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Kendrick Lamar ranks among the most influential rappers ever, winning the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2018. Lamar has delivered several hit songs and his influence on the hip-hop genre, especially in the modern era is undeniable. However, Lamar credited another rapper for his proficiency with penning hard-hitting lyrics.

Kendrick Lamar became the first rapper to win a Pulitzer Prize (Credit: Humble | YouTube).

In an interview, Lamar spoke about his writing process, crediting fellow rapper Eminem and his music for his proficiency. Lamar cited Eminem’s album The Marshall Mathers LP, calling it life-changing. Here is what Lamar had to say about Eminem’s music and its lasting impact that most new fans underestimate.

Kendrick Lamar Revealed How Eminem Impacted His Career

Kendrick Lamar gained recognition for his music during the 2010s becoming one of the most popular rappers. He has won 17 Grammy Awards, becoming the rapper with the third-most wins at the prestigious awards ceremony.

Eminem can easily be one of the greatest rappers of all time and has a remarkable effect on the hip-hop genre. The star had a knack for rapping from a very young age and participated in several open mic competitions. But later found his footing in the industry when he released his highly coveted The Slim Shady LP in 1999.

From here there was no stopping for him, and he produced other highly acclaimed albums and songs such as The Marshall Mathers LP, The Watcher, and Encore, to name a few.

Eminem via Mike Tyson | Credits: YouTube

While this was his professional side, on the personal front, the rapper is a loving father. While the public is well aware of his daughter Hailie Jade, he also has two more daughters that he shares with his ex-wife.

Eminem’s Life as a Devoted Father to His Three Kids

Growing up, Eminem had...

The second season of the hit Star Wars show The Mandalorian is officially being adapted for the page in comic book form. The second season of The Mandalorian followed up the success of the first season with an even bigger achievement. Following billions of streams, The Mandalorian's second season cemented the show as the most watched series on the Disney+ platform since it launched, a title which the show maintains still to this day, just over two years after the second season concluded.

With mere days to go before the third season of The Mandalorian premieres on Disney+, StarWars.com has announced that the second season will be adapted into an eight-issue series, with each issue being based on one episode, courtesy of Marvel Comics. The first issue will adapt 'Chapter 9: The Marshall,' which is the episode of The Mandalorian that introduces the infinitely memorable Din Djarin,...

From football (the actual footie kind) to monarchy to Michaela Coel, it was a great night to be British at the 2021 Emmy Awards.

Netflix had the biggest night of any streamer or network, with its Queen Elizabeth drama The Crown running a clean sweep of its categories and taking home seven awards. On the comedy side of things, Ted Lasso was nearly as dominant, winning nearly every award it was up for save for writing, directing, and lead actress in a comedy series (all three of which went to HBO Max’s Hacks). Mare of Easttown, I May Destroy You, and The Queen’s Gambit all split the limited series honors, with the Netflix chess series taking home the big prize.

It was a quiet ceremony for Marvel Studios, which was making its Primetime Emmy awards debut thanks to Disney+’s WandaVision. Though the series didn’t win any hardware Sunday night,...

Outstanding Drama Series

The Crown

The Boys

Bridgerton

The Handmaid’s Tale

Lovecraft Country

The Mandalorian

Pose

This Is Us

Outstanding Comedy Series

Ted Lasso

Black-ish

Cobra Kai

Emily in Paris

Hacks

The Flight Attendant

The Kominsky Method

Pen15

Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series

The Queen’s Gambit

I May Destroy You

Mare of Easttown

The Underground Railroad

WandaVision

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama

Josh O’Connor – The Crown

Sterling K. Brown – This Is Us

Jonathan Majors – Lovecraft Country

Regé-Jean Page – Bridgerton

Billy Porter – Pose

Matthew Rhys – Perry Mason

Outstanding Lead Actress...

The 73rd Emmys on CBS, hosted by Cedric the Entertainer, were a night to remember for “The Crown” and “Ted Lasso.”

The Netflix monarchy drama won every single award it was up for on Sunday. “Ted Lasso” didn’t pull off a clean sweep, but it certainly felt that way.

“Hacks” and “Mare of Easttown” also had a heck of an evening. See all of the winners and nominees below.

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series

Aidy Bryant, “Saturday Night Live”

Hannah Einbinder, “Hacks“

Kate McKinnon, “Saturday Night Live”

Rosie Perez, “The Flight Attendant“

Cecily Strong, “Saturday Night Live”

Juno Temple, “Ted Lasso”

Hannah Waddingham, “Ted Lasso” *Winner

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series

Carl Clemons-Hopkins, “Hacks”

Brett Goldstein, “Ted Lasso“ *Winner

Brendan Hunt, “Ted Lasso“

Nick Mohammed, “Ted Lasso“

Paul Reiser, “The Kominsky Method”

Jeremy Swift, “Ted Lasso“

Kenan Thompson, “Saturday Night Live”

Bowen Yang, “Saturday Night Live...

Have You made your Best Drama Guest Actor Emmy predictions yet at Gold Derby? Our Experts have, and they give the edge to Charles Dance (“The Crown”) to win his first career trophy. The British thespian was previously nominated by the Television Academy for acting in “Bleak House” (2006) and narrating “Savage Kingdom” (2018 and ’19). This year’s other nominees are Timothy Olyphant (“The Mandalorian”), Courtney B. Vance (“Lovecraft Country”), Don Cheadle (“The Falcon and the Winter Soldier”) and Carl Weathers (“The Mandalorian”).

These leading seven Emmy Experts predict Dance will win: Ben Travers (Indiewire), Christopher Rosen (Gold Derby), Clayton Davis (Variety), Jazz Tangcay (Variety), Shawn Edwards (Wdaf-tv Fox), Susan King (Gold Derby) and Susan Wloszczyna (Gold Derby). Dance’s Emmy submission for “The Crown” is “Gold Stick,” which streamed November 15 on Netflix as the first episode of Season 4.

SEE4 reasons why Timothy Olyphant can win the Emmy for ‘The Mandalorian’

However,...

“Deadwood.” “Justified.” “Santa Clarita Diet.” The list of TV shows that should have won Timothy Olyphant an Emmy Award seems to grow every year. Now the actor is back in the awards conversation thanks to his guest stint on “The Mandalorian,” for which he played Cobb Vanth in the Season 2 premiere episode, “The Marshal.” Olyphant received his third career Emmy nomination this year after previously earning bids for “Justified” (Best Drama Actor) and “Deadwood” (Best TV Movie). Might he finally win?

SEEWith Emmy nomination for ‘The Mandalorian,’ Giancarlo Esposito matches record set by Jonathan Banks

In the episode, Pedro Pascal‘s titular Mandalorian character travels to the Outer Rim in an effort to seek out others of his kind, which is where he comes into contact with Cobb Vanth. At first Mando believes the Tatooine marshal is a tried-and-true Mandalorian (as he’s wearing Boba Fett’s iconic armor), but...

In 2017, “The Handmaid’s Tale” director Reed Morano ended a 22-year dry spell when she became the only the third woman to win the Best Drama Directing Emmy. A woman has not won since, but this year, three have a chance to become the fourth.

Liz Garbus (“The Handmaid’s Tale”), Jessica Hobbs (“The Crown”) and Julie Anne Robinson (“Bridgerton”) are up for the honor alongside Steven Canals (“Pose”), Benjamin Caron (“The Crown”) and Jon Favreau (“The Mandalorian”). If Garbus, Hobbs or Robinson wins, they’ll join Morano, Karen Arthur (“Cagney & Lacey,” 1985) and Mimi Leder as the category’s only female champs.

This is the second straight year with three female drama directing nominees. Leder was nominated last year for “The Morning Show” alongside Hobbs for “The Crown” and Lesli Linka Glatter for “Homeland,” but they lost to Andrij Parekh for “Succession.”

See Can Elisabeth Moss return the favor to ‘The Crown...

Jon Favreau’s “The Mandalorian” returned for Season 2 on Disney+, boasting new and improved virtual production innovations, while introducing creatures such as the menacing Krayt Dragon and ice spiders. The tech highlight, though, was the launch of StageCraft 2.0, the virtual production game changer from Industrial Light & Magic. Offering a new in-house render engine called Helios, the immersive LED wall digital backlot at Manhattan Beach Studios in L.A. generated cooler-looking digital environments in real-time, and continued the illusion of being on location with interactive lighting and perspective-accurate camera tracking.

“Helios gave us higher resolution and more image fidelity,” said Ilm VFX supervisor Richard Bluff. “The assets that were going into the environments could not only be rendered in real-time on the wall, but could also be easily rendered in any one of our render engines that we use in post-production. This allowed a lot of flexibility on the back end.

British actor and model Poppy Delevingne, Chad Michael Collins, Casper Van Dien and Jeff Fahey are set to star in thriller-suspense film “Assailant,” from Msr Media and written and directed by Tom Paton (“400 Bullets”).

The pic turns on a couple going through marriage counseling who decide to head to the Caribbean on a “make or break” sailing holiday. But when the husband gets into a local bar fight the night before a difficult trek over a coastal trail, the duo finds themselves relentlessly chased by the aggressor and forced to work together in order to survive.

Msr Media’s Philippe Martinez and Highfield Grange Studios’ Alan Latham will produce, with Lee Beasley and Karinne Behr from Msr Media, Alastair Burlingham of Sherborne Media and Charlie Dombek serving as executive producers. Production financing is provided by Sherborne Media. Msr Media International is handling worldwide rights for the film.

Principal photography...

Actor Johnny Crawford, known for playing Chuck Connors’ son in ABC series “The Rifleman” from 1958-63, has died. He was 75.

“It is with great sadness and heaviness of heart that the Johnny Crawford Legacy team announce the passing of Johnny Crawford,” it was posted on the Johnny Crawford Legacy website. “He passed away peacefully this evening, April 29, 2021 with Charlotte, his wife, by his side.”

In “The Rifleman,” Crawford played Mark McCain, son of Civil War veteran Lucas McCain, played by Connors. He was nominated in the best supporting actor (continuing character) in a dramatic series category at the Primetime Emmys in 1959. He was 13 at the time.

In 2019, Crawford was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease before he contracted Covid-19 and then pneumonia.

Crawford was one of 24 Mouseketeers in the first season of ABC’s “The Mickey Mouse Club.” His early TV roles included “The Lone Ranger,” “Cavalcade of America” and “The Count of Monte Cristo.

This article contains spoilers for various parts of the Star Trek franchise.

Last fall, airing just a few weeks apart, both Star Trek and Star Wars debuted season premieres of new streaming TV episodes in which the heroes of each show had to fight a giant, legless worm-monster. In Star Trek: Discovery’s “That Hope Is You Part 1,” it was the deadly Tranceworm, while The Mandalorian’s “Chapter 9: The Marshall” had the murderous Krayt Dragon. The differences between the Final Frontier and the Faraway Galaxy could not have been made clearer by these dueling beasts: in Mando, the plot involved killing the monster by blowing up its guts from the inside, while in Disco, Book taught Michael Burnham how to make friends with it.

The Trek universe deals with the concept of evil a little differently than many of its famous genre competitors. There is no Lex Luthor of the Federation.

Exclusive: Pulitzer Prize-winning nonprofit newsroom The Marshall Project has closed a deal with Storied Media Group for representation of its film and television rights.

Storied Media Group will represent the publisher in the packaging and selling of its acclaimed, critical and timely reporting on the U.S. criminal justice system. Smg will curate the publication’s daily stories, hard-hitting investigative pieces and growing archives, and market the articles to studios, streamers, networks and producers for adaptation worldwide.

The multi award-winning newsroom, founded in 2014 and named after the honorable justice Thurgood Marshall, was created to make an impact through journalism, rendering the criminal justice system more fair, effective, transparent and humane. Its diverse team is composed of some of the country’s leading talents in top-quality investigative and explanatory journalism. The Marshall Project has consistently produced work that has affected real world change. The 2015 series An Unbelievable Story of Rape, a collaboration with ProPublica,...

The Visual Effects Society Awards were handed out during a virtual ceremony on Tuesday, April 6. “The Midnight Sky” won the Ves equivalent of the Best Picture race – Best Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature. It bested Oscar frontrunner “Tenet” in that category, as well as “Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey,” “Project Power” and “The Witches.” George Clooney‘s sci-fi drama won an additional prize for Best Model in a Photoreal of Animated Project. Scroll down for a complete list of winners and nominees at the 2021 Visual Effects Society Awards.

“Tenet” shouldn’t get too discouraged about its Oscar chances. Last year’s Academy Award winner for Best Visual Effects, “1917,” wasn’t even nominated in the top category at the Ves. That award went to “The Lion King,” which lost at the Oscars to Sam Mendes‘ WWI epic. “1917” did compete at the Visual Effects Society for Best Supporting Visual Effects,...

“The Midnight Sky” and “Soul” were the big film winners at the 19th annual Ves Awards, which were presented on Tuesday night by the Visual Effects Society.

George Clooney’s cautionary sci-fi drama “The Midnight Sky” won two awards, including Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature, the Ves category that most closely corresponds to the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. Winners in the category have gone on to win the Oscar 10 times in the past 18 years, but the last film to do so was “The Jungle Book” in 2017.

The Pixar film “Soul,” which was shortlisted but not nominated for the VFX Oscar, won five awards, the most of any film or television program. In addition to Outstanding Visual Effects in an Animated Feature, it won for its animated character, created environment, effects simulation and virtual cinematography.

“Project Power” also won two awards, while additional film prizes went to “Mank,...

George Clooney’s existential sci-fi drama, “The Midnight” Sky,” moved a step closer in the VFX Oscar race Tuesday, taking top honors at the 19th annual Ves Awards. The Netflix film (with VFX by Framestore) also earned the model award for the Aether spacecraft. Strangely, though, the unforgettable Ballet of Blood scene, containing simulated zero-g and remarkable liquid simulation, wasn’t even nominated, yet this highlight could prove decisive if “The Midnight Sky” wins the Oscar.

But that’s a big if in this wide open race that also includes Christopher Nolan’s time-inverted “Tenet” (which is finally available on the Academy’s online voting portal) and dark horse “Love and Monsters,” with its terrific array of Ray Harryhausen-like creatures. In the last four years, the Ves has only aligned with the Academy once (for “The Jungle Book”). Then again, the Ves nod could be enough to put “The Midnight Sky...

Pixar’s “Soul,” George Clooney’s “The Midnight Sky” and “The Mandalorian” led the winners at the 19th annual Visual Effects Society (Ves) Awards.

Comedian Patton Oswalt served as host for the 10th time for the virtual ceremony which celebrated the art of visual effects across 25 categories.

“Soul” was named top animated film, winning five awards. “The Mandalorian” was named best photoreal episode and garnered three awards, and “The Midnight Sky” was named the photoreal feature winner, garnering two awards.

Sacha Baron Cohen presented the Ves Award for Creative Excellence to acclaimed visual effects supervisor, second unit director and director of photography Robert Legato, ASC. Cate Blanchett presented the Ves Lifetime Achievement Award to Peter Jackson. The “Lord of the Rings” filmmaker was lauded in a virtual tribute that featured Andy Serkis, Naomi Watts, Elijah Wood, Sir Ian McKellen, James Cameron and Gollum.

Full List of Winners:

Outstanding Visual Effects...

The Directors Guild of America on Monday revealed its nominations for the 73rd annual DGA Awards in the fields of TV, commercials and documentary. The guild, which will unveil its theatrical feature film and first-time feature film nominees tomorrow, will announce this year’s winners April 10 during a virtual event.

Among the notable nominees today was Apple TV+’s Ted Lasso, the Golden Globe and Critics Choice winner. It snagged two noms today for directors Zach Braff and Mj Delaney in the Comedy Series category. It is joined there by HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm which also pulled off the double, for helmers Erin O’Malley and Jeff Schaffer.

Jon Favreau was nominated for two separate projects: for Disney+’s The Mandalorian in Dramatic Series and Netflix’s The Chef Show in Reality. CBS’ The Late Show with Stephen Colbert director Jim Hoskinson also scored two noms.

Lynn Shelton, who died...

The Directors Guild of America has revealed this year’s TV nominees for its 73rd annual DGA Awards, including achievement in drama, comedy, limited/TV movie, variety, reality, children’s and commercials. Also announced on Monday were the nominees for this year’s directorial achievement in documentaries.

“Ted Lasso” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm” lead DGA Awards nominations this year in scripted TV, with two each in the comedy category.

Also scoring multiple nods: Director Jon Favreau, who landed mentions both in the drama category, for “The Mandalorian,” and in reality, for “The Chef Show.” The other individual with multiple nominations is “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’s” Jim Hoskinson, nominated in variety/talk/news/sports—regularly scheduled programming for the episode “#1025 Live Show Following Capitol Insurrection” and variety/talk/news/sports—specials for “Stephen Colbert’s Election Night 2020: Democracy’s Last Stand: Building Back America Great Again Better...

It’s truly a measure of the pandemic that the 19th annual Ves Awards (to be held virtually on April 6) was dominated by Disney+’s “The Mandalorian” with 13 nominations (topped by photoreal episode). Like the Oscar shortlist, there was an absence of big budget, VFX-intensive studio films. But, truth be told, Season 2 of Jon Favreau’s engaging “Star Wars” bounty hunter series offered the industry’s most innovative tech (wrapped around Industrial Light & Magic’s improved StageCraft virtual production system).

Pixar’s “Soul” was the top animation contender with five nominations, while the feature competition was split between “Project Power,” the Netflix superhero film, Robert Zemeckis’ “The Witches” (which streamed on HBO Max), and Disney’s live-action “Mulan” (which streamed on Disney+), each garnering three nominations.

Joining “Project Power” and “The Witches” in the top photoreal feature category were Netflix’s “Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey” and “The Midnight Sky...

The nominations for the 19th Annual Visual Effects Society Awards have been announced with “The Mandalorian” and “Soul” leading.

“The Mandalorian” leads with 13 nominations including outstanding visual effects in a photoreal episode. “Soul” was next with five nominations, followed by “The Witches” and “Project Power.”

The Ves awards will be handed out in a virtual ceremony and will stream worldwide on April 6.

“Traditions find a way to persist,” said Lisa Cooke, Ves Board Chair. “With vision and a lot of hard work, we are proud to host our annual celebration of the artistry, ingenuity and passion of visual effects practitioners around the world – virtually. We are seeing best in class work that elevates the art of storytelling and engages the audience in new and innovative ways. The Ves Awards is the only venue that showcases and honors these outstanding artists across a wide range of disciplines, and we are extremely proud of all our nominees!

The Visual Effects Society today announced the nominees for its 19th annual Ves Awards, which recognize VFX artistry in 25 categories spanning film, TV, animation, commercials and video games. Winners will be announced during a virtual ceremony on Tuesday, April 6.

Disney+’s The Mandalorian leads all TV shows and films with 13 noms, and Disney/Pixar’s animated Soul tops the film side with five. Project Power and The Witches tied for second among movies with three noms apiece in a decidedly strange year for VFX-heavy projects.

Vying for the Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature prize are Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey, The Midnight Sky, Project Power, Tenet and The Witches. The films up for

Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature are Da 5 Bloods, Extraction, Mank, News of the World and Welcome to Chechnya.

Soul will battle it out for the Visual Effects in an Animated Feature trophy against fellow Pixar pic Onward,...

This Star Wars: The Mandalorian article contains spoilers.

From the very beginning, Boba Fett has inspired The Mandalorian. Showrunner Jon Favreau’s “toy box” approach pitched protagonist Din Djarin as a Boba Fett-like figure, and although the two are quite different in terms of personality and history, the iconic silhouette of the space western gunslinger is very similar.

But now Boba Fett himself is back in The Mandalorian season 2, played by none other than Temuera Morrison in a very brief cameo. At the very end of the season 2 premiere “The Marshal,” we find Boba watching from a hill as Mando rides off with his old armor, a scowl on the old bounty hunter’s face that would silence a krayt dragon. With all the Mandalorian history and bounty hunting on the show, it was only a matter of time before we finally got to see Boba in the flesh!

Stream...

This Star Wars: The Mandalorian article contains spoilers.

The Mandalorian season 2 continues its streak of entertaining episodes with “The Heiress,” which brings in elements from The Clone Wars as well as gives us a clear sign of where the show is headed. Along the way, we’re treated to even more guest appearances, including Battlestar Galactica legend Katee Sackhoff, who brings Mandalorian warrior Bo-Katan Kryze to live-action for the first time, as well as Mercedes Varnado (better known as the WWE wrestler Sasha Banks), who portrays the gun-toting Nite Owl soldier Koska Reeves.

Two major cameos in one episode is more than enough to get viewers excited, but “The Heiress” throws in yet one more guest actor in the third actor. If you thought that fiercely loyal Imperial captain looked familiar, that’s because it’s actor Titus Welliver, who you probably know best from Lost, Deadwood, and as the...

The Mandalorian The Marshal Review — Disney+‘s The Mandalorian: Season 2, Episode 1: The Marshal TV Show Review. “If there’s a bright center to the universe, you’re on the planet that it’s farthest from.” This is the description that Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) gives to C-3Po and R2-D2 of the planet Tatooine, [...]

Continue reading: TV Review: The Mandolorian: Season 2, Episode 1: The Marshal [Disney+]...

We’re only two weeks into The Mandalorian‘s second season, but the return of the smash hit Disney Plus series has already thrown up some big talking points, which is all the more impressive when you consider that the major plot beats have yet to be truly set in motion. So far, Mando and Baby Yoda have been on two standalone adventures as they look for other members of the title hero’s race, and it would be an understatement to say that things haven’t gone to plan so far.

“The Marshal” saw the dynamic duo forced into an uneasy alliance on Tatooine to battle the Krayt Dragon, with fans also finding themselves a new cult hero thanks to Timothy Olyphant’s handsomely charismatic Cobb Vanth. The premiere did tease one subplot, though, as we saw a returning Boba Fett keeping a watchful eye on the current possessors of his iconic armor.

We’re already 25% of the way through The Mandalorian‘s second season and there’s still no indication of what the driving force of the plot is going to be. The two episodes have been great in their own unique ways, but after creator Jon Favreau teased a much larger and more expansive story for season 2, the first few weeks have been almost completely self-contained.

“The Marshal” was an old fashioned Western set on the dusty plains of Tatooine, while “The Passenger” leaned much harder into sci-fi and horror territory as Mando and The Child ended up being attacked by a swarm of creepy crawlies while they ferried the Frog Lady across the galaxy. There was also plenty of humor in what was a very Baby Yoda-heavy episode, although some fans were a little concerned about the cute little critter devouring the unborn spawn of someone that just wanted to...

Fans are still trying to break down all the Easter Eggs and references from the premiere episode of The Mandalorian season 2. But one, in particular, that managed to get a lot of traction on social media, has turned out to be untrue.

From Knights of the Old Republic to Episode I – The Phantom Menace, “The Marshal” was full of references to other Star Wars stories. Jon Favreau even gave us a glimpse of Boba Fett after more than 30 years and teased his comeback by showing off the bounty hunter’s iconic Beskar armor. It seems, though, that another actor has been making the rounds online for apparently turning up as a Tatooine villager in the season 2 opener.

The rumor started when IGN listed all the individuals who appeared in the episode. One of the slides in their post claimed that Sam Witwer, whom fans know as the voice of Darth...

With "Chapter 9 - The Marshal," the hit Disney+ original Star Wars series, The Mandalorian returned after its year off and after a lot of anticipation from fans. It is safe to say the episode delivered in all aspects. An incredible return to the series, the season premiere delivered an excellent contained story while introducing key aspects for the season ahead and planting the seeds for big things to come, managing to connect to the wider lore in the process.

Related: The Mandalorian: Season 2 - The Best Things About The Season Premiere

Undoubtedly the singular most significant reveal pf the episode ended on kind-of a cliffhanger, revealing that none other than Boba Fett is alive and kicking on Tatooine, looking over Mando. This had been rumored for months, but what his overall role will be is yet unknown.

The Mandalorian is back – and in style. The show has always had Western vibes, but “Chapter 9: The Marshal” cranked those to the max, presenting us with a dusty frontier town, a Marshal trying to keep the peace, frosty relations between indigenous people and settlers, and Mando himself as ‘the man with no name.’ Within this, we also got some very cool nods to the history of Star Wars.

Most obvious was Timothy Olyphant’s Cobb Vanth wearing Boba Fett’s armor, which emerged from the Sarlacc and was discovered by Jawas. Also of note was Vance using one of Anakin Skywalker’s pod racer engines from The Phantom Menace as his ride and the reappearance of the goofy Pit Droids. Then there’s Fett as played by Temuera Morrison, glimpsed in the closing moments of the episode. But there’s one subtle cameo that most viewers missed.

When Vance is negotiating with the Jawas,...

With its ninth chapter, aptly titled "The Marshal," the critical and fan hit The Mandalorian returned to Disney+ for season two, and it is safe to say it instantly continued to prove the worth of the series with what some are calling the best episode yet. The episode's contained story was brilliant, but the episode also planted the seeds for the future with some big reveals and plot points, as well as a slew of connections and references to the wider lore.

Related: The Mandalorian: Season 2 - The Best Things About The Season Premiere

With all of this packed into the episode, the season premiere delivered on a handful of theories and rumors that had been building up over the months before release, much to the joy of fans.

[This story contains spoilers for The Mandalorian season two premiere, “Chapter 9, The Marshall.”]

The Mandalorian is back, and already there’s the promise of this new season being much larger in scale than the last as the story and spectacle of the Mandalorian aka Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and Baby Yoda aka the child’s journey unfolds across the galaxy.

The season two premiere of the Disney+ series picks up shortly after the season one finale with Mando searching for leads that will point him to fellow Mandalorians who can aide him on his quest to bring the child back to ...

[This story contains spoilers for The Mandalorian season two premiere, “Chapter 9, The Marshall.”]

The Mandalorian is back, and already there’s the promise of this new season being much larger in scale than the last as the story and spectacle of the Mandalorian aka Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and Baby Yoda aka the child’s journey unfolds across the galaxy.

The season two premiere of the Disney+ series picks up shortly after the season one finale with Mando searching for leads that will point him to fellow Mandalorians who can aide him on his quest to bring the child back to ...

After almost a year wait, the second season of the beloved and acclaimed live-action Star Wars TV show The Mandalorian is finally here, with chapter nine of the story, titled "The Marshal," having dropped on Disney+ on October 30th. Fans have waited patiently for the series' return, and it is safe to say that wait was hugely rewarded.

Related: Star Wars: 10 Ways The Mandalorian Can Explore The Gap Between Episodes VI & VII

The season premiere delivered on and exceeded fan expectations, doing a lot of brilliant things, bringing back the series in a huge way, showing fans that the quality and momentum accumulated by the first season would not come to a halt with the new one, and that this season would be a treat.

[This story contains spoilers for The Mandalorian season two premiere, “Chapter Nine, The Marshal.”]

Audiences might finish this week’s episode of The Mandalorian and want more of Timothy Olyphant’s character, the episode’s titular “The Marshall.” Good news — there’s already a lot more of him to discover, for those looking in the right place.

“The Marshall” wasn’t the first appearance of Olyphant’s Cobb Vanth; that would be the 2015 novel Star Wars: Aftermath, the first of a trilogy set between 1983’s Return of the Jedi and 2015’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens, with each of the three books written by Chuck Wendig....

[This story contains spoilers for The Mandalorian season two premiere, “Chapter Nine, The Marshal.”]

Audiences might finish this week’s episode of The Mandalorian and want more of Timothy Olyphant’s character, the episode’s titular “The Marshall.” Good news — there’s already a lot more of him to discover, for those looking in the right place.

“The Marshall” wasn’t the first appearance of Olyphant’s Cobb Vanth; that would be the 2015 novel Star Wars: Aftermath, the first of a trilogy set between 1983’s Return of the Jedi and 2015’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens, with each of the three books written by Chuck Wendig....

We’re entering a post-theatrical world. A world where home entertainment is king. Where sitting in a darkened room surrounded by strangers becomes as alien as the characters in Disney’s flagship TV show.

To call The Mandalorian a TV show most certainly does it a disservice. As the multiplex dies, Disney find themselves in a position to take over the TV world. But unlike their rivals for the small screen, Amazon and Netflix, Disney have the kind of IP every movie studio envies.

Still, in the case of Star Wars, it’s absolutely essential they broaden horizons. That they get away from the Skywalker saga, and branch out into the wider galaxy to tell stories that occur alongside (even if they intersect) with the franchise’s roots.

And what John Favreau and co. are achieving with The Mandalorian is exactly what Star Wars needs.

Chapter 9 reminds us of why...

Well, we are back in the world of The Mandalorian, which means that with the arrival of each episode comes an accompanying flood of theories, predictions and, of course, questions. And the first episode of Season 2, “The Marshal,” is no different. This episode dug even deeper into existing Star Wars lore in a way that never felt pandering or unnecessarily cluttered. It was a total joy, start to finish. But that said, we did have some questions about the episode. Some will undoubtedly be answered in future installments and some might linger for longer. As is customary, consider this …...

[Editor’s Note: The following review contains spoilers for “The Mandalorian” Season 2, Episode 1, “Chapter 9 – The Marshal.”]

The first season of “The Mandalorian” was an episodic exercise in delayed gratification. After the premiere introduced its cooler-than-cool lead action figure and strategically unveiled his sidekick — aka Baby Yoda, aka The Child, aka the biggest Etsy boon since handmade jewelry — the following seven episodes distracted audiences with visually spectacular loop-the-loops instead of answering the Disney+ series’ most basic question: What will the Mandalorian do with Baby Yoda?

Is he a papa now? Can fatherhood be assimilated into the Mandalorian creed? Does he even realize how cute Baby Yoda is?!

An answer eventually arrived in the finale — ol’ Mando is tasked with reuniting Baby Yoda with “its own kind” — thus setting up a second season of weekly, galaxy-spanning adventures where an inexpressive suit of armor totes a green blob with giant black eyes from planet to planet, getting in fights, making money, and...

The season two premiere of The Mandalorian, "The Marshal," seems to hold the answer to how Boba Fett survived his supposed death. During the episode, Mando arrives on Tattoine under the impression that there's another Mandalorian he can ask for help in returning The Child to the Jedi. Instead, he finds an imposter named Cobb Vanth, who wears the armor as a way to protect his town, and the two eventually team up with the Tusken Raiders to defeat the Krayt Dragon. It's after the defeat of the Krayt Dragon that we see a lone figure, played by Temuera Morrison, watching as Mando heads off in search of a real Mandalorian. When Morrison first turned around, we couldn't help but think that he had to be playing Boba Fett, but how did Fett survive certain death during Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi? For that, we're looking...

This Star Wars: The Mandalorian article contains spoilers.

Mando and Child return to Tatooine for The Mandalorian season 2 premiere, “The Marshal.” As you’d expect of a modern Star Wars production, the season kicks off full of familiar alien races, locations, and other minutiae from the galaxy far, far away. If you’ve ever wondered what daily life in the deep desert was like for Luke Skywalker and his distant neighbors, this Tatooine-set episode provides a perfect chance to find out.

Plus we get plenty of references to characters from Star Wars‘ past, including one big cameo from galaxy’s most infamous bounty hunter. Here are all of the easter eggs and Star Wars connections we spotted in this episode:

Boba Fett

– While the episode spends a lot of time obsessing over Boba Fett’s long lost Mandalorian armor, the bounty hunter himself makes an appearance in the final seconds of “The Marshal,...

Can we keep him?

The Mandalorian Season 2 Episode 1 introduced us to Timothy Olyphant's take on Cobb Vanth, also known as The Marshal, and boy, he was a thrilling addition to the near-perfect season premiere.

Introducing him in Boba Fett's armor made for a wild introduction, but the biggest surprise was Boba Fett himself, appearing in the distance at the close of the episode.

The 52-minute offering was satisfying from start-to-finish, featuring stunning cinematography, a creepy villain, and a whole lot of easter eggs.

Love them or hate them, many fans love the callouts to the various different parts of the Star Wars universe, but what hit me the most while watching the episode was that it was much more enjoyable than The Rise of the Skywalker.

The plot was coherent, and the overall series appears to be bigger and better than The Mandalorian Season 1.

With such high expectations going into the premiere,...

This Star Wars: The Mandalorian review contains spoilers.

The Mandalorian Season 2 Episode 1

The Mandalorian’s season two premiere is a well-structured example of the show’s Space Western ethos, showing deft technical skill on the part of its director, showrunner Jon Favreau, a fun menagerie of monsters, and exciting action. While it didn’t move the story forward or offer new characterization for the titular Mando, Din Djarin, or the Child as one might expect from a premiere, the show is certainly good at what it does. It’s expanding the Star Wars universe with anecdotes full of old-fashioned charm while updating creatures and aliens for today. It’s an entertaining start for a sorely needed season of escapism, even as I perpetually wish the show would go more specific and weird instead of retracing both Star Wars and Western ground.

Where season one left off, the Mando was searching...

The Mandalorian is back for its second season, and we have a review of the premiere, “The Marshal,” coming up just as soon as both suns shine on a womp rat’s tail…

Among the many pleasures of Mandalorian Season One was its briskness. Many episodes clocked in between 30 and 40 minutes, and they felt efficient rather than rushed. It was a welcome change from the bloat of so many streaming series, and well suited to both our no-nonsense hero and the fact that this is, fundamentally, a kids’ show. Shows...

This Star Wars: The Mandalorian article contains spoilers.

Timothy Olyphant makes his Star Wars debut in The Mandalorian season 2 as a very minor character from the Star Wars Expanded Universe that no one ever expected to see in live-action. The character in question is Cobb Vanth, a mysterious figure who was first introduced in the Aftermath series of novels that take place just after Return of the Jedi. Cobb appears in interludes in each of the three books, and they chronicle his adventures as the marshall of a Tatooine settlement called Freetown, although the small mining town is referred to by its original name, Mos Pelgo, in the live-action series.

Much of Cobb’s backstory remains unclear, in part due to the fact that author Chuck Wendig tells the lawman’s tale from the point of view of other characters. In Aftermath, we meet Cobb through the eyes of Adwin Charu,...

Spoiler Alert: The following recap has details about the Season 2 opening episode of Disney+’s The Mandalorian, “The Marshal.”

The Man With No Face returned tonight, this time heading back again to the Star Wars stomping ground of Tatooine, Luke Skywalker’s home planet.

Mando’s mission: He’s been “quested to bring” Baby Yoda to his kind; “If I can locate other Mandalorians, they can help guide me,” says the bounty hunter.

A tip from the one-eyed, untrustworthy Gor Koresh, following a brawl that turns on Mando at a Gamorrean Guard fighting arena, points the bounty hunter back to Tatooine. And we all know, Mando’s gotta run into Boba Fett, right?

But given how The Mandalorian buries its nose in Western homages, Mando is that stranger from out of town, who arrives to save locals from a devastating nemesis,...

David Byrne has announced a multimedia project through his online magazine Reasons to Be Cheerful, titled We Are Not Divided. The project will run for six weeks between September 17th and November 2nd and will be a “collaborative journalistic exploration of our capacity to overcome division,” according to a press release for the venture.

We Are Not Divided will include written features, internationally reported stories, infographics, videos and more interactive content centered around bridging the divides between people and overcoming differences. Reasons to Be Cheerful will be collaborating with editorial staffers from The Guardian,...