Rebel Force Radio: Star Wars Podcast

This week's Rebel Force Radio is coming to you LIVE and the Star Wars topics are YOURS. It's an open-phones edition of RFR, so whatever's on your mind in the galaxy far, far away, we wanted to hear it. The latest Star Wars news, a hot take, a deep-cut question or a debate you've been dying to settle, we discuss it all on RFR Live.

We review Darth Vader moments from the Disney-era including live-action and animation. Which of the Dark Lord's appearances in the Disney era resonated the most with us and which did we feel came up a bit short?

Plus, just in time for Halloween, we look back at vintage Star Wars Ben Cooper costumes, Kid Blake checks in with some solid speculation for Star Wars: Starfighter, Ahsoka Season 2, and Episode X, we discuss the potential of adapting the Star Wars Expanded Universe via animation and more.

Todd Stashwick is an actor, writer, gamer, and Star Wars superfan. And now, Todd can be seen in VisionQuest as the bounty hunter Paladin, who was modeled after Boba Fett. Todd joins us In The Cantina to discuss the character and share stories about his experiences on the set. Plus, plenty of Wars and Trek talk too!

In news headlines, we receive what may be the final update on Taika Waititi's long-gestating Star Wars film, we breakdown audio highlights from recent interviews with Kathleen Kennedy, Ben Affleck, and Jeff Garlin, who talked about his time on the set of The Rise of Skywalker, and more!

Was the name (or nickname) for the antagonist in Star Wars: Starfighter revealed at NYCC 2026? Who is The Rock Pirate of Kaneen? We review the announcements from Lucasfilm Publishing's panel at the con and all the upcoming Starfighter books and comics, along with the general Star Wars news breaking last weekend.

Scrib Doon! Have you noticed that saying floating around social media lately? Well, you can thank the new videogame Star Wars: Galactic Racer and a breakout character named Biddy Blas, who we get to know.

As the anticipation for Ahsoka season 2 continues to build, we look at news about an upcoming prequel comic book coming from Marvel - Ahsoka: Escape From Thrawn, along with other hints and clues about the next season.

Joining us In The Cantina is a legitimate Star Wars Original Trilogy legacy member - ILM's Rose Duignan. Rose shares stories from the early days of the saga working with George Lucas and the legends of special effects.

We're prepping for Ahsoka season two by looking at information about the plot as revealed through interviews, articles, and other teases from the past couple of years, including Dave Filoni comments from the latest Star Wars spread in Empire magazine. We discuss the quest of Baylon Skoll, the Mortis gods, Grand Admiral Thrawn v. Admiral Ackbar, and we speculate about where the story may go. Kathleen Kennedy is talking about life after Lucasfilm and we review highlights. Does she throw George Lucas under the bus? Hear what we think! Plus, a tight review of the newest Star Wars novel - Edge of the Abyss, listener feedback has us thinking about what to call the next trilogy, bilingual See-Threepio returns and more.

We react to reports saying Skeleton Crew's Jon Watts will direct Star Wars Episode X. Is he the right man for the job? We discuss. Is a "Darth Vader" movie being developed for Hayden Christensen? Hayden recently reacted to these rumors and we hear what he had to say, and share our ideas of what we'd like to see in a Darth Vader movie or series.

The man who built the Razor Crest - ILM veteran John Goodson - joins us In The Cantina to discuss his decades-long career working on Star Wars special effects, including his work on The Mandalorian and Grogu, The Lucas Museum and more.

Plus, we celebrate Oktoberfest with bilingual See-Threepio and more.

Legendary Sci-Fi writer Alan Dean Foster joins us In The Cantina to discuss his work with George Lucas as ghostwriter of the original Star Wars film novelization along with recollections about the making of the first Expanded Universe novel - Splinter of the Minds Eye - and behind-the-scenes stories going back to before the first Star Wars film was even released. Alan also shares his thoughts on the sequel trilogy and more. This is a Star Wars history lesson you do not want to miss. Plus, we have interview highlights from George Lucas at the opening of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, and, with Star Wars being a story about fathers and sons, we pay tribute to Dad.

We go In The Cantina for a pair of individual interviews with the guys who bring The Mandalorian to life, Brendan Wayne and Lateef Crowder. While Pedro Pascal supplies the voice of Din Djarin, Brendan handles the physical acting in the Beskar armor while Lateef provides the martial arts and stunt work. We speak to both Mandos and ask them similar questions to compare their answers.

What can be done in future Star Wars stories to make the sequel trilogy resonate the same way The Clone Wars benefitted the prequel trilogy? We discuss. More fans and their kids are discovering The Mandalorian and Grogu now that it's available to watch via Disney+ and we hear about it during Listener Feedback as we chat about the importance of sharing Star Wars with the younger generation.

We have more interview highlights from Dave Filoni at D23, and Ewan McGregor talking about his desire to continue telling stories as Obi-Wan Kenobi. Plus, we pay tribute to the Spanish voice of See-Threepio and more.

We kick off our twenty-first year of Star Wars podcasting by looking ahead to Star Wars: Starfighter via interview highlights with writer Jonathan Tropper and director Shawn Levy, who reveals his story will be set in a galaxy far, far away without a governing body. We interpret all of the clues about Starfighter and predict what a lawless Star Wars galaxy will look like.

The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art has finally opened in LA. We react to some of the early coverage and the statues on display, like "Huttslayer Leia".

Plus, Swank is having a hard time revisiting the sequels, we discuss Solo: A Star Wars Story, an old friend checks in and more.

From the birth of The ForceCast on September 1st in 2006, to the launch of Rebel Force Radio, we've spent two decades exploring the galaxy far, far away together. Along the way, we've shared news, opinions, event coverage, interviews, unforgettable moments and a lot of laughs with an amazing community of Star Wars fans from around the world. We are grateful to celebrate this milestone with YOU. The RFR Switchboard was open as we took your calls to hear about the episodes, moments, guests, cons, or inside jokes that have stayed with you over the years. Or that burning question you've always wanted answered. Whether you've been listening since the ForceCast days, joined us when we started Rebel Force Radio, or discovered us more recently, this show is for you.

We go In The Cantina to get caught up with author and screenwriter Ernest Cline. In this awesome conversation, Ernie shares behind-the-scenes stories about his first film Fanboys, many we've never heard before, along with tales from the Fanboys reunion earlier this month in Texas. We present Ernie with every Star Wars reference from his groundbreaking novel Ready Player One to get his first-blush reactions and inspirations, and Ernie shares stories about working with Steven Spielberg. Plus, Ernie sticks around to break down the Star Wars: Starfighter teaser trailer screened only once earlier this month at D23, and more!

We put the all-new Ahsoka season two teaser trailer under the microscope as we breakdown the whole thing, shot-by-shot, following it's debut at D23. Hayden Christensen spoke about his desire to work with Natalie Portman in a Clone Wars-based live-action show.

Plus, we have D23 Ahsoka media junket highlights from Dave Filoni, Rosario Dawson, and Eman Esfandi, along with a follow-up to a lingering question from last week's Bryce Dallas Howard interview here on RFR and more.

Bryce Dallas Howard joins us In The Cantina to talk all about her career behind-the-camera as director of Star Wars streaming shows, her famous family, and whether or not she'd like the chance to direct a feature film in a galaxy far, far away (hint: she does).

Luke Skywalker meets Spider-Man? Star Wars is merging with the Marvel Universe for a Kevin Smith-penned adventure to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Saga. We discuss the pros and cons.

RFR have returned from Rebel Scum Con and we have stories to tell about what we saw and who we hung out with, like cast members from Fanboys and more. Plus, Ewan McGregor wants Obi-Wan Kenobi season 2, and more!

In a surprise announcement, the long "on-the-shelf" Star Wars animated comedy from George Lucas, Seth Green and company will be screening at the soon-to-open Lucas Museum in LA. We listen to Seth Green's announcement at San Diego Comic Con and discuss what the show is all about. In other SDCC news, Kevin Feige gets us pumped up about next year's Star Wars: Starfighter by revealing he's already seen it, but we are confused by the total lack of publicly available images and coverage. And we share our disappointment with Hasbro for some of their lackluster SDCC announcements and criticize them for sad offerings going back to Solo: A Star Wars Story. Star Wars fans are still talking about The Mandalorian and Grogu and our voicemail inbox has some listener thoughts about Rotta the Hutt. In our "Outrageous Unthinkable Story of the Week", a former Star Wars actor breaks bad on his role in the prequels and we try to determine why he's trash talking. Plus, we return to the RFR Sound Lab, we look forward to this week's Rebel Scum Con, and more!

The Mandalorian and Grogu home video digital release happened this week so we're going under-the-hood to check out the bonus features and analyze highlights about bringing Embo, The Amanin, and the Droid Gotra to life. Looking ahead to Star Wars: Starfighter, we listen to highlights from a recent interview with screenwriter Jonathan Tropper. Convention season is here so we preview the major Star Wars happenings going down at Rebel Scum Con and San Diego Comic Con. Plus, Star Wars: The Experience museum exhibit is coming to Philadelphia, and we look back at other Star Wars exhibits from the past.

We're joined In The Cantina by Cinema Relics' Dan Lanigan. Dan discusses his Star Wars fandom, his world-class movie prop collection, his TV show Prop Culture, and his work with Steve Sansweet on The Saga Vault. We look at highlights from a recent George Lucas interview where he shared blunt opinions about Hollywood's over-reliance on focus groups and the rise of AI in filmmaking. RFR is hitting the road! Find out where we're going next! What does Starkiller mean? Could it be a character's last name? Plus, memories from the premiere of Fanboys, a home video release for The Mandalorian and Grogu and more!

We look ahead to next year with the latest rumors about the upcoming Star Wars:Starfighter including a potential character name for Ryan Gosling. George Lucas is appearing in the latest film from the Despicable Me franchise, Minions and Monsters, now in theaters. We review his scene, learn how it happened, and look back at prior Lucas cameos in movies and TV. The Ninth Jedi is premiering next month and recently debuted a new trailer. We discuss and debate if the Star Wars anime experiment is working or not. Plus, we review listener feedback about what would make a great Darth Vader streaming show, listen to interview highlights from Amy Adams, highlights from The Saga Vault and more!

According to an alleged leaked studio document, a "game plan" for the future of Star Wars has been devised and it includes very specific directives, like what era should all shows be based in, how often the films and shows should happen, and what's this about an "overarching framework" for all upcoming Star Wars stories? We look at what the document contains and provide our takes.

Steve Sansweet, Star Wars fan ambassador, author, and Friend of RFR, checks in to tell us all about his amazing new show The Saga Vault. Steve reveals to us how he acquired his rocket-firing prototype Boba Fett action figure, and gets us caught up on everything happening at Rancho Obi-Wan. We love whenever Steve checks in!

We compare the experiences of Maul: Shadow Lord and The Mandalorian and Grogu and pick which we liked best, we get the latest info about Star Wars: Starfighter via interview highlights from actor Matt Smith, we discuss the usage of Huttese in the Mando movie and more!

A lost audio artifact has resurfaced, and it is pure pop culture gold! We're talking about the ultimate, mind-melting crossover event: George Lucas and Robin Williams going deep during the peak Attack of the Clones era.

Back in the early 2000s, George Lucas sat down with Robin Williams for a wide-ranging conversation about Star Wars and filmmaking. This full interview was removed from the internet many years ago but it has been made available again and review a few choice highlights of when The Maker met Mork.

Plus, we have clips of Brendan Wayne discussing The Mandalorian and Grogu, along with listener feedback about the Mando movie and the potential for a Cal Kestis film. And, was the quote "This Is The Way" stolen from Game of Thrones? Did Grogu once actually say "This is the way" in an episode of The Mandalorian? We break it all down and look ahead to next year's Star Wars: Starfighter with speculation about the plot, characters and more!

With the release of The Mandalorian and Grogu in our rear windows, we're shifting focus to next year's Ryan Gosling-led Star Wars: Starfighter. We break down all the news and latest rumors, including stuff we've been told by those in-the-know. Plus, we review interview highlights from director Shawn Levy and Amy Adams. Will Starfighter be a lead-in for the next Star Wars trilogy? We discuss the possibility.

But we're not done with the Mando movie - We review the Theater Ears app's Jon Favreau director commentary track and discuss the experience. Plus, listener feedback on the expectations placed on the film and the shifting tastes of filmgoers.

And directly from the NBA Finals, Victor Wembanyama from the Spurs is a huge Star Wars fan and we look at the evidence.

The release of a new Star Wars film wouldn't be complete without checking in with filmmaker Kyle Newman to get his thoughts on the latest addition to the saga. Kyle joins us In The Cantina with his review of The Mandalorian and Grogu and provides insight as both an industry insider and Star Wars superfan. We've collected a ton of cool interview highlights from Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni and Pedro Pascal discussing the Mando movie and screenwriter Damon Lindelof recently spoke about the Rey "New Jedi Order" film script he worked on before getting fired off the project. We hear what he had to say. Plus, listener feedback, a new RFR parody song, and we pay tribute to Marcia Lucas and Tom Kane.