Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Star Wars

  • RUMOR: ‘Ahsoka’ Eyeing April Production Start

    RUMOR: ‘Ahsoka’ Eyeing April Production Start

    The Book of Boba Fett has just ended its run, and Diseny+ followed up with the release of the first poster teasing Obi-Wan Kenobi‘s upcoming series. Lucasfilm has been quite busy working on their various projects, as The Mandalorian‘s third season is also currently underway. It looks like there’s a good chance that they are also currently preparing to start production on Ahsoka, as Bespin Bulletin has shared that the series will start in April or at the latest early May under the production title Stormclaw.

    The timing would match with Mandalorian potentially ending its production by the end of March, which would give them some time to prep for the next entry. Rosario Dawson recently made her return as the character in Boba Fett‘s spinoff series and it’s uncertain if we can also expect her in the upcoming third season. So, we might not see her return as The Clone Wars character until 2023 when the series is expected to release. The series was originally rumored to enter production in the Winter of 2021, but the delay in Mando’s production could be a reason for it not starting until April.

    They have been building quite the cast with Hayden Christensen set to return as Anakin Skywalker – following up his return in Obi-Wan Kenobi – Natasha Liu Bordizzo as Sabine Wren alongside Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Ivanna Sakhno in undisclosed roles. Not much is known about the series, but hopefully, it’ll learn from some of the criticisms that the first spinoff was met with and remained focused on throughout.

    Source: Bespin Bulletin

  • REVIEW: ‘The Book of Boba Fett’ Chapter 7 – In The Name of Honor

    REVIEW: ‘The Book of Boba Fett’ Chapter 7 – In The Name of Honor

    The Book of Boba Fett finale has arrived and I continue to struggle really getting a feeling for this series. We’ve spent so much time with Din Djarin in the last two episodes that it feels somewhat disconnected from its titular character. He does get moments to shine and Temuera Morrison made me like this once silent character quite a bit, but he never really gets long enough to fully realize an arc that wasn’t overshadowed by development hinted at in flashbacks. The Mandalorian’s open plotlines completely took over the series that it could’ve gone with a different title and I may have an easier time with digesting it. Yet, the finale left me with joy, confusion, and uncertainty about the various spinoffs in development from The Mandalorian.

    I will jump into quite a few spoilers from the episode, as avoiding them would make it difficult to discuss the many aspects of this episode. So, only continue reading at your own risk if you haven’t seen the episode yet.

    So, the strongest moments of the series from an emotional standpoint are primarily given to Din once again. Grogu made the decision we all kind of saw coming, but him jumping into his arms probably broke me way more than I ever thought it would. Pascal manages to sell the emotions once again even as he continues to keep the helmet on at all times – making Boba’s love of taking it off a funny contrast. The little guy actually gets some character development, as he easily utilizes his powers now that he is united with his father figure once again, which makes you wonder if Luke counted on it to some degree. I do wish we had some time with him looking back on letting the promising student leave, but the show doesn’t really give us much outside of R2D2 flying the X-Wing.

    I think the highlight of the episode was seeing Boba and Din fighting alongside each other, especially as they took flight with their jetpacks early on. They did end up getting overrun, which was a little annoying but made sense given just how many people they were facing. It also gave the Freetown people a chance to come in and confirm they are here to help. I confess I didn’t care much for the Mods and was surprised they got as much focus as they did in the episode. Krrsantan, however, I was really worried about losing, as the character just got introduced in live-action and didn’t want them to just kill him off but alas he lives to see another day.

    Can’t say the same about Cad Bane. Their first confrontation was great, as Bane started toying with him and just outright confirming what we all suspected with the Tusken Raiders. He’s a strong presence and the show knows how to make use of him, but it made me wish he was actually present throughout way more. Yes, the Pykes are technically the actual villains but did anyone really care when their leader was taken out? Outside of making Fennec Shand look awesome, it was more a way to close some loose ends, which highlighted just how disconnected they were from the actual narrative arc.

    And then, in their final confrontation, Fett gets his ass handed to him after calling Bane an old man. It was a funny bit of irony considering Morrison‘s age, but it didn’t quite feel like a duel but rather a one-sided confrontation until our titular hero got his second wind. I will say that him defeating Bane with his Raider stick from earlier in the episode was great, it was such a shame they just introduced the character into live-action to kill him off the next episode. There are theories he may have survived, as his “you’re a killer” line was the core aspect of this conflict but it doesn’t add much to either character.

    We finally got the payoff of Boba riding the Rancor. Was a great moment, especially love the shot of him on top, and the sequences were well-done if you consider that it’s a TV series. The Prequel-inspired droids added that extra level of detail and made the Pykes an actual threat outside of their numbers. I do wish they just embraced the original ones from the films, but the larger ones make sense given that it’s about showing off the Rancor. I still wish though that we spent time between Boba building a relationship with his newly acquired pet to make that pay-off sink in even better.

    Speaking of, that kind of summarizes my thoughts on the finale. There are strong moments throughout but nothing feels very earned outside of Din’s arc given the least two episodes and two seasons of an entire show were dedicated to it. His reunion with Grogu is sweet but will be quite confusing for viewers of Season 3 that skipped on Boba Fett thinking it’s just a separate storyline. Some of the action was a bit wonky, even if I enjoyed the concept of Fett riding the beast – and even a tease of Din trying which might be another hint at his role within Mandalorian mythology – but it’s more spectacle.

    I wanted to see Boba confront the Pykes on the death of those that were his family. Even one or two of them returning to give a glimpse of hope for the character would’ve gone a long way to avoid the trope that it already was. Offer us a hint that them stopping the Spice trade actually made a difference, cause we never really learn how it affects Tatooine’s climate. Water springing from a well that has been dry for ages would add so much more to this story that was stockpiled with cameos and a sincere lack of focus.

    Even the post-credit sequence had me scratching my head. We didn’t get a clear shot of Cobb Vanth in the Bacta tank – who knew that was a set-up all this time – but a clear hint he’ll be revived similar to Shand. So, that part of the flashback did get paid off here finally, but it still leaves you with questions. It seemingly is hinting that he might take over the role that Boba is currently holding, but there’s no clear indication of where his character is going. He seems likely to return for a future Mandalorian episode, but a second season primarily focused on Boba would really help this series in my opinion. I didn’t hate it, I quite enjoyed my time with it but it’s less a book and rather a footnote of the Star Wars mythos.

  • ‘The Mandalorian’ Season 3 Eyeing a 2022 Holiday Release

    ‘The Mandalorian’ Season 3 Eyeing a 2022 Holiday Release

    There have been many theories when we might expect the release of The Mandalorian‘s third season. Some might even argue The Book of Boba Fett ended up becoming the interlude season to hold us over given Din Djarin’s surprisingly large role in the last few episodes, but a definite continuation is on the way. In a new entry of TVLine’s “Inside Line” series, they revealed that we can expect its release during the Holidays/Christmas time of this year.

    In a way, it makes a lot of sense, as each season so far released in November with the recent spinoff being the first to truly release after the Holidays. So, there’s a good chance The Mandalorian‘s Season 3 might follow a similar pattern. We recently heard a report that production may have shut down temporarily due to COVID concerns, but it may have already started production again.

    It still looks like they’ll manage the release date, and it’ll be interesting to see if we might even get a teaser for the upcoming third season in post-credit sequences similar to how The Book of Boba Fett was initially revealed. Of course, this news dropping now is also perfect timing as the finale is only a few more hours away from releasing. So, we might get some hints soon.

    Source: TVLine

  • REPORT: Rupert Friend Will Play The Grand Inquisitor in ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’

    REPORT: Rupert Friend Will Play The Grand Inquisitor in ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’

    The world of Star Wars is growing more connected with each passing project. A new report from The Bespin Bulletin is claiming that Rupert Friend will portray The Grand Inquisitor in the highly-anticipated Disney+ series Obi-Wan Kenobi. The character, a favorite villain among fans of the franchise, previously served as the main antagonist of Star Wars: Rebels‘ first season. He will supposedly appear in Kenobi alongside two other Inquisitors, played by Sung Kang and Moses Ingram. It was reported several months ago that Kang would be playing the Fifth Brother in the series, also of Rebels fame, though it would seem that Ingram‘s character is still unknown. Bespin speculates that she could be establishing an original Inquisitor for the show.

    The information comes after one source told the Bulletin that Friend was spotted on set in makeup and wardrobe shockingly similar to the Grand Inquisitor, while another told the outlet outright that the former Hitman star was taking on the increasingly iconic role. For the uninitiated, Inquisitors are a group of lightsaber-wielding, Dark Side Force users employed by the Empire to hunt down and terminate the Jedi who survived Order 66. The Grand Inquisitor, who has been voiced by the legendary Jason Isaacs in his animated appearances, was once their leader, before meeting his demise in a battle with Freddie Prinze Jr.‘s Kanan Jarrus. As Kenobi takes place before Rebels, it’s likely the character will appear on a mission to find Ewan McGregor‘s Jedi Master and ensure the Emperor of his death. However, only time will tell if this turns out to be accurate.

    There is no current release date for Obi-Wan Kenobi.

    Source: Bespin Bulletin

  • ‘Star Wars Racers’: Podracing Deserves a Disney+ Series

    ‘Star Wars Racers’: Podracing Deserves a Disney+ Series

    The fifth episode of The Book of Boba Fett gave us a nostalgia-filled ride down memory lane to the prequel era. The Mandalorian got a new N-1 Starfighter that he took out for a quick test drive. What stood out was that we revisited the race track from The Phantom Menace, where a young Anakin took on podracers like Sebulba and Ben Quadinaros. While watching this sequence, I thought back to loving the sequence and how I ended up playing hours of Star Wars Racers on the Nintendo 64. It made me wonder how Lucasfilm still hasn’t announced a Disney+ series yet. So, here’s my pitch so that we can soon make our return to the world of podracing.

    While Episode 1 mainly focused on the Tatooine racetrack, the game took us on a cross-galaxy tour exploring some of the most dangerous race tracks a podracer has to face, may it be on Malastare, Theron, or even Cantonica. So, a Disney+ series could explore a different race track with each episode, as the danger continues to grow with each new track. not only do we get to explore parts of the galaxy we haven’t seen in live-action yet, but it can also build up tension as you never know which racer might make it out alive.

    Speaking of, while there’s a risk of losing your favorite character at any point in the race, it adds a similar element that The Suicide Squad toyed with as you never know just who might make it out alive. Imagine we get introduced to an interesting set of characters, each with their arcs only for a wrong turn to instantly end their story. It would not only cement the dangers to the drivers, but also the viewer. The prequel film did give us explosions but most of the racers got out pretty unscathed.

    Imagine the story of a young hotshot racer, who has always dreamed of his time as part of the pod racers. Suddenly, he lucked out as they suddenly needed a new driver and he took his opportunity. Surprised by the fact that no one else would jump at the opportunity, he slowly learns just how dangerous the races truly are. The only thing keeping him moving forward is a promise he made a long time ago that he refuses to give up on. Perhaps it’s exactly the thing he needs to keep going no matter what heads his way.

    He makes friends along the way, an unrelenting rival, and witnesses the galaxy like never before. Maybe throw in some Speed Racer-like conspiracy, as fixed games are dragging down his chances of making it to the top but he makes some unlikely allies that may be the key to his success. While the story may be disconnected from the other shows, it would offer some fun distracting that helps further establish the galaxy with locations that we may end up visiting in other stories. It’s just time to finally bring podracing back Lucasfilm.

  • RUMOR: High Republic-Set ‘Star Wars’ Series in Development at Disney Plus

    RUMOR: High Republic-Set ‘Star Wars’ Series in Development at Disney Plus

    As the most recent Star Wars streaming series, The Book of Boba Fett, nears the end of its run, a new rumor has emerged about another property being developed for Disney Plus by Lucasfilm. According to a report from Cinelinx’s Jordan Maison, work is underway on a live-action series set during the High Republic era.

    Set 200 years or so before the Battle of Yavin, the High Republic is an era in which the Jedi were at their peak and the galaxy existed, more or less, in peace. Stories of the High Republic have been told mostly through a series of novels and comic books, including an ongoing series published by Marvel Comics, but now it seems that Lucasfilm is ready to take the next step and introduce the era to consumers through a streaming series.

    According to Maison, the series has been described as “Stranger Things in space” and will focus on a younger group of core characters. Whether or not any of those younger characters will be lifted from the pages of the books and/or comics remains to be seen, but Maison did report that it is expected that one of the writers associated with the publishing side of things will assist with the development of the story.

    Lucasfilm is about to begin production on its next two streaming series, Ahsoka and The Acolyte, with the latter rumored to be set near the end of The High Republic Era. With, Ahsoka, The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett set during the New Republic Era, Star Wars fans are in for a treat as the High Republic era stories will introduce them to a whole new cast of characters set in the galaxy far, far away.

    Source: Cinelinx

  • New Report Further Hints at ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ Releasing in May on Disney+

    New Report Further Hints at ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ Releasing in May on Disney+

    Earlier today, we discussed a rumor of a Disney+ exec’s deleted tweet that hinted at a May release of the Obi-Wan Kenobi series. Of course, the tweet was swiftly deleted and hinted that it was in reference to the comic series that was recently announced. Now, a new report by THR’s Heat Vision blog has added even more fire to the rumor as they stated their sources are corroborating that it’s eyeing a May release.

    Naturally, they state that this shouldn’t be taken as an official confirmation, as discussion on its eventual release can always change. We don’t know how far the project is along, and it’s likely that they are still trying to ensure the effects are ready for its release. Still, the fact May 4th, the official Star Wars Day, landing on a Wednesday seems like the perfect opportunity for a fitting release date.

    There’s a lot of excitement that the upcoming adaptation once again sees the return of Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen, who will once again clash as Kenobi and Darth Vader. It’ll be interesting to see how exactly the series might balance their connection and also hint at his eventual fate in A New Hope. I guess we’ll have to wait just a bit longer until we find out what exactly the future has in store for us once we get an actual first trailer.

    Source: THR

  • RUMOR: Disney+ Exec May Have Hinted at ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ Disney+ Release

    RUMOR: Disney+ Exec May Have Hinted at ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ Disney+ Release

    We’ve all been wondering when we might expect the release of Lucasfilm’s next Disney+ series. Of course, there is still one more episode to go for The Book of Boba Fett, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t excited for what the future has in store, especially with how many series are currently being worked on. The obvious next release would be Ewan McGregor‘s return in Obi-Wan Kenobi, as it was the only project to get a teaser during Disney+ Day. In a now-deleted tweet by a Disney+ exec, we may have gotten a tease of when it may potentially release.

    Kenobi Tweet

    He did go on to delete the original tweet and pointed out that it was for a different announcement, which turned out to be a Marvel comic focused on Obi-Wan heading for a May release. The wording of “Disney+” in the tweet is the odd inclusion, but there’s a chance that there was a mix-up with what was announced at the time. Of course, the timing of a comic release also seems fitting to find its way online alongside the Disney+ release.

    We still have to wait just a tad longer until we find out when Kenobi may finally release. May 4th, also known as Star Wars Day to fans, falls on a Wednesday this year, which is the usual Disney+ release window for any series. So, it certainly seems like the perfect fit for that day. We may even get the first teaser at the end of The Book of Boba Fett similar to how The Mandalorian teased the release of its first spinoff after the TV show’s credits. So, we’ll see what the next week has in store for us.

    Source: Twitter via The Direct, Twitter

  • Footage of the Cancelled Boba Fett Game Has Surfaced Online

    Footage of the Cancelled Boba Fett Game Has Surfaced Online

    Once upon a time, before the age of Disney, Lucasfilm was working on a game titled Star Wars: 1313. The game was centered on mythical bounty hunter Boba Fett as he made his way through the underbelly of a crime-ridden part of Coruscant referred to as Level 1313.

    At the time, All eyes were on this game as it promised an immersive look into a world of Star Wars that we haven’t seen through the helmet of Boba Fett no less. Alas, the game wasn’t meant to be as it was canceled as soon as Disney acquired Lucasfilm in 2012. Star Wars: 1313 became known as one of those pre-Disney treasures that were lost in the ether forever, never to be seen again.

    Today, some footage of the canceled game has made its way online, giving us a look at what could have been. Check it out below!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XehW4OMiEr4

    The game never quite made its way into a finished state hence the wildly underdeveloped systems and graphics. It isn’t quite groundbreaking by modern standards but it gives us a nice look at this Sleeping Dogs/GTA-esque game set in the underworld. Even from this brief clip, we get a version of Boba Fett that is already sorely lacking from this new era of Star Wars.

    The leak almost feels serendipitous in the face of the criticism leveled at The Book of Boba Fett, a show that was supposed to give us the crime bounty hunter show we all wanted. Instead, the show ended up as a truncated, uneven story that saw Boba Fett getting punked weekly.

    It’s unlikely we ever see this game get revived despite Lucasfilm’s recently announced plans to expand their AAA gaming line. We can only hope that we get something as ambitious as this buried project.

  • Hey, Look, Everyone…It’s Bryce Dallas Howard

    Hey, Look, Everyone…It’s Bryce Dallas Howard

    Through its first four episodes, Lucasfilm’s latest Star Wars streaming series, The Book of Boba Fett, hadn’t generated the same volume of discussion around the proverbial water cooler as had its predecessor on Disney Plus, The Mandalorian. While The Book of Boba Fett hasn’t really been divisive among fans and has been treated kindly by critics, it simply seemed to lack the same “pop” as Mando.

    Surely some of that is the result of the reality of the show not matching fan expectations: fans wanted Boba Fett kicking ass like he did when he first appeared in The Mandalorian but, instead, have seen a story unfold much more along the lines of The Godfather: Part II, in which flashbacks a bring us up to speed on how Fett rose to his current station. And so, through its first four episodes, much of the buzz had been generated by the live-action debut of Black Krrsantan, Danny Trejo’s Rancor keeper and the hope of something greater just around the corner. And today, in Chapter 5, “The Return of The Mandalorian”, the hope that fans had been clinging to arrived.

    The episode waited roughly 20 seconds before introducing Din Djarin to the story and, from there, the character never relinquished the spotlight. As fans have rightly pointed out, this episode was in every way, shape and form, an episode of The Mandalorian that happened to be part of The Book of Boba Fett. It’s not until the end that Fett is even named and the events of this episode have nothing to do with the events of the first four episodes of the series. Outside of the setting and a brief reference to the Pyke Syndicate, Chapter 5 doesn’t even share the same narrative tapestry as the rest of the series.

    What it is, however, is a great reminder that The Book of Boba Fett is part of much larger narrative that’s been developing for nearly 15 years, since Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau started to plant the seeds of it over the course of several season of The Clone Wars. Filoni and Favreau seem to have a deep and true understanding of the Galaxy Far, Far Away that George Lucas dreamt up and created. They have a passion and knowledge for the stories and characters that have built Star Wars into the entertainment empire it has become and have rightfully been lauded for their work with the direction they’ve begun to steer the live-action Star Wars series. Following today’s episode, it’s clear that fans need to start sending some of that praise in the direction of director Bryce Dallas Howard.

    Chapter 5 stands apart from the rest of the chapters of The Book of Boba Fett. Sure it’s not telling a story about Fett, though it’s obvious Djarin is going to play a big role in the remainder of the series (the creators were kind enough to throw some metahumor at us “Hey, look, everyone. It’s Mando”, as if we had forgotten about him), but it’s also the best episode of the series so far despite a decent chunk of time in it being spent watching Djarin and Peli Motto rattle off a bunch of crazy names for parts of the Naboo starfighter they are rebuilding. Howard shares that same deep understanding of Star Wars that fans love to use to adulate Filoni and Favreau and she shares it because, just like them, she’s a lifelong fan of the franchise.

    Howard’s father, Ron Howard, worked on the 1988 film Willow, written by Lucas, and Bryce has talked in the past about how Lucas both mentored her father through his directing career and gave her advice ahead of her directorial debut on The Mandalorian in the first season’s fourth episode. Howard was even present at a dinner in which her father and Lucas met with Akria Kurosawa, the legendary Japanese director whose 1958 film, The Hidden Fortress, served as inspiration for Lucas to create Star Wars and whose influence is still felt even as creators other than Lucas are now taking the reigns of the franchise. Chapter 13 of The Mandalorian, “The Jedi”, directed by Filoni, was the most overt homage to Kurosawa, but it is very clear that Howard values Kurosawa’s influence on the franchise, too. Her first episode of The Mandalorian, “Sanctuary”, was very much in the Kurosawa mold.

    What “The Return of the Mandalorian” made very clear was that while Filoni and Favreau may be creating the live-action world unfolding on Disney Plus and are the ones driving the shared narrative that certainly seems like it’s headed for a big battle to reclaim Mandalore, they are incredibly comfortable letting Howard take the wheel and be in charge as they lay the groundwork. Chapter 11 of The Mandalorian, “The Heiress”, also directed by Howard, introduced key characters, storylines and artifacts into live-action that will play major roles in the resolution of this shared narrative. In “The Return of the Mandalorian”, Howard’s voice was again the one Filoni and Favreau chose to tell not only the past of Mandalore (with a little Terminator influence thrown in for good measure), but also set up some key points for the future, such as how Djarin can redeem himself in his religion. For an episode that spent a lot of time repairing a beat up ship, it sure seems like it was a can’t miss to understand things moving forward.

    And so with Chapter 5 of The Book of Boba Fett, “The Return of The Mandalorian”, the hope fans were waiting for did arrive…and her name is Bryce Dallas Howard.