🎬 'Starfigther' Director's Interview with 'Vanity Fair'
Film's Composer Announced! Plus, Disneyland's Star Wars Nite Dates Announced for 2026
Good morning, Youtinians. We hope our US readers had a wonderful holiday! We’ll have our regular monthly publishing roundup ready for you next week, as 2/3 of the Dispatch team recovers from their turkey hangovers! In the meantime, Star Wars is heading into the final month of the year like a podracer on Boonta Eve, so let’s get to the latest!
— JG Carse, Emmi Conner, and Doc B
More Starfighter Updates!
As hard as it is to believe, more exciting news has emerged about the upcoming film Starfighter, and it is cranking up the hype to the max!
The Vanity Fair Interview: Another interview with director Shawn Levy hit newsstands (and screens) last week. Here are the big takeaways:
Levy cites Return of the Jedi as a key inspiration.
He acknowledges that making a Star Wars movie is unique and intense. His visit to Celebration in Japan underscored the fan base’s appetite and expectation.
He says Lucasfilm gave him the freedom to make “something new,” and promised an original tone for the film.
Levy wants to return to the full-on cinematic adventure and recapture the essence of what made Star Wars so compelling in the first place.
Composer Announced: The illustrious John Williams has set a legendary standard for film scores, especially within the Star Wars universe. He can’t be an easy act to follow, but Michael Giachinno and John Powell did fantastic work with Rogue One and Solo. Recent years have given us some tremendous TV show soundtracks from Ludwig Goransson and Joseph Shirley (The Mandalorian), Natalie Holt (Obi-Wan Kenobi), Nicholas Britell (Andor), and Michael Abel (The Acolyte).
We know Goransson will return for The Mandalorian and Grogu, and now we know Levy has brought Thomas Newman on board for Starfighter!
The announcement: Levy broke the news on a film podcast interview with Kevin McCarthy.
Levy says he’s a fan of Newman’s work and reached out to ask if he was interested.
The multi-award-winning composer’s film scores include The Shawshank Redemption, American Beauty, The Green Mile, and 1917.
Newman asked to see a script and Levy’s vision, after which he agreed.
In the Vanity Fair interview, Levy said he wants a “big-hearted, classically inspired” soundtrack that evokes emotion and adventure.
We’re all fine here now — how are you? Each little piece of news brings the bigger picture into focus, without giving too much away, so we can enjoy every minute in 2027! Jump on Discord and let us know your thoughts on the latest news! Or, are you trying to stay in radio silence?
Disney Announces Star Wars After Dark Dates for 2026
Disney Parks have released 2026 dates for their Disneyland After Dark events, including the ones Youtinians have been waiting for!
Disneyland After Dark: Star Wars Nite is an after-hours event that takes fans to a galaxy far, far away for an unforgettable immersive experience!
The park goes all out on Star Wars decorations, imagery, and food and drink specials.
Special activities and entertainment events may include lightsaber lessons, parades, and staged battles!
Special characters, including iconic names from the Skywalker Saga, make appearances for photo ops with fans!
Mark your calendars! Star Wars Nite will take place at Disneyland on:
Tuesday, April 28
Thursday, April 30
Monday, May 4
Wednesday, May 6
Keep an eye on the Disney site for the ticket releases; they’ll go fast! If you’re a Magic Key holder, you may have access to presales earlier than the general public.
We’re all fine here now — how are you? Since Disney became the custodians of our favorite franchise, they have really gone all out with celebrations like this one. If you’re able to go, we hope you plan a visit to help show how much fans love these events! The more people who want in, the bigger and better they’ll get! If you plan to go, let our community know and even share your cosplay plans!
🛰️ In the Youtiniverse
🎙️ Catch up with this week’s episode of The Youtini Show to hear more about the latest Starfighter news and Skeleton Crew‘s Emmys record!
🎙️ The Cosmic Force dives into the original manga, Path of the Lightsaber Volume 1.
🎙️ On Star Wars Archives, Trev and Jose celebrate the legacy of Star Wars Insider, the long-running official magazine, as it approaches its 2026 finale.
✏️ Instead of Black Friday, Doc made it a Blue Friday with a roundup of all the best in Grand Admiral Thrawn merch and collectibles!
🧭 Smuggler’s Finds
Fresh Star Wars treasures, hand-picked by the Youtini crew.
Hallmark has fans of Ahsoka covered with a 2025 Keepsake Ornament. Celebrate the season and your hype for Season 2 of her namesake show!
The festiveness continues thanks to The Black Series with this Stormtrooper (Holiday Edition) 6” figure! Complete with reindeer antlers and matching armor (or perhaps gingerbread armor?), the figure also comes with porgs.
That’s not all that The Black Series has for your stocking! This holiday astromech is not only colored for the season and equipped with droid tools, jet thrusters, and candy canes, but also has a Santa hat and beard! To top it off, the droid comes complete with Grogu in his own Santa attire.
📆 Releasing This Week
December 2nd:
Doug Chiang: The Cinematic Legacy (Vol. 1) and The Star Wars Legacy (Vol. 2) by Alexandre Poncet and Gilles Penso. Celebrate the unsurpassed creativity and lasting impact of Doug Chiang, Lucasfilm’s senior vice president and executive design director, with this gorgeous two-volume set.
Doctor Aphra — Friends and Enemies Omnimus by Alyssa Wong and Justina Ireland.
December 3rd:
Legacy of Vader #11 by Charles Soule.
