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Tag: Star Wars

  • Disney+ Plans to Release 3 ‘Star Wars’ Series a Year

    Disney+ Plans to Release 3 ‘Star Wars’ Series a Year

    Disney+ is continuing to expand at a rapid rate. While its subscriber numbers have slowed down, there are expectations it could pass Netflix within the next few years. As they grow, so is also their need to keep content pumping out at a considerable rate. In the new Star Wars special from Vanity Fair, they have unveiled that Disney+ is expecting “three separate Star Wars shows within a year.”

    It’s unclear if that includes releases that move into the new year, such as The Book of Boba Fett which is technically a December 2021 release but premiered its finale this year. With uncertainty surrounding The Bad Batch and The Mandalorian Season 3 releasing this year, it would still match their strategy if that spinoff series counts alongside Obi-Wan Kenobi in a few weeks and Andor later this summer.

    Of course, the statement that they demand three does not mean they are open to having more releases within a year. The question remains what else might release next year, as the only production confirmed for a 2023 release is Ahsoka. If The Mandalorian finds its way to Disney+ in that same year, it would mean that the animated series The Bad Batch also perfectly fits to match that demand.

    The Acolyte seems to still be in very early development and is likely not going to release until 2024. No definite release window has been stated, but it does seem like we shouldn’t expect it until then. For now, whatever project starts production soon is very likely going to be the next 2023 release, but we may find out more during the Star Wars Celebration.

    Source: Vanity Fair

  • Star Wars: The Evolution of the ’Obi-Wan’ Project

    Star Wars: The Evolution of the ’Obi-Wan’ Project

    When Disney acquired Lucasfilm in Oct. 2012 for $4 billion, it was clear the Mouse House had the intent to revamp the franchise. What no one could imagine at the time was how expansive the Star Wars universe would become… on the small screen.

    With The Force Awakens, Lucasfilm looked to kickstart a new story within the beloved franchise by bringing back some of the core cast members of the original trilogy. While the latest trilogy hasn’t necessarily been the rest-received, Lucasfilm has had better luck on the small screen thanks to The Mandalorian. Now, the studio is looking to explore characters we’ve come to know before whether it be through the films or animated series. One of those projects is the long-rumored Obi-Wan, which brings back both Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensenfrom the prequel films. As exciting as their returns to the franchise might be, the stars haven’t always had the best reaction to being a part of the Star Wars universe – and rightfully so.

    In a new interview with Vanity Fair, McGregor explains how the poor reception to 1999’s The Phantom Menace affected the cast and crew knowing there were still two more installments ahead. “It was hard because it was such a huge decision to do them, such a big event. It was quite difficult for all of us to deal with that, also knowing you’ve got a couple more to do.”

    For the actor, getting to put Star Wars behind him was exactly what he needed. Then in 2017, he was invited to introduce a film as part of a marathon of every Star Wars film. It was this that essentially reignited his love of the character, so when he was later asked if he would ever return to the role, McGregor’s answer was much different than before. The actor was willing to return, but it wasn’t until Kathleen Kennedy approached him to be sure he truly meant yes that things began to fall into place.

    At the time, the plan was to make Obi-Wan Kenobi a feature film which would’ve been directed by Stephen Daldry(Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close). McGregor was on board to not only star in and produce the project, but after the project morphed into a television series for Disney+, Daldry exited the project which then brought Deborah Chow on board. It was important that the series considered whether or not it wanted to bring back characters from the prequels, which eventually resulted in Chow sitting down with Christensen about reprising his role as Anakin Skywalker. Much like McGregor, Christensen hadn’t had the best experience with the prequels, but Chow assured the actor that the series would “would add a new dimension that could ultimately reframe the way fans look at their classic duel in the original movie.”

    For Christensen, part of the appeal was getting to explore a new layer to his character. “I was originally hired to play a very specific portion of this person’s life. Most of my work was with Anakin. And now I get to come back and explore the character of Darth Vader.”

    Fans will get to see the two characters battle it out once again when Obi-Wan premieres later this month on Disney+.

    Source: Vanity Fair

  • Lucasfilm Decided to No Longer Recast Characters After ‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’

    Lucasfilm Decided to No Longer Recast Characters After ‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’

    Here’s an odd statement, but it looks like Lucasfilm may have learned the wrong lessons from 2018’s Solo: A Star Wars Story. The film was generally positively reviewed and people highlighted the casting of Alden Ehrenreich as a highlight of the film. It sadly didn’t perform like other entries in the franchise, but still pulled in a respectable $393M worldwide.

    Yet, it seems that something was missing for Lucasfilm and it is the reason they didn’t recast Mark Hamill‘s Luke Skywalker in The Mandalorian‘s second season finale. In the new Vanity Fair piece, Lucasfilm CEO Kathleen Kennedy had the following to say on what they’ve learned from that film:

    There should be moments along the way when you learn things. Now it does seem so abundantly clear that we can’t do that.

    Kathleen Kennedy

    It seems they believed that Ehrenreich didn’t quite capture the “swagger” that made Harrison Ford‘s take on the character stand out as much as it did throughout the years. Yet, one could argue that there were other factors that had a negative influence on the film’s performance and it’s strange to focus on the recasting.

    While it’s special to see Mark Hamill return to the role of Skywalker, the technology still has its limitations, especially with a smaller budget than film production. It still had many excited when he arrived in The Mandalorian, but there were still some aspects that may feel like it’s part of the uncanny valley. Plus, it also highly restricts what stories they can tell with characters that would otherwise have lived during that era.

    Source: Vanity Fair, Rotten Tomatoes

  • Patty Jenkins’ ‘Rogue Squadron’ Delayed After All With Taika Waititi’s Untitled ‘Star Wars’ Film to Arrive First

    Patty Jenkins’ ‘Rogue Squadron’ Delayed After All With Taika Waititi’s Untitled ‘Star Wars’ Film to Arrive First

    While Star Wars has been pushing forward on its Disney+ expansion, there has been a bit of a dry spell when it came to its cinematic releases. Rise of Skywalker was the last film that we saw in theaters all the way back in 2019, but it looks like we’re still going to have to wait a bit longer. In a new feature by Vanity Fair, they offered an update on when we might expect their next cinematic installments.

    As expected, Patty Jenkins‘ Rogue Squadron is delayed indefinitely after all, as now the Star Wars film by Taika Waititi and screenwriter Krysty Wilson-Cairns are set to arrive ahead of the Wonder Woman director’s film. He’s still been busy on Thor: Love and Thunder and if they haven’t started work on both productions, it seems very unlikely that Rogue Squadron will hit its initial 2023 release schedule. It’s only described as “further off” in the Vanity Fair piece.

    President Kathleen Kennedy does promise though that they “have a road map.” When asked if there’s an update on Kevin Feige‘s Star Wars film, which is being written by Michael Waldron, she couldn’t offer any clear updates on that either. The only statement she shared on the matter is the following:

    I would love to see what movie he might come up with. But right now, no, there isn’t anything specifically.

    Kathleen Kennedy

    Of course, there’s a chance they are trying to keep some updates for the upcoming Star Wars Celebration that’ll take place later this month. They also confirmed that Rian Johnson’s work on the Knives Out films has also delayed work on his trilogy, which has been announced quite some time ago but hasn’t seen any further development since.

    Source: Vanity Fair

  • Jon Watts Confirmed to be Co-Creating and Directing Post-ROTJ Star Wars Series

    Jon Watts Confirmed to be Co-Creating and Directing Post-ROTJ Star Wars Series

    This past winter, rumors began to swirl that Jon Watts, who recently served as the director for the MCU-set Spider-Man trilogy, was being lined up to direct a developing Star Wars streaming series. Recently, the pieces started to fall in place when Watts and Marvel Studios parted ways on the Fantastic Four project that Watts had been set to helm. Now, Vanity Fair has revealed that Watts has indeed been brought on board for the Star Wars project, but in a much bigger role than originally expected.

    Watts has reunited with Chris Ford, the writer of Spider-Man: Homecoming, to create an original Star Wars streaming series for Disney Plus. The project, code named “Grammar Rodeo”, will be set in The New Republic era, which means it’ll be taking place around the same time as Lucasfilm’s biggest streaming success to date, The Mandalorian. Earlier rumors suggested it might be set during a much earlier time known as The High Repbulic.

    The series will reportedly revolve around a very young main cast, with Lucasfilm casting several teen and pre-teen actors. According to Vanity Fair, the series will be a “galactic version of classic Amblin coming-of age-adventure films of the ’80s”, meaning such films as E.T., The Goonies and perhaps even Back to the Future could serve as inspiration for the project. Watts has a great track record working with young actors, so he seems a perfect fit for Lucasfilm’s plans.

    Production on the series is rumored to kick off next month, so it’s likely we’ll learn much more about the project soon, perhaps even at Star Wars Celebration, which runs from May 26th-29th.

    Source: Vanity Fair

  • Rian Johnson’s ‘Star Wars’ Trilogy Put On Indefinite Hold

    Rian Johnson’s ‘Star Wars’ Trilogy Put On Indefinite Hold

    Rian Johnson divided the entire Star Wars fandom when he released Star Wars: The Last Jedi a couple of years ago. The film, celebrated and loathed by many circles, took the mythology in new directions, which Lucasfilm was quick to avoid when JJ Abrams returned to direct the finale. Not long after the film’s release, Lucasfilm nonetheless announced a brand new trilogy written by the Knives Out director.

    And now that trilogy has been put on indefinite hold. In an interview with Vanity Fair, producer Kathleen Kennedy revealed that the trilogy has been put on the back burner due to Johnson’s current commitments with Netflix.

    And the trilogy from The Last Jedi’s Rian Johnson that was announced five years ago? Back-burnered. “Rian has been unbelievably busy with Knives Out and the deal that he made at Netflix for multiple movies.”

    Kathleen Kennedy

    The in-depth interview with Vanity Fair outlines the company’s future plans with the franchise beyond the announced properties. With so much on their plate, it’s not surprising to see them shelve Johnson’s trilogy for the meantime. There’s no telling if they’ll ever revisit the project as Lucasfilm has historically been known to put long-gestating projects to rest. Johnson was one of the more interesting directors to ever helm a Star Wars film so it’ll be a shame if none of it ever comes to fruition.

    Source: Vanity Fair

  • RUMOR: ‘Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order’ Sequel’s Title Potentially Revealed

    RUMOR: ‘Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order’ Sequel’s Title Potentially Revealed

    Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order was quite a unique experience, as the developers took some inspiration from Dark Souls and used similar mechanics in a Star Wars game. We follow the story of Cal Kestis, who is on the run after having lived through Order 66 when he was a young Padawan and is now faced with the Inquisitors. We’ve still waited for some kind of update on the sequel, but a new rumor may have given us at least the title for the sequel.

    Gaming insider Jeff Grub asked some of his Twitch users what they believe the title might end up being, and it turns out colonelsanders21 was the right one to guess it, as Grubb went on to reveal that the title will be Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. He was the first to hint that a reveal for the sequel would follow at some point this month. So, we’ll see if more follows soon.

    UPDATING

    Source: Twitch via The Direct

  • Bryce Dallas Howard is Ready To Direct a ‘Star Wars’ Film

    Bryce Dallas Howard is Ready To Direct a ‘Star Wars’ Film

    Disney+ has given us a whole new look into the Star Wars Universe with its original series The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett. Those series have featured multiple episodes directed by Bryce Dallas Howard, for what many fans believe to be some of the best of both shows. For a while now, people have to say Howard deserves a shot a directing a film, we hear have even talked about how she’d be perfect for one and even recently ranked her amongst our top picks for the new Fantastic Four director.

    In an interview with Gizmodo, while promoting her newest film, Jurassic World: Dominion, Bryce Dallas Howard was asked if she was ready to take the reigns of a Star Wars feature film, and it seems like she’s onboard if someone is willing to ask her.

    Oh, my goodness, I think it would take someone asking me.

    Bryce Dallas Howard

    Howard‘s episodes of The Mandalorian are seen as some of the most memorable with “Sanctuary” seeing the first meeting of Dinn Djarin and Cara Dune. In it, the pair band together to defend a village from a group of raiders who’ve taken control of an empire AT-ST. “The Heiress” was another one of her episodes, bringing Bo-Katan and the Night Owls into live-action, previously only seen in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars: Rebels.

    But perhaps her most coveted work is in episode 5 of The Book of Boba Fett. In “The Return of The Mandalorian” we see the return of Dinn Djarin as he plans to visit Grogu, but is stopped by Ahsoka Tano in order to help him continue the youngling’s training. The episode also features the first on-screen meeting of Tano and Luke Skywalker, quite the monumental moment for fans of the franchise.

    While there’s no word on a possible project right now for Howard, Star Wars Celebration is rapidly approaching and we will hopefully get some news on the future there.

    Source: Gizmodo

  • ‘Star Wars’ Prequel Trilogy’s New-Found Love Changed Ewan McGregor’s “Outlook” with the Franchise

    ‘Star Wars’ Prequel Trilogy’s New-Found Love Changed Ewan McGregor’s “Outlook” with the Franchise

    It’s hard to deny that the Star Wars prequel trilogy faced an uphill battle when it releases initially. The pressure of following up on of the most popular franchises of all time that has been largely dormant in theaters is nothing to scoff at. Even with the original creator George Lucas at the helm, it didn’t quite jell with people at the time. Luckily, there have been a new group of fans that look back at these three films quite fondly nowadays and it seems that this new perspective has also sparked something in Ewan McGregor.

    During his promotion for the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi Disney+ series, McGregor talked about what it’s like seeing the renewed love for those that grew up from watching it as kids has also changed his own relationship with the series. @DreamedOfMagic took to Twitter to share the following quote by the actor:

    You were a kid when our films came out, so we sort of made them for you… We now meet those people that really love our films, but it’s taken 15 years for us to hear that and it’s so nice…. It’s changed my outlook – my relationship with Star Wars…”

    Ewan McGregor

    While it’s not spoken, the newly found reception for these films may have also been a reason he was open to potentially return. Hayden Christensen also faced a lot of backlash at the time of this portrayal of Anakin Skywalker but is welcomed with open arms by the community. So much so, that he’s now also making a general return in the role with other appearances planned in the near future. With only a few more weeks to go, we’ll see what the future has in store for us with Obi-Wan Kenobi.

    Source: Twitter

  • Michael Waldron Provides an Update on Kevin Feige’s ‘Stars Wars’ Project

    Michael Waldron Provides an Update on Kevin Feige’s ‘Stars Wars’ Project

    In an interview with Variety, Michael Waldron discussed what his future has in store in terms of his screenplays. The Doctor Strange 2 writer has been tapped to write a mysterious film in the Star Wars franchise produced by Marvel Studios’ Kevin Feige. Waldron briefly provided an update on the status of said Star Wars project.

    We’re finally into it in earnest. I mean, I’m writing away. It’s a lot of fun. I’m enjoying having the freedom on that to do something that’s not necessarily a sequel or anything.

    Michael Waldron

    After having minimal updates on this secret project beyond its initial announcement over a year ago, it’s certainly an exciting development to know there is finally progress on this highly anticipated project. In the interview, Waldron further elaborates on the differences between working on projects for both Star Wars and the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

    It just doesn’t have a bunch of TV shows and movies that you’re servicing on top of it, the way I did with “Doctor Strange.” So it’s nice. It feels like a different exercise.

    Michael Waldron

    The lack of a definitive, overarching connective tissue is definitely a big change in relation to being previously ensconced in the lore of the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Waldron’s previous two projects. As well, it provides many questions about where this project exists in the timeline of the Star Wars franchise.

    Especially with Lucasfilm producing various projects in different eras of the timeline such as Andor, The Acolyte, and the Patty Jenkins directed Rogue Squadron film, there’ll be many questions as to where and when Kevin Feige and Michael Waldron will base their upcoming film. With the news of this film being in active development, many theories will begin to rise as to how the Marvel Studios stalwarts will influence the direction of a corner of the Star Wars universe.

    Source: Variety