Entertainment Tonight’s Ash “Porg Queen” Crossan managed to snag a few moments with Episode IX director J.J. Abrams at the 14th Annual Oscar Wilde Awards on Thursday. Naturally, he’s low on specifics, but they are his first comments since wrap, so have at it:
A rumor was circulating yesterday that The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson had dropped out of his upcoming standalone Star Wars trilogy, until Johnson himself chimed in. “No it isn’t true,” he tweeted late Wednesday night. “I’m still working on the trilogy. With all due respect to the movie bros, who I’m sure are lovely kind bros with good fraternal intentions.”
Johnson has been a frequent target of some less savory parts of the fandom who have been unusually irate about The Last Jedi.
As we patiently (or not) await the Episode IX title, Making Star Wars has a nice set of rumors/possible plot details to briefly sate (or enrage) hungry fans. First up, we have a little something about the Knights of Ren, alongside a bit of speculation as to what it means. Then, and just as mysterious, what is the movie’s big MacGuffin? They don’t know, but there’s a bit here on how it (may) drive the plot.
Let’s all remember that the one big thing about rumors, though: It’s all a game of telephone, and sometimes guesses and assumptions made along the way get all mixed up in a tiny bit of truth. Remember, MSW had Knights rumors from last time that turned out to be nothing. As always, I recommend not taking these things too much to heart – at least until we have proof in the form of something official, anyway.
All we’re getting from official sources are firm silence and some minorteasing, so rumors have to do. For now.
Another important character has wrapped in Episode IX – BB-8, per puppeteer Brian Herring, who shared some behind-the-scenes pictures from The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi for the occasion.
→ Anthony Daniels (and thus, Threepio) has wrapped filming on Episode IX. “…We’re so proud to have worked with such a lovely, talented cast & crew lead by J.J. & Kathy,” he tweeted this afternoon. “I’ll miss everyone but I’m glad to know that we’ve been making something exceptional together, to share with the waiting world.
→ The other supporting nominee who happens to be in Star Wars, Richard E. Grant, has his own reaction in the NYT. He actually talks about IX – and his nomination – with Radio Times.
→ No matter how much wishful thinking is knocking around the internet, there won’t be anything from Episode IX at the Super Bowl. Like Solo last year, Disney’s likely contenders for a big game spot are all spring/summer releases. More at Deadline.
→ That said, I still expect that our next major drop will be the title.
Oscar nominations came out this morning, and Solo got a nod for Best Visual Effects. Congrats to ILM’s Rob Bredow, Patrick Tubach, Neal Scanlan and Dominic Tuohy and the rest of the crew. It’s up against Avengers: Infinity War, First Man, Ready Player One and Christopher Robin.
We’ve also got a Golden Globes repeat in the Supporting Actor Race, with Adam Driver (for BlackkKlansman) and Richard E. Grant (for Can You Ever Forgive Me?) going up against each other, as well as Mahershala Ali (who won the Golden Globe,) Sam Elliott and Sam Rockwell.
It’s another record-breaker for Marvel, as Black Panther comes out with seven nominations, including Best Picture. It’s the first superhero movie, period, to be a Best Picture nominee. Ludwig Goransson, who will score The Mandalorian, is up for the film’s score.
Low-res preview pages for Industrial Light & Magic Presents: Making Solo: A Star Wars Story have appeared on Edelweiss. Take a look inside the Disney era’s first making-of book in the gallery under the cut.
John Boyega got his hands dirty – and a little bloody – on the set of Episode IX today. He shared on Instagram: “Great working day on set!! The whole team pushed themselves today to achieve something visually crazy! I’ve had many moments of shock on set but not like today and I can’t wait until you know why. #FN2187”
→ Adam Driver has been doing a lot of press for BlacKkKlansman during awards season, and in a recent Q&A he briefly addressed signing on for Star Wars and having “one piece of information of where it was all going.”
→ And for those who want to avoid the (possible) spoilers, there have been a few reports that a trailer has been cut, but little on the timing. No one is ruling out one appearing early (by which I mean, before Celebration in April) but it seems more likely to me that we’ll get a title as (maybe) production officially finishes, which is how things went down for The Force Awakens. (And that’s likely soon, given all the cast and crew gifts we’ve seen lately.) Could we get a teaser of some sort then? Never say never, but I’m not counting on it. Of course, I’ve been wrong before.
Today is the day that Solo debuts on Netflix. It joins The Last Jedi and Rogue One on the streaming service – though the later will be departing on the 18th. (If you’re not in the U.S., your terms – and the available films – may vary.)