Rebel Scum Con: Sam Witwer, David Collins and an old headshot

August 15, 2025

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It’s often the case that serendipity, knowing the right person and good old fashioned blind luck are the path to success as much as boundless talent and skill, but in the case of Sam Witwer it was clearly a healthy dose of both. Watch Sam and David Collins onstage at last weekends Rebel Scum Con as they tell the tale of how Lucasfilms Amy Beth Christenson drew a character for The Force Unleashed, that reminded a producer of ‘that guy from Battlestar Galactica’, which prompted David Collins to….well, watch on and find out for yourself.

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Mark Newbold

Exploring the galaxy since 1978, Mark wrote his first fan fiction in 1981 and been a presence online since his first webpage Fanta War in 1996. He's contributed to Star Wars Insider (since '06) and Starburst Magazine (since '16) as well as ILM.com, SkywalkerSound.com, StarWars.com, Star Wars Encyclopedia, Build The Millennium Falcon, Geeky Monkey, TV Film Memorabilia, Model and Collectors Mart, Star Trek magazine and StarTrek.com. He is a four-time Star Wars Celebration Stage host, the only podcaster to have appeared on every Celebration podcast stage since the stage began in 2015, the Daily Content Manager of Fantha Tracks and the co-host of Making Tracks, Canon Fodder and Start Your Engines on Fantha Tracks Radio.

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Counting Down To:

October 2025

thu09oct(oct 9)10:00 AMsun12(oct 12)5:00 PMNew York Comic Con: 9th - 12th October 2025Come and join the fun at NYCC 2025

sat11oct10:00 AM3:00 PMEcho Base Live: Episode XVII: 11th October 2025TIME UNTIL THE EVENT ENDS:

May 2026

fri22may12:01 AM11:59 PMThe Mandalorian & GroguThe Mandalorian & Grogu arrives

Event Details

The Mandalorian and Grogu, announced as The Mandalorian & Grogu, is a Star Wars movie that started production in 2024. Directed by Jon Favreau and produced by Favreau, Kathleen Kennedy, and Dave Filoni, it takes place between the events of Episode VI: Return of the Jedi and Episode VII: The Force Awakens, focuses on the adventures of Din Djarin and Din Grogu, and will be a spinoff to the TV series Star Wars: The Mandalorian. The film was announced on January 9 that year on StarWars.com with a conceptual sketch by veteran illustrator Ryan Church, along with an announcement of a second season of the television series Star Wars: Ahsoka. A fourth season of The Mandalorian is also still in development.

On May 7, 2019, Disney revealed their future movie release schedule, including a set of three untitled new Star Wars films, one of which had a scheduled release date of December 20, 2024. The Star Wars Show also reported on the news on May 15. On July 23, 2020, after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the film was delayed to December 19, 2025. After the start of the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike, Disney shifted their theatrical film release slate, with the film being pushed to its current release date of May 22, 2026. A film directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy occupied this release slot until The Mandalorian & Grogu was announced.

Star Wars Insider 224 revealed the initial film logo was the same as the one for The Mandalorian Season Three. In August 2024, during D23 2024, it was revealed that the film had entered production, and a new logo was revealed, in addition to a teaser that was shown to the audience. In August 2024, Sigourney Weaver revealed that she had joined the cast of The Mandalorian & Grogu.

Alongside the release of the movie, Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run will be updated to include a new mission featuring Djarin, Grogu, Tatooine, Endor and Cloud City, which takes place off camera from the film.