If you’re a fan of the NFL and Star Wars, this is a great week.
The NFL Draft begins Thursday and runs through Saturday. Fans of the Carolina Panthers to the Kansas City Chiefs all have high hopes.
And in the universe of a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away… The Return of the Jedi is back in select theaters this Friday to celebrate the 40th anniversary of its release. Also, the latest Star Wars video game, Jedi: Survivor will be released on Friday.
Also, May the Fourth is next week.
The convergence of these events gave us – the staff at For The Win – an idea:
STAR WARS DRAFT.
We laid out a few ground rules, randomized a draft order, set up some categories, and went to work on our draft boards.
Each person would pick one from each of the following categories: Film, Animated Show, Live-Action Show, Video Game, and a Wild Card Extended Universe pick – which wound up being everything from comic books to Pepsi cans. For the Live-Action Show category, we made Ahsoka, Skeleton Crew, and The Acolyte eligible even though they aren’t released yet.
The snake draft order was as follows: Mike Sykes, Mary Clarke, Matt Scalici, Mitchell Northam, Charles Curtis, Cory Woodroof, and Blake Schuster.
Here’s how our teams of Star Wars content shook out. The numbers next to the selections is the overall pick in which they were taken.
Sykes
1. Rogue One (Film)
14. Tales of the Jedi (Animated Show)
15. Ahsoka (Live-Action Show)
28. Force Unleashed (Video Game)
29. Score – Imperial March (Extended Universe)
Charles suggested that Rogue One might be the best Star Wars movie, and to Sykes (and me) it very much is. Still, if you know Sykes, we were all kind of surprised he didn’t secure either Rebels or Clone Wars. However, the first season of Tales of the Jedi was pretty great – and enlightening for the Count Dooku story. Also, we all have high hopes for the Ahsoka show, so that could wind up being a steal at No. 15 overall. Force Unleashed came out in 2008, but it’s on the Nintendo Switch now and is still a whole lot of fun. And how can anyone argue with the Imperial March?
Nobody talks about this moment from Rogue One, but it’s great. The single piano notes playing while Jyn hears her father for the seemingly last time talk about how to stop a weapon about to attack the planet she’s on.
— jacob. (@jtimsuggs) April 22, 2023
Mary
2. Galaxy’s Edge (yes, the theme park) (Extended Universe)
13. The Clone Wars (Animated Show)
16. The Force Awakens (Film)
27. Knights of the Old Republic (Video Game)
30. Obi-Wan Kenobi (Live-Action Show)
Mary shook up the draft – and the very loose parameters in what was eligible in the Extended Universe category – by taking A THEME PARK at No. 2 overall. We can’t call it a reach though; it’s a great pick. Charles spoke for all of us when he said, “I did NOT see that coming and I respect the hell out of it.” She followed that up by grabbing the OG Filoni-verse show (even though she wanted Visions). And getting KOTOR – one of the most beloved Star Wars video games – in the fifth round, feels like a steal.
A new behind the scenes video of the making of Ahsoka vs Maul in ‘STAR WARS THE CLONE WARS’ Season 7 has been officially released. (Source: @StarWars) pic.twitter.com/6uBwQcwGja
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) April 29, 2020
Matt
3. The Empire Strikes Back (Film)
12. Visions (Animated Show)
17. The Acolyte (Live-Action Show)
26. Star Wars Trilogy Arcade (Video Game)
31. The Phantom Menace merchandizing tie in with Yum! Brands (Extended Universe)
Despite doing at least part of this draft while perusing the carcass of soon-to-be-out-of-business Bed, Bath & Beyond, Matt put together a solid team and pushed the boundaries of the Extended Universe category perhaps even further than Mary did. He didn’t think The Empire Strikes Back would last until No. 3, but was elated to grab it there, and then snatched up Visions, which angered Sykes and Mary and had them scrambling their draft boards. After taking The Acolyte and one of the GOAT arcade games, Matt needed a judge’s ruling for his Extended Universe pick. We allowed it. His argument: “The single most important cultural relic of the turn of the century is the collectible Pepsi cans.” We didn’t disagree, and it was a pick that the people of Pittsburgh can especially appreciate.
To celebrate #MayThe4th I went to Pittsburgh’s greatest Star Wars landmark. This vending machine on Mt. Washington has been around since The Phantom Menace pic.twitter.com/Ig7NHtiBG3
— Greg (@WhatIsAGreg) May 4, 2021
Mitchell
4. Andor (Live-Action Show)
11. Revenge of the Sith (Film)
18. The Bad Batch (Animated Show)
25. Republic Commando (Video Game)
32. “Crimson Reign” by Charles Soule (Extended Universe)
Did I reach for Andor? I don’t think so, considering Blake and Sykes screamed at me in envy in all-caps in the Slack. My second pick was controversial – Mary was stunned that anyone touched the prequels – but I will die on the hill that ROTS is not just the best prequel, but a top three Star Wars movie and an all-time great Hayden Christensen performance. The Bad Batch has been quite good as a bridge between Clone Wars and Rebels, and – like Sykes’ video game pick – Republic Commando has been fun to play through again on the Switch re-release. Plus, it’s got that great story with the Delta Squad. I knew I wanted to go with a comic book run for my Extended Universe pick and landed on Crimson Reign, which, if you want to know what Qi’Ra from Solo was up to around the time of the original trilogy, it’s a must-read. I also considered picking the Vader Down series, which gave us this banger of a bar:
“You are surrounded!”
“All I am surrounded by is fear. And dead men.” pic.twitter.com/OQJvVZkjOI
— Star Wars Holocron (@sw_holocron) April 25, 2019
Charles
5. A New Hope (Film)
10. The Mandalorian (Live-Action Show)
19. Score – Star Wars: Main Theme (Extended Universe)
24. X-WING (Video Game)
33. Resistance (Animated Show)
Charles rescued Grogu and Din Djarin from sitting in the green room for too long with their parents. In addition to taking the first film and the first Disney+ show, he took the first Star Wars sound we ever heard in John Williams’ iconic main theme for his EU pick. And then Charles showed his age by drafting a video game that came out when I was not quite a year old. But still, X-WING and TIE FIGHTER are awesome. Aside from Resistance, this is Team Oldies But Goodies.
STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE (1977)
Cinematography by Gilbert Taylor
Directed by George Lucas
Production Design by John Barry pic.twitter.com/WYTbCZY7dS— One Perfect Shot (@OnePerfectShot) May 15, 2022
Cory
6. The Last Jedi (Film)
9. Tartakovsky Clone Wars (Animated Show)
20. Score – Yoda’s Theme (Extended Universe)
23. Star Wars: Battlefront (Video Game)
34. The Book of Boba Fett (Live-Action Show)
Here were the reactions to Cory’s first pick…
Blake: “WHEW”
Sykes: “NICE”
Mary: “CONTROVERSIAL”
Which is fitting, considering the discourse around The Last Jedi (which, imo, is a good movie). Anyways – Cory continued to make some interesting and sneaky good picks, grabbing the short-lived but critically acclaimed Clone Wars series by Genndy Tartakovsky, notable for winning Emmys, introducing General Grievous, and giving Anakin a face scar. Cory rounded out his group with a fantastic score, one of the best Star Wars video games of the past decade, and uh, whatever The Book of Boba Fett was.
Finished the first half of Genndy Tartakovsky’s Clone Wars. I will say that none of General Grievous’ appearances in Star Wars will be as terrifying as his debut and that’s a damn shame. #StarWars #CloneWars pic.twitter.com/wUuPqHdiH0
— The Boredom of Chris (@Renagade_11) January 14, 2021
Blake
7. Rebels (Animated Show)
8. Score – Duel of the Fates (Extended Universe)
21. Jedi: Fallen Order (Video Game)
22. Skeleton Crew (Live-Action Show)
35. Return of the Jedi (Film)
Blake tried to move up, but didn’t have any willing partners to trade with. So, he took a key Filoni-verse show with his first pick, and then started the run on musical scores by grabbing the instantly recognizable Duel of the Fates score from The Phantom Menace. When his turns snaked back around, Blake picked up his favorite video game featuring his favorite droid – BD-1 – and bet the future on a show starring Jude Law and Kerry Condon, which seems safe. A bit ironic for its 40th anniversary, Return of the Jedi was the Mr. Irrelevant of this draft.
Dave Filoni on the importance of Duel of the Fates in 'The Phantom Menace'pic.twitter.com/0HCpMbryCQ
— Culture Crave 🍿 (@CultureCrave) May 10, 2020
