Yesterday’s episode of The Mandalorian ended with the bombshell revelation that Moff Gideon may have been assisted in his escape from the New Republic by Mandalorians, with a telltale shard of Beskar at the scene apparently pointing in only one direction. Fans are already abuzz debating whether this is a red herring, if someone might be framing them, or if Bo-Katan is about to have an awkward reunion with the remaining Nite Owls.
Others can see Grand Admiral Thrawn’s devious fingerprints all over this crime scene, making the Beskar fragment a clever bit of misdirection to lead his enemies in the wrong direction. We’re hoping for some answers next week, though until then, the Star Wars community has a lot to chew on.
But it’s safe to say the top Star Wars story of the day is something nobody saw coming.
Mark Hamill reprises Luke Skywalker to aid the people of Ukraine
Mark Hamill has been a firm cheerleader for Ukraine during the Russian invasion, using his social media presence to support the country as best he can. Now, as per the AP, he’s taking a more direct role by providing his voice to an app that warns people of impending bombing runs and missile attacks.
You can hear his dulcet tones warning of air raids here, saying “don’t be careless, your overconfidence is your weakness” and “the air raid alert is over, may the Force be with you.”
Beyond this, Hamill is also selling signed Star Wars merch to raise money for the Ukrainian war effort, which will be used to buy reconnaissance drones, rebuild bombed buildings, and provide food and water to those made homeless in the attacks. Hamill explained to AP why he wants to be involved:
“A fairy tale about good versus evil is resonant with what’s going on in Ukraine. The Ukrainian people rallying to the cause and responding so heroically…It’s impossible not to be inspired by how they’ve weathered this storm. Here I sit in the comfort of my own home when in Ukraine there are power outages and food shortages and people are really suffering. It motivates me to do as much as I can.”
If you want to donate to Hamill’s drone army, you can do so here.
Is ‘Rangers of the New Republic’ being folded into ‘The Mandalorian’?
As 2020 began, Gina Carano was set for a bright future in Star Wars. The Mandalorian character Cara Dune was a firm fan favorite and plans were afoot for her to have her very own spin-off, Rangers of the New Republic. Her crushingly moronic behavior on social media put a conclusive end to that, getting her quickly booted from the franchise, blacklisting her in Hollywood, and relegating her to zero-budget Z-movies produced by Ben Shapiro.
But fans have pointed out that Rangers of the New Republic‘s story was planned to dovetail into The Mandalorian, so now they’re wondering if certain scenes in season three have been airlifted in from ditched Rangers scripts.
The Dr. Pershing episode does seem like it could have arrived from another show.
Could the whole Moff Gideon escape storyline have once been part of Rangers?
We will never know for sure, but it’s safe to say that at least some of The Mandalorian season three will have been affected by its cancelation. We liked Cara Dune and would have been hyped for a show focused on her, but alas, after all the tinfoil-hat stuff spouted by Carano, we can’t see ourselves ever actually wanting her back in Star Wars.
Several classic ‘Star Wars Legends’ books are being re-released
The 1990s were a relatively lean time for Star Wars fans, with new releases consisting of video games, novels, and comics before The Phantom Menace came along. All of this stuff was rendered non-canon when George Lucas sold to Disney, with characters like Prince Xizor, Kyle Katarn, and Mara Jade ending up as “Legends.” But Lucasfilm hasn’t abandoned this era entirely, and Reddit has unearthed evidence that some classic novels are being reprinted.
I, Jedi is written by Michael A. Stackpole and was released in 1998, following the heroic Corran Horn on his quest to become a Jedi after the fall of the Empire. Karen Traviss’ 2007 novel Republic Commando: True Colors is set after Attack of the Clones and follows a crack squad of clone troopers. Dave Wolverton’s 1994 novel The Courtship of Princess Leia shows how Han and Leia’s relationship deepened after Return of the Jedi (and ends with their wedding). Drew Karpyshyn’s The Old Republic: Annihilation is the most recent — being published in 2012 — and was a tie-in for The Old Republic MMO.
They’re fun reads, and we’re glad they haven’t been completely left in the past, so if you want to fill out your Star Wars bookshelf and experience some pre-Disney adventures, be sure to pick them up. The Courtship of Princess Leia is our favorite, though, if only because we’ve never truly seen what Han and Leia’s relationship was like at its peak.