Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Star Wars Movies

  • SWCE: Daisy Ridley Returns as Rey in ‘The Rise of the Skywalker’ Sequel by Director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy

    SWCE: Daisy Ridley Returns as Rey in ‘The Rise of the Skywalker’ Sequel by Director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy

    Here’s the double-whammy, as it seems that not only do we finally know what exactly Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy has been working on based on a script by Damon Lindelof, who sadly left the project recently, but also who is going to be the main star. It is none other than Daisy Ridley, who is set to return as the character of Rey from the Star Wars sequel trilogy.

    The story will seemingly pick up 15 years after the events of The Rise of Skywalker as she tries to rebuild the Jedi Order. It is ironic that after every trilogy someone is trying to rebuild the order somewhere, but it’s going to be interesting to see how they connect this story to the past while setting up a new future.

    There’s no word if she’s actually the main star of the franchise or potentially just a side character. While the film has no official title just yet, they unveiled a timeline to help those put the pieces together when these projects take place across the wide Star Wars timeline, and it was given the simple name of “New Jedi Order “with a rather familiar logo.

  • SWCE: Dave Filoni to Direct a ‘Star Wars’ Film Wrapping Up the “Mandoverse”

    SWCE: Dave Filoni to Direct a ‘Star Wars’ Film Wrapping Up the “Mandoverse”

    It seems that they might be wrapping up the franchise that started with The Mandalorian, as during Star Wars Celebration it was announced that the one and only Dave Filoni is going to direct a Star Wars film. Now just that, but it’ll also seemingly wrap up everything that has been building up since the first season of The Mandalorian.

    His involvement with a film was hinted at for some time now with a rumor dropping right before the Celebration event even kicked off. The question does remain if this will be a Disney+ original film given how it connects to the other entries, or if this is perhaps a cinematic release that just uses story bits from the various characters and brings them all together. We#ll have to wait to find out.

    Source: Twitter

  • SWCE: James Mangold Set to Direct New Star Wars Film about the First Jedi

    SWCE: James Mangold Set to Direct New Star Wars Film about the First Jedi

    Star Wars fans have been doing some serious handwringing over the theatrical future of the franchise. Kathleen Kennedy did her best to ease those concerns at Star Wars Celebration 2023 by announcing multiple films, including one by director James Mangold.

    Set before the Old Republic in a new era called Dawn of the Jedi which takes place 25,000 years before the event of The Mandalorian, Mangold’s film will follow the “first Jedi to wield the force” in what was called a “biblical epic.” The new film provides an opportunity for Mangold to break ground and really dig into the foundations of the Jedi Order. Canonical stories set during the High Republic era have recently revealed that the Jedi were just one of several factions of Force users in the galaxy, so it’ll be interesting to see if any of those come into play in Mangold‘s film.

  • RUMOR: Lucasfilm to Announce Dave Filoni Directed Film during Star Wars Celebration

    RUMOR: Lucasfilm to Announce Dave Filoni Directed Film during Star Wars Celebration

    As Star Wars Celebration 2023 kicks off in London a rumor about a potential new project is making waves. On the latest episode of The Hot Mic Podcast, Jeff Snieder reported that Star Wars Rebels creator Dave Filoni, who has directed several episodes of The Mandalorian, is directing a film that is expected to be announced at Celebration.

    According to Snieder, three movies are going to be announced during Celebration and one of them will be directed by Filoni. The film will reportedly “codify the Star Wars universe around the world” built by Filoni and Jon Favreau.

    The story of Mandalore and its disparate clans of Mandalorians is something Filoni has been building both through animation and live-action for over a decade. Beginning in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, continuing through Star Wars Rebels and now The Mandalorian, Filoni created a culture and mythology around characters such as Bo-Katan Kryze, Sabine Wren and Din Djarin. Those characters and their stories captured the attention of audiences and now it seems likely that their journeys–and a few other characters’ journeys as well–will come together on the big screen.

  • ‘Star Wars’: Donald Glover Eyeing Return As Lando For Future Project

    ‘Star Wars’: Donald Glover Eyeing Return As Lando For Future Project

    Solo: A Star Wars Story actor Donald Glover wants to return as Lando Calrissian in a galaxy not so far away. Glover confirms that he is in talks to return as Lando in a future project. Details of exactly what that project may remain under wraps. According to Glover, Lando’s charming character is a rarity in recent memory, and he says he welcomes the chance to reprise his character.

    “I would love to play Lando again. It’s a fun time, being him. It just has to be the right way to do it. Time is precious…I’m not interested in doing anything that’s going to be a waste of my time or just a paycheck….It just has to be the right thing, and I think it could be. Lando is definitely somebody I like to hang out with.”

    Zak Sharf, Variety

    If this new project is to be successful, it’s got its work cut out. Debuting in 2018, “Solo” was costly as the film narrowly exceeded its $250 million-plus budget. The $392 million worldwide sales did not net Disney a profit. Something else fans should remember: Director Ron Howard has openly said he’s unaware of a sequel in the works. He adds fans primarily drive news of a “Solo” sequel. Howard warns that while not impossible, he doesn’t get the sense it’s a priority for Lucasfilm. Glover returning to the big screen would be under other storylines for now.

    Source: Variety

  • RUMOR: Lucasfilm No Longer Developing ‘Indiana Jones’ Disney+ Series

    RUMOR: Lucasfilm No Longer Developing ‘Indiana Jones’ Disney+ Series

    Another day, another rumor as Jeff Sneider has shared something rather curious about the direction Lucasfilm might be heading in. According to his latest tweet, the recently hinted Indiana Jones Disney+ series may no longer be in development. We first heard about the project back in November of last year. Yet, the project never had any talent included and was simply an idea that was being developed very early in its development.

    So, who knows if the project was ever far enough in development? Lucasfilm has a notorious track record of announcing a variety of projects but never truly following through as of late. Sneider also mentions that they are going to focus more on Star Wars, which is likely more reactionary to recent developments with their lack of cinematic output.

    Disney has been refocusing its efforts. While they aren’t scrapping Disney+ projects, they are definitely trying to ensure that they are pushing out projects that’ll ensure they can make a direct return on investment. Star Wars, one of the most well-known IPs in cinematic history, hasn’t had a film since 2019 and every other announcement was scrapped at some point, it’s no wonder Disney wants them to focus on something.

    There’s always the chance that they are just waiting to see how successful Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny turn out. Fast-tracking a project has been the biggest stress factor for many streaming services hoping to build their next cinematic universe. So, if Lucasfilm can’t even get Star Wars running, they are likely not going to be able to push forward with other projects.

    Source: Twitter

  • Always in Motion Is the Future: Damon Lindelof Exits Top Secret Star Wars Project

    Always in Motion Is the Future: Damon Lindelof Exits Top Secret Star Wars Project

    Days after an interview with /Film in which he expressed his hesitation to work on a Star Wars film, writer Damon Lindelof has reportedly left the top secret project that he’d been working on for the past year. Lindelof had been co-writing the film with Justin Britt-Gibson, who has also left the project, which was expected to be directed by  Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy.

    According to Above the Line, the duo turned in a screenplay in February before parting ways with Lucasfilm, who has already brought a new writer on board, and the film still has the green light. Lucasfilm will reportedly announce the film during April’s Star Wars Celebration and reveal that it’s slated to hit theaters in December of 2025. After a recent report revealed that long-developing projects such as Rogue Squadron and the untitled Kevin Feige film were no longer on the slate, speculation ramped up that the top-secret Lindelof/Britt-Gibson/Obaid-Chinoy project was on deck for Lucasfilm. A more recent rumor indicated that the project had already found its star in Yahya Abdul-Mateen II which may lend some credence to Above the Line’s report that production on the project is currently expected to begin in February 2024.

    The shockwave of Lindelof’s departure was slightly reduced by his recent admission that he wasn’t sure he wanted to continue “cooking” a Star Wars project given his admiration and attachment to the franchise he grew up on.

    I will just say, that for reasons that I can’t get into on this Sunday morning, on this day, the degree of difficulty is extremely, extremely, extremely high. If it can’t be great, it shouldn’t exist. That’s all I’ll say, because I have the same association with it as you do, which is, it’s the first movie I saw sitting in my dad’s lap, four years old, May of ’77. I think it’s possible that sometimes when you hold something in such high reverence and esteem, you start to get in the kitchen and you just go, “Maybe I shouldn’t be cooking. Maybe I should just be eating.” We’ll just leave it at that.

    Damon Lindelof

    It’ll be interesting to follow the project and see how it develops beyond Lindelof and Britt-Gibson’s draft and if the pair are ultimately granted a writing credit for whatever version of the project hits theaters. A previous report from THR indicated that the film was expected to be set in the aftermath of the sequel trilogy and would bring back some characters from those films. That same report suggested that while Lucasfilm was moving away from its trilogy model, they were open to sequels to the Obaid-Chinoy project should it be successful. With Star Wars Celebration kicking off in just over two weeks on April 7th, fans won’t have too long of a wait to see which of these rumors is true.

    Source: Above the Line, /Film

  • RUMOR: ‘Wonder Man’ Star May Have Joined Damon Lindelof’s Secet ‘Star Wars’ Movies

    RUMOR: ‘Wonder Man’ Star May Have Joined Damon Lindelof’s Secet ‘Star Wars’ Movies

    Well, here’s an exciting surprise. We’ve long heard about a mysterious Star Wars project from Damon Lindelof and director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy but still have no idea how far along in production it is. The project was first teased all the way back in March and a new rumor from The Hot Mic may have hinted that it has already found its central star. It seems that the future Wonder Man himself, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II has joined another major franchise and will be one of the leads for this new Star Wars entry that reportedly takes place after The Rise of Skywalker.

    This is naturally a rumor and nothing more, but Adul-Mateen has been quite the rising star. Not only did he have a major role in the Aquaman film but was even set to lead a spinoff that sadly got canceled. He took on the iconic horror role of Candyman in a recent remake and is also attached to Marvel Studios’ upcoming series Wonder Man. So, adding another Disney franchise with Star Wars to his resume is definitely not too shabby.

    This also marks the second time he and Lindelof worked together on a project, as he also took on the role of Dr. Manhattan. He gave quite a memorable performance and may have left quite an impression, which potentially put him on the list to lead this project. It’s certainly going to be exciting to see just how far his career will go and how big his future is with Star Wars if this turns out to be true.

    Source: The Hot Mic via SFF Gazette

  • Nicolas Cage Has No Interest in Joining a ‘Star Wars’ Project

    Nicolas Cage Has No Interest in Joining a ‘Star Wars’ Project

    We’re still anxiously awaiting any news on what Star Wars’ cinematic future looks like. To this day, there’s still no word on if Damon Lindelof‘s project is moving forward, even with rumors circulating that the film is already starting casting a person-of-color lead. There’s also Patty Jenkins’ Rogue Squadron project that was put on the back burner due to her commitment to Wonder Woman 3; a film that is ironically not going to happen now.

    As we theorize about what the future might look like for Lucasfilm’s cinematic universe, we have the confirmation that there’s one actor we don’t have to consider in any project moving forward. In an interview with Kevin Polowy, the actor revealed that he’s “a Trekkie” and has no interest in joining a Star Wars project.

    I think this is the first interview of the New Year, you might as well get something that no one knows. But that’s a fact. I grew up watching Shatner, I thought Pine was terrific in the movies. I think the movies are outstanding.

    Nicolas Cage

    He goes on to highlight that he’s more about “the political” and “sociological aspects of science fiction rather than jumping into a world that is more science-fantasy at times like Star Wars.

    I like the political, the sociological… To me, what science fiction is really all about and why it’s such an important genre is that is really where you can really say whatever you want, however you feel, you put it on a different planet, you put it in a different time or in the future and you can – without people just jumping on you. You can really express your thoughts like Orwell in the science fiction format and Star Trek really embraced that. I thought they got into some serious stuff.

    Nicolas Cage

    Of course, it’s a shame that we’ll never see his zany performance in a Star Wars project, it does open up a bigger interest in if he could finally star in something Star Trek-related. There are a variety of shows and even a new film in development.

    Source: Twitter via The Direct

  • ‘Solo’ Sequel Not in the Works at Lucasfilm

    ‘Solo’ Sequel Not in the Works at Lucasfilm

    As Lucasfilm pushes the Star Wars franchise forward through a plethora of streaming shows on Disney+, more time moves away from the short-lived saga of spin-off films. One of the films from this era, the divisive Solo: A Star Wars Story, has been gaining popularity over time. As such, fans of Star Wars have been somewhat curious about if there is any future for this corner of the universe. Though in a recent interview with director Ron Howard, it has seemingly been confirmed that there are no plans for the film series to move forward.

    The only discussion that I’m aware of about a sequel for ‘Solo’ is coming from the fans at this point. I don’t think it’s a Lucasfilm priority, as I understand it. But there’s some great characters launched, and the folks from Lucasfilm love the fans and really do listen so I would never say never — but I’m not aware of any concrete plans right now to extend the story or deal with that particular set of characters.

    Ron Howard

    This bit of news shouldn’t come as any surprise. Solo is considered to be the only financial “bomb” within the Star Wars film franchise and critically was not well received either. In addition, Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy has gone out of her way to talk about how this era of Star Wars was fundamentally flawed. Audiences shouldn’t expect to see Alden Ehrenreich as Han Solo any time soon. Though the potential for Donald Glover to return as Lando Calrissian shouldn’t be completely ignored, though that’s a different story within itself.

    Sources: NME