D23 hasn’t always been the place to go for Lucasfilm announcements or reveals, and it still was pretty subdued this year too (not even an The Acolyte season two announcement?!), but we did get our first public Skeleton Crew trailer, while panel-goers where treated to a sizzle reel for Andor season two and some brief shots from The Mandalorian and Grogu film. We also got a great look at the wild Rebuild the Galaxy LEGO special earlier in the day, so head below for a summary of what we all learned!
SKELETON CREW
After the first official images were released a week before, I was already intrigued and better understanding Skeleton Crew‘s 1980’s, Amblin production (E.T., The Goonies, Gremlins), and coming-of-age sensibilities, but the first public trailer for the show breathes in it so much, I’m glad they’re going this route. It almost felt like you could’ve closed your eyes and mistaken it for one of the movies it’s trying to emulate, and I mean this in the best way possible.
What really drew my eye, and this might not be what you’re expecting, but the suburban setting was something I’ve always wondered about in Star Wars yet never knew I needed as badly as I do now. It makes a lot of sense the show is set around the same time as the other Mando-verse shows, as such a peaceful, mundane life feels possible in a galaxy that knows peace for now. The scenes in the pedestrian suburbs could easily be mistaken for a small town/suburb near American viewers, reducing the hurdle for fans of all ages to imagine themselves in a galaxy far, far away considerably, making this journey like something any of us could’ve experienced. But at the same time, nostalgia for the Americana suburb isn’t for everyone since, well, not everyone watching this is from America, so I’d understand not enjoying these early visual cues, as honestly I wondered if it felt too close to reality the first time I watched the trailer. Thankfully it seems like it’ll be a minor part of the series, so no matter your feelings on it, I’m sure there will be enough of the adventure to focus on instead.
Of course once the kids get into the Onyx Cinder (you can get the LEGO now!) and hit hyperspace, the feeling any one of us viewers could’ve experienced this melts away, only a little bit. I loved what I saw from the strange and unique places they’ll find themselves, but all my attention is for the owl-like species glimpsed briefly. I need to know more, a lot more, and see more of their kind in the future. Also, there’s been a ton of rumors speculating this largely takes place in the other galaxy first seen in Ahsoka, at least once they are on the Cinder, but I don’t think this trailer has enough footage to hint either way, while the X-wings at the end certainly fit with the current galaxy.
UPDATE: I’ve never heard of it, but plenty of people online have been pointing out that Skeleton Crew looks to have a ton of references to Captain EO, which I had to look up but it’s a film which played at Disney Parks, executive produced by George Lucas, a co-production of Disney and Lucasfilm, and starring Michael Jackson. Whether it’s the droid or a creature which looks like EO themselves, it does seem like a fun way to reference a piece of 80’s Lucasfilm/Disney history!
We’ll know a lot more on December 3, when the show premieres with two episodes!
ANDOR Season Two
FOOTAGE OF CASSIAN IN ANDOR SEASON 2 #D23 pic.twitter.com/E0s8vlBfnN
— kaytuesso (@jeronandor) August 10, 2024
A behind-the-scenes sizzle reel was shown for the upcoming second and final season of the show, and while it was exclusive to the con, it’s on Twitter or Reddit if you want to watch it via grainy, but at least not as grainy as it used to look, cell-phone recording (look at these lovely screenshots *sarcasm*). As pointed out early on during the panel, if only Disney had a streaming service they could charge people to watch the entire thing from home…Anyways, we can only hope the footage might make its way online official once the weekend is through.
Regardless, I’ve watched the footage and it looks like more of the same as you’d expect from the Emmy nominated series, though obviously faster and more intense as, like they told us some time ago, season two will cover one year every three episodes, for a total of four years leading right into Rogue One. Because of this, the footage contained looks at the Yavin IV base, Forest Whitaker back as Saw Gerrera, the briefest of moments with Ben Mendelsohn back as Orson Krennic, and of course a little segment showcasing Alan Tudyk as K-2SO again, bringing the laughs already! There was also plenty of Diego Luna’s Cassian Andor, Adria Arjona’s Bix Caleen, Genevieve O’Reilly’s Mon Mothma, Stellan Skarsgård’s Luthen Rael, his trusty cohort Kleya Marki (Elizabeth Dulau), and even some of Syril Karn (Kyle Soller) for good measure. Everything about the final season looks bigger and bolder, which isn’t a big surprise but it’s still very reassuring to see.
It’s scheduled for sometime in 2025, with my guess being around May, but the Rebellion’s efforts against the Empire will already be on fans’ minds again thanks to the launch of Reign of the Empire trilogy of novels, which will cover the 20 years between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope by focusing on Mon Mothma, Saw Gerrera, and Bail Organa, as well as new characters, so surely we’ll see some of Andor‘s characters in the later books too.
THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU
Official logo of the upcoming Star Wars movie THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU pic.twitter.com/wrO7YtYL4b
— Star Wars Holocron (@sw_holocron) August 10, 2024
Also available as cell-phone footage online, attendees were treated to a first glimpse at May 2026’s The Mandalorian and Grogu film, which only recently started filming (rumors pointing to them filming Din Djarin’s helmetless scenes with Pedro Pascal first). Regardless, one of the most exciting things I saw in the footage was Garazeb “Zeb” Orrelios of Star Wars Rebels fame being back after his cameo in The Mandalorian‘s third season, while there’s point-of-view shots of a mouse droid weaving through an action sequence (maybe driven by Anzellans and Grogu), a moment where Din and Grogu drive an AT-RT past two AT-ATs (early effects footage was fine for this sequence), and lots of snow troopers. There’s even footage of them flying another Razor Crest class ship, though this last part is not the most promising, at least in my eyes, and leaves me as whelmed as I already was about the idea of this film.
Star Wars isn’t always very serious, and of course there likely many other Razor Crest class ships built, but I’d be more willing to wave it off as typical series silliness with this decision if the creative team behind this film wasn’t the same behind the show which has a proven track record of playing it safe and not trying to grow its characters much. For starters, Din Djarin’s regression as a character, be it his return to disliking droids in season three despite the progress he made with IG-11 or going back to being a cult devotee more so because the main actor isn’t always available, while there’s the whole resolving cliffhangers in The Book of Boba Fett so The Mandalorian season three could have the gang back together (and they barely acknowledge it beyond a previously on), and that’s not even accounting for Moff Gideon’s forgettable end or the simplicity of the darksaber storyline. Heck, even the Ahsoka show, which had similar hands on it, felt like it never found its voice and was too concerned with wrapping up plot threads to get to the next phase of this storytelling than even really explaining why we were here in the first place. A new ship for Din and Grogu could’ve been a chance to show them growing together, clue us in on their partnership/apprenticeship situation, and of course make for more merchandise ops, but instead it’s back to where they started. I can understand enjoying the decision, I do like the look of the ship, but I can’t help but see more of the issues I’ve had with the series popping up in the film, leaving me not terribly eager for this to release.
In the end, it is Star Wars, so I will enjoy, but I can’t without engaging it in a critical manner.
LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy
The official trailer for the upcoming LEGO smash-up special out September 13, Rebuild the Galaxy, premiered at a panel earlier in the day, while we got the full cast list and some great parody posters to go with it. The first trailer and its Darth Jar Jar revealed, voiced by Ahmed Best, was all I needed to check out Rebuild the Galaxy, but the full trailer offers so much more to be delighted by yet hints at the way the 4-part special will both lambast what we know and love while also making a point about what’s made the films and their stories so special in the first place. The full cast includes:
Gaten Matarazzo, Tony Revolori, Marsai Martin, Bobby Moynihan, Michael Cusack, Ahmed Best, Mark Hamill, Naomi Ackie, Anthony Daniels, Kelly Marie Tran, Billy Dee Williams, Dee Bradley Baker, TC Carson, Trevor Devall, Jake Green, Jennifer Hale, Phil Lamarr, Ross Marquand, Piotr Michael, Kevin Michael Richardson, Helen Sadler, Matt Sloan, Matthew Wood, Sam Witwer, and Shelby Young.
Kelly Marie Tran and Naomi Ackie back?! Legends like Jennifer Hale, Billy Dee, Mark Hamill, Kevin Michael Richardson, and more?! Seriously, this is such a stacked cast, and they should make this even more enjoyable. If you haven’t, check out the fun parody posters below, my favorite being the skewer of The Phantom Menace’s most famous poster, and then make sure to enjoy all the insanity on September 13!
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website on Bluesky, Twitter @MynockManor, and Instagram @mynockmanor.