Michelle Ang: Omega from THE BAD BATCH

The actor wearing Din Djarin’s helmet is not always Pedro Pascal. In fact, most of the time it’s Brendan Wayne, grandson of the legendary John Wayne. Making his RFR debut, Brendan Wayne joins us In The Cantina to talk about his experiences on the set of THE MANDALORIAN, his life as an actor and the connection he feels with his famous grandfather’s legacy. He discusses a medical emergency that temporarily prevented him from playing the role, working with superstars like Sigorney Weaver and the late Carl Weathers, and he provides us with excitement as we look forward to next year's feature film, THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU. Plus, we empty out the STAR WARS IN POP CULTURE inbox, we recap a recent RFR hangout and more!   

We present a spoiler-free review of the box office hit SUPERMAN through the lens of a Star Wars superfan, and we shine the spotlight on recent comments from Mark Hamill who discusses his struggles with the depiction of Luke Skywalker in THE LAST JEDI while attempting to provide some perspective on his relationship with director Rian Johnson. Plus, George Lucas and JAWS 50, the evolution of Mon Mothma from senator to rebel, the return of Star Wars in Pop Culture, Kid Blake rubs elbows with the stars, and more! 

We’re looking ahead to the future for STAR WARS and, of course, Ahsoka Tano plays a big role. Recently, RFR acquired top-secret concept art images from AHSOKA season two and we go through them all to provide detailed descriptions and observations while looking for clues about the upcoming series. On the animated side of STAR WARS, we speculate about a specific Dark Side character who may show up in MAUL: SHADOW LORD. Plus, Ashley Eckstein recently set the record straight about the origin of #AshokaLives and the role RFR played in it’s creation and more!

For three seasons, we followed along with The Clone Wars spinoff THE BAD BATCH and all of their adventures. Among the troopers was the young clone Omega, who quickly emerged as one of the most likeable Star Wars characters in a long while. Joining us “In The Cantina” for the very first time is Omega herself, Michelle Ang, who shares stories from behind-the-scenes at THE BAD BATCH along with how she relates to Omega and more. You will find Michelle as likeable as Omega, probably even more. In News Headlines, we react to rumors that Daisy Ridley’s “New Jedi Order” film featuring Rey is rumored to have suffered yet another setback and we speculate about the future of the entire STAR WARS film franchise, along with more casting rumors. ANDOR’s Diego Luna is filling in behind the desk at “Jimmy Kimmel Live” and we have highlights of his conversation with Adria Arjona (Bix!) Plus, Ewoks eating humans, ILM Light and Magic season 2 and more!

STAR WARS: STARFIGHTER will go in front of cameras later this year and we have fresh casting info, rumors and speculation about this upcoming film starring Ryan Gosling. Mark Hamill is on a media tour to promote his new film “The Life Of Chuck” but that doesn’t stop interviewers from asking him about his Star Wars history. Mark addresses rumors that he’s done playing Luke Skywalker and provides insight into that famous wardrobe malfunction from earlier this year when his pants fell down in front of an audience of his peers at the BAFTA awards. We also have fresh interview highlights from Andor showrunner Tony Gilroy, Bail Organa actor Benjamin Bratt, and Sam Witwer, who talks about the upcoming series, MAUL: SHADOW LORD. And for something completely different, we present you with a connection between John Lennon and STAR WARS that you may never have known before. 

You heard our coverage of The Forest Moon Festival 2025 last week, so this week, we're telling you all of the stories. Celebrating the original Endor shooting locations from RETURN OF THE JEDI in the redwoods region, this annual event is not to be missed. Fanboys director Kyle Newman was there as well and he’s back on RFR to share his experience. We recap all of the tales from behind-the-scenes and listen to the full Fanboys Q&A from the event. Plus, listener feedback, “Star Wars in Pop Culture” and more, delivered to you this week with an extra dose of "Endor Pride"!

RFR made the journey out to the beautiful redwood forests of California for The Forest Moon Festival celebrating the Endor shooting locations from RETURN OF THE JEDI. From Del Norte County to Humboldt County, we were part of a “caravan of courage” traveling up and down the Pacific Northwest to podcast at various event locations. Joining us were original ROTJ Ewok Kevin Thompson and our pal, FANBOYS director Kyle Newman. We talk to fans, cosplayers, artists, musicians, and locals who share their pride for living in a region that served as the Forest Moon home of the Ewoks. Hear from those who remember when Jedi was being filmed and contributed, along with those who celebrate the legacy. We even find out which “Jedi” cast member got pulled over for speeding! "Magical" was a word that couldn’t be overused throughout the weekend. This week, you can hear what we did. Next week, we’ll tell you the stories. Yub Nub!  Thank you:  Redwood Region Museum of Film Grizzly Creek State Park Crescent City’s Beachfront Park Arcata Farmer’s Market Sequoia Park Zoo The Humboldt-Del Norte Film Commission Special thanks to Cassandra Hesseltine, Tracy Boyd, Tiffany Miller, and Anibal Polanco. Love you guys!

Now that ANDOR has wrapped up, we aren’t quite ready yet to let it go. We scoured the web to collect the best interview highlights featuring Andor showrunner Tony Gilroy, who provides valuable insights into the finished series and gives us a lot to talk about. FORTNITE recently revealed an all-new A.I. powered Darth Vader character that players can interact with via voice text, so naturally because it’s the internet, people started to manipulate the “Sith-Bot” to say outrageous and unthinkable things. Of course, we had to try ourselves so you can hear what Darth has to say about Rebel Force Radio. It ain’t pretty. Big Announcement! We reveal info about when ticket sales will begin for this September’s RFR at RANCHO OBI-WAN event. Plus, Jimmy Mac reveals his list of Top 5 all-time Star Wars creatives, THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK turns 45 and more! Get full show video, bonus podcasts, ad-free shows, and access to an amazing Star Wars fan community at RFR on PATREON! 

SERIES FINALE! The adventures of Cassian Andor come to an explosive conclusion this week in the fourth and final block of episodes from ANDOR Season 2: "Make it Stop," "Who Else Knows?," and "Jedha, Kyber, Erso." Join us for a lively RFR After Show looking back at these episodes and the entire series now that it has officially wrapped up. As always, the RFR switchboard was open for your thoughts about this unique and gripping installment of the Star Wars Saga.   Get ad-free shows, bonus podcasts, full show video and more at RFR on Patreon! www.patreon.com/rebelforceradio

In the wake of the amazing “Ghorman Massacre” arc from ANDOR season 2, there is still much ground to cover. We have highlights from a fresh interview with Andor writer Dan Gilroy, brother of showrunner Tony Gilroy. Dan provides some quality insight into the characters and the situations they find themselves in. Turning our ears toward ANDOR, we take audio of The Ghorman Front's desperate underground radio broadcast into the RFR Sound Lab to clean it up and hear it all, word-for-dramatic-word. Spotlighting Star Wars animation, we breakdown TALES OF THE UNDERWORLD and react to the stories featuring Asajj Ventress and Cad Bane. And Listener Feedback presents the question: Does Mon Mothma know The Emperor is a Sith Lord?