Star Wars Bits: The Mandalorian, The Book Of Boba Fett, LEGO Star Wars Battles, Star Wars: Visions, Life Day Treasury, And More!

In this edition of Star Wars Bits:

• "The Mandalorian" wins Best Streaming Series
• Robert Rodriguez talks "The Book of Boba Fett"
• "LEGO Star Wars Battles" comes to Apple Arcade
• Marvel's "War of the Bounty Hunters" continues
• "Life Day Treasury: Holiday Stories from a Galaxy Far, Far Away"
• And more!

The Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) recently held a virtual ceremony for its first-ever HCA TV Awards. There, Season 2 of "The Mandalorian" was awarded Best Streaming Series, Drama, winning over favorites like "The Crown," "Handmaid's Tale," and "The Boys." Executive producers Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni accepted the award via a pre-recorded video where they thanked Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, for her support, and George Lucas, for creating our beloved galaxy far, far away. Check out the ceremony and acceptance speech below!

Robert Rodriguez, directed Chapter 14 ("The Tragedy") of "The Mandalorian" — the mind-blowing installment that reintroduced Boba Fett to the "Star Wars" galaxy —recently spoke with Collider about his upcoming Disney+ series "The Book of Boba Fett": 

"[I] can't say anything about it at all right now, but it's coming out in December... Wait until you see what's coming. It's going to blow your mind. That's all I can say. I can talk it up all I want, because I know it over-delivers. It way over-delivers. People are going to be so pumped when they see it."

I've waited my whole life for this series. I am indeed pumped and ready to have my mind blown by what Rodriguez, Favreau, and Filoni have cooked up for us. 

Speaking of "The Book of Boba Fett," LRMonline is reporting that fan-favorite bounty hunter Cad Bane, known for his appearances in "Star Wars: Clone Wars" and "Star Wars: The Bad Batch," will make his live-action debut in Rodriguez's series.

Before the cancelation of "The Clone Wars" in 2013, Cad Bane was set to appear in a four-episode arc with Boba Fett. The two were going to team up for a "rescue mission" on Tatooine, where Tusken Raiders had kidnapped a child. In a clip revealed during the Animated Origins and Unexpected Fates panel at Celebration Orlando in 2017, Cad Bane and a young Boba Fett engage in a duel where Fett's helmet gets its signature dent and Bane is gravely injured.

"The Bad Batch" season 1, episode 9 ("Bounty Lost") confirms that while "The Clone Wars" arc wasn't realized, the duel did take place in canon. In the episode, Bane headbutts Fennec Shand, revealing that he has a metal plate in his head. As I point out in my 2020 article, Our 'The Book Of Boba Fett' Wish List: Everything We'd Love To See In The New Disney+ Series, we could see that duel play out in live-action while also tying up some loose threads on Bane's fate.

From Warner Bros. Games, The LEGO Group, and Lucasfilm Games, "LEGO Star Wars Battles" is a new action-strategy game coming soon exclusively to Apple Arcade, Apple's game subscription service.

"Players can collect and upgrade LEGO Star Wars characters, troops, and vehicles from across the Star Wars saga to build their own army; they'll also build LEGO towers on the battlefield to strategically attack, defend, and capture territory. Heroes and villains will have their own unique abilities, from Darth Vader's Force Slam to Luke Skywalker's Force Push, while locales range from Star Wars: The Phantom Menace's Naboo to Hoth from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back."

Developer TT Games Brighton did not provide an exact release date, saying only that the game is "coming soon." Check out StarWars.com for screenshots of the upcoming game. 

ILMxLAB revealed a full gameplay trailer and new details for "Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy's Edge — Last Call," the final installment of the Tales from the Galaxy's Edge virtual reality series. Check out the trailer below — here's the synopsis:

In Last Call, Batuu's resident grouchy antiquities dealer Dok-Ondar will look to players, once again in the role of a droid-repair technician turned adventurer, to secure some valuable relics. Players will experience two new Tales as they journey to recover these mysterious artifacts.

"Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy's Edge — Last Call" arrives September 15 for the Oculus Quest platform for $9.99, or $34.99 for the full experience.

Marvel's epic crossover event continues with "Star Wars: The War of the Bounty Hunters" #4, from writer Charles Soule and artist Luke Ross with David Messina. In the upcoming issue, Darth Vader reacquires Han Solo and maneuvers to use the carbonite-encased smuggler to ensnare Luke Skywalker. Meanwhile, in "Doctor Aphra" #14, from writer Alyssa Wong and artist Federico Sabbatini, Aphra and Sana Starros end up captured by Crimson Dawn! Both issues arrive September 8 and are available for pre-order on Comixology. Check out StarWars.com for an exclusive preview of the upcoming issues.

Arriving September 7, "Life Day Treasury: Holiday Stories from a Galaxy Far, Far Away" is a collection of eight hopeful stories centered around the Wookiee holiday Life Day and other winter festivals and celebrations. Written by Cavan Scott and George Mann with beautiful paintings by Grant Griffin, the book is the third in series about Star Wars folklore, following Mann's "Myths and Fables" (2019) and "Dark Legends" (2020). Read more about the book at StarWars.com and pre-order your copy now.

Get ready for the September 22 debut of "Star Wars: Visions" on Disney+ with Fifth Sun's and Rock 'Em Socks' stylish, anime-inspired apparel. 

Fifth Sun's collection includes stylish graphic tees and hoodies, while a creative range from Rock 'Em Socks brings some color to your sock drawer. Each series features heroes and villains from all nine shorts of Star Wars: Visions, including the rock band from "Tatooine Rhapsody" and the mysterious Ronin from "The Duel," each in the aesthetic of the original anime. And the production team at Lucasfilm loved the style of "The Duel" so much, they commissioned Kamikaze Douga character designer Takashi Okazaki to create designs of Star Wars icons Darth Vader, Boba Fett, R2-D2, and C-3PO for these collections — even though they don't appear in the short.

Visit StarWars.com for more info on the collection and other upcoming "Star Wars: Visions" items!

On Friends of the Force: A Star Wars Podcast, hosts Brad and Sarah interviewed Brandon Auman, head writer and executive producer on "Star Wars Resistance," who revealed that Mika Grey, the female archaeologist and treasure hunter who appeared in the show's second season was originally imagined (by Dave Filoni) as an older Asajj Ventress. If you're unfamiliar with the beloved fan-favorite "Clone Wars" character, Ventress has had quite a career in "Star Wars" lore as a Jedi Padawan, a Sith assassin, a Nightsister, and a bounty hunter. Apparently, there were even plans for Ventress to duel Kylo Ren! Listen here.

And that's it for this edition of Star Wars Bits! If you have something cool from the "Star Wars" universe that should be included in this column, reach out on Twitter!