Hard NOC Life 305: Put Some Respeq on Kelleran Beq

Keith and Britney break down the latest episode of The Mandalorian and the return of Ahmed Best to the Star Wars universe. They also discuss the twin controversies surrounding Marvel Studios currently. Yikes!

Continue reading “Hard NOC Life 305: Put Some Respeq on Kelleran Beq”

‘The Mandalorian’ Season 3 Poster and Featurette Celebrate Din and Grogu

Today marks the 30-day countdown to the season 3 premiere of The Mandalorian. Starring Pedro Pascal as Din Djarin, the critically acclaimed, original, live-action series sees its titular protagonist reunited with his cute but very powerful Grogu — let’s face it, his real name is Baby Yoda — and going on new adventures across the galaxy. To mark such an occasion, Disney has released a brand-new poster along with a featurette centered on the show’s legacy.

Continue reading “‘The Mandalorian’ Season 3 Poster and Featurette Celebrate Din and Grogu”

Din Djarin Finds His Way Home in ‘The Mandalorian’ Season 3 Trailer

Though The Mandalorian season two finale saw Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) part ways with Grogu, their separation was short-lived as the two were eventually reunited in the final episodes of The Book of Boba Fett. Together once again, they’ll travel across the galaxy in pursuit of adventure. And a new trailer reveals more of the overarching plot and character drama, which sees Din trying to make amends for his past transgressions and the Republic making an effort to move away from its dark past.  

Continue reading “Din Djarin Finds His Way Home in ‘The Mandalorian’ Season 3 Trailer”

New ‘Bad Batch’ Trailer Teases Action Packed, High Stakes Second Season

A peaceful-looking island on an unknown planet, followed immediately by members of the squad of genetically altered clones, the Bad Batch, being chased by large crabs, breaks the ground for a glimpse at what’s to come from the upcoming second season of Star Wars: The Bad Batch. Set in the aftermath of Order 66, the show follows these group of rogue clones, as they navigate a galaxy under this questionable new Empire.

Continue reading “New ‘Bad Batch’ Trailer Teases Action Packed, High Stakes Second Season”

NOC Review: When Grogu Met the Soot Sprites

It’s been three years since the first-ever Star Wars live-action series, The Mandalorian — as well as the platform it lives on, Disney+ — debuted. In celebration, viewers received a little treat, by way of a collaboration between two beloved studios.

Continue reading “NOC Review: When Grogu Met the Soot Sprites”

Background and Filler Stories Unfold in ‘Tales of the Jedi’

One of the positives — in my opinion, anyway — to come out of streaming services creating their own original content is making space for short films to be created and to live on. Whether they be standalone tales or bits and pieces of a larger franchise, they are opportunities for filmmakers to tell a moving story within a short span of time.

Continue reading “Background and Filler Stories Unfold in ‘Tales of the Jedi’”

D23Expo: Star Wars Animation Expands with ‘Tales of the Jedi’

Dave Filoni brought his love for all things Star Wars to the Clone Wars animated series. While he has made the jump to live-action, directing a handful of episodes of The Mandolorian, he found his way back to animation with shows like The Bad Batch — a series that focuses on a team of specialized clones who go on black-ops missions that no other Clone dare go on. But just in time for the D23 Expo celebration, Filoni announced a brand new series of shorts called Tales of the Jedi. And he revealed a first look at the upcoming six-episode series.

Continue reading “D23Expo: Star Wars Animation Expands with ‘Tales of the Jedi’”

The Cast and Crew of ‘The Bad Batch’ Reflect on Season 1 and Tease Season 2

It’s not Star Wars without its animated shows, and The Bad Batch is the latest entry to expanding the galaxy far, far away through that medium. Set immediately after Order 66, Clone Force 99 — a squad of clone troopers with genetic mutations — along with young clone, Omega, navigate the galaxy, where the need for clones in the era of the Empire is slowly but surely becoming obsolete.

Continue reading “The Cast and Crew of ‘The Bad Batch’ Reflect on Season 1 and Tease Season 2”

Disney+ and Lucasfilm Tease First-Look at ‘Ahsoka’

“Ezra’s out there somewhere. And it’s time to bring him home…” four years ago, those final words ended one journey, and began a new one, as the beloved Star Wars: Rebels brought its four-season run to a close. For years, Rebels mastermind, and overall walking Star Wars encyclopedia, Dave Filoni, has been asked when we’d get to see that new journey unfold. And this weekend at Star Wars Celebration, Filoni finally answered that question.

Continue reading “Disney+ and Lucasfilm Tease First-Look at ‘Ahsoka’”

Why Boba Fett’s Character Development Matters

WARNING: The following contains spoilers from the first season of The Book of Boba Fett.

All the episodes of the first season of the second Star Wars live-action series, The Book of Boba Fett, are now streaming on Disney+. The underworld of Tatooine is turned on its head when Boba Fett and Fennec Shand roll into town, looking to rule over the territory that once belonged to Jabba the Hutt. It’s easier said than done, as the two are quick to realize.

Continue reading “Why Boba Fett’s Character Development Matters”

Why Tiya Sircar Should Be Sabine Wren in ‘Ahsoka’

This week, news broke that Lucasfilm was ramping up production on Ahsoka and looking for an actress to play a live action version of the popular Rebels character, Sabine Wren. Naturally, I was taken aback by the phrase “looking for” because an actress already plays Sabine and her name is Tiya Sircar.

Continue reading “Why Tiya Sircar Should Be Sabine Wren in ‘Ahsoka’”

Ming-Na Wen on Exploring Fennec Shand in ‘Star Wars: The Bad Batch’

The latest Star Wars animated series, The Bad Batch, finds the galaxy at a turning point. The Clone Wars just ended and the Empire is quickly rising to power. Clone Force 99, a squad of elite clone troopers with genetic mutations, along with a young female clone named Omega, must navigate this rapidly changing galaxy. Along the way, they are quick to learn that to play it low might be the most difficult task, when they have the likes of Fennec Shand after Omega.

Continue reading “Ming-Na Wen on Exploring Fennec Shand in ‘Star Wars: The Bad Batch’”

NOC Review: With ‘Star Wars: The Bad Batch,’ Filoni Triumphs Again

May the Fourth be with you!

Today, we commemorate a franchise that is loved unconditionally. From the biggest disasters (Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, Rise of Skywalker) to the biggest wins (Empire Strikes Back, Rogue One, The Mandalorian), Star Wars has been the one franchise whose highest highs make it simply impossible for us to quit. The Original Trilogy is, and always will be, regarded as one of the greatest film sagas of all time. The prequel trilogy and the sequel trilogy, however…?

Continue reading “NOC Review: With ‘Star Wars: The Bad Batch,’ Filoni Triumphs Again”

Getting to Know ‘Star Wars: The Bad Batch’

Get hyped (Or Hype-erdrive-ed?… nope, that’s nothing. Sorry.) because tomorrow is May the Fourth, nerds! And that means, Star Wars! Nothing but Star Wars! Coming your way! To celebrate, The Nerds of Color had the opportunity to attend a press event for the brand new installment in the beloved “Filoniverse,” Star Wars: The Bad Batch. Present at the event were Star Wars voice legend, Dee Bradley Baker (who voices the entire Bad Batch: Hunter, Crosshair, Wrecker, Echo, and Tech), producer and Head Writer of the series, Jennifer Corbett, and producer Brad Rau.

Continue reading “Getting to Know ‘Star Wars: The Bad Batch’”

What the Season 2 Finale Means for the Future of ‘The Mandalorian’

A year ago, when Giancarlo Esposito’s Moff Gideon emerged from a wrecked Tie Fighter wielding the Darksaber in the end-credits stinger to season one of The Mandalorian, it was a signal to the audience that season two would tie more directly to established Star Wars canon than initially expected. Fast forward to the end of season two and it’s safe to say no one was prepared for just how extensive those ties would be.

In a season full of cameos and call backs to every installment of the franchise’s four-decade history — from the return of Temuera Morrison as Boba Fett to the live action debuts of Katee Sackhoff as Bo-Katan and Rosario Dawson as Ahsoka Tano — The Mandalorian season two proved to be as integral a part of the Skywalker Saga as each of the episodes released in theaters since 1977. None more so than the events of the second season finale, titled “The Rescue.” Spoilers for The Mandalorian season two finale from here on out.

Continue reading “What the Season 2 Finale Means for the Future of ‘The Mandalorian’”

Lauren Mary Kim on Developing and Performing Stunts for Two ‘Star Wars’ Productions

This past year has been a busy one for the Star Wars universe. Aside from the release of the final film of the Skywalker saga, The Rise of Skywalker, there has also been the beginning of the first live-action series, The Mandalorian, released last fall on Disney+, as well as the conclusion of the beloved animated series, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, this past spring. For Lauren Mary Kim, a stunt actor who has been working in Hollywood for the past 16 years, she has been involved in the making of both of these Star Wars productions. Continue reading “Lauren Mary Kim on Developing and Performing Stunts for Two ‘Star Wars’ Productions”

Hard NOC Life: The Lin-Mando Takeover of Disney+

On Hard NOC Life, Dominic and Keith welcome Lauren Lola — who took a moment out of her busy CAAMFest schedule — to talk about Hamilton and Mandalorian season 2 coming to Disney+.

Continue reading “Hard NOC Life: The Lin-Mando Takeover of Disney+”

Action, Depth, and Poetry Mark the End of ‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars’

Warning: The following contains spoilers from the recent and final season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

Twelve years following its premiere to initially hesitant audiences, the now beloved Star Wars animated series, The Clone Wars, has at last received the proper ending it deserved. Set after Attack of the Clones and concluding sometime after Revenge of the Sith, the brainchild of Star Wars creator George Lucas and supervising director Dave Filoni explored stories of a wide variety of characters — both familiar and new faces — during the war that was previously more of a backdrop to the fall of Anakin Skywalker.

Continue reading “Action, Depth, and Poetry Mark the End of ‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars’”

‘The Mandalorian’ is an A+ ‘Star Wars’ Story

For fans of Star Wars, today will be a day long remembered.

The arrival of Disney+, the Mouse House’s foray into the Streaming Wars, is finally here! And with it comes the first live action Star Wars television show to hold people over for the month between now and Rise of Skywalker in December. Luckily, that show is The Mandalorian, and it’s one of the best incarnations of Star Wars mythology to ever be put to film.

Continue reading “‘The Mandalorian’ is an A+ ‘Star Wars’ Story”

‘The Mandalorian’ Serves Up a Bunch of Easter Eggs

Star Wars fans are already excited over the anticipated release of Disney+ on November 12 because it will premiere the first episode of The Mandalorian, a whole new story about a lone Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) five years after the fall of the Empire.

With an entire new story and new characters, Star Wars fans may be looking for any reminiscence of the Star Wars canonical history.

“I didn’t realize there were a lot of [Easter eggs]. I guess there is,” Executive producer and writer Jon Favreau mused during The Mandalorian press conference last month.

Continue reading “‘The Mandalorian’ Serves Up a Bunch of Easter Eggs”