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 TheMandalorian, 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.
James Mangold will direct a ‘STAR WARS’ film about the first Jedi, described as a biblical epic. #SWCEpic.twitter.com/ZLbAR0dZpR
It looks to be a busy year on Disney Plus for Star Wars fans. As Season 3 of The Mandalorian comes to an end in April and Skeleton Crew is planned for a late 2023 release, one of the most anticipated Star Wars properties is sandwiched between them. Fans have been waiting to find out exactly when Ahsoka, which stars Rosario Dawson, would hit Disney Plus and now they can finally pencil it in on their calendars.
During the Lucasfilm Showcase Panel at Star Wars Celebration 2023, it was revealed that Ahoska will hit Disney Plus in August.
Here’s a rather surprising revelation. During the Star Wars Celebration event, we found out when the idea for Jon Watts‘s Star Wars project, Skeleton Crew, came together. While we initially expected that the first discussions happened while working on Spider-Man: No Way Home. Given that he was attached to direct Fantastic Four at the time and suddenly dropped out to tackle the Disney+ series.
As it turns out, he initially pitched the idea while filming the previous Spider-Man film, Far From Home. It seems it took some time for the project to come together but the core idea of a group of kids going out on an adventure throughout the galaxy but getting more than what they may have bargained for. Those lucky to attend the event also got a first glimpse at the series with this behind-the-scenes shot.
Over the past several weeks, an impressive collection of talent was revealed to have directed episodes of the upcoming Star Wars streaming series Skeleton Crew. The Daniels, David Lowery and Jake Schrier were all rumored to have helmed episodes the New Republic era show but Lucasfilm remained mum. Now, those 3 have been confirmed and a few more have been revealed at Star Wars Celebration 2023.
Creator Jon Watts, Bryce Dallas Howard and Lee Isaac Chung were revealed to have directed episodes of the series during the Lucasfilm Showcase Panel.
The director lineup for ‘STAR WARS SKELETON CREW’.
Jon Watts David Lowery The Daniels Jake Scherier Bryce Dallas Howard Lee Isaac Chung pic.twitter.com/pTaXk9yBvI
The Acolyte has been quite a mysterious project for Lucasfilm. Not only was there a lot of curiosity about it being the first real disconnected story from a previous iteration in the franchise, but it also hinted at exploring an era that has yet to have been seen in live-action. Luckily, the latest Star Wars Celebration has arrived and we got a good look at what the future has in store.
Not only did they unveil a new and much cleaner logo for the series. But they also confirmed some of the castings that we can expect for the series. First off, one of their biggest additions was the breakout star Lee Jung-jae after his leading role in Squid Game. They also confirmed that Joonas Suotamo will be playing a Wookie Jedi.
Among the many upcoming projects on the Star Wars slate is the streaming series The Acolyte. Created by Leslye Headland, the series is set in the High Republic era well before the rise of the Empire giving fans a brand new perspective on the galaxy far, far away. Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy hyped the show at Star Wars Celebration saying that the four finished episodes of the series blew her mind before turning the stage over to Headland, who detailed some of the show’s interesting inspirations.
According to Headland, her original pitch for the series was “Frozen meets Kill Bill.”
Leslye Headland says ‘THE ACOLYTE’ was pitched as ‘Frozen’ meets ‘Kill Bill’.
While that sets up some pretty interesting ideas of what type of action fans can expect from the new series, it was also revealed that the project will take philosophical inspiration from the works of legendary Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa. Kurosawa’s work famously inspired Star Wars creator George Lucas’ take on the franchise and, according to Headland, two of his films, Yojimbo and The Hidden Fortress, have inspired her on The Acolyte.
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.
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.
Jon Watts‘s Star Wars streaming series, Skeleton Crew, wrapped principal photography some time ago but news about the show’s stable of directors is only just now trickling out. After it was recently revealed that Academy Award-winning directors The Daniels were behind the camera for one episode, it’s now been confirmed that David Lowery directed an episode of the series as well.
One Take News originally shared the news of Lowery’s association with the show, news that was quickly confirmed via THR’s Aaron Couch. Lowery has worked with Disney before, first on 2016’s Pete’s Dragon and recently on Peter Pan & Wendy, which will stream on Disney Plus in April.
Skeleton Crew, like The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett and Ahsoka, is set during the New Republic era of the Star Wars timeline. That largely unexplored timeframe, set between the fall of the Empire and the rise of the First Order, has proven to be fertile storytelling ground so far under the purview of Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni. Skeleton Crew will star Jude Law and, according to Lucasfilm, “tells the story of four kids who find themselves lost in in the vastness of the galaxy trying to find their way home.”
Season 2 of The Bad Batch has spent a great deal of time establishing the titular team as a burgeoning family. Following the harrowing events of the Season 1 finale, the team slowly retreated from their mercenary missions and turned their focus towards building a new life for themselves in a galaxy that continues to rapidly evolve around them. In Summit and Plan 99, the two-part finale to the sophomore season, Clone Force 99 is reminded just how much they have evolved and that you can only lose what you already have.
While the preceding episode, Tipping Point, seemed to put al the ducks in a row for the finale, writers Jennifer Corbett (Plan 99) and Matt Michnovetz (Summit) did wonderful work in subverting expectations of a predictable sequence of events–thanks almost entirely to Saw Gerrera’s interloping–in the finale even if the end result was probably on everyone’s bingo card. The dual episodes made good on quite a few of the season’s ongoing developments and left enough hanging to allow Season 3 (Lucasfilm hasn’t officially announced a third season yet but it seems extremely likely even as Disney cuts back) to get off to a strong start.
The sacrifice and subsequent loss of Tech is probably most emblematic of the progress the series–and Clone Force 99–made this season. Undoubtedly the most annoying member of the team over the first season, Tech’s growth into an almost identifiable human, complete with emotions and everything, is a constant reminder that these clones are all more than their special purposes. While he didn’t wear them comfortably, Tech’s father-daughter relationship with Omega along with his new, romantic relationship with Phee were evidence that there was more out there for the Batchers than running merc missions. And just as they began to realize what they had, it was taken from them by the sheisty Doctor Hemlock and a vengeful Cid.
Speaking of Hemlock, the full scope of his and Sleepy Sheev Palpatine’s sinister plan isn’t revealed in Tipping Point, which includes a great cameo by Ben Mendelsohn’s Orson Krennic updating Tarkin on Project Stardust, or Plan 99 but Omega’s role in it is. While the easy money was on Omega’s DNA being so special that it would crack the whole cloning process wide open, the finale revealed that Hemlock simply wanted Omega as a means to further manipulate Kaminonan clone queen Nala Se to work for the Empire. For the time being, Omega’s unaltered genetic code seems of little to no interest to Hemlock. Can the same be said, however, for Emerie Karr, whose identity as a sister clone of Omega’s was revealed in Plan 99? Karr does seem to have her own agenda and revealing herself to Omega only furthers that suspicion.
Summit and Plan 99 worked together to provide an emotional gut punch that wouldn’t have been possible without some of the groundwork laid throughout the season. With Tech seemingly dead, Omega and Crosshair in the clutches of Hemlock and Ord Mantell no longer a safe haven for the remaining members of the Bad Batch, the not-yet-announced-but-all-but-a-sure-thing two-part Season 3 premiere is set up for an emotional return to Pabu before a high stakes rescue of the imprisoned clones. Season 2, taken in its totality, feels like the second act of a three-part story which would mean Season 3 would be the end of the line for the stories of Clone Force 99. Now that they have so much to lose, Season 3 is set up to be a helluva ride.
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