Moviefone Editorial

Tag: rian johnson

  • ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ Director Shuts Down Lando Calrissian Hopes

    It’s time to give up on one Star Wars dream: Lando Calrissian is not going to appear in the upcoming film.

    Many fans had hoped the smuggler played by Billy Dee Williams would make a triumphant return in “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” but the film’s writer and director, Rian Johnson, has officially put the kibosh on the idea. Speaking to EW, he addressed Williams’s involvement — or rather, lack thereof — in decisive terms.

    “I don’t want fans to get their hopes up,” Johnson said. “He’s not in the film.”

    The writer-director never planned to bring Lando back, either. Johnson said that “it was never really something that came up” and there was not “a place in the story” for him to return. As much as fans might not want to hear it, that logic is hard to argue. Plus, at least we can safely say he won’t be killed off, unlike another smuggler we know.

    Although Lando won’t appear in “The Last Jedi,” we’ll see him in another adventure soon. As a friend of Han Solo (originally played by Harrison Ford), he’ll appear in the character’s spin-off film, which stars Aldren Ehrenreich as the Millennium Falcon captain in his early smuggling days. The younger version of Lando will be played by Donald Glover.

    “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” opens Dec. 15.

    [via: EW]

  • Rian Johnson Creating Totally New ‘Star Wars’ Trilogy

    Star Wars CelebrationRian Johnson is returning to explore more of that galaxy far, far away.

    The “Last Jedi” director will create an entirely new “Star Wars” trilogy, separate from the Skywalker saga that has unfurled over Episodes I through IX. Lucasfilm announced, “Johnson will introduce new characters from a corner of the galaxy that ‘Star Wars’ lore has never before explored.”

    “‘Star Wars’ is the greatest modern mythology and we feel very lucky to have contributed to it,” Johnson said. “We can’t wait to continue with this new series of films.”This seems to explain why Lucasfilm didn’t tap Johnson to step in to replace “Episode IX” director Colin Trevorrow. Instead, the company asked J.J. Abrams, who helmed “The Force Awakens,” to return to the chair for the final installment of this latest trilogy.

    Lucasfilm has been hard at work in expanding the “Star Wars” cinematic universe, first by commissioning the new trilogy, and then by planning for standalone anthology movies. The first, “Rogue One,” was a hit. The second, “Solo,” has experienced some bumps in the road, but is scheduled for release on May 25, 2018.

    “The Last Jedi” has been the only recent “Star Wars” project that hasn’t been in turmoil. “Rogue One” reportedly went through extensive reshoots to recalibrate its tone. Lucasfilm fired the first “Solo” directors, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, deep into filming and replaced them with veteran Ron Howard. Then, the company fired Trevorrow.

    But Johnson emerged unscathed.

    “We all loved working with Rian on ‘The Last Jedi,’” said Kathleen Kennedy, president of Lucasfilm. “He’s a creative force, and watching him craft ‘The Last Jedi’ from start to finish was one of the great joys of my career. Rian will do amazing things with the blank canvas of this new trilogy.”

    If it is, indeed, a blank canvas, that opens up infinite possibilities for expansion. Even the standalone movies have ties to the Skywalker saga. Could we see stories and characters completely unrelated to Luke, Leia, and Darth Vader?

    And when this new trilogy might make its way into theaters? Like we said, “Solo” comes out in May, and “Episode IX” is slated for December 2019. So, the first film of the new trilogy could possibly be released in 2020.

  • Carrie Fisher Wanted Space Jewelry in ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ and Got It

    What Princess Leia wants, Princess Leia gets.

    An eagle-fan noticed an increase in the number of necklaces sported by characters in “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” promos, and tweeted at director Rian Johnson to find out what the deal was. Turns out, the late Carrie Fisher requested the bling!

    The necklaces pointed out by the Twitter user are worn by Oscar Isaac’s Poe Dameron and Kelly Marie Tran’s new addition, Rose Tico. The latter’s necklace is “significant to Rose’s backstory,” as Tran told Entertainment Weekly.

    “It is an object that she kind of has throughout the film and it is representative of more than the object itself to her,” Tran teased cryptically. “So, yeah, that’s all I can say. It has significance that is, to me, something that means more than just what the object itself is.”

    Leia herself wears earrings, as depicted in the promo image above. Rings are in abundance. Benicio del Toro’s hacker character, DJ, is seen wearing one in a pic released by Vanity Fair. A black jeweled ring is included with the Supreme Leader Snoke toy and some fans are speculating it is a kyber crystal. And there are rumors that Luke Skywalker wears a necklace with a red jewel that is supposedly Darth Vader’s kyber crystal.

    “Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ opens December 15.

  • Rian Johnson Is Living the Dream in ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ Featurette

    Dreams do come true. At least, they did for Rian Johnson, who fulfilled his childhood fantasies by directing “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.”

    This behind-the-scenes featurette from USA Today follows Johnson on set as he gets to walk onto the Millennium Falcon, try on a Stormtrooper helmet, and work with the late, great Carrie Fisher.

    The cast gushes about his “fresh and new” take on the story and it’s clear his almost child-like glee made shooting “Last Jedi” a breeze (unlike the troubled productions of “Solo” and “Episode IX”).

    “When you first show up on it, you’re kind of overwhelmed by it all,” Johnson notes of working on such a famous, iconic franchise. “And then you get into the nitty gritty of working on it.”

    But even so, he adds, “Once in a while, you’re taking a little break and sitting back, and you look around, and you get the ‘holy crap’ moment again.”

    “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” opens in theaters December 15.

  • ‘Star Wars: Episode VIII’ Wraps Production

    After principal filming wrapped last week for the movie’s main cast, all production has officially wrapped on the rest of “Star Wars: Episode VIII.”

    Director Rian Johnson shared the exciting news via the official “Star Wars” social media pages, posting a looped video of the “final slate of the final shot” of the film.

    “VIII is officially wrapped,” Johnson wrote on Facebook. “Thanks to the best cast and crew in the galaxy, and thanks to the fans for all the love and support though the whole process. Cannot wait to put it together and share it with you all!”

    It’s still going to be quite a long wait for filmgoers, who have until December 2017 before they can actually see the finished product. But Johnson now begins the tedious process of post-production editing, and as we know from the long, drawn-out process that went into making “The Force Awakens,” all those special effects and editing tricks take some time to complete.

    We expect Johnson won’t be radio silent during that time, though, especially since he was so eager to share some behind-the-scenes looks at “Episode VIII” while the flick was still filming. We’ll keep our eye on social media for any sneak peeks the director may throw our way before its release.

    “Star Wars: Episode VIII” is due in theaters on December 15, 2017.

    [via: Star Wars]

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