Category: sequel trilogy

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What to expect from Star Wars and Disney+

Now that the streaming service has a name, the marketing for Disney+ has really begun… Along with some inklings of how it will work.

Per Vulture’s Josef Adalian, Star Wars will be one of the “five central content hubs” for the service (along with classic Disney, Marvel, Pixar and National Geographic) so there won’t be much need for Netflix-style scrolling.

We also know that they’re aiming for the monthly price to be less than Netflix (cheapest plan: $7.99). Disney’s ESPN+ streaming service, which launched earlier this year, currently charges $4.99 a month. So I suspect we’ll be looking at something that’ll run fans $5-7 a month. (And maybe even some savings if bundled with an ESPN+ or Hulu subscription?)

But! The content. What’s coming for Star Wars? Here’s what we know for sure, some speculation about what else may be in play, and what we definitely won’t see.

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Kathleen Kennedy renews contract, will lead Lucasfilm through at least 2021

Kathleen Kennedy has signed on to remain president of Lucasfilm for another three years, per The Hollywood Reporter. Kennedy, who was hand-picked by George Lucas to lead his namesake company before the sale to Disney, has overseen Lucasfilm since 2012. The four Star Wars films released under her tenure – The Force Awakens, Rogue One, The Last Jedi and Solo – have grossed nearly $4.5 billion worldwide.

While J.J. Abrams’ Episode IX is the only film currently in production, the article reiterates that projects from The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson and Game of Thrones’ David Benioff and D.B. Weiss are still in development. A fifth Indiana Jones film is also moving forward.

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Bob Iger on Star Wars: “Too much, too fast”

The Hollywood Reporter has an extensive interview with Disney CEO Bob Iger where he addresses Star Wars timing, the streaming service and more.

On Star Wars, he acknowledges that the schedule so far may have been “a little too much, too fast.”

I made the timing decision, and as I look back, I think the mistake that I made — I take the blame — was a little too much, too fast. You can expect some slowdown, but that doesn’t mean we’re not gonna make films. J.J. [Abrams] is busy making [Episode] IX. We have creative entities, including [Game of Thrones creators David] Benioff and [D.B.] Weiss, who are developing sagas of their own, which we haven’t been specific about. And we are just at the point where we’re gonna start making decisions about what comes next after J.J.’s. But I think we’re gonna be a little bit more careful about volume and timing. And the buck stops here on that.

If Solo’s underwhelming box office means we’re not stepping up to two films a year anytime soon, I will consider that a worthy sacrifice. And I don’t mind going back to an even bigger gap, although I doubt we’ll see the three years of the OT and PT eras again. But look at what Disney is (reportedly) planning for Marvel on streaming, and something similar for Star Wars could be an interesting alternative to standalone spin-off films.

On the streaming service, Iger says the company is “weaning ourselves off licensing revenue from third parties” with the departure from Netflix, although the Star Wars broadcast deal is staying in place.

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Dominic Monaghan joins the Star Wars

Deadline reports that Dominic Monaghan (Lost, Lord of the Rings) has snagged a role in Episode IX. Monaghan himself seemingly confirms: “The galaxy far far away has had almost as much influence as the one I live in, so I am delighted to be involved,” he said.

Yesterday, he posted this:

Seems apropos @starwars @ragandbone #becurious

A post shared by Dominic Monaghan (@dom_monaghan_) on

Monaghan was among the reams of actors who expressed an interest back when The Force Awakens was gearing up.

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Episode IX filming spotted; Fun with Finn and Poe?

We’ve seen the Falcon now, but how about Finn, Poe and Chewbacca? The Sun has some spy pics of John Boyega, Oscar Isaac and Joonas Suotamo filming with some other actors/extras “just a few miles outside of London.” Unlike yesterday’s spotting, this one could be considered actually spoilery, so don’t click through if that sort of thing matters to you.

Of course, this being the Sun, there’s also some blathering about Ewan McGregor, who is probably not in this one. (Well, maybe. It’s a big maybe.)

Some observations below the cut.

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