Star Wars Bits: 30 Years Of Thrawn, Inside Galaxy’s Edge, Knights Of The Old Republic, Star Wars: The Bad Batch, And More!

In this edition of Star Wars Bits:

Timothy Zahn Talks 30 Years of Thrawn

InStar Wars Insider#202, author Timothy Zahn talks toBrandon Wainerdiabout the phone call that spawnedHeir to the Empireand introduced the world to Grand Admiral Thrawn.

“It was a chance to jumpstart my career in a way that I’d never thought possible, but it was also a chance for me to fall flat on my face in front of millions of Star Wars fans (laughs). On top of that, I had never written a trilogy before: a single story told in three volumes, in 300,000 words. But by the next morning, I had enough of a germ of an idea that I thought it could be possible. The big question was whether I could capture the atmosphere of Star Wars, but I knew I needed to at least try. I went ahead and said yes, and it seems to be working out so far.”

Check out StarWars.com’sexclusive excerptof the interview and pick up a copy of the magazine in stores (or digital) now!

Kristin Baver talks Skywalker: A Family at War

365Star Warsincludes articles about the women ofStar Wars, analysis articles, and reference posts aboutStar Warscharacters, droids, planets, and creatures. Created byAmy Richau, the site highlights the incredible efforts of women in the franchise. Head on over to Amy’s site for an interview with Associate Editor of StarWars.com and authorKristin Baver, whose book,Skywalker: A Family at War, is now available wherever books are sold. The biography “examines the events that unfolded in the Skywalker saga on screen as well as through books, comics, and other canonical storytelling.” Read an excerpt atStarWars.com.Check out the interview here. While you’re at it, be sure to read Amy’s other interviews with ‘Star Wars Women’ likeJamie Leung, Associate Director of Marketing at Del Rey, and ILMxLAB Production ManagerSarah Barrick.

Inside The Art of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge

Continuing the theme of Star Wars books that are now available in stores, fans have a new reference book to obsess over withThe Art of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.Written byAmy Ratcliffe, Managing Editor at Nerdist Industries and Lucasfilm contributor, the book provides an inside look at the magic behind theStar Wars:Galaxy’s Edge-themed lands at Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort, documenting the art and innovations that led to the creation of Galaxy’s Edge.

Featuring hundreds of full-color concept artworks, sketches, blueprints, and photographs, the book reveals Walt Disney Imagineering’s creative process and offers a sneak peek at the upcomingStar Wars: Galactic Starcruiser experience, a first-of-its-kind immersive two-night adventure. StarWars.com has anexclusive previewof the gorgeous art you’ll find inside the book.

Knights of the Old Republic Gets a Remake?

According torecent reports, a remake of the beloved 2003 video gameStar Wars: Knights of the Old Republicis actively in development. Originally developed by BioWare, the remake will be handled by Aspyr, a studio primarily known for porting older games to modern platforms, includingStar Wars: Republic CommandoandStar Wars Episode I: Racer. Check out IGN’s video below for more information:

According to the rumors, theStar Wars: Knights of the Old Republicremake will be doing away with the real-time/turn-based combat system of the original game to be more of an action RPG. Additionally, tweaks will be made to the story to fit within the currentStar Warscanon, as the 2003 game’s story was retconned after the established canon was reset in 2014.

Star Wars: Visions & Ronin

Coming toDisney+later this year,Star Wars: Visionsis “a series of animated short films celebrating the Star Wars galaxy through the lens of the world’s best anime creators.” The anthology collection will bring 10 fantastic visions from several leading Japanese anime studios, offering “a fresh and diverse cultural perspective toStar Wars.”

Inspired by the series,Emma Mieko Candon’s upcoming canonical novelRoninwill be published by Del Rey onOctober 12,2021. Details are scarce, but the title suggests the novel will follow a wandering warrior who has no lord or master. Is the mysterious ronin a Jedi, a Sith, or a member of some other religious sect?

Rumors abound that we could see a trailer forStar Wars: Visionson May the 4th, so hopefully, we learn more about this fascinating series and its first spin-off novel soon.

Into a Larger World: Star Wars Art & Zines

“Into a Larger World” is a Star Wars fanzine made byKara DJ(@intoalargerworldbykara), a collage artist from New Jersey. Each issue combines different mediums in a classic fanzine style, examining and celebrating a different part of the Star Wars universe and fandom.

Star Wars Podcast & YouTube Round-Up

In addition to their “Indy Year” series, a year-long monthly tribute to the 40th anniversary ofIndiana Jones,Blast Points Podcasthas a new episode all about Holo-Chess with special guestTom SpinaofRegal Robot.

The scene has lived in the hearts and imagination of fans for years but we need to know what it’s all about, how it happened, and who each monster is. There’s only one person who could join us on this quest and that’s our friend from Regal Robot’s Tom Spin. Join us as Tom explains it all and tells us all about Regal Robot’s new and amazing replicas of the original monsters. This is an episode that will tell you absolutely EVERYTHING you ever wanted to know about the amazing Dejarik monsters and so much more. Who is Hunk and what about the mysterious duo of Scrimp and Bulbous!? Listen and find out!Listen here.

Talking Bay 94has an interview with Star Wars authorAlexander Freed.

Prolific Star Wars author, Alexander Freed has done so much, recently completing hisAlphabet Squadrontrilogy of novels. I really loved this conversation, tracing his journey from Bioware to Dark Horse Comics toStar Wars Insidershort stories to full-lengthStar Warsnovels.Listen here.

Skytalkershas an excellent episode on theEwok Adventuremovies with special guestsJasonandGabefrom Blast Points!

Caitlin and Charlotte continue to dive into the Star Wars Vintage Collection and watch the twoEwok Adventurefilms,Caravan of CourageandThe Battle for Endor! They’re joined by two Ewok film experts, Jason and Gabe from the incredible podcast, Blast Points. Caitlin and Charlotte present Jason and Gabe with questions they were left with after watching, including: What was George Lucas' mindset when creating the story for these films? How shocked were you by the first 10 minutes ofThe Battle for Endor? Where are these incredible matte paintings today? How did these films eventually influence the slate ofStar Warsstories we are receiving today? All this and more on this episode of Skytalkers.Listen here.

Skytalkers also has a great episode detailingGenndy Tartakovsky’sStar Wars: Clone Warsmicro-series:

Caitlin and Charlotte discuss the history of the series, how it compares toThe Clone Warsnow that both series are complete, and reminisce on watching this for the first time in middle school. They discuss each volume and analyze characterization, the metaphor of the cave, and much more.Listen here.

Pink Milkis aStar Warspodcast where hosts (and husbands)BryanandTomtalkStar Wars, queerly!

The Resistance Broadcastis the officialStar Warspodcast ofStarWarsNewsNet.com. In their latest episode, the gang discusses what’s in store in the third season ofThe Mandalorian.

On this episode we speculate on the type of roleMaya Erskinewill play in Obi-Wan Kenobi, give our takes on the rumor about Wookiees showing up inThe Mandalorian, and talk aboutStellan Skarsgård’s recent comments about joining theAndorseries. We also touch on the new Thrawn book, and unused ideas fromThe Rise of Skywalker.Listen here.

Sistas with Sabersis a podcast made for and by black female fans ofStar Wars. Listen to their latest episode, “What is CODED?“here.

OnThe Imperial Senate Podcast,Charlie,Nicky, andClareinterviewJamie Stangroomabout his new YouTube show “Lightspeed Tonight with Wameres Watt.“Listen here.

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.

BOB Reviews returns! Join Bespin as he reviews the ‘Mortal Kombat’ reboot, ‘Nobody’ the latest flick from the John Wick creator starring Bob Odenkirk and the much delayed ‘Chaos Walking’ starring Daisy Ridley and Tom Holland! Joining Bespin on this episode is host of the Moving Picture Madness podcast and streamer, AntShotFirst!Listen here.

Star Wars YouTube Round-Up

you’re able to always count onAlex & Mollie DamonatStar Wars Explainedto keep you up to date on all the latest news from that galaxy far, far away. Check out their recent video for a review of the newStar Warsbook,Thrawn Ascendancy: Greater Goodby Timothy Zahn.

Regal Robot founder Tom Spina has a zoom chat about theirHolochess Prop Replicasand the history of this iconic stop-motion scene with FX legendsDennis Muren,Jon Berg, andPhil Tippett.

On Around the Galaxy,hostPete Feltzerputs together an all-star team ofStar WarspersonalitieswithAsh Crossan,Hal Hickel,Clayton Sandell,andKrystina Arielle.

Over atKessel Run Transmissions,Noah Outlaw,Corey Van Dyke, andClaire Striblingdiscuss the possibility ofMaya Erskineplaying Dr. Aphra in the upcomingObi-Wan Kenobiseries and much, much more!

OnHolochronicles,AndyandJoshare joined byJohn Hoeyfrom the Resistance Broadcast to talk favorite Star Wars soundtracks!

OnBeyond the Blast Doors Live!David,Scotty, andMarietalkThe Mandalorian,Star Wars: The Clone WarsBlack Series Figures, and what’s happening in the world of Star Wars comics!

OnThis Week! in Star Wars, “the LEGO Group turns R2-D2 into an adorable new construction set, Hasbro celebrates Lucasfilm’s 50th anniversary with some new Black Series action figures, and Dok-Ondar warms a space stool at Seezelslak’s Cantina in ILMxLAB’sStar Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge.”

OnStar Wars Xtra: Weekly Edition,Star Warsauthor and documentarianDavid Whiteleydiscusses all the latest news from that galaxy far, far away.

And finally, in preparation for the upcoming May 4th premiere ofStar Wars: The Bad Batch, let’s watch that amazing trailer one more time:

And that’s it for this edition of Star Wars Bits! If you have something cool from the Star Wars Universe that should be included in this column,reach out on Twitter!