The Death Star Human Resources Department: December 8, 2023
Tap the brakes on Andor, full speed ahead on Rey, Ezra can't be bothered, and more
Hello there
Good morning and welcome to this week’s edition of the Death Star Human Resources Department newsletter. I find it kinda funny to call it this week’s edition, like you’re getting it delivered to your front porch or delivered weekly to your mailbox as a glossy periodical. But I don’t have a better way to describe it.
Little bit of housekeeping for Death Star HR. The newsletters for December are probably going to be a little shorter than normal. That’s either good or bad, depending on what you think of my grammatically questionable Star Wars hot takes. There’s just not a lot going on the galaxy far far away right now. I wanted to use this time to write about things like Darth Jar Jar or how Darth Vader reflects the struggles of middle management, but right now there is a lot going on my galaxy as the year ends. Don’t worry, I’ve something fun in mind to end the year and some cool plans for next year.
Anyway, this week we’ve got some bad news on Andor, some what could be good news for the Rey movie, we get a peak behind the scenes at Ezra’s method acting, and all the usual nonsense. As always, if you like what I’m doing at Death Star HR, please tell a friend. Now, let’s get to it.
This Is Where The Fun Begins
There are some experiences are universal. As someone who has a pile of boxes that I really need to breakdown and take out to the garage, I feel ya, Uncle Owen.
There was a tweet I saw a while ago1 that said something to the effect of “I put up a shelf that has been on my to-do list for 3 years. It took me 15 minutes. Will I learn anything from this? No.” Me, that’s me.
The Andor/K-2SO Bromance is on Hold
As I mentioned last week, there was some chatter out there that the next season of Andor was going to get pushed back. Now it looks like we’ve got some possible confirmation. Per Games Radar:
That’s straight from the Disney+UK Instagram account. It has since been taken down. Not sure if this was information that wasn’t supposed to be released or if it was a case of Star Wars fans reacting like, well, Star Wars fans and the poor bloke or…blokeette(?)2 running the Insta account across the pond just didn’t want to deal with people leaving furious comments that they should be shipped off to Narkina 5 if Andor doesn’t drop next year.
Could the Rey Movie be…Good?
As long time readers of Death Star HR know, I’m not a huge fan of the way the Sequel Trilogy ended. Really, it’s not just Death Star HR readers that know this. If you’ve ever been stuck with me in a say an elevator or behind me in a slow moving line, there’s a decent chance you’ve been forced to listen to my thoughts on J. J. Abrams and his fakeouts and how they just wasted Keri Russell. You'll also hear me utter the words “space horses on Star Destroyers” in an exasperated manner3.
Despite my increasingly unhinged letters I have sent to Disney that are being returned unopened, we’re getting at least one sequel to the Sequel Trilogy. It’s been known for a while that there’s going to be a Rey movie focusing on her attempts to rebuild the Jedi Order. Clearly she learned nothing from Luke in The Last Jedi who said the Jedi Order needs to be thrown in the Sarlacc Pit. I should be noted that the Rey movie is not considered part of the Skywalker Saga, but instead is going to be part of the New Jedi Order timeline. It’s not known what else is going on with the New Jedi Order timeline, although it seems likely they’re not going to use the plot of the New Jedi Order books4 from Legends. At least at this point, we have in-universe date, 15 years after The Rise of Skywalker, and a filming date.
According to Production List, the Film & Television Industry Alliance's production tracking service, the untitled Star Wars movie, which will feature the big screen return of Ridley's Rey Skywalker, will begin shooting on April 7, 2024, in London, United Kingdom. The upcoming feature will be set 15 years after the events of 2019's Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, following Rey as she builds a new Jedi Order.
As far as I know, this will be the first new Star Wars movie to start filming. We don’t know much about it, there’s not even a title yet. Or any known cast members outside of Daisy Ridley. Although hopefully that will change soon.
The new production listing comes a few days after insider Jeff Sneider revealed on The Hot Mic podcast that he "wouldn’t be surprised" if casting news for the Star Wars movie was announced before the end of the year. "I do think that there are things lying in wait," Sneider noted. "Possibly casting news that are already done. I think that the Daisy Ridley movie has its leads already and it is just a matter of a reporter finding out [who]." At this time, Ridley is the only confirmed cast member, although there is some speculation that either one or more of her sequel trilogy co-stars could join her.
Keeping with the theme of we only know what we don’t know, not even Ridley herself has seen a script.
As for the plot of the new film, Ridley teased, “I’m very excited. The story is really cool. I’m waiting to read a script because, obviously, I don’t have any other updates. It’s not what I expected, but I’m very excited.”
“It’s not what I expected but I’m excited” is the money quote. What exactly would happen if you put, as Huyang would put it, a non-traditional Jedi in charge? I guess it’s been tried once. Luke Skywalker as Jedi Academy Principal ended with him attempting to murder a student and the Academy burning to the ground. So the bar is set pretty low for Rey. This time we’ll (probably) get to see it in action.
Which leads to the next question. What current Jedi or Jedi-types could show up? The movie would be set in 50 ABY. You could add a lot of CGI aging to Rosario Dawson and have Ahsoka in the movie as a Yoda figure at 86 years old. Ezra would be 69. If we’re going to just say fine you can be a Jedi without any real Force ability, Sabine would be 71. Maybe some version of the Jedi Council? Grogu obviously could appear but as of right now he’s traded Jedi robes for Beskar. Maybe Broom Boy from the end of The Last Jedi?
One of the main themes of Star Wars, across all the mediums, is redemption. And that almost nobody is beyond redemption. Sure, maybe Palpatine is. But otherwise it’s a core value of the Star Wars universe that there’s a new hop in everybody5. In the spirit of redemption and second chances, I’m willing to give the Rey movie a chance. Jedi are fun. A movie that’s probably going to have a lot of Jedi and lightsabers and lightsaber duels and all that stuff is going to be fun.
Just promise me, Disney, that you won’t let J.J. Abrams anywhere near it.
To Watch or Not to Watch
What I would do if I was cast in a Star Wars movie or TV show is something I think about probably more than normal person should. Even if that person spends his free-time typing a Star Wars newsletter. I would say I even think about that more than what I would do if the Detroit Tigers called and said they needed me in right field or Jack White wanted me to be in his backing band or another equally implausible6 scenario. The question is, especially if you’re playing an established character, is how much of the source material do you watch?
Obviously you have to watch something. You don’t want to be on set the first day and ask the director, “so what’s a Gee-di?” You’re just going to look like a moron.
Honestly, I’d probably consumer ever bit of media I could find about my character. It would likely be the only thing I’d ever overachieve at. Eman Esfadi, who played Ezra Bridger in Ahsoka, took the opposite path.
Eman Esfadi, who played long-lost Rebels Jedi Ezra Bridger in Ahsoka, revealed at L.A. Comic-Con that while he watched some of Rebels, he didn’t commit to the entire series. “I admittedly — which, if you would have found this out prior you might have taken my head off, but maybe now you don’t think that — I didn’t watch all of Rebels,” Esfadi said. “I didn’t want to get too caught up in the younger version of Ezra. I felt very connected to an older version the way he was written.”
I get it. You want to put your own spin on the character, especially since you’re playing a version of Ezra that we’ve never seen before. You want to be able to make the character your own. Overall I thought Esfadi did a good job as Ezra. My only real complaint was his reunion with Sabine. On the one hand, I actually admire director Rick Famuyiwa and truly channelling George Lucas and turning what should have been an emotional scene with a heartfelt reunion of two friends who hadn’t seen each other in 14 years into something flat and lifeless. My cat just walked into the room and we greeted each other with more enthusiasm than Ezra and Sabine did.
That might be the one area where watching more of Rebels could have helped. Yes, Ezra is a Jedi. Jedi don’t show emotion, yada yada yada. But Ezra was one of those non-tradition Jedi. And he was pretty good at feeling his feelings. If I could offer a note, it’s emote a little more.
From the Depths of Wookieepedia
Star Wars has a lot of cute little creatures, I’m looking at you Loth-cat. And then there’s the ones that you don’t want to meet. Usually out in the Outer Rim that are ready to eat you. Like the Kimogila. Not someone you want to meet when you’re wandering around in the desert.
Pretty sure the assignment here was “kryat dragon but uglier and meaner.” And kryat dragons are already mean and ugly. Remember how difficult it was for Mando and Justified to take one down in Season 2? The kimogila sound even worse:
Kimogilas were generally about the same size as krayt dragons. Because of the sulfur pools and rivers present on Lok, the creature had evolved to boast a layer of extremely resilient scales, capable of withstanding all but the strongest anti-personnel weapons. They were also known to have one of the most toxic venom in the galaxy, which could immobilize its prey in seconds.
We got these creatures from the Star Wars Galaxies MMORPG. I never really got into MMO games. It seems like their heyday was when I was in law school and first starting my career. I’m not here to claim that I ignored video games for my studies, far from it. Only the Force knows how much time I spent on KOTOR I and II instead of learning case law. Probably just as well though. I know that something like Galaxies would have kept me from graduating and becoming the productive member of society that I am today.
News From the HoloNet
Adam Driver On The Constant Reminder That Kylo Ren Killed Han Solo
I am begging people to learn the difference between real people and fictional characters
King Charles Said WHAT To Natalie Portman at The Phantom Menace Premiere?
Always annoying when I see the Royals pop up in my newsfeed. We fought a war almost 250 years ago so I wouldn’t have to care.
The 10 best Star Wars books ever
Solid list. I would have liked to see the Revenge of the Sith novelization but not going to be picky.
Star Wars books and comics coming in December 2023
For those of you who like words about Star Wars other than Death Star HR
The Mandalorian Season 2 Director Knows Baby Yoda's Real Name—But He's Not Telling
Sharing this because for some reason a 2020 article about Baby Yoda popped into my newsfeed. I don’t get it either.
That’s it for this week. If you like what I’m doing, please subscribe. I’ll catch you next week, and may the Force be with you.
Back before Space Karen ruined Twitter.
Is there a feminine version of “bloke”?
Look, I’ve been work from home for almost 9 years. My people skills have eroded.
There’s probably a lot of temptation in Lucasfilm to use the Yuuzhan Vong. I don’t it will really happen though.
You see what I did there?
I think it’s more likely I’d get cast in a Star Wars movie than playing for the Tigers or being a rock star only because you can teach acting. You cannot teach natural athletic ability. And I have no musical ability.
I liked the Rise of Skywalker. (Ducks)
Love all the Detroit references and also the casual The Rise of Skywalker hatred.
I'm optimistic about the Rey movie, even though the books have programmed my brain to expect the New Jedi Order to mean Luke training new Jedi. I wonder if we'll get the Vong??
Solid top 10 books list. I personally would've put Claudia Gray's Lost Stars somewhere in the top 5, but I can settle for her having 2 of the top 10 spots.