Good Morning Youtinians.  With Skeleton Crew off and running, we asked you what you thought of the first two episodes last week. Almost 88% of you loved them and are excited to keep watching!

— JG Carse, Emmi Conner, and Doc B

This Is The Way, Jeremy!

At the beginning of December, we learned that filming for the highly-anticipated movie The Mandalorian and Grogu had wrapped. None other than Dave Filoni himself confirmed the news at the premiere of The Skeleton Crew. 

New updates:  News has been coming thick and fast, and we are LOVING it!!

• We have already heard about the involvement of legendary 1980s actor Sigourney Weaver. However, her exact character or role has yet to be confirmed.

• Now, our friends at The Hollywood Reporter report that another more recent (but just as massive) Hollywood legend has also joined the cast: Emmy winner Jeremy Allen White! Wow! What a coup!

Possible role: Multiple news reports (including Variety and The Today Show) connect The Bear and Shameless actor to the role of Rotta the Hutt. He will lend his voice to the role but could also be physically present. Importantly, Lucasfilm has not commented. But, assuming the reports are correct, let’s pick this apart!

• The Hutt clan first appeared in Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi in 1983, with the awesome, real-life Jabba the Hutt proudly displaying our favorite scoundrel, Han Solo, in carbonite on his palace wall before perishing by the hand of the one and only Princess Leia.

• In 2008, the new animated movie Star Wars: The Clone Wars introduced many new characters and scenarios. This included Rotta the Hutt, introduced as Jabba’s son.

• Rotta's uncle Ziro kidnapped the Huttlet in a devious plot. Anakin and Ahsoka rescued Rotta and returned him to Jabba, foiling a plan Count Dooku hatched to blame the Jedi for Rotta’s death. 

• Rotta has not appeared in any Star Wars since. We presume Jabba sent Rotta away to keep him safe. Rotta did not appear in The Book of Boba Fett, where Bob Fett returned and finished off Bib Fortuna, Jabba’s replacement, and took over the gangster's throne. Instead of his son, Jabba's cousins appeared to attempt a take-over.

What is Rotta up to? So far, we can only speculate as to Rotta’s role in the upcoming film.

• The Mandalorian and Grogu takes place in between Return of the Jedi and Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens and the First Order. By then, groups like the Spice Runners of Kijimi are filling the void after Jabba's demise.

• Could Rotta, having been hidden away by Jabba after Darth Vader wiped out the Grand Hutt Council, now resurface in an attempt to de-throne Boba Fett and take back his father’s realm on Tatooine?

• Might the fallout of Qi'ra's Syndicate War continue to play out after the end of the Empire? Will Rotta lead a resurgent Hutt clan against the surviving crime cartels?

Or is this just a mind trick? Without confirmation from Lucasfilm, are we being led into our own Sarlacc Pit of misguided speculation? Could Jeremy Allen White be playing a completely different character entirely? The possibilities are SO exciting!

We’re all fine here now — how are you? White's as-yet-unknown role may provide one of the all-time master strokes in Star Wars storytelling! Whichever way the Porg fries, we are the ultimate winners! Let us know your thoughts on #sw-movies, check out The Youtini Show, or submit your questions for the next installment of Youtini Live Q&A.

Do you think the Rotta reports are true?

New Set Announced for Star Wars: Unlimited!

Fantasy Flight Games has just announced a new set for Star Wars: Unlimited, and we can’t wait to get our hands on it!

The Trailer: The IGN YouTube channel dropped the trailer for Jump to Lightspeed last week.

• This is the fourth set for Star Wars: Unlimited, a trading card game set in the Star Wars universe where players must defend their base while attempting to take their opponent’s base.

• Previous sets include Spark of the Rebellion, which launched the game, followed by Shadows of the Galaxy and Twilight of the Republic.

• The trailer for Jump to Lightspeed specifically features pilots like Han Solo and Asajj Ventress, allowing players to fuel the space units in their decks.

Jump to Lightspeed: The game takes place both in space and on the ground, just like many of the battles we know and love in Star Wars.

• Leader units for this set include Han Solo and Boba Fett, both known for their unusually agile piloting abilities.

• With this release, Unlimited is shedding the two-player starter deck tradition we have seen with the first three sets. Instead, players can purchase two Spotlight Decks, now available with every new set.

• Spotlight Decks include cards from every released set but mostly feature Jump to Lightspeed cards, so these decks are a great way to increase a player’s number of new cards. Players can also get Jump to Lightspeed packs, which contain fewer cards but at a lower price.

We're all fine here now — how are you? Star Wars: Unlimited has been out for about a year now, and several members of the Youtini Crew have really enjoyed playing it. Hop in the Youtini Discord to talk to us and other fans about the game!

🛰️ In the Youtiniverse

• The Audible Original Star Wars stories have been quite a surprise, and you can join Hannah, Emmi, and JG in The Youtini Canon Book Club for a look at the latest installment: George Mann’s Seeds of Starlight!

• Skeleton Crew keeps rolling, and so do Oz, Jacob, and JG on Bounty Hunt.

• If you missed last week’s Live Q&A, you can catch the replay here, and be sure to check in with the #announcements channel in our Discord to learn about the next one!

🚀 Ready for Dispatch

• Young Jedi Adventures has earned four nominations for the third annual Children’s and Family Emmy Awards. The nominations come in categories for Voice Direction for an Animated Series, Music Direction and Composition for an Animated Program, Editing for a Preschool Animated Program, and Sound Mixing and Sound Editing for a Preschool Animated Program. The awards ceremony will take palace in mid-March.

• As 2025 approaches, more celebrity guests join the ranks for Star Wars Celebration Japan! The latest guest announced is Cassian Andor himself, Diego Luna! Previously announced guests include Mads Mikkelsen, Ashley Eckstein, and Manny Jacinto.

• A publisher’s listing reveals the cover for Star Wars: The Acolyte Visual Guide, due out next spring. Written by Pablo Hidalgo, the book will include a foreword by actress Amandla Stenberg.

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