The cast of Star Wars: Episode IX continues to grow more impressive with each and every new announcement.

Following the casting of LOST star Dominic Monaghan comes reports that Doctor Who star Matt Smith will be joining the highly anticipated sequel for a key role. More on the story below.

Star Wars: Thrawn: Alliances
Hardcover | Kindle | Audible
Sequel to Star Wars: Thrawn Book 1
Written by Timothy Zahn
Audiobook narrated by Marc Thompson
Publisher: Del Rey Books | Random House Audio
Release Date: July 24, 2018

Ever since the 1991 release of Star Wars: Heir to the Empire, I have maintained that Grand Admiral Thrawn could be the best bad guy to ever grace the Star Wars universe. Even badder than Darth Vader. After author Timothy Zahn closed out the Thrawn trilogy of books – which also includes Dark Force Rising and The Last Command – I have been chomping on the bit for more Thrawn love.

Not only did I get no additional love, I had what I’d grown to love practically ripped out from under me as Thrawn and all the other characters introduced in the Expanded Universe of books and comics were declared non-canon by Lucasfilm. I was heartbroken.

Disney’s Star Wars TV slate will be expanding beyond the traditional TV broadcast format. In addition to the anime-style Star Wars: Resistance, which will air on The Disney Channel, there is also the live-action series which will air on Disney’s streaming service. We’ve known that Jon Favreau will be working on the series, but no other information about it has been provided… until now. There’s a new report that says the untitled series will have a $100 million production price tag, making it one of the most expensive shows to produce next to HBO’s Game Of Thrones and other big budget shows. Additionally, there is a rumor that says the live-action show could be about the Outer Rim planet Mandalore – the home planet of characters like Jango Fett, Boba Fett, and Sabine. More on the story below.

Disney and Lucasfilm have announced the official cast that will appear in Star Wars: Episode IX. And there may be a few surprises for some fans. In addition to the expected return of Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Adam Driver, and Kelly Marie Tran, Mark Hamill and Anthony Daniels have been tapped to reprise their iconic roles. But perhaps the biggest surprise of them all is that Carrie Fisher will appear via older unused footage from The Force Awakens. More on the story below.

Created by Star Wars creator George Lucas, the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars first debuted back in 2008. It ran for five seasons on Cartoon Network until 2013, and ended with a sixth season known as “The Lost Missions” on Netflix in 2014.

At San Diego Comic-Con 2018, however, the show was resurrected. Dave Filoni—who developed, wrote, and was the supervising director on Clone Wars; created its successor Star Wars Rebels and the upcoming Star Wars Resistance; and is someone many fans strongly believe should be creatively involved in helping to make upcoming Star Wars movies—announced during a 10th anniversary celebration for the show that The Clone Wars is coming back.

See what Filoni had to say about the big news below, along with a trailer for the show’s return and a poster.