By Jim Frye
A not-so-long time ago, from the Lucasfilm headquarters in San Francisco, California, The Star Wars Show debuted on StarWars.com and has been entertaining and informing fans ever since. As we get closer to Solo: A Star Wars Story, which blasts into theaters May 25, The Star Wars Show is your place for all the latest updates, cast and filmmaker interviews and special behind-the-scenes reports about the film. And this year, as a special gift for May the 4th, the creative team behind The Star Wars Show has put together a very cool video sketch with help from none other than Ron Howard, director of Solo. You can check it out here.
For several years now, May 4 has become known as the annual fan-created “Star Wars Day,” chosen because it falls on the conspicuously Star Wars-sounding “May the 4th”—in other words, “May the forth be with you!” Most Wednesdays, however, have become de facto Star Wars fan days because that’s when The Star Wars Show drops. Hosted by Andi Gutierrez and Anthony Carboni, and written by Scott Bromley, The Star Wars Show, which launched May 11, 2016, has become the weekly face of the franchise to the worldwide audience of devoted fans.
“Welcome to The Star Wars Show,” says host Gutierrez on a recent episode, “a show that simultaneously proves that, Yes, you can do this every week, and Yes, you can talk about only one over-arching subject for three years and people will still watch it.” Co-host Carboni replies, “We’re like state TV, but for Star Wars, and on the internet.” Gutierrez shoots back, “But we still have free will and opinions,” to which Carboni deadpans, “As long as they’re scripted.”
It’s that irreverent humor, together with an ardent passion for Star Wars, that fuels this weekly series and makes it the go-to destination for fans. “We have to be a little more tongue-in-cheek,” says Bromley about writing each week’s episode, “and look at it from a different perspective.”
One example of that tongue-in-cheek humor can be seen during the opening of the show each week where a human mouth replaces Yoda’s mouth on the iconic Lucasfilm courtyard fountain statue and begins yelling in a very non-Yoda voice. “I did that deliberately so you would know from the very beginning that this was something completely different,” says Bromley. “We get away with the irreverence because we set the tone in the first three seconds. It’s not the normal Star Wars you’re used to watching.”
“We don’t get away with everything,” says Bromley, “but I like to say, ‘Push it as far we can, because you’ll never know where the line or edge is unless you approach it.’” Mickey Capoferri, who executive produces the show, is the person who will, as Bromley says, “Reign me in a lot.” Also, the Lucasfilm story group reads and approves all scripts.
Now in its third season, The Star Wars Show was nominated last year for an Emmy® in short-form variety series. Recent guests include Solo’s Donald Glover, who plays Lando Calrissian in the new film, and Alden Ehrenreich, the title character, along with director Ron Howard, who is featured in the special May the 4th episode. The entire main cast from Solo is also scheduled to appear and join in the rollicking-good irreverent time. The tone of the show is perhaps tied to the fact that Bromley was a “moderate fan” growing up. “But I think that helps me with my job, because I don’t hold it so precious,” he says. “I make sure to treat it with reverence, but if it was too precious, then we wouldn’t be able to take any risks.”
The Star Wars Show can be found Wednesdays at StarWars.com. You will also find them live-streaming from the red-carpet premiere of Solo: A Star Wars Story.
