Small Screen Star Wars cover art

Small Screen Star Wars

Small Screen Star Wars

By: Julian Meush Rachel Wilkinson Daniel D'Souza and Jeremy Kozier
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Star Wars has been a part of small screen history ever since the premiere of the infamous Christmas Special in 1978. Since then, animated classics like ‘Droids’, and ‘Ewoks’, to modern day epics like ‘The Clone Wars’ and ‘Rebels’, have shown that Star Wars is more than just the theatrical films. Disney+ has since brought new life to the franchise with the likes of ‘The Mandalorian’, ‘Obi-Wan: Kenobi’, ‘Andor’ and more. Right now, Star Wars IS the small screen. Julian Meush and Rachel Wilkinson break down, dissect, and review new episodes of Star War every week as they air on Disney+.

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Episodes
  • The Mandalorian and Grogu

    The Mandalorian and Grogu
    May 27 2026
    It's hard to believe it's been so long since the last Star Wars movie hit theatres. After years of announcements, failed projects, and even a change in leadership at Lucasfilm, the first movie in nearly a decade is a follow-up to the first ever live action Star Wars show. Maybe that's fitting for a new era, under new management. The film itself is a fast paced, action-packed, adventure that hails back to the old serials that George Lucas loved. While it is certainly a fun time at the movies, with exciting set-pieces, characters inclusions from across the lore, all of which set on planets with diverse biomes (i.e. some of the things Star Wars does best). Unfortunately, the movie lacks compelling stakes, character depth (where's Din's arc?), much of any plot to speak of, or even a sense of real "importance" - and while that may be a bit intangible, it prompts the question: why was THIS movie the first to bring Star Wars back to feature films in almost a decade? Julian and Rachel try to answer that question and dive deep into all the nerdy details.
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    1 hr and 27 mins
  • Maul: Shadow Lord - Chapter 9 & 10 / Season Finale

    Maul: Shadow Lord - Chapter 9 & 10 / Season Finale
    May 6 2026
    There it is, folks - the season finale to the latest creation from Lucasfilm Animation. It was certainly gorgeous to look at, with the new painterly stylings, and there was no shortage of thrilling action to sink your teeth into, nor did they skimp on the stakes. But while the season started off on a welcomed unfamiliar foot, by the end of this season, and certainly in these final two episodes, the hallmarks of what we've come to know from Star Wars animation showed their head. Early on, the admitted inspirations from films such as 'Heat' and 'The Dark Knight', provided a needed grit to a show which was ostensibly following a villain. This provided the show with a fresh personality - distinguishing itself from it's predecessors in animation. Unfortunately, the creatives couldn't seem to maintain that tone, as by this two-part season finale the old tropes and predictable beats of 'Clone Wars' rose into prominence. And while the appearance of a certain fan favourite character adds some very cool action, the unoriginality from a narrative perspective robbed the final moments of the needed pathos and drama required to land the plane in the most satisfying of ways. Tune back into Small Screen Star Wars in about 3 weeks, following the release of 'The Mandalorian and Grogu', for a full review!
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    2 hrs and 16 mins
  • Maul: Shadow Lord - Chapter 7 & 8

    Maul: Shadow Lord - Chapter 7 & 8
    Apr 30 2026
    There's two of them now?! With the arrival of another Inquisitor things really start to escalate on Janyx. We see Maul at his lowest since probably his spider-leg days (he goes on a self-guided therapy session/vision quest that results in something quite inspiring actually!), providing us a deeper understanding of his motivations, beyond simply "revenge!". Meanwhile, Devon continues to be the most interesting character on the show as she takes two steps forward, one step back, flirting with the dark side (though bonus points for the slick ride she acquires for their getaway). On the action side, the show continues to bring the goods, with dynamic, large scale battles (heavy on LAATs which is always a treat), intimate lightsaber combat, and a special shout out to the speeder chase this week that included a new Star Wars techno track (get outta here Niamos!), which combined for a chef's kiss of a sequence. The finale is next week, dropping on Star Wars Day (May the 4th), so stay tuned to see how much the show wants to tie up and how much it wants to leave dangling ahead of season 2!
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    2 hrs and 7 mins
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