When actor Ray Stevenson passed in 2023, it was before the full scope of his new Star Wars character had been explored. Now, with season two of Ahsoka getting ready to roll, creator Dave Filoni and Lucasfilm may have found the man wholl be stepping into Baylan Skolls sinister shoes. Rory McCann, best known to audiences as the Hound on Game of Thrones, will reportedly be taking over the role of Baylan Skoll on Star Wars: Ahsoka when it returns to Disney+, possibly in 2026. The InSneider first reported the news and io9 has reached out to Lucasfilm for confirmation. It has yet to respond as of publication and well update this post if or when we hear back. When audiences last saw Skoll, he was stranded on the planet Peridea(along with Ahsoka, Sabine, and his former apprentice Shin Hati) on a quest to explore some deep mysteries in the Force. It was clear that Filoni had much more in store for the evil former Jedi. However, when Stevenson passed, audiences debated whether or not the show should continue that story. It seems though that Stevensons family has approved the casting, according to the initial report.As for McCann, though hes best known for his friend-of-Arya, kind-of-a-hero character on Game of Thrones, you may also know him as a General in Gladiator II and for playing Lurch in Hot Fuzz (the Yarp guy). Hes an imposing physical presence with a lot of powerful personality. A great choice.Theres no official work on when Ahsoka will be returning, only that Filoni has been hard at work writing it. As it stands, it might be the next Star Wars show to arrive on Disney+ after Andor. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, whats next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

Tram House / HO StudioSave this picture! Nguyn Thi ThchHousesVinh, VietnamArchitects: HO StudioAreaArea of this architecture projectArea:420 mYearCompletion year of this architecture project Year: 2023 PhotographsPhotographs:Nguyn Thi Thch Lead Architect: H Vn Cng More SpecsLess SpecsSave this picture!Text description provided by the architects. Located within the expanded roadway area as part of Vinh City's new urban plan, the client's plot has been downsized and now intersects with a 40-degree diagonal to a new sidewalk, which is slated for development in the coming years. When we surveyed the site in 2023, the existing one-story house was quite enclosed, having been in use for over twenty years and built on a very low foundation. Standing on the roof of the old house with the guests, we immediately felt the refreshing coolness of the area due to the constant breeze, and the surrounding landscape was wide open, with urban voids on three sides. It was clear that this location had significant potential for a home that would enjoy expansive views, while also maximizing the flow of cool air throughout the interior spaces.Save this picture!Save this picture!Positioned near two high-rise apartment buildings, one 15 stories and the other 23 stories, the house is conceived as a solid white tower. Diagonal lines and chamfered edges are used to create distinctive features in the building's exterior design.Save this picture!Save this picture!The house includes a ground floor for business purposes and four upper floors for family living, designed for the parents and two daughters. The solid tower is located on the west side, containing areas for circulation (elevator, stairs, hallways) and enclosed restrooms. The remaining space is allocated for various functional areas, with maximum openness extending from the front to the rear of the house. Internal walls are minimized, and entirely enclosed rooms are avoided. Voids and skylights are strategically integrated throughout to enhance spatial flow.Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!Natural light pours into the house through the building's form, the cuts, skylights, and large glass openings. Greenery will cover all three stepped balconies (of varying sizes), creating hanging garden-like terraces at the front of the house. The vegetation is anchored against the solid mass on the west side, improving the quality of life for the adjacent spaces.Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!The primary living area for the family is located on the second floor, offering expansive views of the tree canopies both at the front and rear. Here, a high void of over 5 meters opens up an unobstructed view of the sky, allowing the family to experience the changing light and atmosphere throughout the day.Save this picture!Project gallerySee allShow lessAbout this officePublished on January 10, 2025Cite: "Tram House / HO Studio" 09 Jan 2025. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/1025435/tram-house-ho-studio&gt ISSN 0719-8884Save!ArchDaily?You've started following your first account!Did you know?You'll now receive updates based on what you follow! Personalize your stream and start following your favorite authors, offices and users.Go to my stream

Nature, Published online: 08 January 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-024-08407-8A meta-analysis of biodiversity effects on plant productivity found that complementarity effects increased over time whereas selection effects decreased, and both remained consistent across global variations in climate.

Nature, Published online: 08 January 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-024-08266-3Left- and right-handed snub cubes show photocontrollable elasticity and hardness, in addition to the ability to encapsulate different small molecules in distinct compartments simultaneously, with potential applications in the development of advanced biomimetic materials.

Nature, Published online: 08 January 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-024-08379-9A family of host-derived bile acidmethylcysteamine conjugates functions as FXR antagonists, forming part of a microbiota-dependent metabolic network that regulates FXR-dependent physiology.

Palworld developer Pocketpair has launched a new game on Nintendo Switch despite the fact that it's currently being sued by The Pokemon Company and Nintendo.The game is called Overdungeon, which combines card game, tower defense, and roguelike elements. It has real-time gameplay with cards featuring various animals like cats, dogs, and alpacas. It was first released in 2019 for PC before its surprise launch on Switch today, January 9. The Pokemon Company sued Pocketpair last year, alleging that the Pocketpair engaged in infringement on The Pokemon Company's patents. Pocketpair revealed that the three Japanese patents were centered around the mechanics of throwing balls at creatures to catch them, riding characters in the game, and shooting at targets.Continue Reading at GameSpot

In Path of Exile 2, the Double Herald setup is a tech that allows for Herald of Thunder and Herald of Ice to proc off each other simultaneously, triggering a chain reaction that can clear entire screens with one hit.

One Piece and Jujutsu Kaisen are two of the biggest manga of all time. Eiichiro Oda is the mangaka of One Piece, and Gege Akutami is Jujutsu Kaisens mangaka. Fans have come to love both these stories over the years, and it's no surprise that their authors getting together for dinner makes them happy.

Letterboxd has just revealed its top 10 highest-rated animations of the year 2024. Look Back, a one-shot work by Fujimoto that received a movie adaptation, has been ranked as the best-animated movie this year.

VLC media player is among the surprise entrants at CES 2025, and the company is demoing a feature that automatically generates subtitles for you. When I see companies launching new AI features, I'm usually skeptical because it has become an overused buzzwordbut in this case, it does seem useful.VideoLAN, the parent organization of VLC media player, says it uses open-source AI models to introduce automatic subtitling to its media player. There are two layers to this: The first is generating subtitles itself, and the second one is translation. In the CES demo, VLC media player can be seen playing a video with subtitles in multiple different languages. At the moment, there is no word on when this feature will be available, but I really like the fact that translation is supported because it'll make videos more accessible to people who don't speak English.In a video uploaded to X, VideoLAN president Jean-Baptiste Kempf said the AI subtitle generation feature works completely offline. This is heartening to hear because AI tools have often been criticized for violating your privacy by using your data without consent and for extremely high energy usage at data centers.Even though the world has largely adopted streaming services to play videos, there is still a big market for media player apps like VLC media player. VLC media player has crossed 6 billion downloads, according to Kempf. His LinkedIn post reads, "The number of active users of VLC is actually growing, even in this age of streaming services. Well see how much it will continue to grow!" There are better-designed alternatives, but VLC media player has retained its place on every computer I've used. It still plays practically any video file I throw at it, and it has lots of hidden features for those who want to dig deeper.