Rebel Force Radio: Star Wars Podcast

Daisy Ridley is on the interview circuit and making some early comments about THE RISE OF SKYWALKER. What hints are Daisy dropping? Kevin Liell joins us with a report from the Peter Mayhew memorial that took place last weekend in Texas. Listener voicemail presents a question about Galaxy's Edge, Samuel L. Jackson again says he wants a Mace Windu comeback, and we hear an interesting version of the Star Wars Main Theme from an unlikely source.

He is a member of the Pop Culture Hall of Fame. He oversaw the Star Wars brand at Hasbro for a decade. And now, he's an author. Derryl DePriest joins us IN THE CANTINA to give us the lowdown about his new book STAR WARS THE VINTAGE COLLECTION ARCHIVE EDITION. It's a deep dive into one of the most popular and long-running STAR WARS 3 ¾ inch action figure lines, The Vintage Collection. Derryl takes us behind-the-scenes for the making of the book and, of course we wouldn't let him leave The Cantina without taking our famous Yoda Questionnaire. Billy Mac walks us through his first trip to Steve Sansweet's Rancho Obi-Wan, home to the Guinness Book of World Records' largest Star Wars collection. Puppet Lando also flew in for a tour! Plus, Mark Hamill dropped a big hint about his return in THE RISE OF SKYWALKER and we drop a juicy rumor.

Lucasfilm announced a new head of Live Action Development and Production, Michelle Rejwan. We look at what is known about Michelle and her career and try to follow her path to Star Wars. Is she the right person for the job? We discuss and debate. The big talk at E3 was fresh reveals of gameplay for STAR WARS JEDI: FALLEN ORDER. We get up to speed with what's known about the game and discuss a cool ROGUE ONE character that makes an appearance. Will Darth Bane appear in a future Star Wars film? We speculate! Mark Hamill visited James Cordon and talked about his visit to STAR WARS: GALAXY'S EDGE. Mark had some funny observations to make about George Lucas's comments during the opening ceremony. We review the highlights! Plus, Listener feedback, Star Wars In Pop Culture goes to The Tony Awards and Gilligan's Island, and our Outrageous Unthinkable Story of the Week features the "relationship" between Natalie Portman and electronica musician Moby.

We are putting aside the typical RFR show rundown this week and spotlighting live listener calls for the whole show. We continue to discuss the experiences and collectibles from Disneyland's Galaxy's Edge, consider Emperor Palpatine's role in THE RISE OF SKYWALKER, and define our expectations for THE MANDALORIAN. All callers this week are members of RFR on PATREON and they lit up our switchboard with tons of great conversation and commentary. Join today to get exclusive access to original programming, deep dives into the RFR archives, and other special features.

Stephen J. Sansweet, the acclaimed Star Wars author and owner of the Guinness Book of World Records Largest Star Wars collection at Rancho Obi-Wan, has been to the Galaxy's Edge and back. Steve joins us to give his first-ever review of the new Star Wars Land at Disneyland. Hear Steve's reviews of the Millennium Falcon ride "Smugglers Run", the lightsaber building experience in Savi's Workshop, and all the rest of the exclusive merch. For years, we've relied on Steve's authentic and expert assessment of all things in the Star Wars universe, and his review of Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge is not to be missed. Plus, we continue to analyze the Annie Leibovitz photographs from "The Rise of Skywalker" set, and listener tips on the best way to remove those ugly and pesky decals from Hasbro's new Star Wars "Retro Collection/Colección/Série" action figure line.

Disneyland's STAR WARS: GALAXY'S EDGE is now open and fans are buzzing about this immersive addition to the famous theme park. Tech expert "Mac Sparky" David Sparks, has already logged several hours in this new Star Wars Land and fills us in with a mind-blowing, detailed, spoiler-heavy review that virtually puts you in the park. Is a KOTOR film on the way? How does Palpatine fit into the events of the Sequel Trilogy? How will THE RISE OF SKYWALKER bring together all nine films of the saga? We don't know! But we talk about it all this week on RFR as we continue to pick apart the recently released EPISODE IX information, rumors about a KNIGHTS OF THE OLD REPUBLIC film, and the writer attached to the project. Also in news headlines, we have highlights of Harrison Ford's recent visit to The Tonight Show, and Jason's past desire to see Kate Mulgrew take over the role of General Leia was actually presented to the actress herself. Hear what Captain Janeway thinks about such an idea. In collecting news, we found some of those retro vintage Star Wars action figures that have been hitting Target shelves. Hear about our misadventures trying to remove the ugly decal on the cards and learn why Jimmy Mac is now known as "The Goo Gone Guy".

We look at all the cool new details and photos from THE RISE OF SKYWALKER and we let it fuel our speculation. Plus, how will Luke and Leia fit in to the final chapter of the Saga? And how does George Lucas's approach to creating Star Wars differ from Disney? We look back at 20 years of THE PHANTOM MENACE and share our memories, from the epic lightsaber duel, to the methods of the puppet master Senator Palpatine, and we debate over who is the true protagonist of the Episode I. Joining us for the whole episode, from The Big Honkin' Show, is the ebullient Steve Glosson, master of the GOLiverse.

More information about future STAR WARS films was revealed this week by Disney CEO Bob Iger, and RFR microphones were there. Billy Mac sits in this week as we review Bob's recent statements and pick apart what he said for clues. The RFR Listener Voice Mail Hotline is wide open this week for post-Star Wars Celebration feedback, speculation and rumors about THE RISE OF SKYWALKER, THE MANDALORIAN and the upcoming return of THE CLONE WARS. Plus, the hunt is on for Hasbro's new Retro Collection action figures, Puppet Lando brings us the latest tweets from the real Billy Dee Williams, and much more.

It's official. The future of the STAR WARS film franchise was made much more clear this week as Disney announced their release schedule going into next decade and beyond THE RISE OF SKYWALKER. We speculate about what this may mean for the already announced Benioff/Weiss film series and the Rian Johnson trilogy. Natalie Portman says criticisms of the Prequels were a "bummer". We believe the Prequels have aged well and we have opinions. What will be the future of Star Wars Celebration? We discuss, share rumors, and make predictions. Where were you the night CARAVAN OF COURAGE: AN EWOK ADVENTURE premiered on ABC in 1984? Jimmy Mac remembers! Plus, Mark Hamill pays tribute to Peter Mayhew, Werner Herzog talks THE MANDALORIAN, and we review CLONE WARS news and information to come out of Star Wars Celebration Chicago.

It's STAR WARS DAY! We are back in the studio for May the Fourth with tons of STAR WARS news, opinion and conversation. Marvel's AVENGERS ENDGAME is poised to become the all-time US box office champ, and will eventually claim the crown from STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS. Do we care? Jimmy Mac was there for the big Avengers opening weekend and he saw both the film and THE RISE OF SKYWALKER teaser trailer in IMAX. Mark Hamill came under heat on social media this week for posting a fan-made mashup photo of himself, Harrison, Carrie and Billy Dee in the cockpit of The Falcon. We give you our opinions of the fallout and feature audio highlights of a recent interview where Mark discusses his personal process of dealing with how Luke Skywalker has been portrayed in the Sequel Trilogy. Plus, we have John Boyega interview highlights about Episode IX at Star Wars Celebration Chicago, and we review "The Filoni Factor and The Ranch", the latest episode of Sheldon Norton's RFR documentary, WHEN THE GALAXY LISTENS.