Nick Hughes
Opinion Editor

“Star Wars,” I was going to try to not write about it in the first week of the Snapper, but it is happening anyway. There is so much happening in a galaxy far, far away. Disney is making a lot of great decisions with the franchise and we are about to have a nonology for what I think is the first time in a movie series that has lasted this long.

First on the agenda is the release of Disney plus, which will feature a lot of the Disney library, including “Star Wars.” All eight episodes will be on for the start of the Disney plus. The first major “Star Wars” series that will be on Disney plus will be “The Mandalorian.”

“The Mandalorian” will feature a Mandalorian bounty hunter, and it takes place between the end of “Episode VI: Return of the Jedi and Episode VII: The Force Awakens.” There was a trailer for the series and I am beyond excited for this series. I love Boba Fett and this feels like a big nod to him. 

“The Rise of Skywalker” trailer dropped last April and I covered it then, but I am still super hyped for it. We have gotten another trailer since then and to say I was blown away is a massive understatement. Dark Rey is an aspect of the movie that I am super excited for. 

I have a lot of theories for the movie and could spend a lot of time and space right now going into these, but I will restrain myself. 

Comics and books are in full build-up swing right now and the one that I am most excited for is the Snoke comic. There are spoiled panels that detail Kylo Ren and Supreme Leader Snoke on the planet, Dagobah. This is the planet where Yoda lived. There is a scene of Kylo fighting a vision of Luke Skywalker in the same cave that Luke fought the vision of Vader years before. I read Thrawn Treason and Alphabet squadron over the summer and immensely enjoyed both of the novels. 

Action figure lines have been revealed and they look awesome. I have looked very closely at all of the new Black Series figures and, honestly, I want all of them even though I know I cannot get them. 

Back to series that will be coming out at some point, I am looking forward to the Cassian Andor series that will be on Disney Plus. Andor was a rebel spy that died during the battle of Scariff in the Rogue One movie. I would love to know more about Andor’s rise to Captain within the rebellion as well as more footage of K-2SO. I do not know if K2 will be in the show or not, but I am hoping for that. 

Looking towards movies, there will be a break. There will be a three-year break then more movies are coming out. The “Game of Thrones” showrunners will be doing a trilogy and Rian Johnson is doing a trilogy of films. There are a lot of rumors going around that Dave Bautista, the former wrestler, and current actor to play Darth Bane is a movie. There is not a lot of sources for this. I would love for this to be a feature in Star Wars.

One of the issues that I had with Disney’s acquisition of Star Wars from George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars, was that Disney got rid of, at the time, an established Expanded Universe. What I do like now is that Disney, namely Pablo Hildalgo and the story group, picking specific parts that were fantastic from the old EU and using them in Star Wars content.

The best instance of this is the reimagining of Grand Admiral Thrawn. He was a character in the old EU and was revised and adapted for the new continuity. I love Thrawn in both Universes and think that he is a great addition to the galaxy at large. 

There is so much on the horizon for “Star Wars” in the coming years and I am beyond excited for returning to a galaxy far, far away. The Rise of Skywalker comes out in December. The Mandalorian will debut when the Disney Plus service is rolled out in November. 

May the force be with you, always.