Tag: Star Wars: New Jedi Order

'Shōgun' Star Hiroyuki Sanada Wants A Crack At 'Star Wars' Universe
Posted on in Film News, News, Television News

‘Shōgun’ Star Hiroyuki Sanada Wants A Crack At ‘Star Wars’ Universe

Japanese action star Hiroyuki Sanada (“Westworld,” “Sunshine”) isn’t a stranger to Hollywood genre work, briefly appearing in Marvel’s “Avengers: Endgame” as a sword-wielding Yakuza desperately trying to fight off Clint Barton’s revenge-seeking Ronin and even played a scheming corporate villain in James Mangold‘s “The Wolverine.” In his new Hulu samurai series, “Shōgun,” the veteran actor is getting a lot more stage time, and it’s led to some serious buzz around the show alongside the authentic touches across the production thanks to Sanada’s creative involvement as a producer. However, it sounds like Sanada is itching to travel to a galaxy far, far away.

‘Yeah, all of them. Especially ‘Star Wars’ I’m a big fan of them…I can’t wait. I can’t say [one favorite character] because [the] world itself is amazing,” Sanada told Variety (See video below) on the red carpet at the Hulu On Disney+ launch event Friday.

Twinsand — Hiroyuki Sanada in John Wick 4 (2023)

It’s worth mentioning that Sanada has long been trained in sword work, which was displayed in both “The Wolverine” and “John Wick 4” (has a sword fight versus “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” actor Donnie Yen) So, in theory, playing a stoic Jedi master would feel like a perfect casting choice.

Yashida Compound (Wolverine Production Design) | Hugh jackman, Scene photo, Jackman
Hiroyuki Sanada and James Mangold on the set of “The Wolverine”

We’ll keep our fingers crossed that Mangold keeps Sanada in mind for a role in his upcoming Jedi origin movie “Star Wars: Dawn of The Jedi,” which is potentially going to be ready for a December 2027 release. The project recently added Beau Willimon (“Andor,” “House of Cards”) to help Mangold co-write the film’s script, but we’re still waiting on major casting news on multiple fronts for upcoming “Star Wars” movies.

Sanada has plenty of “Star Wars” options beyond “Dawn” with follow-up seasons for “Ahsoka,” “The Mandalorian,” “Star Wars: The Acolyte,” and “Star Wars: Skeleton Crew” on the table at Lucasfilm. There are also two other feature films gearing up to begin shooting this year with Jon Favreau’s “The Mandalorian & Grogu” and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s “Star Wars: New Jedi Order” that sees Daisy Ridley reprise the Rey Skywalker role to train a new generation of young Jedi. Dave Filoni (“Ahsoka”) and Shawn Levy (“Deadpool & Wolverine”) are also developing their own features.

“Shōgun” is currently streaming on Hulu (internationally on Star) and is being billed as a limited series, which should allow Sanada to take more franchise roles down the road.

SOURCE: VARIETY

'Star Wars: New Jedi Order' Actress Daisy Ridley Supports Finn Becoming A Jedi: “I Would Love To See That"
Posted on in Film News, News

‘Star Wars: New Jedi Order’ Actress Daisy Ridley Supports Finn Becoming A Jedi: “I Would Love To See That”

Lucasfilm is continuing the Rey Skywalker story with “Star Wars: New Jedi Order” set to bring back sequel trilogy actress Daisy Ridley to pay the young Jedi master as she looks to train a new generation of Jedi in the movie set for release on December 18, 2026. While we’re still in the dark about the return of other established characters like John Boyega‘s Finn, that sort of got short-changed after being set up in “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” as the co-lead before taking more of a supporting role in the wake of weird racist/sexist backlash the sequel trilogy installments kept getting from the more unhinged corners of the internet and right-wing media freaking out about women and non-white characters being protagonists in fantasy films.

Ridley while speaking with Screen Rant, isn’t sure if Lucasfilm will ultimately bring Finn back but supports the idea of having him finally make the jump to become a Jedi, even if it’s “above her pay grade” to make that happen. “That is above my pay grade. [Laughs] I would love to see that, but that is not a decision for me,” the “Star Wars” actress told Screen Rant when asked about Boyega finally getting his Jedi wish.

For Boyega’s part, he’s said in the past he’s spoken since the release of “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” with Lucasfilm’s head Kathleen Kennedy, sharing his previous disappointments. He’s also made it clear to media and fans that he’s not interested in reprising the Finn role for a Disney+ project, leaving some wiggle room for a comeback on the big screen. Many were upset that Finn never ended up becoming a Jedi even though they kept teasing his force-sensitives, and he even wielded a lightsaber twice in the first film. Sadly, it felt like Lucasfilm caved to a small vocal group that was incensed that a black actor was playing a Stormtrooper and being given such a prominent role in the film.

There have been rumblings of Finn’s big return, but nothing official has been announced, and we likely would know about something like that closer to a production start. Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (“Ms. Marvel”) is set to direct “Star Wars: New Jedi Order” with a tentative release date of December 18, 2026, and it has been suggested that cameras could begin rolling sometime after Jon Favreau‘s “The Mandalorian & Grogu” (heading to theaters on May 22, 2026) kicks-off production in California later this year.

There is also now a sense that James Mangold’s “Star Wars: Dawn of The Jedi” could end up taking the spot on December 17, 2027, reserved for another “Star Wars” movie.

SOURCE: SCREEN RANT

Posted on in Film News, News

Disney Dates Two ‘Star Wars’ Movies For 2026 With Bob Iger Hinting Jon Favreau’s ‘The Mandalorian & Grogu’ Up First In May 2026

There have been some rather big updates concerning the “Star Wars” universe with small screen confirmations that “The Mandalorian” is still getting a fourth season despite a feature film on the way and Dave Filoni (Lucasfilm’s new Chief Creative Officer) is already working on getting “Ahsoka” season two in the bag before pivoting to his own “Star Wars” movie set during that television timeline allowing him to play with both original saga and his own animation characters. We now have an idea of when to expect the next TWO movies thanks to Disney.

During an earnings call yesterday, Disney’s Bob Iger confirmed that Jon Favreau‘s “The Mandalorian & Grogu,” a continuation of the Disney+ series, would be the first new “Star Wars” movie to be released in 2026. That comes after Disney updated their main release slate (via Fandango’s Erik Davis) to include two 2026 spots for “Star Wars” films including May 22, 2026, and December 18, 2026.

Seemingly, Iger was giving us the impression that the “Mando” movie is most likely heading toward that May spot and the new Rey Skywalker installment “Star Wars: New Jedi Order” (Given how far along development is) could be heading toward that December release with director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (“Ms. Marvel”) attached alongside Daisy Ridley‘s return to the franchise. Considering the previous films in the Rey Skywalker saga took December spots, it’s not all that surprising to us that would end up landing the holiday spot.

There have been hints that both of the films could be ready to shoot as early as this summer/fall but we’ll have to wait for some casting news to know for sure when they’re gearing up for production.

SOURCE: DISNEY/BOB IGER