(L to R) Jamie Hector and Titus Welliver on Prime Video’s ‘Bosch.’ Credit: Aaron Epstein. Copyright: Amazon Studios.
The ‘Bosch’-verse is expanding!
Popular police dramas ‘Bosch’ and ‘Bosch: Legacy,’ which both star Titus Welliver as the title character, has two new shows in development at Amazon Studios, further expanding its world. As spinoffs in TV becomes more popular, Bosch’s two new shows will focus on Detective Jerry Edgar and new character Detective Renee Ballard.
Inspired by bestselling author Michael Connelly’s novels centered around LA detective Harry Bosch, its flagship show is the longest-running original series on Prime Video with seven seasons. ‘Bosch: Legacy’ was renewed for a second season before the first episode was released on Freevee and Prime Video.
The first spinoff series, the ‘Untitled J. Edger’ project will focus on Harry Bosch’s former partner, Detective Jerry Edgar (Jamie Hector) who is tapped for an undercover FBI mission in Little Haiti, Miami. In this glamorous city, he is forced to balance his new life with the gritty underbelly of the city, while being chased by his mysterious past.
Jamie Hector on Prime Video’s ‘Bosch.’ Credit: Lacey Terrell. Copyright: Amazon Studios.
The next series, the ‘Untitled Renee Ballard’ show centers around Detective Renee Ballard, who is tasked with running the LAPD’s new cold case division. Beyond simply investigating unsolved crimes, Renee is dedicated to bridging credibility to the department and justice to the community. Having learned from retired ally and mentor Harry Bosch, Renee does things her own way – solving cases in unconventional ways while navigating the politics of being a woman on the rise in the LAPD.
The character Renee Ballard has not yet appeared on the ‘Bosch’ or ‘Bosch: Legacy,’ therefore the role has not been cast.
For such a successful show, it’s no wonder the studio wants to expand the world. As we can see from series such as ‘Yellowstone’, ‘Dexter’, and ‘Billions’, building out the world of an existing series is the current trend. No word yet on whether the new shows will be for Prime Video, Freevee, or both.
Jamie Hector on Prime Video’s ‘Bosch.’ Credit: Hopper Stone. Copyright: Amazon Studios.
Anjelica Huston to reprise her role as the Director, starring opposite Ana de Armas in ‘Ballerina,’ the new film set in the ‘John Wick’ universe. Photo: Lionsgate.
The news continues to arrive about ‘John Wick’ spin-off movie ‘Ballerina’, which has ‘No Time to Die’s Ana de Armas starring. And from the sounds of it, it’ll be even more closely connected to the ‘Wick’ world than we thought.
This makes sense, since The Director, who is the head of the Ruska Roma crime organization, is seen in that third movie training up young female ballerinas with some very harsh techniques. And she also oversees the training of male orphans as assassins.
It’s to the Director that Keanu Reeves’ embattled hit man comes to for help, though her assistance costs her when the High Table – controllers of crime in the ‘Wick’ world – decide to punish her giving some who is excommunicado by stabbing her in the hands. No one says they’re not literal when it comes to rough justice.
“The idea of ‘Ballerina’ was formed around the scenes with Anjelica in ‘John Wick 3’, says producer Erica Lee. “Anjelica Huston is an icon and is nothing less than Hollywood royalty. The world of Wick is always made richer by her commanding screen presence.”
Len Wiseman, better known for the likes of the ‘Underworld’ franchise and ‘Live Free or Die Hard’, is in the director’s chair for the movie, which has a script from ‘Parabellum’ co-writer Shay Hatten.
Lionsgate also previously announced that Ian McShane, who has played Winston, the complicated manager of the Continental Hotel seen in the movies, will be back to reprise the role.
(L to R) Keanu Reeves and Donnie Yen in ‘John Wick: Chapter 4.’ Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.
News leaked earlier this month that the key figure in the entire franchise – that would be Keanu Reeves himself – will also show up in the spin-off.
There is, of course, no information about what Wick might be doing in the movie (besides kicking, punching and shooting people, we can only assume), or how big his involvement will be beyond a potential cameo, since this is really intended to focus on de Armas’ character.
‘Ballerina’ will follow the Ballerina character glimpsed briefly (and there played by Unity Phelan) in ‘Parabellum’ and tracks a young assassin who seeks revenge against the people who killed her family. Which does feel apt for something set in John Wick’s world.
“We’re thrilled to have Ian McShane joining us for a pivotal role in ‘Ballerina’, says producer Basil Iwanyk. “He’s been such an integral part of the franchise since the original John Wick. It’s been fun to have him on this journey as the Wick universe expands.”
A sequel to Netflix’s ‘The Gray Man,’ is now in development with star Ryan Gosling and directors Joe and Anthony Russo set to return.
Even given its current subscriber and financial wobbles, Netflix is looking to splash the cash when it thinks it can spawn a franchise from a successful movie.
And having brought Joe and Anthony Russo’s spy thriller ‘The Gray Man’ to theaters and, this past weekend, its streaming service, the company is looking to keep backing their ambitious plans to build out the adaptations of Mark Greaney’s novel series.
Because we can’t just have a straight sequel, the world-building is going into high gear with both a direct follow-up and a spin-off.
‘The Gray Man’, which the Russos directed (and Joe Russo co-wrote with regular collaborators Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely), was the all-action story of Sierra Six (Ryan Gosling), a trained operative called Sierra Six, who works for a shadowy chunk of the CIA, dispatched to carry out seemingly impossible missions with plausible deniability on the agency’s part.
But when he discovers digital evidence of a conspiracy, his handlers will do anything to keep the information from getting out. They send the cruel, psychopathic Lloyd Hansen (Chris Evans in a dodgy mustache) and a wealth of baddies to hunt down our hero.
The sequel will pick up Six’s story (with Gosling attached to return) and follow another mission. The Russo brothers are once more planning to direct, and McFeely is at work on the script.
As for the spin-off, that’s even less clear right now. The first movie was chock full of characters that could be used in their own story – such as Dhanush’s Avik San (AKA Lone Wolf) or Wagner Moura’s fixer Laszlo Sosa – but the team is keeping that quiet too for now.
“The audience reaction to ‘The Gray Man’ has been nothing short of phenomenal. We are so appreciative of the enthusiasm that fans across the world have had for this film,” Joe and Anthony say in a statement. “With so many amazing characters in the movie, we had always intended for the ‘Gray Man’ to be part of an expanded universe, and we are thrilled that Netflix is announcing a sequel with Ryan, as well as a second script that we’re excited to talk about soon.”
“With ‘The Gray Man’, the Russos delivered an edge-of-your-seat spectacle that audiences around the world are loving,” says Netflix Head of Global Film Scott Stuber. “We’re excited to continue to partner with them and the team at AGBO as they build out ‘The Gray Man’ universe.”
It’s not the first franchise the Russos have been building for the company either – there’s also ‘Extraction’ starring another old ‘Avengers’ colleague, Chris Hemsworth. That movie has already spawned a sequel, which will arrive on the service next year.
Thus far, Netflix has not announced a date for either new ‘Gray Man’ movie, but it seems unlikely that either will be ready much before early 2024.
A sequel to Netflix’s ‘The Gray Man,’ is now in development with star Ryan Gosling and directors Joe and Anthony Russo set to return.
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HBO Max’s ‘House of the Dragon.’ Photograph by Courtesy of HBO.
Last month, we got our first proper look at HBO’s initial ‘Game of Thrones’ spin-off, prequel series ‘House of the Dragon’ via its first teaser. Aiming to keep the show in our minds (not that we needed too much prodding), HBO has now released a new poster, which puts Emma D’Arcy’s Rhaenyra Targaryen front and center, backed by a dragon for good measure, since the series is not called ‘House of the Poodle.’
‘House of the Dragon’, like its progenitor, is also based on George R. R. Martin’s books, this time the 2018 novel ‘Fire & Blood’, which chronicled the history of House Targaryen, the family seen via Emilia Clarke’s Daenerys Targaryen in ‘Thrones’. The series itself comes from Martin, ‘Colony’ co-creator Ryan Condal and ‘Thrones’ show veteran Miguel Sapochnik, who is an executive producer and director.
The setting here is 200 years before the events chronicled in the original show albeit with some very familiar jockeying for power.
Paddy Considine stars as King Viserys Targaryen, chosen by the lords of Westeros to succeed the Old King, Jaehaerys Targaryen. A warm, kind, and decent man, Viserys only wishes to carry forward his grandfather’s legacy. But good men do not necessarily make for great kings.
Matt Smith, most recently seen in ‘Morbius’, is Prince Daemon Targaryen, younger brother to King Viserys and heir to the throne. A peerless warrior and a dragonrider, Daemon possesses the true blood of the dragon.
Eve Best has the role of Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, a dragonrider and wife to Lord Corlys Velaryon, “The Queen Who Never Was” was passed over as heir to the throne at the Great Council because the realm favored her cousin, Viserys, simply for being male.
HBO Max’s ‘House of the Dragon.’ Photograph by Courtesy of HBO.
Rhys Ifans plays Otto Hightower. The Hand of the King, Ser Otto loyally and faithfully serves both his king and his realm. As the Hand sees it, the greatest threat to the realm is the king’s brother, Daemon, and his position as heir to the throne.
Olivia Cooke appears as Alicent Hightower, Otto’s daughter, and the most beautiful woman in the Seven Kingdoms. She was raised in the Red Keep, close to the king and his innermost circle; she possesses both a courtly grace… and a keen political acumen.
D’Arcy’s Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, the king’s first-born child, is of pure Valyrian blood, and a dragonrider. Many would say that Rhaenyra was born with everything… but she was not born a man, which is a disadvantage in the patriarchal world of ‘Thrones’ and even more so in ‘Dragon’. We’ve a feeling she’ll still be powerful, though.
Toussaint’s Velaryon is “The Sea Snake.” Lord of House Velaryon, a Valyrian bloodline as old as House Targaryen. As the most famed nautical adventurer in the history of Westeros, Lord Corlys built his house into a powerful seat that is even richer than the Lannisters and that claims the largest navy in the world.
Sonoya Mizuno plays Mysaria, who came to Westeros with nothing, sold more times than she can recall. She could have wilted… but instead she rose to become the most trusted – and most unlikely – ally of Prince Daemon Targaryen, the heir to the throne.
If you’ve been anticipating more ‘Thrones’ action and got frustrated by the lack of forward progress on the spin-off front, ‘House of the Dragon’ should help fill that void.
‘House of the Dragon’ starts on HBO Max on August 21st.
HBO Max’s ‘House of the Dragon.’ Photograph by Courtesy of HBO.
Directed by Angus MacLane (‘Finding Dory’), the new movie is a representation of the in-world blockbuster film that inspired the Buzz Lightyear toy Andy played with in the ‘Toy Story’ franchise, and stars Chris Evans (‘Avengers: Infinity War’) as the voice of Buzz Lightyear.
In addition to Evans, the voice cast also includes Keke Palmer, Peter Sohn, Uzo Aduba, James Brolin, Dale Soules, and Taika Waititi. The result is a fun movie that doesn’t recapture the magic of the ‘Toy Story’ franchise but is still an entertaining animated adventure.
The film begins by introducing us to Buzz Lightyear (Evans), a Space Ranger exploring a new planet with his commanding officer Alisha Hawthorne (Aduba). When danger strikes, Buzz does his best to save his spaceship full of civilians and escape the planet but they are ultimately marooned. Blaming himself, Buzz and Alisha work with the survivors to build a new civilization on the strange planet and rebuild their spacecraft so they can go home.
However, when Buzz tests the new ship he realizes that every time he attempts to leave the planet, he is thrusted into the future by four years. Refusing to fail, Buzz attempts to leave again dozens of times, until eventually, Alisha grows old and dies. After Buzz’s latest attempt, he realizes the planet has been invaded by the evil Emperor Zurg (Brolin). Now, Buzz must team-up with Alisha’s granddaughter Izzy (Palmer), Mo Morrison (Waititi), Darby Steel (Soules), and a robotic cat named Sox (Sohn) and learn to work together in order to defeat Zurg and free the planet forever.
As a standalone Pixar animated adventure, ‘Lightyear’ completely soars, but is undermined by the filmmakers’ choice to shoehorn it into the ‘Toy Story’ franchise. The film opens with a title card that explains ‘Lightyear’ is the in-world movie that inspired the Buzz Lightyear toy, which Andy played with in the original ‘Toy Story’ movies. The idea that this movie is Andy’s ‘Star Wars’ or even ‘Independence Day’ is laughable, and it’s hard to see how young Andy would fall in love with this movie.
Another question that arises from making ‘Lightyear’ the movie that inspired the Buzz Lightyear toy is why doesn’t the character in the “movie” sound like the toy? Typically, when a voice-activated toy is release from a movie, that toy has the voice of the actor that played him in the movie. So, why isn’t Tim Allen the voice of the real Buzz Lightyear? Also, since ‘Lightyear’ is the movie the toy is based on, it means Chris Evans wasn’t actually playing Buzz, he was really playing an actor playing the title character. Best not to think about that one too much.
That being said, whoever Evans is actually playing, he does a great job of making the role his own, while honoring what Tim Allen did before him. It’s also clever casting because there are a lot of similarities between Buzz and Evans’ signature character, Steve Rogers/Captain America. Both characters are government heroes, lost in time, just trying to get home to their loved ones. There is also a comparison to be made to his “Old Man Steve” character from ‘Avengers: Endgame,’ but to talk too much about that would give away spoilers.
An overall issue I’ve had with Pixar in the past is that they come up with great concepts, and then abandon them halfway through to introduce a cute character that will sell a lot of merchandise. ‘Soul’ is a great example of that, with a truly original concept, but then introducing an adorable cat halfway through. So, I was skeptical when Sox (voiced by Peter Sohn) was introduced about 30min into ‘Lightyear.’ However, I’m happy to say that Sox really works and is a great addition to the story. Yes, it’s another example of Pixar adding a cute animal to its cast, but it doesn’t feel out of place at all and the character definitely steals every scene he’s in.
Rounding out the supporting cast are some really lovely performances from Uzo Aduba and Keke Palmer, as Commander Alisha and her granddaughter Izzy, respectively, who are really the emotional core of the movie. Taika Waititi and Dale Soules are also scene stealers with their wonderful characters of Mo and Darby, who bring the funny with their off-the-wall performances.
James Brolin is fine as the voice of Emperor Zurg, but it’s the characters final reveal that bothers me. Again, to say too much would lead to spoilers, but let’s just say that I saw the film’s big twist coming from a million lightyears away. It’s an interesting idea, but I feel like we’ve seen that twist before and it doesn’t lead to the ‘Empire Strikes Back’ moment that was probably intended. The reveal also puts the integrity of the movie’s lead character in jeopardy.
Don’t get me wrong, ‘Lightyear’ is a really fun and exciting adventure movie, with beautiful animation and a cast of really interesting characters, but in the end, suffers from its desire to remind you its set in the ‘Toy Story’ universe.
(L to R) Olivia Cooke as Alicent Hightower, Rhys Ifans as Otto Hightower in HBO Max’s ‘House of the Dragon.’
“What is this brief, mortal life… If not the pursuit of legacy?” So says Lord Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint) in the opening moments of the new teaser for ‘House of the Dragon’.
And given that this is the prequel series to one of the biggest TV shows of all time, you’d forgive the creators (which include George R.R. Martin, from whose novels ‘Game of Thrones’, that aforementioned TV show, sprang) for having legacy on their mind too.
Having spent a fraction under $20 million per episode on this first season of ‘Dragon’, the new series is a gamble, even if following ‘Thrones’ might be a slightly safer bet than some others.
But there’s also that giant fanbase, who devoured every moment of ‘Thrones’ and who ended up having big issues with the final season of the series, to please, which is always on the mind.
‘House of the Dragon’, like its progenitor, is also based on Martin’s books, this time the 2018 novel ‘Fire & Blood’, which chronicled the history of House Targaryen, the family seen via Emilia Clarke’s Daenerys Targaryen in ‘Thrones’.
This time, though, the setting is 200 years before the events chronicled in that show, albeit with some very familiar jockeying for power.
Paddy Considine stars as King Viserys Targaryen, chosen by the lords of Westeros to succeed the Old King, Jaehaerys Targaryen. A warm, kind, and decent man, Viserys only wishes to carry forward his grandfather’s legacy. But good men do not necessarily make for great kings. Matt Smith, most recently seen in ‘Morbius’, is Prince Daemon Targaryen, younger brother to King Viserys and heir to the throne. A peerless warrior and a dragonrider, Daemon possesses the true blood of the dragon.
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Eve Best has the role of Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, a dragonrider and wife to Lord Corlys Velaryon, “The Queen Who Never Was” was passed over as heir to the throne at the Great Council because the realm favored her cousin, Viserys, simply for being male.
‘The King’s Man’s Rhys Ifans plays Otto Hightower. The Hand of the King, Ser Otto loyally and faithfully serves both his king and his realm. As the Hand sees it, the greatest threat to the realm is the king’s brother, Daemon, and his position as heir to the throne. Olivia Cooke appears as Alicent Hightower, Otto’s daughter, and the most beautiful woman in the Seven Kingdoms. She was raised in the Red Keep, close to the king and his innermost circle; she possesses both a courtly grace… and a keen political acumen.
Emma D’Arcy portrays Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, the king’s first-born child, she is of pure Valyrian blood, and she is a dragonrider. Many would say that Rhaenyra was born with everything… but she was not born a man.
Toussaint’s Velaryon is “The Sea Snake.” Lord of House Velaryon, a Valyrian bloodline as old as House Targaryen. As the most famed nautical adventurer in the history of Westeros, Lord Corlys built his house into a powerful seat that is even richer than the Lannisters and that claims the largest navy in the world.
Sonoya Mizuno plays Mysaria, who came to Westeros with nothing, sold more times than she can recall. She could have wilted… but instead she rose to become the most trusted – and most unlikely – ally of Prince Daemon Targaryen, the heir to the throne.
As the title (and this teaser) suggests, we can expect a lot more dragon action (where do you think a chunk of that hefty budget goes?) and all the political wrangling you might hope for.
This new show comes from Martin, ‘Colony’ co-creator Ryan Condal and ‘Thrones’ show veteran Miguel Sapochnik, who is an executive producer and director here.
‘House of the Dragon’ starts on HBO Max on August 21st.
‘House of the Dragon’ is scheduled to premiere on HBO Max beginning August 21st.
Jeffrey Dean Morgan attends the ‘Talking Dead’ at Hollywood Forever on October 23, 2016 in Hollywood, California. Photo by Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic.
Just because ‘The Walking Dead’ is set to stumble into TV history this year, that doesn’t mean that network home AMC is ready to give up on the post-apocalyptic world just yet. Far from it, in fact, with a variety of follow-ups at different stages of development and a new one – starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Negan and Lauren Cohan as Maggie Rhee called ‘Isle of the Dead’ on the way.
A six-episode limited series, ‘Isle of the Dead’ will follow Maggie and Negan traveling into a post-apocalyptic Manhattan long ago cut off from the mainland. The crumbling city is filled with the dead and denizens who have made New York City their own world full of anarchy, danger, beauty, and terror.
Created by and to be run by ‘Dead’ scripting veteran Eli Jorné, the show will bring together two characters few thought would find common ground, especially since Negan was introduced partly by killing Maggie’s husband, Glenn (Steven Yeun). And yet, in the years since, they’ve come to an understanding, even teaming up in this 11th and final season.
Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Negan in AMC’s ‘The Walking Dead’
Though there had been talk of a solo spin-off for Cohan’s popular character a few years ago, she went through some tough contract negotiations in recent times, leading to her making sporadic appearances in season 9 and leaving the show before returning for the Season 10 finale onwards.
“This is a very big day for the expanding universe we are building around ‘The Walking Dead’,” says Dan McDermott, President of Entertainment and AMC Studios for AMC Networks. “It not only adds another compelling series to this collection, it extends our storytelling around two unforgettable characters fans have grown to love, hate or hate and then love in Maggie and Negan, brilliantly inhabited by Lauren and Jeffrey. It also lets us explore a corner of this universe located on the island of Manhattan, with an iconic skyline that takes on a very different meaning when viewed through the lens of a zombie apocalypse.”
Says ‘Walking Dead’ chief content officer Scott Gimple: “Eli has created a chaotic, beautiful, grimy madhouse of the dead for Negan, Maggie, and fans of the show eager to discover an unseen and insane world of the ‘TWD’ Universe. Lauren and Jeffrey have always been fantastic collaborators and now, we bring that collaboration to the next level with a series that will take these characters to their limits with the world — and each other. All of us are thrilled to take you on an all new, all different ‘TWD’ epic for the ages.”
This latest spin-off follows the likes of prequel ‘Fear the Walking Dead’ and youth focused ‘The Walking Dead: The World Beyond’ and is part of a sprawling grand plan to keep the stories going.
Anthology series ‘Tales of the Walking Dead’ is scheduled to launch this year, while a show focused on Carol and Daryl, played by Melissa McBride and Norman Reedus, is expected in 2023. ‘Isle of the Dead’ should also be on screens at some point next year and there is still the lingering promise of a movie featuring Andrew Lincoln’s Rick Grimes.
(L to R) Lauren Cohan and Andrew Lincoln in AMC’s ‘The Walking Dead.’
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James Gunn’s HBO Max-based spin-off to his ‘The Suicide Squad’ movie from last year has been a big success for the streaming service. And the company has moved quickly to order a second season, as announced by Gunn on twitter.
‘Peacemaker’, which Gunn created shortly after finishing work on the ‘Squad’, was announced even before the movie was released. It stars John Cena as Christopher ‘Peacemaker’ Smith, the lunkheaded man of action who believes he must kill anyone to achieve his aims.
In the series, he’s joined by ‘Squad’ veterans Emilia Harcourt (Jennifer Holland) and John Economos (Steve Agee) plus new faces Leota Adebayo (Danielle Brooks), Clemson Murn (Chukwudi Iwuji) and Vigilante (Freddie Stroma). There are also a variety of cops, alien bug creatures, troublesome civilians and Smith’s father, White Supremacist Auggie Smith (Robert Patrick). And then there’s breakout star Eagly, Peacemaker’s pet eagle/best friend, who has stolen scenes from his human co-stars.
It’s a violent, vulgar, funny, and heartfelt show, which manages to dig deeper into Peacemaker’s character and background without changing what made him work.
Though HBO Max executives were noncommittal during the company’s Television Critics Association panel on Wednesday morning, Gunn’s tweet signaled that the show would return, and official statements quickly followed.
(L to R) David Dastmalchian, John Cena, Idris Elba and Daniela Melchior in ‘The Suicide Squad.’
“The brilliance of James Gunn once again shines with ‘Peacemaker’. He took this character, brought to life by the inimitable John Cena, and created an exceptional series that’s simultaneously thrilling, hilarious and heartfelt, showcasing the humanity beneath this team of misfits living in a superhuman world,” says HBO Max original content head Sarah Aubrey. “As the first original DC show to have its series premiere on HBO Max, we are thrilled that the viewers agreed to give peace a f***ing chance.”
Gunn himself is also happy that people have embraced the series: “Creating ‘Peacemaker’ has been one of the true highlights of my life, both professionally and otherwise, with John Cena and the incredible creative team around me, as well as our partners at HBO Max. To have something we all love so much be loved by the audience in turn has been a wonderful experience. I can’t wait for folks to see where Team Peacemaker goes in Season Two!”
As for Cena? “I am incredibly honored and humbled by the response to Peacemaker and the experience of playing this character,” he says in a statement. “Thank you to James Gunn, [producer] Peter Safran, HBO Max, the crew, and my castmates who worked tirelessly to make this unforgettable series.”
‘Peacemaker’s first season wraps up this week with the finale. Gunn wrote the entire first run and directed five of the eight episodes (Brad Anderson, Jody Hill and Rosemary Rodriguez handled the other three. For Season 2, Gunn will be writing and directing the whole thing.
When he’ll start work will depend on his duties around ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’ for Marvel, which he’s shooting now, and the holiday special featuring the ‘Guardians’ characters, which is in progress. There’s also his other planned ‘Suicide Squad’ spin-off show, about which he’s revealed very little other than it won’t be as comedic as ‘Peacemaker’.
‘Peacemaker’s whole first season is – or will be from midnight Thursday – available on HBO Max.
‘Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi’ Poster Courtesy of Disney+
Obi-Wan Kenobi. Now that’s a name we’ve not heard in a long, long time. At least not properly on screen in a ‘Star Wars’ movie or show. But we’re about to be hearing it a lot more as the series named for him, Disney+ show ‘Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi’ has an official start date of May 25th.
If that date sparks memories for you, chances are you know that’s the day (in 1977) that ‘Star Wars’ launched in theaters, changing the face of cinema forever.
The series, which stars Ewan McGregor as the venerable Jedi master, will be set nearly a decade after the events of ‘Revenge of the Sith’, and finds Obi-Wan still grappling with the betrayal he suffered from former pupil Anakin Skywalker.
Anakin – or more likely, the part-man, part machine Sith lord he became, Darth Vader – also seems likely to show up here, with Hayden Christensen in the cast. Christensen, of course, played Anakin in all three of the ‘Star Wars’ prequel movies and ended up suited the dark lord. Whether he shows up in full Vader costume or in flashback as Anakin remains to be seen. Why not both?
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This new Lucasfilm/Disney+ show has been in the works for a while now, hitting something of a speed bump in January 2020 when original writer Hossein Amini left the project over creative differences and script issues. ‘King Arthur: Legend of the Sword’s Joby Harold was brought into replace him and, after another delay because of the pandemic, the series started shooting in January last year.
“I think the scripts are great. They’re in really good shape. They want them to be better. I think we keep our same airdate. All good. Everybody is going, ‘Oh, my god!’” McGregor told Variety when asked about the script issues. “But it’s not really as dramatic as it might seem.”
Deborah Chow, who won praise for her work directing fellow ‘Star Wars’ show ‘The Mandalorian’, has made all six episodes of this one.
Returning to the ‘Star Wars’ galaxy alongside McGregor and Christensen is Joel Edgerton, who played “Uncle” Owen Lars, the ill-fated moisture farmer whom Obi-Wan entrusts to raise an infant Luke Skywalker. He appeared in both ‘Attack of the Clones’ and ‘Revenge of the Sith’. Given all the talk of a de-aged Luke Skywalker in ‘The Mandalorian’ and ‘The Book of Boba Fett’, we can’t help but wonder what a 10-year-old Luke might look like. Perhaps there are things the human brain should not comprehend.
‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ will launch, then, in May. Disney has yet to reveal whether it’ll kick off with more than one episode and of course, what we all want to see now is a trailer.
‘Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi’ Poster Courtesy of Disney+
While trying to avoid overloading on sequels, Pixar has found an interesting way to keep exploring the ‘Toy Story’ universe with this new movie about the “real” Buzz Lightyear. And there’s a new trailer for the adventure featuring the character, with the movie simply known as ‘Lightyear’.
Chris Evans provides the voice for Buzz here, marking this as a distinct, human take on the Star Command hero so memorably brought to life with the vocal tones of Tim Allen in the four ‘Toy Story’ movies. Here, the basic concept is that we’re watching one of the movies that the confused Buzz astronaut toy is based on.
The new trailer does shed a few more details on ‘Lightyear’s story, revealing that he and his Star Command team are stranded on an alien planet and looking for a way off, spending lots of time working on a craft that can escape the place, with the heroic Buzz in the pilot’s seat.
But even if he does manage to blast off safely, there are other challenges to be found, including a threat that very much looks like Emperor Zurg from ‘Toy Story’, which makes us wonder whether the toy’s comical reveal that he’s Buzz’s dad will hold true here. It’s still unknown, not least because the version of Zurg presented here mostly seems to be a dangerous android and not quite the Darth Vader-style baddie we’ve seen.
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Also new is more of a cast list for those around Evans. Keke Palmer, Dale Soules and Taika Waititi voice a group of ambitious recruits, while Pixar veteran/’The Good Dinosaur’ director Peter Sohn plays Buzz’s robot companion, Sox (who could be this movie’s answer to Baby Yoda).
Plus, there’s Uzo Aduba, James Brolin, Mary McDonald-Lewis, Efren Ramirez, and Isiah Whitlock Jr. “The cast for ‘Lightyear’ is truly a dream team,” says director Angus MacLane in a statement released alongside the new trailer. “Each of the performers immediately inhabited their character, which gave us the opportunity to play a bit during recording sessions. This resulted in a level of specificity that elevated the material and brought additional depth to the characters’ relationships. It has been a privilege to work with such a talented and generous cast.”
As for why MacLane decided to tap back into ‘Toy Story’s mythos but in a fresh way? “In ‘Toy Story,’ there seemed to be this incredible backstory to him being a Space Ranger that’s only touched upon, and I always wanted to explore that world further,” he says. “So, my ‘Lightyear’ pitch was, ‘What was the movie that Andy saw that made him want a Buzz Lightyear toy?’ I wanted to see that movie. And now I’m lucky enough to get to make it.”
Finally, we also now know that Oscar-winning composer Michael Giacchino, a long-time Pixar collaborator, is back again to provide the ‘Lightyear’ score.
‘Lightyear’ will be headed to infinity – and theaters – on June 17.
