Cantina Talk: Is There a Resistance Inside the First Order?

Sometimes, you just have to ponder the impossible physics behind Star Wars. Other times, you simply have to remember the words from 1980s comic book Ambush Bug: "Someone once told George Lucas that there is no sound in airless space. He didn't believe it. Today, George Lucas is a millionaire." So, what’s been happening in that noisy galaxy far, far away? Let’s have a look.

The Source: A British tabloid (I know)

Probability of Accuracy: Well, it comes from a British tabloid…

The Real Deal: Yes, there's still more than a year to go before the release of Star Wars: Episode IX. No, that does not mean it's far too early for the rumor mill to start spinning up tales about the final chapter of the current trilogy. Why, lookit! Here's one right here. In perhaps the most interesting tidbit floating around, the British newspaper the Sunday Express is reporting that there's a traitor at the heart of the First Order, working with the Resistance to take them down … and it's General Hux. The rumor claims that Hux is skeptical of the direction Kylo Ren has taken the fascist organization, and wants to try to prevent him from going any further. As with all rumors of this nature, there's no way of knowing right now whether or not this is invented out of thin air—although the fact that this debuted in a British tabloid suggests that it is, as does the fact that this idea very closely echoes a certain recent op-ed in The New York Times. Fans will find out for sure in December 2019, however.

The Source: Fan speculation informed by a tiny little bit of history

Probability of Accuracy: Honestly, this one is far too close to call. Let's put it at 50/50 for now.

The Real Deal: Related to the above rumor, there's a second rumor that may or may not tie in also doing the rounds—namely that Supreme Leader Snoke is going to show up in Episode IX in one form or another. The thinking behind this isn't purely wishful; Andy Serkis, who played the character has recently pulled out of an upcoming convention appearance, and people are remembering that something similar happened with Billy Dee Williams before his own Episode IX involvement was announced. Of course, there are any number of reasons why Serkis isn't attending the convention in question—not least of which being the possibility that he has a non-Star Wars job that he doesn't want to talk about, because they do exist—but it's not unlikely to imagine that the final movie in the trilogy might want to bring Snoke back in a flashback or two to close some narrative loops that need attention.

The Source: Marvel's PR department

Probability of Accuracy: This is right on target (for your wallet).

The Real Deal: Marvel has finally released details for the first of its ambitious Age of Star Wars project, which will see new canonical stories of fan-favorite characters from all three trilogies across almost 30 comic book issues. Each trilogy will have its own banner—Age of Republic, Age of Rebellion and Age of Resistance—and its own writer (Jody Houser, Greg Pak, and Tom Taylor, respectively). Running across an entire year, each trilogy will get four months to itself with a special issue dedicated to a hero and villain from the series hitting shelves each month. Up first is Age of Republic, set in the Prequel trilogy era, beginning with December's Darth Maul and Qui-Gon issues; they’ll be followed by Obi-Wan, Jango Fett (both January), Anakin Skywalker and Count Dooku (February) and Padme Amidala and General Grievous (March). They’ll be followed by as-yet unscheduled issues for Lando Calrissian, Jabba the Hutt, Han Solo, Boba Fett, Luke Skywalker, Grand Moff Tarkin, Princess Leia Organa, Darth Vader, Poe Dameron, Supreme Leader Snoke, Finn, Captain Phasma, Rose Tico, General Hux, Rey, and Kylo Ren. Let's just say there’s a lot of Star Wars comics in the future, especially considering the above list is in addition to Marvel and IDW’s other Star Wars projects. The Force is definitely going to be with comic book stores in 2019.

The Source: One of the many people responsible for Solo

Probability of Accuracy: It’s pretty spot-on, considering the source.

The Real Deal: As if to remind people that Solo: A Star Wars Story actually happened, co-writer Jon Kasdan took to Twitter to share a number of "useless Solo factoids and tid-bits," in the lead-up to the movie's home-video release, including some elements that original directors Chris Miller and Phil Lord brought to the movie.

He ended the info dump by addressing the possibility of a second Solo movie. "Personally, I think there are great Star Wars movies to be made that don’t need to cost quite so much," he wrote. "Hopefully that will be the trend in years to come, and maybe, just maybe, that trend will allow us, one way or another, to tell more stories with Alden, Joonas, Emila and Donald. … Given the way Hollywood, and the culture at large, seems to run from anything labeled a disappointment, the odds seem like they're against it happening anytime soon. But, I suppose, Han wouldn't have it any other way."

The Source: Disney CEO Bob Iger himself

Probability of Accuracy: For this not to be true, Disney would have to undergo a coup.

The Real Deal: In the wake of Solo's failure, fans can expect a little less Star Wars—or, at least, a shift from the annual schedule that began with 2015's Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Speaking with the Hollywood Reporter, Disney CEO Bob Iger said, "I made the timing decision, and as I look back, I think the mistake that I made—I take the blame —was a little too much, too fast. You can expect some slowdown, but that doesn't mean we're not going to make films." It's still unclear what this means in practice, but it certainly suggests that the annual schedule for Star Wars movies is going to end with next year's Star Wars: Episode IX—perhaps a blessing in disguise for the features already in development, which will no longer need to rush to meet an unrealistic release schedule, which got both Rogue One and Solo into trouble. But beyond that, it's entirely unclear, and neither Disney nor Lucasfilm are offering more details. Fire up the speculation engines, fanboys…

The Source: Anonymous sources in the Disney Parks orbit

Probability of Accuracy: Too busy booking tickets to comment, but thanks anyway.

The Real Deal: Of course, you've already made plans to go to a Disney park to visit Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge when it opens next year, but now details are beginning to emerge about who you'll meet there. In addition to a bounty hunter called Harkos, a Resistance spy named Vi Moradi, and cantina owner Oga Garra, visitors will also run into R2-D2, C-3PO, and BB-8, as well as a certain tall Wookiee. Does this make up for a potentially underperforming Millennium Falcon? Very probably, especially because, who hasn’t wanted to hang out in a cantina with Chewbacca? (Anyone saying, "me" to that question is lying. Just saying.)

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