For fans of Superman, there’s a core group of characters whose stories are hard to separate from the Man of Steel. For better or for worse, Ma and Pa Kent, Lois Lane, Perry White, Jimmy Olsen and Lex Luthor are all fairly inextricably connected to Clark Kent. With a new Superman film coming as part of James Gunn and Peter Safran‘s new DCU, it’ll be important for Gunn–who is writing and directing Superman: Legacy–to find a way to make the reintroduction of all those characters into the mainstream feel fresh, should he choose to use them. With Gunn recently revealing that he’d begun “early pre-production” on the film and posting a picture of the current script for the film, you can be sure he’s thought through which characters are a must for the first adventure and now he’s revealed who one of them is.
Responding to a fan on Twitter, Gunn revealed that Daily Planet photojournalist and longtime bestie of Superman, Jimmy Olsen will “of course” be in the movie.
Olsen has appeared in multiple Superman-related projects in different mediums over the years. Actors such as Marc McClure, Aaron Ashmore, Mehcad Brooks and Michael Cassidy have all added their own touches to the character with some straying pretty far from the nature of Olsen in the comics. Given that the premise of Gunn’s new film revolves around Superman holding strong to old school values, it’s possible the newest iteration of Olsen might more closely resemble the innocent “Jeepers Mr. Kent” version than the CIA operative. With Gunn noting that he’s put together a list of preferred actors and actresses for the film, the identity of the new Jimmy Olsen may be just around the corner.
Following the news that Lionsgate Television is looking to return to Forks, The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that the series has nabbed a writer. Sinead Daly, who has worked on Tell Me Lies, The Walking Dead: World Beyond, Raised by Wolves, Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency and The Get Down, has boarded the project. Daly will work directly with Lionsgate Television to determine whether the series will be a remake or rather a different offshoot from the films.
The project is still in the early stages and, despite Daly’s involvement, the series does not yet have a home. Stephenie Meyer, the author of the Twilight saga, is expected to be involved with the development of the television series. While Wyck Godfrey and former Lionsgate Motion Picture Group co-president Erik Feig are set to serve as executive producers.
News of the Twilight television series comes on the heels of Max’s news that it was looking to bring Harry Potter to the small screen. Twilight, of course, kicked off its franchise run just as Harry Potter was preparing to say goodbye. Both franchises — along with The Hunger Games — proved to be hugely successful and sent Hollywood on the hunt for the next big YA adaptation. To date, the Twilight movie franchise has pulled in an impressive $3.4 billion worldwide and helped to further propel the careers of leads, Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson.
With Chapter 24 of The Mandalorian now streaming, Season 3 of the series is now in the books! Though the finale made good on several season-long arcs, made some major moves and significantly changed the status quo of the New Republic era, it probably won’t erase some of the hard feelings fans felt towards some of the other episodes along the way. Now that all eight episodes have been etched in beskar, we take a look back and the best and the worst of Season 3.
Chapter 18: The Mines of Mandalore
One of the best episodes of the entire series, The Mines of Mandalore was the highlight of Season 3. This chapter saw Din Djarin, Grogu and still reluctant Bo-Katan Kryze take the first step in restoring Mandalore to its former glory. The episode’s exploration of the mythology and culture of Mandalorians was something hardcore fans loved and are still buzzing about even after the finale.
Kicking off the second half of the season, The Pirate was a remarkably well-made episode that firmly grounded the events of the series in the larger universe of the New Republic and set in motion the march to the finale. While it started off as the story of Grogu and Din Djarin, The Mandalorian has grown into something much bigger as has its central cast of characters. Just as everything seemed to be trending up for everyone, The Pirate reminded everyone it’s not always so easy to put the past behind you.
Chapter 23: The Spies
The Shadow Council. The revelation that Gideon had set up shop deep within Mandalore. Din Djarin’s impassioned speech to Bo-Katan. The sacrifice of Paz Viszla. The Spies was about as good of a penultimate episode as we could have hoped for and was the perfect bridge between Chapter 22’s feel-good story and Chapter 24’s finale.
Before Chapter 20 streamed, fans had spent the better part of a week bemoaning its short run time. And then the episode spent almost every second of that runtime with its ears pinned back and having a helluva lot of fun. A huge episode for Bo-Katan’s redemption; an incredible action sequence with some crazy birds of prey; more of Grogu’s story complete with the live-action introduction of Jedi Master Kelleran Beq. Just a great all-around Star Wars story.
Chapter 24: The Return
While it lacked the big cameo appearance of the Season 2 finale, The Return gave fans everything they’d been asking for in Season 3 and somehow still made them unhappy. The Mandalorian Renaissance has officially begun with the destruction of the Darksaber symbolically ushering in a new era free of the prejudices of the past. Mando and Grogu kicked ass together and left to begin their journey anew in Season 4. Big action and big heart came together for a fun and fulfilling Season 3 finale.
Though it felt like a sluggish start to Season 3, in hindsight, The Apostate laid the foundation for a great season of The Mandalorian. Not only did it remind us of just how big the galaxy in which this story is told is, it subtly set us up to see what had previously been a story with a pretty small scope expand into one that has major consequences for the New Republic era of storytelling.
Chapter 19: The Convert
Notable for establishing the hypocrisy of the New Republic and establishing it as anything but safe, The Convert took the focus off of Din and Grogu in lieu of some time with Doctor Pershing and Elia Kane. If the characters of The Mandalorian were ever going to start impacting the galaxy on a larger scale (spoiler, they were) then making sure the audience has a good grasp on the goings on of that galaxy matter. So while this episode seemed pretty humdrum, not every episode can be action-packed.
Memorable for is wild cameos and the hatred they inspired online, Chapter 22 actually had quite a bit to say for anyone paying attention to the story rather than than the players. From beginning to end, Guns for Hire actually served as a reminder of just how big of a mess the galaxy is and how hard it is for the wounds of war to heal. Unfortunately, the episode relied too heavily on fans being both savvy and pretty deeply immersed in Star Wars lore to be able to read between the lines of the over the top cameos of Jack Black and Lizzo and will probably continue to be used as an example of “Disney Star Wars bad” for years.
Louis Leterrier is staying with the Fast family. Variety announced on Wednesday that the director will direct Fast and Furious 11, which will serve as a companion film for Fast X and the final film in the long-running franchise. Leterrier, of course, stepped in as the director for Fast X after Justin Lin left the project last May.
“Louis joined the ‘Fast & Furious’ team seamlessly, with an innate understanding of the franchise that is stronger than ever after two decades. Under his direction, ‘Fast X’ is a high-intensity thriller with all the spectacular action, emotion, and twists that the fans have come to expect – and then some. We are thrilled that he will continue to work his magic in the director’s chair.”
Universal Pictures president Peter Cramer
Outside of Fast X, Leterrier has directed Transporter starring Jason Statham, Clash of the Titans, and Now You See Me. As for his credits on the small screen, Leterrier has worked on Lupin, as well as The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance.
To date, the Fast and Furious franchise has earned an impressive $6 billion at the worldwide box office. It has even gone on to spawn a spinoff film, Hobbs & Shaw, starring Statham and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
Lionsgate is looking to return to Forks, Washington. The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that Lionsgate Television is in early development on a Twilight television series. Summit Entertainment, which is owned by Lionsgate, helped to bring author Stephenie Meyer’s incredibly popular book series to the big screen back in 2008. Now, the studio is looking to revisit the series and try to reignite the sparkle of the film franchise.
Per THR, as the project is still in the early stages, there isn’t a writer or television studio yet attached to the project. Lionsgate Television is hoping to lead the development of the project before it begins to shop the package around. The studio is currently on the hunt for a writer to help lead the project. Meyer, who penned the book series, will be involved with the development of the series. While Wyck Godfrey and former Lionsgate Motion Picture Group co-president Erik Feig are set to serve as executive producers.
News of the Twilight television series comes on the heels of Max’s news that it was looking to bring Harry Potter to the small screen. Twilight, of course, kicked off its franchise run just as Harry Potter was preparing to say goodbye. Both franchises — along with The Hunger Games — proved to be hugely successful and sent Hollywood on the hunt for the next big YA adaptation. To date, the Twilight movie franchise has pulled in an impressive $3.4 billion worldwide and helped to further propel the careers of leads, Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson.
For the better part of three seasons of The Mandalorian, Giancarlo Esposito‘s Moff Gideon was the thorn in the side of Din Djarin, Grogu and Bo-Katan before seemingly meeting his ultimate fate in Chapter 24, The Return. While Gideon put up a good fight against the trio of heroes in the Season 3 finale, his part in their story looks to have come to an end but not before his true nature was revealed, not only to the heroes but also to the audience. As threatening as he may be, Gideon was really just a big nerd obsessed with all the cool stuff in the Star Wars galaxy. Behind all his deception, treachery and posturing, it turns out Moff Gideon is just an 80’s kid.
While most fans guessed it some time ago, The Return confirmed that Gideon had hoped to use Grogu’s blood to infuse himself with The Force. More accurately, Gideon had hoped to infused himselves with The Force as the season finale revealed that Gideon and Doctor Pershing were not working with Shadow Council member Brendol Hux on Project Necromancer but rather putting the finishing touches on what he viewed as his ultimate form. But as it turns out, his ultimate form is essentially an 80’s Stars Wars kid’s fantasy come to life.
For all of Esposito’s talk about how Gideon was the galaxy’s “top warden” looking to restore order to the galaxy after the fall of the Empire, the character’s true nature turned out to be much more selfish and his goals seemingly much smaller in scope. Gideon, like me and many of you, is a collector. While we collect action figures and memorabilia from the fictional Star Wars universe, Gideon was doing the same thing inside the Star Wars universe. His obsession with the Sith, Jedi and Mandalorian cultures–all the cool tricks, toys and trinkets that come along with them–is no different than ours. At some point, alone in his room at the ISB, Gideon definitely tried to summon something to his hand using The Force; while holding a broomstick in a mirror, he absolutely “bzzzzzzd” up a lightsaber and took a few swings; and he most definitely wondered how cool it would be to be screeching across the sky wearing a jet pack and suited up in Mandalorian armor.
The difference, of course, is that Gideon lived within that world and had the means and willpower to make those fantasies real. For Gideon, that meant being a Force-wielding, beskar-wearing bad guy: the best of all worlds! While the rest of the Shadow Council waited for the return of Thrawn or for Project Necromancer to be completed, Gideon used his considerable resources to set up shop on Mandalore and put together the coolest damn cosplay costume he could imagine in his very own bad guy lair. While it’s unclear exactly what was left undone, it’s clear his plan didn’t come to completion. Perhaps Project Necromancer’s work was necessary to transfer his consciousness into his clones? A bunch of Gideons without his memories wouldn’t be of much use, after all. It seems like we’ll never know exactly what his grand plan for the galaxy was (although…you never know) but as he went down in a blaze of glory, he did it in style and I, for one, am extremely jealous of his collection.
Back in 2018, it was announced that Paramount+ was developing yet another Star Trek series. The show was to star Michelle Yeoh and would focus on Section 31. Over the years, reports indicated that the project would still move forward, however, there was never any strict timeline as to when the project would actually enter production. Well, after years of being “in development,” Paramount+ is finally moving forward with Section 31… but it’s going to be a movie now.
On Tuesday, the streamer revealed that Michelle Yeoh will star in Star Trek: Section 31. The movie will see Georgiou join a “secret division of Starfleet tasked with protecting the United Federation of Planets and faces the sins of her past.” The movie is being penned by Craig Sweeney and will be directed by Olatunde Osunsanmi — both Sweeney and Osunsanmi have worked on Star Trek: Discovery, where Yeoh made her debut as Georgiou.
“I’m beyond thrilled to return to my Star Trek family and to the role I’ve loved for so long,” Yeoh said in a statement to the press. “Section 31 has been near and dear to my heart since I began the journey of playing Philippa all the way back when this new golden age of Star Trek launched. To see her finally get her moment is a dream come true in a year that’s shown me the incredible power of never giving up on your dreams. We can’t wait to share what’s in store for you, and until then: live long and prosper (unless Emperor Georgiou decrees otherwise)!”
Alex Kurtzman, who returns as an executive producer for Section 31, revealed that Yeoh initially pitched a spinoff series for her character back in 2017 – before anything was officially announced as being in development. ” “All the way back in 2017, before the first season of Star Trek: Discovery had even aired, Michelle had the idea to do a spinoff for her character, Philippa Georgiou. She broke new ground as one of the first two women onscreen in the pilot to usher in a new age of Trek, and now, six years later, Section 31 finally arrives on the heels of her latest groundbreaking win.”
Section 31 will kick off a new phase for Trek on Paramount+. The streamer is hoping to do a “Star Trek made-for-streaming movie every two years.” Production on the project will kick off later this year.
Led quite intentionally astray by some aspects of Chapter 23, The Spies, and comments by the cast and crew of the series, fans had put together some pretty wild theories about what to expect in the Season 3 finale of The Mandalorian. Suffice it to say, by the time the title of the episode (The Return) was revealed just a touch over five minutes in, it was pretty clear where the episode was headed and that no betrayals or heart-wrenching deaths were coming; instead, Chapter 24 was a spectacle-filled finale that significantly changed the status quo of the New Republic era of the galaxy far, far away and a promise of a return to a more episodic adventure in Season 4.
For much of the most recent season, The Mandalorian has been criticized for spending too much time on characters other than Din Djarin and Grogu. In some ways, the finale served as a very direct response to that criticism, bringing the duo back into the spotlight with an action-packed escape followed immediately by a battle with the galaxy’s biggest fanboy, Moff Gideon, and his Praetorian Guard. While many fans waited much of the season for Bo-Katan Kryze to betray Din Djarin, her well-timed intervention Din’s fight with Gideon allowed her to try to exact her revenge on the Moff while allowing for Din and Grogu to work side-by-side taking down the guard. The relationship between Bo-Katan and Din–which was developed on screen over several episodes while fans all threw their hands up and complained that nothing was happening–bore fruit when Din and Grogu joined Bo-Katan in holding off Gideon long enough for Axe Woves’ kamikaze mission to take him out. Teamwork makes the dream work.
Mandalorians are stronger together.
Bo-Katan Kryze
That sentiment, shared by Bo-Katan while Din and Grogu joined her against Gideon, should have resonated strongly with the audience as a measure of the incredible growth made by the character since she first showed up in Season 3. Sitting alone in her throne room, Bo-Katan had given up on…pretty much everything. The weight of her past failures had become an anchor preventing her from moving forward and, having lost everything, she was content to pout in her big chair. Now, Bo-Katan has relit the Great Forge of Mandalore and stands ready to lead her newly reunited people into a new age of Mandalorian glory. In summation, it’s almost as if every minute of her journey over the course of Season 3 helped shape her into exactly the type of leader her people needed her to be.
With Mandalore’s future in the best of hands, The Return also promised a return of what made fans fall in love with the series in the first place: the adventures of Din Djarin and Din Grogu. After quickly convincing Carson Teva to let them take care of some of the New Republic’s dirty work, the Dins get a storybook ending to Chapter 24. What does that mean for Season 4, which is already in pre-production with cameras slated to roll this Fall? With Ahsoka and Skeleton Crew set to bear some of the world-building weight of the New Republic era and help move things toward Dave Filoni‘s “Heir to the Empire” film, the next season of The Mandalorian might look a whole lot more like Seasons 1 and 2, with several chapters devoted to taking the Dins on new adventures each week, allowing for Grogu to continue learning and evolving as a Mandalorian.
The Return certainly moved fast, packing a spectacular aerial battle of Mandos vs. Dark Troopers, the presumed death of Gideon and the retaking of Mandalore into 42 minutes but make no mistake, those 42 minutes changed the status quo of the New Republic era of stories. With Gideon, who was revealed only to be serving his own interests rather than that of the Shadow Council, now dispatched, there’s room for a new threat to emerge. With Bo-Katan and crew reconstructing Mandalore, a new and powerful force will continue to emerge on the other side of that threat. As far as a season finale goes, The Return seemed to deliver on just about every level: big action, resolution and the promise of what comes next. It may not have been what fans theorized but it seems to have delivered what they’ve all ben asking for all season.
To hear the stars of Marvel Studios film and streaming projects tell it, somewhere out there exists an omnipresent Nick Fury Man on the Wall-esque character out there ready to silence them the moment they dare even consider sharing information about their projects. If he is real, Patti Lupone is not afraid of him. Lupone is starring in the upcoming Marvel Studios streaming series, Agatha: Coven of Chaos, a project about which very little information has been made publicly available by the studio. During a visit to The View, Lupone changed all that pretty quickly.
While discussing the project, Lupone revealed the identity of her character, one of a coven of witches who team with series lead Kathryn Hahn’s Agatha against some less than good witches. “Well it’s a coven of witches, and I play Lilia Calderu, who apparently is in the Marvel world,” said Lupone. “And I researched her, she’s hot! She’s really hot! She is! She’s got a great body, raven hair.” Calderu, The Witch-Queen of the Gypsies, is hardly a household name but is indeed ripped right from the pages of the Marvel Comics. Fortunately for Lupone, her research on the character was pretty easy as Calderu made one brief appearance in the comics before dying. While that might mean Lupone’s character’s time in the MCU will be short-lived, it also provides the opportunity for Marvel Studios to give the character a brand new story without being held to any standard from the comics.
Lupone didn’t stop there as she went on to detail just who else was part of Agatha’s coven of witches and what role Joe Locke will play in that coven. “We are a coven of witches, and the witches are Kathryn Hahn, Aubrey Plaza, and the familiar — if anybody knows ‘Heartstopper’ — is Joe Locke,” explained Lupone. “And Sasheer Zamata, Ali Ahn, and myself. And I play Lilia Calderu, a 450-year-old Sicilian witch, whose power is divination, and whose trial is tarot.” It is widely believed (ok, it’s known) that Locke is playing Billy Kaplan, aka the Young Avenger known as Wiccan, in the series so it’s interesting to see that he’s referred to as the coven’s “familiar” here. That means Billy will begin the series as nothing more than a companion to the witches before likely beginning to discover his true nature which, in the comics, is fairly convoluted.
Lupone’s willingness to share details about the project probably came as quite a shock to Marvel Studios; however, given the lack of positive buzz around the studio at the moment, they’ll hopefully be a bit forgiving with the actress. Agatha: Coven of Chaos is expected to stream on Disney Plus sometime in 2024.
One of three new films announced at Star Wars Celebration 2023, the untitled New Jedi Order movie will feature Daisy Ridley’s return to the Star Wars universe as Rey. Set 15 years after the events of Episode IX-The Rise of Skywalker, the project will tell “the story of rebuilding the New Jedi Order and the powers that rise to tear it down.”
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