At the end of Season 2 of The Mandalorian, it was announced that we would be getting a spinoff series The Book of Boba Fett, as there was a sequence with Fett taking over the criminal syndicate on Tatooine after the events of The Rescue. The scene also confirmed that Temuera Morrison and Ming-Na Wen would be reprising their roles.
We were shocked when Lucasfilm announced it would be the next live-action Star Wars series and it was eventually revealed that The Mandalorian Season 3 would be taking a back seat as Deborah Chow’s Obi-Wan Kenobi started production on those same California stages and The Volume located at Mahattan Beach Studios.
It had all been assumed when Robert Rodriguez (Planet Terror, Desperado, Alita: Battle Angel) was announced as part of the producing team he would be directing as well. Actor Temuera Morrison has now confirmed this while speaking with Rotten Tomatoes and mentioned how the Star Wars series would tackle the Bounty Hunter’s past.
“Well, we can’t say too much, but we’re going to see his past and where he’s been since The Empire Strikes Back. Somebody pointed out he’s been kind of stuck in this one place, and now’s the time to actually go back in time and check out his journey and find out more about him.They brought Robert back in to direct a few more. There’s some wonderful directors involved,” Morrison told Rotten Tomatoes.
There is a previous assumption that Favreau and Filoni have helmed episodes too.
Filming has wrapped on The Book of Boba Fett as revealed on Twitter by Fennec Shand actress Ming-Na Wen showing off some wrap gifts. I guess we’ll have to wait patiently for confirmation about who will be appearing from The Mandalorian and what new actors have joined the Star Wars project.
After years of delays, script revisions, and director Steven Spielberg exiting, Indiana Jones 5 has finally started filming over in the United Kingdom.
James Mangold is set to write and direct Indiana Jones 5 for Lucasfilm with a growing cast that already consists of Harrison Ford back as Henry Jones Jr. aka Indiana Jones, British actress Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Solo: A Star Wars Story, Fleabag), Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen (Fantastic Beasts 3, Casino Royale, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Another Round), German actor Thomas Kretschmann (King Kong, Valkyrie, Blade II). Boyd Holbrook (The Predator, Narcos, Logan), and Shaunette Renée Wilson (The Resident).
There is a set video that was uploaded on YouTube (see below) that seems to show a Nazi train, which would back up recent plot details mentioned by The Illuminerdi that we’ll see the return of the franchise antagonists and the film being connected to Nazi scientists involved with the space race of the 1960s. The last time we saw Indy punching Nazis was all the way back in 1989’s Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade as the setting of Indiana Jones & The Kingdom of The Crystal Skull taking place post-WWII and it offhandedly mentioned that Jones served during the war between installments.
Well, these off-camera WWII adventures might make it into the fifth installment as Harrison Ford was spotted on set with new addition Toby Jones (Captain America: The First Avenger, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Captain America: The Winter Soldier) with visual effects dots on his face suggesting the sequence might be a flashback. The set photos were spotted on Reddit.
This wouldn’t be the first time this has happened in the franchise, as Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade opened with River Phoenix playing a young Indiana Jones sort of explaining the origin of his iconic hat and whip. Funny enough, that sequence involved a train too.
Confirmed crew members include legendary composer John Williams, production designer Adam Stockhausen (The French Dispatch, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Widows, Ready Player One), and cinematographer Phedon Papamichael (Ford v Ferrari, Walk The Line, 3: 10 To Yuma).
Disney has chosen to give Indiana Jones 5 a release date of July 29, 2022 and will go head-to-head against Dwayne Johnson’s DC Comics film Black Adam, until one of the two projects moves to another date.
Lucasfilm is still shooting the 12-episode run of of their Rogue One: A Star Wars Story prequel series, Andor, focusing on the Rebellion spy played by Diego Luna.
There is now news that a familiar face from Rogue One is indeed returning.
Actor Stellan Skarsgard has revealed in a new interview with Swedish radio station Sverige Radio (spotted by The Playlist) that Rogue One’s Forest Whitaker will reprise the role of Saw Gerrera in the Andor series and the two will share some screen time together. If you’re confused, Andor takes places years before the events of Rogue One allowing the character to return for the series.
Whitaker also reprises the Gerrera role in the video game Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.
Joining Luna and Skarsgard in the Star Wars show will be Adria Arjona (Morbius), Denise Gough, Genevieve O’Reilly as Mon Mothma, Robert Emms (Chernobyl), Fiona Shaw, and Kyle Soller.
Toby Haynes (Sherlock, Doctor Who, Utopia, Black Mirror) will be directing with a writing team that includes Tony Gilroy (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story), Dan Gilroy (Nightcrawler), Beau Willimon (House of Cards), and Stephen Schiff (The Americans).
Andor’s 12-episode run will debut on Disney+ sometime in 2022.
Lucasfilm is deep into production in England on their Star Wars series starring Diego Luna as the rebellion spy Cassian Andor from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, but there has been another addition to the show’s cast. British actor Robert Emms has nabbed a mystery role in the Disney+ series according to a report by Deadline. He’s been seen in things such as His Dark Materials, Chernobyl, and War Horse.
Joining Diego Luna will be Adria Arjona (Morbius), Denise Gough, Genevieve O’Reilly as Mon Mothma, Stellan Skarsgard (Thor, Dune, Girl With The Dragon Tattoo), Fiona Shaw, and Kyle Soller. Originally, Alan Tudyk was announced to reprise his role as the smart-mouthed droid K-2SO, but had recently revealed to Collider that he was unlikely going to be involved with Season 1 due to changes made by Tony Gilory when he joined the project and rewriting episodes. He also inadvertently teased Andor would be getting multiple seasons.
TUDYK: “They’re shooting it right now, I’m not in it. But, if it stays on the air, stories keep getting told, I’ll end up in there.I’m going to be in the show. It’s just that the story that Tony [Gilroy] is telling doesn’t involve K-2SO until later on… I can’t be too specific, but I can definitely say that I’m not going to be in the first season.”
Given the show’s setting is five years before Rogue One, this could allow them to cover multiple seasons exploring the Rebellion spy.
Toby Haynes (Sherlock, Doctor Who, Utopia, Black Mirror) will be directing with a writing team that includes Tony Gilroy (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story), Dan Gilroy (Nightcrawler), Beau Willimon (House of Cards), and Stephen Schiff (The Americans).
Some photos from the set of Andor in England have made their way online and confirm that the Shoretroopers, introduced in Rogue One: A Story Story, will be making their return on the show, which takes place five years before the events of Rogue One. The well-designed troopers had previously appeared briefly on Season 2 of The Mandalorian.
Andor’s 12-episode run will debut on Disney+ sometime in 2022.
The Ronin has been able to confirm that Lucasfilm’s next big Star Wars film, Star Wars: Rogue Squadron, has added production designer Aline Bonetto. Director Patty Jenkins was announced for the project back in December and has since revealed to IGN that Rogue Squadron won’t be based on existing books or video games.
JENKINS: “[In the Star Wars: Rogue Squadron movie] we’re doing something original with great influence from the games and the books. There’s a lot of things being acknowledged and understood about the greatness of all of those things, but yes, it’s an original story and I’m so psyched to do it.”
Oddly enough, a screenwriter hasn’t been officially announced.
The next Star Wars feature film will be Rogue Squadron — directed by Patty Jenkins (Wonder Woman franchise). The story will introduce a new generation of starfighter pilots as they earn their wings and risk their lives in a boundary-pushing, high-speed thrill-ride, and move the saga into the future era of the galaxy.
Bonetto previously worked with director Patty Jenkins on Wonder Woman and Wonder Woman 1984.
We wouldn’t be terribly shocked if Wonder Woman cinematographer Matthew Jensen also joined the new Star Wars film after recently working on Season 2 of The Mandalorian. Jensen was the cinematographer for episodes such as The Believer, The Siege, and The Heiress.
Filming is assumed to be taking place at Pinewood Studios UK, the previous primary filming location of the Disney-era Star Wars films. Jenkins isn’t a stranger to productions made in England as she shot the last two Wonder Woman movies at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden in Watford, England.
With Rogue Squadron in pre-production, casting the latest Star Wars film is going to be the studio’s next big challenge.
Jenkins is still attached to direct Wonder Woman 3 as well, but Star Wars: Rogue Squadron is going to be shot next.
The Star Wars franchise is also currently focusing on a wave of new television shows such as The Book of Boba Fett, Andor, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ahsoka, Lando, The Acolyte, and Rangers of The New Republic. Thor: Love & Thunder director Taika Waititi is writing and directing his own untitled Star Wars film and Rian Johnson is said to be still involved with developing a trilogy of original films.
Disney has officially given Star Wars: Rogue Squadron a release date of December 22, 2023.
In the early days of Disney acquiring Lucasfilm and the Star Wars rights, there were various reports that the studio was open to multiple film pitches from filmmakers. One of those pitches was reportedly from Army of The Dead director Zack Snyder and would have been a possible Jedi film inspired by the works of Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai. Akira’s film The Hidden Fortress had been a notable inspiration to the original trilogy, so going back to those classic samurai films for ideas sort of sounded appealing at the time.
Here is how that original report from Vulture described the project back in 2013, alluding to the project being an anthology project similar to things like Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Solo: A Star Wars Story.
He is in fact developing a Star Wars project for Lucasfilm that is set within the series’ galaxy, though parallel to the next trilogy. It will be an as-yet-untitled Jedi epic loosely based on Akira Kurosawa’s 1954 classic Seven Samurai, with the ronin and katana being replaced by the Force-wielding knights and their iconic lightsabers.
If you’re unfamiliar with the iconic Japanese film, it follows a group of ronin (former samurai that no longer serve a master/lord) that come together to save a poor village of farmers against relentless bandits in an attempt to restore their honor. Seven Samurai was famously remade as the equally popular Hollywood western, The Magnificent Seven.
The project ultimately wasn’t made and Snyder instead established the DCEU with Man of Steel, Batman v Superman, and Justice League. However, Snyder has confirmed to the Happy Sad Confused podcast (via The Playlist) that he indeed was trying to get that project going at Lucasfilm (prior to the Disney acquisition) but has instead pivoted to rework the idea as something else outside of the Star Wars universe, but will still be set within the science-fiction genre.
SNYDER: “We talked about it, but it never [happened]. I’ve been working on it away from the ‘Star Wars’ universe, on my own, as a sci-fi thing…It’s still a sci-fi thing. It’s the same story. Now, I’m just going to let ‘Star Wars’ be ‘Star Wars.’”
“The 11-year-old me still wants to make that, and now, I know how to. So, maybe we’ll see that someday.”
Could Netflix end up giving Zack Snyder the money to make the project? It’s possible as the streaming giant is keen on continuing the working relationship with the filmmaker as they build a franchise around his zombie film Army of The Dead, after Warner Bros. passed on it.
There has been some criticism from Star Wars fans that Lucasfilm, J.J. Abrams, and Rian Johnson jumped into making the sequel trilogy without a concrete plan and potentially led to some contradictory moments between the three massive movies.
This was highlighted when director Colin Trevorrow’s unmade version of Episode IX, Star Wars: Duel of The Fates, was pretty much scrapped by the studio for something completely different from Abrams and screenwriter Chris Terrio with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Concept artwork and the script for Duel of The Fates made it’s way online placing a spotlight on those scrapped plans, reinforcing the narrative that the studio didn’t have a master plan for this trilogy from the start.
Abrams was doing a round of press interviews to help promote the 4K UHD Blu-Ray home release of his alien adventure film Super 8, where he was asked by Collider if they should have had a plan for the Star Wars trilogy beforehand. The filmmaker gave a mixed repose giving the pros and cons of both.
ABRAMS: “There are projects that I’ve worked on where we had some ideas but we hadn’t worked through them enough, sometimes we had some ideas but then we weren’t allowed to do them the way we wanted to. I’ve had all sorts of situations where you plan things in a certain way and you suddenly find yourself doing something that’s 180 degrees different, and then sometimes it works really well and you feel like, ‘Wow that really came together,’ and other times you think, ‘Oh my God I can’t believe this is where we are,’ and sometimes when it’s not working out it’s because it’s what you planned, and other times when it’s not working out it’s because you didn’t [have a plan].”
“You just never really know, but having a plan I have learned – in some cases the hard way – is the most critical thing, because otherwise you don’t know what you’re setting up. You don’t know what to emphasize. Because if you don’t know the inevitable of the story, you’re just as good as your last sequence or effect or joke or whatever, but you want to be leading to something inevitable.”
The main quote mentioned at the top of the interview piece suggests that Abrams laments not having a plan with their Star Wars movies.
ABRAMS: “I do think that there’s nothing more important than knowing where you’re going.”
J.J. Abrams has since moved to WarnerMedia with a massive deal to develop films/television series for the media company and Lucasfilm is looking beyond the Skywalker Saga with Patty Jenkins directing Star Wars: Rogue Squadron as the next big Star Wars release for December 2023. Other films in development stages are coming from Taika Waititi and Rian Johnson, neither are expected to continue the Rey Skywalker journey.
I think we’ve been all waiting long enough for Lucasfilm to finally begin shooting the long-delayed Indiana Jones 5 as they’ve finally started adding new cast members alongside Harrison Ford such as British actress Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Solo: A Star Wars Story, Fleabag), Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen (Fantastic Beasts 3, Casino Royale, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Another Round), German actor Thomas Kretschmann (King Kong, Valkyrie, Blade II). Boyd Holbrook (The Predator, Narcos, Logan), and Shaunette Renée Wilson (The Resident).
Lucasfilm is currently in pre-production on the next installment of the Indiana Jones franchise. At the helm is James Mangold, director of the Academy Award-winning Ford v Ferrari, and Indy himself, Harrison Ford, will be back to continue his iconic character’s journey. Indy will begin shooting late spring of 2021 and will arrive July 2022.
James Mangold took-up directing duties once Steven Spielberg exited the sequel and also wrote the latest incarnation of the script.
While the main stage facility is likely going to be Pinewood/Shepperton in the United Kingdom (a UK shoot is confirmed), The Ronin has learned that Lucasfilm is indeed planning to shoot some sequences on the East Coast of The United States, most likely New York/New Jersey. It’s worth mentioning that Yale University was used in Indiana Jones & The Kingdom of The Crystal Skull to double for Marshall College as they shot other various scenes in Connecticut as well.
MANGOLD: “I’m mentally living in 60’s NYC right now cause that’s where all the movies I’m working on take place.”
Confirmed crew members include legendary composer John Williams, production designer Adam Stockhausen (The French Dispatch, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Widows, Ready Player One), and cinematographer Phedon Papamichael (Ford v Ferrari, Walk The Line, 3: 10 To Yuma).
Disney has chosen to give Indiana Jones 5 a release date of July 29, 2022.
There are two more additions to the cast of Lucasfilm’s Indiana Jones 5.
Director James Mangold has reportedly added Boyd Holbrook (The Predator, Narcos) for role after previously working together on the solo Wolverine film Logan, the new comes to us via Deadline. The outlet mentions that The Resident’s Shaunette Renée Wilson has nabbed a role in the sequel as well.
The untitled sequel’s cast also includes franchise star Harrison Ford(said to be his final outing as Indy), British actress Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Solo: A Star Wars Story, Fleabag), Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen (Fantastic Beasts 3, Casino Royale, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Another Round), and German actor Thomas Kretschmann (King Kong, Valkyrie, Blade II).
Production is said to take place over the summer with confirmed crew members such as production designer Adam Stockhausen (The French Dispatch, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Widows, Ready Player One), and cinematographer Phedon Papamichael (Ford v Ferrari, Walk The Line, 3: 10 To Yuma).
Disney has given Indiana Jones 5 a release date of July 29,2022 and will go head-to-head with Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam until one film moves to another spot.
Back on Star Wars Day aka May The Fourth, we ran an extensive look at the upcoming live-action Star Wars projects. There were a couple of tidbits we’ve learned since then and figured we’d do a follow-up.
It’s well known that active Lucasfilm productions include The Book of Boba Fett (California), Andor (United Kingdom), Willow (Wales), and Obi-Wan Kenobi (California). There is an assumption that things such as Rangers of The New Republic (Jon Favreau set as series showrunner), Ahsoka, and the third season of The Mandalorian will shoot in California given the production hub there seems to be the home base for Disney+ productions from Favreau/Filoni.
Indiana Jones 5 will be shot in the United Kingdom with James Mangold (Cop Land, Logan) doing double duty as both screenwriter and director after Steven Spielberg exited. Its confirmed production team includes production designer Adam Stockhausen (The French Dispatch, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Widows, Ready Player One), and reuniting with James is cinematographer Phedon Papamichael (Ford v Ferrari, Walk The Line, 3: 10 To Yuma). The untitled sequel’s cast so far includes franchise star Harrison Ford (said to be his final outing as Indy), British actress Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Solo: A Star Wars Story, Fleabag), Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen (Fantastic Beasts 3, Casino Royale, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Another Round), and German actor Thomas Kretschmann (King Kong, Valkyrie, Blade II). The most recent additions are Boyd Holbrook (Narcos, Logan, The Predator) and Shaunette Renée Wilson (The Resident), as reported by Deadline.
James Mangold may have teased the 1960s as the setting on social media as concrete plot details have been kept under wraps. The fifth installment is officially set for a release in theaters on July 29, 2022.
The Andor series is seeming going to get a Season 2.
Back in March 2019, I was the first to break the news that Lucasfilm was looking to move forward with a second season of The Mandalorian ahead of Star Wars Celebration 2019. Well, I’m also hearing Andor is indeed aiming for multiple seasons as Season 2 is on the table, if not already in development by the creative team. We’re treating as a rumor until there is announcement from Disney/Lucasfilm.
A second season was sort of teased by K-2SO actor Alan Tudyk when he told Collider that his smart-mouthed droid was removed from Season 1 after showrunner Tony Gilroy was brought-on to help with writing.
It remains to be seen if Lucasfilm will attempt to launch splinter/spinoff shows based on the era that Andor takes place as they did with The Mandalorian spinoffs The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka, and Rangers of The New Republic.
Andor’s Season 1 creative team includes directors Toby Haynes (Doctor Who, Utopia), Susanna White (Our Kind of Traitor), and Benjamin Caron (The Crown) alongside a stellar writing team with Tony Gilroy, Dan Gilroy, Beau Willimon, and Stephen Schiff.
The first season will debut in 2022 on Disney+ exclusively.
Three more Lucasfilm productions are heading to the United Kingdom with the following limited liability corporations The Ronin has uncovered being recently established by the studio. You can see those companies listed below.
GHOST TRUCK 6 UK LIMITED
BLUE STOCKINGS UK LIMITED
ACE OF HEARTS UK LIMITED
The fact they were just created would mean this would rule out projects in pre-production or currently filming such as the Willow series, James Mangold’s Indiana Jones 5, and Andor series.
At least one of the three companies is likely linked to Patty Jenkins‘ upcoming Star Wars: Rogue Squadron, the next big Star Wars film should begin shooting by 2022 to hit the December 22, 2023 release date. All of the Disney-era Star Wars films have been shot in the London era making it extremely likely that the next film will continue that established tradition. Patty isn’t new to massive productions shot across the pond, as the filmmaker shot the first two Wonder Woman films on the stages of Warner Bros. Studios in Watford, England.
Patty is attached to direct Wonder Woman 3 for Warner Bros. but likely won’t be next for her.
The listing of Ghost Truck 6 based on the name alone might be recognizable to Star Wars fans as a potential nod to Star Wars: Rebels, as the ship is called Ghost (featured in live-action projects) and there just happens to be six crew members. However, it’s speculation based on the name as there hasn’t been anyone official confirmation from Lucasfilm that a series will focus on Rebels characters, despite rumblings of the Ahsoka series potentially including them after her being on a mission to find Grand Admiral Thrawn was revealed in the character’s episode in The Mandalorian. The Ghost was spotted in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
Ace of Hearts might be the Lando series given the character’s connection to gambling and seduction, then again, could be meant for something else like Rogue Squadron, Children of Blood & Bone, or the High Republic-set series The Acolyte.
THE RONIN 
