Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Lucasfilm

  • ‘Indiana Jones 5’ Opening Will Feature a De-Aged Harrison Ford

    ‘Indiana Jones 5’ Opening Will Feature a De-Aged Harrison Ford

    De-aging technology has become quite the rage nowadays, especially with the work that Marvel Studios has invested to make actors seemingly play their younger selves. It doesn’t always work out, such as how Martin Scorcese‘s The Irishman featured some impressive technology, but given the actor’s age, one could tell something wasn’t right when they started trying to beat each other up. Still, it’s a fun tech innovation that has found its home in IP franchises, and it seems Indiana Jones 5 will do the same.

    In a new piece by Empire, they reveal that the film’s opening will feature a flashback to the original trilogy’s Indiana Jones with Harrison Ford de-aged to look the part. Funny enough, set photos from quite some time ago did actually hint at the flashback, especially with a stunt person wearing a rather questionable Ford mask on his face. It does seem like they will swap him out once it comes to action sequences and him talking. Director James Mangold highlighted why they decided to take this route:

    I wanted the chance to dive into this kind of full-on George-and-Steven old picture and give the audience an adrenaline blast.

    James Mangold

    He also highlights that they use the opening set piece of a castle swarming with Nazis that pays tribute to the franchise’s early beginnings, especially in how it also helps guide audiences into the 60s setting of the fifth entry.

    So that the audience doesn’t experience the change between the ‘40s and ‘60s as an intellectual conceit, but literally experiences the buccaneering spirit of those early days… and then the beginning of now.

    James mangold

    It’s definitely going to be interesting to see how they pull it off and how it’ll tie into the overarching narrative. Whatever Indy is up to might end up inspiring the events that tie into the space race storyline we’ll see later in the film, but we can only speculate for now. Still, it’ll be a blast to see a younger Indiana Jones once again, even if it’s digital.

    Source: Empire

  • ‘Indiana Jones 5’ Director Shares His Approach to the Film

    ‘Indiana Jones 5’ Director Shares His Approach to the Film

    James Mangold, famous for his work on Logan and Ford V Ferrari, is taking on a daunting task. He’ll be the first new director to helm an entry in the Indiana Jones franchise, which has all been directed by Steven Spielberg, who is still actively a producer on the project. Still, it seems that he wasn’t scared of tackling this story once again and shared in an interview with Empire how he approached the material, especially with an older Harrison Ford in the leading role.

    It became really important to me to figure out how to make this a movie about a hero at sunset. The issues I brought up about Indy’s age were not things I thought were being addressed in the material being developed at the time. There were ‘old’ jokes, but the material itself wasn’t about it. To me, whatever you greatest liability, you should fly straight towards that. If you try to pretend it’s not there, you end up getting slings and arrows the whole way.

    James Mangold

    It’s definitely interesting that he’s avoiding the age topic completely, even if some jokes may have found their way into the script. Still, the topic was even the main focus in the last entry that released back in 2008, especially with the set-up of a new generation taking over that wouldn’t lead to anything. So, we’ll see just how the story will revolve around Indiana Jones and what is even the main mystery, as we still haven’t heard what the title will be for the latest entry in the franchise.

    Source: Empire

  • RUMOR: Indiana Jones Streaming Series to Feature a Previously Unseen Character

    RUMOR: Indiana Jones Streaming Series to Feature a Previously Unseen Character

    As Harrison Ford prepares to say goodbye to Doctor Henry Jones Jr., the iconic character he’s played multiple times since 1981’s Raiders of the Lost Ark, Lucasfilm is reportedly working with Disney Plus to create a streaming series set within his world of archaeological wonder. The show is in the earliest stages of development, with no creatives yet attached, but a new rumor might indicate the direction in which the show is headed and it’s rather surprising.

    According to The Hot Mic Podcast, the new series may focus on a character who has never been seen on screen in the Indy franchise but had a major impact on the life of Indiana Jones: Abner Ravenwood. Ravenwood was Jones’ mentor in archeology and had a lifelong fascination with the Ark of the Covenant. Ravenwood died while searching for it and it was his connection to Jones that put Indy on the trail of the artifact in Raider of the Lost Ark. Of course, the two had a much more personal connection as well, and one that ended their professional relationship: Indy’s affair with Ravenwood’s daughter, Marion.

    By putting the focus on Abner Ravenwood, the series’ timeline could extend as far back as the late 1800s and serve as a prequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark. While Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy has said there will never be Indiana Jones without Ford in the role, there might be some wiggle room in casting an actor as a very young Henry Jones Jr. if the Ravenwood rumor turns out to be true. Whatever the case, rest assured that Lucasfilm has their top men on the case. Top. Men.

    Source: Hot Mic Podcast

  • J.D. Dillard No Longer Set to Helm a ‘Star Wars’ Film

    J.D. Dillard No Longer Set to Helm a ‘Star Wars’ Film

    In February 2020, it was revealed that Sleight director J.D. Dillard was set to direct a Star Wars movie from screenwriter Matt Owens. At the time, it wasn’t known whether or not the project would be for the big screen or for Disney+. Details regarding the plot and characters involved were also unknown at the time. Unfortunately, it seems those eager to see a Star Wars film from Dillard will continue to wait, though, as the mysterious project is no longer moving forward.

    In an interview with The Wrap to promote his latest film, Devotion, Dillard was asked about the status of his Star Wars project. Sadly, it seems things simply didn’t work out and the project is no longer moving forward. “It was not for lack of trying.” the director said. He also made it a point of noting if he does make a space film, it’ll be an original idea.

    The outlet tried to get Dillard to comment on what a Star Wars film from him would “feel like,” to which Dillard cited a memory from his childhood.

    “My dad being an aviator, we had a bunch of flight simulators, including TIE Fighter. I’m playing this game for months. And my dad’s flying it with me. And I’m like, ‘Man, this game is just so cool.’ And he’s like, ‘Well, you know, this game comes from a series of movies.’ And I was like, ‘You’re kidding me.’ That is where I watched ‘Star Wars’ for the first time and realized the full scope of what it meant to world build because I’d been playing this pseudo-16-bit game.”

    Dillard, however, did briefly comment on the J.J. Abrams‘ Superman project with Ta-Nehisi Coates, which he was loosely tied to at some point. He called the project, “something I have never spoken about” and said that Abrams has his number “if that is ever to be a conversation.”

    News that Dillard is no longer developing a Star Wars project comes on the heels of the announcement that Shawn Levy is entering a galaxy far, far away. That project, however, will take some time to enter production as Levy still has Season 5 of Stranger Things and then Deadpool 3 to worry about first.

    Devotion, the latest film from Dillard, will hit theaters on Nov. 23rd.

    Source: The Wrap.

  • Shawn Levy to Direct a ‘Star Wars’ Film Following ‘Deadpool 3’

    Shawn Levy to Direct a ‘Star Wars’ Film Following ‘Deadpool 3’

    With Deadpool 3 and Season 5 of Stranger Things still on deck, Shawn Levy looks to have already set his next feature. Deadline has reported that Levy is in talks to helm a Star Wars movie. The outlet reports that Levy will develop the project to direct it, but no further details are available as of this time.

    Levy is the latest director to be attached to an untitled Star Wars project. Taika Waititi is developing a Star Wars film and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy recently signed on to direct a movie penned by Damon Lindeloff. Lucasfilm is also working with Marvel Studios’ Kevin Feige to develop an unspecified project. With Levy tied up on the final season of Stranger Things, and then set to jump on Deadpool 3 with his Free Guy leading man Ryan Reynolds, Levy’s Star Wars project is likely still years away at best.

    Up next for the always-busy Levy is the Netflix mini-series, All The Light You Cannot See, in which he directed all four episodes. He most recently directed The Adam Project, which also starred Reynolds. Levy also helmed Free Guy with Reynolds, in which a sequel is reportedly being discussed. As of right now, no writer or release date has been announced for Levy’s Star Wars film.

    Source: Deadline.

  • RUMOR: ‘Ahsoka’ May Have Cast a Familiar Face as Admiral Thrawn.

    RUMOR: ‘Ahsoka’ May Have Cast a Familiar Face as Admiral Thrawn.

    If there is any role that’s been highly debated in Star Wars rumor mill, it’s that of Admiral Thrawn. After a long bout of silence, it seems that a new rumor has been starting to make the rounds hinting at who could’ve potentially nabbed the role. Surprisingly, it might be someone quite familiar to long-time fans of the character. If online rumblings are to be believed, Lars Mikkelsen, who voiced the character in Rebels, might once again take on the role of the Star Wars villain.

    The notion of Mikkelsen reprising this role is perfect in many ways. Having voiced the character in the animated side of the universe will help maintain a level of continuity going into the live-action projects. Plus, having a returning actor move to Disney+ will appease the hardcore fans that are seeing a vast majority of other characters from Rebels get recast. Some of these castings include Natasha Liu Bordizzo playing Sabine Wren and Eman Esfandi being cast to play Ezra Bridger. We also can’t forget that Lars Mikkelsen is quit the respected and established actor, who’ll definitely ease the transition into a live-action take on the character.

    Ahsoka began its production in Los Angeles back in May of this year and might wrap filming by the end of next month. With that, the highly anticipated series is eyeing a 2023 release on Disney+ and is the second The Mandalorian spinoff to hit the streaming service.

    Source: Twitter via Bespin Bulletin

  • Adria Arjona Seemingly Confirms Season Two Return for ‘Andor’

    Adria Arjona Seemingly Confirms Season Two Return for ‘Andor’

    Andor is currently in the midst of its first season on Disney+, however, fans of the franchise are already eagerly looking ahead to the show’s second season. While production on Season 2 isn’t slated to begin until November, thanks to a recent interview with the folks over at Collider, we might have a better idea of what’s to come when Season 2 hits in 2024.

    Adria Arjona, who plays Bix Caleen in Andor, talked about her future involvement in the series, as well as the collaborative process with showrunner Tony Gilroy. As she explains, he is open to conversations about the show and the characters and has already updated her on Bix’s storyline going forward.

    He [Tony Gilroy] was very open to conversations and is constantly telling me what is, what her journey is going to be like and, ‘Oh, I changed this a little bit’. He really kept me in the loop even before the scripts were done and the second he had a script out, we’d [the cast] would all get it first. Even now with the second part [of the series] he’s already told me what’s going to happen and that’s not the usual. He just really wants you to get into that mindset and start preparing your gears to sort of embark on this new journey and he wants you to think on your own as Bix so I can sort of have my own ideas and opinions.

    Adria Arjona

    Going off of her quote here, it can be gleaned that Caleen is fairly guaranteed to be surviving the events of the first season. This comes as Gilory has teased that the body count for Andor will be high with a tangible risk of any notable characters (besides of course the titular one) being killed off. As it currently stands, Bix is dealing with the death of her romantic partner Timm after a showdown between Cassian Andor and the Preox-Morlana Authority. With a total of 12 episodes for both Season 1 and Season 2, it remains to be seen where Caleen’s story goes from here.

    Andor is currently airing on Disney+ with the fifth episode set to release on Wednesday, October 5.

    Source: Collider

  • Disney Shifts Future Film Slate

    Disney Shifts Future Film Slate

    The wave of Disney pushing back release dates for theatrical projects continues even with the gradual decline of the pandemic. It has officially been revealed that multiple projects are moving around from their initially announced release dates. 

    Most notably, the untitled Marvel Studios film initially scheduled to release on February 16, 2024, has moved back a few months into September 6, 2024. It has yet to be revealed what film would’ve filled this date (especially with the other later releasing 2024 films being revealed earlier this year at San Diego Comic-Con), but it has been speculated by some that this would’ve been the date for the Deadpool sequel film in development and apparently nearing the start of production. As well, Haunted Mansion will be moving up from its scheduled August 11, 2023 release to March 10, 2023.

    In addition, Disney has revealed the following release dates for various notable upcoming films in 2024:

    • Pixar’s Elio – March 1, 2024
    • The Rachel Zegler-led Snow White – March 22, 2024
    • Pixar’s Inside Out 2 – June 14, 2024
    • Barry Jenkins’ prequel Mufasa: The Lion King – July 5, 2024

    One point of concern in all these moves comes with the removal of Patty Jenkins’ Rogue Squadron from Disney’s release schedule. The film had previously been earmarked for a December 22, 2023 release, but essentially no updates have been made for the film in an extended period of time. This certainly doesn’t mean that the film is canceled, but it serves as an indicator that the highly anticipated film in the Star Wars franchise is much further away than Lucasfilm had initially planned for.

    Source: Twitter.

  • Jodie Turner-Smith Joins ‘The Acolyte’

    Jodie Turner-Smith Joins ‘The Acolyte’

    Announced during Disney’s 2020 Investor Day, The Acolyte was one of many Star Wars projects that went dark for a while with virtually no updates on the series. That was until it had been announced that Amanda Stenberg was set to lead the cast of the Sith-based prequel series for Disney+ and it looks like the project has secured yet another cast member.

    Deadline is reporting that actress Jodie Turner-Smith, best known for her work in projects like After Yang, Queen and Slim, and Anne Boleyn, has joined the cast of the Disney+ series. The trade report didn’t have any details on who Smith will be playing in the series as details on the project still remain under wraps.

    The series, developed by Netflix’s Russian Doll creator Leslye Headland, is said to take viewers into the last days of the High Republic as the Dark Side grows in power and will follow a young Sith apprentice, known as an Acolyte. The project is reportedly set to begin filming sometime this Fall.

    Fans can most likely expect to hear more on the project at the upcoming D23 expo set for September 9th and 10th where anything and everything under the Disney umbrella will have time to shine during two major Studio Showcase panels.

    Smith can be seen in multiple upcoming projects such as White Noise alongside Adam Driver and Greta Gerwig, directed by Noah Baumbach and Netflix’s Murder Mystery 2.

    SOURCE: Deadline

  • John Williams Reveals Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Theme from ‘Indiana Jones 5’ during Concert

    John Williams Reveals Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Theme from ‘Indiana Jones 5’ during Concert

    John Williams has been busy working on the music for Indiana Jones 5, which may be among the final scores he ever produces. It’s fitting given just how involved he was with the original and was just as much an integral part of making the franchise a cult classic. James Mangold is taking over directing duties for the upcoming fifth, and potentially last entry in the franchise. While news building up to D23 is still scarce, Williams has provided a sneak peek of his upcoming score during a concert.

    As shared by Twitter user @Naquicious, it seems that Williams decided to reveal the theme for Phoebe Waller-Bridge‘s character during his latest concert. Not only that, he shares that it was seemingly also coordinated with Mangold. As such, it reveals that the character’s name is Helena and luckily non participants get a chance to listen in.

    https://twitter.com/naquicious/status/1565930404070076417?s=21&t=4fYKA0ll1p6Mz60tQ2DqcQ

    It’s definitely a John Williams score and highlights the gravitas we can expect from his upcoming work. He’s always been on his a-game, as he recently worked with Lucasfilm to give Obi-Wan Kenobi a long overdue theme. The fact he will soon retire is a shame but he’s given some amazing work to the industry and many themes wouldn’t be the same without him. We’ll have to see if we get an updated version of the iconic Indiana Jones theme as well ahead of its release, but with D23 on the horizon, anything is possible.

    Source: Twitter