Sci-Fi Storm

Disney’s Bob Iger confirmed during a conference call that Disney, with it’s acquisition of Lucasfilm today, have already for treatments for three new Star Wars films, with the first planned for a 2015 release (a little aggressive I think) and the next two at two- to three-year intervals – and possibly more beyond that. But Iger also says they plan to make use of the franchise in other areas, including their theme parks (Disney/SW fans have been wanting a Star Wars “land” expansion for years), games, and other initiatives. Speculation is that some television will be involved as well, although it still seems unlikely that that live action series that everyone was all a-Twitter about thinking they had already filmed it will be made, unless Disney has figured out something…

He didn’t elaborate on the treatments for the movies, but everyone seems to think this is the fabled “sequel trilogy”. A bit of history – back after the original Star Wars became a blockbuster hit, and the second run was modified to include “Episode IV” in the opening crawl, Lucas explained that he had plans for nine (to as many as twelve!) stories, and since the original was actually the fourth story he titled it as such. He then said that after making episodes V and VI, then visit the first three, and after that he would see.

Over time, however, Lucas began to disavow that he ever had plans beyond Episode VI, and that anything after that would be “made up”. However, his desire to not revisit the idea seemed like him being tired of the process of planning and filming a whole trilogy, which he said takes about 9 years of his life, as well as the poor feedback he got from doing the prequels. And he insisted no one else would make them either. It could be that since he won’t be directly involved now (he’d be credited at least as a “creative consultant”, but that could be an honorary credit) he handed over his treatments for them to develop more.

Now the BIG question – who will take the reins? The first word that came to my mind? Whedon. Joss is already at Disney playing in the Marvel universe…

Confirming an earlier rumor, Bryan Singer will return to the director’s chair for the upcoming sequel to X-Men: First Class, titled X-Men: Days Of Future Past, with Singer signing the deal with Fox to take over from Matthew Vaughn.

Singer directed the first two X-Men movies to launch the franchise, and helped with First Class by producing and writing the treatment.

WHOA!!!!

In a blockbuster deal just announced, Disney will acquire LucasFilm for $4.05 billion in cash and stock. Kathleen Kennedy, currently the co-chair of LucasFilm, will become the President and report to Walt Disney Studios chief Alan Horn.

The deal appears to be in line with George Lucas announcing earlier this year that he wanted to step away from LucasFilm and go back to “hobby movies”. Lucas said as part of the announcement, “It’s now time for me to pass Star Wars on to a new generation of filmmakers. I’ve always believed that Star Wars could live beyond me, and I thought it was important to set up the transition during my lifetime. I’m confident that with Lucasfilm under the leadership of Kathleen Kennedy, and having a new home within the Disney organization, Star Wars will certainly live on and flourish for many generations to come.”

It is also being reported that there will be a new Star Wars film, to be released in 2015! No details, and it seems a little soon for something no one has heard of yet, but George Lucas has been mulling various ideas for a while…
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Here is a sneak peek of the next episode of Haven, Friday at 10/9c on Syfy.
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Don’t forget – NBC has a special Halloween lineup tonight: At 8/7c, a one-hour special Mockingbird Lane, a reboot of The Munsters, starring Jerry O’Connell (The Defenders) as Herman Munster, Portia de Rossi (Arrested Development) as his wife Lily, Eddie Izzard (United States of Tara, The Riches) as Grandpa, Mason Cook (Spy Kids: All the Time in the World in 4D) as Eddie and Charity Wakefield (The Raven) as Marilyn. (This was a pilot for a series, but the option was not picked up).

Following that at 9/8c is a special Halloween episode of Grimm, “The Legend of La Llorona”, where a mysterious ghostly woman kidnaps children with the intention of drowning them.

It appears that Matthew Vaughn, who directed X-Men: First Class, will not return to direct the sequel, titled X-Men: Days of Future Past. No reason is known, but he also bowed out of Kick-Ass 2 not long ago.

So Fox needs to scramble if it still wants the Summer 2014 release for the film, and the buzz is that Bryan Singer, who directed the first two X-Men movies and wrote and produced First Class, might move from the producer role here to direct, while Vaughn, who wrote the sequel, would step back as producer.

Just announced a short time ago, actress Ming-Na (ER, Stargate Universe) will star in the upcoming Joss Whedon TV pilot Marvel’s S.H.I.E.L.D., based on the secret organization that permeates Marvel’s Avengers universe and featured prominently in the Whedon-directed movie The Avengers.

Ming-Na will play Agent Melinda May, described as “Soulful and slightly damaged by her combat experiences, Melinda is an ace pilot, a weapons expert and a soldier who can — and has — gone beyond the call of duty.” Originally the character was to be named Althea Rice, with the nickname “The Cavalry”, but this was confusing as that is also the name of a team of superheroes.

It was previously announced that Clark Gregg, who has appeared in all the Avenger-related movies as Agent Phil Coulson, will reprise the role in the pilot.

The entire militia is gunning for Miles. And as we know, they are brutal…and vicious…and smart. Whose side are you on?? The Miles vs. Neville compilation below may help sway you off the fence. New episode next Monday at 10/9c on NBC!
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Part one of The Hobbit, An Unexpected Journey, is less than 2 months away! Check out the first 30-second TV spot right here!
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In this trailer, we see that Tony Stark faces a new supervillain, but also struggles with his own identity…Iron Man 3 comes out on May 3rd, 2013, and features returning stars Robert Downey Jr, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Don Cheadle.
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