State of the Empire: A Lucasfilm Podcast

This is the web's best Star Wars podcast. I found it quite late and didn't start listening until around the time that Solo came out and I have HAD A BLAST starting at the beginning and listening to these guys geek out about Star Wars. It has been so fun to listen to the podcasts knowing what already happened and hearing their crazy theories! Sometimes I laugh at how ludicrously wrong they are and then just a minute later I marvel at how accurate their rumors, second hand info, and personal theories prove to be. Also, as a fan who never paid much attention to the EU (old or new) it has allowed me to fill in a lot of the gaps in my knowledge of the broader Star Wars universe. Plus, Willow Watch is pretty gangsta too!

I found State of the Empire about 2 months ago and it has been such an amazing journey to hear the hopes and visions that this team has about the franchise. There is still more for me to get through as I'm only just finishing up episode 45, but I had to finally break down and leave a comment. The first chunk of this podcast I have found myself siding with Matt on most arguments and it feels good to hear his opinions on the Prequels and The Clone Wars. In recent episodes, as we got to The Last Jedi and the thoughts about it, I have been on Doug's side of the studio though and find that we seem to have come to very similar conclusions in a lot of parts. Obviously, the movie has its flaws, but overall I enjoyed the movie and it is amazing to hear the arguments and opinions coming through without a bunch of yelling and name calling. This podcast does such an amazing job of sifting out the best things to come out of the multi-faceted media machine that is the current Disney run Lucasfilm, while being critical of the flops. There are times that I feel some of the ideas and opinions are wrong, or overly critical, but it is what they are here to do. Hearing true fans of the serious, debate over the smallest and largest parts of this franchise is so much fun and I'm afraid of catching up to the current episodes because then I will have to wait with everyone else for my news. PS. I am planning on buying a copy of Willow soon and finally seeing it. Somehow this movie has avoided my radar until the podcast and I find myself being overjoyed every time I hear the "Willow" soundbyte and music. I skipped the first all Willow Watch episode because I feared for too many spoilers before seeing it, but the Willow Watch segment has become one of the best parts of the show, and I always enjoy hearing Doug tell stories from that old source book.

Haven’t missed an episode of this podcast since I discovered it around episode 20 and I must admit, this review is well over do. This group of three well studied, charismatic Lucas Films super fans (Cap, Matt and Doug) have yet to disappoint. Through this podcast you will get thorough breakdowns and intelligent discussions on all things Star Wars. And when the news on the Star Wars front gets a little slow, they break down the broader world of Lucas Films including the always intriguing “Willow Watch”, and “Indi inquiries”. However, it’s not always about breaking down current news, rumors and content. Some of their best stuff is reading early drafts of movie scripts that wound up on the cutting rooms floor. And finally, one of the best features of this podcast is that Cap, Doug and Matt are careful to take what they consider spoilers and secure them “behind the blast doors” until the end of the show. Cannot recommend this show enough!!!

It can take a while to wade through all the Star Wars Podcasts out there. If you don’t mind an occasional f bomb, this is hands down the best. Often insightful, intelligent, and yes entertaining. A must for Star Wars nerds, and a great place to start for the curious. Keep up the great work. I Always look forward to the alert of a new episode. Cheers - David