SW: Crusade of the Rebellion - A Fan Audio Drama Series

23/06/2022

Just wanted to do a quick video update just to assure everyone that this project is still alive and well, and moving right along, albeit slower than we anticipated.

25/05/2022

Some good news to disrupt the silence over the last couple weeks!

12/05/2022

We always appreciate reviews (and yes even honest ones)! Thank you "JTWNSC" for your review.

If you're reading this and haven't yet reviewed "Crusade of the Rebellion" on Apple Podcasts and given a rating on the Spotify Mobile App, might you consider taking a few moments to do so? Your ratings and reviews not only help boost visibility for the series but also helps boost visibility for our brilliant cast of talented voice actors.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

04/05/2022

HAPPY STAR WARS DAY! May the Fourth be with you, always! Celebrate with us as we unveil a BUNCH of new character posters (mini-bios coming soon).

Meanwhile, recordings for EPISODE 7: REVENANT are still coming in, and we're inching closer and closer to the finish line. We're *almost* to the point where we can start putting together an audio trailer 🤞🤞🤞

14/04/2022

It's time for another edition of Bad News / Good News. But don't worry, it works out for everyone in the end!

13/04/2022

\\ CHARACTER POSTERS \\
Over the next few weeks we're going to be unveiling some cool character posters for select characters from "Crusade of the Rebellion."
(Tap image to see full view)
***
\\ LIDIIAN SADARA \\
• Vocal Performance by Clio Sybaris (Ep. IV-VI) & Gwenith Knight (Ep. VII) •
A member of the Ubese species, Lidiian Sadara is a professional starpilot, smuggler, and sometimes mercenary, depending on what the job at hand requires. Before this chosen lifestyle, Sadara was a Special Forces agent with the Rebel Alliance for a few years, often teaming up with her Twi'lek friend and fellow agent, Ariadne, for dangerous missions. However, Sadara ended up leaving the Alliance due to some fierce disagreements with the Rebellion's general approach to the war, believing that they didn't go far enough. Before she left, she gained a bit of a reputation as an extremist and loose cannon, but ultimately it was her decision to leave. Striking out on her own, she had the freedom to do what she wanted and how she wanted in her own little personal fight against the Empire. A couple extremist rebel cells attempted to recruit her, but she preferred to be on her own.
Eventually she began a new chapter of earning a living as a smuggler, but there were times when her experience as a soldier were also up for sale. She has kept the more questionable and potentially violent "jobs" in her past a secret, but there have been rumors she has been paid, and more than once, to assassinate political figures.
While she very intentionally worked alone for a long while, there were times when she would team up with others in a temporary arrangement, for specific tasks where it was necessary. In fact, a couple years ago, she had a very brief “fling” with one such temporary partner... but quickly changed her mind about this man and very suddenly parted ways with him, leaving him a broken-hearted man... who often still tries to contact her. In excess.
On another job, she bumped into a curious little Arcona tech splicer during a job and was able to utilize his capabilities to complete her objectives in record time, and his expertise even led to a doubling of her payment by the client. During the same mission, the splicer, who called himself Secundus, also used his abilities to hack into a state-of-the-art starship, and transferred its registration to Sadara, and it became her new personal starship — which she later named The Cailshh, after a somewhat radical Ubese mercenary she had admired many years ago during the time of the Clone Wars. She immediately saw the potential in this odd Arcona and the potential in their teaming up, and Secundus in turn quickly formed an attachment to her as someone who, at least in some way, selfish as it may be, saw something of value in him. The two have been through a number of jobs, chases, close-calls, and near-death experiences together, and while Sadara would probably never openly call Secundus (or “Sec,” as she began calling him) a friend, every once and a while it will be ever so slightly evident that she’s grown quite fond of the quirky Arcona’s companionship.
Despite her pretty definitive decision to put the Rebel Alliance behind her, Sadara was forced to reconsider when she received a rather desperate call for help from her old friend, Ariadne, for a “cloak and dagger” mission to “screw over” an Imperial Warlord. Of course, while taking out an Imperial Warlord was, in itself, a prize worth pursuing, Sadara wasn’t going to just accept the request for the sake of her old friendship, and certainly not for the sake of the Alliance... Credits would need to be involved. And plenty of them.

11/04/2022

Casting is complete! May the Force be with our new cast members!

07/04/2022

We will be announcing a full list of new cast members within the next couple days, but in the meantime, join us in welcoming some well-known names in the fan audio drama community! 👏👏👏

28/03/2022

26/03/2022

Going through some finalizations with CASTING! Having to work my way through a grand total of 153 auditions 😅 Some truly amazing auditions. Some truly difficult decisions. But it's going to be a terrific final cast! I'm going to begin making announcements tomorrow and through the early days of the week.

21/03/2022

One step closer to moving into production! A humongous THANK YOU to everyone who showed interest in this project — it was honestly kind of funny: about ten people managed to slip in some auditions literally an hour before the casting call closed; talk about cutting it close! Now begins the final review process.

17/03/2022

We've now passed 100 submitted auditions for EPISODE 7: REVENANT; in fact we're sitting at 131 total! But there's still two days to go before auditions close, so you still have time if you haven't submitted yours yet! Just a reminder, you can audition via https://www.castingcall.club/projects/star-wars-crusade-of-the-rebellion-episode-7-fan-audio-drama OR you can take a look at the pinned post on this page to see all the available roles, record your auditions, and email them directly to [email protected]

Truly amazed by a lot of the voice talents that have auditioned. The Force will no doubt be strong with the finalized cast!

Casting Call Club - Create voice work, casting calls, and audio projects. Audition for voiceover roles and find voice actors. STAR WARS: Crusade of the Rebellion - Episode 7 (FAN AUDIO DRAMA)

17/03/2022

A couple years ago I started a behind-the-scenes series called "Exploring SW:COTR Scene-by-Scene," where I play through a scene and include visual/text commentary. But I haven't made another one since that very first video ("Teivel's Arrival"), so I thought it was high time to bring it back. So we're taking a deep dive into Episode 2: Prison Break, Scene 10: "Colonel Ledok and the Great Escape," including in-universe continuity notes, behind-the-scenes trivia, and even mistakes, goofs, and continuity errors. Featuring the vocal performances of Ashton Howard, Jalen K. Cassell, and Joe Harrison.

16/03/2022

\\ CHARACTER POSTERS \\
Over the next couple weeks we're going to be unveiling some cool character posters for select characters from "Crusade of the Rebellion."
(Tap image to see full view)
***
\\ VOLOS \\
• Vocal Performance by Jeff Vitkuske •
One of High Inquisitor Jerec’s many Dark Jedi acolytes, much about the identity of VOLOS is shrouded in mystery, even down to his very appearance, which he keeps hidden beneath dark armor and a helmet with corrugated tubing protruding from the sides and connecting into a power back beneath his armor. This apparatus isn’t just for show, but is rather a necessity: a life-support system of sorts, which keeps the Dark Jedi functioning. But it should not be understood as a handicap; make no mistake, Volos is a deadly warrior and an adept student of the Dark Side of the Force, trained personally by Lord Jerec — as with all of the High Inquisitor’s other acolytes.
Before his apprenticeship under Jerec, Volos was allegedly part of the Bando Gora, a cult of assassins who worshiped the Dark Side of the Force on Kohlma, one of the moons of Bogden, before the Clone Wars. The cult was governed by a deranged fallen Jedi, Komari Vosa, once the apprentice of Darth Tyranus. The Emperor — then known as Sidious — ordered the cult to be destroyed, and Vosa herself was hunted down and slain in combat by a formidable bounty hunter. Tyranus finished off the remaining Bando Gora cultists, but Volos managed to escape and go into hiding. As the Bando Gora were largely driven by very strong narcotics which had been destroyed along with them, Volos suddenly no longer had access to substances he had come to depend on, and it took a tremendous toll on him. He wound up living in the dark alleys of a city on Bogden, just barely surviving by getting what narcotics he could as an assassin-for-hire.
Several years later, Volos was discovered by one of the Emperor’s Dark Side Inquisitors, a Miraluka named Jerec. Even despite Volos’s fragile state, Jerec sensed great potential in him and could tell Volos already possessed the beginnings of a strong connection to the Dark Side. Despite the Emperor’s original command that the Bando Gora cult be entirely eliminated, Jerec convinced Palpatine to let him take Volos under his wing and train him to cultivate his connection with the Dark Side. Jerec also commissioned the design and construction of an apparatus that would help supply Volos with the chemicals needed to keep him fully functional. Volos was restored to full health and showed his deep gratitude to his new master by training hard and remaining loyal no matter what task Jerec gave him, no matter how questionable... even when the task involved potential betrayal against the Emperor.

14/03/2022

\\ CHARACTER POSTERS \\
Over the next couple weeks we're going to be unveiling some cool character posters for select characters from "Crusade of the Rebellion." Keep your eye on this album!

14/03/2022

Please welcome Knight Shadow Studios-Gwenith Knight to the STAR WARS: CRUSADE OF THE REBELLION family! We're very excited to get to work with her, and we know you all will love what she brings to the character and the series.

14/03/2022

"You've got him just where he wants you!"

This early scene from EPISODE 5: BEHIND THE ENEMY LINES opens with a punch to Ledok's face, right after Mon Mothma and General Serenka exchange reassurances that everything is probably going fine for the rebel operatives on Cortani III. The exchange followed by the humorous transition are an homage to a similar sequence in the 1991 film "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (in that case, it's Spock giving the reassurance to the Enterprise crew, followed by a transition to Kirk being punched in the face in the prison mines).

Ledok finds himself — as he often does — in over his head, in an arena engaging in a "fist" fight with a giant adult Yam'rii (the giant Preying Mantis-like aliens first seen in the original cantina scene of "A New Hope"), with his teammates Akeema, Ty Kel-Symon, and Secundus cheerleading him; Major Ariadne and Lidiian Sadara are nowhere to be found, and we quickly learn that they apparently weren't even aware that this fight was taking place. The major is not impressed when she finds out...

SOUND NOTES
The music used during the fight sequence is from the obscure and infamous STAR WARS: DEMOLITION video game, which came out in 2000 on Sony PlayStation (the original) and Sega DreamCast. It was a vehicular combat game built using the "Vigilante 8" engine (a popular vehicular combat game at the time), and it included a soundtrack of remixed versions of John Williams's STAR WARS scores (though the music heard in this scene was an original composition by the game's composer/remixer D.E. Levison).

Because Joe Harrison (Ledok, as well as the Announcer) had to do a lot of shouting for this scene, his lines were recorded in his car, in the middle of an empty parking lot, in the middle of the night.

BEHIND THE SCENES
Ledok's fake name "Mister Baji" is a nod to the obscure and very odd series of Star Wars young reader novels usually referred to as the "Jedi Prince" series, which included a strange alien character who spoke strictly in a sing-songy voice, named Baji.

14/03/2022

\\ CHARACTER POSTERS \\
Over the next couple weeks we're going to be unveiling some cool character posters for select characters from "Crusade of the Rebellion."

(Tap image to see full view)

\\ CAPTAIN VILMUR \\
• Vocal Performance by James Leeper •
CAPTAIN HAZEN VILMUR is a member of the Board of Commanders — a council of investors (and co-conspirators) who fund the secret “True Empire” organization and movement under Grand Moff Teivel, as well as helping to plan the ultimate coup against Emperor Palpatine. Vilmur also commands his own small starfleet made up of three outdated but still formidable Victory-class Star Destroyers.

Vilmur has been an officer in the Imperial Navy since 10 B.B.Y. and rose quickly through the ranks. He showed great tenacity and attention to detail — though his peers believed him to be too “soft.” Regardless, Vilmur was later stationed on the Death Star under the command of Admiral Motti, but luckily was not on the battle station when it was destroyed.

Vilmur has always secretly had his own desires for an Imperial Reformation that would remove the Emperor and his various Force-sensitive acolytes from power. As such, he has been involved in two -- technically three -- different mutiny attempts (including the True Empire movement) -- he was part of Moff Trachta's circle of confidants and co-conspirators (ultimately the plan was foiled by Darth Vader, though Vilmur was among a very small number of officers who escaped without being discovered), and had been in early talks with Admiral Motti about planning some kind of coup against the emperor, though these talks didn't get far due to Motti's untimely death during the Battle of Yavin; but it was from Motti that Vilmur first learned of Grand Moff Teivel's True Empire movement. The admiral had not been an official member of the movement, but he was nevertheless sympathetic and had helped keep Teivel apprised of the Death Star's construction and status.

The destruction of the Death Star ultimately was the final nail in the coffin, convincing Vilmur that the emperor and his Dark Jedi needed to be removed, because the stability of the Empire itself depended on it. He followed what leads he had been given by Admiral Motti, eventually found Teivel, and quickly joined the True Empire. While Vilmur's starfleet was less than impressive, he nevertheless had special clearances that allowed him access to important information in the Imperial Archives of the palace at Imperial Center, making him invaluable to Teivel.

11/03/2022

\\ CHARACTER POSTERS \\
Over the next couple weeks we're going to be unveiling some cool character posters for select characters from "Crusade of the Rebellion."

First up... (Tap image to see full view)
\\ COMMANDER HAWK \\
• Vocal Performance by Kevin Traynor •

COMMANDER ARIUS HAWK is Grand Moff Teivel's "Right Hand," the second-in-command of both the Imperial operations on Cortani III as well as the governor's secret "True Empire" organization, the latter of which he is also a co-founder. Of all officers and soldiers working with or for Teivel, Hawk is the longest-serving, with a service record on Cortani III that dates all the way back to 16 B.B.Y., when he was first stationed at the governor's Vektar Shipyards right after its ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Given his long history with Teivel, Hawk is one of the only people who the governor will confide in, Hawk is one of the only people who sees the *real* Gilvahn Teivel. Hawk likely knows more about the governor's personal life than anyone — including his troubled upbringing by a dysfunctional crime family on Aduba-3.

In addition to the True Empire, Commander Hawk is also the Operations Overseer for the top-secret "Project: Spire" operation, making him one of a very small selection of specially hand-picked officers among Teivel's navy who even know both that the project exists and what it is. Despite being technically outranked, within the True Empire this position gives him greater clearance than even the Board of Commanders (Admiral Karne, Major Sigbrandr, Colonel Blumburtt, Volos). Hawk even has the ability, especially in emergency cases, to override or veto any naval commands by the individual board members, as well as the ability to temporarily take control of the True Empire fleets based at Cortani III.

09/03/2022

EPISODE 7: REVENANT POSTER & SYNOPSIS REVEAL \\
Grand Moff Teivel (Jesse Lowther) is front and center, in the middle of a long, dim, smoky hall. Something reaches out from the shadows...

SYNOPSIS \\
Grand Moff Teivel takes a small crew to the remote world of Apophis, having received a distress call. Teivel seems equal parts distressed... and intrigued, maybe even eager to find out what's happening. But what he and his crew find on the ancient world as they navigate the long dark halls of the excavation facility is beyond all expectations... and nightmares. Meanwhile, the rebel operatives continue their struggle to put an end to the Imperial shipyards and the construction of the governor's superweapons. The mission quickly becomes a race against the clock.
The countdown has begun.

08/03/2022

Tomorrow. Will answers be revealed? Or will there only be more questions....?

07/03/2022

SCHEMATICS for the original Suicide-class Star Destroyer, as it appeared in STAR WARS: CONQUEST OF THE EMPIRE - CHAPTER V: TRIUMPH & TRAGEDY. (Based on original sketch by Timothy Harrison)

LORE
The aptly-titled Imperial SUICIDE-CLASS Star Destroyer was a devastating war machine first observed during the fateful Battle for H’rahk in 15 B.B.Y. (STAR WARS: CONQUEST OF THE EMPIRE). Measuring at 1.9 kilometers — almost 20% larger than a standard Imperial I-class — it was a hefty vessel, but compared to other classes in the line it wasn’t much to look at. The battleship was designed and constructed for one purpose and one purpose only: complete destruction of a small planet or moon. The “Suicide” was essentially just one giant bomb with a singular goal of self-destruction and taking its target out with it. As such, it was severely pared down, both cosmetically and functionally.

Construction of the vessel was a collaborative effort between Kuat Drive Yards and Vektar Shipyards, the latter a startup manufacturing plant on the third planet of the Cortanis System, established and run by an eager middle-aged recent Imperial-graduate named Gilvahn Teivel. Teivel had initially designed the Suicide-class as part of a school project in the Academy, winning several accolades and the attention of faculty staff and the emperor himself, but not everyone was impressed. Fellow classmate Thrawn heavily criticized the design for its impracticality and utter waste of resources. Nevertheless, Emperor Palpatine was very interested in exploring the concept, impatient for the completion of the Death Star project. Teivel was given enough funding to establish his own shipyard facility and design and construct a prototype. At the emperor’s urging, Teivel also entered into a partnership with Kuat Drive Yards, which primarily provided the labor, and any construction resources not readily available to Teivel.

Unfortunately, under immense pressure from the emperor, Teivel was forced to take a number of shortcuts with the design of the vessel. He had initially conceptualized the ship to be unmanned and remotely controlled from a safe distance, but due to shortcuts, the final prototype required a small crew to pilot the vessel, without even the option of evacuating before detonation, as they would be required to manually prime the final detonation right before impact.

The “Suicide” prototype was longer and more slender than a typical Star Destroyer, and it looked neither pretty nor intimidating, possessing no more than four quadlaser batteries in the way of offenses. It did boast a strong shield, however, and one other function that put it lightyears ahead of most other ships in the Imperial Navy: a cloaking device, supplied by Fondor Shipyards through Kuat Drive Yards. The device was run almost entirely by solar energy, necessitating a very particular proximity to the nearest star. In the right conditions, and the right distance, the “Suicide” could theoretically remain cloaked indefinitely. But there was of course a price for such an ability... the vessel could not have both the cloak and the shields active simultaneously, due to the enormous energy consumption required by both. However, this was deemed a negligible cost, since, if the ship is cloaked, any enemy would have a difficult time finding it anyway.

The “Suicide” had a two-stage ex*****on system. The first was the vessel’s nose, which was a heavily reinforced combination of durasteel and carbonite, made for penetrating planetary crust without simply breaking apart on impact. Stage 2 was the detonation chamber itself, near the ship’s midpoint, which contained a deadly combination of nuclear proton, tibanna gas, and raw coaxium. In effect, the vessel would pe*****te a small planet’s surface at a high enough velocity to carry it close to the planet’s core, at which point the various volatile substances would be released from their respective chambers and flood the detonation compartment, which would then combust, causing a devastating explosion large enough to disrupt the planet’s core, ultimately resulting in a chain reaction that would destroy the planet.

And this is exactly what happened during the Battle for H’rahk. The “Suicide” worked nigh flawlessly; piloted by a crew of eight officers devoted to giving their lives for their emperor, the ship — christened as the ISD “Barrage” — evaded detection by the Rebel Alliance long enough to allow it to collide with H’rahk Prime and destroy it completely.

While this prototype was deemed a success the emperor’s excitement was only temporary, and he quickly came to a similar conclusion as Thrawn: the amount of time, resources, and money to build and put one of these war machines to use was hardly justifiable. Furthermore Kuat Drive Yards essentially elbowed Teivel and his Vektar Shipyards out of the picture, promising the emperor that they could provide something much better than Teivel’s waste of resources (which would eventually turn out to be the Super Star Destroyer prototype), beginning a years-long rivalry between Vektar Shipyards and Kuat Drive Yards. The emperor discontinued all deals with Teivel, canceled all pending orders for more of the “Suicide” vessels, and cut off funding.

Teivel was not without his own resources, however. He returned to his “Crime Family” roots to “acquire” funding, and he continued to experiment and produce his own vehicles, vessels, weapons, and droids over the next 15 years, including taking the time to perfect the “Suicide” design....

06/03/2022

Still got a long way to go, and casting is not yet complete, but any progress is good progress! We've got our first batch of recordings for one character in 🥳

06/03/2022

Just a little update to the main site: We now have chat support integration. If you run into any issues (download links not working, streaming players not working, pages not loading) or if you have any questions, there's now an easy to use chat popup throughout our site (lower right-hand corner). You may need to refresh your browser if it doesn't show up right away. https://www.lionsmouthent.net/audiodramas

Lion's Mouth Entertainment is a steadily growing studio that produces audio productions complete with full casts of voice actors, sound effects, music, and much more. While we have been producing material since 2005, it wasn't until the last couple years that we began

05/03/2022

Set your Reminders for this Wednesday, March 9th, for the unveiling of the EPISODE 7: REVENANT poster!