Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Star Wars

  • Lucasfilm Hoping to Launch Theatrical Return with Daisy Ridley’s New Jedi Order Film

    Lucasfilm Hoping to Launch Theatrical Return with Daisy Ridley’s New Jedi Order Film

    Among the biggest bits of news to come out of Star Wars Celebration 2023 was the announcement of three new theatrical projects set in three different eras in the Star Wars galaxy. While all three already have writers and directors on board, none were given a release date leaving fans to wonder which film would relaunch Star Wars in theaters. Though several projects have been put on and taken off the slate over the last several years, there hasn’t been a Star Wars film since 2019’s Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker as Lucasfilm has focused on streaming projects. There are a few dates still set aside for Star Wars films, including one in December 2025, however, and now a trade report gives a clearer picture of what film is most likely to end up there.

    According to THR, director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s film–which will be set 15 years after The Rise of Skywalker and see Daisy Ridley‘s Rey found a new Jedi Order–is Lucasfilm’s top choice to kick off their return to theaters.

    But there is still a December 2025 date kept open for an unspecified Star Wars movie, which in theory could be one of these titles. A source tells The Hollywood Reporter that Lucasfilm would ideally like to return to theaters with the Rey-focused film and follow that a year later with the Filoni movie, although nothing is set due to the timetables of the Disney+ Mandalorian universe shows.

    THR

    Given how far along the Rey project is in development, a 2025 release date does seem achievable. Though original co-writers Damon Lindelof and Justin Britt-Gibson left the project earlier this year, a new draft of the film is already in the works by Steven Knight. Given that production on the film wouldn’t have to begin until next mid-to-late 2024, there’s plenty of time for the project to come together.

    Interestingly enough, THR also stated that, if possible, Lucasfilm would look to return to theaters “a year later” with Dave Filoni‘s Mando-verse film. Given that Filoni’s Mando-verse seems to always have at least one project in production at all times, it looks like a tough timeline. Additionally, Disney currently has no Star Wars film slated for 2026, though that could obviously always change. The news also puts James Mangold‘s Dawn of the Jedi era film the furthest out, though it was recently reported that he planned to complete his Star Wars project before beginning work on DC Studios’ Swamp Thing. Could Lucasfilm be aiming for an ambitious slate of Star Wars films rolling out in 2025, 2026 and 2027? Given their recent track record with postponing and canceling films, we’re not holding our breath.

    Source: THR

  • Dave Filoni’s New Republic Movie Could Introduce a Major Star Wars Legends Character

    Dave Filoni’s New Republic Movie Could Introduce a Major Star Wars Legends Character

    During Star Wars Celebration 2023, it was revealed that Dave Filoni was set to direct a film that would serve as the denouement of the story he and Jon Favreau have been and will continue telling through their “Mando-verse” streaming series. While it’s easy to look at that film as the end of the stories told in the New Republic era, it’s also important to remember that, at present, two additional eras are open to the telling of further stories set in a galaxy far, far away. Given that the New Republic era can now be seen as a bridge connecting Luke Skywalker’s Age of Rebellion stories to his epilogue in the Rise of the First Order stories, it is worth considering if Filoni, who has shown a penchant for bringing non-canon/Legends characters into the modern Star Wars canon may choose to use his film to bring one of the most popular Legends characters into canon.

    An increasingly popular theory is that Filoni’s New Republic-era film will be an adaptation of Timothy Zanh‘s 1991 now non-canonical novel, Heir to the Empire. That novel, set nine years after the Battle of Yavin, introduced Grand Admiral Thrawn, who has since been adopted into canon and will soon be portrayed in live-action by Lars Mikkelsen. During the Ahsoka trailer which debuted at Star Wars Celebration, the phrase “heir to the Empire”, uttered by Rosario Dawson‘s titular character, created a significant buzz that the next chapter of stories in Filoni’s Mando-verse might be an adaptation of Zahn’s iconic Thrawn trilogy and, if that is the case, Thrawn will hardly be the only major character making a canonical live-action debut.

    Further evidence that the Mando-verse stories might begin to adapt and include Zahn’s trilogy came in Chapter 23 of The Mandalorian when Gilad Pellaeon made his live-action debut as part of the second iteration of The Shadow Council. While Pellaeon played a minor role Star Wars Rebels, he played a much larger role in Thrawn’s plans in the non-canon Zahn trilogy. If Pellaeon is going to play a role, no matter now small, in Star Wars canon, it’s possible another of the Emperor’s servants–indeed the Emperor’s Hand–could appear in Filioni’s film.

    There is, perhaps, no Legends character whose addition to canon is more anticipated than Mara Jade’s. Once one of Palpatine’s most trusted assassins tasked with killing Luke Skywalker, Jade eventually married Luke and played a key role in the foundation of the New Jedi Order. Jade played a major role in one of the non-canonical novels’ most well-known conflicts, the Yuuzhan Vong War, which, coincidentally, would bridge a major gap in the current canonical eras. Would Filoni introduce Mara Jade/Mara Skywalker into the Star Wars canon? Given the work he and Favreau have done with Legends characters and concepts over the years, it’s nowhere near out of the question that Jade could soon be introduced into their Mando-verse and then quickly become a main character in the Rise of the First Order and New Jedi Order timelines.

  • REVIEW: The Mandos Could Have Used Admiral Ackbar in Chapter 23 of ‘The Mandalorian’

    REVIEW: The Mandos Could Have Used Admiral Ackbar in Chapter 23 of ‘The Mandalorian’

    I saw it coming. You saw it coming. We all saw it coming. Everyone saw it coming except for Bo-Katan, Din Djarin and the dozen or so other Mandos who walked right into Moff Gideon’s trap. Things were going far too well for the Mandalorians in their quest to reclaim Mandalore and in a galaxy where peace is not an acceptable status quo, things were bound to take a turn for the worse. After several episodes established Din, Bo-Katan and Grogu as a functional unit at the center of the Mandalorian Renaissance, Chapter 23, The Spies, saw it all taken away from them at the hands of Gideon, calling into question if Mandalore might not just be cursed after all.

    While Gideon’s return was already advertised, the live-action debut of the Shadow Council–a group of Imperial loyalists working behind the scenes to ensure the return to power of the Empire–serves as an interesting parallel to the work being done by the Mandalorians. Just as Bo-Katan, Din Djarin and the Armorer seek to round up and reunite Mandalorians from across the galaxy, Gideon seeks to amass the resources of the Imperial remnants from across the galaxy to stop them. Having Gideon launch his plan–and his trap–from the depths of Mandalore, indeed from the heart of their once great civilization, just adds another notch on the belt of this wonderful bastard.

    Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal, top right) and Paz Vizsla (Tait Fletcher, foreground right) in Lucasfilm’s THE MANDALORIAN, season three, exclusively on Disney+. ©2023 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.

    The fallout from the events of this episode promises to be nothing short of transformational for the next arc of the series. Bo-Katan–whose desire to lead again had to be stirred extrinsically–has now led her newly formed army into a trap that cost her the life of Paz Vizsla and steadying influence of Din Djarin. How those losses will impact her next move and how an increasingly independent Grogu will respond to the capture of his father are major questions that will define not only Chapter 24, the Season 3 finale, but also next season and, ultimately, the Mandalorian-centric film set to be directed by Dave Filoni.

    While the finale of the episode feels like the beginning of a slow march to the creation of the First Order, their canonical birth is still 5 or so years away and, so far as we know, Gideon is not a part of their sequel trilogy story. So, as parallel as their paths may seem at the moment, Bo-Katan and Gideon are certain to come together again. Will that be the time that Bo-Katan’s song is finally written? As Din Djarin said, Bo-Katan is defined by honor, loyalty and character–all things Gideon knows nothing about. While their goals may seem superficially similar, Bo-Katan’s quest to reclaim Mandalore is done selflessly for the good of her people while Gideon looks to amass the resources of the Empire for his own selfish ends. While the Shadow Council was swayed to play along for now, it’s safe to say that while Thrawn may see value in eliminating the Mandalorians, Gideon won’t find him so easy to manipulate. As things move towards their inevitable end and Bo-Katan and Gideon are positioned against one another, this episode will be noteworthy for its subtle conveyance of the idea that while Gideon seems to have the upper hand, he rules from a throne of fear and manipulation while Bo-Katan has grown from her mistakes and seeks not to lead but is called to it. Short of the Darksaber, which has slowly lost its meaning, Gideon now has everything Bo-Katan, Grogu and The Mandalorians desire. Has that put him in a good place or a very bad place? Place your bets and let’s see what surprises are in store for the season finale!

  • ‘The Mandalorian’ Brings the Star Wars Deep State to Live-Action

    ‘The Mandalorian’ Brings the Star Wars Deep State to Live-Action

    Chapter 22 of The Mandalorian saw Bo-Katan reclaim her fleet, take possession of the Darksaber and become the chosen one to lead the Mandalorian Renaissance. It was all too easy. Chapter 23, The Spies, brought all the good Mandalorian mojo to a quick halt. While fans expected the episode to feature the return of Mandalorian archnemesis Moff Gideon, the episode also contained a delightful surprise that portends continuing bad news for the heroes of the story.

    The opening moments of The Spies not only quickly added Gideon back into the mix but also introduced a group of high-ranking Imperial loyalists known as the Shadow Council. The Shadow Council made its first canonical appearance in Chuck Wendig‘s 2017 novel Aftermath: Life Debt where, led by Admiral Gallius Rax, they planned to overthrow the New Republic. The machinations of the Shadow Council, which consisted of Rax, Rae Sloane, Brendol Hux, Ferric Obdur, Grand Moff Rand and Hodnar Borrum, were thought to be thwarted with their defeat at the Battle of Jokku, however, as seen in Chapter 23 of The Mandalorian, it has been reformed.

    While the identities of every member of the Shadow Council weren’t revealed, their goals–by in large–remain the same: reestablish the Empire. Two members of the council, Grand Admiral Thrawn’s Number 2, Gilad Pellaeon, and soon-to-be First Order General Brendol Hux, who is heading the mysterious Project Necromancer, seem to be allotted a disproportionate amount of the resources available the Imperial loyalists as they work. As seen in The Spies, however, Gideon is less than impressed with his fellow council members, who seem content to wait for the return of the Heir to the Empire, Thrawn.

    Gideon’s speech in the opening moments of Chapter 23 certainly stirred the Shadow Council to action as the agreed to move on the accumulating Mandalorians before they were able to rise to their full strength and offer a much more real threat to the reemergence of the Empire. Given what’s known about the future of the Star Wars universe, Hux’s work on Project Necromancer, likely being done in the Unknown Regions, will lead to the creation of Snoke, a reborn Emperor and the rise of the First Order. However, with Thrawn set to make his return in Ahsoka and the future of Gideon’s feud with the Mandalorians yet to be written, there are certainly some tense moments ahead for the beskar warriors.

  • SWCE: Lucasfilm CEO Offers Update on Rian Johnson and Taika Waititi’s ‘Star Wars’ Films

    SWCE: Lucasfilm CEO Offers Update on Rian Johnson and Taika Waititi’s ‘Star Wars’ Films

    Star Wars Celebration came with an announcement of an entire trilogy of new Star Wars films. Yet, it once again leaves us with quite a few questions surrounding the ones that have been announced. Recent reports hinted that quite a few planned films were scrapped and even the latest announced film just lost its writer. So, there’s a lack of hope that they’d truly move forward with their projects.

    Luckily, Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy was able to offer some insight into where they stand with those films. It seems that the Rian Johnson trilogy that was announced a while back is pretty much on hold for eternity, as Johnson is busy with the Glass Onion sequel and seemingly has no interest to return anytime soon.

    Rian and I talk all the time. He is unbelievably busy. So we’re not actively involved in anything at the moment because he’s doing another one of the ‘Glass Onion’ movies and then God knows what else. But he really wants to step back into the space. It’s a big commitment of time, so that’s really on him.

    Kathleen Kennedy

    In regard to Taika Waititi’s mysterious film, she only stated that he is actively working don’t he’s script all on his own. After Thor: Love and Thunder’s reception, there might be some concern he might take the franchise into a goofier direction given his “very, very unique voice” but it seems they won’t be getting involved until he is ready to direct it.

    Taika is still working away. He’s writing the script himself. He doesn’t really want to bring others into that process and I don’t blame him. He has a very, very unique voice. So we want to protect that and that’s what he’s doing. But we’re going to make that one day.

    Kathleen Kennedy

    It’s definitely interesting to know that at least Waititi’s project is seemingly moving forward, but it is strange that they won’t just outright state that they have no more plans for Johnson’s trilogy. By the time they actually get films out, his project might even be superfluous given whatever his initial goals were with the project. Of course, perhaps them actually pushing out films might inspire him to once again give it his full attention. For now, we can only continue to wait and see if the franchise actually returns to theaters.

    Source: Variety

  • SWCE: ‘Tales of the Jedi’ Will Return for Season 2

    SWCE: ‘Tales of the Jedi’ Will Return for Season 2

    Star Wars Celebration is the event that keeps on giving, as another piece of news has arrived that Tales of the Jedi is set to receive a second season. The announcement came from its creator Dave Filoni, who has slowly taken over a larger and larger role in supervising the future of the franchise. Not only is he set to direct a film that’ll culminate all the series that spun out of The Mandalorian, but generally continues his work on the animated entries of the franchise.

    He jokingly only stated that the animated anthology series “was so fun the first time, I decided to do some more” during the panel on the 15th anniversary of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. There are no details on what the next season will focus on, as the first one consisted of six episodes that split the story between Ahsoka Tano and Count Dooku’s early days.

    There’s a chance we might get to spend some more time with familiar Jedi from the franchise’s past, but it does seem his focus remains with those from The Clone Wars era. It would be great if they use this anthology series to potentially add some depth to our favorites from the sequel era, especially now that Daisy Ridley is set to return in the near future with a new sequel to the sequel trilogy.

    Source: Twitter, Star Wars

  • Tales of the Empire

    Tales of the Empire

    Premiere: May 4, 2024

    In April 2023, a second season of the animated streaming series, Tales of the Jedi, was revealed as part of Star Wars Celebration. According to Dave Filoni, the series “was so fun the first time, I decided to do some more.“

    The first season of the canonical animated series was set during the Fall of the Jedi era and was focused on the personal histories of Count Dooku and Ahsoka Tano.

    As revealed in the first trailer for the series, the second season of “Tales” will be called Tales of the Empire. The new season will tell all-new stories about Morgan Elsbeth and Barriss Offee.

    Star Wars: Tales of the Empire is a six-episode journey into the fearsome Galactic Empire through the eyes of two warriors on divergent paths, set during different eras. After losing everything, young Morgan Elsbeth navigates the expanding Imperial world toward a path of vengeance, while former Jedi Barriss Offee does what she must to survive a rapidly changing galaxy. The choices they make will define their destinies.

    Official Synopsis for Tales of the Empire

    Cast

    • Diana Lee Inosanto as Morgan Elsbeth
    • Meredith Salenger as Barriss Offee
    • Rya Kihlstedt as Lyn, aka Fourth Sister
    • Wing T. Chao as Wing
    • Lars Mikkelsen as Thrawn
    • Jason Isaacs as Grand Inquisitor
    • Matthew Wood as General Grievous
  • SWCE: ‘Clone Wars’ and ‘Rebels’ Composer Kevin Kiner to Score ‘Ahsoka’

    SWCE: ‘Clone Wars’ and ‘Rebels’ Composer Kevin Kiner to Score ‘Ahsoka’

    Since 2008, composer Kevin Kiner has created the musical scores for nearly all of Star Wars animated projects. A veteran of The Clone Wars, Rebels, The Bad Batch and Tales of the Jedi, Kiner’s original works have accompanied many of the franchise’s most beloved characters as they have made their way through the galaxy far, far away. It’s only fitting, then, that Kiner make the jump from animation to live-action with the crew of the Ghost in the upcoming streaming series Ahsoka.

    As part of the Ahsoka panel at Star Wars Celebration 2023, it was announced that Kiner did indeed create the musical score for Ahsoka, which streams this August. An argument could be made that outside of creator Dave Filoni, Kiner may know Ahsoka Tano the best, having created her theme and scoring over 200 episodes of shows in which she was often one of the main characters, including the recent Tales of the Jedi which told the origins of the character.

    Ahsoka will begin streaming on Disney Plus in August.

  • SWCE: Lucasilm Reveals the Directing Team Behind ‘Ahsoka’

    SWCE: Lucasilm Reveals the Directing Team Behind ‘Ahsoka’

    After being part of the Lucasfilm Showcase Panel on the opening day of Star Wars Celebration 2023, the upcoming Star Wars streaming series Ahsoka had its own panel on day two. While the panel included a good deal of information about the talent in front of the camera in Ahsoka, creator Dave Filoni also took the opportunity to unveil the talented team of directors behind it.

    As has been the case with all of Lucasfilm’s live-action Star Wars series, Ahsoka was a team effort…and it was quite a team. To no one’s surprise, Filoni directed at least one episode of the series along with Rick Famuyiwa, who has become a key member of the Mando-verse creative team. Joining them were Jennifer Getzinger, Steph Green, Geeta Patel and Peter Ramsey.

    While Getzinger is new to Star Wars, her resume includes over a half dozen high-profile series. Having directed Mad Men (10 episodes), Agent Carter (2 episodes), Daredevil (1 episode), Outlander (4 episodes), Jessica Jones (3 episodes) and Westworld (2 episodes), Getzinger has a nice mix of drama and action in her background that should serve her well on Ahsoka.

    After helming one episode of The Book of Boba Fett, Oscar and Primetime Emmy Award nominee Steph Green is back for her second Star Wars project. Green has directed episodes of The Americans, Luke Cage and HBO’s Watchmen, for which she was nominated for the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series, Movie or Dramatic Special.

    Geeta Patel, who directed one episode of HBO’s House of the Dragon, and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse director Peter Ramsey, who helmed Chapter 21 of The Mandalorian, The Pirate, round out the impressive team of directors on Ahsoka.

    Ahsoka will stream on Disney Plus this August!

  • Untitled Dawn of the Jedi Movie

    Untitled Dawn of the Jedi Movie

    Premiere: TBD

    Set to be directed by James Mangold, the untitled Dawn of the Jedi movie was one of three films announced to be in development at Star Wars Celebration 2023.

    Mangold’s film will be set some 25,000 years before the events of the original trilogy and will explore “the tale of the first Jedi to wield the Force and harness it as a liberating power in an era of chaos and oppression.” Mangold has referred to the film as a “biblical epic” and “a kind of Ben-Hur or The 10 Commandments about the birth of the Force” that allows him “a chance to tell the entire story of its own: the birth of the Force.”

    Cast