Star Wars 7x7: A Daily Bite-Sized Dose of Star Wars Joy

TV & Film
**Star Wars 7×7: A Daily Bite-Sized Dose of Star Wars Joy**

The Star Wars 7×7 Podcast is Rebel-rousing fun for everyday Jedi, generally between 7 and 14 minutes a day, always 7 days a week. Join host Allen Voivod for Star Wars news, history, interviews, trivia, and deep dives into the Star Wars story as told in movies, books, comics, games, cartoons, and more. Follow now for your daily dose of Star Wars joy. It’s destiny unleashed! #SW7x7

Latest Episodes:

2,077. Starting Fake Controversies in Star Wars Fandom Mar 11, 2020

Show notes

ere was the headline that we haven't gotten to talk about yet:

Star Wars: Rogue One Prequel Actor Diego Luna Says Lucasfilm Doesn't Trust Him

And here's the problem with it. 90% or more of people who see that headline are not going to click through to read the article. That's not a criticism, that's just web statistics. So 90%+ of the thousands of people who see that are going to think to themselves, "WTF, Lucasfilm? Diego's a nice guy! There's more problems at Lucasfilm! And Disney!" And $*&%#$(*&$*(&%()$% and so on and so forth.

There are already enough strident and conflicting voices opining about Star Wars right now. We don't need media outlets to through gas on the fire to create fake controversies in order to get clicks.

And yes, it's fake. It's blandly misleading at best, and intentionally inflammatory at worst. On today's episode of the show, I'm going to share the basis of that headline with you - the appearance of Diego Luna on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon. You can hear it exactly the way Luna tells it, and when you do, you'll see the latest example of exactly why we don't need people trying to start trouble where none exists. Punch it!

***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

2,076. Remembering Max von Sydow (1929-2020) Mar 10, 2020

Show notes

Max von Sydow kicked off the Sequel Trilogy with the gravitas and ease that comes with such an incredibly prolific filmography. He passed away on Sunday, and today, we're looking back at his storied career.

2,075. Star Wars and International Women's Day Mar 09, 2020

Show notes

Yesterday was International Women's Day, and I got to thinking. Yes, it was a big deal that the character of Princess Leia debuted in 1997. And yes, they made Padme Amidala a strong character in the prequels. But I think:

A) It's fair to say that the Original Trilogy is very much about Luke more than anyone else

B) The Prequel Trilogy is very much about Anakin more than anyone else

C) You could successfully make a case that the OT is more concerned with Han's character arc than Leia's

D) You could successfully make the case that the PT is more concerned with Obi-Wan's character arc than Padme's

Now, there may have been great strides made for leading female characters in the old Expanded Universe (I hope so!), but the fact of the matter is, most people experience Star Wars through movies and television. And it looks as though Lucasfilm didn't set out to tell a Star Wars story in film or TV with a significant female character until the Clone Wars in 2008 - more than three decades after the debut of A New Hope.

I'm going to be talking about this on today's episode, speaking in support of more leading female characters, and a female-led Star Wars movie for the 2022 date. Punch it!

***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

2,074. MORE Fast Facts From Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: The Galactic Guide Mar 08, 2020

Show notes

Thanks again to DK Publishing for sending me a review copy of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: The Galactic Guide to check out and share with you! On Friday, we covered a bunch of new things you can learn from the book about the heroes the final movie in the Skywalker Saga. On today's episode, I'm switching the focus to the bad guys, starting with what seems to be a startling omission at first. But upon reflection, you can imagine this must be because of a big secret they wanted to be sure to keep...

And we'll also go over a couple of quick bits of trivia about Kef Bir, Kijimi, and that smooth-talking scoundrel Lando Calrissian. Punch it!

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2,073. On the Wings of Keeradaks (Clone Wars Briefing, Season 7, Episode 3) Mar 07, 2020

Show notes

"On the Wings of Keeradaks" is the third episode of the final season, season 7 of the Clone Wars. It's also the third in a four-part story arc, and as much as I hate to say it, it's the weakest one so far - so much so that it's almost unnecessary.

That's not to say the episode is without merit. There are exciting action sequences, a bit of Wrecker comedy, and a moment at the end that's heavy with emotion. But as we'll discuss on today's Clone Wars Briefing, there's nothing about this episode that advances the story of this final season. They got to Echo in the last episode. We knew they'd get him off planet after that. Did we learn anything new in the process, or add depth or complexity to the storyline? Unfortunately, no.

There were some missed opportunities that could have made this episode more necessary - at least one of which was hinted at in the original story-reel version of this episode. We'll talk about that, and about other changes to the episode from the story reels to the final Disney+ version. Punch it!

***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

2,072. 37 Fast Facts From Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: The Galactic Guide Mar 06, 2020

Show notes

DK Publishing was kind enough to send me a review copy of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: The Galactic Guide when it was released. On today's episode, I'm sharing as many fast facts as possible that I learned about the backstory of The Rise of Skywalker from this book, as well as some fun facts about the book itself - including places where it shares information that ties into other Star Wars media, including animation, novels, and comics. Today's episode focuses on what we learn about the good guys and their circumstances, and we'll be talking about the bad guys soon enough, as well as an upcoming giveaway!

It's a full-color, 96-page book that's almost like a mini Visual Dictionary, for younger readers. DK refers to it as "illustrated with action-packed images from the movie, accompanied by fun, easy-to-read text." And that's exactly right. Matt Jones does great, energetic, and breezy work with the writing Also, in place of cross-sections, they have fun features like little quizzes. Turns out I'm most like General Leia Organa as far as heroes go, and my ideal vacation spot would be Kef Bir! Time to pack my bags... Punch it!

***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

2,071: Could "The High Republic" Go Beyond Publishing? Mar 05, 2020

Show notes

Here's what Lucasfilm said at the top of their official press release/announcement for the mystery formerly known as Project Luminous - now revealed as Star Wars: The High Republic:

This period on the Star Wars timeline will not overlap any of the filmed features or series currently planned for production, giving creators and partners a vast amount of room to tell Star Wars stories with new adventures and original characters.

Okay, yeah, okay, but... what's "currently planned for production"? Mandalorian Season 2, the Cassian Andor series, and the Obi-Wan Kenobi series. That's it, as far as we know. There still hasn't been any announcement about what's in the works for the dates on Disney's release calendar - December 2022, December 2024, and December 2026. And everything in the rumor mill has been vague, categorized as "in talks" (no contract signed and not in development), or in the very early stages of development (see: Kevin Feige).

So, that official statement doesn't exactly preclude The High Republic from making the jump out of publishing, does it? And wait, there's more! On today's episode, I'll be picking out quotes from a variety of people that seem to point at the possibility of The High Republic serving as a testing ground that could - *could* - evolve into live-action stories. Punch it!

***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

2,070. Padawan Lost (Clone Wars Briefing, Season 3, Episode 22) Mar 04, 2020

Show notes

"Wookiee Hunt" is the 22nd and final episode from season 3 of the Clone Wars, and it features an instance of stunt casting! The Trandoshans have captured a Wookiee to hunt, and it's none other than Chewbacca. This is his first in-universe appearance, from a timeline perspective, and he'd have to be around 180 years old at this point.

He gets to showcase both his brains and brawn on this episode, and for our Clone Wars Briefing, we'll get into all those details - including a very funny assist with a Jedi mind trick, and one of the most touching scenes with Anakin and Ahsoka to date. Plus, how Chewie is mentioned in the credits, and what it means for his performance in the episode. Punch it!

***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

2,069. Padawan Lost (Clone Wars Briefing, Season 3, Episode 21) Mar 03, 2020

Show notes

"Padawan Lost" is episode 21 from season 3 of the Clone Wars series, and it's the first of a two-part story arc. Why are we talking about this episode today, you might ask? Well, it's the only remaining story arc that we haven't covered here on the show from season 3, and since it also happens that its featured player - Ahsoka Tano - figures prominently in the upcoming second and third story arcs of season 7, I thought it might be fun to look back at her earlier days, and finish off the season 3 Clone Wars Briefings at the same time.

So we'll talk about this episode, which requires you to invent your own reasoning for why a Trandoshan is randomly skulking around a Separatist base on Felucia, and demonstrates the growing emotional attachment Anakin feels for his Padawan. She's kidnapped without a trace, brought to a Trandoshan moon where she's hunted for sport (and for a youth's rite of passage, which goes very badly for said youth).

This episode also got me thinking about the animation in season 7; how it compares to season 3; what people were saying about the Clone Wars animation at the start of the show; how far we've come since then; and a little wistfulness over what could have been if Star Wars Resistance had a chance to run for more seasons. Punch it!

***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

2,068: Jedi Business: Our Final Rise of Skywalker Box Office Report Mar 02, 2020

Show notes

The Rise of Skywalker has been in theaters for more than 70 days now, but for all intents and purposes, the run is complete. Last weekend, it was only playing on about 400 screens domestically, and on the Friday (2/28), it took in an estimated $84,000. At this rate, it's pretty safe to say that these final weeks at the box office won't even have much of a rounding effect on the totals...

So on this, the last Jedi Business episode for the conclusion of the Skywalker Saga, I'll share where the numbers stand domestically and worldwide; where it ranked in 2019 and all-time; how it compared to Rogue One at the box office (its nearest Star Wars competitor by box office); and the one possible jump in ranking it could still make.

I'll also talk about what's next for Star Wars movies, and how the recent Project Luminous publishing announcement relates (if at all) to the future of Star Wars on the big screen. Punch it!

***I'm listener supported! Join the community at http://Patreon.com/sw7x7 to get access to bonus episodes and other insider rewards.***

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