference, then you won’t. Only by committing to your beliefs, do you stand a chance.
This has been on my mind especially this week, as we stare down the barrel at the next four years. When our liberties, freedoms, and democracy will come under attack by those who seek only to enrich themselves and increase their power.
It’s easy to feel hopeless and want to give up. But it’s more important than ever to commit—to our beliefs and ideals and to stand up for them. Even if we fail in the moment, we must know that just by acting with courage and conviction, we will make a difference in the end.
It’s time to heed the words of both Yoda and Nemik.
Do.
Try.
Top Story
Skeleton Crew Finale Mini-Review!
Ok, it’s technically not news. But it’s definitely the biggest story in Star Wars for this week.
Skeleton Crew wrapped up its first season on Tuesday with the release of “The Real Good Guys,” finally revealing the truth behind At Attin and its mysterious Supervisor, and showcasing the final showdown between Jod Na Nawood and Fern, Wim, KB, and Neel, all with a little New Republic vs Pirates action thrown in for good measure.
Overall, it was a very strong finale. Jon Watts and Christopher Ford did an excellent job tying together all the various storylines from the season, giving each kid a role in the finale that paid off their arc. And they managed to keep Jod from being a total villain by revealing just enough of his backstory so that we understood why he does what does. Jude Law continues to be one of the best things to happen to Star Wars lately, as he made us believe in equal parts that he didn’t want to hurt anyone but that he would if he felt he had to.
The reveal of the Supervisor was well executed, with Stephen Fry providing a wonderfully business-like-with-a-hint-of-evil vocal performance. I do wish the series had grappled a little bit more with the ethics of what was happening on At Attin. Everyone seemed perfectly OK with this society ruled by a droid, where your entire life is dictated by a test you took as a child, and there is no possibility of leaving.
Something about that still feels off, sinister even. Perhaps this is being left open-ended for a second season (which still has not been confirmed) since the barrier was destroyed in this episode. Having made contact with The New Republic, perhaps At Attin’s citizens will have more freedom to come and go as they please.
And there’s the question of what has been going on At Attin since the Republic fell. The Supervisor says that the last message they got was that the Jedi were all traitors, but they haven’t heard anything since. Have they simply been forgotten? Or, did someone, like say Palpatine, want them to stay hidden, just making more and more money until he had a use for it (like maybe building a bajillion Star Destroyers with Death Star guns?)
The Supervisor comes very close to quoting Palpatine when he says to Fern and her mother that he has been “watching over” them “with great interest.” So maybe there’s something there…or maybe Watts and Ford just love that line from The Phantom Menace and wanted to pay homage to it.
I should say that loose threads and plotlines that are not totally resolved are not criticisms (or “plot holes”). The show did a good job of wrapping up its main arcs, and I like that there are still questions to be asked for more stories. Good shows leave the door open for more, and that’s exactly what Skeleton Crew did.
As for whether there will be more, I have no idea. After the cancellation of The Acolyte, I feel that nothing is certain when it comes to these Disney+ shows. I hope there’s more. I would love another season with Wim, Fern, KB, Neel, SM-33, and Jod. But even if there isn’t another season, given that the show was executive-produced by Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau, it seems likely that at least one of these characters will show up in one of their other projects (be it a TV show or a movie).
But whatever the future holds, the season we got of Skeleton Crew was a wonderful success. There were memorable new characters and locations, and a great story with great themes and a lot of heart.
What more could you want?
Headlines
I Heard A Rumor! (Or two…Or three…Or four…)
There’s a lot of excitement and a lot of questions about the future of Star Wars. And while we don’t have any official updates, the Hollywood insiders have begun to tease what’s being worked. In the last week or so, there have been several leaks out of Lucasfilm, covering everything from the future of Star Wars animation to The Mandalorian & Grogu to Ahsoka season two.
Some of this might be considered spoilers by some folks. And while none of it rises to the level of “Darth Vader is Luke’s father” or “Kylo Ren kills Han Solo,” those of us who enjoy these sorts of reports need to respect those who do not. So please don’t talk about these stories with folks who don’t want to know. Not only is it rude, but you’ll also never hear the end of it!
I’ve also ordered the leaks from least to most spoiler-y. That way, if you want to try reading them and you hit one that is your limit, you can bail out and quickly scroll to the next headline (just look for the clip from The Simpsons to know when we’re done with potential spoilers).
So, without further ado, let’s dive in.
According to Daniel Richtman, Lucasfilm Animation is developing two new Star Wars shows. It’s not clear if they are full-length series, like The Bad Batch, or mini-series, like Tales of the Jedi, or one of each…
Sigourney Weaver’s character in The Mandalorian & Grogu is reportedly a New Republic colonel named Bishop (a nod to her roots in the Alien franchise). According to Jeff Sneider, it’s a relatively minor role in the film. Bespin Bulletin adds that she loves to play Saabac…
Speaking of The Mandalorian & Grogu, Kristian Harloff reported this week that the main villain of the film is the bounty hunter Embo. Embo appeared in a handful of episodes of The Clone Wars and was voiced by Dave Filoni, who just so happens to be the co-writer (with Jon Favreau) of The Mandalorian & Grogu...
Harloff also shared another report about Ahsoka season two. Apparently, both Hayden Christensen and Ariana Greenblatt are back as Anakin Skywalker and young Ahsoka Tano. But that’s not all, they will be joined by Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi. Flashbacks? Visions? Mortis shenanigans? Only time will tell…
That’s everything from the recent rumour mill. It’s pretty exciting stuff, if true. Perhaps we’ll get official confirmation of some, if not all, of it this April at Star Wars Celebration Japan…
Again, if you’ve read this far and kept up with the reports, remember to be careful who you share it with. Not everyone shares our love of knowing what’s going to happen before it does. Take a lesson from the mistakes of Homer Simpson and don’t spread the news to people who don’t want to know it!
D’oh!
Jod’s Jedi Master Was Cut From The Skeleton Crew Finale
In the finale of Skeleton Crew, we learn that Jod was briefly trained by a Jedi before she was killed in the Jedi purge. In the episode, Jod simply tells about this experience however, at one point during production, a flashback was filmed!
Actress Yasmine Al Massri, who was cast as Jod’s Jedi master, shared a handful of behind-the-scenes pictures and videos, along with some memories of the production on her Instagram.
Al Massri wrote, “This was the shortest acting job I have done but the most meaningful to the child in me.. playing a Jedi for one scene in Skeleton Crew.. I gave a speech when the crew wrapped me on set saying : you just created the first Arab female Jedi.. thank you.. the scene unfortunately Didn’t make it to the finale cut bc these things happen.”
Perhaps we’ll get to see the scene when Skeleton Crew gets a physical media release or if there is ever a Disney Gallery-style, “making of” documentary special about the series.
Or better yet, maybe she could return for flashbacks in Season Two…
The Mask of Fear Preview Excerpt
Entertainment Weekly dropped an exclusive preview of the next major Star Wars novel, Star Wars: The Mask of Fear by Alexander Freed. The book kicks off a trilogy of novels that explores the origins of the Rebel Alliance between the events of Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope.
You can read an excerpt of the excerpt below,
Mon held up her hands in surrender.
“Palpatine is a populist. The reason he appeals to worlds like Troithe is because people there see him making real changes in their lives. He cracked down on the corporations. He ended the war. He’s promising that the era of out-of-touch politicians and twelfth-generation nobility shaping the galaxy for their own benefit is over.”
“He’s—” she began. He’s not giving power back to ordinary people.
He’s only shifting who holds it. He and his cronies don’t care about your world any more than they care about mine.
She stayed silent.
Read the full excerpt from The Mask of Fear over at Entertainment Weekly.
Jon Watts & Christopher Ford Address the High Republic Connection To Skeleton Crew
Readers of the High Republic series of novels, comics, and audio dramas likely sat up a little in their seats during the first episode of Skeleton Crew when the words “great work” were spoken in relation to At Attin.
In The High Republic, which is set about 200 years before the Skywalker Saga, the Supreme Chancellor Lina Soh creates a series of “Great Works” meant to promote the prosperity of the Republic. So when Fern’s mother dropped the phrase during a visit to Wim and Neel’s class, immediately fans of The High Republic started drawing connections between the two.
With Skeleton Crew’s first season now complete, showrunners Jon Watts and Christopher Ford have finally addressed the potential connection in a new interview with Collider. Watts said,
“Yeah, I mean I didn’t want to have to like fully step into that part of the universe and [have the] people working on it be like ‘It is that!’ But it’s supposed to feel connected, so if it’s not literally connected it’s still an idea that existed in the galaxy at a certain time of like ‘We can do better. We can do great things.’ And I think both At Attin and the works of [Chancellor Lina Soh] were coming from the same place if they’re not directly related. But maybe they are.”
Something else to explore in Season Two…
Also, Ford and Watts gave another in-depth interview with Entertainment Weekly where they covered numerous topics including Jod’s backstory, the pirates, and their hopes for the future. You can check that out here.
From The Archives
James Earl Jones Was Born This Week In 1931
On January 17th, 1931 one of the greatest actors of all time, James Earl Jones, was born in Arkabutla, Mississippi.
Jones, of course, is known to Star Wars fans for being the voice of Darth Vader in the Original Trilogy, Revenge of the Sith, Star Wars Rebels, Rogue One, and The Rise of Skywalker. He also appeared in countless movies and TV shows across his illustrious career which spanned seven decades.
In September 2024, Jones passed away at the age of 91.
Hey, Check This Out!
Star Wars: The Galactic Civil War
The YouTube channel SWFT released an incredible new supercut of various Star Wars projects titled, “Star Wars: The Galactic Civil War”. The 21-minute video includes footage from the films, The Clone Wars, The Bad Batch, Rebels, Andor, Obi-Wan Kenobi and more. It’s so well cut together and does an amazing job telling the story of this era of Star Wars. It is absolutely worth a watch.
In Other News
RIP David Lynch
One of the great filmmakers of our time, David Lynch passed away this week at the age of 78. Lynch was known for films like Eraserhead (1977), The Elephant Man (1980), and Inland Empire (2006), as well as the TV show Twin Peaks.
In the early eighties, George Lucas approached Lynch about potentially directing Return of the Jedi. Lynch ultimately passed on the project, recollecting later that he “had next door to zero” in directing the film but took the meeting out of respect for Lucas. You can watch Lynch describe the experience in this video.
Podcast Corner
We had a really fun episode of The Star Wars Underworld Podcast this week, breaking down the finale of Skeleton Crew. We went into great detail on The Supervisor and society on At Attin in general. And we speculated about how likely a second season would be (all while trying to manifest it happening).
Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or watch above on YouTube!
But that’s not all! If you’re a hockey fan, especially of the Toronto Maple Leafs or Montreal Canadiens, you’ll also want to check out this special crossover episode of Game Over Toronto and Game Over Montreal. I joined Andrew Berkshire to discuss Saturday’s matchup between the two teams (where the Leafs came back from being down 3-0 to win 7-3).
Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or watch below on YouTube!
Coming Soon…
Always in motion is the future, but here’s a look ahead at what we can expect in Star Wars over the next seven days:
On January 21st, the trade paperback collection of The High Republic Adventures (2023) Volume 2 by Daniel Jose Older will be released by Dark Horse Comics.
And, Battle of Jakku: Last Stand #4 by Alex Segura hits shelves on January 22nd.
“Yeah, the galaxy is scary and dangerous. Everywhere we went, even the worst places, there were good people, too.” —Fern
I'm really excited for the Reign of the Empire books. It's felt like the period between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope hasn't really been explored much.