That Star Wars show just had an episode that was a stone cold killer. According to José Barbosa, you can thank director Dave Filoni’s animation background for that. [Spoilers for episode five of The Mandalorian follow, if you care about that sort of thing] The year 2019 brought many TV streaming joys including that second … Read more
The second season of The Mandalorian is more of the same, but it’s also a signal of where the world’s biggest franchise is headed, writes Sam Brooks. When The Mandalorian debuted on Disney+ last year, nobody could have predicted how truly huge it would come to be. Not only was it actually pretty good television … Read more
The appeal of Star Wars is universal, but the central themes have special resonance for indigenous people – which is why having a uniquely Māori spirit at the helm is so exciting. May the 4th was with us this week as Disney announced that New Zealand film-maker and Waihau Bay rebel leader Taika Waititi would … Read more
Today it was announced that Taika Waititi would be directing and co-writing a Star Wars film. It’s great news, but fans should probably not get too excited, writes Sam Brooks. In 2017, when a user suggested on Twitter that Taika Waititi should direct a Star Wars film, the director quote-tweeted them with this retort: I'd … Read more
The Star Wars prequels are universally regarded as the nadir of the franchise, but at least they gave us spinoff series The Clone Wars, writes Sam Brooks Nobody likes the Star Wars prequels. Though that statement is slightly hyperbolic, it’s not far from the truth. Even if you can make a limp defence for certain … Read more
The latest Star Wars film is out, and a lot of people have a lot of opinions about it, including culture editor Sam Brooks who saw a midnight screening last night. These are his fast reckons. Spoilers for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, obviously. Did you read the headline? Look. Nobody wants a review of … Read more
Seriously, if you haven’t seen The Mandalorian, look away now. This article also contains spoilers for Return of the Jedi, The Phantom Menace, Return of the Sith, and The Last Jedi. In case you didn’t read the standfirst: this article contains spoilers about The Mandalorian, and also all of Star Wars. The pictures are all … Read more
Sam Brooks gives you the lowdown on Disney+, the exhaustive streaming service launching today. What on this good green world is Disney+? Disney+ is a streaming service run by, as you might expect, Disney. If you need someone to explain what Disney is to you, then this service probably isn’t for you. Stick to whatever … Read more
Can the flagship Disney+ show The Mandalorian serve the Star Wars diehards at the same time as the casual viewer, asks Sam Brooks. A quick multiple-choice test to find out if The Mandalorian is for you or not. Q. Does the title The Mandalorian mean anything to you? A) No. B) Kind of? It’s definitely part of Star … Read more
With the announcement that The Walking Dead‘s Negan is joining Tekken 7, it’s clear that absolutely anybody can be a Tekken character. Matthew Codd has a few more suggestions. Last week, Tekken creator Katsuhiro Harada surprised everyone with the announcement that Negan (who?) from The Walking Dead would be coming to Tekken 7. The game already … Read more
In the midst of the bad prequels, after a slew of bad video games, and before the contested sequels, there was Knights of the Old Republic. Sam Brooks looks back at the critically acclaimed Star Wars game on its fifteenth anniversary. In 2003, the idea of a good Star Wars game was like the idea of a Star Wars sequel at … Read more
Simon Wilson wanted to like Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and some of it he really did. But then there was the rest. And, yes, there are MANY SPOILERS. You can read The Last Jedi as the story of two sisters who, if this were not a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, … Read more
Propel has released their new high-performance Star Wars-themed drone. Sam Brooks went to the lavish launch event, somehow flew the drone, and reports back. Until last Thursday I had never been to Sydney, and I had never flown a drone. I have done both of those things now and feel like a fuller human because … Read more
BBC have announced that the 13th Doctor in Doctor Who will be played by a mere human woman and men are not happy. Sadly, this isn’t the first time a woman has committed an act of violence against thousands of men. Madeleine Chapman ranks the worst of them. There’s nothing worse than blatantly miscasting a fictional … Read more
It’s likely earth will never be free of Star Wars, not least thanks to the many communities which have sprung up around the property’s various tentacles. In celebration of May the 4th day, José Barbosa tells the story of one such community and what it did for him. Every so often you’ll find what exactly … Read more
How to sap all the joy from PlayStation’s brilliant Star Wars: Battlefront? By ticking off a checklist of useless achievements and mundane chores. Daniel Rutledge joins the ranks of gaming’s extreme trophy hunters. It’s hard to imagine a world more hyped for Star Wars’ return than ours was at the end of 2015. With fans … Read more
The first episode of On the Rag, a podcast hosted by Alex Casey which looks at, laughs at and questions the state of women in pop culture, news and the world. To look at back at the year of 2015, she is joined by comedian and author Michele A’Court and marketing guru and longtime good … Read more