Good Morning Youtinians.  Happy belated May the Fourth! We hope you enjoyed it whether you saw The Phantom Menace in theaters, watched Tales of the Empire, or visited Galaxy’s Edge. However you celebrated, we here at Youtini hope you can experience that feeling and celebrate Star Wars and any fandom every day.

— Corey Helton & JG Carse

Star Wars: Hunters Release Date Revealed

This week, we got news that we’ve been waiting for for years. Finally, the long-awaited game Star Wars: Hunters has been given an official U.S. release date and a new trailer! Whether you’ve been waiting alongside us for years or are just now hearing about this game, we highly recommend downloading Hunters on June 4th — the same day that The Acolyte premieres on Disney+!

What is Star Wars: Hunters? Star Wars: Hunters is a free-to-play game that was first announced all the way back in 2018 and has since been released in several other countries, but we here in the U.S. have been awaiting our turn to play. On June 4th, Hunters will be released worldwide on mobile devices and the Nintendo Switch. While we were never really sure if the game would launch in the U.S. and elsewhere, our hopes were raised by the tie-in middle-grade book that came out in 2023, Hunters: Battle for the Arena by Mark Oshiro.

Hunters: Battle for the Arena Tie-In Book: While you do not have to read the book before playing the game, it is a fantastic, short read that we definitely recommend. Mark Oshiro provides a lot of context about the main players and what brings them to the arena in the first place. It’s not a huge time commitment, but it packs a lot of fun and lore!

We're all fine here now — how are you? Have you been waiting for Star Wars: Hunters like we have? Hop in the Youtini Discord, and let’s talk about it!

Hell’s Kitchen and Stereophonic Lead Tony Nominations

The front runners for this year's Tony nominations were Hell’s Kitchen, the Alicia Keys musical, and Stereophonic, a play set in the 1970s about a fictional band. Both secured a whopping 13 nods each. The Outsiders closely followed suit with 12 nominations, presenting a musical adaptation of S.E. Hinton's renowned novel, while the revival of Cabaret starring Eddie Redmayne and Gayle Rankin secured nine.

History being made. Stereophonic made history by bagging 13 nominations; this feat marked a new record for the most Tony nominations for a play, surpassing Slave Play's record in 2020. Interestingly, Stereophonic was recognized even in categories like best score—an unusual accolade for a play.

Best Musical. Hell’s Kitchen and The Outsiders faced tough competition in the best musical category, which included Illionise, Suffs, and Water for Elephants. Suffs was also notable for being produced by Hillary Clinton and Malala Yousafzai, who celebrated their first Tony nods.

Big Picture. This year, women directors made a significant splash with seven nominees across the Best Play and Best Musical Direction categories. However, there were some disappointments among highly anticipated productions like Amber Ruffin’s revival of The Wiz and Steve Carell's Broadway debut in Uncle Vanya. Despite these snubs, the excitement is building for the 77th annual Tony Awards hosted by Ariana DeBose. The event promises a grand celebration that honors theatrical excellence and more.

Looking Ahead. The Tony Awards ceremony will be broadcast live on June 16, 2024, at 8 PM EDT. on CBS/Paramount+. We want to know, will you be watching the Tonys and cheering on your favorites?

3 Time WNBA Champion Announces Retirement

With Caitlin Clark's entry into the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), many more eyes have been on the league. While it is still young, formed in 1997, it is rich with history and icons such as the legendary three-time Champion Candace Parker. After 16 seasons of rewriting the history books, Parker is calling it quits. She'll still stay in the basketball world, switching to a position behind a microphone. 

Context: On Instagram, Parker shared, “I’m grateful that for 16 years I PLAYED A GAME for a living & DESPITE all the injuries, I hooped. I’m grateful for family, friends, teammates, coaches, doctors, trainers & fans who made this journey so special.

In the mean time, know IM A BUSINESS, man, not a businessman. This is the beginning…I’m attacking business, private equity, ownership (I will own both a NBA & WNBA team), broadcasting, production, boardrooms, beach volleyball, dominoes (sorry babe it’s going to get more real) with the same intensity & focus I did basketball.”

History. Parker entered the WNBA in 2008 as the number one pick in the draft and went on to enjoy a 16-year career. Parker won three WNBA championships with three different teams. She first won with the Los Angeles Sparks in 2016, then won another with the Chicago Sky in 2021. Parker won her third title with the Las Vegas Aces in 2023. 

Parker was a seven-time All-Star and was a dominant force in the WNBA game for many years. She won two WNBA Finals MVP awards and won the WNBA Defensive Player of the Year in 2020. As a rookie, Parker became the only player to win both MVP and Rookie of the Year honors. Before joining the WNBA, Parker dominated at the college level, where she won two national championships at Tennessee under coach Pat Summitt. She also was a member of Team USA and won gold medals in 2008 and 2012.

🛰️ In the Youtiniverse

• Eric dove into the history of May the Fourth and how it has impacted the fandom as a whole. The origins of the fan holiday might surprise you.

• The Bounty Hunt crew broke down and discussed the Bad Batch series finale. They also reflected on the entire and looked slightly ahead to what comes next. 

• The Cosmic Force discussed the release of Darth Maul: Black, White & Red #1 and High Republic Adventures #5. Join them as they dive into the dark side of the force and see what Zeen and Lula are up to.

🚀 Ready for Dispatch

• Amazon MGM Studios and Mattel announced the release date for the Masters of the Universe film on June 5, 2026. The film was first in the works at Sony, then Netflix, and has finally found a home with Amazon. Travis Knight (Bumblebee) is directing from Chris Butler’s screenplay (the initial draft was written by David Callaham, Aaron, and Adam Nee).

• Youtuber/Film Critic now director Chris Stuckmann and Aaron B. Koontz from Paper Street Pictures have enlisted the expertise of genre aficionados Mike Flanagan, Trevor Macy, and Melinda Nishioka from Intrepid Pictures as executive producers for their groundbreaking horror film Shelby Oaks, currently in post-production. Their 2022 Kickstarter campaign shattered records, amassing a staggering $1.39M in less than a month, surpassing the previous fundraising record for a horror film on the platform.

• TikTok and Universal have finally settled their music royalties dispute. While the specifics have not been revealed, compensation will be greater. Additionally, all muted audio as a result of the dispute will be restored. 

• An 18-game NFL season could be on the way. This could result in a Labor Day weekend kick-off and Superbowl send-off during President’s Day weekend. This would ultimately shrink the offseason and shift the league’s annual calendar, which would include free agency and the draft. 

• The 150th Kentucky Derby ended in a spectacular finish. Mystik Dan held on to win over Sierra Leone, but only by a nose. The photo finish took an excruciating two minutes to determine.