Moviefone Editorial

Tag: rian johnson

  • Chris Evans Joins Daniel Craig for Rian Johnson Murder Mystery ‘Knives Out’

    Chris Evans Joins Daniel Craig for Rian Johnson Murder Mystery ‘Knives Out’

    Avengers: Infinity War
    Marvel Studios

    Cap, meet 007.

    Chris Evans just made headlines with his poignant goodbye post after finishing “Avengers 4” reshoots. He’s made it clear he’s out as Steve Rogers/Captain America. Meanwhile, Daniel Craig has also made it clear he’s done as James Bond after “Bond 25.”

    Now — both with one foot out of their most famous roles — Evans and Craig are teaming up for “Knives Out.” The murder mystery movie is being written and directed by “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” director Rian Johnson.

    According to Deadline, Johnson is going to make this movie before directing a new “Star Wars” trilogy.

    “Knives Out” plot details are still unknown at this point, but Deadline said it’s understood to be a modern day “whodunit” murder mystery.

    Bond GIF
    Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer,

    They added that “Knives Out” will likely film this year — in what’s left of it. If that happens, Daniel Craig will actually film this before “Bond 25,” which is now being directed by Cary Fukunaga for a Valentine’s Day 2020 release date.

    Chris Evans only just finished filming “Avengers 4” — he’ll still be back for the press tour next year — but he has grown no moss on the work front. It was recently announced that he’ll star in and produce the upcoming Apple series “Defending Jacob.”

    Evans also filmed “The Red Sea Diving Resort,” which is expected to release at some point later this year. Plus, there’s the disaster thriller “Greenland.”

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  • Study Says Half of ‘Last Jedi’ Online Hate Came From Russian, Political Trolls

    Study Says Half of ‘Last Jedi’ Online Hate Came From Russian, Political Trolls

    Lucasfilm

    “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” was a — shall we say — controversial entry into the storied franchise, but according to a new study, much of the online backlash against it had nothing to do with the film itself.

    The paper by researcher Morten Bay, titled Weaponizing the Haters: The Last Jedi and the Strategic Politicization of Pop Culture through Social Media Manipulation,” delves into the online response to Rian Johnson’s movie and finds “evidence of deliberate, organized political influence measures disguised as fan arguments.”

    Bay organized the movie’s haters into three groups: those with a political agenda, trolls, and “fantagonists” (actual “Star Wars” fans who didn’t like the movie itself).

    According to his research, “Overall, 50.9% of those tweeting negatively [about the movie] was likely politically motivated or not even human.”

    In fact, Bay finds 21.9% of tweets analyzed about the movie had been negative in the first place and many of them were posted by Russian trolls.

    And to what purpose?

    Bay writes: “The results of the study show that among those who address ‘The Last Jedi’ director Rian Johnson directly on Twitter to express their dissatisfaction, more than half are bots, trolls/sock puppets or political activists using the debate to propagate political messages supporting extreme right-wing causes and the discrimination of gender, race or sexuality.”

    We’re shocked. Shocked!

    Johnson himself had a similar reaction:

  • Daniel Craig to Star in Rian Johnson’s Murder Mystery ‘Knives Out’

    Daniel Craig to Star in Rian Johnson’s Murder Mystery ‘Knives Out’

    Spectre
    MGM

    James Bond is taking a detour into a murder mystery.

    Daniel Craig is set to star in “Knives Out,” a murder mystery written and directed by Rian Johnson. Deadline reports the project will  go up for bidding at the Toronto International Film Festival.

    Craig can fit the project into his schedule this November, since production on “Bond 25” was thrown into chaos when director Danny Boyle left. Meanwhile, Johnson will slide the movie into his schedule just before embarking on directing a new “Star Wars” trilogy for Lucasfilm.

    The film id described as a modern day murder mystery in the classic whodunit style, infused with Johnson’s original voice that informed films from “Brick” to “Looper.”

    Johnson told Deadline he is an Agatha Christie superfan and for a decade, he has been figuring out how to make his own murder mystery. And then this summer, he penned a contemporary version of the locked door mansion murder mystery.

    Craig and Johnson haven’t worked together, though the actor did make a cameo in “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.”

  • Rian Johnson’s New ‘Star Wars’ Trilogy Could Be Ready as Soon as 2020

    Lucasfilm may be putting more spinoffs like “Solo” on hold, but it’s moving full hyperspace speed ahead with the announced trilogy being created by “Star Wars: Last Jedi” director Rian Johnson.

    In an interview with Israel’s From the Grapevine, Johnson’s producing partner Ram Bergman teased that this new trilogy could arrive as soon as 2020.

    “It’s all new characters. Everything is new,” Bergman explained.

    And when asked about releasing the first film, he added, “I can’t tell you because we don’t know yet. Maybe in two years; it’s just in the early stages.”

    With “Episode IX” slated for release December 2019, that would leave a hole in the “Star Wars” schedule for 2020, especially if the reports are true about Lucasfilm putting the brakes on spinoffs. The company had been developing standalones around Obi-Wan Kenobi and Boba Fett, and previously, the spinoffs alternated with the episodic movies.

    It seems more likely that Johnson would get the first movie of his trilogy off the ground first before the other announced series from “Game of Thrones” showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. They’re still busy with post-production on the final season of the HBO fantasy drama, which won’t be released until 2019. That doesn’t give them much time to turn around a “Star Wars” movie.

    And Johnson has proven to be a reliable filmmaker that Lucasfilm trusts. So, are we getting that fish nun movie we’ve all been waiting for or what?

  • Some Fans Want to Remake ‘The Last Jedi’ and Twitter Is Having a Field Day

    A fan-led campaign to remake last year’s “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” has been met with some understandable skepticism on social media, though original director Rian Johnson has offered his support for the proposal.

    Of course, we’re assuming that that support is tongue in cheek, as are many of the suggestions offered by fellow Twitter users in response to the campaign, spearheaded by a group calling themselves Remake The Last Jedi. According to this mysterious collection of fans, they already have a team of producers prepared to pony up $200 million for the film, which they say will “save Star Wars” and “make a version of TLJ that is as close to universally accepted as possible.”

    Naturally, this announcement was met with a collective raised eyebrow, with even Seth Rogen wading in to find out how such a movie would be possible to make, since it would require Disney to sign off on the usage of its copyrighted material. While the folks at Remake The Last Jedi work out those details, though, Twitter is already offering a bunch of ideas for the new and improved movie. (“The Last LAST Jedi”? “The Last Jedi, But For Real This Time”? We’ll work on fine-tuning the title.)

    Sure, “The Last Jedi” wasn’t a perfect movie, and as with any beloved franchise, there are bound to be disagreements over bold choices that affect its future. But Disney already has bigger problems to tackle; it seems safe to say that remaking a six-month-old movie — and changing the course of the in-progress “Episode IX” in the process — is not on the studio’s to-do list.

    If that changes, we’ll be the first to let you know, though. Some of these suggestions would be pretty awesome to see on the big screen.

  • J.J. Abrams Had Different Plan For Rey’s Parents Than ‘Last Jedi’ Revelation

    Maybe Rey’s parents weren’t nobodies after all.

    Or at least, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” director J.J. Abrams didn’t intend them to be. As shown in “The Last Jedi,” Rey (Daisy Ridley) learned the identity of her parents — just two scummy junkers who sold their kid for drinking money. That played into Rian Johnson’s theme that anybody could use the Force and be a hero.

    Johnson has repeatedly said that there was no overarching plan for the new trilogy and that he never was told what to do about Rey’s parentage.

    But on the podcast “Happy Sad Confused,” actor/director Simon Pegg (who played junk boss Unkar Plutt in “Force Awakens”) has revealed that Abrams did have a different plan for Rey.

    “I know what J.J. kind of intended or at least was being chucked around,” Pegg said. “I think that’s kind of been undone slightly by the last one. There was some talk of a relevant lineage for her.”

    Relevant lineage, huh? That should fire up the fans who were disappointed that Rey didn’t turn out to be Luke’s daughter or related to Obi-Wan Kenobi.

    Pegg added, “But I honestly don’t know, and I don’t know if anybody knows. We shall see.”

    It is possible Abrams, who will return to helm “Episode IX,” could undo Johnson’s storytelling choice about Rey’s parents. We shall see in December 2019.

  • Rian Johnson Won’t Factor ‘Last Jedi’ Reaction Into His New ‘Star Wars’ Trilogy

    Journey to Star Wars - 2018 SXSW Conference and FestivalsWhen director Rian Johnson returns to the “Star Wars” universe, he won’t be carrying any baggage from the past.

    “The Last Jedi” received positive reviews from critics and made a killing at the box office, but still inspired some backlash from fans who criticized Johnson’s storytelling choices. But Disney and Lucasfilm clearly loved his work, since they made a deal with the director to create an entirely new trilogy set in the “Star Wars” universe.

    In an interview at SXSW recently, Johnson said the new trilogy won’t be affected by that backlash whatsoever.

    “I feel like every ‘Star Wars’ thing that ever gets made has a big, loud response because ‘Star Wars’ fans are passionate and that’s what makes them awesome,” he said.

    “I don’t think it’s possible if you’re really telling a story you care about and having it come from your heart it’s just not possible to be intellectually processing what everyone else wants. Nor would it be a healthy thing, I don’t think that’s a good way to tell a story.”

    Johnson’s words echo that of J.J. Abrams, who is overseeing “Episode IX,” the conclusion of the third trilogy in the Skywalker saga. Abrams recently said the backlash would not change his storytelling in the concluding film, “not in the least.”

    At SXSW, star Mark Hamill backed up his director, saying, “”It’s the only movie series where people go on Twitter and say ‘I swear to god, if x,y, or z happens, I’m totally out of here!’ So they’re anticipating things they’re not going to like. I love our fans.”

  • Here’s Laura Dern Adorably Saying ‘Pew’ While Firing Her ‘Last Jedi’ Blaster

    Like all of us who played “Star Wars” in our bedrooms as kids, Laura Dern said “pew” while using a blaster on the set of “The Last Jedi.”

    Dern copped to this last year, telling Stephen Colbert that she couldn’t stop herself from making the noise during her scenes as Vice Admiral Holdo. “I was back in my bedroom at eight years old,” she admitted. “Doing the scene, I went, ‘Pew-pew!’ They’ve taken the sound out, I don’t think you’ll hear that in the movie. I was so excited! I mean, it’s ‘Star Wars’!”

    Now, there’s confirmation from director Rian Johnson, who reportedly discusses Dern’s adorable habit on the movie’s recently released home video commentary track.

    Dern isn’t the only “Star Wars” alum who couldn’t stop herself from being a kid all over again. Both Hayden Christensen and Ewan McGregor have talked about making the light saber noise (whoosh, whoosh) while filming.

    “It was quite difficult not to make the sound,” McGregor once told Graham Norton.

    “Last Jedi” is available for digital download now, but you’ll have to wait until March 27 for the home video release, which includes deleted scenes, featurettes, and Johnson’s commentary track.

  • ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ Director Explains Why (SPOILER) Had to Die

    WARNING: This post contains MAJOR SPOILERS about “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.” Proceed at your own risk.

    It wasn’t the most shocking death in “Star Wars” history, but the killing of a key character in the newest installment, “The Last Jedi,” wasn’t something that fans really expected, either. Now, writer-director Rian Johnson is spilling the beans about the reasoning behind that plot development.

    In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Johnson explained why he decided to off the sinister Supreme Leader Snoke (played in a motion-capture performance by Andy Serkis), during a showdown with Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) and Rey (Daisy Ridley). The scene in question features Snoke urging Kylo to kill Rey and complete his transition to the Dark Side; instead, Kylo uses the Force to slice Rey’s lightsaber — sitting next to Snoke — clean through the Supreme Leader’s midsection, killing him in one swift motion.

    While the showdown certainly had echoes of Vader’s decision to kill the Emperor — who’s torturing Luke (Mark Hamill) — in “Return of the Jedi,” that twist came near the end of the movie, and the end of the original trilogy. So why get rid of Snoke now, before “Episode IX”?

    According to Johnson, it needed to happen sooner rather than later, in order to establish Kylo’s thirst for power. Right after he kills Snoke, Rey urges him to come with her to join the Resistance; but Kylo decides to take over the First Order instead, permanently severing ties with his mother, Leia (Carrie Fisher), as well as the Light Side.

    “By the end of this film, he’s gone from being a wannabe Vader to someone who is standing on his own feet as a complex villain taking the reins,” the director told EW.

    Mission accomplished. Now, we have to wait for “Episode IX” to know just how Kylo’s power play affects the rest of the galaxy.

    “The Last Jedi” is in theaters now (in case you weren’t one of the millions of people who saw it this weekend). “Episode IX” is slated for release on December 20, 2019.

    [via: Entertainment Weekly]

  • Sorry ‘Star Wars’ Fans, Rian Johnson’s New Trilogy Won’t Be About the Old Republic

    Star Wars: The Last Jedi..L to R: Director Rian Johnson on set with John Boyega (Finn) and Oscar Isaac (Poe Dameron)..Photo: David James..©2017 Lucasfilm Ltd. All Rights Reserved.The Old Republic isn’t becoming new again.

    “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” director Rian Johnson has been tasked by Lucasfilm with creating a brand-new trilogy, apart from the episodic Skywalker saga. And while he hasn’t started figuring out the story yet, he knows what it won’t be about — the “Knights of the Old Republic.”

    That was a 2003 role-playing video game about Jedi knights set 4,000 years before the Galactic Empire’s rise. Many fans hoped to further explore that era, and maybe it still will happen — just not in Johnson’s trilogy.

    “Oh, they love Knights of the Old Republic. I played that game when it first came out and it was like, god, I loved it. Yeah, that’s a fantastic game,” Johnson told Mashable. “And I understand it, the instinct to automatically go to something that you know and love, that you’ve already seen.”

    But he added, “To me, what’s really fun is the notion of what new stuff are we gonna see, what new stories can we tell?”

    Johnson emphasized he is still in the “very, very beginning stages” of plotting out the trilogy, which doesn’t have a release date. In the meantime, fans can console themselves with “Last Jedi” and “Solo: A Star Wars Story.”