News from Disney Investor Day 2020

On Thursday (10th December), Disney held its Investor Day which detailed the corporation's plans for the next couple of years. This meant announcements for upcoming television and film projects, including from television networks like Hulu, FX, ESPN and National Geographic, and media franchises including  Pixar, Star Wars, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

So here's a round-up of some of the big news from the event!

DISNEY ANIMATION STUDIOS & PIXAR

Raya And The Last Dragon - Disney's 59th feature (with Kelly Marie Tran and Awkwafina voices the title roles) will hit cinemas (where possible) on March 5th 2021, but will also premiere on Disney+ on the same day (as Mulan did earlier in the summer)

Iwájú - Disney Animations will be collaborating with Pan-African entertainment company Kugali to create an all-new, science fiction series set in a futuristic version of Lagos coming to Disney+ in 2022. 

Encanto - Directed by Byron Howard and Jared Bush, Encanto is about a magical family from Colombia who llive in a magical home. Lin-Manuel Miranda has written the music for this film.

Luca - Coming after Soul (which hits Disney+ on Christmas Day), Pixar's next feature film is Luca. Set in Italy, the film is all about two best friends- Luca and Alberto- celebrating an unforgettable summer. It will hit cinemas in June 2021.

Turning Red - Domee Shi (who directed the Oscar-winning animated short Bao) directs Turning Red. Teenager Mei experiences all of the awkwardness of being a teenager, with an added twist: when she gets too excited, she transforms into a giant red panda. It comes to cinemas on March 11th 2022.

Lightyear - Now here's an interesting one. On June 17th 2022, we'll get to see the definitive story of the original Buzz Lightyear (the space ranger who inspired the action figure in the Toy Story films). And here's another interesting one: Buzz will be voiced by Chris Evans! 

DISNEY STUDIOS

The cast of the live-action version of The Little Mermaid has been confirmed, directed by Rob Marshall (Chicago, Into The Woods):

Also announced was Hocus Pocus 2, directed by Adam Shankman, and a remake of Three Men And A Baby with Zac Efron in the lead.

Night At The Museum is coming to Disney+ in 2021 in a new animated feature

Jungle Cruise, with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Emily Blunt, Jack Whitehall and Paul Giamatti, will still be hitting cinemas in July 2021.

A live-action version of Pinocchio, starring Tom Hanks and directed by Robert Zemeckis, has been announced, as has a version of Peter Pan with Jude Law as Captain Hook.

A sequel to 2007's Enchanted- called Disenchanted- will stream exclusively on Disney+ with Amy Adams returning to play Giselle; Sister Act 3 is also in the works with Whoopi Goldberg producing and starring.

STAR WARS

A huge slate of Star Wars TV shows was announced during the event, which will all premiere on Disney+

Rangers Of The New Republic and Ahsoka are two new original series set within the timeline of The Mandalorian; Rosario Dawson, who plays Ahsoka Tano in The Mandalorian, will reprise her role. 

In 2022, there will be an original series based around the character of Cassian Andor- who appeared in Rogue One- with Diego Luna returning to the role (and acting as an executive producer). It will run for 12 episodes.  Fiona Shaw, Denise Gough, and Kyle Soller are joining the cast, as well as Genevieve O’Reilly as rebel leader Mon Mothma.

Ewan McGregor's long-mooted Obi-Wan Kenobi spin-off is definitely happening... with Hayden Christensen returning to play Darth Vader opposite him. Set 10 years after the events of Revenge Of The Sith, it's a project that has a lot of people excited.

A few new animated series and features were announced, including The Bad Batch, Visions (a series of shorts that show the Star Wars galaxy through Japanese anime creators), and A Droid Story (where a new hero will get guided by R2-D2 and C-3PO). 

A Lando Calrissian spinoff was also announced, as was The Acolyte which is billed as "a mystery-thriller that will take viewers into a galaxy of shadowy secrets and emerging dark-side powers in the final days of the High Republic era"

Disney also confirmed the Star Wars feature to be directed by Taika Waititi, whilst Patty Jenkins (Wonder Woman) will direct Star Wars: Rogue Squadron.

MARVEL STUDIOS

Kevin Feige ended the four-hour event with a bumper load of news regarding Marvel's upcoming slate of television and films.

Starting with the television programmes:

WandaVision -  Starring Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany, this series starts streaming from January 15th 2021 on Disney+

The Falcon And The Winter Soldier -  Starring Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan, this six-part series starts streaming from March 19th 2021

Loki -  Starring Tom Hiddleston, this crime caper will be released on Disney+ in May 2021

What If...? - The 10-part animated series, which explores what would happen if major moments in the Marvel timeline happened differently (for example, if Peggy Carter had received the Super Soldier Serum instead of Steve Rogers, or if T'Challa had been found by Yondu instead of Star-Lord), hits Disney+ in Summer 2021. Jeffrey Wright plays the Watcher who narrates the show.

Ms. Marvel - This current iteration of Ms. Marvel (Kamala Khan, a teenage Pakistani American from New Jersey, and one of the first Muslim characters to headline a Marvel comic) has only been in the comic books since 2014 but will be making her way to the small- and big- screens in 2021 and 2022. The Ms. Marvel TV show will air on Disney+ late 2021.

Hawkeye - Jeremy Renner will play Clint Barton/Hawkeye in this Disney+ original story, alongside Oscar-nominated actress Hailee Steinfeld as Kate Bishop. Alaqua Cox, Fra Free, and Vera Farmiga will also appear in the show, which does not have a release date as yet. 

She-Hulk - Rumoured for a while, it's now been confirmed that Orphan Black's Tatiana Maslany will be bringing Jennifer Walters (a.k.a. She Hulk) to the small screen. Also, it's been confirmed that Tim Roth will return to the MCU for the first time since 2008's The Incredible Hulk to play Emil Blonsky/Abomination, and appearances from current Hulk Mark Ruffalo have also been announced. 

Moon Knight - an original series featuring the detective character described as "a complex vigilante" (which is putting it mildly!) has been greenlit. No casting news or release date has been given, although Oscar Isaac has been attached to the role. 

Secret Invasion - Samuel L. Jackson returns as Nick Fury whilst Ben Mendelsohn reprises his Captain Marvel role as the Skrull Talos for this series. No other information has been given so far. 

Ironheart - An original series based on Riri Williams, a teenage engineering student who creates a suit of armour more advanced than Iron Man's, Dominique Thorne (If Beale Street Could Talk) will play the title role. 

Armor Wars - Don Cheadle returns as James Rhodes/War Machine for a series which shows what happens if Stark technology falls into the wrong hands.

The Guardians Of The Galaxy Holiday Special and I Am Groot - James Gunn returns to write and direct this 2022 holiday special (done on the set of Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol.3), whilst an animated series of shorts featuring Baby Groot will also come to Disney+ 

MCU MOVIES

A lot of interesting news came out for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Confirmation has come that Black Widow will still be hitting cinemas in May 2021, and that Mahershala Ali will be playing Blade in a new film.

Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings - Production has wrapped on the film, which will be released on June 9th 2021. Several new cast members have been officially announced: 

Doctor Who In The Multiverse Of Madness - Some familiar faces will be joining Benedict Cumberbatch's Sorcerer Supreme for this Sam Raimi-directed film. Benedict Wong (Wong), Rachel McAdams (Christine Palmer) and Chiwetel Ejiofor (Mordo) will be reprising their roles from the first Doctor Strange film, whilst newcomers to the cast include Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch and Xochitl Gomez as America Chavez.  The film will reportedly link to both WandaVision and the third Sony/Marvel Spider-Man film (in which Cumberbatch will appear). March 25th 2022 is the given release date for this film at the moment.  

Thor: Love And Thunder - Again, something that had been long-rumoured but now confirmed: Christian Bale will be joining the MCU! Bale will star opposite Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman as Gorr the God Butcher. The film is due in cinemas May 6th 2022. 

Black Panther 2 - The sequel to the 2018 original will be written and directed by Ryan Coogler. Given the untimely passing of Chadwick Boseman earlier this year, the decision has been made not to recast the character of T'Challa. Instead the film will explore the world of Wakanda and the other characters. The film will hit the cinemas on July 8th 2022.  

Captain Marvel 2 - Nia DaCosta (Top Boy, Candyman) takes the director's chair for the sequel to 2019's original. Brie Larson will once again take the role of Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel and will be joined by Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau, and Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel. The film is due on November 11th 2022.

Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania - Peyton Reed (Ant-Man) will direct this threequel, with Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas, and Michelle Pfeiffer all returning from Ant-Man And The Wasp. Kathryn Newton will join the cast as Cassie Lang, and Jonathan Majors as Kang The Conqueror.

Saving some of the biggest news til last, Jon Watts (Spider-Man: Homecoming, Spider-Man: Far From Home) will direct a new feature film bringing the Fantastic Four into the MCU. 

OTHER NEWS

An Alien television series is in development at FX Networks, with Noah Hawley (showrunner of Fargo) as showrunner.

It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia has been renewed for four more seasons (up to Season 18) which will make it the longest-running live action sitcom in TV history

A Willow TV show, based on the 1988 fantasy action drama of the same name, is in the works and will premiere in 2022. Warwick Davis will reprise his role from the original film, and the pilot episode will be directed by Jon M. Chu (G.I. Joe: Retaliation, Crazy Rich Asians)

Pre-production has begun on the fifth Indiana Jones film. It'll be directed by James Mangold (Le Mans '66, Logan) and hit cinemas in July 2022. 

So, there's a lot to look forward to in the next couple of years!

David Prowse (1935-2020)

We at The Watchers were saddened to hear of the death of David Prowse. The 6ft 6in actor and bodybuilder- best known for physically playing Darth Vader in the original Star Wars trilogy- passed away on November 28th, at the age of 85. 

Born in Bristol in 1935, Prowse found a passion for body-building and weight-training as a teenager. He won the British heavyweight weightlifting champion from 1962-1964, and represented England at the 1962 Commonwealth Games in Perth, Australia. He also competed in Mr Universe bodybuilding competition. During this time, he became friends with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lou Ferrigno.

Prowse made his feature film debut in 1967, in the spy spoof Casino Royale in an uncredited role as Frankenstein's Monster (he would play this role again in two Hammer horror movies: The Horror Of Frankenstein [1970] and Frankenstein And The Monster From Hell [1974]). He also appeared in Carry On Henry (1971) and the big-screen version of Up Pompeii (1971) in bit parts.

Prowse also appeared in Stanley Kubrick's controversial 1971 movie A Clockwork Orange. In it, Prowse plays Julian, the hulking aide to Mr. Alexander (Patrick Magee). It's a very physical role, which has Prowse lifting and carrying Magee in his wheelchair, and conveying Malcolm McDowell down a flight of stairs. It's this role which brought Prowse onto the radar of George Lucas. Before his appearance in Star Wars, Prowse appeared in several cult sci-fi TV shows including Doctor Who (1972) as a Minotaur, The Tomorrow People (1973) as an Android, and Space: 1999 (1976) as the Cloud Creature. 

If Darth Vader wasn't enough of a claim to fame, Prowse also had a second role for which he will be remembered (especially in the UK). In 1975, Prowse took the role of the Green Cross Man, a superhero designed by the British road safety committee to teach road safety to children, using the Green Cross Code. His catchphrase was "Stop, look, and listen". It was such a success that the Green Cross Man continued to be a side project throughout his career until the 1990s. Prowse considered this role to be of great importance, and has stated many times that it was possibly the most rewarding job he has done. 

George Lucas invited Prowse to audition for two roles in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977); they were Chewbacca and Darth Vader. Prowse opted to go for the latter as "you always remember the bad guys" (Chewbacca went on to be played by Peter Mayhew). Prowse gave the physical performance for Vader and also did the scripted lines, but his broad Bristolian accent (which gained him the rather unflattering nickname of 'Darth Farmer' from Carrie Fisher) was not deemed to be right for the character and Lucas had James Earl Jones record the lines. Urban legend has it that Prowse only realised that his lines had been re-recorded at the premiere of the film. 

Prowse reprised the role in Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Star Wars: Episode VI - Return Of The Jedi (1983), although when Vader is unmasked at the end, actor Sebastian Shaw is seen. He was also doubled by stunt co-ordinator Bob Anderson during the lightsabre duels, as Prowse kept breaking the stunt props. Due to a leak to the British press just before Return Of The Jedi (which was incorrectly pinned on Prowse), the relationship between Prowse and LucasFilm became strained. Prowse was even barred from official Star Wars events, but remained a mainstay of the convention circuit, meeting fans and signing autographs. Due to ill health, he retired from public appearances in 2017.

Aside from his screen work, Prowse worked as a fitness trainer, even acting as Christopher Reeve's personal trainer for Superman (1978) and as Cary Elwes' for The Princess Bride (1987). He was awarded an MBE in the 2000 Queen's Millennium Honours List for his contribution to charity and road safety. His autobiography- Straight From The Force's Mouth- was published in 2011. 

Paying tribute to Prowse, George Lucas wrote "David brought a physicality to Darth Vader that was essential for the character... He made Vader leap off the page and on to the big screen, with an imposing stature and movement performance to match the intensity and undercurrent of Vader’s presence. David was up for anything and contributed to the success of what would become a memorable, tragic figure. May he rest in peace.”

He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Norma, and three children. Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this time. 

Mini-Countdown: Longest Waits For A Sequel

2020 has had little cheer so far, but it has brought us some joy in the release of Bill & Ted Face The Music, which has been released nearly three decades after the last instalment in the Bill & Ted story. It's been 29 years since Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey but this is by no means the longest wait between instalments of a franchise (or between a film and its sequel).  

So, inspired by the release of Bill & Ted Face The Music (we will be recording a special Bill & Ted podcast shortly), here are some more of the longest waits for the next part of a story. 

1. 54 Years: Mary Poppins (1964) and Mary Poppins Returns (2018)

A whopping five-and-a-bit decades separates the wonderfully whimsical Mary Poppins from its sequel, which is the longest gap between sequels in cinema history to date. Yes, Emily Blunt has taken the reins from Julie Andrews, but it's the same Mary Poppins who visited the Banks family all those years ago: "Close your mouth, please, Michael, we are *still* not a codfish...Jane Banks, still rather inclined to giggle, I see". 

P.L. Travers (author of the original Mary Poppins novels) notoriously disliked the original film, but authorised the stage version (which debuted in 2004) on the proviso that nobody involved in the movie- particularly composers Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman- were involved, even stipulating it in her will. However, the success of the stage version led to Walt Disney Studios being able to negotiate with Travers' estate to bring Mary Poppins Returns to the screen.

2. 35 Years: Top Gun (1986) and Top Gun: Maverick (2021) and Blade Runner (1982) and Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

Many sequels operate under the system of "passing the torch", introducing the next generation (it's what The Force Awakens did, for instance). There are elements to this in both of these sequels, both of which have a gap of 35 years; in Blade Runner 2049, it's down to Ryan Gosling's K to find Deckard and in Maverick, Tom Cruise's Maverick comes against the new generation of recruits: including the son of his former classmate Goose. Obviously, this assumes that Maverick will stick to its 2021 release - however, with everything going on at the moment, that could well change. 

3. 32 Years: Star Wars: Episode VI - Return Of The Jedi (1983) and Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015)

Before anyone starts, a little primer. This is from Dictionary.com - Sequel (/ˈsi kwəl/) : noun; a literary work, movie, etc., that is complete in itself but continues the narrative of a preceding work.

Yes, I know there were Star Wars films between 1983 and 2015. They were Episodes 1-3. PREQUELS. Again from Dictionary.com - prequel (/pree-kwuhl/) noun: a literary, dramatic, or filmic work that prefigures a later work, as by portraying the same characters at a younger age

The direct sequel from Return Of The Jedi is The Force Awakens. So there was a 32 year wait to continue the Skywalker saga. Don't @ me. 

4. 29 Years: Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985) and Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

Along with Bill & Ted, it was 29 years between Max's adventures in the Thunderdome with Auntie Entity (Tina Turner) and his time with Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) on Fury Road. And in that time, Max underwent a bit of a change- going from Mel Gibson to Tom Hardy.

5. 28 Years: TRON (1982) and TRON: Legacy (2010)

A bit more of the "next generation" torch-passing with TRON: Legacy, with Sam (Garrett Hedlund) entering the virtual world that his father (Jeff Bridges) has been living in for the last 20 years. There will be a third instalment to the TRON franchise, starring Jared Leto, but the gap between Parts 2 and 3 won't be quite as long as between Parts 1 and 2. 

Other long waits:

• 23 years between Psycho (1960) and Psycho II (1983)

• 23 years between Wall Street (1987) and Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010)

• 20 years between Rambo III (1988) and Rambo (2008)

• 20 years between Dumb And Dumber (1994) and Dumb And Dumber To (2014)

• 19 years between Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade (1989) and Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull (2008)

• 17 years between Bad Boys II (2003) and Bad Boys For Life (2020)

• 16 years between Rocky V (1990) and Rocky Balboa (2006)

• 16 years between The Godfather Part II (1974) and The Godfather Part III (1990)

• 15 years between Zoolander (2001) and Zoolander 2 (2016)

• 14 years between My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002) and My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 (2016)

Are there any other long waits (at least a decade) that you can think of? Let us know in the comments below. 

News From Comic-Con 2020

This year's Geek Mecca- a.k.a. San Diego Comic-Con- was (unsurprisingly) cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, they decided to move it online for Comic-Con@Home which ran from July 22-26. Over 350 panels, covering TV, film, and comic-books, took place over the five-day convention, with many still available to watch online.

Some highlights of the event included a panel on how the seventh season finale of The Blacklist was partially animated due to filming being shut down; an interesting discussion on why horror is (and always has been) a Queer space; An Evening with Kevin Smith; and a panel celebrating fifteen years since the release of Constantine (starring Keanu Reeves as the titular Hellblazer), which saw Reeves joining director Francis Lawrence and produer Akiva Goldsman to discuss the film and an intended sequel that was, sadly, never made.

With a lot of major film franchises not present at the event, the news coming out of Comic-Con this year might seem a little sparse, but there was still a lot of interesting stuff to whet our appetites for the rest of the year and into 2021.

The New Mutants

Given the utter saga it's taken to get this film finished, you'd be forgiven for thinking that it would just limply drop on a streaming service, especially given the coronavirus situation. Not so. As of time of writing, the film is still set for a cinema release on August 28th and director Josh Boone has pretty much said he doesn't care how the film gets released, just that it does. During the panel, the opening scene of the film was shown and it's...  interesting.

What's even more interesting is that, prior to Disney's acquisition of Fox's film assets (which includes X-Men), this was going to be the first in a trilogy of films. Had the sequels come to fruition, the characters of Warlock and Karma would have been introduced, and the "Inferno" storyline- which sees a demonic invasion of Earth- would have been adapted.

Jurassic World: Dominion

Having recently started filming again at Pinewood Studios, director Colin Trevorrow announced in the "Directors on Directing" panel that Jurassic World: Dominion would go back to using animatronic dinosaurs (used extensively in the original Jurassic Park trilogy) rather than relying on CGI and visual effects.

Trevorrow stated that “We’ve actually gone more practical with every Jurassic movie we’ve made since the first one, and we’ve made more animatronics in this one than we have in the previous two".

Bill & Ted Face The Music

Not only was a new trailer shown for the third Bill & Ted movie, it was announced that- due to the current state of things- the film would open simultaneously in cinemas (where possible) but also on demand on September 1st. 

Killroy Was Here

During the previously-mentioned Evening with Kevin Smith, the filmmaker dropped a trailer and discussed his upcoming low-budget horror anthology Killroy Was Here. 

Based on the iconic but mysterious graffiti of a cartoon man with a large nose peering over a wall (first originating during the Second World War among GIs), it offers a fictionalised account of its origins whilst showing several shorts featurng the character. Smith previously discussed the project by saying "This is a monster movie in the sense of a classic morality tale. No one wants to see you spill the blood of innocents, but when someone crosses the line and goes bad, you get to make them pay in horrible ways, and the audience cheers. We wanted to make an anthology film in the vein of ‘Creepshow.’ Killroy is like the Golem, the Boogeyman and the Grim Reaper combined."

Students from Ringling College of Art and Design in Florida participated in the project, which stars regular Smith collaborator Jason Mewes. There's no official release date but Smith says it will "probably" be released by early 2021.  

TV trailers and news

- A trailer for the second series of His Dark Materials, the fantasy adventure based on Philip Pullman's books, was shown, with Terence Stamp, Simone Kirby, Jade Anoukam and Phoebe Waller-Bridge (as the voice of Andrew Scott's daemon) announced as joining the cast. 

- Amazon's The Boys has been renewed for Season 3 (before Season 2 has even aired), with an aftershow (hosted by Aisha Tyler) also planned.

- Hulu's new Marvel show Helstrom (based on a character who, initially, was the Son of Satan) got a trailer, and a release date; the 10-episode series will air on October 16th

- Season 11 of FXX spy spoof comedy Archer got a trailer, and a release date: it will premiere on Wednesday 16th September

Release schedule delays

This news wasn't officially announced at Comic-Con but came out at the end of last week. 

- Mulan: perhaps the biggest surprise is the removal of Niki Caro's live-action adaptation of Mulan from the release schedule; originally due on August 21st, it was hoped that this could at least salvage something of the 2020 summer blockbuster season. But with Christopher Nolan's Tenet also removed from the schedule (before yesterday's news that it will open internationally before the US), it seems that studios and distributors have finally accepted that this summer is going to be a bit of a write-off. No new date has been given. 

- The French Dispatch: Wes Anderson's whimsical paean to the press has also disappeared from Disney release schedules as well. 

- Star Wars movies: Disney have announced that the three planned Star Wars movies (presumably one being directed by Taika Waititi) will now be released in December 2023, 2025, and 2027.

- Avatar sequels: the Avatar sequels (2-5) will now be released in December 2022, 2024, 2026, and 2028, meaning Disney gets Christmas sewn up for most of the 2020s.

- Death On The Nile - whilst still planned for release this year, this "sequel" to Murder On The Orient Express which will see Kenneth Branagh reprise the role of Hercule Poirot has been pushed back to October 23rd

- A Quiet Place Part 2: John Krasinski's horror sequel will now be released on April 23rd 2021 (instead of September 4th this year)

- Top Gun: Maverick - for those who feel the need, the need for speed, you'll have to wait a little bit longer to see Tom Cruise back in one of his most iconic roles; instead of a Christmas 2020 release, it will not hit screens on July 2nd 2021. 

Revisiting A Classic: The Star Wars Saga (Part Three, Episodes VII – IX)

Star Wars is the one go-to franchise for myself when I want to shut off the outside world and feel good. I’ve written about the original holy trinity (Episodes 4, 5 and 6) and the prequel trilogy (Episodes 1, 2 and 3)

But I haven’t as yet chatted about the third trilogy of films (Episodes 7, 8 and 9). So, here’s some quick, concise thoughts on this final act trilogy from a life-long fan!

Episode 7 - The Force Awakens

 OK… wait! Let’s set the scene a little first!

In 2012, the news broke around the world - George Lucas had sold his LucasFilm Ltd. for an undisclosed figure (estimated at $4 billion!)- so he retired! What this meant was Disney bought Star Wars and all other intellectual properties of LucasFilm (including Indiana Jones). 

Kathleen Kennedy - an established producer and well-known to fans of Lucas and Spielberg; the woman has literally produced dozens of modern day classics (such as ET, the Back To The Future trilogy, The Goonies, and the Jurassic Park films)- was appointed the Managing Director of the new Lucasfilm arm of Disney. That same time as the announcement of this sale, Disney announced that a new trilogy of Star Wars was going to be made! That was the news I had been wanting to hear for decades! Episodes 7,8 and 9! The fabled chapters of Star Wars- the continuing adventures of Luke, Leia and Han! Brilliant!

News came thick and fast that the original cast were returning. A photo was released of the cast at the first full read through. We waited….

2015. Episode 7 is released.

OK - first off the bat. Is The Force Awakens a bench mark, an all original adventure and continuation? Well, yes and no. But mostly no.

Now, I like JJ Abrams as a filmmaker- he’s made some cracking TV and films. I love Super 8 which is a love letter to Amblin and the 80s; also, the man and his team did the impossible in 2009 when they reinvented and recast the original bridge of the Enterprise. Star Trek was a respectful update of a franchise that pays respect to what came before. My point is, this filmmaker knows the genre and is a massive Star Wars fan. But, most importantly, he’s a damn good filmmaker.

So the plus points of Episode 7: the new characters are great – well, mostly two of them are great; Finn and Rey are both rounded, interesting characters. The set pieces and action are outstanding and, particularly important, there is the return of a large percentage of practical effects. The set design and cinematography all feel like the original holy trinity!  This episode also is very much great because of the return of writer Lawrence Kasdan (who wrote The Empire Strikes Back and Raiders of the Lost Ark)!

Minus points? Well, Poe Dameron is a cardboard cutout of a ‘hero’ in this episode and pretty much pointless! Then there is the fact that the entire film mirrors Episode 4: A New Hope - lazy! I say lazy but mirroring story/plot points is a theme in Star Wars

In all, Episode 7 sets up some refreshing ideas, characters and a return to a galaxy far, far away. But I have to say the treatment of the original characters was not handled that well at all and I would have preferred to see the original characters be much more involved (Han Solo aside that is; he was back and played a massive part in the plot. Was I upset at his death? Yes, but at the same time, I understood it made sense for the story!)

Episode 8 - The Last Jedi

2017. So JJ Abrams did not return to the director’s chair, nor did Lawrence Kasdan to write this episode. I was a little worried- but surely there is an outline for Episodes 8 and 9 by Abrams and Kasdan? Must be… it’ll be fine… They announced the writer/director: Rian Johnson (whose main credit up to that point was the sci-fi film Looper, which, I’m sorry to say, my opinion of that film is- politely put- pants!) So again, I was worried!

The film releases to critics hailing it the second coming, saying it’s the best Star Wars since The Empire Strikes Back! Well, all I can say is- what are they watching? It cannot be this awful, embarrassing pile of crap!

Johnson threw out any outline from the people who started this trilogy. He then goes ahead and makes a film that is a mess. It has all the action you expect, but it has way too much humour (and I mean slapstick levels of embarrassing moments and stupid jokes at inappropriate moments of drama)! The way the character of Luke is handled is just… well yeah, unforgivable! The subplot that finds Finn hurtling around the galaxy with a new character- Rose- is just pointless and utterly tragic on how tedious it is. 

The main plot is also tedious- Leia (played by the late Carrie Fisher) is wasted and again ‘legacy’ characters are either underserved or written terribly. The reveals of Rey’s parents in under whelming, Snoke being killed off makes no sense! The whole film is style over substance, and I could slag it off for hours.

Positives - The end scenes with Force projection Luke is great. Yep, that’s it!

Negatives – The other 90% of the film! It takes a massive dump on the fandom, what’s canon and basically isn’t a Star Wars film- it’s a cheap knock off (and again, Poe Dameron is basically useless and spends the entire film whingeing)!

So… all hope was lost - this was the start of a turbulent time as a Star Wars fan! 

Rogue One had been released December 2016, it was a massive success and now that’s the best Star Wars film since Empire! But there were rumours of reshoots and a change of director during reshoots and post-production on that film - hindsight, and the fact that the original director (Gareth Edwards) hasn’t worked since 2016 can tell you a lot. But that was a success.

The Last Jedi is loved by critics- but importantly fans are divided, with a lot of diehard fans hating it!

They announce that Colin Trevorrow (who made the fourth Jurassic Park film) was working on the script and would be directing Episode 9. OK, I thought, at least the hack from Episode 8 won’t be involved! But again, I was a little worried as Jurassic World stank and was very much a carbon copy of Jurassic Park!

They also had troubles on the next Star Wars story - the original directors were Chris Miller and Phil Lord, who had made The Lego Movie! I mean… what? Who are you hiring to make these films?! Well, they were fired at about 50% the way through filming. Kathleen Kennedy hires Ron Howard (finally a director with a clue and talent) to complete and reshoot the film! Then they released Solo in May 2018 and that doesn’t do well in the box office. 

I liked Solo. It was a by-the-book prequel and the actors who played the younger version of loved characters were great. And the cameo villain at the end? Bravo! Kudos! It all felt like Star Wars - but I think too much of a good thing was what this franchise was and is suffering from! I mean from 1977 to 2015, we had 6 films (six films in 28 years). From 2015-2020, five films in five years. That’s oversaturating your fanbase! Plus, releasing Solo in May 2018 was a stupid idea - there had been less than five months since The Last Jedi stank the cinemas out!

But… there was a new hope! Colin Trevorrow is out (which makes three directors replaced in the last 3 films) and JJ returns! Oh, hope of hope… oh wait, Kasdan isn’t coming back. They’ve got the guy who wrote Batman V Superman… Oh... Wait, he did write Argo as well! OK, all’s not lost then!

Episode 9 - The Rise Of Skywalker 

2019. This is the final film in what Disney has dubbed The Skywalker Saga. I rewatched it today on its BluRay release and it is the third time I’ve seen it.

It’s absolutely fantastic. It is fan service- but it’s the final episode. The film manages to bring to an end not only the complete nine films and also deliver a cracking third act of a trilogy. The film comes in at a staggering two-and-a-half hours, but the speed of the plot is fantastic; action, adventure - everything you want from Star Wars.

Better still is the return of Ian McDiarmid as Emperor Palpatine - this is genius writing, that retcons all of the damage of The Last Jedi and links back to the prequel trilogy (with the story of Darth Plagueis who found a way to cheat death)! Also returning- finally- is the great Billy Dee Williams as Lando - again though, he’s underused!

The films characters are well paid off. Rey’s journey and twists are perfect, Finn shines as a hero and Poe Dameron finally becomes a useful interesting character. I especially loved the bigger inclusion of C3PO in the main core team of heroes. Kylo Ren is a very modern complex villain and is a tour de force of how to make a multilayered character. What was so well done is how the filmmakers managed to have Princess Leia in the film using audio and unused footage from other films! Carrie Fisher is missed but the film is as if she were there to film the scenes! Truly well crafted!

This is how you make a Star Wars film - tragedy, adventure and a very strong villain. Plus, the humour is balanced correctly! I could gush on how great a film this is - but I’ll stop.

Rhys