Latest news with #StarWarsUniverse
Gulf Today
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Gulf Today
Kym Whitley happily joins the Adam Sandler universe with ‘Happy Gilmore 2'
There's the vaunted Marvel Cinematic Universe. There's the Star Wars Universe. And then there's the Adam Sandler Universe. It doesn't involve as many capes or existential threats, but Sandler expects actors who join him to bring the funny and bring it hard. And 'Happy Gilmore 2,' the sequel to his beloved 1996 film, is a comical cornucopia of original cast members, cameos and big-name stars. It's now streaming on Netflix. Veteran actress and stand-up comic Kym Whitley ('Next Friday,' 'Along Came Polly') got to join in on the fun and visited Atlanta recently to promote the movie for Netflix. Whitley has been in the comedy world for more than 30 years. In this film, she plays Bessie, part of Happy's alcohol recovery group led by the sadistic Hal (Ben Stiller), who was a nutty orderly in the first movie. 'I sometimes found myself watching the scene instead of being in the scene,' Whitley said in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution at the Waldorf Astoria in Buckhead. 'Ben is crazy. Adam is crazy. It's hard to keep a straight face. Sometimes I kept my head down and held it.' At the same time, she added, 'my goal was to make Adam laugh in a scene. But he's a tough one to break. He's able to stay in character.' The set itself was relaxed because Sandler ensured everyone felt included, she said. 'You could always go up to director (Kyle Newacheck) or Adam and say, 'I thought of something. What if we do this?'' Whitley said. 'They make it a fun job. You never feel restrictive as a creative.' 'Happy Gilmore 2' in a pre-streaming world would have landed in movie theaters, but Sandler has forged a strong partnership with Netflix for more than a decade, releasing about a dozen movies on the platform. In this case, Netflix gave him a generous budget to ensure the sequel was packed with visual oomph and ridiculous star power. Two key players, of course, are back from the first film: Julie Bowen as Happy's loving wife and Christopher McDonald as Happy's bitter rival Shooter McGavin. According to Netflix, 30 past and current pro golfers appear as themselves, led by John Daly, who is living with Happy and gets plenty of airtime. Others include Scottie Scheffler, Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy, Bubba Watson and Jack Nicklaus. 'Jack Nicklaus is still around?' Whitley asked. (He's 85 and gets a couple of lines.) Lavell Crawford, a friend of Whitley's, plays the son of Chubbs, Happy's original mentor (Chubbs was played by actor Carl Weathers, who died in 2024). NFL star Travis Kelce is a waiter. Rapper Bad Bunny becomes Happy's caddie. Others who have notable roles include Steve Buscemi, Haley Joel Osment, Eric André, Kevin Nealon, Post Malone, Eminem and Rob Schneider. Whitley has steadily found work going back to the 1990s. She has 138 acting gigs listed on her IMDb page, including appearances in 'Curb Your Enthusiasm,' 'The Neighborhood,' 'Fuller House' and 'Black Dynamite,' as well as Atlanta-based productions like BET's 'Let's Stay Together' and Bounce TV's 'Act Your Age.' Tribune News Service
Geek Tyrant
25-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Tyrant
Awsome and Massive STAR WARS Galaxy Map Is the Kind of Geeky Wonder That Reminds Us How Big This Universe Really Is — GeekTyrant
Star Wars universe can sometimes feel surprisingly small. Recent stories often narrow in on the same handful of planets and people. But now and then, something comes along that snaps us out of that tunnel vision, and today, it's a giant, updated map of the entire Star Wars galaxy. The official Star Wars website has just launched a freshly expanded semi-interactive galaxy map, building off the version originally crafted for the 2009 reference book Star Wars: The Essential Atlas. This latest iteration includes locations from recent canon like Andor 's Narkina 5, The Bad Batch 's Pabu, and even reaches into the deeper corners of lore with planets from Timothy Zahn's Thrawn novels and the mysterious Chiss Ascendancy. It comes with a full index of star systems, each labeled with its grid coordinate, sector, and region. For fans of tabletop RPGs, worldbuilders, fanfic writers, or just obsessive timeline checkers, it's a goldmine. As the official site puts it: 'The Star Wars galaxy contains billions of stars and is home to trillions of beings living on millions of worlds governed over millennia of galactic history by the Republic, the Empire and the New Republic. It's the setting for countless stories of good and evil, chronicled in Star Wars movies, TV shows, video games, books, comics and more.' The site also encourages fans to explore and return: 'This page, originally created as an online companion for the 2009 reference book Star Wars: The Essential Atlas, collects key maps and documents of interest to students of galactic cartography. Bookmark it and check back for updates from the galaxy far, far away!' There's something kind of hypnotic about just staring at the whole thing zoomed out. All those hyperspace lanes crisscrossing, sectors bordering other sectors, planet names floating in every direction, it reminds you that this galaxy is a galaxy. Tatooine, way out on the edge, really is as far from the Deep Core as Luke said it felt. It also reframes some of the emotional weight behind the stories. Think about Nemik's manifesto from Andor . That little rebel's words, scribbled on the edge of nowhere, somehow reached Coruscant, Yavin IV, and the furthest systems. It even deepens how we understand the Force. The idea that it connects all living things becomes literal when you look at this map and imagine every pinprick of light representing a world full of life, all bound together in that invisible energy field. Sometimes, it takes something as geeky and seemingly simple as a map to remind you why Star Wars works. It's not just the characters or the space battles, it's the sheer scale of it all. The freedom to tell any kind of story, in any corner of an impossibly big universe. This map is a tool. But it's also a reminder of what makes Star Wars so special. You can check it out for yourself on the official Star Wars site and start planning your own galactic journey, or just get lost in the possibilities.
Gizmodo
24-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Gizmodo
I Can't Stop Staring at This Massive ‘Star Wars' Galaxy Map
For as many times, narratively speaking, Star Wars' universe can feel awfully small in much of its recent output, it's always nice to be reminded that, actually, the scope of the galaxy far, far away is incomprehensibly vast. Especially if we can be reminded such an incredibly nerdy manner: via the medium of a massive, updated official map of that galaxy. Today the official Star Wars website, to sit alongside its own interactive timeline of the eras of Star Wars' past and future, released an updated semi-interactive map of the Star Wars galaxy. Based on a version that was first officially created in 2009 for the reference book Star Wars: The Essential Atlas (and updated multiple times since), the newest version now features locations from across recent Star Wars history, like Andor's Narkina, Bad Batch's Pabu, the worlds of the Chiss Ascendancy explored in Timothy Zahn's canon Thrawn, and much, much more. There's even an accompanying list of every star system charted on the map, including its reference grid on the map as well as the sector and region it belongs to. Star Wars RPG fans, fanfic writers, and more, rejoice! The map itself can be fully zoomed in on for better staring on the official site, but there is something breathtaking about just staring at the whole thing as in. Letting the words and hyperspace routes sort of blur, the regions of space and the official sectors of the galaxy intermingle, you really do remember that the Star Wars galaxy is a galaxy. It's huge! People on one end of it could never see or know what's going on on the other. Luke's line in A New Hope about Tatooine feeling like it was so far away from that bright light of the deep core feels so much more real when you see the the sheer distance Tatooine has from what was declared the 'hub' of galactic existence. The fact we have so many modern stories obsessed with maps, aside from speaking to Star Wars' own fascination with archival history and mythmaking, becomes so much more poignant in a way when confronted with the sheer scale of what these maps represent in a vast, cosmic scale. It makes other thematic ideas about the universe that much grander and impactful too—like the thought that Nemik's manifesto in Andor spread from one young man in one tiny cell of resistance in one tiny segment of the universe to the point that it was on Coruscant in the heart of the ISB, it was on Yavin IV, it was, as Major Partagaz despairingly admits, everywhere. The fires of the Clone War raged across this space. The Rebellion against the Empire sparked and flourished, from isolated pockets to a unified alliance that had members all over. The Resistance did it all over again years later, pulling together people from across these star systems to stand against the First Order, lying in wait at the galaxy's fringes. And that yes, the Force itself connects every living thing on all these bright lights across the universe. Star Wars is so, so very big. Its stories can do anything and be anything in a sandbox as vast, almost incomprehensibly so, as the one laid out here. With so much room, there's room for everything—including going beyond it. And that's what Star Wars should always feel like, so free and full of possibility. That's a lot to get out of just staring at a galaxy map, to be sure. But sometimes being given the scope of the thing allows us to comprehend our place in the universe—even a fictional one like Star Wars'. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what's next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
Metro
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
You can binge all 12 episodes of sci-fi thriller fans called a 'masterpiece'
All good things end, even one of the best TV shows ever made. Yes, after 12 episodes, Andor season 2 has come to a close, and Cassian's (Diego Luna) Star Wars story is over. The show, which followed the titular spy as he went from smuggler to soldier to rebel leader over the course of several years, was hailed as a 'masterpiece' by critics when it was released on Disney Plus in late April. Since then, fans of a galaxy far, far away have been treated to three new episodes each week – with each new block covering a year of Andor's life – and things came to a dramatic close on May 13. We won't spoil things for those who haven't had a chance to watch it yet, but those of you who've watched Rogue One and know Andor's ultimate fate will understand why the finale was so heartbreaking. In fact, people have been so moved by the finale that they've been sharing the love on social media. 'Andor is…phenomenal, from beginning to end,' wrote @QuigonJenna on X. 'It's without a doubt not only one of the greatest Star Wars projects ever made, but it's also one of the best television shows ever created, period. I'm going to miss it immensely. Thank you, Tony Gilroy.' 'Well done to everyone who worked on Andor. The series made the Star Wars Universe finally worth watching once again,' added Chris Broad. While Brandon Davies labelled it 'the best thing Disney Plus has ever released.' It was @Superfabn_K who was the most vociferous in their applause, however, calling the series finale the 'perfect ending' before declaring it 'a bona fide Star Wars classic.'' Beyond the effusive praise, there were a few dissenting voices. @CrimsonPorg wrote, 'Andor is over, and I have mixed feelings.' 'I'm glad everyone else seems to have adored this season, but with the exception of episodes 7-9 (i.e. the Ghorman arc), this season hasn't lived up to the first for me, unfortunately.' The majority of viewers, though, were more than satisfied with the ending, with many saying they were going to watch Rogue One straight after as a sort of strange epilogue. Yet while many fans are sad to see Andor blast off on his final deadly adventure, one person who's not sad it's all over is Diego Luna. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Deputy TV Editor Tom Percival shares his thoughts on Andor season two… Andor season two was a breathtaking show that balanced spectacle and thrills with high emotion, along with a deeply relevant story about the insidious nature of fascism and totalitarianism. Was it perfect? Of course not, the opening three episodes were arguably the weakest in the show's run, and the decision to squeeze five seasons' worth of plot into just 12 episodes definitely impacted the pacing. Yet despite these flaws, I adored it. This is Star Wars at its finest and proves that a galaxy far, far away is a far richer place than its obsession with space wizards and the Skywalkers would have you believe. Speaking to Metro last month on the Andor Season 2 red carpet, he admitted to us he was 'ready to go'. More Trending 'There's nothing [I regret]. There is nothing. I'm getting to the end of this journey after enjoying every second, and I'm ready to go because I'm still excited,' Diego said. 'I'm really proud of what we've done. I'm very happy I've made this family this connection, and that's the way to end things when you'd still like to come back; otherwise, it's wrong, you know?' 'I'm very pleased, I thank Cathy and Tony and the universe because this has been a very interesting ten years of my life, and I'm never going to forget what I went through.' Andor season 2 is streaming now on Disney Plus. Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. View More » MORE: Shogun creator confirms major twist in season 2 after 10-year time jump MORE: Danny Dyer drops huge hint Rivals season 2 will be even steamier MORE: The heartbreaking moment in David Attenborough's Ocean that will haunt me forever
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Has Andor Season 3 Been Canceled or Renewed?
Andor Season 2 is about to drop its last three episodes. It is expected to be a rollercoaster of emotions, closing Cassian Andor's journey in the rebellion. With the second season coming to an end, fans are curious about the series' next installments. So, is Andor canceled or renewed for a Season 3? Here is everything you need to know about the potential next season of the sci-fi fantasy drama. No, Andor Season 3 has not been canceled by Disney+. However, it won't be renewed either. Season 2 will air its final three episodes on May 13, 2025. There has been curiosity regarding an extra number of episodes due to streaming platforms' trend of splitting well-known shows' seasons into parts. However, Andor Season 2 is not following this release pattern. Further, fans were looking to the Star Wars series' next chapters. Sadly, Andor won't be renewed for more seasons, but it has not been canceled by the streaming platform either. The series will come to a conclusive end with the second installment. For the unversed, Andor was originally planned as a five-season arc by creator Tony Gilroy. He wanted every chapter to cover one year of Cassian Andor's life. The events would eventually lead to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, ending the rebels' journey with a sacrifice. However, during the production of Season 1, Gilroy began feeling overwhelmed with the idea of more seasons. Soon, he and lead actor Diego Luna concluded that the two parts would be enough. In an interview with Empire Magazine, Gilroy recalled feeling pressured by his original plans. He stated, 'Oh my God, we are going to have to come up with another 12 hours of story? So I was already panicked. We already said we were going to do five years [of timeline], that was the concept. How do you get out of that?' Further, Luna felt emotional for his journey in Andor as he told Deadline, 'I said goodbye to this character when we wrapped… I'm going to miss this family.' While Andor is ending, it will be exciting to see if the show's story will be explored in future spin-offs of the Star Wars Universe. The post Has Andor Season 3 Been Canceled or Renewed? appeared first on - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More.
