Star Wars Bits: Pride Month, The Acolyte, Doctor Aphra, Durge, The Bad Batch, And More!
In this edition of Star Wars Bits:
8 Star Wars Characters to Celebrate Pride Month
StarWars.com is celebrating Pride Month with a list of LGBTQ+Star Warscharacters, including Doctor Aphra and Rae Sloane:
“Star Warsis for everyone, and that means the worlds we explore are inclusive and diverse places to visit. Although there’s still work to be done to create more high-profile stories of people of all gender identities and expressions, ethnicities, sexual orientations, and backgrounds in the galaxy far, far away, to celebrate this Pride Month — which spotlights the importance of continued conversation and support of LGBTQ+ rights for dignity, visibility, and equality — we’ve gathered a short list of just a few of our favorite out and proud queerStar Warscharacters.”
Check out the full listhere. There’s also a great piece byBria LaVorgnaonThe Personal Impact of Doctor Aphra.
Durge Joins Marvel’s Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #11
Durge, the bounty hunter originally created forGenndy Tartakovsky’sClone Wars 2D Micro Series, is making the jump to modernStar Warsstorytelling. In Marvel’sStar Wars: Doctor Aphra#11, part of theWar of the Bounty Hunterscrossover, Durge will cross paths with Aphra and Sana Starros.
StarWars.com has an exclusive first look atDoctor Aphra#11, which you canview here. For more information on upcomingStar Warscomics,click here.
The Acolyte Showrunner Leslye Headland Talks Star Wars
The AV Clubrecently published an interview withLeslye Headland, co-creator of Netflix’sRussian Dolland showrunner of the upcomingStar WarsseriesThe Acolyte.Headland has been a hardcoreStar Warsfan for a long time:
Headland also discusses assembling a diverse writers' room forThe Acolyte:
“First of all, I really wanted people that were different than me. I certainly didn’t want a room full people that were just agreeing with me vehemently. Not ideologically, but artistically—people that kind of had different writing styles or were interested in different things, all that kind of stuff. But there was a certain intention, in terms of putting together a room that I felt like were people that I hadn’t been in a room with before, if that makes sense.”
That diversity extends to the writers' own experiences with theStar Warsuniverse:
“I wanted to put the room together in that way. That also means hiring people that are not necessarily the die-hard, cutthroat fan that I am when it comes toStar Warsstuff. It is weird to be the person who’s going, ‘Well, in 325 BBY,’ and everyone’s like, ‘What are you talking about?’ ‘Hold on, I’ll send you a link.’ Everyone’s like, ‘Should that be another person that’s doing that? Why is the showrunner doing that?’ And I’m like, “Here’s a picture, this is what he looks like.'”
I encourage you to check out the insightful interview in its entirety atThe A. V. Club.
Helping the Clones in Star Wars: The Bad Batch Find Their Way
Jennifer Corbett, the head writer and executive producer ofStar Wars: The Bad Batch,talks about finding the show’s heart and taking Clone Force 99 on a journey to find their purpose after the Clone Wars. Here’s an excerpt:
Check out the full interview atStarWars.com.
Neal Scanlan Talks Star Wars Effects
In an interview withStar Wars Insider, Creature and Special Make-up Effects Creative SupervisorNeal Scanlantalks about his experiences working onStar Warsfilms. Here’s an excerpt, courtesy ofStarWars.com:
“During pre-production onThe Force Awakens, Tommy Harper asked me to come up with some ideas. We put a team together, and the happabore was one of the first things we started working on. My thinking was, “How could we best demonstrate to J.J. and Kathy what was possible with animatronics, without getting into what people traditionally thought they were all about?” I decided we should do the biggest thing we could and bring it to life by putting people inside it. That way there were no mechanics, just performers, so when J.J. walked onto the stage and this thing walked towards him, he could simply direct it. That felt like a good way of selling the philosophy of what we were going to do on the film.”
While on the subject, I interviewed Scanlan last year about his work onStar Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. You can check that interviewhere.
Star Wars Podcast Round-Up
In addition to their “Indy Year” series, a year-long monthly tribute to the 40th anniversary ofIndiana Jones, theBlast Points Podcasthas a new episode all about the 1983 audio dramaRebel Mission to Ord Mantell:
We all know Han Solo had a run in with a bounty hunter on Ord Mantell, but did you know that the legendaryBrian Daleywrote a standalone story about it that came out the same year as the Star Wars radio drama? This odd, wonderful and long of out print piece ofStar Warshistory stands alone as the one thing that combines the voice cast of the Beuna Vista read-along records and the spirit of the NPR radio shows! How did it come about and what is its connections to Two Tubes, Cad Bane, and how did it almost end up being the plot for an episode of the Droids animated series?!Listen here.
Blast Points also has fantastic episode reviews ofStar Wars: The Bad Batchavailable on theirPatreon.
Talking Bay 94has an interview with creature and droid performerKaty Kartwheel:
Talking Bay 94 also has a great interview withNick Malley, aka “That Yoda Guy”, who was a creature and special effects make-up artist for the originalStar WarsandThe Empire Strikes Back.
Skytalkershas an excellent episode on last week’s episode ofThe Bad Batch:
Pink Milkis aStar Warspodcast where hosts (and husbands)BryanandTomtalkStar Wars, queerly:
The Resistance Broadcastis the officialStar Warspodcast ofStarWarsNewsNet.com. Check out one of their latest episode onKevin Feige’sStar Warsproject,The Book of Boba Fett, and more:
Lokishowrunner andDr. Strange 2writerMichael Waldronhas confirmed he is writing Kevin Feige’s Star Wars movie. We give our thoughts on his recent comments about what makes Star Wars work. We also take a close look at the leakedObi-Wan Kenobiset photos, plus the latest onThe Book of Boba FettviaTemuera Morrison. That and more, including the return of #AskTheResistance, where we answer your submitted questions!Listen here.
OnScavenger’s Hoard,RachaelandKirstydiscuss 1984’sCaravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure!
We then begin a new podcasting saga exploring the EWOK DUOLOGY (yes, that is the correct parlance). Join us for a deep dive intoCaravan of Courage, taking you from George Lucas being a good dad (™) to Campbellian narrative influences and the changing face of Mace and Cindel’s dad. We also explore the deeper ideology underlining the film, touching upon the unsettling implications of Ewoks sacrificing their lives to help restore the American Nuclear Family to wholeness.Listen here.
Sistas with Sabersis a podcast made for and by Black female fans ofStar Wars. It’s a safe space for Black female fans to connect, support each other and share their experience with the world. Listen to their latest episodehere.Around the Galaxyis a one-hour, one guest, Star Wars fan talk show. Every week,Pete Fletzerbrings you conversations with authors, personalities, actors, creators, and super fans talking about theirStar Warsjourney. In the latest episode, Pete speaks withMark A. Altman.
Author, producer, writer, showrunner, former editor-in-chief, entrepreneur, andStar Trekexpert, Mark A. Altman joins us to talk about his new unauthorized complete history ofStar Wars.Listen here.
Hosted byGerry CableandScotty Jayro,The Bombadcastis all about positivity in theStar Warsfandom and creating a connected community. Check out their latest episodehere.
Podcast of the WhillstreatsStar Warslike a sacred text. On the latest episode,Nickis joined byBill & Treyfrom the Skywalking Through the League podcast. They talk about sports and sports fandom,Star Wars, and they count down Bill & Trey’s Top 7Star WarsCharacters That Need Their Own Disney+ Show/Series.Listen here. You can also watch the episode onYouTube.
OnBespin’s Other Bits (BOB The Podcast),Star WarsscooperBespin Bulletindiscusses whatever he feels like with co-hostIsaac Pevy. Topics includeStar Wars, video games, and pop culture in general:
Join Bespin, Nick and Isaac as they chat aboutThe Bad Batch,Loki,Indiana Jones 5,The Suicide Squad,and revisitThe Fate of the Furious,along with reviews ofLucaandIn The Heights.Listen here.
Star Wars YouTube Round-Up
On the latest episode ofLive Action Star Wars,RalphandJamesbreak down the 1983 documentary,From Star Wars to Jedi: The Making of a Saga.
The Bombadcastare celebrating their two-year anniversary, and their 100th episode, by breaking down their 100 favorite things in all ofStar Wars!
Have you checked outSilver’sStar Wars Thriftingchannel? A true scavenger girl, Silver visits flea markets and thrift stores in search ofStar Warstreasures.
The Imperial Senate Podcastdiscusses the eighth episode ofStar Wars: The Bad Batch
OnThe Resistance Broadcast,John,James, andLaceydiscuss the best insults inStar Wars!
OnHolochronicles,Star WarscollectorsAndyandJoshrecap all the highs from SummerCon in Puyallup, Washington.
Over atKessel Run Transmissions,Noah,Corey, andClairediscuss the possibility of Barriss Offee appearing inStar Wars: Ahsoka.
Star Wars Explainedhas a new video on the assassin Deathstick, who just appeared in Marvel’sWar of the Bounty Hunters! They talk about the character’s history in the mobile gameStar Wars: Uprisingand what she means for the comic crossover event.
OnThis Week! in Star Wars, hostKristin Baverintroduces us to a new bounty hunter fromWar of the Bounty Hunters: Jabba the Huttand much, much more!
“This week inStar Wars, we meet a brand new bounty hunter from the comic pages ofWar of the Bounty Hunters: Jabba the Hutt, return to Vader’s castle with the upcomingStar Wars Adventures: Ghosts of Vader’s Castle, and climb aboard the Starlight Beacon for the annual conference of the Galactic Agriculture Alliance in the latest issue ofStar Wars Insider. Plus, we pull up a chair to talk all about the return of Cad Bane inStar Wars: The Bad Batch.”
And that’s it for this edition of Star Wars Bits! If you have something cool from theStar Warsuniverse that should be included in this column,reach out on Twitter!
