There were many new and exciting characters that were introduced in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and while many of them we still have yet to figure out, the one that is perhaps the most mysterious is Maz Kanata. Played by Lupita Nyong’o,, Maz is no ordinary 1,000-year-old barkeep; she is a wise alien who seems to have a strong connection to the mystical side of the galaxy.

Certainly, the lack of knowing the character’s history within the Star Wars universe would be enough to have her come back for Star Wars: Episode VIII, and there has been some indication that she would, in fact, be making a return. However, Nyong’o is now saying that she hasn’t even shot her scenes yet. More on the story below.

There were lots of practical effects used in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, as we know. Something we don’t see enough of these days, especially with movies as big as it is, and something that fans appreciated greatly. But there were also many digital effects created for the movie, of course.

Industrial Lights & Magic has released a new video showcasing some of the visual effects they worked on for The Force Awakens. The video runs about four minutes, and includes a bunch of digital effects ILM was responsible for including sets, ships, characters, and more. Mainly, it’s yet another cool look at the crazy stuff that can be accomplished on computers these days.

You can check out the video below.

Droids are an essential part of the Star Wars saga, and I am not sure if that universe could actually function without them. Now with Rogue One: A Star Wars Story being one of the first of the standalone stories to explore the universe outside the saga, it’s going to be exciting to see the new characters that will be joining the expansive universe.

We already got a small look at the characters of Rogue One just a few months back, and confirmation that Darth Vader would make an appearance in the film as well. One of those new characters that stand out is the towering droid K-2SO (Alan Tudyk), and it appears he won’t be the only new droid out in the film. In fact, he will be joined by another droid that looks vaguely familiar. More on the story, as well as a video and image, below.

We all know that a significant part of Star Wars is selling stuff. As the wise, the all-powerful, the magnificent Yogurt once said, “Merchandising! Merchandising!”

For Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, they’ve found a fun way to advertise some of the upcoming merchandise being released. A new fan-made Robot Chicken-style animated short has been released for the movie, in which the building instructions for the LEGO Death Star are up for grabs. It features tiny LEGO figures, regular-sized action figures, and even some Funko Pop! vinyl figures. It’s just the first in a series of shorts to come, and also brings with it the announcement of a contest where fans will make their own video shorts in hopes of winning some cool prizes.

You can find details on the contest and the first Rogue One stop-motion short below.

Star Wars Rebels
The Complete Season 2
Blu-ray | DVD
Starring Taylor Gray, Vanessa Marshall, Tiya Sircar, Jr. Freddi Prinze, Steve Blum
Walt Disney Studios
Release date: August 30, 2016

Picture the quality in sound, visuals, and storytelling of a television series like Game Of Thrones, and then imagine those qualities in a CGI-animated show that’s relatable to both children and adults, and you’d have Star Wars Rebels.

Set within the nearly two decades between the Episode III and Episode VI live-action feature films, Rebels introduces a new hero to the Star Wars universe — Ezra (Taylor Gray), a young orphan from Lothal, which is one of the Imperial-occupied Outer Rim worlds. In Season 1 of the series, Ezra — who previously made his way in life as a petty thief — joins the crew of the rebel ship Ghost, piloted by the Twi’lek Hera (Vanessa Marshall); Kanan (Freddie Prinze Jr.), a Jedi survivor of the Order 66 massacre; the gruff Lasat Zeb (Stephen Blum), Sabine (Tiya Sicar), a teenaged Mandalorian weapons expert and artist; and C1-10P aka “Chopper,” an astromech droid C1-10P pieced together from scraps by Hera.