Greef Karga

Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal), Greef Karga (Carl Weathers), and friends in The Mandalorian’s third season.Image: LucasfilmIt’s a sad day in the galaxy far, far away: Carl Weathers, who brought a gruff dignity (with a hint of mischief) to his role as The Mandalorian’s Greef Karga, has died at the age of 76. Weathers was also much-beloved for his portrayals of Apollo Creed in the Rocky films and Col. Al Dillon—opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger, who shared with Weathers one of the most iconic handshake scenes ever—in Predator. And,…

Did The Rise of Skywalker and rampant speculation over just which Skywalker is rising, who a Skywalker is, and why they’re rising break some brains over at Lucasfilm? Almost every bit of Star Wars on the small screen we’ve gotten since (and planned for the big one) is a character title, named for an individual or the group we’re following. What happened to a bit of flair?‘I Started a Yoda Fan Club’This is, admittedly, a cause for concern about as low on the list as you can get when it comes to the future of Star Wars…

The first two seasons of The Mandalorian ended with some kind of big Star Wars twist. In season one, Moff Gideon pulled out the Darksaber. In season two, Luke Skywalker arrived to help Grogu. And the expectation of something on that level for the season three finale seemed completely reasonable. Instead, fans were given a laundry list of payoffs that helped bring the season together in a satisfying way, which worked but also felt maybe a little too straightforward for a show that has thrived on exciting surprises.Bryce…

Oh, so that’s where this has all been leading. The penultimate episode of The Mandalorian season three (yes, it’s almost over already) was all about paying off moments and stories from earlier this season. The journey of Bo-Katan Kryze, the planet Mandalore, that evil villain that’s been looming over everything, all that and more came to a head this week, which was supremely satisfying and exciting. And yet, it came with a huge cost to our characters, some of whomwill never be the same.Bryce Dallas Howard on a Feature…

In a show that utters the phrase “This is the way” more than anything else, this week’s episode of The Mandalorian finally felt like it found its way. After four episodes, each of which felt almost detached from the others, the fifth episode of season three finally wrapped several of those storylines back together—and, for the first time this season, the show has a direction... and an antagonist.Bryce Dallas Howard on a Feature Star Wars Film and Book of Boba FettSeason three, episode fiveof The Mandalorian is called…

This week’s episode of The Mandalorian left us conflicted. On the one hand, it did everything we say we want the show to do: our heroes go off on an epic adventure while also expanding the mythology of the franchise. But with all that happening now, at this point in the third season—and coming after an episode that seemed to spin the show into another direction—we can’t help but wonder, what’s the big plan here? What, exactly, is the Way?That said, there is one reveal that’s so incredibly magnificent, it almost saves…

When this was in the trailer, you certainly didn’t think it would trigger what it did.Image: LucasfilmOn The Mandalorian, the goal is clear. In order to be redeemed, the main character must travel to the mines of Mandalore and bathe in the living waters. Only then can he rejoin his people and be forgiven for taking off his helmet. It seemed like a goal that would take some time to reach, but nope: episode two of The Mandalorian season three got right to the point and, in the end, changed everything.Well, not everything;…

Image: LucasfilmHarrison Ford once famously told George Lucas of his Star Wars script, “You can type this shit, but you sure can’t say it!” Suffice to say, the franchise has wrangled with lovably, and not so lovably, weird dialogue since its earliest days. But The Mandalorian’s spartan approach to conversation makes its peculiarity all the more jarring.The series has from the very beginning been light on talking—its protagonist is a taciturn loner, and its deuteragonist is a non-verbalizing green baby. But as the series…

The boys are back, Mando and Grogu.Image: LucasfilmSeason three of The Mandalorian is here and in its first episode, it’s basically the same old show. Is that a good thing? A bad thing? Depends on what you’re expecting to get from it. If you’re expecting fun action sequences, interesting Star Wars Easter eggs, and Grogu being incredibly adorable, the show’s return won’t disappoint. If you’re hoping for something new narratively and not just “Mando needs to complete this mission so he can complete another mission that…

Screenshot: LucasfilmThe thing is, Din didn’t realize the weapon’s specific importance. So his new-ish ally Bo-Katan Kryze—the sister of Clone Wars’ Duchess Satine, the former ruler of Mandalore, and herself the brief leader of the Mandalorian resistance before the Empire ravaged the planet—is furious that he has it, because the only way she can now honorably acquire it herself is to defeat him in ritual combat, which Din does not want to happen. So her own plans to return to Mandalore and rule her people have been…