Sci-Fi Storm

Star Wars: Episode IX will be getting a rewrite courtesy of Jack Thorne (The Fades, Wonder).

Director Colin Trevorrow along with writing partner Derek Connolly had come up with the initial draft based on a premise from Star Wars: The Last Jedi director/writer Rian Johnson. Little is known, although the cast from Star Wars: The Force Awakens is expected to return – assuming they survive the events of The Last Jedi (because who knows?!?), which opens December 15th.

Production is expected to begin in January, with a planned May 24, 2019 release.

Thorne is currently working on a new BBC adaptation of His Dark Materials and wrote an episode of Philip K. Dick’s Electric Sheep anthology.

Just released for your drooling pleasure…

Rumors hit last night hot on the heels of the ouster of co-directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller from the Han Solo anthology film that premiere director Ron Howard would return to the halls of Lucasfilm and take over the production. Today’s news confirms that it is true.

Ron Howard himself tweeted moments ago, “I’m beyond grateful to add my voice to the Star Wars Universe after being a fan since 5/25/77…I hope to honor the great work already done & help deliver on the promise of a Han Solo film.”

Howard has worked with Lucasfilm before – on 1988’s Willow, and has won an Oscar for A Beautiful Mind, and is well known for many other films, such as Apollo 13, The DaVinci Code and sequels, Cocoon and more.

This is just breaking across the wires…Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who were co-directing the Star Wars anthology film based on Han Solo, have left the production over creative differences with the producers.

“Phil Lord and Christopher Miller are talented filmmakers who have assembled an incredible cast and crew, but it’s become clear that we had different creative visions on this film, and we’ve decided to part ways. A new director will be announced soon,” said Kathleen Kennedy, president of Lucasfilm in a statement.

“Unfortunately, our vision and process weren’t aligned with our partners on this project. We normally aren’t fans of the phrase ‘creative differences’ but for once this cliché is true. We are really proud of the amazing and world-class work of our cast and crew,” stated Phil Lord and Christopher Miller.

Filming began in January for a May 25, 2018 release. The release date has not been changed.

Disney announced release dates for a slew of movies, and one of the notable dates is that the final episode of the Star Wars saga will move back to it’s old traditional release month, specifically May 24th, 2019 – which is the day before the 42nd anniversary of the first movie.

The Han Solo anthology movie also releases in May in 2018.

In addition, Disney has pushed back the fifth Indiana Jones installment a year to July 10, 2020, giving the old slot of July 19th, 2019 to the upcoming live action version of The Lion King.

Other dates (in release order):

A Wrinkle in Time: March 9th, 2018 (Moved up from April)
Magic Camp: April 6th, 2018
Wreck-It Ralph 2: Ralph Breaks The Internet: November 21, 2018 (Moved back from March)
Frozen 2: November 27, 2019
Gigantic: November 25, 2020 (Moved back from 2018)

Before I say more, I want to preface this by pointing to the second word in this article’s headline – “considering”. There have been a number of “breaking news” articles in the last 24 hours that say “creating”, and the two are VERY different.

According to Tom Corliss of WDW News Today, Disney has been sending a survey to guests via Swagbucks (an earn-rewards-for-surveys site), that asks them their interest in a new form of Star Wars experience – a two-night all-inclusive stay aboard a “starship” (think something like a Star Destroyer or Republic cruiser) with a fully immersive experience where you take part in the story via training programs including lightsaber training, secret missions, and more. The reported price tag would be $900-$1000 per person. You can see some concept art on the original article. This would be a resort next to Disney’s Hollywood Studios park, which is currently getting a massive makeover for a Star Wars “land”, and the price would include some exclusive access to that area (due to be completed in 2019).

Although I think this is a GREAT idea and would totally do it (I’m still considering the price tag, however – I could spend a week on a cruise for that), I’m cautious mainly because I am very familiar with Disney and all these plans that never come to fruition. First, historically a lot of “blue sky” ideas (basically the first level of coming up with ideas, long before practicality and budgets get looked at) get leaked through social media. I’m still waiting for the extra-immersive Adventurers Club over at Animal Kingdom, for example, or the return of River Country.

Second, Disney sends LOTS of surveys with all sorts of ideas to gauge guest interest. I’ve taken dozens of them. Many things on those surveys can be outlandish, and never come to be, but may lead to other ideas. Usually Disney does such surveys internally as well, but this one was done by a third party.

There are various stages of bringing any idea to fruition – this is somewhere above “blue sky”, since they have some concept art showing they are thinking of this seriously), but this is still far below “announced” – and if you know about Disney’s history with announcements, even then that doesn’t mean it gets built.

I place this right now as a 10% confidence of it happening. So while I’m thrilled at the possibility of this existing, my practical Disney side is also saying it is a long shot. I’d like to see this more like a special Star Wars cruise – at least then you are on a real ship. 🙂

It’s official – with the release of the trailer for Star Wars Rebels at Celebration Orlando, they also announced that the series will conclude with the upcoming 15-episode fourth season. It isn’t surprising, as we can see the storyline starting to approach the events of Rogue One. The real question is, who will make it that far?

One welcome addition will be the voice of Warwick Davis, who as Mark Hamill has said has been in more Star Wars movies than himself, as the character of Rukh. If you’re familiar with the Expanded Universe and Grand Admiral Thrawn, you may recognize the name as Thrawn’s bodyguard and…well, don’t want to spoil it.

See the trailer for Season 4 below.

And while the ending of Rebels may leave a void in the Star Wars animated universe, it will at least be partially filled with the previously mysterious project Star Wars Forces of Destiny. This new initiative will start with a series of animated shorts which will feature the female heroines of Star Wars – Princess Leia, Rey, Jyn Erso, Ahsoka Tano, Sabine Wren, and more – and the original voices will return as well. As a joint project between Lucasfilm, Disney and Hasbro, it will focus and the strong female characters the Star Wars universe has always given us. Hasbro will produce “adventure figures”, 11 inch highly poseable figures featuring the characters from the micro-series.

Star Wars Forces of Destiny will start airing on the Disney YouTube channel this July. See an inside look below.

Straight from Celebration!

Updated 4/14: Well, it seems that Todd Fisher was wrong…according to Kathleen Kennedy a short time ago on stage at Star Wars Celebration in Orlando, Carrie Fisher will NOT appear in the final epic movie. “Sadly, Carrie will not be in nine,” Kennedy said. “But we will see a lot of Carrie in Eight.” She also added that Todd Fisher was “confused.”

Original: We already knew that the unexpected death of actress Carrie Fisher wouldn’t affect Star Wars Episode VIII, as she completed all her scenes, but we weren’t sure how it would affect the production or storyline for the final saga installment. But her brother, Todd Fisher, confirmed to the New York Daily News that he and his niece and Carrie’s daughter Billie Lourd having given Lucasfilm their approval for existing footage of their mother to be used in Episode IX – and that it is understood that no CGI will be used.

“Both of us were like, ‘Yes, how do you take her out of it?’ And the answer is you don’t,”, according to Fisher. “She’s as much a part of it as anything and I think her presence now is even more powerful than it was, like Obi Wan — when the saber cuts him down he becomes more powerful. I feel like that’s what’s happened with Carrie. I think the legacy should continue.”

It is not clear how much Leia will appear in the movie.

To no one’s surprise, Disney XD has ordered up another season of adventures of the crew of the Ghost in Star Wars Rebels. The next season will air in the Fall, and production is already underway.

Set between the events of Episodes III and IV, the show follows the crew of the Ghost who have been fighting against the growing Empire. Season 3 saw increasing tie-ins to the live action movies, such as the appearance of a younger Saw Gerrera from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and a cameo appearance of the Ghost itself in that movie.

My top question still remains though…does Ahsoka live?