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Welcome
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Nathaniel Reed's
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:: An ongoing episodic story of fan-fic set after Episode VI Return of the Jedi, and inspired by George Lucas' historical draft concepts ::
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| April 2020 |
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Production news for 'The Mandalorian 2' and the 'Cassian Andor' series
30th April 2020 |
Through March and April there surfaced reports and rumours on the production of the second season of The Mandalorian. On the 8th of March, it was announced that principal photography wrapped on the show. Then following that, casting news and rumours also began to appear : Roasario Dawson has been apparently cast as Clone Wars and Rebels fan-favourite Ahsoka Tano - a move speculated as being a minor role in Mando 2, possibly as a test run ahead of the character's own show - which although generally praised by the fan community, also raised the question of the involvement of the long-standing voice actress Ashley Eckstein. The latter shortly afterwards published a statement confirming she was not involved, had enjoyed all the time she had had with her character, and recognised that there are many artists involved in bringing Ahsoka to life.
Additionally, it seems that Michael Biehn has also been cast, so much so that character designs has leaked showing his bounty hunter who apparently has previous history with the Mandalorian ; veteran actress Jamie Lee Curtis is said to have also signed up for the second season ; and the possible return of an assassin character thought killed in season one, Ming Na Wen as Fennec Shand.
And, for Star Wars Day 2020 - May the 4th - the new streaming service Disney+ will release a 'Making of The Mandalorian' multi-part documentary.
Finally, the show's executive producer and writer/director, Jon Favreau, has confirmed he is writing and prepping for a third season of The Mandalorian.
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Equally, through April, we have heard some further news on the next live-action show being prepared that follows the earlier adventures of rebel agent Cassian Andor. The show was about 6 weeks into pre-production before the Coronavirus Covid-19 forced the widespread lockdown.
Stellan Skarsgard and Kyle Soller have reportedly joined the cast of the next live-action Star Wars series. As have Denise Gough and Genevieve O'Reilly, who reprises her role as Rebellion leader, Mon Mothma.
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At the end of April, the Official Site's 'The Star Wars Show' presented a short interview with George Lucas and Dave Filoni at an LFL crew Q&A. Some insightful anecdotes on their work together and their Master-Apprentice relationship were revealed, as well as on the justifcation for some of the stories and overall plots for the long-running show.
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In the illustrated virtual edition of Episode VII : Plague of Doom the two droids, See-Threepio and Artoo-Detoo, using the hover-carts as cover, sneak into the aura gas processing factory.
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| You can see the VE artwork in the 'Kessel' art gallery as well as in the online illustrated story, and you can discuss this in the forum here ! |
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For my virtual edition Episode X 'The Riddle of the Pirates', I have written scenes describing Chewie and the Solo twins getting caught up in an attack by bandits...! The story as a work-in-progress can be found via the left hand side bar or directly here..... and a sample of the aforementioned scene can be found below....
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A blaster-shot explosion and a pile of canisters went tumbling. Another bright flash and noise-burst, and a wooden door on a shed was blown apart. Chewie peeked out from inside the Ithorian’s main residence, and spotted a Rodian scurry through the undergrowth on the far side of the clearing. The Wookiee was crouched down low beside one of the open windows, peering out from the corner. He looked further, through the thin stand of trees and saw their shuttle. It was unscathed, but he could sense movement near it : the marauders clearly saw it as a prize worth taking. The pilot-droid had commed him to say the boarding ramp was up and the ship locked tight, but the Wookiee knew that a persistent thief would eventually break in.
Chewie growled quietly to himself. Although he held his deactivated lightsabre in his paw, his bowcaster was in the shuttle ; Gana and Corsa Solo and the Ithorian, Klo Gorra, were unarmed, for their short training swords, as was the policy for all vacationing students, were secured at the Training Temple on Kashyyyk ; and Gorra’s family, the Tekkuls, and some of their ground staff that had managed to retreat to the main ranch, were used to farming not fighting. Still, Chewie had had the presence of mind to send the locals off to search for anything that could be used for defence. And loyal, predictable, anxious, jumpy Threepio was helpfully providing a running commentary.
He glanced over to the three younglings who were huddled on the other side of the entrance, crouched under another open window. He harrumphed and purred, and Corsa nodded.
At that moment, there was a commotion at the back of the room, and the Ithorians bustled in barking and clicking in their guttural tongue. They carried simple agricultural implements and domestic items : scythes, staves, rakes, hammers, hooks, blades ; handled pans, rolling pins, multi-tined forks, ladles.
Threepio perked up, automatically slipping into the role of interpreter he was so comfortable with. “These are all the implements they could find in the house and the connected out-buildings, Master Chewbacca. They do hope it will be enough,” and his neck motors whirred as he paused to regard the items. “Oh my,” he added, as he realised that no-one had had the fortune to arrive with a blaster or portable laser canon.
Another explosion outside snapped their attention to the matter in hand. Chewie barked and pointed at the windows and doors.
“Master Chewbacca thanks you for bringing these tools,” Threepio interpreted, “and asks you to stand by the windows and doors at the back of the house.” Chewie harrumphed and finished with a roar. “Don’t forget, they are not expecting much of a defence, so give them something to remember !”
As the Ithorians quickly left the room, Chewie turned to his three Jedi pupils and growled and barked.
“Use the Force to line up cups and plates and other small stuff on the window sills,” continued the gold-plated droid. “Quickly now. We can use them as projectiles...” Again Threepio paused to consider Chewbacca’s words. “Oh no,“ he said, “This is madness ! I’m not ready to die. I would be more than happy to broker a parley with these new arrivals and sugg-“
A cup whizzed past his face and fastened itself on the sill above Gana’s head. The Han Solo lookalike grinned mischievously at Threepio.
Klo Gorra’s voculator clicked into life as she said, “Corsa, I’m scared.”
Corsa, crouched next to her, and placed a hand on her friend’s shoulder. She nodded. “So are we,” she said, jerking her chin towards her brother. “But the Force will be with us. Clear your mind,” she smiled, “and focus on me.”
Several yells and shrieks from different corners of the open clearing heralded the pirates’ attack en masse. The children snapped their attention to the front. Two Rodians, the Aqualish, and the Snivvian, broke their cover from the undergrowth, and ran full pelt towards the timber building, blasters firing.
They were met with a fusillade of domestic objects that fired out at high speed from the open windows. Under the sudden and unexpected rain of detritus, some cups and plates found their marks, bruising and cutting the attackers. Surprised, the pirates veered left and right and dived for cover. Another round of well-aimed items followed them into the bushes, resulting in indignant yelps.
At the same time, those inside could hear shouts and screams from the back and sides of the ranch. Threepio flailed his arms around and paced back and forth, uncertain as to the safest direction to turn.
Chewie threw a quick glance outside, turned his attention to the children, and harrumphed at them, gesturing towards the forest outside. Gana and Corsa nodded, and then tensed, ready to fire another round of home-made ballistics.
Chewie lumbered to his feet, and ran to the door that led deeper into the house. Shouts and yells came from all directions, so he let the Force guide him to the nearest struggle. He turned a corner and came into a bedroom of soft furnishings and muted tones. At the window an Ithorian struggled hand to hand with one of the attackers over the sill. Chewie threw up his arm, pointing his finger at the Rodian outside : the power of the Force was channelled on a tight vector past the farmhand, and the Rodian was sent tumbling back into the undergrowth. The Wookiee didn’t pause to acknowledge the gratitude, instead he moved quickly to the next room where Klo Garra’s mother and another ground staff were fighting off another Rodian with the kitchen utensils. This time, Chewie simply threw himself into the fight, batting their adversary to the floor with his deceptively strong arm. The Wookiee holstered his sword, grabbed the long-snouted pirate, lifted him bodily into the air, and hurled him through the open door. A scream of shock and pain from the far side of the dwelling prompted Chewie to vacate the utility room, and go in search of the other breach.
He arrived at a large storeroom and saw one Ithorian on the floor clutching at his bleeding arm, and two others stabbing scythe and bladed stave at a Rodian who was flicking a blue lightsabre back and forth ! Although the marauder was holding the defenders at bay, Chewie could sense there was no finesse or Jedi control emanating from him. Still, even a trophy lightsabre taken from a battlefield and wielded in a clumsy hand was a sword with an energy blade that could cut through virtually anything.
Chewie gave a roar – an old Kashyyykian noise of bravado – and snatched his own lightsabre from the bandolier that hung across his furry chest. As the green blade marked its activation, the Ithorians dropped back, eyes wide in shock and wonder. The pirate, too, paused and stepped back, and then his do-or-die resolve snapped back, and he gripped his own lightsabre handle with purpose.
The Rodian snarled and leapt forward to meet the towering Wookiee. He brought his blue blade up and over and down, and Chewie’s green blade swung up to meet it. The swords clashed and slid off each other, and Chewie quickly pivoted his lightsabre on a tight arc to catch the Rodian. By luck more than skill, the Rodian skipped backward and narrowly missed the green blade. The blue blade came up once more and the green came crashing down. The pirate let his sword drop back, and with his left hand he whipped a blaster from its holster and fired at the Wookiee. Chewie twisted his body, and flicked his laser sword across himself to parry the bolt of deadly energy. As the blast ricocheted off to the wall, the Rodian fired again, wildly into the room, then dived out through the open service door.
The aftermath of the fight was deafened suddenly by the silence. Chewie sighed, de-activated his sword, and moved to the wounded Ithorian. It was Klo’s father, and Chewie mewled a question towards him. Although the Ithorian didn’t understand the words, the sentiment was clear. The right-angled wide head of Tekkul nodded to say he was okay, and then he jerked his head towards his son and the farmhand. Chewie nodded in turn, barked, and then left the storeroom. He quickly made his way through the lodge and back to the front room where he had left the children and Threepio.
“Chewie !” the twins both cried when he entered, and Threepio also expressed his relief at seeing his friend.
“It worked !” said Gana delightedly.
“We think they’ve backed off,” added his sister.
Klo Gorra’s voculator clicked, and, wide-eyed, she stuttered, “D-do you think it’s over ? H-have they g-gone ?”
Chewie growled and shook his head. He didn’t need the Force to know the bandits hadn’t gone far. They would simply re-group and take a breather whilst they formulated a better strategy. The shuttle was a prize too great to lose, and his sense of resolution from who he assumed was the gang leader was too strong, too stubborn, meant that they could expect a re-match soon enough.
Chewie gave a few barks, and Threepio said, “Oh, no ! Klo, your father was injured, not seriously, but go to him. We need to discuss what to do next, so can you send everyone in ?”
Klo Gorra nodded and climbed to her feet. She gave a quick wild-eyed glance at her friends, then left the room quickly.
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| Nathaniel Reed, 30th April 2020 |
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