Rebel Force Radio: Star Wars Podcast

A few Star Wars heavyweights were honored at recent award ceremonies for their achievements in filmmaking. We share highlights from speeches by George Lucas, Harrison Ford, and Kathleen Kennedy as they accept trophies and we read between-the-lines of some of their comments. Marketing for The Mandalorian and Grogu is starting to emerge. We review a new TV spot and make comparisons between Rotta the Hutt and another buff Hutt from the pages of Star Wars comic books. We also listen to recent comments from Sam Witwer talking about the upcoming Maul: Shadow Lord and, bad news for fans of...

With the newest Star Wars animated series, Maul: Shadow Lord debuting a month from now, it's a great time to get caught up with all-things Maul. We check out interview clips featuring the voice of Maul, Sam Witwer talking about where Maul's head is at during the series. We review the first issue of Marvel Comics "Shadow of Maul" prequel series and learn a little about the supporting cast of the upcoming show and the planet Janix, along with merch for Maul: Shadow Lord emerging from NY ToyFair. Ducks are canon in Star Wars? We look at examples of "...

We broke down the new trailer for The Mandalorian and Grogu last week, so this week, we hear what YOU think. The RFR Voicemail inbox was overstuffed with your opinions, observations, speculations and hot takes. We look at news reports that suggest The Mandalorian and Grogu Super Bowl commercial failed to make the desired impact, according to insiders. How many times will you see the Mando movie in the theaters? We share our thoughts and discuss the reasons why people are avoiding going to theaters like they once did. Plus, nostalgia for Star Wars prequel bootlegs, and "Tauntaun Talk"...

We're diving deep into the newly released, official Mandalorian and Grogu trailer with a complete breakdown and in-depth analysis. From major reveals to blink-and-you'll-miss-it details, we're examining every frame the way only RFR can. And after we wrapped up our breakdown, we turned it over to you — the phone lines were on fire with your reactions, observations, and theories. Plus, Jake's Take! Experience the trailer shot-by-shot with the RFR community!

Tauntauns! We review The Mandalorian and Grogu Super Bowl ad and our switchboard is overflowing with your opinions and comments. The RFR audience has a lot to say about the "Big Game" commercial for the upcoming film. Maul: Shadow Lord is coming soon and will it feature the long-desired showdown between Darth Maul and Darth Vader? Is there a Star Wars/Avengers Marvel Comics crossover on the horizon? Plus, we review the all-new Marvel Comics Jar Jar book co-written by Ahmed Best and more.

Another corporate leadership shakeup that will impact Star Wars has happened as Bob Iger's successor (s) were named this week with Bob stepping down in March. We look at the new bosses and speculate how they will impact Star Wars and Lucasfilm. 

We have new updates from our Bothan spies about the Star Wars Original Trilogy 4k remaster upgrade coming to theaters next year. Hear fresh details about the visuals, the audio mix and work being done on deleted scenes. 

Marvel head honcho Kevin Feige was once attached to a Star Wars film project but th...

We walk you through a shot-by-shot breakdown of the new teaser trailer for Maul: Shadow Lord and we review all-new information about the plot and characters. As always, we look for clues about the story and predict what will happen in the upcoming animated series. Plus, more about the upcoming Original Trilogy changes to Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, and does Dave Filoni really hate Andor, as rumored? Plus, listener feedback and more! 

When Kathleen Kennedy left her position as president of Lucasfilm last week, she left behind a ton of Star Wars projects in various states of production. From James Mangold's "Dawn of the Jedi" and Dave Filoni's Mandoverse epic, to potential films from Simon Kinberg, Taika Waititi, Steven Soderberg, Donald Glover and more, we look closely at that long list and try to determine which films may still actually happen under the supervision of Lucasfilm's new regime. Plus, listener feedback, Star Wars in Pop Culture and more.

BREAKING NEWS: Kathleen Kennedy's control of Lucasfilm and Star Wars has come to an end. We review some telling highlights from Kathy's exit interview and discuss her Star Wars legacy. With Dave Filoni taking charge of Lucasfilm, does this mean George Lucas will return to the fold? We share our thoughts. Disney revealed a facelift is coming to Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge at Disneyland as Original Trilogy characters and situations will be incorporated into the theme park this April. We review all the information about the changes and offer our opinions. Star Wars: Starfighter will feature lightsaber duels and...

We review the latest rumors which indicate the time has come for Lucasfilm's Kathleen Kennedy to step down from her leadership role to concentrate on producing films and Dave Filoni will be stepping up to have full creative control of the Star Wars franchise. We look at the pros and cons. We share memories of when Genndy Tartakovsky's Clone Wars microseries premiered as a series of shorts on Cartoon Network back in 2003. A new still photo from The Mandalorian and Grogu was released this week and we look at the budget for the film and speculate on potential box...

We're wrapping up a great year for Star Wars and Rebel Force Radio as we celebrate the season with friends and family. Noted and acclaimed Star Wars author/illustrator Christopher J. Sorrentino aka "Baby Belushi" ("Nerdy, Dirty, and Tasteless Star Wars Jokes IV") joins us for the whole show as we look back at the Star Wars year that was. We break down everything of importance that happened in Star Wars and RFR throughout 2025. From Skeleton Crew to Andor to The Hunt for Ben Solo and all stops in between, we review it all. 

Keeping within the fa...

RFR is back! We have some top secret information from our Bothan Spies regarding the upcoming 50th anniversary 4K upgrade rerelease of the original 1977 version of STAR WARS. Beyond the film itself, we can expect some surprises. We break down all the info from our sources who have actually seen some of the restored footage themselves.

Where has RFR been the last month? Why the sudden disappearance? Were Jason and Jimmy fighting? Or were there bigger issues undermining the production of the show? We'll pull back the curtain and explain everything that went down, with a little...

As is our tradition, we dedicate ample time to listener feedback on the final RFR before Thanksgiving. It's our way of turning the spotlight onto our audience to say "thanks" for being so loyal and supportive. From your comments about new releases like Star Wars Visions to thoughts on The Original Trilogy, we love hearing from you. Is Obi-Wan the greatest Jedi ever? When did fans first learn The Empire Strikes Back was not "Star Wars II" but instead "Episode V"? What about the '90s when Star Wars was only being represented by The Expanded Universe and PC...

Earlier this week, it was announced that the long-running Star Wars Insider magazine will be releasing its final issue in early 2026. We look back at it's legacy and impact with founder Dan Madsen, who joins us In The Cantina to share behind-the-scenes stories about the early days of the magazine, his favorite memories of interviewing George Lucas, and his feelings about the magazine he started over 30 years ago finally coming to an end. Star Wars: Starfighter is gearing up for a 2027 release and we review interview comments from actor Matt Smith and director Shawn Levy who gets us caught...

As Star Wars was being developed back in the mid-70s, the maverick special effects crew at ILM were pioneering new filmmaking technologies in often unconventional ways. In the early days, machinist Stuart Ziff found himself thrust into the action on day one. In the years that followed, Stuart used his skills in a variety of ways at ILM including working on Return of the Jedi creature costumes like Admiral Ackbar, Nein Nunb and Ree Yees, and on many projects from Dragonslayer to Ghostbusters to Jurassic Park. This week on RFR, Stuart joins us In The Cantina to share...

More info has emerged regarding Adam Driver's rejected script for "The Hunt for Ben Solo" and we take a look at all the newest details, including more fan reaction. With The Mandalorian and Grogu hitting theaters next year, we review the latest production updates along with interview highlights from stars Jeremy Allen White and Sigourney Weaver. Plus, be sure to stick around to the end of the show as we reveal some hot rumors regarding the animated series Darth Maul: Shadow Lord, Ahsoka season two, the resurrection of Rogue Squadron, and behind-the-scenes info about James Mangold's involvement in the...

In an interview this week, Oscar-nominated actor Adam Driver revealed that he, along with Oscar-winning director Steven Soderbergh developed a script for a new Star Wars movie called "The Hunt For Ben Solo", which was ultimately rejected by Disney's top brass. So what gives? We look at every angle of this story to break it all down, along with listener  reactions and fired-up opinions. We pay tribute to legendary artist Drew Struzan with Erik Sharkey, director of the documentary "Drew: The Man Behind The Poster" and discuss some of his iconic Star Wars movie posters. Will we see the o...

The legendary book "Star Wars: The Annotated Screenplays" features the complete shooting scripts for all three of the Original Trilogy films, along with notations revealing information about how each scene evolved throughout George Lucas's writing process, from the rough draft to the final revised fourth script. The book also included new interview quotes from Lucas and other key creatives, pulling the curtain back even further. Join us for this special RFR Q&A discussion, previously only available to members of the RFR Patreon community, featuring actor Matt Rashid as we discuss the screenplay to A NEW HOPE and act...

Ashley Eckstein is back on RFR! As the voice of Ahsoka Tano, Ashley developed the character from the ground up alongside George Lucas himself. We dig deep into the evolution of Ahsoka from The Clone Wars to Rebels and Ashley bravely opens up about being denied the opportunity to bring the character to life in live-action. In this must-hear conversation, Ashley gets deep about her connection to Ahsoka and the Star Wars fanbase. Plus, we listen to the first public comments from Mia Goth about joining the cast of Star Wars: Starfighter, we review Haslab's Mos Eisley Cantina, listener...

With STAR WARS: STARFIGHTER currently in front of cameras, the rumor mill is heating up with potential info about the plot of the film, the characters and more. Is it possible we will see Daisy Ridley's Rey Skywalker appear in Starfighter? We've heard all the rumors and we break them all down. With STAR WARS: VISIONS season three debuting later this month, we study the new trailer and anticipate what the anime series will bring us. We go through the RFR Voicemail in-box to listen to what you had to say about the new trailer for THE MANDALORIAN AND...

Join us for a full breakdown and analysis of the brand new Mandalorian & Grogu trailer and key art. We're going frame-by-frame to uncover hidden details, big reveals, and everything you need to know. Following our breakdown, we opened the phone lines for listener feedback conversation featuring your thoughts, reactions, predictions and theories about this next Star Wars film hitting screens in May 2026.

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STAR WARS: STARFIGHTER is coming to theaters in 2027 and is currently in front of cameras as we speak, and this week, fans were surprised by the first image from location was shared online by director Shawn Levy. We look closely at the photo for insight and clues about the upcoming Ryan Gosling film. We're still recovering from RFR at Rancho Obi-Wan and we're sharing our accounts of the weekend, from behind-the-scenes to travel horror stories.We also feature listener feedback about the epic event and we show off all the swag. ANDOR won for best writing in a drama...

An event years in the making finally happened last weekend as Rebel Force Radio descended upon Steve Sansweet's Rancho Obi-Wan, the Guinness Book of World Records largest Star Wars memorabilia collection, for a live podcast fundraiser with an audience of the greatest Star Wars fans in the galaxy. Join us, Steve, Anne Neumann, Billy Mac, Baby Belushi and more for an evening under the stars in California. Plus, Puppet Lando stopped by for an epic performance and many other surprises happened throughout the night. And we did it to raise funds for a great cause - Rancho Obi-Wan and...

LUCAS WARS is a new graphic novel that showcases George Lucas's rise from auteur filmmaker to Star Wars superstar as it goes behind-the-scenes of the original Star Wars film. Lucas Wars writer Laurent Hopman joins us In The Cantina to provide insight into his amazing illustrated story. But did George Lucas actually read it? You need to listen to find out!  In news headlines, we feature recent interview highlights from Mark Hamill and exclusive clips of The Acolyte's Manny Jacinto onstage at Chicago Fan Expo. Plus, we take a close look at the fallout from The Phantom Menace with h...

Cruising into theaters in 2027, STAR WARS STARFIGHTER is gearing up for production and this week, the official casting was finally revealed. We look at the roster of actors to be featured and speculate what impact their roles will have on the story. Clean up in Aisle 66! We're focusing on Star Wars in the grocery stores past and present. We have in our possession a complete set of Star Wars Coca Cola cans to review and we follow up on last week's discussion about Star Wars food from the 80s - Star Wars Pepperidge Farm cookies and Kellogg's C-3POs...

Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen came together onstage at Fan Expo Chicago for a full-blown Star Wars prequel reunion. Both actors were interviewed about their experiences shooting the trilogy along with behind-the-scenes stories and we got the highlights. Simon Kinberg recently discussed his excitement for his upcoming Star Wars trilogy and we listen to what he had to say. Plus, we look at how the events of the Prequel Trilogy affects our perception of the Original Trilogy, we pay tribute to actor Terence Stamp from The Phantom Menace, we consider the possibility of Skeleton Crew season two, and we...

Gina Carano's lawsuit vs Disney has reached a settlement, so we react to the news and consider the possibility of the return of her character Cara Dune to STAR WARS. We go into the RFR Sound Lab to examine the tortured Gonk droid from Jabba's Palace in RETURN OF THE JEDI and listener feedback has us considering the loopholes and inconsistencies surrounding the Mandalorian Darksaber. Plus, we listen to new comments from Tony Gilroy discussing the impact of ANDOR, along with new rumors about Kathleen Kennedy's exit date as head of Lucasfilm and who will replace her.

Cur·mudg·eon  [kərˈməj(ə)n]   noun

          a bad-tempered person, especially an old one.

We celebrate two legendary curmudgeons who brought the characters of Han Solo and Qui Gon Jinn to life: Harrison Ford and Liam Neeson. Both have been on the interview circuit lately, both have been looking back at their Star Wars careers, and both are sometimes grateful and sometimes salty about their experiences in a galaxy far, far away. We listen to recent interview highlights from the two to get their perspectives as now-older gentlemen. We report on fresh news about the cast...

Last weekend, George Lucas made his first ever SDCC appearance to promote the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, opening next year in L.A. We have all the highlights of not only what went down in the Lucas panel, but the latest collecting news coming from Hasbro Star Wars and more. As for the future of Star Wars films, we look closely at all of the info about which movies are in development and what order they may be released, following THE MANDALORIAN and GROGU and STAR WARS STARFIGHTER. Plus, we pay tribute to Ozzy Osbourne and Hulk Hogan...

The actor wearing Din Djarin's helmet is not always Pedro Pascal. In fact, most of the time it's Brendan Wayne, grandson of the legendary John Wayne. Making his RFR debut, Brendan Wayne joins us In The Cantina to talk about his experiences on the set of THE MANDALORIAN, his life as an actor and the connection he feels with his famous grandfather's legacy. He discusses a medical emergency that temporarily prevented him from playing the role, working with superstars like Sigorney Weaver and the late Carl Weathers, and he provides us with excitement as we look forward to next...

We present a spoiler-free review of the box office hit SUPERMAN through the lens of a Star Wars superfan, and we shine the spotlight on recent comments from Mark Hamill who discusses his struggles with the depiction of Luke Skywalker in THE LAST JEDI while attempting to provide some perspective on his relationship with director Rian Johnson. Plus, George Lucas and JAWS 50, the evolution of Mon Mothma from senator to rebel, the return of Star Wars in Pop Culture, Kid Blake rubs elbows with the stars, and more! 

We're looking ahead to the future for STAR WARS and, of course, Ahsoka Tano plays a big role. Recently, RFR acquired top-secret concept art images from AHSOKA season two and we go through them all to provide detailed descriptions and observations while looking for clues about the upcoming series. On the animated side of STAR WARS, we speculate about a specific Dark Side character who may show up in MAUL: SHADOW LORD. Plus, Ashley Eckstein recently set the record straight about the origin of #AshokaLives and the role RFR played in it's creation and more!

For three seasons, we followed along with The Clone Wars spinoff THE BAD BATCH and all of their adventures. Among the troopers was the young clone Omega, who quickly emerged as one of the most likeable Star Wars characters in a long while. Joining us "In The Cantina" for the very first time is Omega herself, Michelle Ang, who shares stories from behind-the-scenes at THE BAD BATCH along with how she relates to Omega and more. You will find Michelle as likeable as Omega, probably even more. In News Headlines, we react to rumors that Daisy Ridley's "New Jedi...

STAR WARS: STARFIGHTER will go in front of cameras later this year and we have fresh casting info, rumors and speculation about this upcoming film starring Ryan Gosling. Mark Hamill is on a media tour to promote his new film "The Life Of Chuck" but that doesn't stop interviewers from asking him about his Star Wars history. Mark addresses rumors that he's done playing Luke Skywalker and provides insight into that famous wardrobe malfunction from earlier this year when his pants fell down in front of an audience of his peers at the BAFTA awards. We also have fresh...

You heard our coverage of The Forest Moon Festival 2025 last week, so this week, we're telling you all of the stories. Celebrating the original Endor shooting locations from RETURN OF THE JEDI in the redwoods region, this annual event is not to be missed. Fanboys director Kyle Newman was there as well and he's back on RFR to share his experience. We recap all of the tales from behind-the-scenes and listen to the full Fanboys Q&A from the event. Plus, listener feedback, "Star Wars in Pop Culture" and more, delivered to you this week with an extra dose...

RFR made the journey out to the beautiful redwood forests of California for The Forest Moon Festival celebrating the Endor shooting locations from RETURN OF THE JEDI. From Del Norte County to Humboldt County, we were part of a "caravan of courage" traveling up and down the Pacific Northwest to podcast at various event locations. Joining us were original ROTJ Ewok Kevin Thompson and our pal, FANBOYS director Kyle Newman. We talk to fans, cosplayers, artists, musicians, and locals who share their pride for living in a region that served as the Forest Moon home of the Ewoks. Hear...

Now that ANDOR has wrapped up, we aren't quite ready yet to let it go. We scoured the web to collect the best interview highlights featuring Andor showrunner Tony Gilroy, who provides valuable insights into the finished series and gives us a lot to talk about. FORTNITE recently revealed an all-new A.I. powered Darth Vader character that players can interact with via voice text, so naturally because it's the internet, people started to manipulate the "Sith-Bot" to say outrageous and unthinkable things. Of course, we had to try ourselves so you can hear what Darth has to say...

SERIES FINALE! The adventures of Cassian Andor come to an explosive conclusion this week in the fourth and final block of episodes from ANDOR Season 2: "Make it Stop," "Who Else Knows?," and "Jedha, Kyber, Erso." Join us for a lively RFR After Show looking back at these episodes and the entire series now that it has officially wrapped up. As always, the RFR switchboard was open for your thoughts about this unique and gripping installment of the Star Wars Saga.

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In the wake of the amazing "Ghorman Massacre" arc from ANDOR season 2, there is still much ground to cover. We have highlights from a fresh interview with Andor writer Dan Gilroy, brother of showrunner Tony Gilroy. Dan provides some quality insight into the characters and the situations they find themselves in. Turning our ears toward ANDOR, we take audio of The Ghorman Front's desperate underground radio broadcast into the RFR Sound Lab to clean it up and hear it all, word-for-dramatic-word. Spotlighting Star Wars animation, we breakdown TALES OF THE UNDERWORLD and react to the stories featuring Asajj Ventress...

The Ghorman Massacre is finally upon us as the you-know-what hits the fan this week on ANDOR. And the fallout is just as intense as Mon Mothma takes an official stand against The Empire putting her life at risk. Meanwhile, Dedra and Syril see their relationship come to a a wicked conclusion. Join us as we look at the second arc of ANDOR Season 2: "Messenger," "Who Are You?," and "Welcome to the Rebellion." We break down the entire arc and open up the switchboard for your thoughts, reactions and theories.