Star Wars Bits: The Animated Princess Leia Has Been Recast, Ewan McGregor Might Be Returning, And Rumors About A Whole New World For Episode IX

In this edition of Star Wars Bits:

Now that we are less than 12 months away from the release of Star Wars: Episode IX it can mean only one thing: rumors are officially go. Making Star Wars has a great report for those of us who enjoy picking apart every whisper and some of the most interesting things that they mention include the possibility of a Red Stormtrooper being introduced, as well as information about possible new locations including a "Jungle World", and even more talk about the Knights of Ren.

Looks like Rachel Butera's controversial and cruel tweet mocking sexual assault survivor Christine Blasey Ford has ended her short tenure as General Leia Organa on Star Wars Resistance. Though there wasn't an official announcement, CinemaBlend noticed that in the credits for the winter special Carolyn Hennesy was credited as the iconic character rather than Butera. We aren't sure how much of a role Hennesy will have going forward but it's an interesting addition, especially as the actress has voiced Leia before in LEGO Star Wars: All-Stars.

Harking back to our last Star Wars Bits, there's been some shocking news on the collectibles circuit! Last time we mentioned a tweet by Mark Hamill which referenced a lightsaber going up for auction and the fact that there was no one original prop. It turns out that in fact the authenticity of the lightsaber ended up being so questionable that according to The Guardian it was pulled from the auction all together. Hamill is truly a hero in every galaxy.

Looks like both Solo: A Star Wars Story and Star Wars: The Last Jedi will be in the running to earn some new silverware with both the soundtracks up for Grammys at this year's ceremony (via Billboard). John Williams is no stranger to accolades and awards, and the two films are nominated for Best Instrumental Composition and Score Soundtrack For Visual Media respectively. Good luck, John!

Set your blasters to speculation as CinemaBlend has a theory that Obi-Wan Kenobi might turn up in Episode IX. This piece essentially weighs up the pros and cons of the likelihood that the Jedi icon/very bad role model might turn up, but it's a fun run down of all the Kenobi drama from his rumored spin-off to Ewan McGregor's enthusiasm.

Have you ever wanted to explore the brilliant and legendary making of Star Wars, well StarWars.com has a look at one of the most exciting releases in Star Wars history, which they describe awesomely: "Imagine a 600-page book that could not only show you the history of the classic Star Wars trilogy like never before, but could also transport you to Tunisia, or Elstree Studios, as a young filmmaker named George Lucas forged his legacy. Picture yourself at Skywalker Ranch, or in the halls of Lucasfilm in San Francisco, with unrestricted access to more than four decades' worth of Star Wars archives." We can't wait to get our hands on the landmark publication as soon as we've saved up $200!

One of the most popular new additions to Star Wars canon has undoubtedly been the cute as a button BB unit who has played sidekick to all of the galaxy's newest heroes. BB-8 is everyone's fave droid buddy and that's why Sphero's app enabled droid has long been one of the most wanted Star Wars collectables. But engadget recently reported that the company will be discontinuing the little robots along with all other licensed products.

Though one piece of Star Wars memorabilia didn't make it to auction this month, another iconic prop did, and it sold for $240,000! One of the TIE Fighter helmets that was worn in the original trilogy films reached that milestone amount at the Profiles In History auction in LA! The Daily Mail were the ones who highlighted the sale of the dream gift for a lucky fan of the galaxy far, far, away.

Looks like we missed a really cool part of the new Hot Toys deluxe Luke Skywalker figure that they recently launched. But the eagle eyed writers over at GeekTyrant spotted that one of the outfits which Luke comes with in the Return of the Jedi edition is actually from a deleted scene in the movie. The googles and cloak never made it into the final film which makes this a must have for fans of the farm boy and the franchise.

If you've yet to discover Script To Screen, they're a brilliant Twitter account which offers fans a chance to see how a scene translates from page to screen. In a new offering they juxtapose the apparently simple dialogue from one of The Last Jedi's most emotional sequences with the finished scene. Rey and Kylo facing down in the Throne room after defeating the Praetorian Guard is a powerhouse of performance and the simplicity of the original script just highlights the amazing work that Driver and Ridley do during the huge moment.

Great news for Star Wars fans who will be heading to Chicago later this year for Celebration... the ceremonies this year will be hosted by none other than Wicket W. Warrick himself: Warwick Davis. According to Star Wars dot com the icon "will make his triumphant return to the main Celebration Stage in Chicago, where he will welcome some of the biggest stars of the show for intimate conversations, thrilling announcements, and other revelations. Warwick previously hosted the Celebration Stage in Orlando in 2017, and has been a staple at Star Wars Celebration since its inception in 1999." And we cannot wait to see him return!