Good Morning Youtinians. The Living Force Podcast teased their long-awaited return. Like Yoda said, “Patience you must have, my young Padawan. Have patience, and all will be revealed.” More info to come soon. 😉

Last week, we asked you if you were interested in the trading card game Star Wars Unlimited. While the results were close, the winning response was, “ Yes, I can’t wait to build my own deck.” Join other players as the discussion has been heating up in our Star Wars gaming Younited Discord channel.

We read your feedback last week and implemented it this week. We appreciate it and encourage you to continue giving feedback as it helps shape the newsletter to be the best it can be.

— Corey Helton & JG Carse

The Acolyte Trailer and Premiere Date Released

The Acolyte has been out of the public eye as of late, but it is back in full force now with the release of a trailer and the premiere date! The show will be available to stream on Disney+ on June 4th. And the trailer has us counting down the days. 70 of them, to be exact! 👀

All About The Acolyte: The Acolyte takes place during the golden era of the High Republic when the Jedi were very numerous and the Sith believed extinct. Still, darkness had strongholds throughout the galaxy, and it looks like we will see the Jedi face that evil during this show. 

Exclusive Posters: The Acolyte trailer release also came with two exclusive posters. The first shows a hooded figure walking toward a cliff during sunset on a mountainous planet. The second poster, which has circulated more widely, features a lightsaber hilt against a cracked stone wall and a smear of something we don’t often see in Star Wars—blood. Some fans have speculated that this means The Acolyte will lean more heavily into horror themes than most Star Wars content tends to.

We’re all fine here now—how are you? Do you think the dark side character featured in the trailer (Amandla Stenberg) is a Sith, a Nightsister, or some other harbinger of evil? Hop in the Younited Discord Community, and let’s talk about it!

X-Men ’97 Released on Disney+

X-Men ’97 was released this past Wednesday on Disney+ to incredible reviews from fans and critics alike. The show is a direct sequel to X-Men: The Animated Series, which aired from 1992 to 1997. With last week’s two-episode premiere, we have eight episodes remaining in this first season, which will carry us all the way through May 15th.

What’s New With X-Men ’97? While the original cartoon series holds a special place in all X-Men fans’ hearts, the creators of X-Men ’97 changed up a few things with the new show. Most notably, mutants Morph and Bishop have officially joined the crew, which also features Cyclops, Jean Grey, Wolverine, Storm, Rogue, Gambit, Beast, and Jubilee. The X-Men take on their age-old enemies, the Friends of Humanity, while also battling the other mutants of Earth and beyond.

Context: The show revolves around the complicated relationships between the X-Men, including romances, friendships, mentorships, and sisterhood/brotherhood. It continues to tackle larger ideas about life and society that writers have grappled with since their first appearance in Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s 1963 X-Men comic strip. For a cartoon about mutants trying to protect humanity from other mutants, you may find yourself feeling very philosophical watching this show.

Why Watch X-Men ’97? If you are a fan of the original cartoon or the X-Men franchise in general, we think you'll enjoy X-Men '97. But we also think this show will appeal to new viewers! After all, we can all relate to saving the world with our giant, blue scientist friend and fighting space aliens on the weekend, right?

A Look at MLB Opening Days Played International

Major sports leagues in the United States are always looking to expand their fanbase which has resulted in scheduling games in other countries. Major League Baseball (MLB) first hosted a game outside of the U.S. and Canada in 1996 in Mexico. Just three later, they took the next step by hosting the 1999 season opener in Monterrey, Mexico between the Rockies and the Padres. 

Background: MLB season openers have expanded to Japan, Puerto Rico, Australia, and, most recently, South Korea. Before this year, MLB's last overseas game was in Tokyo in 2019. This series wound up being historic, as the Seattle Mariners' Ichiro Suzuki played his final two games, ending a 28-year career in his native country (nine years in Japan and 19 in the MLB).

This season: This past week, the Dodgers and the Padres faced off in Seoul, a first for the MLB. The series featured Shohei Ohtani's debut with the Dodgers. The Dodgers secured a win in the first game, but the Padres responded with a thrilling 15-11 victory the next day.

The Youtiniverse: As Youtini expands beyond Star Wars, our first sports podcast, The Youtini Baseball Show, is ready to step up to the plate! You can follow them on X (formerly Twitter) for your baseball coverage and analysis. Connect with like-minded fans in our Younited Discord baseball channel.

⏱️ Nerd Culture 101

This week, instead of diving into a specific topic, we will share a little from many. In the past week, many trailers have dropped, including The Acolyte as discussed earlier. Here are some more of our favorites: 

🍂 Heartstopper Season 3 will premiere on Netflix in October 2024. The cast teased the upcoming season in a behind-the-scenes video, setting the tone for what's to come. The Netflix series is based on Alice Oseman's webcomic and graphic novel of the same name. 

👻 Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, the long-awaited sequel, reunites Tim Burton and Michael Keaton to continue the titular character's story. The stacked cast includes Winona Ryder, Willem Dafoe, Catherine O'Hara, Jenna Ortega, and more. The film is to be released on September 6.

👽 The Alien franchise is back with Alien Romulus releasing on August 16. Set between the events of Alien (1979) and Aliens (1986), directed and co-written by Fede Álvarez, the story focuses on a group of space colonizers as they face off against terrifying evil. 

🌌 Doctor Who released the first full trailer for the upcoming new season, premiering May 10. We dove into Doctor Who a little last week, but this trailer proved we are in for a grand adventure with the Doctor and Ruby. The visual effects and locations prove at first glance that they are effectively using the funding from Disney to up the scale in every way. 

🐲 Team Green or Team Black? HBO asked its fans that question as it released two separate trailers for the upcoming House of the Dragon season, premiering on June 16, with perspectives from each side of the upcoming civil war. Once united, the Targaryens and allies will wage war amongst themselves for the Iron Throne, leaving nothing but destruction and casualties along the way. 

🛰️ In the Youtiniverse

1. Eric interviewed High Republic authors Cavan Scott and George Mann on YouTube. They covered everything from The Eye of Darkness to the new audio drama for Phase III, the return of a significant character in The High Republic comic, and more.

2. Our March Madness featuring Star Wars comics kicked off this week in our Younited Discord. Come vote daily on your favorite Star Wars comic books! Each day, we will host two matchups where two comic book series will go head to head to see which comic can rally the most fan votes! 

3. The Legend Lookback crew enjoyed ranking both the best and not-so-great merchandise released in 1999. They explored everything from the Pepsi machine to the Jar Jar tongue candy and action figures galore, all celebrating the anniversary and re-release of The Phantom Menace in theaters in May.

🚀 Ready for Dispatch

• Star Wars Celebration 2025: Japan revealed the convention’s key art and essential ticket information. The general public sale will start at 7 PM EST. May 2 or locally in Japan at 8 AM May 3 for the April 18-20, 2025 event. 

• Margot Robbie’s LuckyChap production company is producing a Sims movie. Loki season 1 director Kate Herron is set to direct and co-write with Briony Redman. Electronic Arts, the developer of the game franchise, will be involved creatively and in production.

• The recent Nascar Cup race at Bristol became an instant classic, wowed fans with a record number of lead changes and madness with the tire strategy. The teams prepared for the tires to last between 80-100 laps. They would only last around 40, throwing all the plans out the window and forcing NASCAR to give teams an additional set to manage the remainder of the race.

• Netflix announced a new sports docu-series from the team behind Quarterback. Receiver will follow 5 of the best wide receivers throughout the 2023 season on and off the field: Davante Adams, Justin Jefferson, George Kittle, Deebo Samuel, and Amon-Ra St. Brown, premiering in the Summer of 2024.