Star Wars SDCC exclusive from Jazwares

Lucasfilm licensee Jazwares has announced its San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) exclusives, including a concept art variant of Boba Fett’s Slave 1 from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, which will sell for $60.

Read the official press release:

"Based on its concept art and model prototypes from the production of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back™, the Starship comes packed with a pivoting cockpit and wings, an opening side panel, a removable weapons rack, an extending boarding ramp, positionable chin cannons, a seismic charge hatch, and more."

The fan-favourite Ralph McQuarrie design will be a must-have for fans (myself included) when it goes on sale on Friday, 23rd July. I may ask Nick Smith, who is attending SDCC, to get me one if it hasn't sold out.

Are you hoping to get the Jazwares Star Wars Micro Galaxy Squadron exclusive at Comic-Con? Let me know in the comments below.

Lucasfilm announces Star Wars: The Experience

Lucasfilm has officially announced Star Wars: The Experience, a large museum exhibit to celebrate the franchise’s 50th anniversary in 2027.

The roaming exhibit will contain more than 70 objects from a galaxy far, far away.

Star Wars: The Experience will open on 13th February 2027, just before the 50th anniversary re-release of the original Star Wars comes to cinemas. The exhibit will be on display at The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, until 6th September 2027.

“Star Wars created a cultural landscape that spans decades and delivers massive, undeniable global appeal,” says Larry Dubinski, President and CEO of The Franklin Institute. “Its influence extends far beyond cinema—shaping entertainment, culture, technology, and business, while redefining how stories are created, experienced, and shared across generations. The Franklin Institute is excited to put Philadelphia once again at the center of a major cultural moment with another blockbuster world premiere exhibition in 2027.”

From there, it will visit cities all across North America over the course of 5 years. It will not be going overseas.

Fans (including our very own Nick Smith) attending San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) this month will get the first look at the care put into curating this exhibit over more than four years of collaboration, with exclusive exhibit renderings and other new details.

Are you planning on visiting Star Wars: The Experience? Let me know in the comments below.

Star Wars fans patrol seaside town

Star Wars fans descended on a Lancashire seaside town for a free six-and-a-half-hour themed event, featuring costumes, market stalls and more.

For years, local fans have organised meet-ups at Cleveleys, on the Fylde Coast, where Andor season one was filmed on the seafront. Cleveleys was transformed into the planet Niamos as part of the filming for Andor in 2021.

Jessica Monger grew up in California, not far from Star Wars creator George Lucas and moved to Cleveleys on the Fylde Coast in 2012.

"I still get giddy thinking about it, especially since I grew up in California next to Modesto, where George Lucas was from," the Star Wars superfan said.

Andor is a prequel spin-off series set before Rogue One: A Star Wars Story on Disney+.

"So I move halfway across the globe, and it's right here at my doorstep - yeah, it's brilliant," said Monger, who has lived in the UK for more than 15 years.

Organisers said the event's emphasis was on community spirit and accessibility. This is the way.

Star Wars: Visions gets striking spin-off

On Friday, Lucasfilm dropped an official trailer for Star Wars: Visions Presents - The Ninth Jedi on Disney+ and Hulu, first revealed at Anime Expo 2026.



Read the official synopsis:

"This summer, trust in the Force and listen to your heart when Kara resumes her quest to find her missing father and evade Jedi Hunters in Star Wars: Visions Presents - The Ninth Jedi, a new limited series from Lucasfilm and Production I.G."

The 8-episode limited anime series is part of an all-new Star Wars: Visions Presents banner, which allows filmmakers to tell longer-form Star Wars: Visions stories. Picking up not long after the events of the Visions shorts, in the new series, Lah Kara continues to train in the ways of the Jedi under Margrave Juro amid an epic journey of self-discovery as she and Juro’s small fellowship of Jedi-in-training embark on a quest to save her father.

Star Wars: Visions Presents - The Ninth Jedi, an all-new anime series, streams on 5th August on Disney+ and Hulu.

Are you looking forward to Star Wars: Visions Presents - The Ninth Jedi on Disney+ and Hulu? Let me know in the comments below.

Sony to end physical discs on PlayStation

Sony has entered the digital-only chat by announcing it will no longer produce physical discs for new games releasing on PlayStation in January 2028. Does this suggest the PlayStation 6 (PS6) will be digital-only?

The Tokyo-based electronics giant has also announced that 551 digital movies from Studio Canal would be removed from the PlayStation Store.

This is an anti-consumer practice.

The halcyon days of midnight launches are gone forever post-pandemic, and vertical companies will have complete control over distribution, availability and dynamic pricing.

There are also cybersecurity concerns. Who else remembers the infamous PlayStation Network (PSN) hack of 2011?

An online backlash from console gamers (myself included) has witnessed satirical responses from Domino’s Pizza and KFC mocking Sony’s profit-driven decision with clever viral marketing.

What are your thoughts on Sony ending physical media on PlayStation? Let me know in the comments below.

Grand Theft Auto VI is digital-only

The highs of Summer Game Fest 2026 gave way to negative news, including studio shutdowns, layoffs, and further price increases for current-gen consoles. To cap it all, Rockstar Games announced pre-orders and a release date for Grand Theft Auto VI.

Read the official synopsis:

"Jason and Lucia have always known the deck is stacked against them. But when an easy score goes wrong, they find themselves on the darkest side of the sunniest place in America, in the middle of a criminal conspiracy stretching across the state of Leonida — forced to rely on each other more than ever if they want to make it out alive."

GTA VI heads to the state of Leonida, home to the neon-soaked streets of Vice City and beyond, in the biggest, most immersive evolution of the Grand Theft Auto (GTA) series yet. With a reported budget of over a billion dollars and featuring a female protagonist (Lucia), GTA VI was originally due to be released in 2025.

The long-awaited next instalment in the GTA franchise will be released on PlayStation 5 (PS5) and Xbox Series X|S on 19th November and will be digital-only.

This has sent shockwaves through the console community regarding physical vs digital media ownership.

Since 2021, along with Game Pass Ultimate, I've bought digital-only games on sale on the Xbox Series S, but I still like buying physical releases on PS5. However, I've pre-ordered the Grand Theft Auto VI: Ultimate Edition.

As a fan of GTA since GTA III, GTA VI is my most anticipated video game in years! Good thing I upgraded my PS5 with a WD_BLACK 2TB SSD before RAMageddon!

Rockstar Games has yet to announce a third official trailer for GTA VI. Given the unprecedented hype surrounding the video game, there's no need.

Pre-order Grand Theft Auto VI at Amazon (affiliate link).

Are you looking forward to Grand Theft Auto VI? Does it matter that it's digital-only at launch? Let me know in the comments below.

Star Wars: Starfighter footage shown by Disney

During an Infinity Vision presentation in Barcelona, a certification program launched by the Walt Disney Company that verifies premium large format (PLF) cinema screens, Disney showed footage from Star Wars: Starfighter.

The footage was shown behind closed doors to industry professionals attending CineEurope.

Matt Smith, star of Doctor Who and House of the Dragon, has seen a rough cut of Star Wars: Starfighter and describes it as "absolutely blinding!"

According to a synopsis published on IMDb:

"In a rebuilding galaxy, a solitary pilot becomes entangled in a crucial mission as new threats emerge. Their journey may alter the future of the Force itself."

The upcoming film directed by Shawn Levy (Deadpool & Wolverine) stars Ryan Gosling, Flynn Gray, Matt Smith, Mia Goth, Aaron Pierre, Simon Bird, Jamael Westman, Daniel Ings, and Amy Adams.

Star Wars: Starfighter, a standalone story set 5 years after Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, is due for release on 28th May 2027 to coincide with the 50th anniversary of George Lucas' space opera.

Are you looking forward to Star Wars: Starfighter? Let me know in the comments below.

Star Wars Zero Company gameplay

This is where the fun begins. During Summer Game Fest 2026, Electronic Arts and Lucasfilm Games shared a gameplay trailer for Star Wars Zero Company.



Read the official synopsis:

"Every Move Counts. Command an elite squad through a gritty and authentic story in Star Wars Zero Company, a single-player turn-based tactics game launching on PC, PlayStation 5 (PS5), and Xbox Series X|S.

Each choice you make could alter the fate of the galaxy in this cinematic original story set in the twilight of the Clone Wars Era."

"Our team has poured everything we love about Star Wars into Zero Company," said Greg Foertsch, CEO and Creative Director at Bit Reactor. "We've worked hand-in-hand with Lucasfilm Games to create an authentic Star Wars story packed with unique new characters, robust character customization, a new ship, Separatist Droids, and much more, all rooted in the conflict of the Clone Wars."

Take command of an elite squad when the new Star Wars video game arrives on PlayStation 5 (PS5), XBOX Series X|S and PC on 27th August.

“Star Wars Zero Company delivers an entirely new experience in the galaxy and for our fans,” says Douglas Reilly, VP and GM of Lucasfilm Games. “It pairs cinematic storytelling with strategic gameplay in a way that feels fresh for the franchise. Some of the most interesting stories come from new perspectives, and Zero Company explores the Clone Wars from deep within the shadows of the conflict, through a lens we haven’t seen before, while still feeling completely authentic to the world fans know.”

Pre-order Star Wars Zero Company at Amazon (affiliate link).

Are you looking forward to Star Wars Zero Company? Let me know in the comments below.

BBC cancels Doctor Who Christmas special

The Christmas special has been cancelled, leaving the future of Doctor Who in flux!

The second and final season of Doctor Who on Disney+ ended with the titular Time Lord (Ncuti Gatwa) seemingly regenerating into Rose Tyler (Billie Piper) in the wake of a season that was wibbly-wobbly due to reshoots and uncertainty. Sorry, not sorry.

Russell T Davies, the returning series showrunner who had successfully rebooted the beloved BBC sci-fi series in 2005, teased that all would be revealed in a Christmas special in 2026.

In a timey-wimey twist, the BBC has announced the cancellation of the festive special. The BBC, Russell T Davies and Bad Wolf have collectively decided not to go ahead.

Referring to the announcement many fans (myself included) feared, Davies explained: "We only cooked that up to guarantee a future when no one knew what would happen, but now we do know, there's no need for it.

"You'll have to wait a bit longer for new Doctor Who... but you'll be waiting for more Doctor Who than a one-off. So it's worth it!

"For the record: there was no script, I never wrote it, and no actor was ever approached to play the next Doctor."

I've long championed J Michael Straczynski (Babylon 5) as a potential series showrunner. After news broke on Wednesday about the future of Doctor Who, Straczynski took to social media to reiterate his previously stated desire for the role.

"A (relatively) quick note to respond to the (much appreciated) scores of (very nice) notes online regarding today's news about Doctor Who," he said.

"My interest and record is well-established; the only real question I think the BBC would (very fairly) ask is: would British fans be open to an American showrunner, even one who is legally a resident of the UK under a visa that allows me to work for in TV/film in the UK?

"I think so but I doubt they'd just take my word for it, nor should they. The fan community would have to have their (polite, constructive) say."

The production will now go out to tender.

HBO Max was rumoured to replace Disney+ as part of a broader co-production deal with the BBC, but that may have been nixed by the merger between Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Skydance. Apple TV is home to prestige sci-fi, and the current TARDIS interior wouldn’t look out of place in Cupertino. Just saying.

As a lifelong Whovian, it's all too easy to liken this news to the classic series cancellation in 1989! However, the media landscape and how we consume content have changed irrevocably. Doctor Who will be back on our screens and second screens sooner rather than later.

Tales from the TARDIS have been stuck in a nostalgia loop post-pandemic. Do you think J Michael Straczynski should be the next series showrunner? Let me know in the comments below.

Hayley Atwell plays the villain in Fable

Sunday's XBOX Games Showcase, the first with Asha Sharma at the helm, celebrated 25 years of play with XBOX!

From Fable to Gears of War: E-Day, it harkened back to the original XBOX and XBOX 360 eras! It's worth noting that these titles were in development when Phil Spencer was the head of XBOX.

During the XBOX Games Showcase, pre-order details and a release date trailer dropped for Fable.



Read the official synopsis:

"Become the Hero you want to be in an immersive open-world action-RPG where each choice shapes your journey, reputation is everything, and fairytale endings are never guaranteed."

Fable is a beloved fantasy role-playing game franchise, and Playground Games' (Forza) reboot stars Hayley Atwell (Agent Carter) as the villain, Isobel. Talking to XBOX Wire, Fable Associate Narrative Director Craig Owens explained why Atwell was cast:

“Hayley’s ability to combine vulnerability with strength made her the perfect person to play Isabel, and working with her was a real pleasure. Her desire to really dig into the character and deliver the best possible performance in every scene blew us all away, not just on the performance capture stage but in the voice recording booth, where her classical training was on full display. Hayley brought a dedication, seriousness and grit to the role that, in many ways, mirrors the character’s own.”

Whilst Sharma has hit the reset button on the XBOX brand with a pivot back to exclusives, including Gears of War: E-Day, Halo: Campaign Evolved and Fable will be available on the PlayStation 5 (PS5).

Fable will be released on PlayStation 5 (PS5), XBOX Series X|S and PC on 23rd February 2027.

Pre-order Fable at Amazon (affiliate link).

Are you looking forward to Fable? Let me know in the comments below.