Emilia Clarke in HBO’s ‘Game of Thrones.’ Photo: HBO.
Preview:
The ‘Game of Thrones’ movie is reportedly moving forward at Warner Bros.
‘House of Cards’ and ‘Andor’ writer Beau Willimon is at work on a script.
The movie may be impacted by Paramount buying Warners.
Back before ‘Game of Thrones’ wrapped up its small screen run, there was talk that showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss wanted to end the story with three movies in cinemas, a prospect that HBO bosses shot down.
But the idea of a ‘GOT’ movie didn’t go away, and in late 2024 chatter began about new development. Things have been quiet since then as Warner Bros. focused instead on prequel series ‘House of the Dragon’ and the recent launch of ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’, though news has now arrived of someone actually developing a film.
What’s the potential story for a ‘Game of Thrones’ movie?
HBO’s ‘Game of Thrones.’ Photo: HBO.
Both Page Six and a recent Hollywood Reporter profile of ‘Thrones’ novelist George R.R. Martin have pointed to a focus on Aegon I, who birthed the dragon-happy Targaryen dynasty and united six of the seven kingdoms through bloody conquest about 300 years before the original series (the iconic Iron Throne is forged from swords captured from those his armies defeated in battle).
It’s certainly fertile territory for ‘Thrones’ to explore, and indeed it appears HBO is also looking at a TV take on the idea.
Returning to Disney+ with the first three episodes of Season 2, ‘Star Wars’ series ‘Andor’ once more follows the struggle of the Rebel Alliance as it ramps up its conflict with the Galactic Empire as seen through the lens of rebel agent Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) and an assortment of characters of both sides of the battle.
Season 2 has an interesting release pattern –– the 12 episodes are split across four batches of three, and there is a time jump between batches, covering the four years leading up to the events of ‘Rogue One,’ moving from 4 BBY (Before the Battle of Yavin, as seen in ‘Star Wars’) to the immediate events of the movie.
With the overwhelmingly positive reaction to the first season of ‘Andor,’ the pressure on Season 2 is naturally huge, the expectation built further by the delay between seasons (the first run of episodes was all the way back in 2022).
But by any real metric, the new season handily maintains the quality level of the first, bringing real stakes, incredibly layered shades of gray and genuine humanity to the galaxy far, far away.
Still a much more mature take on the world of ‘Star Wars’ (which is to take nothing away from the entertainment value of shows such as ‘The Mandalorian’), ‘Andor’ represents top quality television.
Tony Gilroy leads a writing team that also includes Beau Willimon and Dan Gilroy, and the assembled staff has crafted a thrilling, politically astute, emotional and superb second season.
While it has to handle various time jumps to accommodate the sheer breadth of its storytelling, the series does so with aplomb, managing to say a lot about the personal cost of rebellion and the banal efficiency of pure evil.
This is very far from a basic battle of good vs. bad, and if the action quotient is lower than other shows, when it does feature set pieces, they’re of similar quality.
On the directorial front, Ariel Kleiman, Janus Metz and Alonso Ruizpalacios bring the same high quality in terms of scope, scale and style to the new episodes. Largely eschewing shooting on a volume stage and bringing many locations to life practically, ‘Andor’s visuals are entirely supportive of its high quality scripts.
Confidently recreating looks and locations we all know and love from the original ‘Star Wars’ while also introducing us to more new worlds, the lived-in feel of the galaxy is entirely present and correct.
Diego Luna is once more the heart and soul of the show, whether he’s on a mission, fighting for his life or spending time with Adria Arjona’s Bix Caleen, figuring out how to make a relationship work with such pressure upon them both.
Arjona is similarly great, handed an impressive PTSD storyline as Bix, still recovering from her treatment at the hands of Imperial torturers, reckons with her place in the resistance.
Also excellent? Stellan Skarsgård, who can turn any speech into a must-watch moment and remains superb as the morally slippery Luthen Rael. And Genevieve O’Reilly, while largely siloed in her own storyline, walks the line of political glad-handing and rebellious plotting without missing a beat.
And we’d be remiss if we didn’t praise the contributions of Alan Tudyk, who once more brings the world’s snarkiest droid to life with a combination of performance capture and the most endlessly frustrated attitude this side of ‘Hitchhiker’s Guide’s Marvin the Paranoid Android.
His buddy comedy chemistry with Luna is as great as ever, and he’s got a great line in putdowns.
Also? Ben Mendelsohn sweeps in and steal scenes as Orson Krennic, the hissable, cape-happy villain of ‘Rogue One,’ here an even more petty bureaucrat dedicated to getting the Death Star finished.
Some sequels feel unearned, but ‘Andor’s new run absolutely matches the sterling quality of the first and, even, in a few places, surpassing it. There might not be anything quite as memorable as the prison storyline from the original season, but it’s all still truly impressive.
Our only other gripe? Not enough of sarcastic reprogrammed Imperial Droid K-2SO, but that’s just a personal bugbear.
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What’s the plot of ‘Andor’ Season 2?
The second season takes place as the horizon of war draws near and Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) becomes a key player in the Rebel Alliance.
Everyone will be tested and, as the stakes rise, the betrayals, sacrifices and conflicting agendas will become profound.
‘Andor’ sets the clock back five years from the events of 2016’s ‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’ to tell the story of the film’s hero and his transformation from disinterested, cynical nobody into a rebel hero on his way to an epic destiny.
‘Andor’s Beau Willimon has joined ‘Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi’.
James Mangold is co-writing and directing the movie.
A group of other ‘Star Wars’ and Disney movies just landed release dates.
Given the critical success of the first season of ‘Star Wars: Andor’ in 2022, it’s perhaps not shocking that a key component of that show’s creative team would be snapped up to work elsewhere in Lucasfilm’s universe.
And now, The Hollywood Reporter brings word that Beau Willimon –– previously most famous for creating Netflix’s ‘House of Cards’ and who was on Tony Gilroy’s writing team for ‘Andor’ –– is aboard to co-write what is still known as ‘Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi’ with director James Mangold.
(L to R) Director James Mangold, and Dave Filoni at Star Wars Celebration 2023.
‘Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi’ looks to dig into a time a long, long, looong time ago in that galaxy far, far away.
Announced in April last year at Star Wars celebration, the film has been wrapped in secrecy since then.
Here’s what Mangold said at the time:
“When I first started talking to Kathy Kennedy about doing one of these pictures, what occurred to me was thinking about what kind of genre of movie within ‘Star Wars’ I wanted to do. And I thought about a biblical epic, like a ‘Ten Commandments’, about the dawning of the Force. Where did the Force come from, when did we discover it, when did we learn how to use it?”
It’s certainly one we’re excited to see.
What is happening with ‘Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi’?
(L to R) Director James Mangold, Dave Filoni, and director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy at Star Wars Celebration 2023.
But with Willimon aboard to co-write, the new ‘Star Wars’ effort should now pick up some momentum.
When will ‘Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi’ be in theaters?
The movie has yet to confirm a release date, though given Mangold’s schedule, we can’t imagine it’ll be before 2027. And Lucasfilm/Disney have been busy filling release dates recently…
What release date information has been released for upcoming Disney films?
While ‘Dawn of the Jedi’ is not yet at a point that it can aim for a release date, Disney has confirmed some the release news for various projects.
Fellow ‘Star Wars’ big screen effort ‘The Mandalorian and Grogu’ has now May 22nd, 2026, date, with Disney and Lucasfilm figuring that the armored warrior and his little green pal can win the Memorial Day weekend that year.
In Pixar news, ‘Toy Story 5’ will see Woody, Buzz and the gang back for a new entry on June 19th, 2026.
And the live-action version of ‘Moana’ is on the move, shifting later in the year partly because of the release of ‘Moana 2’ (which is out November 27th this year), and the new movie will now land on July 10th, 2026.
‘Tron: Ares’, meanwhile, is set for October 10th, 2025.
