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541: Skywalking Through 2025 and Beyond!

Skywalking Through Neverland: Keeping the Star Wars Magic Alive

Release Date: 01/01/2026

541: Skywalking Through 2025 and Beyond! show art 541: Skywalking Through 2025 and Beyond!

Skywalking Through Neverland: Keeping the Star Wars Magic Alive

It’s our annual year-end wrap-up spectacular!! We take a look back at 2025 - this year’s conversation is packed with personal fandom highlights, expectations that were met (and wildly exceeded), and a few things that didn’t quite live up to the hype. As always, the real joy of these episodes is revisiting the moments that made the year special—and it was even better doing it with friends. We were thrilled to welcome Bobby Robertson from and Jenn Diz from the to share their own 2025 standouts and pop-culture takeaways. From conventions to theme parks, 2025 was a huge year for fandom...

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540: The Force Awakens at 10 - Part 2 - Global Press Conference! show art 540: The Force Awakens at 10 - Part 2 - Global Press Conference!

Skywalking Through Neverland: Keeping the Star Wars Magic Alive

Join us as we continue celebrating the 10-year anniversary of The Force Awakens with a holiday-themed trip back to December 2015! In this episode, we dig into the audio archives to relive THE FORCE AWAKENS Global Press Conference at the Los Angeles Convention Center, featuring cast and filmmakers including Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Adam Driver, Kathleen Kennedy, and J.J. Abrams, with standout moments moderated by Mindy Kaling. We also revisit the Chinese Theatre forecourt, sharing original audio recorded straight from the line with friends like Matt Baird,...

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539: The Force Awakens at 10! Part 1 show art 539: The Force Awakens at 10! Part 1

Skywalking Through Neverland: Keeping the Star Wars Magic Alive

“There has been an awakening - have you felt it?” We kick off our 10th anniversary celebration of Star Wars: The Force Awakens by traveling back 10 years to the excitement and anticipation of 2015. We’re joined by TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX line-organizer of and actor , who appeared in the film as the always-smiling Cratinus in Maz Kanata’s castle. Together, we reminisce about the anticipation surrounding Disney’s first Star Wars sequel and how The Force Awakens became a defining moment for modern Star Wars fandom and forged lifelong friendships along the way. This is Part 1 of our...

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538: Disney Investor Day 2020 - 5 Years Later show art 538: Disney Investor Day 2020 - 5 Years Later

Skywalking Through Neverland: Keeping the Star Wars Magic Alive

We take a nostalgic trip back to the Walt Disney Company Investor Day in December 2020—one of the biggest reveal events in recent Star Wars history. That day, Lucasfilm unveiled a galaxy’s worth of upcoming Star Wars projects, from new series to feature films. Now that a few years have passed, it's time to look back with clear eyes and ask: What actually happened to all those announcements? In this episode, we break down every Star Wars project revealed that day and explore which ones successfully launched, which ones quietly faded away, and which are still somewhere in hyperspace...

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537: Wicked For Good Review - the Coven Goes to Oz show art 537: Wicked For Good Review - the Coven Goes to Oz

Skywalking Through Neverland: Keeping the Star Wars Magic Alive

It’s time to embrace our witchy obsession as we review Wicked: For Good, the long-awaited second chapter of Elphaba and Glinda’s story! Sarah is joined by , , and ; we head to Oz together for a spoiler-filled discussion of how this film expands on the stage musical while weaving more tightly into the events of The Wizard of Oz. With Elphaba in exile and Glinda rising as the “Good” face of the Wizard’s regime, the story explores friendship, perception, sacrifice, and what it truly means to be seen as “wicked” or “good.” We break down the emotional weight of the film — from...

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536: Star Wars Holiday Special Connections with Tom Spina show art 536: Star Wars Holiday Special Connections with Tom Spina

Skywalking Through Neverland: Keeping the Star Wars Magic Alive

Happy Life Day! A Celebration of the Star Wars Holiday Special It’s that time of year again — Life Day is here! We’re giving thanks to Lucasfilm and CBS for blessing us with the wonderful Star Wars Holiday Special. This episode, we’re celebrating in true Life Day fashion — by diving into the Holiday Special and exploring how it connects to the larger Star Wars universe in our own creative and humorous way. How did Mermeia influence the Clone Wars? How did Ackmena go from Naboo handmaiden to Halcyon bartender and end up working at the Cantina? Joining us is fellow Holiday Special...

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535: Creature from the Black Lagoon: Classic Horror Revisited with Gary Gerani show art 535: Creature from the Black Lagoon: Classic Horror Revisited with Gary Gerani

Skywalking Through Neverland: Keeping the Star Wars Magic Alive

The Creature From the Black Lagoon trilogy just celebrated its 70th Anniversary, so what better time to dive into this influential classic horror series than Halloween? Our guest, Gary Gerani—Topps trading cards editor and co-writer of Pumpkinhead—joins us to share his memories of seeing The Creature from the Black Lagoon for the first time, his insights into the enduring appeal of the Gill Man, and why this Universal monster continues to captivate audiences seven decades later. We kick things off with an overview of the Universal Horror legacy, then explore each film in the Creature from...

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534: Classic Marvel Star Wars Comics #56 534: Classic Marvel Star Wars Comics #56 "COFFIN IN THE CLOUDS" with Jason W. Christman

Skywalking Through Neverland: Keeping the Star Wars Magic Alive

In this episode, we’re diving into Classic Marvel Star Wars Comic Issue #56: “Coffin in the Clouds” — and we’ve been saving this one for the Halloween season for more than one reason. Originally released on November 24, 1981, Coffin in the Clouds follows Lando Calrissian as he returns to a mysteriously deserted Cloud City after the events of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK. Joining us for this eerie adventure is Star Wars artist and our good friend Jason W. Christman, who helps us unpack the story, art, and legacy of this issue. Issue 56: Coffin in the Clouds Release date: November 24th,...

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533: Epic Universe’s Dark Universe + Halloween Horror Nights Orlando 2025 show art 533: Epic Universe’s Dark Universe + Halloween Horror Nights Orlando 2025

Skywalking Through Neverland: Keeping the Star Wars Magic Alive

We’ve been looking forward to experiencing Universal Orlando’s brand-new Epic Universe: Dark Universe for well over a year, and finally we made it! Walking through the fog into Darkmoor Village felt like stepping inside a classic monster movie. We rode Curse of the Werewolf and were blown away by Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment. There’s a reason all the vloggers keep praising this attraction. We also share our thoughts on food, merchandise, characters, and atmosphere. Meeting the NEW Bride and Frankenstein in person was the perfect ending to an unforgettable visit. Next,...

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532: Star Wars Legends & Lore with Author Barbara Hambly show art 532: Star Wars Legends & Lore with Author Barbara Hambly

Skywalking Through Neverland: Keeping the Star Wars Magic Alive

We’re joined by legendary author Barbara Hambly, whom we met at Legacy Expo: A Star Wars Expanded Universe convention in Burbank (Sept 13–14). After seeing her on a panel hosted by Melissa Miller, we couldn’t resist inviting her on—what was meant to be a quick chat turned into a full conversation. Barbara shares stories from writing Children of the Jedi, Planet of Twilight, and her beloved short stories in Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina and Tales from Jabba’s Palace—and even answers fan-favorite questions about Luke Skywalker’s love life. 👉 Sponsor: SpiritJersey now has...

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More Episodes

It’s our annual year-end wrap-up spectacular!! We take a look back at 2025 - this year’s conversation is packed with personal fandom highlights, expectations that were met (and wildly exceeded), and a few things that didn’t quite live up to the hype. As always, the real joy of these episodes is revisiting the moments that made the year special—and it was even better doing it with friends. We were thrilled to welcome Bobby Robertson from Rebel Scum Con and Jenn Diz from the Disneyholics Podcast to share their own 2025 standouts and pop-culture takeaways.

From conventions to theme parks, 2025 was a huge year for fandom experiences. We all attended a BRAND NEW theme park - Epic Universe!  Also, Rebel Scum Con stood out for its sense of community and the unmatched joy of staying right at the host hotel. We also dove into Universal’s FanFest Nights, where the Back to the Future immersive experience completely stole the show, even for devoted Star Trek fans. On the screen, we debated what was overrated and underrated like Skeleton Crew, Fallout and Thunderbolts*.

As we wrapped up the year, we reflected on what 2025 meant on a personal level: the shows we binged, the films that moved us, and the lessons we’d pass along to our younger selves. What lesson would you tell your 16-year-old self? Looking ahead to 2026, we’re setting our sights on hosting even more convention panels, expanding our trivia game shows, and finally unveiling a very exciting, top-secret Star Wars project coming this fall. We can’t wait to see where the next year takes us.

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Small World Vacations is an official sponsor of Skywalking Through Neverland. Contact them for a no obligation price quote at www.smallworldvacations.com. Tell them Skywalking Through Neverland sent you.

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Never Land on Alderaan!