EPISODE II: A SPEEDY FAREWELL!

It was a first meeting fraught with uncertainty followed by deep personal tragedy. Now, from their homestead, the Lars Family say goodbye to their departing friends Anakin Skywalker and Padme Amidala, in a deleted scene, sadly one of many linked to the old/new characters of Tatooine, from EPISODE II.

A behind the scenes break in filming.

CLASSIC ART: TO RETURN A SABER!

The return of a lost saber, and the later passing back of that saber, as the climactic and emotional end to The Force Awakens heralds the quirky and controversial beginning of The Last Jedi set on the lost world of Ahch-To, as rendered in this gorgeous unused poster concept art from British talent and regular saga contributor, Paul Shipper.

OUT NOW ACROSS ALL HOME MEDIA FORMATS: 'THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU'

The saga of an unlikely pairing in a dark and dangerous universe continues in the standalone movie that is The Mandalorian and Grogu. Images: Lucasfilm/Disney.

He's been effectively, lethally, taking out Imperial Remnant targets for his Rebel paymasters across the edgy Outer Rim words, but has Din Djarin, the legendary Mandalorian bounty hunter, partnered with his unique Jedi 'child' and business partner in the ever-cute green frog Grogu, now bitten off more than he can chew when caught in the machinations of the late (but not lamented) Jabba the Hutt's equally despicable relations located on the slimy, decayed swamp world of Nal Hutta, intent on having Djarin 'acquire' and bring home the late crime lord's son, Rotta (now a professional intergalactic blood sports fighter in order to escape his family lineage), out of so-called familial concern! Soon enough, the Hutt Twins' nefarious reputation for being ruthless and unforgiving sees our unique chalk and cheese heroes marked for capture, and a potential fate far worse than death once the slugs' true plans for Rotta are revealed...

Making an effective transfer to the home media realms (but also keeping the impressive IMAX aspect ratio intact with selected scenes), Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau's dream movie project in The Mandalorian and Grogu works better away from the cinema, taking the previous heavily anticipated burden off their theatrical experience shoulders. To me, watching its original cinematic run, it always felt like the film's plot was three or four episodes put together of The Mandalorian TV series, though the opening segment of the film, almost pre-titles James Bond meets Star Wars, tries hard to break free from its small screen bounds, proving especially effective and featuring some fun visual 'Easter Eggs' to watch out for. As the Hutt plotline begins, however, the film begins to flounder in certain aspects of its execution and pacing. Thankfully, further accomplished action/creature sequences go on to buoy things up when necessary (notably an inspired arena battle involving Djarin and Rotta against Dejarik holo chess creatures made real!), alongside some nice nods to characters/themes developed from The Clone Wars /Star Wars Rebels animated series now made live-action reality, and The Rise of Skywalker. The combination of star Pedro Pascal (and the deservedly onscreen credited stuntmen also stepping into his shoes for the ambitious action) and the puppeteered, mischievous but loyal Grogu is as fun and lively as ever, but the overall adventure lacks that crucial element needed to take their personal saga to that crucially needed 'next step' in their story arc/character development. Instead, the film plays on existing tropes seen across their three prior TV series. Nonetheless, The Mandalorian and Grogu is still a fun, colourful romp of a movie attached to the ongoing modern Star Wars tradition that Filoni and Favreau have always wanted to see developed within that intriguing 'lost era' of the saga post Return of the Jedi, an Original Trilogy blockbuster whose wild creatures and environments clearly made an impact on them back in their childhood days...

Director Jon Favreau once more brings his love of the saga to the film and its iconic onscreen pairing.

For the Special Features on the 4K/Blu-ray combo release, there's four featurettes available to enjoy across all the main facets of the film's enthused creation and making (especially in regards to the advance in puppetry and creating planetary vistas) but lacking in satisfying duration - a sadly all too common fault for the post Disney Star Wars films on home media - the true definition of what's seen as more often being less! And no deleted scenes, trailers, stills galleries or animatics of any kind that once made the added value packed Lucas era prequel DVDs of their time so good.

The old ways can still be the best ways when it comes to model filming!

In this dream factory, the talent assembled for making Star Wars films and TV in this post Digital Age has never been better, yet there's time given to celebrate and pay tribute to past 'old school' techniques that have equally thrilled us, from the creatives who made the franchise such a success in 1977, and beyond. It's nice to see some of that old guard of the franchise contribute again, like stop motion pioneer Phil Tippett and overall genius John Knoll, back aboard (in true comfort blanket style) for this particular sci-fi western frontier-inspired thrill ride that, as a now standalone production, will surely gain more fan appreciation over time... 

STAR WARS AFICIONADO RATING: 3.5 out of 5 (I've now decided to give the film an extra '.5' for having included Martin Scorsese and Sigourney Weaver in welcome onscreen appearances!) 

In Limited Edition Steelbook.

On Blu-ray.

Get The Mandalorian and Grogu here:

Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray [Region Free]: Amazon.co.uk: Pedro Pascal, Brendan Wayne, Lateef Crowder, Jon Favreau, Pedro Pascal, Brendan Wayne: DVD & Blu-ray

EPISODE I: WHEN GEORGE MET JABBA!

He's ready for his close-up! George Lucas camera inspects the Jabba the Hutt reference maquette, of which the gruesome space slug gangster will be CGI added to outdoor building footage shot at ILM during the lengthy Post Production phase for Episode I.

ILM BEHIND THE SCENES: LIGHTING AND FIGHTING!

George Lucas primarily envisaged the original Star Wars to have fast paced space ships that could move faster than anything seen on cinemas screens with Stanley Kubrick's prior and iconic 2001: A Space Odyssey. And boy, did ILM physically deliver on that vision, with a Death Star space station battle between X-wing fighters and TIE fighters, and a dizzying descent into a trench, the likes of which had never before been attempted, and which fully utilised the services and techniques of the newly founded company (including rising star talent Dennis Muren).

'THE CLONE WARS': SECOND HAND GOODS!

Captured by the gross alien junk dealer Gha Nachkt (excellently voiced by genre favourite Ron Perlman), Artoo Detoo is now on his way to the dreaded clutches of General Grievous, intent on retrieving his sectrets of the Republic Army and the Jedi, during the fun and highly under-rated two-parter from The Clone Wars excellent opening season: Downfall of a Droid/ Duel of the Droids.

WHEN DARK FORCES ALIGN! CELEBRATING THIRTY YEARS OF 'SHADOWS OF THE EMPIRE'

As if the hunt for the intimidating bounty hunter Boba Fett and his unique prize being delivered to Jabba the Hutt - the carbon frozen Han Solo, isn't already a formidable and dangerous task, Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker will soon be in the target sights and evil machinations of the evil Black Sun crime lord Prince Xizor, as the drama and action of the multi-media adventure without a film, Shadows of the Empire, is captured effectively with this great cover to a 1996 Dark Horse mini-comic edition. If anyone knows the cover artist, please get in touch...

If ever a beloved franchise project still demands an animated movie adaptation of some kind, this one does, especially with it now reaching its amazing Thirtieth Anniversary this year!

EPISODE IX: ESCAPING THE FESTIVE SEASON!

Shooting in the famous Wadi Rum region of Morocco, where the mighty Lawrence of Arabia movie was filmed, Rey and the other Resistance heroes prior enjoyment of the Pasaana life ceremonies comes to an end as they partake in a critical escape scene, during filming of The Rise of Skywalker in 2018. 

EPISODE III: "WHY LEAVE?"

The epic double lightsaber duel begins during the epic finale to Episode III, not just on the fiery Mustafar, between Anakin and Obi-Wan, but also between Master Yoda and the dreaded Emperor, at first trying to retreat from the little green whirlwind, within the bowels of the senate chambers of Coruscant. 

Duels that will end in failure, sorrow and anger...

CLASSIC IMAGE: PRISONER AND ESCORT!

Breaking through Jabba's palace enforcers on Tatooine, the mysterious bounty hunter Boushh arrives at court with his captured prey, the mighty Chewbacca. But how was this possible? And what surprise lays in store for the Hutt slug?

A great atmospheric image from Return of the Jedi.