Anakin Is In Zero Company, Jedi 3 Rumors, and The Ninth Jedi: Big Star Wars News This Week

It was a big week for Star Wars fans who care about games and animation, and Matt and Young Nick broke it all down on this week's SWTS. The headliner is Star Wars Zero Company, which got a full gameplay trailer at Summer Game Fest along with an official release date of August 27, 2026. The Clone Wars-era tactics game looks like a love letter to XCOM fans, and the big story-side reveal is that Anakin Skywalker will cross paths with the Zero Company crew during the game's campaign.

On the rumor front, reliable insider Tom Henderson dropped word that Star Wars Jedi 3 will feature a noticeably older Cal Kestis, pointing to a time jump that could be significantly larger than the five-year gap between Fallen Order and Survivor. There's also a status update on Amy Hennig's long-gestating Star Wars project, which is confirmed still in development after Skydance New Media was folded into the newly formed Paramount Games Studio. And wrapping things up, Star Wars Visions Presents: The Ninth Jedi has a Summer 2026 Disney Plus window confirmed, with the first episode getting a special screening at Anime Expo on July 2.

Good week to be a Star Wars fan. Lots to look forward to across games and animation, and the guys got into all of it.

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Matt and Young Nick are back after two weeks off and they kicked things off with a quick detour into Dungeon Crawler Carl before getting into the main event. If you know, you know. If you don't, the show is called a podcast for a more uncivilized age for a reason.

From there the guys dove deep into The Mandalorian and Grogu, breaking down the film as a full review and giving their honest takes on what worked, what didn't, and what it means for the future of the MandoVerse. Then they closed out by going back to the wants and predictions doc they put together before the film released and graded themselves prediction by prediction. The short version: the movie had other plans. The longer version is worth the listen.

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Matt and Young Nick kicked off this episode by putting their pre-season Maul: Shadow Lord predictions and fan wants to the test. With Season 1 in the books, the guys graded their calls on everything from Devon's arc and Maul's long-game victory to Vader's unforgettable finale appearance, Marrok's allegiances, and which fan wants the show actually delivered on. Some predictions landed hard, some needed a little creative grading, and a few were dead on arrival from the start.

The second half of the show shifted to The Mandalorian and Grogu, hitting theaters May 22nd. Matt and Nick ran through ten fan wants and ten predictions for the film, covering the big box office question, whether Grogu gets a real character moment or just more cute reaction shots, Thrawn's likely shadow over the story, Rotta the Hutt as a potential ally, and what it would mean for Kathleen Kennedy to be wrong about Grogu's first word. It's a full wants and predictions breakdown for the most important Star Wars theatrical release in years.

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Maul Shadow Lord Finale Deep Dive — Vader Won, But Maul Still Got What He Wanted

Matt and Young Nick went live for a full deep dive on the Maul Shadow Lord Season 1 finale, covering both Strange Allies and The Dark Lord from top to bottom. They kicked things off with their personal reviews of the finale before going episode by episode through top moments, Easter eggs, references, and lore connections to past and future Star Wars. The guys also delivered their full Season 1 verdict after ten episodes.

The conversation got spicy when Matt and Nick revisited just how wrong they were about Maul being able to hang with Vader — because he clearly could not. They also circled back to Marrok's cryptic call to his lord at the end of Episode 6, which hits very differently now that Vader showed up, and dug into whether Lawson and Marrok actually survived the finale. On the lore side, the guys broke down all the connections between the Shadow Lord story and where Maul ends up across Rebels, Solo, and beyond.

To close things out, Matt and Nick looked ahead to Season 2, breaking down what Devon joining Maul means for the story, how the Empire is likely to escalate their response, and what Maul's deal with Dryden Vos could set in motion knowing he is eventually destined to lead Crimson Dawn.

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Matt and Nick sat down live for a full deep dive on Shadow Lord chapters 7 and 8, "Call to Oblivion" and "The Creeping Fear." These are the best two episodes of the season so far, and they deliver on nearly every front -- action, character work, lore connections, and a psychological breakdown sequence for Maul that reframes his entire arc in the most compelling way the character has ever been handled on screen.

The show covers personal reviews of both episodes, top moments, easter eggs and lore references including Savage Opress, the Duel of the Fates audio callback, the Revenge of the Sith title connection, and the arrival of the Eleventh Brother. The big debate centers on Maul's lifelong abuse at the hands of Sidious and whether that makes him a more purely tragic figure than Anakin Skywalker. Also on the table: episode 7 dialogue that points pretty firmly to who Marrok was reporting to at the end of episode 6, and what the Crimson Dawn name drop at the end of episode 8 means for the finale.

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Matt and Young Nick went live with their full review of Maul: Shadow Lord episodes 5 and 6, Inquisition and Night of the Hunted, and things got heated in the best possible way. Both episodes delivered on the promise of the Star Destroyer cliffhanger from last week, with Marrok arriving on Janix as a genuine menace and the train duel delivering some of the best action Lucasfilm Animation has ever put on screen.

The biggest debate of the night was the "my lord" cliffhanger ending with Marrok reporting to an unseen holographic figure. Matt is firmly in the Vader camp. Nick is convinced it's Palpatine himself. Neither budged. We also got into whether Master Daki using the Lawsons and pulling them deeper into danger with the Empire is really any different from what Maul is doing to Devon. Matt thinks Daki's hands are dirtier than he gets credit for. Nick wasn't ready to put Daki in the same category as Maul. Another split decision.

For predictions heading into episodes 7 and 8, Call to Oblivion and The Creeping Fear, Matt and Nick are expecting the 11th Brother to show up and believe Daki survives through to the finale. As for the "my lord" reveal, don't expect answers next week. They're predicting that mystery rides a little longer.

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Matt and Nick went live this week for a full deep dive into Maul Shadow Lord Chapters 3 and 4, Whispers in the Unknown and Pride and Vengeance. The guys broke down their personal reviews of both episodes, hit their top moments, and dug into the Easter eggs and lore connections tying this series back to the broader Star Wars universe.

The main talking point of the night centered on Maul as a master manipulator. In Episode 3, Maul gets Devon Izawa alone, shares his version of his history, and lets her hold his lightsaber blade — and the Dark Side calls to her through it. He then lets her walk away. Matt and Nick debated whether that move was calculated seduction or Maul genuinely testing her, and whether Devon is already further down the path than she realizes. The question of whether Maul is getting inside her head and slowly steering her toward his view of how the Force should be wielded was front and center all night.

The guys also looked ahead to Episodes 5 and 6, titled Inquisition and Night of the Hunted, dropping next Monday April 20, and laid out their predictions for where the story is heading now that Daki is injured and the Empire may be closing in on Janix.

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Maul Shadow Lord Premiere Review: Our Honest Takes, Top Moments & Predictions

Matt and Young Nick went live to break down the two-episode premiere of Star Wars: Maul Shadow Lord, and there was plenty to dig into. The guys gave their full personal reviews of Chapter 1: The Dark Revenge and Chapter 2: Sinister Schemes, covering everything from the show's gritty crime noir tone and stunning watercolor-influenced animation to how this post-Order 66 version of Maul compares to where we left him at the end of The Clone Wars.

The deep dive covered top moments from both episodes, easter eggs and lore connections hiding across Janix, and a close look at Devon Izara and what her dynamic with Maul could mean as the season develops. Maul is hunting the crime lords who betrayed him after the fall of the Shadow Collective, and Matt and Nick got into what that revenge tour likely looks like over the remaining 8 episodes.

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