Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and
The Mandalorian are both fast approaching, and with "Triple Force Friday" set to take place next week, some intriguing new details have been revealed.
As well as intel on Kylo Ren's new role (and the name of his ship), we have fresh details on the Sith Troopers who many fans believe are connected to the returning Emperor Palpatine. Meanwhile, the action figure for
The Mandalorian sheds some light on the show's mysterious lead, while a
Jedi Fallen Order figure tells us more about video game character Cal Kestis.
We'll see a lot of new merchandise for all of these upcoming
Star Wars projects over the coming weeks, some of which may even reveal spoilers about what's to come.
For now, though, you can check out these new details by hitting the "View List" button below!
Kylo Ren
Kylo Ren has his mask back, and after he killed Supreme Leader Snoke, he obviously has a very different role within The First Order these days. However, he may also have a new mission to boot.
"As Supreme Leader of the First Order, Kylo Ren wields more power than ever before. Nevertheless, Ren continues to search for secrets of the Force from the depths of the dark side."
It's also revealed that his new TIE Fighter is actually called the "TIE Whisper."
Sith Troopers
We've heard a lot of conflicting things about
The Rise of Skywalker's Sith Troopers. Some say that they're created by Kylo Ren, while others would have us believe that they've secretly been serving The Emperor in the Unknown Regions for the past few decades. This description doesn't give us an answer in that respect, but it definitely sounds like they'll have some ties to Emperor Palpatine.
"The Sith Trooper – In its ultimate push towards galactic conquest, the First Order readies an army of elite soldiers that draw inspiration and power from a dark and ancient legacy."
The Mandalorian
We know little to nothing about Pedro Pascal's role in
The Mandalorian beyond the fact that he's obviously suiting up as the show's lead (and that, no, he definitely isn't going to be Boba Fett).
"His body is shielded by beskar armor, his face is hidden behind a T-visored mask, and his past is wrapped in mystery," reads this latest description of the character.
"The Mandalorian is battle-worn and tight lipped, a formidable bounty hunter in an increasingly dangerous galaxy."
That all sounds pretty badass and mysterious. Hopefully we'll learn a lot more soon.
Cal Kestis
Cal Kestis is the lead character in the new
Star Wars video game,
Jedi Fallen Order.
The marketing campaign for the game has yet to really heat up, and we're hoping for another trailer soon. In the meantime, this description for the character definitely gives us a bit more to go on.
"A Jedi Padawan during the Clone Wars, Cal Kestis narrowly escaped the horrors of Order 66 and was forced into hiding.
"Together with explorer droid BD-1, he embarks on a journey to rebuild the Jedi Order while evading the terrifying Imperial Inquisitorius."
Hit the "View List" button below to check out a breakdown
of everything we recently learned about The Mandalorian!
The Show Will Deal With The Rise Of The First Order
We know that
The Mandalorian is set after the events of
Return of the Jedi, but there's also a lot we
don't know about what happened during the thirty years between that movie and
The Force Awakens. However, it's now been confirmed that the Disney+ series will delve into how the fall of the Empire led to the rise of The First Order.
"This doesn’t turn into a good guy universe because you blew up two Death Stars," director Dave Filoni says, confirming that the Galaxy isn't at peace quite yet. "You get that the Rebels won and they’re trying to establish a Republic, but there’s no way that could have set in for everybody all at once. You have in a Western where you’re out on the frontier and there might be Washington and they might have some marshals, but sometimes good luck finding one."
Showrunner Jon Favreau adds: "Also, what could happen in the 30 years between celebrating the defeat of the Empire and then the First Order? You come in on Episode VII, [the First Order are] not just starting out. They’re pretty far along. So somehow, things weren’t necessarily managed as well as they could have been if [the galaxy] ended up in hot water again like that."
How The Mandalorian Differs To Boba Fett
The Mandalorian might look like Boba Fett, but it sounds like the similarities end there. For starters, he's actually a Mandalorian (Fett just wears the armor), which means the show will
"definitely explore the culture of the Mandalorian" according to Favreau.
"Our guy is operating in a much more unforgiving landscape."
"A place where survival is difficult enough," he continues,
"let alone flourishing in that atmosphere and the politics have dissolved. It’s ‘might is right.’ And how does somebody earn a living when there’s no structure to society anymore and everything is collapsing in on itself? How do you work your way through the world?"
Star Pedro Pascal, meanwhile, says that he's also more of an anti-hero than a villain (a role Fett definitely played well). "Ultimately he wants to do the right thing" the actor says. "But his duties could very much be in conflict with his destiny and doing the right thing has many faces. It can be a very windy road."
Don't Expect To See Any Legacy Characters...Yet
The Mandalorian will allude to the history of the
Star Wars Universe and fill in some gaps in the franchise's history but it won't necessarily serve as a continuation to the original trilogy or a prequel to the new ones. That means no Legacy characters (in the first season, at least...) as Favreau instead wants to deliver a
"boots on the ground" tale exploring something we've not seen before.
"I’ve always been curious what the other people in the cantina are up to," he explains.
"We’re digging really deep in the toy chest and pulling out the action figures that people were always curious about and were not quite in the center frame, but have a lot of potential."
Filoni adds: "These are the [action figures] you got. Your older brothers have had ‘good’ ones. Somehow you got Boba Fett. And if you have Boba Fett, you could always tell a good story."
The Mandalorian Will Be Keeping His Helmet On
Pascal's star is very much on the rise, but that doesn't mean he'll be showing off his face every chance he gets. However, Favreau's experience working on a character like Iron Man helped a lot and thanks to the actor's impressive line delivery and physicality along with some clever camera tricks and editing, he's reportedly found a way to ensure this masked man has a lot of personality.
"What’s remarkable is when you see the whole stretch of the first season how engaging the character is," the showrunner explains. "It’s amazing how many Star Wars characters are emotionally engaging that aren’t even anthropomorphic. R2-D2 is my favorite character and he barely has an eye." This definitely sounds like the right approach and is a bold move on the show's part.
Taika Waititi's IG-11 (Korg 2.0?)
Taikia Waititi is set to take on the role of IG-11, an assassin droid who looks nearly identical to classic bounty hunter IG-88. However, their personalities will be very different and it sounds like this supporting character won't be all that different to the loveable Korg, another CGI creation voiced by the actor and filmmaker (who actually helms the premiere episode of this Star Wars TV series).
"[IG-11 is] very innocent and naive and direct and doesn’t know about sarcasm and doesn’t know how to lie," Waititi says, likening the droid to a cross between Siri and HAL 9000.
"It’s like a child with a gun."
So, he's not exactly a badass, but Gina Carano's Cara Dune is. She's a former Rebel Shock Trooper turned mercenary who works alongside Greef Carga (Carl Weathers), the leader of a guild of bounty hunters."In Star Wars, you find yourself walking a different way, you behave differently, you relate to what’s around you differently, because it’s not a contemporary world," he says.
Giancarlo Esposito's Moff Gideon
One of the most exciting additions to the series is
Breaking Bad's Giancarlo Esposito. His role has been something of a mystery up until now, but Entertainment Weekly reveals that he'll play Moff Gideon, a one-time Governor for the Galactic Empire whose world was destroyed when the Rebels blew up the second Death Star and finally brought an end to The Emperor's rule over the Galaxy.
"He’s an Imperial remnant of a very fine officer who then switches to become sort of the guardian of the people," says Esposito, who also talked about having a geek out moment when he was able to climb aboard a TIE Fighter for the first time in the series.
"But what does [Moff Gideon] really want? This guy is going to be a big player because he has an idea of how to keep order."
Does that mean he's a hero or villain? It sounds like we'll have to just wait and see for now.
The Show Will Deliver Some Big Surprises
The first trailer for
The Mandalorian definitely impressed and with the magazine claiming that the show had a budget of around $100 million for all eight episodes, it's clear that Disney wants to deliver something that makes
Star Wars fans very happy indeed.
"I’ve seen a lot of Star Wars," Filoni, a man extremely well-versed in this Galaxy after working on everything from The Clone Wars to Rebels, says.
"And what’s most exciting to me is that I am very confident we did some things — and fans will see things — that have never been seen before."
In other words, this will definitely be worth a watch and it hasn't just been made for the sake of it!